Wednesday June 16, 2010, 7:00 PM
Media Education Foundation
60 Masonic St.
Northampton, MA 01060

Agenda:

Reapplication
Five year anniversary
Painting the studio
Pay to Play for all
Anti racism amendment

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Announcement:

We will be holding a special station manager training this Sunday June 6^th, in conjunction with new programmer training.  12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Also, work Sunday will be simultaneously doing valuable station work from 10:00 AM on through 4:00 PM.  Come join us for cleaning and organizing, and possibly website work, repair and maintenance and much more.  We need your help, support, involvement.

Questions:  write, email the BOD: board@valleyfreeradio.org

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Present: Don Persons, Johanna Halbeisen, Chris Elliot, Jacqueline Maidana, Matt Alvey, Stephen Rigazio.

Fund-raising:

Programming discussed the importance of the upcoming fundraiser.
The fundraiser will run from April 25 – May 1.
Johanna has requested fundraising shows from locally syndicated programs.
Matt Alvey has agreed to answer phones at the studio during ‘Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child.’
Each liaison is encouraged to reach out to their collective members to promote the fund drive.
Charles Marchand, Johanna Halbeisen and Bob Gardner are good contacts for questions regarding the drive.
Currently the goal is to raise $6,000.
When taking pledges over the phone, programmers need to be aware to fill out ALL information on pledge sheets.

Log Check:

Jacqueline Maidana will begin periodically checking the studio log. She will note any absences or irregularities with programmers and report them to the respective liaison.
Any current VFR member interested in taking on this responsibility is encouraged to volunteer.

Station Managers:

Station Manager situation has improved, but only slightly. With the departure of Joel Saxe, more managers are needed.

New Show Proposals:

Approved:
Street Philosopher – Stephen Rigazio – Arts & Culture – Needs to complete training, has fulfilled some sit-in requirements.
The Transition – Kristopher Setchfield – News & Politics – Needs to complete training, Education and Social Issues collective will contact.
Minezez – Eileen Hoarle – Music – Needs to complete training – Music collective will contact.
The Dance Party – Lukas Snelling – Music – Has completed training, needs to complete sit-in’s.

More information needed:
“Your Take on Sports.” Programming needed more details about show’s plans then were provided on application. A programmer will follow up with potential programmer to discuss the idea and programming will re-visit the application in the coming weeks.

Other Issues:

News & Politics Collective in need of a new liaison as Joel Saxe has resigned. Anyone interested should contact programming. Need not be a news and politics programmer.

There will be a new door code installed, effective May 1. Programmers can contact liaisons for door code if unaware of it by this time.

The show Speaking of Faith has been approved to be re-inserted into the schedule. A requested Sunday slot will be difficult to accommodate. Don Persons will be working with ‘Speaking of Faith’ to find an agreed upon time and day to broadcast.

Programming has been inconsistent about answering e-mails submitted toprogramming@valleyfreeradio.org as well as inquiries sent through the website. A liaison will begin checking account regularly.

Meeting adjourned 7:55 p.m.

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Present: Frances Crowe, Preacha, Bob Gutowski, Andy Sewell, Dana
Prescott, Steve Cutting, Steve Curlyo, Tony Shannon, Charles Marchand,
Ed Russell, Johanna Halbeisen

Topics: pledge drive, underwriting, broadcasting “Alternative Radio”,
and frequency of
General meetings.

Pledge Drive
We confirmed that the next pledge drive will be the last week of
April. Charles Marchand agreed to lead this effort, with an assist
from Johanna Halbeisen and Bob Gardner.

Underwriting
The Underwriting Committee handed out a nearly competed draft of a
promo packet for distribution to potential underwriters.

Broadcasting Alternative Radio
Frances Crowe brought up the problem of the syndicated show
Alternative Radio not playing consistently. The show has been
approved to re-broadcast on Saturdays at 5 PM, but it has not made it
to the online schedule, and may not have been communicated to station
managers for Saturday. Andy offered to address this and make sure it
happens in the future.

Frequency of General Meetings
We discussed the issue of how often the GM should meet. Currently,
general membership meetings are quarterly. We discussed the pros and
cons of this, without making any changes.

submitted by Bob Gardner

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An excellent opportunity to get involved also to gain hours for off-air volunteer hours.
Meetings count as work.

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Remember meeting attendance counts as work towards off-air volunteer hours
for programmers.

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In Attendance: Johanna Halbeisen, Chris Elliot, Tony Shannon, Jacqueline Maidana, Ed Russell, Joel Saxe, Steve Cutting, Matt Alvey.

It’s a Girl!
Congratulations to Keely on the birth of her baby girl Kale CqoLBi Justice!

STL Issues
These issues were discussed and Tony Shannon agreed to look further into the issues.

Anybody in the VFR Community with knowledge of these things is encouraged to lend their support.

Alternative Programming and Syndication Issues:
Listeners complaining of too much syndicated music.

Syndicated programs, both local and national, are routinely not airing on time or at

all.

FSRN needs a live programmer to facilitate its airing.

To help remedy this, the committee will take the following actions:
Matt Alvey will try to organize and add more station managers to help insure shows are played when they are supposed to be. Anyone interested in becoming a station manager should contact Matt at kingmatthewray@yahoo.com .

After much discussion, it was voted on and agreed that Alternative Radio will begin re-playing Saturdays from 5-6 p.m.

VFR would like to begin re-playing locally produced programs where there is currently only automation. Much discussion about the subject transpired. It was agreed that more planning was needed to make the process of choosing shows and coordinating everything more realistic and democratic. Johanna and Joel will be meeting and discussing this for the next month, anyone with ideas should contact them at JH@newsonglibrary.com or jsaxe@comm.umass.edu .

Schedule changes/program issues:

Rock, Folk, Press with Steve Cutting will be moving from Tuesdays 2-4, to Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., effective immediately.

Alternative Radio will begin re-airing Saturdays from 5-6 p.m.

Is Beat Clinic off the air? Committee will follow up.

