Communication Committee Meeting Recap
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Attendees: David Brown, Pat Eby, Lisa Hollander, Faith Williams (Board Liaison)
Lisa began by reporting on a meeting with Judith Anderson and Daniel O'Connell to discuss public relations. Judith is a professional in radio advertising strategies and Lisa is a professional public relations person for the YMCA. They decided that radio and TV would be too expensive for advertising but print is an option.
Lisa is preparing a report for the Communications Committee which will outline a public relations strategy for Eliot. Much of the report will deal with internal communications. Her report is near completion.
Lisa presented some of the topics that will be addressed in her report.
David directed discussion toward rebuilding and refocusing the Communications Committee now that Bobbi has resigned as chair. He felt the Communications Committee has been ignored by church leadership. The committee either should find a useful place for itself or be dissolved.
Pat Eby had been at another meeting and was free to attend our meeting at this point.
Discussion continued about the role of the Communications Committee. Pat said that she and Bobbi had been involved in planning for the Conversation 2003 all church meeting. She felt they were instrumental in making it an open forum where there was no limitation on the topics that could be discussed.
There was further discussion of ways the Communication Committee could be useful to help the exchange of information between the board and the congregation and among members of the congregation in general. Some consideration was given to making a presentation to the board on what we think we should be doing.
Pat Eby agreed to serve as chair of the committee for the remainder of the church year.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 12.
David Brown
Communication Committee Meeting Recap
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
In attendance were Pat Eby, David Brown, Faith Williams, Larry Kehler, Lisa Hollander, and Bobbi Linkemer.
Issues discussed:
Communication Committee Meeting Recap
Monday, December 16, 2002
In attendance were David Brown, Chery Green, Faith Williams, Larry Kehler, and Bobbi Linkemer.
MAJOR ISSUES
The focus of the meeting was discussion of four important questions:
The following conclusions were reached:
This is obviously an enormous subject and not one we hoped to resolve in one meeting. The important questions to be addressed are (a) what is wrong with our present communication? and (b) what steps should be taken to improve it? These are questions we will first consider as a committee by having an e-mail brainstorming session. All members of Com Com are asked to consider these two questions and send your responses to all committee members. Bobbi will compile them, and they will be discussed and refined at our next meeting. At that time we will decide what our next step will be.
A piece of old business is a grid that lists audiences and communication vehicles. This will give us a graphic view of who we're missing in our attempt to reach everyone with the same messages. Daniel had suggested this at the first meeting he attended; but, unfortunately, it fell through the cracks. Bobbi will work on it before the next meeting.
This is another huge question and one that will ultimately be decided by the group planning the meeting. However, we believe our input on the agenda is appropriate. There are many changes going on at Eliot, and change is difficult for most people to accept without understanding what they are and why they are taking place, as well as being able to express their views and concerns. Thus, the subjects we identified as pressing for discussion at the town hall meeting are trust/mistrust and resulting communication breakdowns, conflict resolution, growth, and change management.
One suggestion was that rather than a top-down information sharing meeting as previous town all meetings have been, we hold a series of smaller meetings, led by a professional facilitator. At these meetings, concerns could be freely aired, recorded, and followed up at subsequent meetings or through action by the church leadership. This approach was apparently very helpful during the initial "organ controversy," which was an emotionally laden topic. Larry Kehler facilitated those meetings.
Since our purpose is to facilitate open communications among all levels and factions of Eliot, we agreed that e-mail is a viable means of getting information and views circulated. E-mails provide documentation of what was said, especially if there has not been open discussion on a particular issue. According to the Eliot bylaws, the only information that can be considered confidential and off limits to circulation is personnel data. Other than that, communication by any method should not be restricted. When it is, it sows the seeds of mistrust and misunderstanding.
Two other suggestions were:
WEB SITE
We were all delighted to hear that Chery has decided to continue in her role as Webmaster. The only change in her responsibilities will be the online newsletter, which will be posted by JoAnn. This change will have two benefits. It will ensure:
Regarding announcements that appear in the order of service, it was suggested that Nancy send those announcements to Chery, who will circulate them in her Friday reminder e-mail.
