Meetings/2010-01

Date/Location

• January 26th, 2010
• 7:30pm
• Shop
• Eat before, or bring food with.
• All members

Agenda

Topic	Presenter
Review of Board Action Items	Chairman	Action Items
Treasurer's Report	Treasurer	Action Items
Netadmin Report	TBD	Action Items
Facilities Committee Report	Facilities Committee	Action Items
Project	Chairman	Action Items
Publicity & Events	Publicity Chair	Action Items
New Member Recognition	Secretary
Decide next meeting date	Chairman
Update "Action Items Closed Since Last Meeting" Redmine Filter 'Closed' date to be today's date	Chairman
Change Door Code	Secretary
Reclaiming former board member metal keys and changing of the door code	Chairman
Pig Roast	Brimstone (for Omegix)
Putting More Shelving Up	JimShoe
Permamounting Garage & Equipment Room Curtains	Spacefelix
Cleaning Out Lost & Found to Salvage	Spacefelix
International Space Development Conference (ISDC) 2011	Spacefelix

Discussion

• Lease: When is the official end date? Do we want to call and make sure he is good with us re-upping the contract in April vs. finding out we have to leave 4 weeks before the lease expires?
• Who are the new members added since the last meeting? How many members do we have now?
  • simoncion
  • dusty
  • cherryblossom
  • ladymerlin
  • bendersgame
  • kyle
• I heard back from Northrop Grumman's charity board, we were passed up on the donation list this year, but they encourage us to apply again in the future. Omegix 14:03, 25 January 2010 (CST)

Potential Member Query: Who's the board?

I was explaining the process for becoming a new member to some potentials at the shop. One of the troubleshooting tips they offered was that they didn't know who the board members were. Would the board be willing to place a photo of themselves on the wall or on the website? Omegix 22:19, 20 January 2010 (CST)

1. I'd prefer wall instead of website. Brimstone 08:25, 21 January 2010 (CST)
2. Isn't that the point of the sponsor system? To get to know people around the shop? They'd still need majority approval of the board members to get elected, and two members isn't going to do that for them. Brimstone 08:25, 21 January 2010 (CST)

• Telling potential new members who the board is only helps to undermine the process of getting to know people at the shop. This process was put in place so that board members would have the opportunity to get a feel for someone prior to voting. By telling them who the board members are they can then go directly to those people and try to get them to sign their application instead of interacting with everyone. As far as brimstone's comment about "two members", technically the two board member signatures on their application is sufficient to grant them membership in the event that all other board members abstain from voting, which has happened. --strages 10:15, 21 January 2010 (CST)
  • We need to walk through what the board expects of applicants, and how they can find that information out. One of the requirements to apply is to gain sponsorship from 2 board members. You can't do that without knowing what those board members want to see from an applicant. From talking to potential applicants, the process is currently obfuscated. I personally think the easiest way to un-obfuscate this is to tell people who the board members are, that way they understand whats expected directly from the person who's evaluating them. Supplemental things like info on the webpage\wiki could help. Omegix 10:45, 21 January 2010 (CST)
    • As I stated, potential new members are supposed to come to the shop and talk to people. This allows everyone, including board members to get a feel for the person. Having a good understanding of how someone works/interacts with others is needed for the board to make a fair decision on whether they should be a member. In the potential new member's interactions with people at the shop they'll find out who the board members are or as has happened in the past board members will volunteer to sign their application given enough interaction with said person. I tell every potential new member this and have not received a single complaint. In fact they've complimented our system for assessing new members. Our system doesn't put anyone on the spot and follows the natural way most people interact with new groups/communities they're trying to become a part of. --strages 13:59, 25 January 2010 (CST)
  • I've talked to three people who have said they don't have time to become a member of the make shop, but would enjoy coming by every once in a while to work on a project. One of them mentioned that they would be more apt to donate if they felt like they were part of the make shop. There was no interest in obtaining 24/7 access, just in having that warm fuzzy of being part of something. If we continue to see this pattern, we may want to act on it. Omegix 12:10, 25 January 2010 (CST)
    • Jeff we don't force anyone to be a member. If they want unrestricted access to the shop, then they need to be a member, otherwise they are free to use the shop with a member being there. There is no difference between this and what you were talking about. The warm fuzzy comes from helping a place you use succeed with helping others. --Jimshoe 13:20, 25 January 2010 (CST)
      • I agree, there really isn't a difference, it would be in title only. Strages has some very valid concerns about the potential for abuse in voting. Is it worth the effort to implement a title-only membership to mitigate those concerns? That title will make them feel like they're part of Makers Local. What we have now is simple, but we're telling people "either you have the time to talk to us, or you can't be a member." Not "...or you can't have 24/7 access" but "... you can't be a member." Omegix 15:28, 25 January 2010 (CST)
    • I see potential for abuse in providing membership status for people just wanting to donate. Our bylaws are very member centric and becoming a member is something based on trust by interacting with other members. I'm not comfortable with people I don't know nor have met buying membership in our organization because according to our bylaws membership also entitles them to vote on matters they know nothing about and could allow people seeking board positions to stack the votes. --strages 14:05, 25 January 2010 (CST)

Donation Recognition System

Perhaps we could have a type of public recognition that someone is financially supporting our organization? Public recognition for contributions could encourage donations overall, from both members and community supporters.

(Edited out Concept of Membership Levels) Omegix 15:13, 22 January 2010 (CST)

Corporate donations will likely enjoy the special recognition on a contributors page of the website. It wouldn't be unreasonable to put up a banner thanking a corporation for a $5000 gift on the website for a time period.