New program proposals:
The following shows were approved:

Beats, Breaks and Baseball Bats wants to resume programming. Was approved to do so and is fully trained. Music Collective will follow-up to try and schedule an open slot.

Edward’s Church is able to resume programming. Education and Social Issues will contact Mr. Moodie to coordinate.

X-Ray Specs with DJ Dapper Dan. New show, needs training before show can start, Music Collective will coordinate.

Youth Commission Radio. The Northampton Youth Commission would like to re-start their program with Valley Free Radio. Music Collective will contact them to start the process.

Meeting concluded at 8 p.m.

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Jan 6, 2009

Present:  Tony Udell (chair), Bob Gutowski, Arjuna Griest, Shawn Smith, Charles Marchand, Tony Shannon, Preacha, Dana Prescott, Steve Cutting, Kathryn Reason, Bob Gardner (notetaker)

Tech Issues: there is no right channel sound emanating.  May just be a connection problem.  Continuing problems with automation downloading and file transfers.

Problem with playing PSAs from DJ computer.

Purchase requests: headphone purchases: no for present; Bob Gutowski will take

A look at current lot for repairs, and we will revisit

Recorder purchase: we will research a recorder that uses records on thumb drives [USB port].  New computer: we will try using one of the old STL computers, instead of purchasing.  Air filter: only works on high or off; we will try to fix to low setting only.

Scent free: reminder will go out on listserves.

Programmers should note: Shows should remember to end their shows early, whether or not followed by a live show.

Board Meeting Space: Katherine will check out Forbes Library, and Arjuna will check out the Unitarian Church for future board meetings.  [MEF room may not be sufficient as to IAQ* for a long time, due to new carpeting].  Friends Meeting House space on Center Street, Northampton, problematic in that front door has to be locked down at all times.

Fundraising: Shawn stepping down as Fundraising Coordinator, but willing to continue on fundraising committee.  We need to find a new coordinator.    Underwriting proposal:

Shows will be able to fulfill their volunteer hours by finding and negotiating underwriting for their shows. [approved] A volunteer is needed and wanted for replacing Shawn as fundraising committee coordinator.

Promotion: the first meeting of the promotionn committee will be on the third Wednesday of January, MEF, 7:00 PM.  We will attempt to have all subcommittees meeting in that space that night [either in different corners of the room, or at staggered times].

Show Reviews: few shows had fulfilled requirements, which include volunteer hours, payment of 2010 member fees, contact information, signup for announcement listserve, etc.  We switched to discussing new show compliance: only one has paid member frees,

[Doodlebug Junction], none had performed work, including attending meetings.  Before more drastic action, it is referred back to Programming Committee for action by liaisons.  We discussed requiring Board approval for new shows to start, without decision.  Again to be taken to Programming Committee first.

*Indoor Air Quality

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Present: Tony Shannon (chair), Ed Russell, Preacha, Chris Elliott, Bob
Gutowski, Dana Prescott, Bob Gardner (notetaker).

Announcements: next board meeting at Friends Meeting House, first
Wednesday in January.

Quarterly Meetings of General Membership: proposal was to amend
bylaws, which previously mandated monthly general membership meetings,
to require at least quarterly meetings. Board will set the date and
time. Dollar limit for board spending stays the same, except for
emergencies, such as replacement of critical equipment. Target
months: Oct, Jan, April, July. Approved.

Membership definition (bylaw change): A member in good standing is any
volunteer or programmer who has performed four hours of work in the
previous month, or 12 hours of work in the quarter, and has paid
membership dues, as approved by the organization. Passes.

Committee Reports: Tech Comm- automation computer is “crappy”, or the
sound card is bad. Democracy Now did not play on Thursday—problem
with the automated loading from Juice. We will try putting in the
soundcard from old STL computer into automation computer to address
distortions. The STL computer will also be setup to try running
automation. Fundraising Committee (no member present) but we set the
next two pledge drives: 1st- April 25th Sunday thru May 1st; 2nd-
first week in September. Promotion & Marketing: third weds of January
20th first meeting. Finance Committee: We have 6190.95 in our three
accounts combined [Paypal, checking & savings]; Programming Committee:
needs one or two coordinators. Chris Elliott was elected as
programmer coordinator. Underwriting: see separate minutes. Ideas at
meeting: if shows want to line up their own, they should communicate
with underwriting committee, so that 10 shows don’t walk into Turn it
Up to ask about underwriting. Also, Tony is suggesting having a
generic underwriting message that actually doesn’t mention the show
“the following hour is sponsored. by_____.” Board Report: next board
meeting will begin reviewing old and new shows, addressing compliance
issues All members are urged to post their work hours. We also are
planning a tour of other low power community stations; interested, non-
board members are welcome to join us.

Pay to Play: shows approved for pay to play may now either pay in
advance quarterly or bi-annually [$125/qtr, $225/half-year] or can
subscribe weekly or monthly via Paypal [$10/week, or $40/month].

LPFM mini-conference: postponed till later meeting.

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Next Meeting: Wed, 1/13/10, at the station

Present: Keely Malone (Chair), Jacqueline Maidana (Arts&Culture), Don
Persons (Education&Social Issues), Bob Gardner (Board liason), Johanna
Halbeisen (Music), Joel Saxe (News & Politics), Matt Alvey (Music)

Facilitated by Keely, Notes by Don

Schedule Changes

• Vital Health moved from Mondays 11am-11:30am, to Mondays 11:30am-12noon, to make room for an 1 ½ hour slot before, rather than hour before and half-hour after; show will start
• Valley Tango will be Wednesdays 12noon-2pm, show is starting 1/6/10
• Spirit In Action (syndicated) will be Fridays 3pm-4pm, starting 12/18
• Song of the Soul (syndicated) will be Wednesdays 2pm-3pm, starting 12/16/09
• Special Programs moved to Wednesdays 3pm-4pm

Newly Approved Shows

Earlobe Heist (Music, eclectic)—Beth Jezyk—Tuesdays 9pm-11pm
alternating with Catseye Soup—started 12/16/09

