HSYD Board Meeting, April 16, 2012

In Attendance: Brad Pritchett, A.J. Mistretta, Andrea Ward, Paul Gonzales, Jason Hogan, Hans Wong, Chadwick Holmes

Full Board in Attendance!!!

Meeting commenced: ~7:15 pm with gourmet hors d’ouvres courtesy of Pritchett catering:
Cheetos, Doritos, strawberries, and Dr. Pepper!

I. Treasurer Update – Andrea Ward

a. Account Balances: Checking: $445.52, Savings: $600.40, Total: $1045.92 + some undeposited checks

II. HSYD Social Event s

a. April event: “The Godfather” showing at Market Square Park, Wed. 4/25 @ 8 pm.

b. Advertise, advertise, advertise! Share event on Facebook, invite friends not already invited, send
out reminder email.

c. Need to show up early to claim a space for the group. Francis Ford Coppola Winery is doing a wine tasting starting at 7 pm, so it could get crowded. Also need to bring extra blankets, bug spray.

d. Park Rules: no alcohol, but beers, wine, margaritas available for purchase at Niko Niko’s booth.

e. Future social event options:

i. Laser Tag!!

ii. Bully movie, showing at Edwards Greenway and opens at the Sundance Theater this week.

iii. Trip to a shooting range? Training classes for concealed handgun license. Tongue-in-cheek suggestion, but potentially satisfying to bring CHL as ID when voting in November….

iv. Event night with bowling, skee ball, arcade, pool, etc. Location? Main Event, Ku Fu Saloon, Dave & Busters (probably not – expensive).

III. Alan Rosen Happy Hour

a. No other candidate has asked for a hosted event at this point, so going forward with the happy hour not showing favoritism to one candidate.

b. Contact person: Sue Schechter, providing venue suggestions:

i. First choice: Mo Mong. Vetoed since it seems aggressive after Cindy Vara-Leija
already had a happy hour event there. We like Cindy, don’t want to cause drama.

ii. Second suggestion: Meteor. No good – Meteor is only open Thurs-Sat, 9pm-2am.

iii. Alternatives: Another one of Charles Armstrong’s places like J.R.’s? The trouble with J.R.’s is the typical presence of a stripper by the door. Everyone walks past him, risk of cheapening the event .

iv. FBar instead? A.J. will check with Sue…

c. Possible date: 1st or 2nd week of May. Caucus meeting is on 5/2, so either 5/1, 5/7, or 5/8.
Latter two dates preferred – closer to May 14th start of early voting. A.J. will check with Sue.

d. Event just a happy hour social event to get Alan’s name out there and remind people to vote. HSYD will not collect money or offer free drinks.

e. Advertise, advertise, advertise! Share event on Facebook and spread the word. The Caucus will also help promote it.

IV. GOTV Mailer

a. HSYD mail piece:

i. Must be at the Post Office by May 10th to reach voters in time.

ii. Avoid “flashy” pieces like previous HSYD printed materials. Why? See following points…
[Brad learned some of this stuff at the YDA conference in Chicago. Andrea also had some insight from time at Lone Star Strategies]
- “Flashy” gets thrown away because it looks like junk mail.
- Glossy mail is not cost-effective for GOTV.
- Letters in envelopes that look official (e.g. “OFFICIAL” stamped on front) have greater chance of being opened and read.
- Hand-written letters with printed addresses and real stamps (not bulk printed stamps) more likely to be opened and read.

- Brad has a good pointer sheet from the conference that he can share. Some excerpts:
* GOTV DON’Ts: don’t robo-call, don’t send mass emails, don’t phone-bank with short, rushed phone calls.
* GOTV DOs: do use door hangers, do use text messages, do rely on social accountability (persuasion by embarrassment) by subtly letting voters know their history is public, do talk to voters about their plans: when will they vote, where will they vote, how will they get there?

iii. HSYD has plenty of envelopes left over from previous elections. Stuffing envelopes requires a bit more effort though… Andrea has folding machine!

iv. Target audience: not triple-D Democrats since they’re already on mailing lists and will likely vote. Need to reach “on the cusp” people who need convincing to vote. Use VAN to identify one-D Dems and traditionally Dem/LGBT-friendly geographic areas. Also focus on areas with contested House races (e.g. Joseph Carlos Madden, Garnett Coleman, Alma Allen).

v. Leverage sense of LGBT Community. Push the fact that Judge Kirkland, Sean Hammerle, Lane Lewis, and Ann Johnson are openly gay candidates drawing fire because they’re gay!

vi. Radio (e.g. Queer Voices) worthwhile but limited audience + probably not the people HSYD is targeting.

vii. HSYD General Membership meeting is too late to get the word out, but we can leverage the Caucus and Facebook, share digital versions of our literature.

viii. Current HSYD voter list is an Excel spreadsheet tagged with the information original source. Not as friendly as political software made for data mining/zeroing in on specific groups of people. Maybe look into updating what we’re using in the future…

ix. Brad will draft something for the mail piece and get back to the Board for suggestions.

V. GOTV Block-walking/Phone-banking for Candidates

a. Zerick Guinn asking for volunteers, although he tends to only give about a day or 2 notice before GOTV efforts.

b. David Rosen putting together a plan but wants to keep it quiet – Diane Troutman’s campaign tends to pay attention and copy his schedule. HSYD needs to be vague when scheduling GOTV efforts, e.g. title block-walking events on Facebook as “HSYD Blockwalk” to avoid specific references to Rosen.

c. HSYD will also do literature drops at residences. Stats are 1 vote for every 10 residences where literature is left behind though. Unfortunately, best way to influence vote is also the most time-consuming and resource-draining: face-to-face conversations with voters.

d. Jason will soon contact all endorsed candidates to ask what HSYD can do for them – within reason, e.g. block-walking, phone-banking, volunteer events.

VI. Pride Booth Activities/Ideas

a. Cost for booth ended up being $375.00.

b. Booth games: HSYD could have some silly/fun games similar to those in the Burnt Orange Report (e.g. aspirin between the knees race…), spin wheel for prizes…

c. Booth give-aways: condoms (Planned Parenthood donation), wristbands, fans like last year? Could add labels to the fan handles with “HSYD” or a slogan on them.

d. New HSYD T-shirts/tank tops: Brad paying out of pocket for small order from a cheap company he knows. Could have fun slogans on them – suggestions welcome.

