In attendance:

Scott MacPherson, E.D. (remote)
Jennifer Myszkowski, President (remote)
Vinnie Bonilla, Vice-President (remote)
Daniel O’Sullivan, Treasurer (remote)
Carey Baker, Clerk (remote)
Ismary Santiago (remote)
Mike Hines (remote)
Gloria Caballero (remote)
Carey Baker (remote)

Not in attendance:

Keishia Archeval
Jayne Melendez
Carolyn Rogers-Harris, R.I.P.

Call to order: 6:33pm

Accept prior meeting minutes – August 21, 2025

• Motion to approve prior meeting minutes: Daniel
• Second: Ismary
• Motion carried unanimously.

Directors Report

Profit and Loss

Balance Sheet

Budget Reconciliation

2025 Budget Projection

2026 Draft Budget

• The recent membership meeting went well. Approximately 40 attended the mixer and voting numbers were significantly higher than last year.
  • Some confusion occurred with voting due to candidates encouraging non-members to vote. Votes will be reconciled with the membership roster in the coming days to officially certify the winning candidates.
• Student interns from the high school work-based learning program have resumed.
• October and November will be extremely busy.
• The studio HVAC system required repairs, we used the same contractor we have used in the past.They rebalanced and reassembled the system, resolving the minor roof leak we had seen on the second floor in the process.
  • Recommended by the contractor that the system belt is inspected annually when the filters are changed.
• Transition to a new general insurance policy with Hanover Insurance (via Bresnahan Insurance, merging with Rush) has been completed.
  • Deductible increased to $2,500; building valuation adjusted from $4M to $3.2M, reducing costs.
• $80,000 line of credit established with People’s Bank.
• MassCultural Council has awarded us a $14,000 flexible funding grant.
• 2025 and 2026 Budget projections have been revised to reflect updated financial information and now shows a 5% budget surplus.
  • Director of Production position discussed with new financial information in mind, and whether it was feasible that this could be a part time position.
  • Scott will create a part-time job description for the position and will revise the 2026 budget proposal to include that position.
• Scott reviewed current access to analytics from YouTube, Facebook, and BoxCast and requires additional assistance to create a unified analytics dashboard.
  • Carey will research dashboard tools and report back
  • BoxCast advanced analytics require an additional $600–$700 annual upgrade.

Old Business

• Membership Meeting
  • Jennifer and board members thanked Daniel for his leadership in running the meeting during the Board President and Director’s absence.
  • Membership Numbers: Now at 485 members, up from approximately 440 earlier in the year.
  • Discussion on increasing member engagement through creative social media outreach.
  • Daniel will schedule a retrospective meeting to evaluate the membership meeting and suggest improvements for next year.
• Marketing & Events
  • Many Upcoming events:
  • Flywheel Show – October 11, 2025
  • Series of Candidate Debates scheduled for October 20, 23, and 24.
  • Board members will attend to greet attendees and represent Holyoke Media.
    • Gloria volunteered for the October 23 (School Committee) debate.
  • Jennifer and Carey will coordinate coverage for other dates.
• Facilities & Technology Committee
  • Insurance transition and studio HVAC system repair completed.
  • Cornice repair project currently paused; Scott to revisit cost and funding status.
• Finance Committee
  • MOU with City: Draft needs to be finalized and sent to the City Solicitor.
  • Banking Update:
  • Line of credit finalized; future updates will be needed after the new board president is seated in January.
  • Additional mortgage payment plans pending final invoices from Peter.
• Editorial Committee
  • Discussion on developing an editorial statement regarding the First Amendment and current media climate.
  • Plan to review and update editorial policies in early October.

Tasks & Action Items

• Ismary to schedule meeting for policy review.
• Jennifer to draft proposed editorial statement.

New Business

• None

Motion to Adjourn

• Motion: Ismary
• Second: Daniel
• Approved unanimously

Meeting adjourned at 7:43 PM.