Doodlebug Junction (Music, eclectic)—Saturdays 6pm-8pm, starting 12/12

New Show Proposals

A Meditative Moment (Education & Social Issues)—guided Kundalini yoga
& meditation—Sia Antunes Blaser. Proposing a half-hour for now, maybe
an hour later. Preferences are Mon-Thurs 6:30-8am, Tues. 5pm-6pm,
9pm-10pm. We like it, she needs training, etc. before we assign her a
slot, Don will contact her

Psychotic Painter (Music)—rock/vinyl—Jeff Kielbasa, former VFR
programmer, wants Sundays 8pm which is not currently available,
otherwise looks good, Matt will talk to him about times

Radio Haze (Music)—local/new—Mike Dejesus, wants Saturdays 4pm-6pm;
looks good, needs training; Matt will talk to him

Yard Style Show (Music)—relaxing reggae—Preacha, his 2nd show, wants
Fridays 9pm-11pm. OK! Start date 12/11

New Programmer Requirements

New reqs passed by the Board—4 hours per month labor, meeting hours
count. New show programmers expected to be part of Work Sundays first
Sunday of the month unless they’re doing 4 hours of already-approved
work (meetings are considered approved work) Programmers need to be
notified. They can talk to Bob Gardner for ideas for work.

Quarterly Compliance Check

Bob Gardner says there will be proposal at next Board meeting that new
shows be allowed to start only 4 times per year, i.e. quarterly, to
make the quarterly new show compliance check easier; Committee
expressed concerns that this would unduly restrict new shows from
starting

Liasons need to check on the programmers in their collective and make
sure they understand what they need to do (report hours and pay dues),
when they need to do it (before their next compliance check by the
Board), and what the consequences are of not doing it—i.e., losing
their show.

New Committee Chair

Keely is stepping down as chair for maternity leave, we need new chair/
co-chair. No one volunteered. Will put on agenda of next Membership
meeting, need new chair by January.

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Next Meeting: Monday, 1/13/10, at the station

Present: Keely Malone (Chair), Jacqueline Maidana (Arts&Culture), Don Persons (Education&Social Issues), Bob Gardner (Board liason), Johanna Halbeisen (Music), Joel Saxe (News & Politics), Matt Alvey (Music)

Facilitated by Keely, Notes by Don

Schedule Changes

–Vital Health moved from Mondays 11am-11:30am, to Mondays 11:30am-12noon, to make room for an 1 ½ hour slot before, rather than hour before and half-hour after; show will start

–Valley Tango will be Wednesdays 12noon-2pm, show is starting 1/6/10

–Spirit In Action (syndicated) will be Fridays 3pm-4pm, starting 12/18

–Song of the Soul (syndicated) will be Wednesdays 2pm-3pm, starting 12/16/09

–Special Programs moved to Wednesdays 3pm-4pm

Newly Approved Shows

Earlobe Heist (Music, eclectic)—Beth Jezyk—Tuesdays 9pm-11pm alternating with Catseye Soup—started 12/16/09

Doodlebug Junction (Music, eclectic)—Saturdays 6pm-8pm, starting 12/12

New Show Proposals

A Meditative Moment (Education & Social Issues)—guided Kundalini yoga & meditation—Sia Antunes Blaser. Proposing a half-hour for now, maybe an hour later. Preferences are Mon-Thurs 6:30-8am, Tues. 5pm-6pm, 9pm-10pm. We like it, she needs training, etc. before we assign her a slot, Don will contact her

Psychotic Painter (Music)—rock/vinyl—Jeff Kielbasa, former VFR programmer, wants Sundays 8pm which is not currently available, otherwise looks good, Matt will talk to him about times

Radio Haze (Music)—local/new—Mike Dejesus, wants Saturdays 4pm-6pm; looks good, needs training; Matt will talk to him

Yard Style Show (Music)—relaxing reggae—Preacha, his 2^nd show, wants Fridays 9pm-11pm. OK! Start date 12/11

New Programmer Requirements

New reqs passed by the Board—4 hours per month labor, meeting hours count. New show programmers expected to be part of Work Sundays first Sunday of the month unless they’re doing 4 hours of already-approved work  (meetings are considered approved work) Programmers need to be notified. They can talk to Bob Gardner for ideas for work.

Quarterly Compliance Check

Bob Gardner says there will be proposal at next Board meeting that new shows be allowed to start only 4 times per year, i.e. quarterly, to make the quarterly new show compliance check easier; Committee expressed concerns that this would unduly restrict new shows from starting

Liasons need to check on the programmers in their collective and make sure they understand what they need to do (report hours and pay dues), when they need to do it (before their next compliance check by the Board), and what the consequences are of not doing it—i.e., losing their show.

New Committee Chair

Keely is stepping down as chair for maternity leave, we need new chair/co-chair. No one volunteered. Will put on agenda of next Membership meeting, need new chair by January.

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1] STL setup:  has been up and running since yesterday.  So far so good.  VFR and the board formally thank Bob Gutowski for his donation of new equipment and his work on  VFR’s behalf.  This new STL is not a change that requires approval or licensing, as it is essentially the same as before [in the industry our connect is not a true STL, but a data link].  New automation computer with new software has also been brought online [yea Andy!].  Training of station managers in new setup will be necessary.

2] Tech team setup: new committee approved.  Andy Sewell has agreed to be the tech team coordinator.  Outreach to involve new members will happen.  Tasks: checkups, documentation, looking at cooling of studios.

3] Meeting Space: the MEF space has become inaccessible due to a new carpet, which is “outgasing”   We will be meeting in alternative spaces for the interim.  The next meeting is at Friends Meeting House on Center Street in Northampton.  [January 2010 meeting]

4] Underwriting Expansion:  meeting during Work Sunday December 6^th at 2:00 PM at station to formulate the procedures, prices structure, programmer role.  Andy will send out materials to board and interested parties.

5] Admin Duties: we will pursue underwriting for experienced trade help. Problem is that a small number of people doing such a large workload, and the potential for burnout.  Tasks being done by our overworked volunteers:

Bookkeeping, tracking pledges, filings with IRS, State of Massachusetts, the license transfer,

One solutions is using underwriting to barter for services.  We always need legal help….maybe we can find an attorney who would provide services in exchange for underwriting.  This will be pursued by Underwriting Committee.

