Minutes for Meeting - 20th September 2000

In attendance: 11 of the usual suspects. Apologies: 5

Finances: Again this month, there has been a severe shortfall. Costs are higher due to GST, the commitment to the propagation fund, downlinking costs and courier costs for the satellite broadcast tapes to be sent from Sydney. As the bank balance will soon be depleted if this situation continues, the following actions were proposed and passed: (1) J. to contact A. McD. and renegotiate the propagation fund. When we committed to the amount in June/July, it was on the proviso that it would be reviewed in September if necessary. Data pertaining to the current number of viewers and the average contribution per person will be discussed; (2) G. will investigate the availability and cost of office space, in consideration of what is currently being paid out in room hire per week; (3) The MC at some of the satellite broadcasts will remind the audience of the need for ongoing financial support.

Low Key Advertising: This has not been conducted during the past two months. G. presented a new style of flyer which has been seen by S. D.. He spoke of further changes that could be made to the flyers to attract more attention at the locations where they are regularly displayed. The meeting supported G.'s initiative. G. and G. (M.) have volunteered to work together in looking after the area of LKA and to trial the new flyer. They will plan to put the 'advertising' into place to support the satellite broadcast event on 29 October to which guests may be invited.

Fundraising: A garage sale was suggested and the meeting gave its support to this idea. A suitable location is needed. If anyone would like to offer their garage area for this, please let Karin or Anita know.

Reports are forwarded from the various centres to the national area managers on an ongoing basis every quarter for example, human resources, information, propagation etc.. If anyone has any feedback that they would like to contribute to a report, they are welcome to speak to the person looking after that area of participation on the Gold Coast. The next ones are due at the end of September.

Feedback has been sought regarding the content and presentation of the satellite broadcasts. Various ideas were collected and these will be sent off.

Opportunities to help out: M. has been working diligently towards recruiting people to assist in various areas of participation. M. advised the meeting of several positions in which people have expressed their interest There are still several vacancies. Please see M. if interested in finding out more about what is available. The meeting agreed that a further step will be included in the recruitment procedure, viz that when a person takes on a role, it will begin with a trial period of three months. At the end of this period, the placement will be evaluated . This allows all involved an opportunity to express their comfort/concerns with/in the role; suitability of the applicant/the role description/team etc. It has also been suggested that a 'scope of responsibilities' is drawn up rather than having a role description, to which the applicant and the person previously responsible for an area of service refer when reviewing a role after the "probation" period. This idea can be pursued in the future if anyone would like to consider it's worth. (This has been used successfully elsewhere.) G. (M.) has offered to be event manager for events held on Sundays at the Life Education Centre. Greg (Simmons) will assist in HR with induction into local roles. Local contact: B. and P. (F.) have offered to look after this as a shared role and trial it until the end of December 2000.

Events: It was decided to conduct a double feature on 1 October and screen the two latest satellite broadcasts (Harrogate and Rome). Refreshments will be served between the two screenings. Everyone on the mailing list will be notified by email or a phone call. An introductory satellite broadcast is planned for Sunday 29 October. A reminder was given regarding the need to have the foyer completely set up at least 15 minutes before the starting time of the events at the Life Education Centre.

General recorded information line: The answering machine has been purchased. This number is now widely available to call for information about scheduled events on the Gold Coast - 5569 2216. For information about introductory and learning more events, the number remains as 5523 1170.

Thank you P. for the use of your house for the meeting. This was greatly appreciated.