Jan. 3, 2025
12:30 p.m.
via Zoom
Present: Bobbi Bowman; Paul Casalaspi (Vice President) Brian Colligan; Maria Everett (President); Craig Fifer; Richard Gard; Chris Gatewood; Stephen Hayes (Secretary); Joshua Heslinga; Reynolds Hutchins; Amanda Kastl; Isaiah Knight; Pat O’Bannon; Bruce Potter; Jeff South; Jay Speer; Steve Stewart; Chris Tyree. Megan Rhyne (executive director) was also present
Maria Everett called the meeting to order at 12:30, and introductions were made.
Jay Speer motioned to approve the minutes of the Sept. 26, 2024, meeting as submitted, Hutchins seconded, and the motion carried.
Rhyne presented reports on the endowment and the budget. The endowment reached its highest balance ever in November 2024. $17,750 has been drawn down so far this year into the operating budget. She is initiating transfer on a regular scheduled than as-needed. She shared a comparison with last year: dues are running slightly ahead of schedule, but expenses are up, mostly owing to higher salary and bonus, as well as travel for training sessions.
Everett presented a report from the Strategic Planning Committee, tipping her hat to Betsy Edwards for spearheading the conversation. The committee has discussed who VCOG is, what we do, why we do what we do and what would happen if we weren’t here. What do we want to become? The committee discussed strengths and weaknesses, noting that board engagement has recently improved. The committee discussed a possible rewrite of FOIA laws, as Pennsylvania did recently. The committee talked about threats to VCOG and open government, which unfortunately includes the FOIA Council that is heavily weighted in favor of government. Everett continued that the committee came up with three action words: promote, protect and improve. Discussions will continue.
Steve Stewart presented the Governance Committee. They discussed staying familiar with the bylaws, meeting frequency and a return to more in-person meetings. Board members should be encouraged to identify meeting sites in their areas. The committee discussed identifying future board members and seeking help from VAB for them to fill out their designated seats. Richard Gard encouraged the Governance Committee to look for future board members with marketing/fundraising experience.
Jeff South presented the Programming Committee report, noting that Rhyne is gearing up for more focused planning for the Annual Conference. The committee discussed topics, formats and possible speakers/panelists. He pointed board members to materials they can use to solicit sponsors for the event, including a request letter template. The committee challenged the board to commit to asking at least one organization for sponsorship. Rhyne updated the board on confirmed speakers and panels so far.
Chris Tyree presented the Tech Issues Committee report. The main topic of conversation for the committee was the website migration to WordPress. One idea was to create a style guide for the website, branding and other marketing materials. Rhyne gave an update that the website had to go live much sooner than anticipated because of an announcement by the current site management company, plus the webmaster’s new work obligations. Rhyne indicated she will need to look for a new webmaster, though now that we are on WordPress, she will be able to do more of the fixes and updates than she could on the old site.
Richard Gard presented the Legal/Litgation Committee report. He announced that Chris Gatewood agreed to be the vice chair of the committee. The committee discussed the update to the litigation policy. The group talked about assigning value to the criteria to get a directional sense of our involvement. The committee also discussed what it might mean for VCOG to get involved in litigation at the trial level, either as a party or as a “counsel” in district court. The committee discussed finding counsel who might help us and/or take cases from others. Josh Heslinga updated the board on the Minium litigation that VCOG has submitted a brief on.
Heslinga presented the Development Committee report. The committee discussed developing a strategy on pursuing more membership/donations from lawyers. The committee also discussed the fact that Rhyne is doing member management on old systems without many automation options. He suggested researching online contact management systems, which will require some kind of investment. He asked whether committees should collaborate or if a separate committee should be established. The committee also discussed whether the distinction between members and donors is still necessary. Tyree said he’d be willing to work on the issues identified by Heslinga.
Rhyne reviewed her activities, including that she’ll be using a new form to track inquiries to VCOG that will hopefully be helpful to others. Rhyne announced that recently graduated Peggy Standbury will be the 2025 legislative intern.
During the old/new business section of the meeting, Everett shared some thoughts on the FOIA Council and its 2025 agenda. She encouraged board membrs to show up for that agenda-setting meeting. Heslinga added that he’s been surprised at some of the ill-advised things local government says publicly about their desire to meet privately or withhold records. He suggested VCOG asking publicly who is misinforming.
Everett shared her disappointment (that she shared with the Council chair) that so many of the groups present during the workgroup meetings on fees were unwilling to endorse the final draft on the grounds that their groups hadn’t had a chance to review them.
Kastl shared that budget cuts and constraints may impact the fees charged for FOIA requests.
Craig Fifer suggested amending a bill that Del. Betsy Carr said she will carry about training of lawyers by the FOIA Council. He suggested amending the proposal to allow the FOIA Council to approve training by 3rd parties. Heslinga agreed.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 1:52 p.m.