6] Station Manager goal:  we discussed what our pool of resources would be in order to launch into part-time paid staff.  People were comfortable with  $25,000- 30,000 in the bank.

7] Quarterly compliance checkup [all shows]:  first review period—Oct  thru Dec, Shows will be reviewed at January meeting.

8] New Show Approvals:  the shows begun this quarter will be considered next meeting.

Known shows up for review:  Earlobe Heist, Popular Influence, Think Metal, Channeling the Muse, and Vital Health.

9] Visiting other LPFMs: there was broad interest in visiting a few other Low Power FM station.  Mentioned were the Bellows Falls, VT station (WOOL), and the Greenfield, MA station .

Adjourned 9:05 PM,  notes by B Gardner

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STL Crash:  problem outlined.  Bob Gutowski will be researching a “real” STL.

Ed will talk to Dave Russell about coming in to access the STL computers on both

ends.  Whoever works on the computer needs to pickup computer from Bob Gutowski.

Need to find someone who has passwords, or can access otherwise.

Part-Time Station Manager Proposal: postponed till future time.

Underwriting Expansion: approved as written.  Please contact the board if interested in working on this.   Further details will need to be worked out by board.  Possibility of

a paid sales person raised.  The first Sunday in February will be a underwriting “Work Sunday” –brainstorming and maybe calling potential stores/businesses.   The Board will flesh out details of program by that time.

Language:

• All shows are eligible for underwriting;
• Businesses, as well as cooperative and non-profit entities, are eligible to underwrite shows, provided that: they are not large corporations, and/or state, regional or national chains;
• Small businesses may also be excluded for: poor labor, environmental or discriminatory practices, as determined by the Board of Directors in executive session.

Trial Period for New Show: approved.  Liasons are asked to notify the Board of each show’s first day on air, and the programming committee is asked to make recommendations for the three month review.

Language:

• All new show approvals are provisional;
• Each new show will need approval by Board of Directors for continuation past three months.
• The Board shall evaluate new shows for volunteer work compliance, meeting attendance, dues payment, programming rules and procedures;
• All new shows are by default referred to Work Sunday [first Sunday of every month, except for holiday weekends] as a beginning place for work;
• The programming committee shall notify the board of provisional approval of new shows, including start date, and shall notify the board of any programming issues that arise during the trial period;

New Member Definition: initially presented; to be debated and voted on next general meeting.  Arjuna offered a suggestion that members who do not come to meetings still stay attuned by reading and participating in listerserve, and other modes of engagement.

Language:

A member of Valley Free Radio shall perform four hours of documented work per month and shall have paid all required member dues, as approved annually.  Work shall include meeting attendance.  Voting rights will accrue to a member in the next following month of work performed and reported, and dues paid.   There shall be no separate requirements for volunteer members or programmer members.

Notes: currently there are three programmer- member requirements—a volunteer work requirement, a meeting requirement, and a dues requirement.  This proposal merges the first two.  Currently a volunteer member only need attend one meeting/month  and pay dues to vote.

Quarterly General Membership Meeting: idea presented; to be fully debated and voted on next month.  Language:

In order to encourage meaningful participation, General Membership meeting shall be held quarterly.  A significant part of each gathering should be food, refreshment, entertainment or other cultural activities.  Also, major proposal will be discussed.

2009-10 Annual Member Dues: $25/year approved for 2010.  Members should make payment by December 31st.  Scholarships available.

Submitted by Bob Gardner, 11/19/09

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Next Meeting will be Wednesday December 9th from 6-8pm at VFR

Scheduling Updates

• Antidote Radio – Katherine is thinking of changing her time. Only other weeknight slot available would be Friday from 7-9pm, which we will offer her.
• The syndicated show Media Matters will be replayed at noon on Wednesdays
• Ed Russell’s show Active Ingredients will be repeating on Sundays from 8-9:30am
• The syndicated T.U.C. will be aired Mondays from 8:30-9pm

New Show Proposals

• Think Metal is going to air on Thursday’s from 3-5pm
• Doodlebug Junction (Tom Dietner) programmer has paid membership dues and been trained. Does he need to sit in on existing shows? Wants evening slot from 7-9pm. We are offering him Sunday from 7-9pm.
• Popular Influence (Allen Watts, Max Pearl) electronic and dance music, wants Thursday from 9-11am. Music liaison should check to see if they have been trained.
• Valley Tango was previously produced on VFR by Jacqueline Maidana who wants to return with the show. We can give her Wednesday from 10am-noon slot. Wants to be (re)trained, will be put in touch with Tony Udell. Otherwise approved.
• Folk to Funk, Rock to Rag (Beth Jezyk) Music liaison will be asked to talk to her about available times.
• Bob Gardner suggests we air the syndicated Woodsong Old Time Radio Hour on either Sunday from 1-2pm or Friday evening from 7-8pm if Antidote Radio does not move to that time.
• All Acoustic by Steve Cutting. Keely will talk to Steve about available times after Antidote Radio and Doodlebug have been assigned times. Steve’s preferences in order of choice are Sun 7-9pm, Friday from 9-11pm, and Saturday from 6-8pm.

Deadline for Pay to Play payments was November 1st. Vibrant Living, At Home with Sidra and Tommy Twilight need to pay before they go on the air again.

The Arts & Culture Collective is down to four shows. Jacqueline Maidana is going to take over as liaison. Keely will get the collective’s contact info to her.

Show Reviews: Bob Gardner requests that all new shows be reviewed after three months. Programmers are urged to update their volunteers and meeting attendance monthly. All forms are available on Programmer Documents Page. All programmers should be on the VFR announcements email list as well, available on same page.

New Volunteer Jobs Needed: Broadcast Schedule Bulletin Board at station needs updating, also programmer contact information (database?) needs updating.

Derek Goodwin will be leaving for the winter, will syndicate Vegan Radio while he is gone. Education and Social Issues Collective will have a meeting to elect a new liaison.