VII. Lane Lewis/Judge Steven Kirkland Races

a. Lane Lewis is being targeted by Keryl Douglas campaign (through a “mystery” email) for being gay.

i. Probable strategy: Keryl Douglas appealing to the anti-gay contingent of the African American community. Also likely to drum up turn-out using buses (very effective in a low turn-out Primary) and piggy-backing on GOTV efforts of other candidates like Wanda Adams, Garnett Coleman, Jamaal Smith, Alma Allen. Plus poll-pushers funded by Douglas.

ii. Douglas is also backed by fellow lawyers, specifically trial lawyer Donald Flemming who appears to be selecting candidates to run contested races against LGBT incumbents. Douglas is also backed by Republican activists.

iii. Prediction: if Douglas wins, HCDP will suffer in big ways, e.g. no coordinated campaign for the General Election, strip away people who know what they’re doing, no money coming in to support Party workers and activities. Essentially render HCDP a dead organization for 2012…

iv. Judge Kirkland, openly gay and very visibly so, is in a similar situation. Flemming’s backing of Elaine Palmer may in fact be retribution for more than one lost cases in Kirkland’s court. See Houston Chronicle article: http://www.chron.com/news/kilday-hart/article/Hart-A-little-mystery-over-primary-opposition-to-3489682.php

v. HSYD can help in a number of ways:
- Add Lewis and Kirkland to the literature being dropped when walking for David Rosen.
- Craft a press release in support of the Lewis and Kirkland campaigns.
- Support op-ed in OutSmart written by the Caucus.
- Queer Voices coverage of the campaigns + drama being funded by Flemming.
- Add tie-in to Lewis and Kirkland campaigns when doing the Alan Rosen Happy Hour.

vi. Messaging important. i.e. “Please support these two strong incumbents who are the most qualified candidates on the ballot.” Need to target LGBT voters, Democrats in Montrose, same sex couple households.

vii. May HSYD GM Meeting as an event for Lewis and Rosen?
- Could extend to the full slate of endorsed candidates…
- Stag’s Head wouldn’t work – too small and it would come across as just like any other meeting.
- Boheme as a potential option? Worked well in the candidate meet-and-greet last fall.
- Proactive meeting option: add a phone-banking element and have it at HCDP HQ. Everyone present would be asked to make 5 phone calls, for example.

viii.Open House at the HCDP HQ, possibly co-sponsored by HSYD. Note: Lane Lewis has been cleaning the place up and saving the party a lot of money in the process. An Open House could also end with phone-banking – 5 phone calls per person, 50+ people = big GOTV effort.

ix. FYI: house party for Judge Kirkland hosted by Noel and Brad, details are TBA.

VIII. HSYD 5 Year Anniversary Event

a. Held at Carol Wyatt’s house, sometime around June 11th – we need to be flexible with her schedule since she’s hosting.

b. Online Silent Auction

i. Start at the beginning of the month, then promote on Facebook, the HSYD website, and at the event. Easy way of fundraising. Website for silent auctions allows up to 20 items for free!

ii. Auction items? Rep. Jessica Farrar can be counted on for a framed picture of the Capitol signed by legislators. Also, wine basket with the unopened and cleverly-labeled bottles from Taste of Equality event. Brad wants to get a signed copy of Rachael Maddow’s new book, Drift, if he can find someone who can attend one of her book tour signing events. Need to ask around for more auction item donations.

c. Sponsorships will be tiered.

i. Basic host level = $100, sponsors at $250 and $500 levels. We could advertise a $1000 level, but doubtful anyone would ever step up to that challenge.

ii. As time gets closer to the event, we could add a “Young Democrat” host level at a discounted rate.

iii. Important to use this opportunity to reach out to local GSAs and High Schools to increase our visibility and potentially pull in some younger energetic new members.

d. Obtain an Official Proclamation from either Mayor Annise Parker or Representative Sheila Jackson Lee in honor of the anniversary.

e. HSYD can issue a press release about the event and leverage local periodicals to help spread the word.

f. After-party would be welcome, but we don’t want to organize it. Maybe let HCYD do it since they’re generally better at putting together this kind of thing.

g. Event name and theme? Keep it political…maybe play on Pride Month or the War on Women.

i. Half-hearted suggestion: “Five Year Anniversary Spectacular,” complete with fire juggler. Suggestion effectively vetoed with eye-rolls.

ii. Board can brainstorm theme ideas to present in a survey on the website for general membership to vote on.

Meeting adjourned at 9:03 pm

Special Minutes Addendum:
HSYD Board Retreat, April 3, 2012

In Attendance: Brad Pritchett, A.J. Mistretta, Paul Gonzales, Hans Wong, Chadwick Holmes
Also Present: Brittani Williams
Meeting Commenced: 6:30 pm

I. Retreat Logistics

a. Meeting delayed from April 1st due to scheduling conflicts for multiple Board members.

b. Hosted by A.J. with Chinese food take-out delivery! Thanks, A.J.!

II. Membership Development (+ sage wisdom from Brittani Williams)

a. Two basic groups of people on our membership list – those who are active with HSYD and those who are inactive and have typically lapsed in their dues payments.
i. We can (and need to) engage active members by asking them directly what they get out of HSYD, what their expectations of the PAC are, and what they’d like to see happen with HSYD in the future.
ii. We also need to reach out to old members to find out what they got out of HSYD and why they don’t participate anymore. What would it take to have them come back? Would they recommend friends to join HSYD if given the chance, and if not, then why not?