For personal donations, little thank-you services make the fact that others are contributing visible, and encourage others to donate. We could also brainstorm some perks that come with donating, like recognition on the front page of the site, or custom greets from Ackis in the channel. For keyed members instead of "Unlocking for Member" ackis could say something the member requests like "His awesomeness [Member] has graced the presence of the Make Shop."

• If the philosophy of the shop is that everyone is equal and no one is the leader of the shop, then ranking people by how much money they have completely defeats the entire purpose and leads to even more ego trips from people who like to brag about how much money the give. -- --PsychoAU 23:51, 21 January 2010 (CST)
  • I've edited out the section suggesting membership levels. The spirit of this is to recognize financial donations to our 501c3. Small and large recognitions alike encourage continued donations. --Omegix 15:13, 22 January 2010 (CST)
• What if pigs could fly? You are making up scenarios on things that may or may not happen. Why don't these things get taken up when they happen? --Jimshoe 11:53, 25 January 2010 (CST)
  • Sorry, I don't mean to be convoluted. I'd like to start preparing for work getting corporate donations. To do this I need to be able to show them that we're setup to accept their donations, and make us as attractive as possible to donate to. I'm drawing from things I've seen the other 501c3s I've worked with do, recognition incentives seemed to boost their donors in the long run. Omegix 12:10, 25 January 2010 (CST)
    • I under stand where your coming from. I have said for a long time, we should look into getting corporate sponsors or something along those lines. I even mentioned putting banners up at the shop for these people. I understand how a structured donation system might help with this. But that isn't how we work. If Company A say "I'll give you $5,000, to put my banner up" we (the board) would need to decided if that is what we want for the shop. This is completely different from going to (hypothetical) Gary's Roofing and asking for a donation and in return we will give them something. Two different philosophies. --Jimshoe 13:20, 25 January 2010 (CST)

Putting More Shelving Up

• After visiting Freeside in ATL, it is obvious we need more shelving, with containers on them. This is something we can do on the cheap, and will give up less clutter. I would like to see the shelving go up along the right wall from the front of the shop until the first window. This would allow us to have useful items right there in the main room. As for the projector, we could still project above the whiteboard at the front. --Jimshoe 11:51, 25 January 2010 (CST)
  • I saw some large wooden shelves outside the Express Oil Change on sullivan (near the railroad tracks). It was actually outside the establishment next to the oil change place. I don't know if they're for grabs, but they're currently exposed to the weather, so if we asked they might let us haul them off. Custom shelving is always good too. Omegix 12:01, 25 January 2010 (CST)
  • There's a really cheap furniture place on 72 by Sparkman, in the shopping center with the Papa Johns. I've found sturdy, ultra cheap stuff there before. Of course I'm not sure if that's cheaper than building it ourselves.User:MrWorld

Permamounting Garage & Equipment Room Curtains

• Given how practical it has been to have curtains on the garage and equipment room doors for insulation and keeping out light and noise, I propose to have them permanently mounted. All that will be needed are hooks and wire/rail. --Spacefelix 14:23, 25 January 2010 (CST)

Cleaning Out Lost & Found to Salvage

• Some items have been sitting in the Lost & Found for more than three months without claim. I propose all Lost & Found items be dotted and moved to salvage. --Spacefelix 14:23, 25 January 2010 (CST)

International Space Development Conference (ISDC) 2011

HAL5 has invited us to attend the next ISDC in Huntsville in 2011 (exact date and place to be determined). We will be given a booth and access to a nationwide and local audience of engineers and space enthusiasts. The conditions are that we help them out with the conference and present something space-related along with all our other maker stuff. Right now, the HHO gas rocket, and our involvement in avionics for HAL5's Project HALO deals with that. Also, we have one year to prepare as necessary. I feel this is a great opportunity for us to display the group and is definitely worth attending. --Spacefelix 17:33, 26 January 2010 (CST)

Treasurer's Report

• Current money in the bank: $1,503.14
• Last month's income: ~$1,500.00
• Last month's bills: ~$1,400.00

Minutes

• Revisiting pledge amounts among members.
  • Unnecessary given new bylaws.
• New waiver still being tweaked.
  • Voting on it next meeting.
• Door code will be changed and e-mailed to all current members.
• Treasurer Report:
  • We're making ~$1450/month with everyone paying their pledged donations!
• Facilities Committee Report:
  • Cleanup day Saturday
    • Stuff being taken to salvage(dotted items)
    • Better weather proofing solution being implemented.
  • Lights in the tool area are working.
  • Bathroom is in the process of being repainted.
• Next meeting February 15th, third Monday.
• Google Grants lets us use Google Checkout for free.
  • Amazon reseller account is another way to make money.
  • Heather's signing us up for both.
• A members mailing list is being created and the announce list is going away due to disuse.
  • members list will be unmoderated
    • moderation will be done on a per user basis
    • moderation committee will be brian, sara, and brimstone
• Pig Roast February 20th
  • Fire department should be contacted prior to making a fire pit.
  • Maybe have an open house at the same time.
• Putting more shelves up at the shop
  • Options:
    • From the window to the back wall along that wall.
    • Extra room off the main room.
    • Building more shelves in the existing storage room.
• International Space Development Conference next year being held in Huntsville
  • They've offered to donate if we volunteer.
  • Ethan thinks we should have a project for the conference.
• Barcamp Huntsville would like us to sponsor their event April 10th.
• MidSouth Robotics Society is meeting at the shop February 13th at 11am.
  • Should be good for both groups.
• Reprap parts are on the way but have not arrived yet.

Attendance

• Jimshoe
• Mog
• Heather
• Xanian
• Opticron
• Dusty
• Brimstone
• Gregabyte
• CrashCart
• Bendersgame
• Spacefelix
• Strages