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Correction to last meeting’s (10/9) minutes: Vital Health was not denied, there was confusion of show names, Vital Health and Vibrant Living are separate shows with separate DJs; rather, Vibrant Living (Glen Brooks) was conditionally denied due to lack of meeting attendance and volunteer hours.

Show Re-Applications

• Vibrant Living Glenn Brooks has contacted his collective liason Derek and scheduled a meeting for Monday 10/26, says he plans to do fundraising. Derek will report on results of meeting. No consensus in the Committee on this show, show is Approved on a 3-1 vote.
• Another Perspective will be notified by his collective liason (Don) that his reapplication was denied by the Board so his show is off the schedule as of 11/1.
• Word, Sound & Power attended meetings and performed volunteer hours, Approved by consensus.
• Inside The Urban Bottom Line Denied by consensus due to no meetings or volunteer hours, Keely will notify him and encourage him to apply for Pay to Play.
• Hilltown Family Variety there was a miscommunication over volunteer hours, she has been doing some, meeting requirement waived and Approved on a 3-1 vote.
• Beat Clinicliason says he’s been going to meetings, Approved by consensus.
• Valley Melting Pot still in trial period, no decision made yet
• Mass Appeal Denied by consensus due to lack of meetings and volunteer hours, Music Collective liason should notify him his show is off the schedule as of 11/1
• At Home With Sidra she emailed saying she was discontinuing the show until next Spring, realizes she may lose her time slot and will deal with that, says she’ll happily participate in fundraising drive

New Show Applications

• The Booth, Think Metal and String Theory (3 diff. Music shows)—already Approved, waiting for scheduling preference info from Charles Marchand on these
• The Ability Dialogues Amma K. Hruby. Education & Social Issues. Already preliminarily approved, has not responded to liason (Don), phone number is now disconnected, no email, if anyone knows how to get ahold of her let Don know, otherwise he’ll send a postcard to her Easthampton address inquiring whether she’s still interested and what times she’s interested in.
• Vital Health Mindy Palmer-Fried. Education & Social Issues. Returning show, planning to attend refresher training, liaisons informed her of programmer requirements. Approved for trial period by consensus contingent on paying dues. Assigned Mondays 11am-11:30am slot by request, beginning 11/2. Don will notify her.
• Channeling The Muse Opeyemi Parham aka The Feral Physician. Education & Social Issues. Syndicated show produced at the public station in Greenfield. Approved by consensus, assigned Sundays 6pm-7pm by request, beginning 11/1. Don will check with Fidel re getting her show on automation.
• Dipen Bhetwal waiting for Charles on this one

Tags: Collectives, Latest Station News, Meetings, Minutes, Programming

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Strong Oak has left the station and won’t be doing her shows anymore

SHOW REVIEWS

APPROVED:

Melting Pot – new show, has been in contact with liaison about missing show. On a 3 month trial period. Still approved.

• Mo Radio
• Poison Ivy of the Mind
• Vegan Radio
• Mass Transition

NEED TO FULFILL REQUIREMENTS to gain approval:

(offer people who are missing volunteer hours to sign up for 4 hrs during fund raising week)

• Word, Sound Power – no recorded volunteer hours, attended last board meeting.
• Another Perspective – came to work day, needs meeting, Social Issues & Education collective liaisons will contact
• Words of Peace – Programmer was asked in the past to feature other voices than the one person the show features. She agreed but has not done so yet. Keeley has agreed to talk to her. The options that we will offer are either for her to feature more voices including some local, or syndicate show and we will decide time slot it gets aired.
• Urban Bottom Line – problem with ability to attend meetings. Matt will contact about volunteering during fundraising.
• Beat Clinic – Matt will call about meetings

DENIED:

• Mass Appeal – no volunteer hours, no meetings, no member dues
• SJ Mack is not re-applying
• Vital Health – no hours or meetings, Liaison will encourage them to do “Pay 2 Play”
• Mornings with Marla BB – reapplied for a new show, wants to do 1 Monday a month during a prime morning slot. Has not fulfilled volunteer hours or meeting requirements. Needs to fill out a new application if she wants a new show, and we advise that one Monday a month during a prime time slot is unlikely to get approved.

APPLYING FOR PAY 2 PLAY

• Twilight’s Poetry Pub
• At Home with Sidra
• Music of Flywheel

SHOWS THAT ARE NO LONGER ON THE AIR

• Soul Alive (Sun 12-6 am)
• Sings in the Night (Sun 8-10am)
• Mass Appeal (Sun 6-8pm)
• Beats, Breaks and Baseball (Sun 10-12pm)
• His Majesty’s Voice (Mon midnight-3am)
• Parapolitics (Mon 8-9am)
• TBA (Mon 9-10am)
• Colony Collapse (Mon 10am-noon)
• Rock, Folk & Press (Tues 2-4pm) (moving to Thurs 2-4pm)
• Parenting Possibilities (weds noon-1pm)
• Americana Shack B (weds 2-4pm)
• Marla BB (thurs 9:30-11:30am)
• Creation Discotheque (thurs 4-5pm)
• Norman Invasion (Fri 10pm-midnight)
• Air Ted (sat midnight to 2am)
• Wolfgang’s Rock Buffet (sat 4-5pm)
• Youth Commission (sat 5-6pm)

Tags: Collectives, Latest Station News, Minutes, Programming

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Meeting began at 7:05 PM

Attending: Andy Sewell, Ed Russell, Arjuna Greist, Bob Gardner, Dana Prescott, Charles Merchand, Courtney Whitely (Preecha), Rikk Desgres, Tony Udell, Steve Cutting, Joel Saxe

Announcements: The Vote to renew the membership dues was pushed to the next GM – Wednesday, November 18.

AMENDMENT TO BYLAWS (amending number of board members require for Board of Directors) vote:

After discussion to change the proposed amendment language for clarity and to foster more participation; a vote was held to amend the bylaws:

“The size of the board shall be no less than five (5) and no more than nine (9) members.”

VOTE: 9 for; 1 opposed; 1 abstained – amendment passed.

