Minutes are no longer posted to our Webpage. They are posted to our email lists ONly.
February 8, 2022
Present: Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns; Ilene Morales; Duane Tull; Kim Ward, Leslie Cotter, Ty Smeltekop
Meeting called to order at: 4:06 pm Pacific Time. Ilene Morales– Chair
Motion to approve LRC, HC, and CSC report. Motion carried
Agreement to approve all 3 reports.
Hospitality Committee (HC):
New (total: 4)
Connect – 2
World – 1
CI – 1
Found via: Search engine (1), friend (2), other website (1)
Deletes (total: 4)
CI – 2 (1 unsubscribe self)
Forum -1, unsubscribed self
World – 1
List Rep Committee (LRC):
January 2022 December 2021
LIST NUMBER of POSTS MEMBERS POSTS
CI 108 88 36
CONNECT 71 67 73
EXPLORE 108 74
FORUM 761 43 1154
VISTAS 101 30 84
WORLD 122 56 172
—
Convention Steering Committee (CSC)
Chair (Lorne Smith)
We’ve been busy arranging speakers and planning activities for the 2022 SayWhatClub convention Nashville. Watch for details to be announced in the coming weeks as they are confirmed. The convention will be held from Wednesday, Aug. 10 to Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Drury Plaza Hotel Nashville Downtown. Early-bird registration is $200 for an individual SWC subscriber or $300 for a couple. That rate is in effect until April 30, and includes the Wednesday evening Welcome Party, all Thursday and Friday workshops and the Saturday evening banquet.
Registration (Marty Wilson)
Convention registration opened in January. We have 9 people registered.
Co-Treasurers (Donna McNary, Kim Ward)
Our January convention income was $1,200. Currently there is $16,603.46 in our convention account.
Sponsorship (Lorne Smith)
Our Sponsorship Opportunities brochure has been updated with details of the 2022 convention and has been linked to the 2022 convention webpage. Rates are unchanged following a record year for sponsorships in 2021.
Website (Michele Linder, Lorne Smith)
The images on the main SWC Convention webpage and 2022 convention page have been updated to include our convention theme, Grand Ole Time in Tennessee. Registration, Hotel and Sponsorship links have been activated.
https://www.saywhatclub.org/sa
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
Notices were posted to SWC lists and social media platforms in January announcing the opening of registration for the Nashville con. We’ll be following up this month with several announcements about convention speakers and Nashville attractions.
Workshops (Mike and Shari Steele)
We have a keynote speaker, Meaghan Thomas, scheduled for Saturday night. We have Cynthia Moynihan as a speaker for one session. We are working on recruiting more speakers.
Hotel (Lorne Smith)
Hotel reservations are open at the Drury Plaza Hotel in downtown Nashville. Our group rate of $209 per night is effective from Monday, Aug. 8 to Tuesday, Aug. 16 subject to availability for those who want to extend their stay in Nashville. The room rate includes a daily hot breakfast and evening buffet featuring hot food and cold drinks.SayWhatClub BOD Meeting, Tuesday January 11, 2022
Present: Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns; Ilene Morales; Duane Tull; Kim Ward, Leslie Cotter. Apologies Ty Smeltekop
Meeting called to order at: 3:39pm Pacific Time. Ilene Morales– Chair
Motion to keep the same slate of board members / Officers for 2022. Ilene / Linda, Motion carried
Motion to approve Minutes from December meeting. Motion carried
Motion to approve quarterly Treasurer’s Report (Oct. Nov. Dec. 2021): Linda/Pat All approved
Motion to approve LRC, HC, and CSC report. Holding off on CSC report till all have read it. Duane Motion/Linda2nd Motion carried for HC and List Rep.
Update: 1/18/2022: CSC Report approved.
Hospitality Committee (HC):
New subscribers – 1
World – 1
CI – 1 (also joined World)
Found: other
Deletes – 5
Connect – 3
World – 2
CI – 1 (this delete was the same as one of the Connect subscribers)
List Rep Committee (LRC):
SWC December 2021 STATS NOV
LIST No. of POSTS MEMBERS POSTS
CI 41 77 36
CONNECT 77 65 73
EXPLORE 45
FORUM 1225 43 1154
VISTAS 190 30 84
WORLD 175 56 172
—
Convention Steering Committee (CSC)
Chair (Lorne Smith)
Registration is open for the 2022 SayWhatClub convention Nashville. The convention will be held from Wednesday, Aug. 10 to Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Drury Plaza Hotel Nashville Downtown. Early-bird registration is $200 for an individual SWC subscriber or $300 for a couple. That rate is in effect until April 30, and includes the Wednesday evening Welcome Party, all Thursday and Friday workshops and the Saturday evening banquet. New this year, attendees must provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. An exception can be made for anyone who is unable to be vaccinated. Any person receiving such an exception will be required to provide a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of arrival. Register now at our convention webpage:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2022-saywhatclub-convention/
Local chairs (Mike and Shari Steele)
We had a December 17th meeting to discuss on how to contact the convention speakers and what activities to plan. Cynthia Moynihan has a great list of speakers to contact. Our next step is to send a call for proposals to the potential speakers. We visited the Nashville Library equal access room where we met wonderful two librarians.
Sponsorship (Lorne Smith)
We’ve added two new members to our sponsorship subcommittee this year, giving us four in total. We plan to update our Sponsorship Opportunities brochure in the next month and forward it to past and potential sponsors. We’ve already had positive responses from two of our current sponsors. In addition, we plan to resurrect our SWC Love page, which allows SWCers to post message of love in our convention program book in return for a small fee.
Hotel (Lorne Smith)
Hotel reservations are open at the Drury Plaza Hotel in downtown Nashville. Our group rate of $209 per night is effective from Monday, Aug. 8 to Tuesday, Aug. 16 subject to availability for those who want to extend their stay in Nashville. The room rate includes a daily hot breakfast and evening buffet featuring hot food and cold drinks. There is also free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. Reserve your room now by using the red RESERVE HOTEL button on our convention webpage: https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2022-saywhatclub-convention/
Public Session Closed: 3:59pm
Executive Session opened:3:59pm
Meeting times: 7:30 for ET and 4:30 Pacific. Next Meeting February 8th
Executive Session Closed/Meeting adjoured: 4:58 pm Pacific time
SayWhatClub
***********************************************************************
SWC Board meeting december 14, 2021
Present: Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns; Ilene Morales; Duane Tull; Kim Ward, Apologies Ty Smeltekop, Leslie Cotter.
Meeting called to order at: 3:09pm Pacific Time. Ilene Morales– Chair
Motion to approve Minutes from November email meeting. Linda/Kim all approved.
Motion to approve LRC, HC, and CSC report. Linda-Motion/Kim-2nd Motion carried.
Hospitality Committee: (HC)
Here are the stats for Nov. 2021
New subscribers
Connect: 3
World: 1
Forum: 1
CI: 3 (joined as a secondary list)
Found via: Other (3), Facebook (1), Search (1)
******
Deletes
Connect: 4
Forum: 1
World: 2
CI: 4
Explore: 0
List Rep Committee (LRC):
SWC NOVEMBER 2021 STATS
LIST NUMBER of POSTS MEMBERS OCT POSTS
CI 36 90 71
CONNECT 73 67 63
EXPLORE 74 1O ?
FORUM 1154 45 959
VISTAS 84 30 55
WORLD 172 57 86
(No November Meeting)
SWC Bod October 12, 2021
Present: Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns; Ilene Morales; Duane Tull; Kim Ward, Ty Smeltekop. Leslie Cotter
Meeting called to order at: 3:06pm Pacific Time. Pat Dobbs – Chair
Treasurer’s Quarterly Report:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OlcL5dyLBfkzyP7CAiE5iyLxUmWNZvVUkNDWWd4g66A/edit?usp=sharing
3rd quarter treasury report explanation by Ilene.
Motion to approve treasurer report: Linda /Ty Motion carried.
Motion to approve LRC, HC, and CSC report. Linda-Motion/Kim-2nd Motion carried.
Hospitality Committee: (HC)
Newbies – 3
Forum – 1 (on another list)
World – 2
Found via search engine (1), other website (1)
Deletes – 10
Connect – 2
CI – 5 (1 asked to be removed)
Forum – 1 (self unsubscribed)
World – 2
May you all have a nice October.
Vicky
List Rep Committee (LRC):
SWC SEPTEMBER 2021 STATS AUGUST
>>
>> LIST NUMBER OF POSTS ACTIVE MEMBERS POSTS
>>
>> CI 53 93 148
>>
>> CONNECT 55 70 129
>>
>> EXPLORE 38 30
>>
>> FORUM 906 44 627
>>
>> VISTAS 40 30 100
>>
>> WORLD 197 57 161
Convention Steering Committee (CSC)
Congratulations to Marty Wilson on her election as the next chair of the Convention Steering Committee. Under committee procedures, Marty will train under me this year before her three-year term as chair begins next September.
In September we welcomed Cynthia Moynihan, Don Dippner and Nancy Fenstermaker to the committee, along with Nashville local hosts Mike Steele and Shari Steele. An updated list of committee members and their roles can be found under the Subscribers Page tab of the SWC website at the Be a Volunteer link.
Pat Kovac and I are working with Nashville-area residents Mike and Shari Steele and Cynthia Moynihan to review hotel bids to host our 2022 convention in the first or second week of August. We hope to have more information next month.
Lorne Smith
CSC Chair
SayWhatClub BOD Meeting Wednesday Sept 14, 2021
Present: Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns; Ilene Morales; Duane Tull; Kim Ward, Ty Smeltekop. Leslie Cotter / Apologies
Meeting called to order at: 3:06pm Pacific Time. Pat Dobbs – Chair
Motion to approve Final Convention Treasurer’s report / Linda -Motion 2nd – Ilene
Motion to approve LRC, HC, and CSC report. Linda-Motion/Kim-2nd
Hospitality Committee: (HC)
—New members – 12
Connect – 7
Forum – 2
World – 3
CI – 6 (3 also joined Connect; 1 also joined Forum; 1 also joined World)
Found via: search engine (4), friend (4), Facebook (2), other website (2)
Deletions – 2
World – 1
Forum – 1
List Rep Committee (LR):
SWC AUGUST 2021 STATS
LIST NUMBER of POST ACTIVE MEMBERS POSTS
CI 148 98 95
CONNECT 129 72 40
EXPLORE 30 54
FORUM 627 44 732
VISTAS 100 30 61
WORLD 161 57 69
CSC
Chair (Lorne Smith)
Thanks to everyone who made the 2021 SayWhatClub convention in Pittsburgh an amazing and memorable event, including our local host Angie Fuoco, whose energy and enthusiasm rubbed off on everyone and created a warm and welcoming environment for our first convention in two years.
