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• 11.08.2023 Minutes
  
• 10.04.2023 Minutes
• 05.24.2023 Minutes
• 04.19.2023 Minutes
• 03.28.2023 Minutes
• 02.21.2023 Minutes
• 01.17.2023 Minutes

• 10.04.2023

  7:00-8:20 pm
  
  Attendees
  Chris Pelly, Christina Maggi (Chair), Liz Polfus, Michael Harrison (via phone),
  Rick Fornoff, Scott Clodfelter
  
  Unable to Attend
  Phil Trunnell
  
  Notes/Next Steps
  
  Discussed the greenway capital campaign:
  
  • All agreed to naming it Haw Creek Park Greenway Campaign
  • Chris will compile a list of individual prospects and will work with Shelley on other lists, including government, foundations, organizations and businesses
  • Chris and Shelley will work on revising/confirming the expense budget
  • Chris, Shelley and Christina will draft revenue projections
  • Christina will follow up with Phil about converting the Masters Park bank account to the HCPG account for tracking restricted revenue and expenses
  • Liz has set up a HCPG fund option for online donations (not live) and will create a duplicate (not live) home page with campaign info and donate button
  • Christina has set up a campaign landing page (not live)
  • Chris, Shelley and Christina will prepare campaign materials (case statement, map, photos) and lead fundraising efforts
  • Campaign will launch at Nov 14 public meeting, followed by email and newsletter features, as well as a potential walking tour of the property
  
  Christina reported on fundraising year to date: $4,580 total from 175 members plus $1,734 from two yard sales
  
  Christina reported tentative email schedule for the Chili Cook Off, HCCA public meeting, HCPG campaign and membership
  
  Scott reported on our social media followers: Facebook 144, IG 111,  Nextdoor 64
  
  Chris will prepare an outline of articles for the next newsletter and coordinate layout, cost and mail date with Allegra
  
  Reviewed and updated website task list:
  
  • Christina is updating automated renewal notices
  • Liz has prepared a new Shop page and will take a deeper look at the mechanics; Christina will ask Renate to manage
  • Liz is working to improve the Amazing Residents page
  • Michael has added the board meeting minutes for 2022 and 2021
  • Chris and Christina will review the site for potential updates in March
  • Liz will try to edit the template to accommodate pasted text from Word
  
  Liz will take a look at Google accounts for documents and analytics
  
  Christina will talk with Renate about handling inquiries during her surgery/recovery
  
  Christina will ask Storms about editing the Haw Creek Stories video for posting
  
  Next meeting: Wednesday, November 8, 7:00 pm

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• 05.24.2023

• 04.19.2023

• 7:10-8:35 pm

   

  Attendees

  Chris Pelly, Christina Maggi (Chair), Liz Polfus, Michael Harrison (via phone)

  Unable to Attend

  Phil Trunnell, Rick Fornoff, Scott Clodfelter

  
  

  Notes/Next Steps

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  Committee agreed that Elemental Creations will continue hosting our email accounts on their server and will bill us for renewal in May; Liz and Michael will be responsible for handling technical issues via the control panel (such as setting up and deleting email accounts); and we will pay Elemental Creations for any technical support that’s needed
  

  
  

  Liz successfully tested a new link that enables the public to contact Chris without divulging his email address; she will demonstrate this at the board meeting and then set up similar contacts/emails for board officers and committee chairs

  
  

  Michael will follow up with WildApricot re the issue of HCCA emails being flagged as spam by email providers

  Liz will share a Google document with Christina and Michael to track details and ownership of website tasks that will improve/expand content

  Liz will prepare a recommendation for a free document sharing platform that can serve as a central digital repository for organizational information

  Christina reported on fundraising to date: $3,930 from 152 members plus $420 from 22 people for yard sale spots

  Christina will work with Chris on a postcard that can be mailed to acknowledge members who pay by check and have no email address

  Christina reported on the 4 emails sent since March 28 to our 378+ contacts, which had open rates from 61% to 68%

  Christina proposed the following email schedule:
  

  --May 3 Yard sale reminder (to all contacts not registered for the event)

  --BearWise event announcement to all contacts—pending 6/13 date and location

  --Join email as soon as we can couple it with an example of how their membership supports our work (landscaping at entrance, little library, etc.)

