Present: Cindy, Olyn, Linda, Gina, Ron, Robin, Gentry, AJ and Lewis.
Meeting was called to order at 6:17 p.m. at Long’s Photography.
Treasurer’s Report : Ron reported $160 net from the February meeting. Ron will send treasurers report to Robin to post to the blog. Cindy asked Ron to please provide the Board with a copy of the bank statement at the next Board Meeting.
Print of the Month: April’s challenge is Technical Excellence with a focus on black and white. Linda reported that we’re getting a lot of entries, print competition seems to be going well. Linda wants to make sure that the print critique remains friendly and open, the panel will continue to be different every month. February’s winners were:
Portrait of a Woman and Overall Print of the Month- Kylene Gay, Forever Photography by Kylene
Portrait of A Man- Terri Smith, Terri Smith Photo
Social Function- Olyn Long, Long’s Photography
Environmental Portrait- Robin Adams, Robin Adams Photography
Commercial- Judy Dougherty, Judy D Photography
Challenge “Creativity with Rule of Thirds”- Eileen Walsh
Portrait of a Group- Cindy Strickland, A Moment Captured by Cindy Strickland
Open- Gina Weaver
Digital Art- Cindy Strickland, A Moment Captured by Cindy Strickland
Portrait of a Child- Lori McCoy, Lori McCoy Photography
March’s Speaker: Olyn will e-mail or call Kevin Newsome and give him directions and the timeline.
Membership: There are 33 active members, 24 members attended in January and 25 attended in February. Cindy asked that Lewis please update the blog with the current membership. Tony Ivory, Ben Cox, and Trish Cox have all paid yearly membership dues, but haven’t submitted an application nor tax forms. Lewis will e-mail all three asking them to please complete and mail in their forms. The Board agreed that they are members, but their paperwork should be submitted.
Survey Results: Noise level in the hallway – board agreed that we really can’t do anything about it, but it is distracting. AJ will bring WD40 to oil the door, we’ll also try to keep only one door open.
Nametags: The nametags will have TPPG’s logo, the member’s name, and member’s business name. Gentry will get member list and will order them, Ron will pay, Gina will pick them up and get them disbursed. Cindy asked that Gentry or Gina to please contact new members each month and thank them for coming, hope they come again, etc.
Flow at the entrance: Board discussed the bottleneck and confusion at February’s meeting, agreed that Lewis should seated first, Ron second to take money, then Linda for print submission.
Speaker: Robin to send reminder that Kevin will be pulling people from the audience to pose, please dress appropriately.
Sergeant of Arms: Olyn will contact Kevin Newsome about setting up for the March program. Olyn said that outlets are very difficult to find in the room, we need more extension cords. AJ will bring a surge projector/extension cord for Olyn to store and use each month. Cindy suggested that we have some sort of name tags at our places. Olyn suggested a photocopied paper with the general timeline for the evening and a slot for the member’s name. Olyn will talk to server about our timeline so she can be more efficient. Robin to send Olyn the timeline.
Delegates Meeting: Each delegate at the delegate’s meeting gave information about their membership, locations, speaker fees, etc. One of the delegates is compiling the information and will send to each delegate. Cindy will e-mail Robin info for Scholarship forms to send to the members. Florida School’s hotel next year will be much closer to the school and will be $80 per night. We will be eating in the banquet room at the photography museum and it will be catered by the culinary school. Florida School has 65 students so far this year, membership is very low.
Speakers: Robin is confirming Susan Toregossa for April; Linda is to contact Brian Idocks for May’s safari. Salon will be June. Linda and Robin will continue to work on speakers for the rest of the year. Robin will use TAPPA’s speaker contract and send a draft to the board for approval.
Door Prizes: We’re nearly out, Linda asked the Board please contact our suppliers and ask for door prizes. Cindy reminded the Board that we can sell it to the vendors by telling them that we have a lot of new members who need to establish relationships.
OLD BUSINESS:
Visitor Fees: A past member came and asked to attend as a visitor and wasn’t happy with the amount we now charge ($35). Discussion about the reason for the high amount: it was to encourage membership, not visitors. Linda moved that we change the visitor fee from $35 to $25 and we keep all the other restrictions that the board passed at the first of the year, Ron seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Cindy will e-mail that member that the board has changed the policy and invite him to attend again.
Voting by E-mail: Bylaws need to be amended to allow voting by e-mail; Robin to send proposed language to the Board.
NEW BUSINESS:
Maclay Gardens: Olyn suggested that the Guild write a letter to the park and ask that they waive the fees for entry. Linda suggested that they give Guild members a photographer’s pass. Olyn will research the issue and figure out who we need to talk to and present the information to the Board.
Salon: Olyn asked if we will have all the same categories as the state competition. Linda stated that we need to make sure all the information be laid out very clearly to the members. Discussion about how many cases can be entered into the local salon. Martin is the Salon Manager this year; Linda suggested that Martin come to the board with a proposal on how exactly Salon will be run this year.
Meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.