Annual Board Election for new Board of Directors (serving beginning November 2009).

Candidates with submitted desire to serve: Bob Gardner; Steve Cutting; Steve Curylo; Tony Udell; Arjuna Greist

No additional persons at the meeting voiced desire to run.

**Reminder that a nominated person, including write-ins, must receive a minimum of 5 votes to obtain a board seat. All nominees receiving 5 or more votes will obtain a Board seat, if one is available. Board seats are based on plurality, meaning the person with the highest number of votes is appointed to the first available seat, then the next highest number of votes, until all seats are filled, or until no more nominees receiving 5 or more votes are left. **

Two Board members from the last Board who have a year left to serve are remaining on the Board (Tony Shannon and Katherine Reason). Due to the above passed Bylaw amendment, setting the board size to no less than 5; no more than 9, there are no less than 3, no more than 7 board seats available.

Voting Results (listed by highest number of votes obtained):

1. Bob Gardner (11)
2. Tony Udell (10)
3. Arjuna Greist (9)
4. Steve Cutting (8)
5. Steve Curylo (8)
6. Ed Russell (write-in) – Less than 5
7. Joel Saxe (write-in) – Less than 5

The Board of Directors of Valley Free Radio, as of November 1, 2009 is:

Tony Shannon, Katherine Reason, Bob Gardner, Tony Udell, Arjuna Greist, Steve Cutting, Steve Curylo. The first Board Meeting will be Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 7 pm at MEF. Board positions (co-chairs, clerk, other roles) to be determined at that meeting.

For ease of transition, both new board members and the most recent years’ board members will be on the board mailing list (board@valleyfreeradio.org). Board members leaving the board as of November 1 will be removed on November 1.

Congratulations to the new board members.

Pledge Week discussion

A discussion of the upcoming pledge week (Sunday, October 24 – Saturday, October 31) was initiated. There was scheduled to be more organizational meetings, but who was organizing, attending, and at what location was not clear. It was believed that an organizational meeting would be held Thursday, October 22 at 4.30 pm at the station – but that was not confirmed.

Among the items discussed, a few key items were determined:

• An option for processing Credit Cards would be obtained.
• Any premium offered to listeners making donations must be provided by and delivered by the programmer offering the premium.
• Programmers are not required to do non-stop promoting the fund drive during their slot time, but as much as possible to encourage listeners to either call in or pledge online.
• Volunteers to be a Day Captain for each of the 7 days of the pledge drive would be helpful in encouraging programmers to be in the station to help raise funds (more details below).
• The Voice Mail of the office line and the Automation Computer should be adjusted during the entire week to help promote the Pledge Drive.
• A Special Web Page on valleyfreeradio.org should be developed for the Pledge Drive.
• A Pledge Week goal of $7,000 was suggested (more details below).

Bob Gardner displayed a chart that broke down each day into 4 slots and asked people to volunteer to be present during the times to be on-air to promote the Pledge Drive. The time slots were: 8 am to Noon; Noon to 4 pm; 4 pm to 7 pm; and 7 pm to 11 pm. PLEASE CHECK THE CHART IN THE STATION TO SIGN UP FOR A SHIFT – MANY SHIFTS WERE CLAIMED AT THE GM, HOWEVER MANY MORE ARE OPEN.

Day Captains are responsible for getting volunteer programmers to fill in the slots for their day. They will also be responsible for getting all Pledge Information at the end of the day.

The Following people agreed to be Day Captains:

• Sunday (still Open)
• Monday (Arjuna Greist)
• Tuesday (Steve Cutting)
• Wednesday (Andy Sewell)
• Thursday (Tony Udell)
• Friday (Still Open)
• Saturday (Bob Gardner)

Since the Pledge Goal is $7,000 – each day goal is $1,000 and each slot goal is $250.

The Pledge Drive will end at Midnight, Saturday, October 31.

Door Code Change

The door code will be changed for both the outside building door and the station door effective Midnight, Saturday, October 31. The new door code will be provided to the Programming Committee, the Collective Liaisons, the Board and the Trainers. Programmers should receive the new door code from their liaisons on Sunday, November 1.

November Training / Work Day

Sunday, November 1 is the monthly Open House, Work Day and Training Day. All programmers are encouraged to attend.

Budget Discussion

Bob Gardner circulated a basic budget example to open discussion.

The discussion covered various avenues of income including the pledge drive (an possibly two such drives a year); expansion of underwriting; grants; the Pay-to-Play programmer option; and membership dues.

If all lines of income were developed well, it may open the feasibility to provide a small salary for a half-time station manager who would take on some daily duties as well as serve as a center point for station activity and communication.

Much discussion was had about this idea; but in general it was agreed that a center person would be a great step for the station and would address many of the ongoing issues in the station and the VFR community including training, equipment health, community awareness, station organization and many other areas.

The meeting was adjourned at 9 pm.

Tags: Latest Station News, Meetings, Minutes, vfr

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Board Attending: A. Sewell; T. Shannon; B. Harvey; K. Reason

Others Attending: T. Udell; B. Gardner; B. Gutowski; D. Prescott; E. Nash; C. Whitely (Preacha); A. Watts; S. Cutting

Meeting started at 7:04 pm with Introductions

Mayoral Debate Update

VFR in connection with NCTV is hosting a Northampton Mayoral Debate on Tuesday, October 13 at 7 pm in the Northampton High School Auditorium. The Panelists have been announced as Bill Scher, Natalia Munoz, and Neal McKenna-Donnelly. David Pakman will be the moderator. There is still opportunity for VFR folks to volunteer with this event either with flyering or at the event. Please visit http://www.valleyfreeradio.org/2009mayoraldebate/ for information about the event and to get involved, email mayoraldebate@valleyfreeradio.org

Volunteer Offering for VFR at Station

Eric Nash discussed an opportunity that has come to VFR for a worker to be provided via a state program for Senior Citizens. A person would be provided for about 20 hours a week to do clerical or other tasks as needed. The program pays the worker and no money is required of VFR. The person has volunteered with VFR in the past as a programmer and has good general knowledge of how things work. Members of the Board have signed the paperwork to get things moving but, if approved, the worker would not start until approved by the agency.

