Meeting Minutes

The Pit is waiving the room fee. We will be located in a separate banquet room.

Appetizers ordered: barbecue sliders, barbecue chicken skewers, and fried green tomatoes stuffed with pimento cheese.

Leo John offered to help-- he is making volunteer sheets

Wendy: Could we have a future mixer on a Saturday/Sunday so that the Charlotte folks can attend?

Peggy: Let's directly reach out to AAJA/UNITY folks in our newsrooms and on our membership list to make sure they know about the event
 
Chicago UNITY Update

Sue Stock, Ellen Sung, Theoden James (entertainment editor at Charlotte O), Priscilla Tsai (designer for Charlotte O), and Wendy Yang will be attend the convention and represent the NC chapter!

 Sue read an update from Ellen who is organizing the UNITY media access workshop on behalf of our chapter:
•       NC's responsibilities: printing of booklets, finding community groups to invite. Sacramento chapter will organize the panelists.
•       2 hour event: 1st hour will be a panel; 2nd hour to be announced
•       Conference call planned for June 16; workshop planning is in good shape
•       Sue will ask the N & O to print MAW booklets as an in-kind donation
   
UNITY Silent Auction:
•       Sue scored an autographed photo of Coach K!
•       Sue also landed a hat signed by the Carolina Hurricanes team
•       Renee will inquire about a Kristi Yamaguchi autograph
•       Meiling will contact UNC to get something from Coach Roy and the men's basketball team
 
Web site update
 
Ilin Chen has volunteered to be our webmaster! Thanks, Ilin! Sue has done a great job updating our website.
Sue put out a call for photos from past events: will ask Cathy K and Pailin
Renee suggested cutlines should be written for photos already on the website
 
Upcoming Events/Projects

Board Meeting/General membership meeting in August (July will be busy with the UNITY convention)

Meiling suggested a fundraiser that's been successful for other AAJA chapters: "Taste of Asia" event. Ask businesses/restaurants in the Triangle to donate food for people to sample; we charge an admission fee. Could hold it in a place like Moore Square or a venue that would have a lot of foot traffic.

Wendy brought up the possibility of a "Print Auction": ask newspaper photo editors to "donate" prints and invite public to bid on those items. Could be a one-day, weeklong, or monthlong event. An art gallery could showcase the photos. Sue suggested asking an entrepreneurial frame shop to mat the photos and offer discount for frames. Wendy said we could even set up the auction on a website and have people browse through the photos and bid on-line.

Board members will discuss both ideas in the future, agreeing the need to hold a fundraiser to replenish our coffers. It will likely be held in the fall.

Sue asked about whether the Charlotte folks would be interested in a MAW workshop. Wendy said she wasn't sure about that, saying there were only four members in Charlotte that are currently active. Board did express interest of having a social event in Charlotte sometime this year to reach out to Charlotte members.

Peggy will update the newsroom contacts list to distribute to past media access workshop participants. Too many changes in the newsroom; wanted to wait until the dust settled.

Meiling is starting an AAJA-NC scrapbook. Feels the chapter needs to better document our accomplishments. Wendy said Priscilla Tsai may be able to put together a scrapbook page about AAJA-NC members at UNITY '08.