Board of Directors Minutes
August 2008

A regular meeting of your Board of Directors was conducted as a conference call on Monday, August 11, 2008, from 7:00 - 9 p.m. Present were Howard Berger, Richard Corzo, Patrick Libert, Rob Limbaugh, Annette van Ommeren, Jeff Setaro, Jim Scheef. President Rob Limbaugh presided and Secretary Anna van Ommeren kept the record. Minutes of the last meeting held July 14, 2008, were presented and approved. Treasurer Charles Bovaird reported current cash assets of $6.543.48, consisting of total bank and postal accounts in the amount of $6,467.77 plus postage on hand of $75.71. Subtracting a liability of prepaid dues in the amount of $3.210.00 left a net equity of $3.333.48. He also reported that the current membership is at 227 and there are 188 members with valid email addresses.

In response to audience comments submitted to the Board, the issue of cell phone disturbance at the August general meeting presentation was discussed. Due to ringer disruptions at the meeting, it was decided to remind the audience to mute their cell phones at the start of the meeting. Richard discussed questions posed by the audience during the presentation, he felt questions can enhance the show, however, the Board suggested they should pertain to current slide and/or subject being discussed. It is also up to the presenter to decide how to handle questions during the presentation.

Rob brought up the issue of the alarm system of the resource center. Although located within a secure building, it is necessary for insurance purposes. He mentioned he is looking into changing the security provider and will research several security companies for pricing options. He will schedule a walkthrough to discuss whether the present equipment needs to be changed or updated. If deemed necessary the cost of new equipment and/or upgrades may be included with a new plan.

The option of using conference calls was considering for Board meetings and SIG’s. This could allow more people to participate on SIGs or meetings, but would require a good speaker phone in the resource center. Several options were discussed; however the long distance telephone costs may be an issue. In the future Video conferencing might be another desirable feature although bandwidth has to be considered. The discussion about conferencing will be continued.

Next up for review was the DACS hosting plan, it was suggested moving the DACS site to a new host allowing additional functionality and dynamic features. Jeff reported about his experience with inmotionhosting.com, and mentioned the reasonable fees, helpful support, fast response time, unlimited bandwidth, and a 90/day refund guarantee. The Board members will investigate inmotionhosting.com to determine features and suitability. Rob suggested a hosting budget and made the motion to allow up to $200/yr. for hosting. A vote was taken and approved by Rob, Jeff, Jim, Patrick, Howie and Annette. (Richard was no longer present.) This fee is to be reviewed by the Board on an annual basis. Jeff also offered to set up a temporary PHPBB forum for the DACS membership. Details of the forum will be mentioned at the general meetings, and published in the DACS.doc newsletter and website. Once a new hosting provider is selected the forum will be migrated to the new host.

Annette reminded the Board that due to a scheduling conflict she cannot fulfill her duties as recording secretary at the Board meetings for September 08 through January 2009.

Patrick brought up the issue of a “General flyer” He has discussed this with Allan Ostergren, and although a “generic flyer” would be good to have, it should not replace the monthly flyer as this has the current meeting subjects highlighted. Some suggestions on how to offset the annual clipart.com expense included sponsoring a drawing contest or maybe setting up a Scholarship. Jim felt the DACS should explore the scholarship option, as this may also attract younger people. It was agreed to discuss this subject later.

Howie reported on the progress being made at the Greater Danbury Nonprofit Resource Center meetings he is attending. It appears there will be funding for 5 nonprofit groups who will get selected for the pilot program. Their entire IT structure will be moved to a virtual environment, and the role of DACS will be to help train the participants on “Best Practice” and how to use the available software. An added benefit is that this working relationship is improving DACS’ position in the community.

-Anna van Ommeren