VFR Board Size Amendment to the ByLaws

Andy Sewell announced that at the beginning of the next General Membership meeting (Wednesday, October 21 at MEF) there would be a vote to amend the bylaws to change the number of Board members to 5 (from 9). Only VFR members in good standing, in attendance at the GM meeting can vote.

VFR Board Nominations

To date, 4 persons have stated they are interested in running for the Board of VFR; two current Board members will be staying on the Board (T. Shannon and K. Reason). Anyone (VFR member or not) can run for the Board by emailing: nominations@valleyfreeradio.org – nominees will be announced prior to the GM (Wednesday, October 21), however, persons can nominate themselves at the GM. Only VFR members in good standing, in attendance at the GM meeting can vote.

Grants for VFR

Bush-I asked if VFR would support him to apply for the Northampton Arts Council’s annual grant due October 15, 2009. Andy Sewell mentioned that NAC’s rules do not allow for consecutive grant awards, and since VFR received the award last year for the Memorial Day event in Pulaski Park, we would not be able to apply this year; however other grant opportunities are encouraged.

Fundraising Week (Sunday, October 25th – Saturday, October 31)

With the passing of the reapplication process, it has been agreed that the week before the new schedule, will be a week without normal programming, but with on-air fundraising. It was discussed that programmers could come in for their show and instead of doing their normal show, doing a fundraising show where a majority of the time is spent encouraging listeners to donate to the station. It was discussed that a printed schedule where VFR programmers could come to the station during hours other than their show to help fundraise (either helping the programmer already on the air at that time, or taking the station off automation to do live on-air fundraising). The automation computer will be programmed with fundraising announcements.

It was discussed that a group of people should get together to help plan this and provide programmers with materials and encouragement to help raise money during that week.

Bob Gardner volunteered to create a paper schedule people could sign up on to indicate times they can come in during the on air fund drive. Tony Udell volunteered to help organize as well.

Program Renewals

*** PLEASE NOTE *** Since the Programming Committee has not met for its final review (scheduled for this Friday, 2 pm at Cafe Evolution in Florence), the below comments from the Board are subject to the Programming Committee’s evaluation. As per the adopted process of Program Renewals, each program is required to be approved from BOTH the Board and the Programming committee.

Shows Approved

• Music of the Flywheel
• Active Ingredients
• Jah Love Music (Dan Rosen)
• At Home With Sidra (applied for Pay to Play, so review not necessary)
• Connecting the Notes
• Red Pill Politics
• Birth, School, Work, Death
• Cacophy Broadcast Network
• Word Sound Power
• Mo Radio
• Poison Ivy of the Mind
• Seeing Red Radio
• Underground Spiritual Game
• Mass Transition
• Vegan Radio
• Jah Love Musik in the Global Village (Bush-I)

Shows Conditionally Approved (requirements listed in parenthesis)

• Bread & Roses (all show personnel required to pay $25 fee)
• Mass Appeal (please pay $25 fee)

Shows denied renewal

• Air Ted (lack of meetings required; lack of volunteer hours required; encouraged to apply for Pay to Play)
• Valley Melting Pot (lack of meetings required; lack of volunteer hours required; encouraged to re-apply or to apply for Pay to Play)
• Inside the Urban Bottom Line (no fee; lack of meetings required; lack of volunteer hours required; encouraged to apply for Pay to Play)
• Another Perspective (encouraged to apply for Pay to Play)
• Words of Peace (lack of volunteer hours; lack of meetings; programming to review if this show is to be considered syndicated as it is not produced locally and has never had a live show)
• Vibrant Living (encouraged to apply for Pay to Play)
• Mornings with Marla (formerly Marla BB’s Blues) (lack of meetings required; lack of volunteer hours required)

To apply for Pay to Play, please visit: http://www.valleyfreeradio.org/resources/programmer-documents/

Read the material under ‘VFR Pay to Play Application’ and click the title to apply.

Meeting Adjourned at 9:10 pm

Tags: Board of Directors, Latest Station News, Meetings, Minutes, vfr

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next meeting (final show re-application decisions): Oct 9th at 2pm at Cafe Evolution

This is the 2nd consecutive meeting in which we review programmer re-application proposals. We did not assign any show time slots, only approval or denial of show proposals. Although we did give yes or no verdicts to each application, there is still time left for programmers to fulfill station requirements in order for their show to be approved or denied for the next year. Shows below are categorized by the verdict and the requirements that need to be completed for the final approval of each show. Also note that these are just the Programming Committee recommendations to the board, who will make the final decisions.

SHOWS THAT WERE APPROVED (Volunteer hours and Meeting Quota Met):

• Bread and Roses (News & Politics)
• Music of the Flywheel (Music)
• Connecting the Notes (Music)
• Birth, School, Work, Death (Music)
• Cacophony Broadcast Network (Music)

SHOWS THAT WERE (Temporarily) NOT APPROVED (Need to fulfill Meeting Attendance Quota): Collectives are encouraged to have meetings at time in which their programmers can attend to get their meeting requirements. Programmers who are having trouble fulfilling their meeting requirement should contact the liaison of their collective.

• Jahlove Music (Music)
• At Home with Sidra (Education & Social Issues) – (there was some discussion about meeting requirements for at-home parents, but the requirement stands for now)
• Red Pill Politics

SHOWS THAT WERE (Temporarily??) DENIED

• Air Ted – no meetings attended, no volunteer hours

NEW PROGRAM PROPOSALS (time slots pending upcoming schedule makeover)

• Spirit in Action & Song of the Soul, 2 syndicated programs that are Quaker based, proposed by Johanna Halbeiseu. Approved.
• Vital Health Radio weekly 1/2 hour covering health news. Approved.
• Dipen Bhetwal (music show) apparently applying from Pakistan, might be spam, Charles Marchand is going to attempt to contact.
• The Booth (Steve Guzman) music, hip hop, rap. Approved.
• Think Metal (Chris Elliot) Approved.
• The Feral Physician Opeyemi Parham – holistic health program. Question about wether she wants to do show live or rebroadcast the show she produces in Greenfield. Approved
• String Theory (music) Approved.
• Vital Health – wants to come back, her show name is possibly still in use by Glen (Ayers?), who took the original show over when she left.