We’re currently reviewing bids from hotels in Nashville to host our 2022 convention in the first or second week of August. We expect to visit selected hotels this fall before making a final decision on location and dates.
Registration (Marty Wilson)
We had 60 people attending, which includes 13 vendors and presenters. We ordered 51 meals for the banquet before 4 people (2 couples) decided not to attend the convention for reasons of the COVID and family. We had tote bags on the table as well as name tags and clear masks made by Mary Stodden. All the masks were taken. I have a few program books left to whoever wants one on the first come, first serve basis.
Co-treasurer (Kim Ward, Donna McNary)
Kim will submit the final Pittsburgh convention financial report when she gets all the pieces together.
Sponsorship (Lorne Smith)
We had an all-time high of eight commercial sponsors, including seven vendor tables, this year. Thanks to T-Mobile Accessibility, CaptionCall, InnoCaption, Advanced Bionics, Hamilton CapTel, MED-EL, Brown Audio Service and Cochlear Americas, who contributed a record $7,000 in sponsorship income. Hear Fayette was also represented with a table at the convention as a non-profit exhibitor. We’ve written thank-you letters to our sponsors and have asked for their feedback for future convention planning. Sponsors and other attendees seemed to prefer this year’s format of Thursday afternoon and Friday morning workshops rather than two mornings or two afternoons.
Website (Michele Linder, Lorne Smith)
The main SWC convention website has been updated to refer to our Pittsburgh convention in the past tense and mention our plans for a 2022 Nashville convention in the first or second week of August. We’ve also added the link to the 2021 program book to the main convention page listing each year’s convention city and to the archive link on the 2021 convention page. Here’s a direct link to the program book:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/F2021-Mock-up.pdf
Workshops (Lorne Smith)
We’ve sent thank-you notes to our workshop and keynote speakers. If anyone missed our video keynote address by Pittsburgh television journalist and former Miss Pennsylvania USA Elena LaQuatra, we’ve posted it on YouTube at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV2jQhgOJMU
Hospitality (Rhonda Edwards)
Thanks to T-Mobile Accessibility for sponsoring our convention Welcome Party. SWCers loved being able to enjoy each other’s company for the first time in two years, especially in a spectacular setting on the Monongahela River overlooking the downtown Pittsburgh skyline.
Silent Auction (Rhonda Edwards)
Our special 2021 Silent Auction Fund Drive raised $2,057.83. We want to thank Kim Ward for keeping tally for us and Donna McNary for handling all donations hand delivered at the convention. And we want to thank all who donated, making this special Silent Auction a complete success. Our regular Silent Auction format will return next year.
SayWhatClub BOD Meeting Wednesday August 4, 2021
Face to Face, Pittsburgh Convention
Present: Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns; Ilene Morales; Duane Tull;. Apologies from Kim Ward, Ty Smeltekop and Leslie Cotter.
Meeting called to order at: 10:16am Eastern Time. Pat Dobbs – Chair (Yaaaaayyyyyy!!!!!)
Kim Ward and Ty Smeltekop here via Zoom.
Pat requests explanation from Ilene of Treasurer’s Report.
Treasurer’s Report Quarterly by Kim Ward:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KPduDNDhjrqrSg7Ynxh-GrLjFasuen_N_CFvAdrC1Jc/edit?usp=sharing
Motion to approve Treasurer’s Report:
All approved.
Motion to approve LRC report. HC and CSC have no reports this month. Linda/Duane All approved.
SayWhatClub BOD Meeting, May 18,2021
Treasurer’s Report to be done quarterly as agreed in last meeting. No report due at this time.
Other Committee Reports: Ilene asks to know who the people are who leave the lists. Pat will email Vicky and find out if people are still approached when they leave, to find out why. Linda will do same for List Rep committee, and approach Sue Collins. Discussion about closing Explore. Keep eyes on Explore and will give it 6 months and go from there.
Hospitality Committee: (HC)
New Members – Total 5
Connect – 3 (1 was already a CI list member)
CI – 2 (one of which also joined the Connect list)
Found via: Other website (1), friend (1), search engine (2), wanted additional list (1)
Deletes – Total 7
CI – 2
Connect – 2 (1 was self-delete; 1 was per private request)
World – 3
List Rep Committee (LR):
LIST NUMBER of POSTS ACTIVE MEMBERS
CI-109
CONNECT-90
EXPLORE-1
FORUM-1062
VISTAS-91
WORLD-22
Convention Steering Committee (CSC):
Chair (Lorne Smith)
April was another busy month of planning for our 2021 Pittsburgh convention, with a flurry of new registrations coming in before the April 30 early-bird deadline, including a number of first-time attendees. Regular registration rates are now in effect until the convention ($225 for an individual SayWhatClub subscriber and $350 for a couple; $250 for an individual non-subscriber and $400 for a couple).
Registration (Marty Wilson)
We have 49 people registered and several that have said they will register later. So it looks like things are going well. Thanks to Lorne for helping me contact some people as well. It looks good!
Treasurer (Donna McNary/Kim Ward)
We received sponsorship payment from Caption Call for $1,000.
We have received payment from 14 SWC members (9 registrations), including one who hasn’t registered yet. We received a registration for one member – payment not received. Closing convention balance for May: $24,046.51.
I was notified May 1 that one registrant (2 attendees) asked for a refund.
Sponsorship (Lorne Smith)
Sponsorship interest remains strong. CaptionCall submitted a $1,000 payment as a preferred vendor and registered five reps to attend the convention. Hamilton CapTel also confirmed its $750 sponsorship, which was paid in advance last year. We have five confirmed sponsors (CaptionCall, InnoCaption, Hamilton CapTel, Brown Audio and MED-EL) and are working with several others that have shown interest, including Cochlear Americas, Advanced Bionics, Ava and Canine Companions for Independence.
Website (Michele Linder/Lorne Smith)
Registration forms have been updated to reflect regular rates in effect beginning May 1.
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
We posted several reminders about the April 30 early-bird deadline to SWC lists, Facebook groups and the public Facebook page. We also reached out directly on FB and email to people who showed interest in the con and those who attended recent conventions but hadn’t yet registered for Pittsburgh. Several said they planned to register before the deadline, and did so. Others said they would register later at regular rates, some are were still deciding and some said they did not plan to attend for various reasons. We also asked leaders of local hearing loss groups HLAA Pittsburgh and Hear Fayette to help promote the convention locally. Both groups have been helpful and supportive.
Workshops (Lorne Smith)
We’ve reconfirmed two of our scheduled speakers and are waiting to hear from the others and to assemble outstanding information from two of them for the convention website and program book. We have some backup speakers available if we have any openings.
Silent Auction (Rhonda Edwards)
The Silent Auction is a major fundraiser for the club but with social distancing requirements still in place we don’t think it’s practical this year to have people gather close together to inspect and handle the items. Instead we propose to hold a Silent Auction monetary donations appeal similar to our SWC fall fundraising appeal but targeting people in particular who cannot attend this year’s convention. We could have the Silent Auction Donations Appeal in July, the same month we’re usually asking members weekly for our regular Silent Auction donations/last dash to get them mailed in. If this is approved, I will work with Lorne/Michele on revising the SA page for this year’s convention on our webpage.
Hotel (Lorne Smith)
Current state regulations allowing indoor gatherings of up to 25% of official capacity with social distancing (which equates to 75 to 100 people for the meeting rooms we expect to use) are unchanged in the past month. Mask requirements and CDC guidance are evolving. We’ll continue to monitor updates.
AV, CART, Loop (Lorne Smith)
As reported previously, our CART, ASL and hearing loop providers will attend under their agreed terms from 2020.
Motion to approve, Linda / 2nd Pat to approve the Committee Reports. All approved.
Webcom: No Report
Discussion on the new Friends and Family list on Facebook; Have not progressed on this, and Ty is still mulling it over; lack of time right now is paramount. Pat offered to put the info out on the lists, to get ideas about people’s hearing partners.
Ty provided stats info on the Facebook groups. Reports higher levels of participation.
Moved to adjourn Linda / Pat 2nd. Approved.
swc bod meeting
SWC BOD MEETING NOV. 10, 2020
3:00PM PACIFIC TIME
Meeting called to order 3:06 pm Pacific
Kim Ward chair
Present: Pat Dobbs; Duane Tull; Ty Smeltekopf; Linda Binns; Kim Ward; Ilene Morales, Leslie Cotter
Approve Treasurer report. Motion Linda/Pat/ All Approved
DISCUSS AND APPROVE OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS: Linda/Pat/ All Approved
List Rep:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10VBIUzZBTPpkJkrEuH-XlrqRb4cUtVV3rvglIJ9turY/edit#gid=0
HC:
October HC Monthly Report
New Subscribers 5
World 3
Connect 1
Vistas 1
(3 people also were added to the CI list as a secondary choice)
Deletes 6
Connect 6
An election was held and Vicky Harland will be chair for 2021/2022. She
has chosen Debbie Gilmer as VC .
—
WebCom:
October 2020 BOD Monthly Report from WebCom
By: Daphne M. Matthews, WebCom Chair
Changes to the website in October are:
Lorne: I updated the confirmations and notifications on the convention registration form to thank people for registering for the 2021 con (not 2020), and updated our sponsors in the Logo Showcase to add our Pittsburgh convention loop sponsor Brown Audio Service and remove our Sacramento loop sponsor OTOjOY.
Michele:
October 17:
- Edited permalink for 2021 convention page.
October 26:
- Replaced general convention tab image and updated the link (permalink had changed) to 2021 Pittsburgh page.
- Replaced Pittsburgh page image with updated 2021 info.
The stats for last month are as follows:
The most visited posts and pages were: Difference from August
Reading Your Audiogram 241 (+23)
Home 213 (+43)
Oral Interpreting 91 (+39)
Donate 87 (n/a)
Join 86 (+45)
The Trouble with Hearing Loss Memes 77 (+18)
Lip Reading Tips 57 (n/a)
Disclosing Your Hearing Loss
Convention Steering Committee: (CSC)
Chair (Lorne Smith)
Registration remains open for our 2021 Pittsburgh convention on August 4-7, 2021 at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square. Our convention webpage has been updated at https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2021-saywhatclub-convention/
Local chair (Angie Fuoco)
No action this month. We will follow up with all speakers, including keynote, in the new year.
Registration (Marty Wilson)
We have one new registration so that brings us up to 37.
Treasurer (Donna McNary)
I don’t have anything to add from last month other than the extra income from the one convention registration, which has yet to come through.
Convention balance: $26,127.68
Website (Michele Linder/Lorne Smith)
Michele updated the convention webpage permanent link to reflect the year 2021 and updated the images on the main convention page and 2021 convention page to delete the temporary banners announcing postponement of the 2020 convention.