COMMITTEE MINUTES
The People Committee recently posted a summary of its last meeting on the website but has decided to follow that with a copy of the full minutes, as it has done in the past.
All committees are now asked to submit minutes of their meetings directly to the board. The Communication Committee has always done that by including the Board Chair in our e-mail correspondence.
TOWN HALL MEETING
The meeting, which was originally scheduled for Sunday, January 12 at 1:00 p.m., has been moved to January 5 at 12:30 (according to Daniel's most recent newsletter article). The change was probably made to avoid a conflict with the Covenant Groups, which will be starting on January 12.
The committee would like Pat Eby to accompany Bobbi to the next town hall planning meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 18th, if possible.
NEW MEMBER MATERIALS
Due to a compulsive propensity to say, "I'll do that," Bobbi will edit the new member brochures and the committee listings before turning then over to a designer. She will meet with Nancy on the information guide and have Larry appoint a designer to bring the brochures into conformity with the Eliot look.
The change in the order of service covers is another project that has been stalled. Bobbi e-mailed Pat's cover designs to Nancy and will suggest that they get together to discuss next steps.
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 15th.
Communication Committee Meeting Recap
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
In attendance were Pat Eby, Chery Green, David Brown, Rich Vaughn (guest), and Bobbi Linkemer.
Welcome Lisa Hollander
We welcomed a new member of our committee, Lisa Hollander, who is a PR professional. Lisa submitted a draft of an internal and external communications plan, which was reviewed and enthusiastically accepted. This is the first time such a plan has been introduced. Lisa will meet with Daniel to review it and then develop a more detailed proposal.
Request from People Committee
Rich Vaughn addressed the committee with a request from the People Committee for a new member packet. The packed is to be presented to people who have expressed an interest in joining Eliot. It will contain seven items: an information guide and inclusive annual calendar of events; a how-to-join brochure; a how-to-pledge brochure; a new member information form, a pledge card; a talents and interests form; and a UU pocket guide. The new member information form, pledge card, and talents an interests form will be filled out and given to Daniel on the first Sunday of the month as part of the process of becoming a member of Eliot. The biggest challenge for us will be the information guide and calendar. The guide is obsolete, and the calendar will have to be created from scratch.
The committee agreed that all pieces should reflect the "Eliot look" and level of quality we have established over the last two years. To that end, all copy will be reviewed and edited, and the elements of packet designed. Bobbi will ask Daniel for the files and review the project with Larry Kehler, coordinator of the consultant network, who was unable to attend the meeting. Larry will then appoint a project coordinator and designer.
Daniel's view of future direction of Eliot communications
Bobbi recapped her meeting with Daniel regarding communications and Com Com's role in the future. We are still unclear about direction. In the past we have been very "hands on." We developed guidelines, redesigned printed material, established a state-of-the-art website, created a consultant network, and acted as a resource for all committees. None of this seems to be contained in our new "job description"; yet, we are still being called upon to fulfill these responsibilities. Bobbi will request another the meeting with Daniel or ask him to address the committee again to clarify our responsibilities.
Broader Issues
Besides Com Com's role, discussion covered many question and observations regarding growth, governance, media relations, and maintaining Eliot's traditions, even as we are experiencing change in many areas. It was suggested that we plan a town hall meeting to get congregational input on these issues. We will submit a request to the board to hold a town hall meeting in January.
Bergfried survey
Chery will meet with Gene Hutchins to review and streamline the survey to determine congregants' interest in and use of Bergfried. The completed survey will then be sent to the board for approval and distributed to the congregation.
Website
Chery announced that she plans to step down as Webmaster as soon as we can find a replacement. This is a great loss to both the committee and the congregation as Chery and David created a website that brought Eliot into the 21st century, dramatically improved communications, attracted many new visitors and guests.