III. Pride (on 6/23)

a. Booth at Pride will cost $375 until May deadline, after which the price will go up. HSYD coffers can cover this and a mail piece for the Primary, but fundraising efforts will be needed to pay for mail pieces + other GOTV expenses related to the November election.

b. Benefits of tabling at Pride: name recognition, register voters, meet people face-to-face. Gives HSYD the kind of visibility that shows we’re an active organization.

c. Brad called on the Board to vote on reserving a booth at Pride.
>> Board voted unanimously to approve the expense. Brad will take care of it tomorrow (4/4).

d. Fundraising for Pride efforts:
i. Last year’s Spaghetti Dinner at Grace Lutheran Church was a big success. HSYD ended up making ~$1000. May be worth repeating this year.
ii. Timing of any fundraising event will be tough, especially in June. Need to plan carefully so people don’t get overwhelmed.

e. Tabling Plans
i. Use Burnt Orange Report as an example with tongue-in-cheek games like the following:
- “The Rick Santorum Birth Control Shuffle – Contestants race across the room with a bottle of aspirin between their knees!”
- “Transvaginal Ring Toss – Throw the ring onto the probe, win a prize!“
- see http://www.burntorangereport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11957 for others…
ii. Give-aways: jelly bracelets, hand-outs with QR codes that take you to the HSYD website…
iii. Planned Parenthood donated 1000 condoms last year. Brad will follow-up with them and see if they can donate more this year.
iv. Brad considering getting a credit card reader so new members can pay dues on the spot at Pride.

IV. Board Duties

a. A.J.’s responsibilities include managing the website going forward. He will also oversee the HSYD Facebook page and likely post more going forward, including both political and cultural articles – good for avoiding Facebook fatigue with just partisan articles.

b. Paul’s responsibilities will include all HSYD-related events, including the monthly social.
i. April’s Social Event: Godfather screening at Market Square Park on 4/25 @ 8 pm. Event created on Facebook, and the event will be announced at the GM Meeting on 4/9.

Adjourned: ~9:30 pm

HSYD Board Meeting, March 26, 2012

In Attendance: Brad Pritchett, Andrea Ward, Paul Gonzales, A.J. Mistretta, Hans Wong, Chadwick Holmes
Meeting commenced: ~7:00 pm with tacos, chips, salsa, candy, and Paul’s evilly strong margaritas!

I. Sustaining Memberships

a. A call for sustaining memberships goes out every General Membership meeting, but so far only Brad and A.J. are registered with ActBlue as sustaining contributors.

b. Brad wants the Board to set an example, asking all Board members to at least sign up at the $5/month level for 6 months so we practice what we preach.

II. Treasurer’s Report

a. Bank Balances
i. Checking: $551.14
ii. Savings: $500.35
iii. Total: $1051.49 + undeposited checks

III. Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus Convention

a. TSDC Convention directly coincides with the 2012 Texas Democratic Convention, which will be held in Houston on June 7-9.

b. TSDC is calling for sponsors. Lowest level of donation is $100.00. Brad suggests this is the level HSYD should shoot for, with Board approval of course.
>> Board vote results: unanimous approval.

c. Volunteers needed for tabling at the convention. Note that volunteers cannot be delegates. We can ask if anyone is interested at the next GM meeting.

IV. Membership Development

a. HSYD needs to be more proactive about increasing HSYD membership and engaging existing members through membership building events.

b. Outreach to different groups: LGBT university clubs (e.g. GLOBAL – Univ of Houston group). GSAs at local high schools/charter schools like Houston Academy of International Studies. Lamar and Bellaire H.S.? Milby H.S. definitely has a GSA.

c. GLSEN database accessible? A.J. can check with friends to find out.

d. Victory Fund brunch attendees included many people that fit the typical age-range of HSYD members, yet they don’t show up to HSYD events. We need to tap into this network of people somehow. Even HSYD social events like the Steel Magnolias screening last year bring in a different contingent but they often don’t come back. Partisan challenge – some people don’t want to embrace the political aspect of involvement.

e. Digital membership drive possibility? Facebook ads? Something to explore…

f. Pride 2012: HSYD will participate in the parade, can also man a booth like two years ago. In 2011, HSYD was in charge of the float, so all costs were sunk there. Booths in the past have been good for collecting information and registering voters, but can also be expensive. Need to find out the details of price and deadlines.

g. Members can also be engaged through Community Service Projects. LGBT specific would be great, but nobody shows up to outdoor things…e.g. Habitat for Humanity sounds good but not popular for summertime. Grace Place is also great although screening of volunteers is a bit difficult to coordinate. Bering Omega supply drive could be a good option.

V. HSYD’s 5th Anniversary

a. Anniversary was actually at the beginning of March. We want to celebrate with an event.

b. Options:
i. Low key like brunch or BBQ.
ii. High key like a fundraiser, but we don’t think this should be a membership drive.
iii. Brunch is relatively cheap to put together, or a champagne event.
iv. Awards ceremony and/or silent auction?
v. Candidate involvement would be good. The Mayor’s involvement would be great – big pull for attendance. If not Annise, maybe someone like Ellen Cohen or Jessica Farrar…

c. Venue:
i. House of Blues out – $4k or more? Big $$$.
ii. Out & Equal / mygayhouston.com use local restaurants, etc. for events. Can maybe work out a deal like 1 free drink and appetizers on the house in exchange for 50+ patrons on a weekday. Happy Hour cocktails could be a good option.
iii. Another possibility: private residence, but it would have to be a big house. Christina Bryant is an option but she’s been called on before… Maybe Donna Roth’s house, or Carol Wyatt’s. Appealing option because of the low cost. We would just need to foot the bill for catering.

d. Date:
i. Looking at early June before Pride. General Membership meeting is scheduled for 6/11, so it seems like a good idea to have the event that same week and encourage members at the GM meeting to come. Sometime Tuesday-Thursday that week, 6/12-6/14.

VI. Board Vacancy: Political Director

a. Kicked the can down the road at the last GM meeting, so we need to elect someone into this position at the next one (4/9).

b. Short on potential candidates for the position. Jason Hogan is among the names floated, but Brad will need to ask if he’s willing to take it on.

VII. TSDC Executive Committee

a. TSDC hosts a conference call every 2 months. HSYD needs a representative sit in on this call and keep us up to date on state-level goings-on. The call is also good exposure for HSYD since the local chapters have the opportunity to give a short synopsis of what they’re up to in a round-robin style update.

b. Paul has stepped up and agreed to act as the HSYD liaison for these calls! Hooray Paul!

VII. Endorsement Screenings

a. Screenings will recommence on April 7th and probably last 2 days. Brad will post the candidate questionnaires on Google Docs and share with the Screening Committee.

b. Conflict of Interest issue…
i. Lane Lewis received a complaint about potential conflict of interest with Brad acting as HSYD President and as someone working for the Primary staff.
ii. Ridiculous charge since Brad’s job has nothing to do with candidates, and also the HSYD President has no dictatorial powers over HSYD and endorsements. The President basically just leads meetings.
ii. Brad will meet with Lane, but suspects this may be related to Nile Copeland’s back-and-forth with him complaining about the HSYD screening process, questionnaire length, endorsement policy for uncontested Democratic candidates, etc.

