Feb. 9, 2015

SPJ/LA Board of Directors Meeting MinutesMonday, Feb. 9, 2015 7 p.m.Louise’s Trattoria10645 W. Pico Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90064Board members present: Tami Abdollah, Joel Bellman, Stephanie Bluestein, Christina Cocca, Michael Fleeman, Khalil Garriott, Richard Hendrickson, Elizabeth Marcellino, Frank Mottek, Navid Nonahal, Richard Saxton, Lori Streifler, Jeff Wald, Robi Wax, Natalie Windsor and David Zahniser.I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:Wald made a motion to approve the minutes from the Jan. 17 board retreat. Mottek seconded. Minutes approved unanimously.II. PRESIDENT’S REPORT:* 8 Ball Welfare Foundation: Robi Wax discussed the SPJ’s participation in the annual solicitation sent out by the 8 Ball Foundation, a charitable arm of the LA Press Club. The foundation provides financial help to journalists who have fallen on hard times. LA Press Club covers the cost of the mailing.Bellman made a motion to have SPJ/LA assist with the solicitation, but with an amendment to have SPJ/A and the Press Club look at migrating the solicit ion over to email to reduce the cost. Bluestein seconded the motion. The motion was approved with Wax abstaining.* SPJ/LA 2013 Tax update. Nonahal said she met with SPJ/LA’s tax preparer and expressed her concerns about the cost. He agreed to prepare the group’s taxes for $300, which is within the group’s budget.* SPJ/LA Roster. Nonahal reported that she has emailed the roster to the board and wants to know if any corrections are needed.* SPJ/LA Calendar update: Nonahal said she also emailed out the calendar, and wanted to make sure board members were aware the next mixer is scheduled for Feb. 25, not Feb. 28.* New Associate Board Member: Saxton nominated Claudia Peschiutta as a new associate board member. Hendrickson moved, Windsor seconded. The motion was approved.III. TREASURER’S REPORT: Hendrickson said he had made a revision to his report to reflect the fact that he was able to include information from the Morgan Stanley Account. Windsor moved to accept the report, Bellman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.IV. STANDING COMMITTEES:*Awards. No report.*Banquet. Nonahal asked the board to spread the word about the banquet, which costs $90 for SPJ/LA members, $110 for non-members. Windsor raised the issue of the silent auction, and what do to do about items that are donated but not bid on. Abdollah and Wald suggested a raffle. Wax said the invitations will be email only this year. Board members said they wanted to make sure the official Evites break through all the other messages that flood our members’ inboxes.*Courts. No report.*Diversity. No report.*Ethics. Cocca said the upcoming April ethics event will be from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at NBC. The board brainstormed ideas for the program. Abdollah suggested a Q&A with a panel of media attorneys. Cocca proposed a discussion of the issue of unnamed sources.*FOI. Nonahal said the FOI panel discussion on drones will be held mid-March at KPCC, with a panel on Charlie Hebdo tentatively slated for September. The LA Press Club already did a similar program a few weeks ago. Hendrickson said it was very good.*Generation J. No report.* Membership. No report.* Nomination. No report.*Scholarships. No report.V. OLD BUSINESS:No report.VI. NEW BUSINESS:*Quick reminder that the mixer featuring Steve Lopez will be held Feb. 25 at Traxx, the bar located within Union Station.* Home for SPJ/ office space. The board discussed the search for dedicated office space. Marcellino said a representative of Los Angeles County said SPJ/LA could use some of the space at the Criminal Courts building, as long as a news organization like KNX or the LA Times agrees. Bellman agreed to look into space at the Hall of Administration Building.ADJOURNMENT:The board adjourned in memory of Los Angeles Daily News reporter Rick Orlov, longtime newspaper columnist Al Martinez and author and former Los Angeles Times reporter Laurie Becklund.