Minutes

of the Kansas City Press Club Board Meeting

Aug. 18, 2007

The Kansas City Press Club Board met at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at the The Kansas City Star’s new Press Pavilion. Present were Jack “Miles” Ventimiglia, president; Bill Grady, vice president, Mary Rupert, secretary; Donna McGuire, immediate past president; Maria Carter, board member; and Steve Kaut, board member.

Minutes: Carter moved to approve the minutes of the past meeting; Kaut seconded the motion, and it passed.

Contest: A report on the contest will be made at a future meeting.

Programs: Ventimiglia said he would call Debra DeCoster to get an update on the diversity/immigration meeting topic.

Kaut reported that April 26 would be a good date to have the Ethics/Blogger forum at a KSHB meeting room. He said he would like to invite as panelists the blogger from Tony’s KC blog; James Hart of The Star; and a local sports blogger. He will ask Mark Clegg and Jeff Vaughn to moderate the discussion.

Membership: Kaut discussed having a free barbecue and inviting prospective members to it.

Records: Some board members brought historical chapter records and described them. Rupert reported that more chapter records have turned up, including records from the 1970s. Some work in compiling lists has been completed, but there are gaps in some of the lists. Ventimiglia suggested posting the records we have and making requests for others to fill in the blanks.

National Conference: Carter said she wasn’t able to attend the SPJ national conference. Bill Grady, vice president, will attend.

Treasurer’s Report: There was no treasurer’s report.

Old Business: Scholarship: No new information was received about scholarships.

Board Members: Ventimiglia moved the appointment of Bob Sigman to the board. McGuire seconded it. It was unanimously approved.

Basket of Goods: C.J. Janovy, chair of the contest committee, has sent a basket of local goods -- Kansas City music CDs -- to the national SPJ conference’s auction to raise funds for the Legal Defense Fund.

New Business: The next meeting also will be a program on Saturday, Sept. 8. Bylaws changes discussed at an earlier board meeting would wait for a later meeting than September.

Carter moved to adjourn, Grady seconded and the motion passed.

During a later discussion on the topic of open records and probable cause statements, McGuire moved a committee be formed, seconded by Grady and Carter, and approved. The committee would study the issue and, if necessary, talk to legislators about changing the law in favor of more openness.