Member meeting 9/24/2016
Proposed agenda for General Member Meeting to be held 9/24/2016 11am at Mobile Makerspace
Officer reports
What have you accomplished over the last month, what are you going to do next, are there any roadblocks/risks.
President - Dana was in DC last meeting for the Makers organization meeting. 200 Makerspace organizers across USA were present. Designed to help the maker movement. An online group called Nation of Makers was created to keep everyone in touch and have a forum on how to help each other and test solutions and best practices. Dana also went to Georgia under recommendation of Innovation Portal in Mobile. This was to tour other innovation centers, which have a similar mission to Makerspace. Went to GA Tech and Innovation Studio as well. GA Tech has a shop available to all students and faculty, which is used by the mechanical engineering school. Went to ATDC, a partner of GA Tech, to learn about state and public funding. Went to other tech startup places in Atlanta, mostly entrepreneur startups. Innovation portal wants our Makerspace in their building. They would provide tools. They want a wishlist. Worked with Dianne Gibbs at USA with Marketing ideas, including a video production.
Vice President - Working on a project to update the Makerspace laptops. Working on a plan for keeping them updated with Mint LTS versions. Has been working at the Library Maker Lab at Ben May on Monday evenings 5-7. Got the band saw working with a new blade.
Secretary - Taking on Thursday night.
Treasurer - 7 full membership, 1 community dues paid. Income this month: $399.99. Net -$47.00 for the month. Still waiting for other dues. Current balance: $1939.62 in checking, $0 in paypal, $140 cash. $400 rent due before the end of the month.
Marketing -
Membership - 11 current members. Suggests a special event to encourage former members to come back to the Makerspace. Suggested the DIY Christmas present series of events. Josh suggested another Retro Gaming night. Dana suggested a Cosplay crafts night and open Halloween craft night.
Old Business
Need more of our business cards made ( Dana)
Tools needed:
- First aid kit
- Jointer
- Hammers of all kinds
- Co2 Fire Extinguisher for Laser Cutter
- Large format laser cutter - Rabbit QX-80-1290 $9,950 + shipping
- Wood lathe
New Business
B&N Maker Faire November 4&5 - Someone to take lead. David taking lead on this.
501c3 Status - Had a meeting School Factory. They are planning to roll out a $250/year service charge for Makerspaces that are not actively fundraising. They are encouraging us to get our own 501c3. Russell has a lawyer friend that can help with legal stuff. The CFO of Rick's work will help with accounting and Finance.
Member Onboarding - How do new people know what to do when they join? Web site needs to be more clear on what the payment options are. All members email Rachel with what their expertise is.
Community - Dana found through his experiences over the last month that it is better to have community than to have tools. Suggested using Meetup for more specific events, even on regular open nights. Recommend having events or informal instructional nights on Raspberry Pi, Arduino, 3D printing, wood working, etc. Make them recurring.
Events
- ArtWalk 10/14 6-9PM
Be thinking about getting Christmas DIY stuff ready by Artwalk
Next meeting: 10/22 11am