Lorne updated the confirmations and notifications on the registration form to thank people for registering for the 2021 con, and updated our sponsors in the Logo Showcase to add our Pittsburgh convention loop sponsor Brown Audio Service and remove our Sacramento loop sponsor OTOjOY.
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
We posted a note to SWC lists and Facebook in October reminding people to save the date for our 2021 convention and directing them to the convention webpage for information.
Activities/tours (Lorne Smith)
We are still in need of a new activities chair. Cynthia Hurst, who had tentatively planned several Pittsburgh activities and tours, can forward all of her information to her successor. We probably won’t be able to make detailed plans until spring when we have a better idea of COVID restrictions.
Hotel (Lorne Smith)
Hotel reservations remain open. The convention rate of $125 a night, double or king, is valid from July 31 to Aug. 11 (checkout) for those who wish to extend their stay.
—.
Public Session closed 3:10pm Pacific Time
************************************************************************
CTOBER 20, 2020 BOD MEETING MINUTES
Meeting called to order 5:04pm Pacific
Kim Ward chair
Present: Pat Dobbs; Duane Tull; Ty Smeltekopf; Linda Binns; Kim Ward; Ilene Morales
Approve Treasurer report. Motion Linda 2nd Duane
Approve the other reports. Motion Ty 2nd Linda
List Rep:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10VBIUzZBTPpkJkrEuH-XlrqRb4cUtVV3rvglIJ9turY/edit#gid=0
HC:
New Subscribers 3
World 3
CI list 1 (plus 1 as a secondary list to World)
(plus Menieres as a secondary list for World )
Deletes
CI list 6
Connect 5
World 4
Forum 1
Menieres 1
Email sent to the lists asking for new HC members. One person responded
but did not have a computer and needs to be able to have a computer to
do the work on the website.
Marty Wilson
CSC:
No CSC report
Webcom:
September 2020 BOD Monthly Report from WebCom
By: Daphne M. Matthews, WebCom Chair
There were no reported changes made to the website in September. I posted the BOD minutes from August.
The stats for last month are as follows:
The most visited posts and pages were: Difference from August
Reading Your Audiogram 218 (+98)
Home 170 (-2)
Drunken Sailor Syndrome 160 (n/a)
The Trouble with Hearing Loss Memes 59 (+19)
Oral Interpreting 52 (n/a)
Join 41 (+2)
Homepage/Archives 38 (n/a)
Disclosing Your Hearing Loss 35 (-24)
There were others with fewer views
49 of 52 searches were found with unknown search terms. All others had 1 view each. Those were:
Water pills and drunken sailor syndrome www.saywhatclub.com
sta. service .agreement
As expected, in September, the vast majority of views and click-thru’s came from the USA.
Country Difference from August
US 948 (+257)
Canada 88 (+11)
UK 52 (-12)
Australia 42 (+21)
India 17 (+6)
Ireland 13 (n/a)
Philippines 11 (n/a)
New Zealand 10 (n/a)
Malaysia 9 (n/a)
Taiwan 8 (n/a)
Spain & S. Korea (each) 6 (n/a)
Chile 5 (n/a)
Finland, Indonesia, & Israel (ea) 4 (n/a)
Netherlands 4 (-4)
Germany 3 (-7)
Japan, Egypt, Namibia, S. Africa
Hong King SAR China,
China (each) 3 (n/a)
Norway, Latvia, Belgium,
Denmark, Montenegro,
& Thailand (each) 2 (n/a)
Puerto Rico 1 (-9)
France & Vietnam (each) 1 (-5) (each)
Costa Rica, Lithuania, Sweden,
Bhutan, Italy, Bulgaria,
Saudi Arabia, Isle of
Man, Turkey, Pakistan
Ukraine, & Singapore 1 (n/a)
Most searches again came from Google and we had a big gain. However, we lost many searches on Facebook. Total searches this month were 823.
Google 718 (+268)
Facebook 26 (-3)
All others were less than 20 each and included Bing, Yahoo Search, duckduckgo.com, Baidu, moodle.vcc.ca, blackboard.towson.edu, buzz.org.uk, ecosia.org, Mercy College website, acdhh.org, WordPress Android App, Reddit, Pinterest, lkj.prizesk.com/view/23058904/profile/, & babyhearing.org.
This concludes the monthly report for September 2020.
–Daphne M. Matthews 10/11/2020
Public Session closed at: 5:12pm Pacific
*********************************************************************************************************************
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 BOD MEETING MINUTES
Meeting called to order 5:04pm Pacific
Present: Pat Dobbs; Leslie Cotter; Duane Tull; Ty Smeltekopf; Linda Binns; Kim Ward; Ilene Morales
Approve Treasurer report.
Approve the other reports. Linda/Ty
List Rep:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10VBIUzZBTPpkJkrEuH-XlrqRb4cUtVV3rvglIJ9turY/edit#gid=0
HC:
New Subscribers 4
Connect 1
Forum 1
World 2
Found via
Friend 1
Search engine 1
Other website 2
Deletes 12
CI list 4
Connect 2
World 5
Forum 1
submitted by Marty Wilson
CSC: No Report.
Webcom: Approved / Linda / Leslie
There were only a few changes made to the website in August. I posted the BOD minutes from July and did an update of our WordPress site. I also went through comments and deleted the spam that had accumulated – we are caught up as of 9/2/2020 but it adds up every day, unfortunately. I have done some updating and reviewing this month. Our SEO function quit working (which is how people find us one the web) but it was a quick fix and things are back on track now. I have backed up the site twice this month — with so many more people at home due to this pandemic — I keep hearing from friends about problems with their online content, so I’m trying to make sure we have a good point to return to if there is a problem. I updated the plug-ins, also.
I have no reports of any other changes. With times being what they are, there is not much going on but that will hopefully change in the coming months.
If you haven’t sent me an updated bio for our bio page, please do so. If you read the one there and it is still relevant, please let me know that as well.
The stats for last month are as follows:
The most visited pages were:
Drunken Sailor Syndrome – Living and Working with Vertigo 397
Home 176
Reading Your Audiogram 154
There were others that were below 50 views.
Search engines led viewers to SawWhatClub pages 805 times including:
Google 699
Bing 48
Yahoo 33
Duckduckgo 21
There were also 25 from Facebook.
There are many others of which all were very small.
The vast majority of views and click-thru’s come from the USA as you can see from the chart below. There are many more countries with views but they all each have less than 10 views each.
Countries with the most views are:
US 1,053
UK 62
Canada 53
Australia 44
India 20
This concludes the monthly report for August 2020. Thank you.
–Daphne M. Matthews
Public Session Closed 5:10
*********************************************************************************************************************
SWC BOD MEETING MINUTES
SWC BOD MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 10, 2020 5PM PACIFIC
PRESENT:
LINDA BINNS; KIM WARD (CHAIR) PAT DOBBS; TY SMELTEKOP; DUANE TULL ; LESLIE COTTER.
Treasurer’s Report: Kim
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rwUXQOsaqaWZ2JE5GivV05bkqXDhs5YwHAXR9ycr1uw/edit?usp=sharing
Vote to approve Treasurer’s Report motion by Linda /2nd Kiim
All approved, motion carried.
Other reports:
LRC: Bet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10VBIUzZBTPpkJkrEuH-XlrqRb4cUtVV3rvglIJ9turY/edit#gid=0
HC: Marty Wilson
HC Monthly Report New Subscribers 5 World 3 Connect 2 Deletes 9 World 5 CI 3 Connect 1 Found by: search engine 3 other 2
CSC: Lorne Smith
No CSC report as con postponed til next year.
Webcom: Daphne /No webcom report
Vote to approve all committee reports. All approved.
Discuss/vote on Ilene Morales for Board Member/Motion by Ty / 2nd by Pat, all approved, motion carried.
Close Public Session 5:04pm pacific
JULY 14, 2020
Meeting opened at 5pm Pacific time. Kim Ward Chair. Present: Linda Binns; Pat Dobbs; Duane Tull; Leslie Cotter; Ty Smeltekop
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Ward
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GbQ2uTmunGEizjb1VphykK8BTwd4P2u5x0UBglPNSeg/edit
No questions/discussion. Motion to approve. 2nd. (Linda/Kim) All in favor, motion carried.
Other Committee reports:
List Rep: (LRC)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10VBIUzZBTPpkJkrEuH-XlrqRb4cUtVV3rvglIJ9turY/edit#gid=0
Hospitality Committee: (HC)
Newbies 5
Connect 3
World 2
CI list (one as a secondary and one was re-added after a deletion did not count as new Newbies found us via
Search engine 2
Friend 1
Other 2
Deletes
Forum 3
Connect 2
CI list 1
Archives deletes
Thanks to Vicky for helping me with the deletes. All of the lists are up
to date (oldest are now May 2019) I still need to finish up Commons but
will get to that soon. Vicky and I will go through the lists again Jan
- This will be much easier than having to do lists that went back
to 2014 or 2016!
Marty Wilson
CONVENTION STEERING COMMITTEE (CSC)
CSC
We’re saddened to announce that our SayWhatClub convention scheduled for this August in Pittsburgh has been postponed to August 2021. With Pennsylvania only beginning to open back up and many restrictions remaining on public gatherings and travel, we realize that we could not safely meet and exchange hugs this summer in the manner to which SayWhatClubbers are accustomed.
We trust that everyone will be able reconvene in Pittsburgh on our new dates of August 4-7, 2021 at the same location, the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square. Our convention schedule and prices remain otherwise unchanged, and we hope to pick up where we left off and build on what was already shaping up to be an outstanding convention.
If you’ve registered for the Pittsburgh convention, you have the option of remaining registered and fully paid for 2021 or cancelling and receiving a refund. To request a refund, send an email to conregistration@saywhatclub.org. If you wish to remain registered, you do not have to do anything. You can still cancel and receive a full refund at any time before the new early-bird deadline of April 30, 2021 if circumstances change and you are unable to make it.
All hotel reservations made with our 2020 rate code and web link will be automatically cancelled. You don’t have to contact the hotel to cancel your reservations. You will have to make new reservations for 2021. The “Reserve Hotel” button on our 2021 convention website will be updated with the new link when we get it. Our convention room rate is unchanged at $125 a night, which represents a saving of more than $100 a night from the hotel’s current rates.
We hope that our 2021 Pittsburgh convention will be bigger and better than ever. Please stay safe and accept our virtual hugs until we are able to exchange the real thing next year.
WEBCOM:
June 2020 BOD Monthly Report from WebCom
By: Daphne M. Matthews, WebCom Chair
There were only a few changes made to the website in June. I posted the BOD minutes from May and did an update of our WordPress site. I also went through comments and deleted the spam that had accumulated.