  
  

  Scott submitted a report indicating that “we’re seeing slow steady growth in followers and engagement” however, we didn’t get any takers on the “share your photos” posts beyond those he added
  

  
  

  Committee discussed potential listserv for Haw Creek community but agreed it would be too labor intensive to manage

  Next meeting: Wednesday, May 24 at 7:00 pm

  
  

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  03.28.2023

• 7:05-8:25 pm
  

  Attendees

  Chris Pelly, Christina Maggi (Chair), Liz Polfus, Michael Harrison (via phone), Phil Trunnell, Rick Fornoff, Scott Clodfelter

  
  

  Notes/Next Steps

  
  

  Committee members welcomed Liz and thanked her for joining the committee

  Christina will ask Suzanne to transfer responsibility for HCCA’s web hosting from her company to her subcontractor ICDSoft with Liz and Christina as primary contacts—our current contract expires May 12 and we will work directly with ICDSoft on the renewal

  Christina will remove all board member email and home addresses from the website to protect personal information from potential hackers/scams

  Liz will research methods that can be safely used to contact board members and committee groups, such as “boardmembers@hawcreekavl.com” or creating a special contact form for inquiries/comments

  Christina asked everyone to check website pages on multiple formats (desktop, tablet, mobile) to confirm readability and report any issues so they can be addressed

  Christina will work with Michael and Liz on website improvements/additional content

  Discussed the issue of HCCA emails being flagged as spam by email providers but resolution is uncertain—we may have to ask WildApricot for assistance

  Christina will follow up with Chris and Phil to establish a procedure for processing checks to ensure that a member’s address/phone are entered into the database

  Chris will draft language for a postcard (potentially designed by Amy) that can be mailed to acknowledge members who pay by check and have no email address—key is to inform them that without an email they will only hear from us via the newsletter

  Christina raised a concern that we currently have 392 contacts and that when we hit 500 we’ll move from the WildApricot “Group” level to the “Community” level and the price will increase by about 83%; we agreed to not add members without an email address to the database but maintain them in an Excel spreadsheet; we will also consider exporting the data to review for duplicates and multiple contacts at the same address that could be merged, thereby reducing the total number of contacts

  Christina reported on the emails sent in Feb and March to our 337+ contacts, which got particularly high open rates (62% to 72%), and that we now have 112 members
  

  Christina proposed the following email schedule:

  • Apr 1 Join email to all contacts not currently members
  • Apr 14 Yard sale reminder #1 to all contacts not registered for the event

  
  

  Discussed criteria for mass emails and agreed to limit to major news items or events; other items, like the new Masters Park parking lot to trail head path, can be added as a news item and posted to social media
  

  
  

  Scott reported that our posts on social media continue to generate likes/hits; he will continue to promote our news items and events when appropriate

  Discussed asking contacts/followers to submit interesting Haw Creek photos to increase engagement and photos could potentially be used on the website, including naming a monthly “winner”; Scott will post an invitation on Facebook

  Chris will add the proposed Website and Social Media Policy to the agenda for the next board meeting (May 9), where it can be voted on and included in the meeting minutes if approved by the board

  Rick mentioned that he has confirmed June 13 for the BearWise presentation; Chris will follow up with Leslie to secure a venue; Christina will post the event as soon as all details are finalized
  

  Next meeting: Wednesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm

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  02.21.2023

• 7:10-8:20 pm

  
  

  Attendees

  Christina Maggi (Chair), Michael Harrison (via phone), Rick Fornoff, Scott Clodfelter

  
  

  Unable to attend

  Chris Pelly, Phil Trunnell

  
  

  Notes/Next Steps

  
  

  Christina will follow up with Chris about transferring responsibility for the icdsoft (domain) account from Suzanne’s company to HCCA

  Michael will continue working on the Haw Creek Valley tab, adding the Masters Park Wildflower compilation and improving the Amazing Residents page

  Michael will work on some website fixes: back buttons, a bad link, and formatting on committee notes pages

  Michael identified an issue with HCCA emails being flagged as spam but resolution is uncertain—we may have to ask WildApricot for assistance

  Christina will explore options for adding language about junk/spam mailbox on online email and membership subscription forms

  Christina will maintain a list of additions/improvements to the website to be addressed as volunteer time becomes available (e.g. adding previous board meeting minutes)

  Christina will revise membership levels to offer non-automatic renewal options

  Christina will follow up with Phil on entry of memberships from check payments and confirm the acknowledgment process

  Christina reported on the emails sent in Jan and Feb to our 300+ contacts, which got particularly high open rates (65% to 77%) and generated $900 from 40 members