VIII. Other Items

a. General Membership meetings used to be sponsored by candidates from time to time. Suggestion that we send out an email soliciting $100 sponsorship, which will cover the $75 charge for Stag’s Head and remaining incidentals.

b. Board Retreat scheduled for Sunday 4/1 at A.J.’s apartment. This is mainly an information sharing session to discuss the roles and responsibilities for the several new Board members and old members now in new positions. Andrea won’t be able to make it, but Brittani has been invited to speak with Hans about the Director of Membership role.

Adjourned: ~8:00 pm

HSYD Board Meeting, February 20, 2012

In Attendance: Brad Pritchett, Sarah Melecki, Chadwick Holmes (no quorum)
Meeting Commenced @ 8 pm

I. PAC Budget

a. Current bank balance:
i. Checking: $286.86, Savings: $400.32, Deposits: $1059.97
ii. Grand Total : $1747.15

b. Shorthand break-down of upcoming financial obligations:
i. est. cost for printing 1000 11×6 size mail pieces for Primary: $250
ii. est. cost for printing 1000 11×6 size mail pieces for General: $250
iii. est. postage for Primary and General elections: $460
note: it’s likely we will only mail ~800 and hand out the rest at polling locations
iii. cost for round-trip airfare for Jerame Davis, Executive Director of National Stonewall Democrats, when he flew to Houston to attend and present at the Youth of the Union conference: $199.79
v. proposed scholarship for Jeffry Faircloth (see below): $200
vi. remaining balance with no fundraising, no member dues: $387.36

c. Jeffry Faircloth was recently accepted to participate in the YDA Faith and Values Summit in Washington D.C. on March 23rd-25th. Lodging is covered and Jeffry has already secured $300 for his plane ticket. He still needs ~$200 to cover the remaining expenses and has asked if HSYD can assist. Board discussion of the issue took place over email and the final majority opinion is to provide a $200 scholarship with the caveat that Jeffry blog about his experience as well as address the General Membership with a summary and lessons learned at the following GM meeting (April).

d. Sources for funding events in 2012:
i. Money from sponsorships with upcoming mixers
ii. Pooling resources with other organizations
iii. Planning in advance to ensure sensible and efficient allocation of funds for between GOTV efforts and more social events like mixers/receptions.

II. Important Reminders

a. Screenings
i. Still planning on screening candidates for local elections during the first 3 weeks of March. Interesting note: HSYD has never endorsed for Constable before, but Precinct 1 candidates are showing a very high level of interest in our endorsement this year. Speaks well for HSYD as an respected and well-regarded organization!
ii. State Representative screenings are on hold. Brad is beginning to send out questionnaires, but S.R. endorsements won’t be voted on at the March GM Meeting.

b. March General Membership Meeting: March 19, 2012, 6:30 pm @ Stag’s Head
i. Board Elections will be held. No nominations at February GM meeting, so nominations and election will both take place at the March meeting.
ii. Brad will follow up with Stag’s Head to make sure the back meeting room will not be occupied when we arrive for the meeting. Otherwise, we’ll have to change the meeting location to the Harris County Democratic Party HQ instead.

c. March Board Meeting: March 26, 2012

III. Old and New Business

a. Grace Place
i. HSYD is still interested in this volunteering opportunity, but no single person has led the way in organizing it.
ii. March 1st date proposed back in January is now too close to be feasible, especially with the background check requirement for interested volunteers.
iii. HSYD should still just start with a 1-time “trial run” before committing on a 6+ dinners per year.
iv. Will revisit this once new board is in place and event priorities can be better assessed.

b. PRIDE 2012
i. HSYD will march in the parade, but not with the level of commitment involved in designing and building a float + organizing the support of other organizations like last year.
ii. Question still remains on whether or not to purchase a booth. It’s expensive, the day can be hot, and the majority of people who shared contact information when HSYD had a booth 2 years ago were not even residents of Harris County. Leaning toward no booth, but still open for discussion.

c. HSYD 5th Anniversary:
i. HSYD is 5 years old as of March 2012!
ii. Celebration to come, but delayed since no planning has been done thus far. Possible combined effort with the capital campaign in July.

d. Capital Campaign
i. 2012 campaign will require more of an effort, planning, and better execution than 2011’s campaign (which wasn’t so successful…).
ii. Tentatively looking at 2nd or 3rd week of July. M-W evenings are best since we’re likely to get the venue from free, which limits it to July 9th, 10th, or 11th or July 16th, 17th, or 18th.
iii. Gay bars are not a good choice for location. St. Arnolds? <- usually allow people to bring their own food, we could negotiate beer cost.
iv. Silent auction element.
- can auction off “doggie dates” with Baxter and Willow, C.J., Dash, and/or other HSYDDs (HSYD Dogs)…
- still have 3 bottles of red wine left from the Jerame Davis reception the day before Youth of the Union. Sarah suggested wrapping them up in a nice gift basket as a item for auction.
v. Previous proposal to present HSYD-determined GLBT leadership and achievement awards is a good idea but may take a lot more planning, probably a committee. We’ll revisit this as other aspects of the event get hashed out.
vi. Entertainment: pinata, band. Sarah knows people in Austin who might be interested, or we could farm from among the HSYD members involved in the music scene.
vii. Capital Campaign + HSYD Anniversary provide a great opportunity to re-engage membership in the same way that they were energized by preparing signs and building the float for PRIDE 2011. Need to identify ways to get people involved, possibly through one or more committees.

e. 2012 Candidate Mixer
i. Meet-and-Greet, similar to what HSYD arranged last year at Boheme.
ii. Great way to promote candidates as long as we keep it relatively low-cost to HSYD.

f. HSYD Bylaws
i. Recent discussions among Board members have highlighted some weaknesses and omissions from our current bylaws. One big but worthwhile task for the 2012 Board: updating the bylaws to make sure they remain clear, concise, and an accurate description of the PAC.
ii. A bylaws update can also help better focus HSYD by engaging current members in defining and adopting a clear mission statement/vision for the future that can guide our decision-making in the 2012 election year and beyond.