Lorne Smith updated the convention history page, convention registration forms (online Gravity form and PDF versions) and the Sponsorship Opportunities PDF to reflect the convention postponement to 2021.
Michele Linder updated the following. On June 5th: she added a banner with postponement information on Pittsburg image; updated new date information (for the convention); and removed the hotel button, pending the new hotel link. On June 16th: she restored the hotel button with the updated link for 2021 reservations.
Kim Ward updated the Convention link in the blue menu section at the bottom of the main page and posted a new blog entry entitled “Hope” which was written by Angie Fugo.
The stats for last month are as follows:
The most visited pages were:
Home 236
2021 SayWhatClub Convention 115
Reading Your Audiogram 108
6 Common Misconceptions 86
Join 56
There were others that were below 50 views.
Search engines led viewers to SawWhatClub pages 478 times with 111 from Facebook. There are many others of which all were very small.
The vast majority of views and click-thru’s come from the USA as you an see from the chart below. There are many more countries with views but they all each have less than 10 views each.
Country
US 889
Canada 84
UK 56
India 47
Australia 25
Philippines 14
This concludes the monthly report for June 2020. I would like to add I still need new bios from all board members. Thank you.
–Daphne M. Matthews
No questions/discussions; motion to accept committee reports / 2nd / vote. All approved, Motion passes. (Leslie /Pat)
Close Public Session
*****************************************************************
BOD MEETING MINUTES JUNE 9, 2020
Meeting called to order 5pm Pacific.
Present: Duane Tull; Kim Ward; Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns (Chair)
Treasurer’s Report:
Motion to approve: Linda / 2nd Kim
No questions, vote, all approved.
Other Committee Reports:
HC:
New Subscribers 4
Connect 2
World 1
CI list 1 ( plus one as a secondary list)
Found via: 4
FB 1
Search engine 1
other 1
Friend 1
Deletes 9
Connect 1
CI list 2
World 4 (one self sign off)
Forum 2
I plan on start training Vicky on how to do the deletes in June.
Marty (Mattox) Wilson
LRC:
CSC: No formal report as CSC working on con postponement details.
Motion to approve: Linda / 2nd Kim
No questions, vote, all approved.
Public Session adjourned 5:18pm Pacific time
SWC BOD MEETING MINUTES MAY 11, 2020
5:00pm PACIFIC TIME; 6:00PM MOUNTAIN TIME; 7:00PM CENTRAL TIME; 8:00PM EASTERN TIME
PRESENT:
LINDA BINNS, PAT DOBBS, KIM WARD, LESLIE COTTER, TY SMELTEKOP, DUANE TULL (MEETING CHAIR)
Treasurer’s Report April 2020 – Kim
Questions, Discussion. Motion to accept, 2nd, Vote
Motion: Linda; 2nd Pat
All approved.
All other committee reports.
LRC:
HC Stats for April 2018
Newbies 11
Connect 7
World 2
Forum 2
Secondary lists (primary lists are listed above)
CI 3
Meniere’s 3
Ages
under 39 1
40-49 3
over 60 7
found via
Friend 2
FB 4
other websites 4
search engine 1
Deletes 10
World 1
CI list 4
Connect 4
Forum 1
CSC:
Chair (Lorne Smith)
SayWhatClub subscribers, sponsors and friends with hearing loss have expressed strong interest in our Pittsburgh convention in August, and we’ve been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make it a memorable experience. Thankfully, the worst of the coronavirus crisis appears to be over and better days lie ahead. But with the convention still more than three months away, there remains uncertainty about what health and safety restrictions will be in place in summer. To give everyone more peace of mind in making convention plans, we’ve extended the early-bird registration deadline to June 30. That means that anyone who registers by the end of June can take advantage of our early-bird rates. And anyone can cancel their registration for any reason by June 30 and get a full refund. Of course, you can also get a full refund if we are forced to postpone or cancel the convention at any point. The convention is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 5 to Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square. For convention details and registration forms, go to saywhatclub.org and click on Conventions or follow the direct link:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2020-saywhatclub-convention/
Local chair (Angie Fuoco)
Three workshop presenters have submitted their descriptions and bios for the website and program book. We’re awaiting descriptions of the final two workshops.
Treasurer (Donna McNary)
Income: $1,155.00 (4 registrations -6 people)
Expenses: $221.76 (refund for registration scholarship and PayPal fees)
Sponsors (Lorne Smith)
Brown Audio Service, an Ohio-based Contacta dealer, has agreed to sponsor and install a hearing loop at the Pittsburgh con. We reached out again by email to all potential sponsors who have yet to commit. We’ll follow up by phone if necessary.
Registration(Marty Mattox-Baker)
Registration is still going slow as expected. But there are 40 people at the time I am typing this up. The early bird registration has been extended to June 30, 2020. Anyone registering and we have to cancel will be able to get a full refund. If a person chooses we can hold the registration fees for 2021 instead of a refund.
Website (Michele Linder)
April 13 – Completed the following:
- Created and added workshop information to the 2020 Pittsburgh Convention page of the website
- Updated the Convention Schedule
- Removed scholarship button
Thank you to Lorne for updating the Silent Auction page and linking the new Silent Auction donation form to the button on that page.
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
Messages were sent to all SWC groups, lists and social media in April promoting one of our convention workshops, launching this year’s Silent Auction campaign and announcing the extension of the early-bird registration deadline to June 30.
Silent Auction (Rhonda Edwards)
We would like everyone to begin to think about possible items that you could donate. Possible items could include (but are not limited to): gift cards, gift baskets, personally made items, hearing loss items, jewelry and accessories, items from your state, wine or other spirits, candy or other nonperishable food items….the fun possibilities can be endless! Please visit the following link to access our Silent Auction Donation Form, to be completed for each item donated.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesfYp-pI673vCNhGnZyg_s0Yequp_PCQZ3XUA33Pf7_HrLTA/viewform
Program Book (Michele Linder)
I’m saving all the information that Lorne sends to add to the program. I likely won’t start laying it all out for another few weeks. I do have the templates for each page ready to go, but usually wait on Joyce’s painting to choose a color theme that compliments the cover. In past years we’ve set the deadline for program information for sometime in June, which will be the same this year. However, we actually don’t have to submit the program for printing until July 1st (a lot depends on whether we get a local printer), so I’m going to wait a bit this year to see what the COVID-19 social distancing/stay at home and travel advisories for summer shape up to be.
Activities/tours (Cynthia Hurst)
Thursday a.m.: Phipps Conservatory – I am still waiting to receive a reply from my rep as far as assigning a docent to use an app such as Ava or go to meeting. It will be $21.95 plus transportation. Need 15 registered. We get 10%off. 30 day notice required. Every garden is wheel chair accessible except for 1.
Thursday p.m.: Gateway Clipper cruise. Still waiting for answers to questions I asked if our rep. $19.90-1 hour ride I believe this is walking distance from the hotel.
Pittsburgh Pedal Boats No response yet. $36 group rate for 14 people (10 pedal stations and 4 non pedal stations). You must sign a waiver before going
Friday afternoon: The Frick. Still waiting for initial response in answer to my questions.
Friday p.m.: Pirates game. Min deposit due by July 7 (250 or 25% of total order whichever is more). Please refer to last month’s update for additional info
Scholarships (Pat Kovac)
We extended full scholarships to two recipients (one general and one Jazzy). Maurice sponsored two local scholarships, one for registration fees and one for hotel. We also extended a registration and hotel partial scholarship to a long term member. All applicants were advised of their status and all recipients gratefully accepted. We added that should we postpone the convention until 2021, the scholarships will stand.
A/V, CART, hearing loop, ASL (Lorne Smith)
Julia Stepp, who provided CART services at the 2019 Sacramento convention, will do the same this year in Pittsburgh. Brenda Dawe will again provide ASL interpretation. Brown Audio Service will sponsor and install the hearing loop.
__________________________________
Webcom
No issues.
Discussion, questions on all committee reports.
Motion to approve, 2nd, VOTE
Motion: Leslie, 2nd Pat
Public Session Adjourned 5:15pm Pacific
*********************************************************************************************************************
BOD MEETING MINUTES APRIL 13, 2020
Meeting called to order 5:00 pm Pacific Time; 6:00 pm Mountain Time; 7:00 pm Central Time; 8:00 pm Eastern Time.
PRESENT: Linda Binns (Chair) Kim Ward; Leslie Cotter; Ty Smeltekop; Pat Dobbs; Duane Tull
Meeting called to order.
Treasurer’s Report: February and March 2020
Motion to approve: Pat Dobbs
2nd: Leslie Cotter
Vote: All in favor, motion carried
All other committee reports.
LRC:
*******************************************
HC:
Newbies 9
World 2
2 (found via FB)
Forum 4
2 found via search engines
2 are returning subscribers
Connect 3
1 found via FB
1 other
(3 people also chose the CI list as secondary lists)
Deletes 6
CI list 3
World 3
Marty
HC Chair
***************************************************
CONVENTION STEERING COMMITTEE
CSC:
Chair (Lorne Smith)
Our 2020 SWC convention in Pittsburgh is four months
away and there’;s still time to register at early-bird rates.
We hope to see everyone there. Details and links can be
found on the website:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2020-saywhatclub-convention/
Local chair (Angie Fugo)
Our workshop schedule has been finalized and is being
added to the website. We will be adding descriptions and
presenter bios to the website in April.
Treasurer (Donna McNary)
Income for March : $1,400 (9 attendee registration fees)
Expenses: $174.60 (1 convention refund and PayPal
fees)
Sponsors (Lorne Smith)
Hamilton CapTel has committed to take a vendor table at
the Pittsburgh con. So far, we have four confirmed vendors
totaling $3,000 in sponsorship revenue, with some
potential big sponsors and vendors still to come.
Registration(Marty Mattox-Baker)
This has been a slow month but with the virus situation it
can be understandable. We have 27 people registered.
One person requested a refund but said she would look
into it in June to see if she reconsiders going.
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
Announcements were posted to SWC lists and Facebook
groups seeking input for two convention workshops and
publicizing the April 1 deadline for applying for a
scholarship.
Program Book (Lorne Smith)
We've been gathering information for the convention
schedule, workshops, BOD bios and SWC history pages.
We expect to receive most of the remaining information in
April. So far we expect two full-page sponsor ads, one-
half-page ad and one quarter-page ad.
Activities/tours (Cynthia Hurst)
Here are the activities that I am suggesting as workshops
will be held in the afternoon on Thursday and morning on
Friday:
Thursday a.m. – Phipps Conservatory and Botanical
Gardens (Www.Phipps.conservatory.org)
Thursday evening- Walk the Burgh
(Www.walktheburgh.com) OR Pittsburgh Pedal Boats
(Www.pittsburghpedalboats.com)
Friday afternoon – The Frick Pittsburgh
(Thefrickpittsburgh.org). The Frick also has the Clayton
Car; Carriage Museum and the Greenhouse and visitor center.