REPROGRAMMING

• Ed Russell brought a proposal to re-broadcast Active Ingredients on Sunday mornings at 8am, a slot that is currently open. This sparked a discussion about the merits or playing shows more than once per week rather than the automation music. We tended to agree that it would be beneficial to the station. One idea was to have each collective responsible for a certain number of hours that would be available for rebroadcasting their shows. We decided to defer discussions and decisions to a future meeting, seeing as our hands are currently full with programming re-applications.

OTHER BUSINESS

• Don Persons is in dialogue with Amma Lovejoy about her show proposal
• Megha is leaving for 6 months, her program will not be airing
• Youth Commission is out of Mayor’s office, the students from last year have graduated. Decision to wait for Mayoral elections to find out if the new Mayor will want to continue the program.
• We discussed ‘product endorsement’ issues brought up by discussion of local chocolates on the ‘Voice of Reason’. Decided that in this instance it was not out of line with station guidelines, since it was about lifestyle issues related to the DJs chemical sensitivities.

Tags: Collectives, Latest Station News, Minutes, Programming, vfr

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Attending: Shawn Smith; Rikk Desgres; Tony Shannon; Andy Sewell; Dana Prescott; Bob Gardner; Ed Russell; Jose Tolson; Steve Cutting; Leonor Bryck; Bob Gutowski; Don Parsons; Tommy Twilight; Steve Curylo; Chris Elliott

7:04 pm Introductions

Announcements:

Mayoral Debate – update

Pay to Play Proposal (originally proposed at August GM):

It is proposed that:

• A show that is currently on the air may elect to become a pay-to-play show, if slots are available.
• Only ten slots are available at one time.
• Payment is required in advance quarterly.
• The fee for the year beginning November 1, 2009 is $100 per quarter.
• There will be no scholarships for pay to play.

Bob Gardner – for shows who can not meet the requirements (meetings; volunteer hours), programmers could pay a quarterly fee (suggested $100). These programmers would not have voting rights. A limit of ten such programs would be allowed in order to preserve VFR programming to mostly participating member-programmers.

Questions: would this be perpetual? How do we guard against programming contrary to the station being paid for?

There was a general suggestion to raise the fee if fewer of people want to participate in this; keep it if there is a lot of interest.

Lenor discussed that this could be used simply as fundraising as opposed to a way to value volunteer or meeting time others put in.

Tommy discussed that, in his case, it would make sense because in his life, it is not always easy to commit to meetings and volunteer hours.

Clarifications were requested that the proposal defines who administers this policy (bookkeeper/treasurer). Clarify if this would be per show (yes – not per programmer).

Voted: all for; none against. THIS POLICY THUS BECOMES EFFECTIVE Nov 1.

Part-Time Paid Station Manager Proposal (first discussion):

Bob Gardner read proposal.

It is proposed that:

• A half time paid station manager be hired;
• The wage, benefits and terms of employment to be set by the Board
• The duties of the station manager would include: volunteer coordination, fundraising [including grantwriting], technical support, training, general administrative duties, intern coordination, and other tasks designated by the Board of Directors.
• The schedule of station manager should attempt to provide coverage during some of station critical hours during the week and/or weekend, and should provide some staffing at least five days of the week.
• Station Manager will be answerable to Board of Directors, and will be available and present at Board meetings and meetings of general membership.
• The job search for station manager position shall be both internal and external to station, and fairly provide opportunity to all.
• A major fund drive should commence on approval of this plan.

The general discussion was that this culture shift (having someone regularly at the station) would be great, but a lot of details need to be discussed. It was agreed to continue the discussion at the October GM.

Trial Period for New shows:

Bob Gardner read proposal for discussion purposes.

It is proposed:

• All new show approvals are provisional;
• Each new show will need approval by Board of Directors for continuation past three months.
• The Board shall evaluate new shows for volunteer work compliance, meeting attendance, dues payment, programming rules and procedures;
• All new shows are by default referred to Work Sunday [first Sunday of every month, except for holiday weekends] as a beginning place for work;
• The programming committee shall notify the board of provisional approval of new shows, including start date, and shall notify the board of any programming issues that arise during the trial period;
• This policy will not apply to shows already approved

Underwriting Expansion:

Bob Gardner read proposal and discussed differences with current Underwriting Policy.

It is proposed that:

• All shows are eligible for underwriting;
• Businesses, as well as cooperative and non-profit entities, are eligible to underwrite shows, provided that: they are not large corporations, and/or state, regional or national chains;
• Small businesses may also be excluded for: poor labor, environmental or discriminatory practices, as determined by the Board of Directors in executive session.

Reducing Size of Board [by-law amendment proposal]

Bob Gardner read proposal.

It is proposed that:

• The size of board shall be reduced from current nine to five members;

This will be voted on at the next GM.

Who Pays Membership Fee?

Tony read policy as passed last November. All VFR participants are required to pay fee. The general consensus was that the policy was intended to cast a wide net.

The next GM – vote to renew Annual Membership Fee.

Recording of Shows:

Jose introduced the discussion.

Although some programmers have come up with some of their own solutions; there was discussion that the station should provide some solution. However, the discussion did cover if the station should be responsible to record all shows, or if the ability to record should simply be provided to programmers – and it would be their own responsibility to record shows.

The discussion also covered an ‘archive’ solution (where all shows are recorded automatically) – what liabilities if we were to record all shows all the time? If this solution was chosen, would Programmers have the option to NOT have their show recorded?

At this point, limitations on equipment, funds and time of able volunteers hinder a quick solution. The tech committee will be working towards this as best able.

Adjourned 9 pm.

POST NOTE: Interested in being on the VFR Board? – email nominations@valleyfreeradio.org

Tags: Latest Station News, Meetings, Minutes, vfr

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