Adjourned: 9:03 pm.

HSYD Board Meeting, December 19, 2011

In Attendance: Brad Pritchett, A.J. Mistretta, Andrea Ward, Chadwick Holmes
Meeting Commenced @ 7:44 pm.

I. Grace Place Volunteering (Dec. event)

a. There was an unfortunate lack of communication between Grace Place and HSYD, specifically the deadlines were not fully clear for when background checks needed to take place.

b. Grace Place contacted Robert on Monday before to say they had gotten their own food and would be serving it on Thursday. HSYD volunteers who passed the background screening could participate if they wanted, but the group would need to otherwise reschedule.

c. Brad dropped off donated food for that Thursday but was asked to leave shortly thereafter – clearly Grace Place is very protective of the kids (good thing!)

d. HSYD will reschedule for January and better organize a core group of volunteers so all the screening gets done ahead of time.

II. Treasurer Update – Andrea Ward

a. Balances:
i. Checking Balance: $672.21
ii. Savings Balance: $200.28
iii. Pending Deposits: $1012.59 (already deposited and in the system)

d. NOTE: no record of $400 initial payment to Dharma Cafe for JRR Afterparty mishap. This payment was intended to be made in November and should be taken care of ASAP.

III. Endorsement Screenings

a. Filing period closed today: 12/19/11, but will likely be reopened due to redistricting now becoming a court battle. The next closure is expected to be later in February.

b. Suggestion: split endorsements to focus just on judicial and county races in January, then concentrate on all others later in the Spring.
i. Unopposed candidates should fill out questionnaire to express an interest in our endorsement – won’t need to go through full screening process though – screening committee can make a decision based on the questionnaire.
ii. Opposed candidates need to eventually be screened.
iii. Should HSYD take on Harris County School Board elections? Board says yes, but we need to put together a questionnaire. Goal: endorse at Feb. meeting.
iv. Judicial questionnaire – Brad P. will go through Caucus judicial candidate questionnaire, pass on to Neal Falgoust for feedback on how to change it up (he wrote it initially) so HSYD doesn’t get same answers from candidates who previously sought our endorsement.

IV. Youth of the Union Conference

a. A.J. spoke with Jenn Char – originally Director of Boards and Conventions, now Director of External Affairs for Annise Parker – about pulling in the Mayor as keynote for conference. Still not 100% nailed down, but looking good.

b. Space is available at University of Houston. Brad P. has put down verbal reservation and is waiting on U of H for a bill since we’ll need to pay some sort of deposit on the rooms right before the event.

c. Will need to raise somewhere between $700 – $1000 to cover event venue and food. Sponsorships are the best way, but question is how to go about it? Consensus opinion: set up an ActBlue page to dedicate to the event without running through HSYD accounts.

d. After-conference reception to be held on Sunday. Someone’s house preferable to a venue. Will need to ask around for host. Keep it simple, i.e. a booze/cocktail reception, not a brunch. Details to be determined.

e. Brad P. will compile a list of high school Democratic clubs/orgs to invite to the conference.

f. Sponsors: National Stonewall Democrats, HSYD, Harris County Democratic Party possible but need to ask/confirm, Rice Democrats, Texas Freedom Network UH Chapter possible after more discussion.
i. University Democrats at UH basically defunct so striking them from the possible sponsor list.
ii. None of sponsors will be paid for their sponsorship – donations only. Andrea’s proposal: HSYD puts in all the money and takes care of the costs, and then any left-over money can be allocated out to the groups that provide volunteers.
iii. Two proposed sponsorship levels:
1. $100 – appear on the printed material (sidebar devoted to sponsors) as well as on the event website.
2. $250 – same as $100 level except also get recognized as a sponsor of the cocktail reception Also has the opportunity to submit internship proposals to be given to workshop participants.

g. Workshop details:
i. Young and Involved Panel: asking David Rosen (candidate running for office), Daniel Williams (political blogger), Christina Gorczynski (League of Women Voters), Lillie Schechter (political consultant).
ii. Coalition Building Panel: Noel Freeman (GLBTPC), someonel from Planned Parenthood, more? maybe Brittani Williams (ACLU).
iii. Need a panel moderator for one or both: Steven David or Andrea Ward?
iv. Delegates Workshop: will be led by National Stonewall + TSDC officers.
v. Voter ID Bill Workshop: looking into options for leader, but Andrea Ward back-up.
vi. Young Leader in Houston Workshop: led by A.J. Mistretta.
vii. Internship Workshop: led by Travis Shy, Jerry

viii. Influencing the Party Platform Workshop: will ask Victor Castillo if he’s interested in leading.
ix. Inside Look at Campaigns Workshop: will ask one of Ellen Cohen’s campaign staff like David Baumann or Brooke Boyett; maybe Steven David if he’s not the panel moderator; possibly Brittani Williams due to her past experience.

V. Reminders/Announcements

a. General Membership meeting is delayed until Jan 23rd due to screenings and MLK Day. Board meeting will be the following week on Jan 30th.

b. Daniel Williams has asked for someone to appear on the Jan 23rd Queer Voices to talk about Youth of the Union, so we’ll need to ask someone to go there instead of the GM Meeting.

c. Next Board Meeting will be held at Andrea’s. Central location + Nearby Taco Bell = Best board meeting ever.

Adjourned: 9:03 pm.

HSYD Board Meeting, November 21, 2011
Board In Attendance: Robert Shipman, Brad O’Conner, Brad Pritchett, A.J. Mistretta, and Chadwick Holmes
Members in Attendance: Sarah Melecki

abbreviation key: BV = Board vote

I. General Business
* Robert is appointing Sarah Melecki as interim Director of Membership. A vote by the General Membership will be held at the next HSYD meeting in December.
* PAC balance: est $1000-$1100 in the bank, several hundred in checks pending deposit, total money on-hand in the $1700-$1900 range

II. Run-off Election Plans
* Planned Parenthood will be pushing for both Kristi and Jolanda.
* HSYD will focus on precincts hit in the past to capitalize on name/face recognition. Point is to get Jenifer voters to come back to the polls in support of Kristi.
* Early Vote (Nov 30-Dec 6)
* Election Date: Sat Dec 10
- 21 early vote locations announced – can be found online.
* GOTV:
- Live phone bank on Wed, Nov 30th w/ GLBT Political Caucus.
- Finish with numbers not yet called/robo-call on Thurs, Dec 1st.
- Robo-calls on Mon Dec 5th and again on Fri Dec 9th, the night before election.
– Brad P. suggests: one robo-call recorded by Jenifer in support of Kristi and perhaps Jolanda as well?
- Literature drop on Sat+Sun Dec 3rd-4th,
– 4×6 card (lit drop, not mailing since drop is more effective and saves postage)
– likely to be ~$200 in cost
BV: Proposal: approve up to $300 budget for literature costs. Passed by unanimous vote.

