The Board met on August 24, 2016 at the Grace Episcopal Church. The key points follow.
Treasurer’s Report
The Club is paying $50 less for rent at our new location than we did last year.
Speakers/Judges
Speakers and judges have been hired from September through March; April has a tentative speaker; April and May judges have not been hired, and the May speaker has not been hired. The March competition date will need to be changed due to a conflicting church activity.
Cable Release
Members should forward any article or news to the Cable Release editor at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org. The editor will review, funnel proofing work to others, etc., then receive all proofed material to prepare for publication. The editor will ultimately make a decision whether to change the deadline to an earlier date since there are several people involved with various newsletter tasks. It was suggested that the first/opening page of the CR be short followed by links to other material.
Competition
There are new rules and topics. There are new competition labels.
Field Trips
Some 2016/2017 trips do not have confirmed dates yet.
Regarding the suggested high school football shoot, permission by the principal or the athletic director should be sought. A basketball game might be easier to shoot.
The Trolley Museum in Silver Spring might be a better replacement for the Baltimore Railroad Museum; it’s closer and perhaps larger.
Work with Jim Turner to coordinate mid-week field trips with NIH Camera Club.
Web
Everything on the web site is working.
Recommend getting the archives from previous Cable Releases in order to publish historical information.
Any newsworthy information can be published on the website immediately, rather than waiting for the official newsletter release date.
Other Committee Reports
A number of the Meetup membership have attended Club Meetup events. Meetup membership is 202 people. Meetup will be used to attract new members. Participation in Meetup activities kicks off notifications of future meetings.
Upcoming Club activities are being posted on Meetup. Everyone is encouraged to RSVP, as perceived popular Meetup events promote even more attendance.
Topics for Discussion
Seek more opportunities for community involvement.
Grow membership by reaching out to younger photographers. Ideas: Perhaps offer break-out groups at Club activities; arrange Thursday seminars devoted to and designed for younger photographers; have a young speaker; prepare marketing flyers to be distributed to teachers at the local community colleges.
Suggestion that the Club pursue giving presentations at a local nursing home. It would generate positive good will for the Club. It received a positive response from the Board.
There is a director opening on the Board. It would be more effective if an interested slate of candidates can be identified.
There will be an increase in the resolution of competition photos this year with the new projector: a maximum of 1,000K rather than 500K.
It was agreed that the social hour be held on speaker nights in October, December and April, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Board members will provide food and beverages for the first event.
The Club will coordinate with Jim Turner and the NIHCC in order to share newsletters and links.
Ideas were circulated regarding income opportunities: swap meets to sell old projector and a slide projector owned by the Club; members could sell printers, cameras, lenses and donate the proceeds; offering portrait sittings to stimulate additional revenue, although it would require extra material and personnel; photographing animal shelters or senior centers; host a bake and beverage sale – these events would be held during education night.