anyone has a digital recorder for next DGI meeting? REDACTED TO REMOVE PERSONAL ATTACKS ON THERESA YON (so I can stay on the DGI board)

and we have minutes... and as of tomorrow, a digital recorder!

"...

DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO INC. (DGI)  February 20, 2014  MINUTES  Members Attending: Brittany Atkinson, Mike Boston, Gary Brame, Dawn S. Chaney, Mark Hewett, Marty Lawing, Al Leonard, Simonne McClinton, Donald C. Moore, David Parrish (for Jim Westmoreland), Jeff Phillips, Nick Piornack, Mark Prince, Eric Robert, Tim Sexton, Sam Simpson, Nancy Vaughan, Jeff Yetter, Theresa Yon and Rob Youth (20)  Members Absent: Derek Ellington, Megan Millard, Thomas Philion and Dianne Ziegler (4)  Staff Attending: Jason Cannon, Steven Harrison, Sherrie Simpson, Debbie Curran, Vickie Hall and Larry Owens (6)  Guest Speaker(s): Joe Stewart, Executive Director NC FreeEnterprise Foundation and Fountainworks Partner  Julia Cox, Greensboro Downtown Residents’ Association..."

"... Mr. Robert said that he felt the organization needs to change its strategic thinking and inclusiveness in Downtown...."

Actually what I said was..."So much diversity...look around the table." 

Judge for yourself, look at the list above...mostly old white guys except for Brittany, Simonne and Ms Vaughan.

"...C. Event Sponsorship Approvals: The Executive Committee approved the following event sponsorships as unanimously recommended by the Marketing Committee: 

 John’s Run for $500. Funds will be used for marketing and logistics. This event is organized by Running with Horses, LLC and has an estimated attendance of 800 or more. 

 The City Market for $3,500. Funds will be used for marketing and logistics. This event is organized by Running with Horses, LLC and has an estimated attendance of 21,600. 

 Fun Fourth Festival for $5,000. Funds will be used to buy the souvenir item, pay stipends to music groups and help defray cost of sound equipment and technicians. This event is organized by Grassroots Productions Limited and has an estimated attendance of over 90,000. 

 Carolina Blues Festival for $500. Funds will be used to secure a national and/or regional artist for the festival line-up. This event is organized by the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society and has an estimated attendance of over 1,500. 

 BB&T Beach Music in the Park for $1,200. Funds will support the Children’s Home Society of NC, who is also organizing the event which has an estimated attendance of between 1,000 and 3,000 per event. The series will run for six weeks on Thursday from May 22nd to June 26th. 

 Additionally the Marketing Committee approved holding $500 in reserve for any additional events and $1,000 for a reusable banner. 

Ms. McClinton questioned if the board no longer votes on these. Mr. Cannon explained that the Executive Committee is charged with the day-to-day activities and reports its actions to the Board. The Board is tasked more with strategic planning and long-term visioning for the organization. Mr. Simpson added the funding was exhausted for the fiscal year for sponsorships and may not be a relevant issue for the Board in the future. 

Mr. Robert said he felt the City Market and other events are a great thing; however there are probably a lot of other events that we could sponsor and asked why we are spending Fun Fourth Festival dollars now for an event that will take place during the next fiscal year. He said that it doesn’t feel right to approve $5,000 for the event in this fiscal year and thought the dollars could help with at least 5 other different events. He questioned if we can do better and if can we do anything about it and revisit the $5,000 in the next fiscal year. 

Mr. Brame responded that event sponsorship applications are required at least 60 days prior to an event’s occurrence. He felt it’s logical to do 60 days in advance, otherwise there does not allow for a funding turnaround. He noted there’s $500 in reserve and that the Marketing Committee typically gets 10 to 15 sponsorship requests and some applications may not qualify/fit criteria due to being outside the BID or being political or religious, etc. He would like to see the event sponsorship application better defined but felt the Fun Fourth Festival application should be a done deal. Downtown Greensboro Inc. Board of Directors Meeting Page 5 February 20, 2014 

Mr. Robert questioned the Board for verification if the Fun Fourth Festival was a done deal. He said it’s a new era and given the new Board, we can come up with 5 to 10 things to do with $5,000 in funding. 

Mr. Brame noted the Fun Fourth Festival is one of the largest contributors to the vitality of Downtown and felt we owe whatever support we can provide and have committed to the funds already. He stated Grassroots Productions Limited has done a great job in the past and attracts over 90,000 people to this event. 

Mr. Robert asked again if this funding was a done deal or can we change and reallocate for other worthy causes. Mr. Simpson explained logistically, there needs to be a motion to pull this item off the approval list for reconsideration later. Mr. Robert then moved to remove the item. Ms. McClinton seconded the motion. 

Mr. Brame stated that he felt it’s a little late to change the rules. As we go forward into the next fiscal year, we could be more proactive; however he felt it would be improper to pull the sponsorship that had already been approved. The Marketing Committee and the DGI Executive Committee have unanimously approved and he felt that we are obligated; however beyond this point for the next fiscal year, he felt the idea was terrific to re-evaluate. 

Mr. Leonard then offered a substitute motion to keep the sponsorship in place. Mr. Moore seconded the motion. Mr. Simpson stated there was a substitute before the Board. Mr. Leonard then moved the previous question and that motion was approved. The Board then voted on Mr. Leonard’s substitute motion. It was noted by the Chair that the substitute motion replaced the original motion made by Mr. Robert. All were in favor with the exception of Mr. Robert, who voted in opposition. The substitute motion to keep the sponsorship in place was approved. 

Mr. Simpson reported that the Board members are not going to agree on all items and felt the discussion was a healthy debate. July 1st is the new budget cycle and hopes that DGI’s new focus is in place by then. ..."

Just to be very clear..."Mr. Brame stated that he felt it’s a little late to change the rules. As we go forward into the next fiscal year, we could be more proactive; however he felt it would be improper to pull the sponsorship that had already been approved...."

Actually Mr Brame stated that it would be "morally corrupt" not "improper"...

One more clarification..." The Board then voted on Mr. Leonard’s substitute motion. It was noted by the Chair that the substitute motion replaced the original motion made by Mr. Robert. All were in favor with the exception of Mr. Robert, who voted in opposition..."

In reality, most new members did not vote since they had no clue as to what the fuck was going on...