III. Grace Place Service Event
* volunteer date for serving dinner to homeless youth: Thurs Dec 15th
* menu:
- mac & cheese (veggie-packed thanks to Brad’s cookbook for parents). volunteer: A.J.
- sloppy joe (veggie-packed). volunteer: Brad + Robert.
- roasted potatoes/oven fries. volunteer: Sarah.
- dessert: aim for 3-4 total, including dirt cake + gummy worms, dump cake (ask A.J.), cookie/baked goods from Nash’s kitchen, etc.
- drinks: simple mix should suffice, e.g. Crystal Light iced tea

IV. Homophobic HISD Trustee Issue
* hisdbully.org now live! Site focused on removing Rodriquez from office for his anti-gay comments/literature during the campaign. Brad P. provided a large share of the content, so check it out.
* Note: there is no method for censure in HISD rules/bylaws. Only provision that exists is the President can self-mediate or appoint a 3rd party mediator when conflict arises between citizens and a trustee.
* Direction to consider – look at other positions Manuel Rodriguez, Jr. currently holds, contact related orgs and institutions and ask that he be stripped of those titles. e.g. he is currently President of the Mexican American School Board Association.
* Ideally, Rodriguez would have to go through something like GLSEN training or make some other good faith effort to move beyond bigotry through education/personal growth.
* Meyerland Democrats meeting tonight, expected to produce a resolution asking for Manuel Rodriguez, Jr.’s resignation. They’re interested in having other Dems join in their resolution.
- need to see resolution wording before agreeing to anything.
- Robert wrote a statement already, but a resolution might have more impact or at least adds to that.
- resolution voted on by the General Membership would have more impact than one from just the HSYD Board, but email responses could be tough to get from membership and next HISD meeting is 12/8, before HSYD general meeting.
BV: Proposal: Take a 2-stage approach: 1. communicate the issue via a Board resolution when Meyerland Dems draft theirs, then 2. get General Membership sign-on at the general meeting in Dec. Passed by unanimous vote.

V. JRR After-Party Wrap-up
* AvantGarden event went well. Essentially a fund-raising event for HSYD. HCYD are not expecting any profit-share and actually donated $100 for the event. Rice Democrats didn’t show up, so they will not be included in the profit distribution.
* Dharma Cafe Mix-Up will be costly.
- The background:
– Brad P. looked into options for party location, found Dharma, started making arrangements
– Oct Board Meeting took place the same week as the JRR Dinner. Brittani and Andrea suggested change of venue, and Brad P. passed all Dharma info on to Brittani to handle.
– Night of the JRR Dinner/After-Party, Dharma called asking “where are you?” – had drinks, band, food, booze all ready and waiting. Original arrangements were never cancelled with them even though party-goers were already arriving at new location, AvantGarden.
- Robert spoke with Dharma contact and talked down the $1900 bill to straight event costs of $800.
- Payment plan – could pay all at once but that puts HSYD on rocky ground – not much left in the bank after also paying for run-off efforts and little/no incoming funds during the holidays.
- Robert’s suggestion: $400 payment up front, 4 $100 monthly payments starting in Jan.
BV: Proposal: Adopt Robert’s payment plan. Passed by unanimous vote.
* January HSYD Social should be a dinner @ Dharma Cafe as a good faith gesture.

VI. Judicial Races
* Balance PAC: big coalition (primarily but not exclusively Democratic) designed to elect/reelect Democrats to the bench in order to maintain political balance. Focus on electing incumbents helps bring in corporate money since it keeps a known quantity in office.
- Have asked HSYD to endorse full ballot of Balance PAC judges, but gave a deadline of Dec 6th/7th. This is before our next General Membership or Board meetings, the Dec 19th filing deadline, planned HSYD judicial screenings in Jan, and thus too soon for us to sign on at that level.
* Robert suggests putting Judge Kirkland up for endorsement in next meeting (Dec), screen others later. Judge Kirkland would still need to go through the process, i.e. answer a questionnaire at least.
- Note: GLBT Political Caucus judicial candidate questionnaire is a good place for us to start.
- HSYD previously suspended the rules to handle a large number races: for contested races or uncontested races that HSYD had questions on, the candidate(s) were brought into face-to-face screenings; otherwise HSYD solely focused on questionnaire answers for endorsements.
- A.J. and Sarah: best not to give Kirkland special treatment due to GLBT status, and best not to endorse before filing deadline.
- Between the holidays + time required to send out and receive completed questionnaires, later endorsement is necessary.
BV: Proposal: Move January General Membership meeting to Mon Jan 23rd, the week after MLK Day, to allow time for questionnaires and endorsement screenings. This is the alternative to delaying endorsements until February General Membership meeting several weeks later. Passed by unanimous vote.
* Plan going forward:
- HSYD didn’t endorse HISD, probably don’t want to get too tangled up in all the Harris County races either because we’ll already have our hands full.
- Anyone in a contested primary, we’ll screen/endorse in time for the primary. Anyone running unopposed, we will endorse after the primary (if at all).
- Only contested races we know of right now: Damon Crenshaw, Candidate for Judge of Harris County Civil Court at Law, and Erica Graham, Candidate for Judge, County Court at Law 1.

HSYD Board Meeting, October 17, 2011

In Attendance: Robert Shipman, Brad Pritchett, A.J. Mistretta, Andrea Ward, Brittani Williams, Brad O’Conner, Chad Holmes

Meeting Commenced: 7:45 PM
Meeting Adjourned: 9:00 PM

1. GOTV for 2011 Municipal Elections:

a. Oct 24, 2011: First day of early voting; Robert will be at West Gray polling station.

b. Oct 25, 2011: Larry Green is having a young professionals event, 2-3 ppl asked to be there to help pass out literature.

c. Oct 29, 2011: Blockwalk; Voters who have already voted will be off the list; Note: Brad has received no response from District B after several inquiries – without guidance, we can’t dedicate limited resources.

d. Nov 7, 2011: Phone bank night before election (HCDP HQ most likely location); Note: Janay’s bday!!

e. Nov 8, 2011: Work the actual polling locations – GLBT Caucus will be at West Gray location, Robert may be there too.