Friday p.m. – The Pirates Game
Scholarships (Pat Kovac)
We have 10 applicants for various scholarships as of April
1, our deadline. The scholarship committee will discuss
and decide on recipients over the next two weeks.
Hotel (Lorne Smith)
Any and all questions or requests for accessible hotel
rooms, ADA kits or other needs beyond the online
reservation system can be sent to Rosemary Baird,
convention services manager for the Sheraton Pittsburgh
Hotel at Station Square at
rosemary.baird@sheratonstationsquare.com.
A/V, CART, hearing loop, ASL (Lorne Smith)
We’ve made contact with a possible sponsor for our
hearing loop and have requested quotes from CART and
ASL providers.
__________________________________
Motion to approve: Kim Ward; 2nd Pat Dobbs
Vote: All in favor, motion carried.
Public Session Adjourned 5:11pm Pacific Time
******************************************
BOD MEETING MINUTES MARCH 10, 2020
Meeting called to order at 5:03pm Pacific time; 6:03pm Mountain Time; 7:03pm Central time; 8:03 Eastern time.
Present: Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns; Kim Ward; Duane Tull; Ty Smeltekop. Apologies, Leslie Cotter.
PUBLIC SESSION:
Treasurer’s Report
February Report Tabled. All voted yes on December
2019 and January 2020 Reports, provided by Kim Ward.
Other Reports:
List Rep and Social Media:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10VBIUzZBTPpkJkrEu
H-XlrqRb4cUtVV3rvglIJ9turY/edit#gid=0
******************************************
HC:
February HC Monthly Report 2020
New Subscribers 13
Connect 6
World 4
Forum 1
CI list 1 ( plus 2 were added as secondary lists)
Meniere’s 1 ( plus 2 were added as a secondary list)
Found by:
Search engine 3
FB 4
Friend 2
Other 4
Deletes 7
CI list 2 self-signoffs
Connect 2 (one was a self-signoff)
World 2
Forum 1 (self-signoff)
*Forum went over the 99 quota on 2/4 and 2/5
With the help of Kim Ward the HC Handbook was updated.
Also thanks to Bet Whitcomb in helping update the HC/LRC agreement.
*******************************************
Convention Steering Committee (CSC)
Chair (Lorne Smith)
We encourage anyone planning to attend the Pittsburgh
convention in August to register now. Early-bird rates are
in effect until April 30. All the details and links can be
found on the website:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2020-
Local chair (Angie Fugo)
Three of 5 confirmed speakers’; bios and presentation writeups are in. Still flipping around my lasso on the other 2. Will send all 5 when I have them for printing the program.
Christine and I are beginning to connect on Welcome Party.
Co-treasurers (Kim Ward/Donna McNary)
The February convention income: $1,325.00 (registration
fees, four by PayPal and two by check).
The February expenses: -$782.89 (scouting airfare).
Sponsors (Lorne Smith)
Caption Call has committed to be a preferred vendor.
So far, we have three confirmed vendors and will be
reaching out to other potential sponsors and vendors in
March.
Registration(Marty Mattox-Baker)
There has not been much activity with the registration.
Payment being added at the time of registration may be
slowing the process but I expect more will come in before
the end of April when the early bird ends. There are 20
registered and one person has asked for a refund. I have
bought 100 lanyards and badge holders. I hope that this
year we can get people to turn the lanyards and badge
holders in before they leave so this will save money on
having to purchase them every year.
Website (Michele Linder)
I created and uploaded Convention Schedule to the
convention website and activated the “;SCHEDULE”; link
on the convention page and added the convention theme
“Building Bridges in the ‘Burgh” to the convention page
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
An announcement about convention activities and
workshop themes were posted to all SWC lists and
Facebook groups on Feb. 17, and it generated some good
discussion.
Hospitality (Christine Fuller)
Still in the planning stages for the Welcome Party.
Planning on using a black and yellow-gold theme to reflect
the Pittsburgh sports teams. Will begin my write up soon
for the website, Facebook and our itinerary programs.
Program Book (Lorne Smith)
Joyce Conser has agreed to paint a Pittsburgh image for
the cover of the convention program. We’re awaiting
workshop bios and descriptions.
*******************************************
WebCom:
February REPORT FROM WEBCOM CHAIR
There were a few changes made to the website in
February 2020. They are:
Michele Linder’s changes:
February 7, 2020 – created and uploaded Convention Schedule to
the convention website. Activated the “SCHEDULE”, link on the
convention page
February 18, 2020 – added the convention theme, “Building
Bridges in the ‘Burgh”; to the convention page Kim Ward’s changes:
Updated the HC; LRC Handbooks and added new links.
Fixed a broken link to our list descriptions.
******************************************
FEBRUARY 10TH SWC MINUTES
Meeting called to order at 5:00 Pacific time; 6:00 Mountain time; 7:00 Central time; 8:00 Eastern time.
Present: Pat Dobbs; Leslie Cotter; Kim Ward; Linda Binns; Duane Tull; Don Dippner and Ty Smeltekop not present.
Meeting Chaired by Leslie Cotter
PUBLIC SESSION:
Treasurer’s Report:
Unavailable
Other Reports:
List Rep and Social Media:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10VBIUzZBTPpkJkrEuH-XlrqRb4cUtVV3rvglIJ9turY
Hospitality Committee (HC)
HC January monthly report
First off we give thanks to Robyn Carter for her service as liaison.
We welcome Pat Dobbs as the new liaison.
Newbies 4
World 1 (found other website)
Forum 2 (one found via search engine and the other one via FB)
Connect 1 (search engine)
(also one person joined the CI list and also Menieres as well as
secondary lists Then another person joined the CI list also)
Deletes 11
World 6
CI list 1
Connect 3
Forum 1 (self unsubscribed the day he was added) Sponsor emailed the
person to see why and if he would like to try another list. Did not
receive any response.
Also one request to join came to the BOD and sent to HC . The person
decided she wanted F2F and not emails.
***********************************************************************************************
CONVENTION STEERING COMMITTEE (CSC)
Chair (Lorne Smith)
Activity is gearing up for the 2020 convention. We officially opened convention registration and hotel reservations in January and launched our scholarship program. All the details and links can be found on our 2020 convention website:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2020-saywhatclub-convention/
The committee has overwhelmingly endorsed a schedule that calls for workshops to be held on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 6 and Friday morning, Aug. 7, rather than on two consecutive mornings or two consecutive afternoons. Our convention survey last fall showed people were open to that idea. A major benefit of that schedule is that it could allow our vendors and exhibitors to set up late and tear down early, possibly saving them time and money on travel and hotel bills. Committee members feel it is worth trying and gathering feedback from vendors and attendees.
Local chair (Angie Fugo)
Workshops scheduled with tentative topics:
1) Intro of Vendors
2) Sharon-Hughes Morris, of Pgh. Center for Hearing/Deaf Services – Hearing Assistive Tech (HAT) 101
3) Cathy Zimmerman, of Hear Fayette (local group) – discussion of setting up her group or emergencies
4) Kay Tyberg, HLAA & ALDA – Emergency Preparedness or Serving as a Juror
5) Eric Singara, CEO/developer, PathVu (app to navigate sidewalks, inclusive of folks with hearing loss)
6) Chris Doig, HLAA & ALDA – HAT 202, Creating HAT Network to help multiple people with hearing loss
Other possibles for cancellations:
I’m a cancellation possibility… ALDA presentation dealing with emergency personnel. Other possibles:
- a) sign language class – it would be great if we could get Cathy Z’s ASL teacher to come – he’s great!
- b) local police officer – these guys usually don’t commit until the last minute
- c) I may contact the ADA Coordinator for the City of Pittsburgh (I met him at ADA 2018)
Also, closer to the time, I’ll be networking with local folks. The 30th Anniversary celebration of the ADA will be July 26, just 10 days before opening of our convention. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for other connections.
Finally, Bet Whitcomb has offered to do Wellness/Balance and other types of classes during non-workshop time.
Saturday Suggested Group Activity:
I’m hoping you all will like a “Grand View Tour of Pittsburgh” on Saturday morning spilling over into our lunch, with getting back to hotel in small groups in mid-afternoon. We will ride the only accessible Pittsburgh Incline, The Monongahela Incline, up to Grand View Boulevard with two options:
1) see stunning views of the city near the incline & short stroll off Grand View Boulevard to Shiloh Street Shops for gift shopping, sightseeing, ice cream. Lunch at Shiloh Shops and back down via Monongahela Incline.
OR – I’ll lead this one…
2) see stunning views of the city AND 2-mile walk along Grand View Boulevard with me as tour guide (I’ll show you my Pittsburgh condo) including historic Carnegie Library & St. Mary of the Mount Church, as well as walking history tour with marked plaques detailing the city of Pittsburgh at various overlooks AND visit the other incline, the Duquesne Incline, which has mini-incline museum in it. The Duquesne Incline is at 1-mile turnaround and there are various restaurants with spectacular views of the city. Eat lunch there and walk back to Shiloh Shops for ice cream (if the return mile trip makes us hot enough & hungry enough for an ice cream treat) before going back down on the Mon Incline. (Alternatively, could walk back to the Shiloh Shops for lunch, but if you can make it all the way on the 2-mile round trip walk – or stroll – sidewalks are tricky but folks with mobility issues and wheelchairs do it – I highly recommend eating while overlooking the City of Pittsburgh. Some of you have seen my pics on my Facebook page and there’s nothing comparable.
Co-treasurers (Kim Ward/Donna McNary)
We had 10 registrations in January with one incomplete payment. The registration form seems to be working great.
Sponsors (Lorne Smith)
We’ve received payment from MED-EL as one of our convention vendors. We’re continuing to reach out to other past and potential vendors, sponsors and exhibitors.
Registration(Marty Mattox-Baker)
The registration for the convention has begun. So far we have 11 people registered Hoping to see some more people register soon.
Website (Michele Linder)
I created 2020 Scholarship Form/Sheet and added “APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP” button to the convention website and linked the scholarship form to the button.
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
We posted messages to all of SWC in January announcing the official opening of convention registration, introducing our keynote speaker Elena LaQuatra and inviting applications for convention scholarships.
Activities/tours (Cynthia Hurst)
We’re planning a scenic round trip boat ride from the hotel to PNC Park aboard a Gateway Clipper shuttle boat on Friday night, Aug. 7, to see the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The dock is right outside the doors of the Sheraton Pittsburgh Station Square where we are staying. All boats are accessible. The ride is 15 minutes each way. The ride over will be during the day and ride back when the city lights are on. Two different beautiful views. The stadium is ADA compliant for wheelchairs and motorized carts and has captioning as well. We can also add our group name to the welcome messages that run on the LED boards and to the big Jumbotron.