  Christina noted that we still have 68 names with no email address from the original Excel membership list so they can’t be added to our database; we also have 17 invalid email addresses that can’t be identified—we’re hoping these “lost” members will be activated after receiving the newsletter or attending the annual meeting

  Scott reported that our Facebook page followers are increasing slowly but steadily, and that the promotion of Patrick’s (postal carrier) retirement party got a lot of traction 

  Christina will ask Susan for photos of Game Day for social media postings

  Christina will follow up with Debbie about connecting to Haw Creek HOAs and with Leslie about the “Welcome Wagon” program, both related to expanding outreach—and members—in the community

  Rick is a member of the East Asheville Recreation Club and suggested we hold a “members only pool party” as a benefit of HCCA membership

  The Winter 2023 newsletter mailed on Feb 17 to 2,190 residents

  Christina proposed the following email schedule:

  Feb 22 website link to newsletter to all contacts

  Feb 28 Annual Meeting announcement to all contacts

  Mar 6 Community Yard Sale announcement to all contacts

  Mar 12 Annual Meeting reminder to all contacts

  Mar 21 join email to all contacts not currently members (ensure all checks/payments received at annual meeting are added to the database first)

  
  

  Scott will promote the newsletter, annual meeting, and yard sale on social media when appropriate

  Chris will ask for additional volunteers to help with website tasks at the annual meeting; if needed we will advertise on social media

  Next meeting: Tuesday, March 28 at 7:00 pm

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  01.17.2023

• 7:10-8:20 pm

   

  Attendees

  Chris Pelly, Christina Maggi (Chair), Michael Harrison, Scott Clodfelter

   

  Unable to attend

  Nicole Losey, Phil Trunnell, Rick Fornoff

   

  Notes/Next Steps

   

  Christina will continue adding/editing content, including a subscribe button, to the new website and will work with Scott Money, DezignSeed Consulting (DSC), on implementing approved changes

   

  Chris will follow up with board members about adding email addresses to the list of 94 names we want to add to our database (the list was distributed at the board meeting)

   

  Phil will add contacts previously missing email addresses to our database as provided by board members, plus the 24 additional contacts that Chris previously provided

   

  Phil will add people who recently joined or renewed their HCCA membership to the database with their gift information

   

  Phil will confirm that financial links and reports work as expected (audit trail)

   

  Christina will work with DSC to revise membership and donation payment acknowledgment emails

   

  Christina will ask DSC about making our website GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)-compliant as recommended by WildApricot

   

  Chris will ask Suzanne for her opinion on our privacy page and if she thinks it meets GDPR recommendations

   

  Michael will add photos and new pages to the Haw Creek Valley tab, specifically Library, Fire Stations, Places of Worship, and Public Transportation; he will also add captions to the Amazing Residents page

   

  Michael will scan the “History of Haw Creek” document prepared by Erin Fornoff so we can add that to the Haw Creek Valley page

   

  Scott will try to find the “official” Instagram icon for the website

   

  Michael will try to find an icon for Nextdoor that can be added to the website

   

  Christina will ask Sarah (who volunteered at the board meeting) to review the website and offer comments—1/19

   

  Christina will ask all board members to review the website and offer comments—1/25

   

  Christina will ask Suzanne to redirect our domain to the WildApricot site—tentative launch date 2/1

   

  Chris is working on preparing a newsletter, which would tentatively mail on Feb 21 (3 weeks prior to the annual meeting on March 14)

   

  Chris shared that the volunteer who has been doing the newsletter graphic design is unable to continue; he will reach out to his contacts, including the lettershop we use, to find a new designer

   

  Christina proposed the following tentative email schedule:

• ·      Jan 18 send renewal email to board members
• ·      Feb 7 send join email to all contacts not currently members
• ·      Feb 21 send email with website link to newsletter to all contacts
• ·      Feb 28 send annual meeting announcement to all contacts
• ·      Mar 7 send annual meeting reminder to all contacts
• ·      Mar 13 send another annual meeting reminder to all contacts
• ·      Mar 21 send join email to all contacts not currently members (ensure all checks/payments received at annual meeting are added to the database first)

Scott will promote the annual meeting, website launch and newsletter on social media when appropriate

Chris will ask for additional volunteers to help with website tasks at the annual meeting; if needed we will advertise on social media

Michael shared a draft of best practices and recommendations for storing and managing the various passwords used for HCCA; committee members will review and provide feedback

Setting up a Google business account to enable shared workspace, calendar, and Gmail address is currently on hold

Next meeting: Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00 pm

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