2. Treasurer Moment: Andrea Ward

a. Balance – $540 in savings, $20 in checking

3. 2011 JRR Dinner:

a. Volunteers needed between 1-4 pm to help set up, dinner commences at 6 pm.

b. Andrea is gathering necessary supplies for registration table. Andrea will get tabloid in Brad’s hands for foam board by Friday noon.

c. Looking for more hosts…

4. JRR After Party:

a. This is “Young Dem” after party – partnership needed between HCYD and HSYD.

b. Dharma is no longer going to be the venue. Looking for replacement. Once a new venue is locked down, will follow up for sponsors.

c. Emails will be sent to everyone on the Host Committee last year to look for a commitment this year.

d. Need a DJ. Not an issue last year because it was included in the deal. Worst case scenario is to rely on an iPod.

e. Drink tickets will cover anything under $5.

5. November Social:

a. Post-election Happy Hour. Fbar possibly. Looking at Thursday, Nov 17.

6. December Social Event:

a. No official HSYD event.

b. Cocktail party with Robert??

7. Judicial Screening/Endorsement:

a. Keep in back of head, will sneak up on us right after the New Year. Screening likely to take place in January.

8. HSYD 5 Year Anniversary Event :

a. Will coincide with a Saturday fundraiser for 2012 election season.

b. Add a small awards component – helps because it will bring in people who wouldn’t normally be in attendance; con: award weariness. Perhaps limits it to 1-2 awards (e.g. an up and coming award, LGBT legend/hero award).

c. Full-blown evening event. Should be fun, celebration of achievement, retrospective, but not stuffy – venue determines a lot, so no Magnolia Ballroom, no gay bar…perhaps somewhere FBar-esque though. (88 Keys?)

d. 5 Year = Wood and Silverware anniversary!

HSYD Board Meeting, August 15, 2011

In Attendance: Robert Shipman, Brad Pritchett, Andrea Ward, Brittani Williams, Brad O’Conner, Chad Holmes

Meeting Commenced: 7:47 PM
Meeting Adjourned: 8:59 PM

I. Board Changes

Secretary position open after Hunter Cauble recently stepped down. Bylaws provide two options: leave position vacant until Officer elections in March or President appoints temporary replacement and membership vote takes place at earliest opportunity.
- Robert Shipman named Chad Holmes as interim Secretary.
- Open Elections for HSYD Secretary will be held at the September General Membership Meeting. Any members interested in running for Secretary can enter their names into consideration at the meeting, and the elected Secretary will serve out the remainder of the 2011/2012 term.

II. Account Balance

Checking Account: $598.71
Savings Account: $440.09
Total Funds: $1038.80

III. GOTV Plan

Must carefully plan campaign efforts due to limited resources. Individual candidates should receive HYSD support based primarily on need (e.g. Jenifer Poole, Bryan Smart). Brad will reach out to the different campaigns to gauge who both needs and/or wants help the most.
Activities:
- Block walks (already commenced for Ellen).
- Voter registration events.
  - Drop dead date of early October.
  - Festivals/public events good potential venues.
- Phone banking.
- Robocalls.
- Print materials – expensive, but good investment.
  - 2010 Elections: HYSD spent $2465 total, printed 5000 pieces (special deal), mailed 3000.
  - Rests on whether enough money can be raised to cover costs. Budget estimate: $2000.
  - Option: HYSD pays $500 and approaches 3+ candidates to ask for $500 apiece as matching contributions. Ellen, Jenifer, and Mayor Parker’s campaigns likely willing and able to make the investment.
  - Could perhaps save a couple hundred dollars by sharing printing costs with The Caucus. Brad can design something simpler than last year’s stapled multi-page hand-out.

IV. TSDC Endorsements

Background: Dan Graney, President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, emailed Stonewall chapter leaders throughout the state to address the TSDC endorsement process.
TSDC bylaws outline endorsement rules and procedures, but endorsements have never been made for fear of conflicting with decisions made by local chapters.
Dan drafted 6 changes to the bylaws in an effort to set clearer boundaries on TSDC endorsements.
Robert and Brad will distribute Dan’s email to the HSYD board members and solicit feedback for Dan on the proposed changes at the September board meeting.

V. Upcoming Events

Magnolias & Mint Juleps
When: 7-10 pm, August17, 2011
Where: HCDP HQ
Details:

Facebook event has 47 yes’s and a high number of maybe’s, the largest response in memory to an HSYD event. Likely attendance somewhere between 30-40 people, which bodes well for the final event revenues.
Invitation mentions bringing your own blankets and pillows, but folding chairs will be available for people who don’t want to sit on the floor.
Costume and/or other contest prizes? Bottle of Aqua Net is one suggestion.
Action Items: alcohol for juleps (A.J.), fried chicken and sides (Robert), Armadillo cake (Brad).

Pool Party
When: 1-4 pm, September 10, 2011
Where: Patrick Dickson’s house (Brad O’Connor’s brother)
Details:

Both a monthly HYSD Social event and a driver for new membership if enough attendees can be attracted from U of H and elsewhere.
Donation ($10) will remain “suggested,” but need to manage the stigma new people can feel about showing up and not paying anything.
Waivers required. Life guards should be on-hand. Brad O’Connor has been certified for years and can be “on call” at the event.
Water volleyball competition + “adult swim” time for volleyball-averse people.
Action Items: Facebook event (Brad), flier for xeroxing and posting around campuses (Andrea), leis from Arnie’s (Robert/Brad).

General Membership Meeting
When: 6:30 pm, September 12, 2011
Where: Stag’s Head Pub
Details:

Robert reaching out to invite Mayor Parker to attend. Current risk is she assumes she has HSYD’s support and face time with the membership is not needed. Potential for a Parker-specific event afterwards?
Invite Ronald Green as guest speaker.