Scholarships (Pat Kovac)
We have opened scholarship applications for one general, one Jazzy Memorial, and two local scholarships to be awarded by April 15th. Maurice Wilson is funding the two local registration-only scholarships.
Hotel (Lorne Smith)
Reservations for the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square can be made through our convention website. Room rates are $125 a night, and are in effect for three days before and after the convention. The hotel will also provide discounted buffet breakfast coupons for those who choose to eat in the restaurant. There is also a Starbucks counter in the hotel.
WEBCOM:
JANUARY REPORT FROM WEBCOM CHAIR
There were a few changes made to the website in January 2020. They are:
- Ward: I updated the Be A Volunteer page and removed Robyn Carter from the BOD Profiles page. Still waiting for Duane Tull’s bio but his name is listed without a picture or bio for now.
Lorne: Smith: I made some minor edits to the convention Silent Auction page and worked with Michele to update the convention scholarship application form.
Michelle Linder: created 2020 Scholarship Form/Sheet by copying the 2019 form and updating. Stored in SWC Drive under “Committees” > CSC > 2020 Con (Pittsburgh) folder and added “APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP” button and linked scholarship form to the button
Daphne Matthews: I double checked links in reports and blogs and corrected those that were not working. I backed up the system on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. I posted the BOD minutes for December and January.
Motion to approve, by Linda 2nd by Pat All in favor, motion carried.
BOD Liasions to the Committees:
HC – Pat
LRC – Linda
CSC – Leslie
Webcom – Kim
Spirit Award – Linda
Motion to approve, Pat, Linda, 2nd. All aye, motion carried.
Public session closed at:5:19pm
*************************************************
SWC Board meeting January 13, 2020
Meeting opened at Pacific 5 PM; Central 7 PM; Eastern 8 PM; for Robyn at
2PM 1/14/2020
Leslie Cotter chairing the meeting.
Present:
Leslie Cotter; Linda Binns; Pat Dobbs; Ty Smeltekop; Don
Dippner; Kim Ward; Duane Tull
Farewell and thanks to Robyn Carter. Robyn left the meeting. Formal
vote for New BOD member, Duane Tull. Duane Tull invited in to
meeting. Welcome to Duane.
Vote: Temporary postions now permanent; Pat Dobbs as President;
Leslie Cotter as VP; Linda Binns as Secretary; Don Dippner as Treasurer
formally voted in.
Treasurer’s Report tabled for now; to be provided
All other committee reports reviewed and approved: Motion by
Linda, 2 nd by Pat.
List Rep Report:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-tAmI3tT3j93USTIAWlNKG_mLSZv6kQeb-blcvmM40o/edit#gid=0
HC Report:
Newbies:
Forum
2 (one found via FB the other search engine)
World
2 (one found via FB and the via search engine)
( one of these also joined the CI list)
CI list
1 found via search engine
Deletes
CI list 4
Connect 3 (one was self sign off)
World 2 (one was self sign off)
Webcom Report: DECEMBER
WebCom made final adjustments and tests to the convention pages registration page.
Michele updated the convention pages to include
Con Registration; and Reserve Hotel buttons
Room Rate information
2019 Sponsor information link
Keynote Speaker Information link
Kim downloaded a new plug in for sponsor logos and updated the home page,
convention history and sponsor pages with the new logo slider.
Kim added a new blog post.
Top five pages this month were Reading Your Audiogram, Home page, Convention
page, Join, and Convention Registration
Convention Steering Committee Report:
CSC report for December 2019
Chair (Lorne Smith)
Registration is open for the 2020 SWC convention Aug. 5-8 at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at
Station Square. Payment is due at the time of registration. Early-bird rates will be in effect until
April 30 as usual. Hotel reservations can also be made through our website. Room rates are
$125 a night, and are in effect for three days before and after the convention. All the details
and links can be found on our 2020 convention website:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2020-saywhatclub-convention/
Local chair (Angie Fugo)
Kay Tyberg, a hearing loss advocate and mentor from Altoona, PA is willing to do a
workshop. I’ll have to get all the names and topics of those doing workshops. I think we’ll have
our 6.
Sponsors (Lorne Smith)
MED-EL has been confirmed as a vendor for the 2020 convention. Their Pittsburgh-based rep is
excited to attend. We’re continuing to reach out to other past and potential vendors, sponsors
and exhibitors. More sponsorship information can be found on our convention webpage:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SWC-2020-Sponsorship-Opportunities.pdf
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
We’ll be doing our first publicity blitz in January for the opening of registration and to promote
our keynote speaker.
Registration (Marty Mattox-Baker)
The convention registration form is in place and ready to go. The early bird fee is set at $200.00
per person or $300 per couple.
Website (Michele Linder)
I added and/or activated the following for the 2020 Convention Page:
Con Registration and Reserve Hotel buttons
Room Rate information
2019 Sponsor information link
Keynote Speaker Information link
I also registered for the convention and reserved my hotel room as a test. All notifications and
receipts came through and look to be adequate.
Public Session closed at: 5:30pm
DECEMBER 9, 2019 BOD MEETING MINUTES
Meeting opened at 5:02pm Pacific Time
Present: Don Dippner; Pat Dobbs; Linda Binns; Leslie Cotter; Kim Ward;
Ty Smeltekop. Robyn Carter in and out.
Treasurer’s Report approved:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13MrPZ8My0z6tWYIrHFOp6gp-qAc6Gnc9/view?usp=sharing
List Rep Report:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-tAmI3tT3j93USTIAWlNKG_mLSZv6kQeb-blcvmM40o/edit#gid=0
Convention Steering Committee Report:
Chair (Lorne Smith)
Planning is well under way for the 2020 SWC convention in Pittsburgh (Aug. 5-8 at the Sheraton
Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square). Our convention registration form has been updated.
Registration will officially open after the holidays. Registration fees have been increased by $25
per person to help offset rising costs. Payment is due at the time of registration. Early-bird rates
will be in effect until April 30 as usual.
Sponsors (Lorne Smith)
We're continuing to reach out to past sponsors, vendors and exhibitors to invite them to
participate in the 2020 con and are working to attract firms that have sponsored other hearing-
loss organizations as well as local businesses and non-profit organizations in the Pittsburgh
area. Sponsorship opportunities and rates are listed on the convention webpage:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SWC-2020-Sponsorship-Opportunities.pdf
Hospitality Report:
November HC Monthly Report
Newbies 7
Forum 2 (one found via search engine and the other via Friend. Both 60+
(Both also joined the CI list).
CI 1 found via Friend 60+
Connect 2 (1 found found via FB under 39 the other one found other
World 2 (1 found other, 1 found via friend
Deletes 12
CI list 7
Connect 3
World 2
WEBCOM REPORT:
NOVEMBER
WebCom had very few edits this month. The 2020 Convention page and Registration
for is nearly ready.
Recent Website Updates:
Lorne completed the Pittsburgh convention registration form.
Kim added a PDF link and made light edits to the Pittsburgh convention
registration form.
Kim updated the plug-ins.
Daphne updated the Minutes page.
Problems were experienced after a routine update. Scott Marlow recommended the
removal of a few plug-ins with outdated or bad code, and cleaned up our webpage for
better functionality.
approved, no discussion.
Public session closed at 5:07pm
BOD MEETING MINUTES NOV. 11,2019
Meeting called to order at 5:03pm Pacific time; 6:03pm Mountain Time; 7:03pm Central time; 8:03 Eastern time; 2:03pm on Nov. 12, 2019 New Zealand (Robyn Carter).
PUBLIC SESSION:
Treasurer’s Report
Other Reports:
Listserv and Social Media: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-tAmI3tT3j93USTIAWlNKG_mLSZv6kQeb-blcvmM40o/edit#gid=0
**********************************************************
HC:
Chair: Marty Mattox-Baker
Additions 10
Connect
3 (2 found on search engine the other found on Other)
(we did have one returning member that I did not count as a newbie)
Forum
1 (found other website)
World
2 (one found other website the other one via FB)
CI list
3 (Two found via Friend and the other one was already on World)
Vistas
1 (found via other)
Deletes 5
Forum 1
World 3 ( 2 were self sign off) one said too many emails and would stay
on FB
CI list 1
*********************************************************************************************
Convention Steering Committee (CSC):
Chair: Lorne Smith
The 2020 SWC Pittsburgh convention is still nine months away but we worked hard in October to streamline and update our sponsorship rates and reach out to past and potential new sponsors in the hope of expanding the number of vendors, sponsors and exhibitors.
We also issued a call for proposals for local hosts for the 2021 convention in the central or eastern U.S.
Sponsors (Lorne Smith)
Thanks to Pat Dobbs and Don Dippner for volunteering to help contact potential sponsors. We’ve reached out to most past sponsors, vendors and exhibitors and invited them to participate in the 2020 con and are looking to attract new sponsors. InnoCaption, one of our vendors for the past three years, has already confirmed participation in the Pittsburgh con.
Our sponsorship opportunities brochure has been updated and is posted on the convention webpage:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SWC-2020-Sponsorship-Opportunities.pdf
Logos of our 2019 convention sponsors have been added to the slider at the bottom of the homepage and main convention page of the SWC website, where they will be displayed for 12 months.
Publicity: Lorne Smith
We issued a call for proposals to all SWC lists, Facebook groups and the club’s main Facebook page for our 2021 convention location and local hosts. Proposals can be sent to lsmith151@hotmail.com
*********************************************************************************
WEBCOM:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQDypTWsVNNS73Q8jgMNQYJAgG2F7udxfDZKhtqBfJw0PNE0nmteRZ9B6LDjG0rgKVV6zeLplJZLIzW/pub
*****************************************************************************
Motion to approve, by Kim Ward, 2nd by Leslie Cotter; unanimous vote, motion carried.
Public session closed 8:07pm.
SWC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES 9/9/2019
Meeting called to order at 5:00pm Pacific time; 7:00pm Central time; 8:00pm Eastern time; 9/10/19 2:00pm New Zealand time (Robyn Carter)
Present: Don Dippner; Linda Binns; Leslie Cotter; Kim Ward; Ty Smeltekop; Pat Dobbs. Apologies: Robyn Carter
Treasurer’s Report:
Will update when full Convention Treasurer report is complete and balanced with main account and Paypal.
List Rep report: (number of posts)
LISTS
JULY
AUGUST
CI
357
290
CONNECT
101
63
EXPLORE
3
31
FORUM
637
672
MENIERE’S
48
41
VISTAS
101
97
WORLD
166
144
FB ADVOCACY
NA
NA
FB FRIENDS
2400*
69
FB GEN-Y
131
133
NOTES:
FB FRIENDS had 1003 comments in August
******************************************************************************
Convention Steering Committee August 2019 Report
Lorne Smith [Chair]
The 2019 SayWhatClub® Convention was held at the Embassy Suites in Sacramento, California.
72 people attended the convention this year.
Higher hotel costs resulted in only one scholarship being awarded this year instead of two.
We also elected to cut costs by scaling back on workshop break food items as well as having our CART provider bring her own projector and screen.
We had a strong slate of workshops and activities in a convenient, tourist-friendly location.
All in all, Cynthia Hurst did an outstanding job as local chair, and the CSC Committee members worked hard to make the convention successful and memorable.
Planning is underway for next year’s convention in Pittsburgh, PA, which will be held from Aug. 5th – 8th, 2020 at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square. Local host will be: Angie Fugo.
Cynthia Hurst [Local Chair]
Workshops were very well received and included talks on: Sign Language [LifePrint.com], Accessibility and Advocacy [Brent Jolley], Impact of “Not So Deaf” Hearing Losses [Dr. Stephanie Gardiner-Walsh], Mind the Ears: Connecting Hearing and Cognition [Dr. Laura Gaeta], and Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace [Pamela Cohen].
Activities included The Crocker Art Museum, The Sacramento History Museum/Underground Tour, and The Last Match, a captioned movie.
In addition, some attended the Unlimited Laughs Comedy Club on Friday night. Julia, our CART operator, was able to provide captioning to our cell phones. It was very well received and enjoyed by all. Also, the manager of the venue, Skip and his daughter, Jennifer, let us know they are now looking into installing a captioning device.
Donna McNary [Convention Treasurer]
Will update when report finalized.
Marty Mattox-Baker [Registration]
We had 74 people registered for this year’s Convention.
Actually attendance was: 72 which is a good showing for a convention.
Rhonda Edwards [Silent Auction]
This year’s Silent Auction raised $1,331.00 for the SayWhatClub®.
We sold 85 of the 90 auction items donated this year.
A huge Thank You goes to the 12 volunteers who assisted with the various Silent Auction duties and their help was very much appreciated.
******************************************************************************
Hospitality Committee Report: HC August 2019:
New Subscribers 12
Menieres 2
Found search engine 1, Friend 1
(2 also signed up as their secondary list)
World 7
Found Search engines 3, Facebook 1, Friends 2, Other 1
CI list 2
Found search engine 1, returning founding member 1
Connect 1
Found: Facebook
Deletes 6
CI 3
Connect 2
Forum 1
LRC Stats 2019
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-tAmI3tT3j93USTIAWlNKG_mLSZv6kQeb-blcvmM40o/edit?usp=sharing
Motion made by Linda Binns, 2nd by Kim Ward, to approve all committee reports.
All approved, motion carried.
Discussion and information provided by Don Dippner, regarding upcoming SWC Fundraiser.
Discussion on Guidestar: Don to complete the information to ‘publish’ and will provide Kim the Bronze star info to put on the website.
Public Session closed out at 5:30pm Pacific time; 7:30pm Central time; 8:30pm Eastern time.
SWC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES 6/10/19
SWC BOD MEETING MONDAY 6/10/19
5:00 PM PACIFIC
6:00 PM MOUNTAIN
7:00 PM CENTRAL
8:00 PM EASTERN
TUESDAY 6/11/19 @ 12:00 NOON NEW ZEALAND TIME (ROBYN
CARTER)
_____________________________________________
PRESENT: Donald Dippner / Linda Binns / Kim Ward / Pat Dobbs
/ Ty Smeltekopf. Apologies : Robyn Carter / Leslie Cotter
_______________________________________________
Meeting Chair: Linda Binns
Liasions:
HC – Robyn Carter
CSC – Leslie Cotter
Social Media – Ty Smeltekopf
LRC: (Temporary) Don Dippner
Spirit: Linda Binns
Webcom: Kim Ward
Website: https://www.saywhatclub.org / blog:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-blog
Facebook Groups: Friends with Hearing Loss / Generation-Y /
Advocacy.
___________________________________________________
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Ward
May 1, 2019 – May 31, 2019
Bank Balance: Convention: $29,747.36 / Main: $12,484.77 /
Total: $42,232.13
Amount matches our combined Chase Bank account balance.
Treasurer’s report was submitted, discussed and approved.
Moved by Pat Dobbs, 2 nd by Don Dippner to approve all other
committee reports. No further discussion, all approved.
Public Session adjourned, 5:23 PM PACIFIC TIME
____________________________________________________
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
SWC COMMITTEE REPORTS MAY 2019
LIST REP REPORT:
List Stats (Number of Postings for each List) for April, 2019
as compiled by Bet Whitcomb, LRC List Rep Chair
Posts Number of Subscribers
CI 258 106
Connect 173 73
Explore 6
Forum 859 54
Menieres 6 39
Vistas 74 30
World 114 64
SWC Friends with Hearing Loss FB Group – 52 Posts, 572
comments in May; 901 members.
SWC Gen-Y FB Group – 347 members.
******************************************************************
HC REPORT:
NEW SUBSCRBERS 8
CI list 2
(plus one that was already on a SWC list)
Forum 3
(2 also joined CI list and one also joined Meniere’s list
Connect 3
Found :
Search engine 5
Other website 1
Friend 1
DELETES 7
Connect 2 ( one self sign off)
CI list 2
World 2
Forum 1 (death of long time subscriber)
Marty Mattox-Baker (HC CHAIR)
************************************************************
***********************************************************
CONVENTION STEERING COMMITTEE (CSC)
Convention Steering Committee Report
May 2019
Chair –Lorne Smith
Two months away from the convention.
Launched the SWC LOVE Page in May
o For a $25 donation you can leave a comment that will
appear in the Convention bulletin.
Made a final appeal for sponsors and advertisers.
Finalized workshop descriptions.
Added an optional captioned play activity and an underground
tour.
Launched an online sign-up sheet for tours and activities.
Details at: https:www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-
convention/2019-saywhatclub-convention/
Local Chair –Cynthia Hurst
Tote bags
o Received tote bags, some had printing issues and we have
requested a credit for them.
o Fortunately we have enough for register con attendees and
vendors.
Welcome Party
o Assisting Christine and should receive some packages soon
that she is sending.
Convention Program
o Secured a local printing company from a national chain to
print our Con programs.
SWC Love Page
o Donna M. will be coordinating the follow-up for pledges not
paid by June 15 th deadline.
Pledges must be paid to donor to be included in Con
program.
Activities
o Still trying to secure a Friday night event.
Saturday
o Presently looks to be a free day for con attendees.
Convention Treasurer –Donna McNary
Income: $3,488.00 Expenses: ($383.35) Tote bags [as of 5/29/19]
Payments received: Sponsorship from Canine Companions and
InnoCaption.
SWC LOVE page payments are coming in as well.
Sponsors –Chelle Wyatt
Advanced Bionics and Cochlear America are sponsoring again this
year.
Everyone is paid up.
Presently settling ads with the sponsors for the program.
Registration –Marty Mattox-Baker
62 people registered includes 3 new attendees.
I will be the contact for people trying to find roommates.
Commons to go live on June 1 st
o Convention attendees can use this email list before and
shortly after the convention.
o Listserv limit: 50 people on Commons
Facebook Convention Group page is also active.
Website and Program Book –Michele Linder
Convention Web pages continue to be updated as details are
finalized and confirmed.
Activities/Tours sign-up is active and operational
Program Book
o Sending Lorne a weekly updated mock-up highlighting info
still needed.
o Presently only have a half-page that needs to be filled
If we get 8-9 more LOVE page submissions, page will
be filled!
Publicity –Lorne Smith
Three general announcement made to all of SWC in May
promoting:
o Workshops
o Workplace accommodations
o Launch of SWC LOVE Page
o Voluntary convention activities and tours.
Silent Auction –Rhonda Edwards
Currently have 25 confirmed donations.
Still waiting on a few donors that haven’t completed the Silent
Auction Donation form.
Silent Auction webpage link, Donation Form, and Donation Form
Response List are running smoothly and are up to date.
Please boast, boost and push for more Silent Auction donations as
possible.
Hotel –Lorne Smith
Banquet has been relocated to the Central Pacific meeting room
instead of the River City Ballroom.
This is the same room used for the workshops and Town Hall
Meeting.
This allows us to leave the loop in place.
Capacity: 90 people, which is more than adequate for our needs.
AV/CART/LOOP –Lorne Smith
OTOjOY [which is sponsoring the hearing loop] has received the
dimensions for our meeting and banquet room.
The loop will be laid on Wednesday, July 31 st and will remain in
place throughout the convention.
SWC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES 5/13/19
SWC BOD MEETING MONDAY 5/13/19
5:00 PM PACIFIC
6:00 PM MOUNTAIN
7:00 PM CENTRAL
8:00 PM EASTERN
TUESDAY 5/14/19 @ 12:00 NOON NEW ZEALAND TIME (ROBYN CARTER)
_____________________________________________
PRESENT: Donald Dippner / Linda Binns / Kim Ward / Leslie Cotter / Pat Dobbs. Absent: Ty Smeltekopf; Robyn Carter (Partial attendance)
_______________________________________________
Meeting Chair: Leslie Cotter
Liaisons:
HC – Robyn Carter
CSC – Leslie Cotter
Social Media – Ty Smeltekopf
LRC: (Temporary) Don Dippner
Spirit: Linda Binns
Webcom: Kim Ward
Website: https://www.saywhatclub.org / blog: https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-blog
Facebook Groups: Friends with Hearing Loss / Generation-Y / Advocacy.
________________________________________________________________
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Ward
April 1, 2019 – April 30, 2019
Bank Balance: Convention: $27,667.68 / Main: $12,465.13 / Total: $40,132.81.
Amount matches our combined Chase Bank account balance.
PayPal Balance (Pending transfer to Chase Bank: $1,684.65
Treasurer’s report was submitted, discussed and approved.
Moved by Linda Binns, 2nd by Don Dippner to approve all other committee reports. No further discussion, all approved.
Public Session adjourned, 5:23 PM PACIFIC TIME
_______________________________________________
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
SWC COMMITTEE REPORTS APRIL 2019
LIST REP REPORT:
List Stats (Number of Postings for each List) for April, 2019
as compiled by Bet Whitcomb, LRC List Rep Chair
Posts Number of Members
CI 171 104
Connect 69 71
Explore 74
Forum 968 51
Meniere’s 12 37
Vistas 90 30
World 180 65
SWC Friends with Hearing Loss FB Group – 988 posts, 868 members, with 16 new members in April. 487 posts in March
SWC Gen-Y FB Group – 136 posts, 342 members. 88 posts in March
******************************************************************
HC REPORT:
Newbies 9
World 3
Connect 2 ( One of them also joined the CI list)
Forum 3
CI list 1
(all found us via search engine or other)
Deletes 12
World 2
Connect 5
CI list 5 ( one via request)
Marty Mattox-Baker
***********************************************************
CONVENTION STEERING COMMITTEE (CSC)
Chair (Lorne Smith)
Website links to the convention schedule and workshops/presenters are almost complete. Here’s the link:https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/2019-saywhatclub-convention/
Currently securing bids for the printing of our program books.
Local chair (Cynthia Hurst)
Hamilton CapTel will be sponsoring the Tote bags this year.
Working on availability of tours and activities.
Treasurer (Donna McNary)
For the month of April (as of 4/28), 19 new attendees were registered.
April’s income is $3,275, and expenses -$1,348.75.
Sponsors (Chelle Wyatt)
InnoCaption
Hamilton Captel
Canine Companions for Interdependence [a local non-profit agency]
Waiting for response:
MedEl
Advanced Bionics
Cochlear America
Registration (Marty-Mattox-Baker)
We have had 44 subscribers and 15 spouses/significant others register, giving us a grand total of 59 registered.
Website and Program Book (Michele Linder)
Waiting for information on one workshop and scheduled activities and tours.
Publicity (Lorne Smith)
Several posts were made to SWC lists, FB pages and groups during April promoting the convention , including reminders about the April 30 early-bird deadline. We received about 10 registrations in the final days of the month.
Silent Auction (Rhonda Edwards)
Currently we have 14 confirmed donations.
Scholarships (Pat Kovac)
We awarded 3 scholarships, an Emily “Jazzy” Wingert for a first-time attendee, a General, and a Veteran.
Minutes of meeting 11th February 2019 5.00 pm Pacific Time
Present: , Kim Ward, Don Dippner, Robyn Carter, Linda Binns, Ty Smeltekop, Leslie Cotter, Pat Dobbs
Meeting chair: Kim Ward
Officers:
President: Don Dippner
Secretary: Robyn Carter
Treasurer: Kim Ward
Liaisons:
Social media – Ty Smeltekop
HC – Robyn Carter
LRC – Don Dippner (Temporary)
Web – Kim Ward
CSC – Leslie Cotter
Spirit – Linda Binns
Website: https://www.saywhatclub.org/
Blog: https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-blog/
Facebook Groups:
SayWhat Friends with Hearing Loss: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SWCFriends/
Generation Y: https://www.facebook.com/groups/155139947975931/
Treasurer’s report – Kim Ward
Jan 1, 2019 through Jan 31, 2019
Bank Balance
Convention: $26,127.68
Main $12,793.73
Total $38,921.41
Treasurers report was submitted, discussed and approved. Details available on request.
Linda Binns moved, Leslie Cotter Seconded. Carried
Other Reports
Leslie tells us the current CSC team is really hot and a way ahead of last year.
Linda asked at what point does Daphne publish committee reports on the website. Each Liaison is to
send Daphne the report AFTER the BOD meeting as they need to be approved first.
Linda Binns moved to accept all reports as is. Robyn Carter seconded. Carried.
SayWhatClub® Fundraising Report
The SayWhatClub® is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible as a charitable expense.
We are an all-volunteer group and rely solely on donations to keep things running.
Anyone can donate from our website and we appreciate any and all donations.
Donations directly from our website.
We have a “Donate Now” button on our website for people to donate when ever they want.
https://www.saywhatclub.org/how-to-donate-to-saywhatclub/
We also receive funding donations through Fund Drives to our subscribers and followers.
We have a Fall Fund Drive scheduled for 2019, stay tuned for details!
In addition to our Fall Fund Drive, we also receive donations from AmazonSmile, PayPal Give, and
the Benevity Program.
AmazonSmile
AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping
features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the
AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the
charitable organization of your choice.
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-875174
Here are some other possible fundraising opportunities that we are pursuing::
eBay For Charity [Do not use this one presently]
Facebook Charity [Do not use this one presently]
Google Charity [Do not use this one presently]
Microsoft Charity [Do not use this one presently]
Disney Charity [Do not use this one presently]
Charity WordPress [Do not use this one presently]
We are exploring adding a Donate Now button to our main page on Facebook and researching
Text to Donate options.
If you have questions about our Fundraising Programs please send an email to:
Fundraising@saywhatclub.org
Don Dippner
Fundraising Committee
Say What Club Convention in Sacramento July 31 – Aug 3, 2019
Registrations for the Convention are open and several people have already registered. You
can register from the Website:
https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/convention-checkout/
Linda Binns moved to close the meeting Don Dippner Seconded, Carried.
Meeting Adjourned 5.21pm Pacific Time
SayWhatClub Minutes of meeting 8th January 2019 9.00 pm EST
Present: , Kim Ward, Don Dippner, Robyn Carter, Linda Binns, Chelle Wyatt, Michele Linder, Ty Smeltekop, Leslie Cotter Apologies: Pat Dobbs Meeting chair: Robyn Carter
Officers:
President: Don Dippner
Secretary: Robyn Carter
Treasurer: Kim Ward
Liaisons:
Social media – Ty Smeltekop
HC – Robyn Carter
LRC – Don Dippner
(Temporary) Web – Kim Ward
CSC – Leslie Cotter
Spirit – Linda Binns
Website: https://www.saywhatclub.org/
Blog: https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-blog/
Facebook Groups:
SayWhat Friends with Hearing Loss: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SWCFriends/
Generation Y: https://www.facebook.com/groups/155139947975931/
First Order of Business is that we welcome Ty Smeltekop and Pat Dobbs to the board. We also thank Michele Linder and Chelle Wyatt for their time and work on the Board and farewell them. But it’s not goodbye as they will still be helping SWC in various roles and capacity and continue their volunteer work for SWC.
Treasurer’s report – Michele Linder Dec 1, 2018 through Dec 31, 2018
Bank Balance Convention: $24,807.13
Main $13,018.31
Total $37,825.44
Treasurer’s report was submitted, discussed and approved. Details available on request.
Other Reports
Robyn moved to accept the other reports as is. Don Dippner seconded. Carried.
Say What Club Convention in Sacramento July 31 – Aug 3, 2019
Registrations for the Convention are open and several people have already registered. You can register from the Website: https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-convention/convention-checkout/
Robyn moved to close the meeting at 9.28pm, Linda Binns Seconded, Carried.
SWC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING 10/9/2018
6:00 PM PACIFIC
7:00 PM MOUNTAIN
8:00 PM CENTRAL
9:00 PM EASTERN
WEDNESDAY 10/10/18 @ 2:00 PM NEW ZEALAND TIME (ROBYN CARTER)
_________________________________________________________
PRESENT:
Donald Dippner / Linda Binns / Kim Ward / Leslie Cotter / Robyn Carter / Michele Linder. Absent : Chelle Wyatt.
__________________________________________________________________
Meeting Chair: Leslie Cotter
Liaisons:
HC- Kim Ward
CSC – Leslie Cotter
Social Media: Robyn Carter
LRC: Chelle Wyatt (absent)
Spirit: Linda Binns
Website: https://www.saywhatclub.org / blog: https://www.saywhatclub.org/saywhatclub-blog
Facebook Groups: Friends with Hearing Loss / Generation – Y
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SWCFriends/ Generation Y:
Treasurer’s Report – Michele Linder / Sept. 1, 2018 through Sept. 28, 2018.
Bank Balance:
Convention: $ 25,807.13
Main: $ 13,567.38
Total: $ 39,374.51
*amount matches our combined Chase Bank account balance
PayPal Balance: $0.00
Treasurer’s report was submitted, discussed and approved. See above.
Moved by Michele Linder, 2nd by Donald Dippner to approve all other committee reports. No further discussion, all approved.
After lengthy discussion, it was determined that the annual convention report will continue to be included in the minutes. Moved by Leslie Cotter, 2nd by Linda Binns. Vote: 5 in favor, 1 opposed, 1 absent. Report posted below: (BEGIN ANNUAL CONVENTION REPORT)
2018 SAYWHATCLUB ANNUAL CONVENTION FINAL REPORT
Prepared by Michele Linder
Conference Name: 2018 SayWhatClub Convention
Dates of Convention: August 1-4, 2018
Location of Convention: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels – Downtown Saint Paul, MN
ACTUAL REVENUE
Registration Total $ 8,315.00
Sponsorship Total $ 4,150.00
Jazzy Wingert Memorial Scholarship Fund $ 546.10
Private Donations Total $ 660.00
Prepaid Activities $ 2,191.00
Total Revenue: $15,862.10
Comments on Revenue:
Scholarship: The Jazzy Wingert Memorial Scholarship was awarded to a first-time convention attendee. Funds remaining for future cons: $6,844.85
ACTUAL EXPENSE
2019 Scouting: $ 847.00
Bank & PayPal Fees (Registration/Sponsorship/Activities) $ 255.45
Hotel – Banquet/Food/Beverage/AV Total $ 9,485.13
Tote Bags (Donated) w/SWC Labels $ 23.41
Scholarships Total: $ 1,963.35
Accessibility Expenses Total (CART, ASL, Hearing Loop) $ 2,536.90
Prepaid Activities Total: $ 2,314.25
Starkey Tour Transportation Total: $ 270.00
Total Expense: $17,695.49
LOSS: $1,833.39
GENERAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION
Registration Total: 66 Attendance: 67
Activity Participation ・Tin Whiskers Brewery Tour/Tasting: 23 ・Saint Paul Bus Tour: 28
James J. Hill House Tour: 29 ・Gangster Tour: 36 ・
St. Paul Saints Baseball: 24
Fundraisers Silent Auction Total $2,153.00
50/50 Raffle $ 402.00
Fundraiser Total $2,555.00”
END CONVENTION ANNUAL REPORT
HC Chair Election and LRC Chair Election to begin committee discussion in October.
BOD NOMINATIONS: 2 board members have reached the end of their first term. Nominations will be taken to fill one confirmed upcoming vacancy and one position open for re-election. Notification to the lists, requesting nominations, upcoming soon.
Motion by Michele Linder for Donald Dippner to be declared acting secretary, to conduct SayWhatClub business with Chase bank, in full capacity, including for the purpose of changing signers on all SayWhatClub accounts. 2nd by Kim Ward. Unanimous vote, all approve.
Meeting adjourned 7:06 pm Pacific / 8:06 pm Mountain /9:06 pm Central / 10:06 pm Eastern / Wednesday 10/10/18 3:06 pm New Zealand