Candidate Meet & Greet
When: September 14, 2011
Where: Boheme
Details:

Possible “bring a friend, get a drink” promotion if enough funds can be secured to cover the costs.

HCYD’s Johnson-Rayburn-Richards (JRR) Dinner Afterparty
When: October 22, 2011
Details:

Robert has been approached about helping organize the afterparty to the JRR event after the success of the Trailblazers Brunch.
Tentative yes, but it will be important to coordinate and communicate with the right people before fully committing – want to mitigate any risk of conflicting with other after-parties as has happened in the past.

HSYD 5^th Year Anniversary
When: March 12, 2012
Details:

Meeting coincides with HSYD General Membership Meeting and the annual HSYD Board Elections.
Celebrate with a fundraiser/event, possibly on March 10 (Saturday). Invite the founding board members to come, include an award component, invite a big speaker (e.g. Michael Mitchell of the National Stonewall Democrats?).
More discussion and planning to come.

Houston Stonewall Young Democrats Board Meeting Jan. 17
I Brunch Against Bullying
Raised $3120 or so. Expenses $480. Approximately 48 roughly people. People who were part of Victory Fund, Fort Bend Caucus, HRC.
Trevor Project donation.
II Equality Texas Lobby Day: Mon. March 7, 2011
transportation options
advertising plan for participants
release at GLBT Caucus, releases to Democratic groups
III TSDC State Conference: March 4-6 2011
hotel/registration
donation? Determined no.
IV Lobby Day Training: Sat Jan. 21 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
lunch for 30 @TGFA House, registration link
V Pride Festival
must book the booth space before the 31st, $355. We would like to be in the same space that we were last year.
help out with the Harris County Democratic Party entry into the parade.
VI Membership Drive
VII Social Events
Dinner Hour, Jan. 27, Thursday.
Spotlight karaoke?
Possibility of a movie night at 14 Pews. Talk to Cassandra Thibodaux
Other Ideas?
VIII 2011 Calendar
IX Officer Elections
Monday Feb. 7, is the general meeting. Consider who will run.
meeting ends 8:40 pm

HSYD December Board Meeting December 20, 2010
Meeting called to order 7:30 p.m.
I. Revisions to the municipal candidate questionnaire
II. Brunch Against Bullying Jan. 16, 10:30 a.m.
Donna Roth and Ken Council host level. $100. $400 raised so far. Anna Eastman probable host.
$50 per ticket with 50 people attending; counting on five individual hosts at $100 and five host couples at $175.
Pursue some corporate underwriting.
III. Bullying Seminar: April 8th and 9th
two planning sessions so far. Inclusive of all bullying, Montrose Counseling Center, MCC, Rice and University of Houston
bullying summit, Lobby Day, cross promotion, events for the next few days. Looking for sponsors
IV. Equality Texas Lobby Day training: Jan. 22
hosted by TFA at the TFA house. No cost to the people attending it. Lunch sponsor.
V. Texas Stonewall Conference March 5,6,7
meet and greet

VI. Begin looking at the municipal screening questionnaire after the holidays.
Meeting concludes at 8:15 p.m.

Special Endorsement Meeting
September 20, 2010
Board members present: Robert Shipman, Brad Pritchett, Brittani Williams, Hunter Cauble, A.J. Mistretta
General members present: none
Meeting called to order: 7:40 p.m
Discussion on endorsing Rep. Kristi Thibault in her reelection bid to District 133.
Motion to endorse Rep. Thibault proposed by Hunter Cauble, seconded by Brad Pritchett, passes unanimously.
Special meeting concludes: 7:50 p.m.

Board Meeting
September 20, 2010
Board members present: Robert Shipman, Brad Pritchett, Brittani Williams, Hunter Cauble, Shaun Nelson, A.J. Mistretta
Meeting called to order: 7:50 p.m.
I. Finance overview
Current bank balance: $1,583.23
Fundraising efforts: An additional $1,200 will be necessary to implement Get Out the Vote plan in its entirety
II. September happy hour
Set for 9/24 at Guava Lamp
Promotion: 3 cans of food items = one drink ticket. Cans will be donated to Houston Food Bank
III. HISD race
Discussion of possible screening and endorsement in HISD special election
Board unanimously determines that it will not endorse in the general election on this race, but reserves the right to endorse in the event of a runoff
IV. GOTV plan
Mail cards
Need to be in hand by 10/8
5,000 to be printed, 3,000 mailed and 2,000 distributed by hand
Total cost for printing, processing and postage is quoted at $2,750.46
Robocalls
1.   Cost of executing roughly 1,000 robocalls is $43
2.   Loren Jackson discussed as a possible voice for these calls because of his age and prominence; board will examine other contingencies
3.   Board agrees to spend the money to pursue the robocall initiative
Blockwalk events―led by Robert
1.   Oct. 3, Ellen Cohen
2.   Oct. 17 Bill White
3.   Oct. 30 HSYD mail card distribution via blockwalk, car windshield deposits, hand-to-hand
Phone banking―led by Shaun
1.   10/6 to reach out to 500 prospects identified by the party. Call will encourage them to vote for Bill White and the complete Democratic ticket
2.   10/13 to reach out to existing and former HSYD members encouraging them to early vote and asking for their help in volunteer efforts
OutSmart magazine advertisement
1.   completed and submitted on 9/20 for October issue
2.   donated space is ¼ page, may be upgraded
JRR Dinner after party
1.   Board member Andrea Ward has suggested HSYD consider co-sponsoring the JRR dinner after party at Sawyer Park along with HCYD.
2.   Event is scheduled for Oct. 8
3.   HSYD may benefit financially from ticket/sponsorship sales
4.   Board agrees to co-sponsor event
Voter registration
1.   Robert is in contact with several bars concerning the possibility of allowing HSYD to set up on-site voter registration the weekend of 10/24
2.   The same bars are also being asked to show GOTV videos

Meeting concludes: 9 p.m.

Board Meeting
August 16, 2010
Present: Robert Shipman, Brittani Williams, Shaun Nelson, Brad Pritchett, Hunter Cauble, A.J. Mistretta Absent: Andrea Ward
I. Financial Update
Exact figure unavailable but several hundred dollars currently on hand. In excess of $1,000 owed to us. Robert making efforts to collect.
II. Membership Update
Brittani planning university membership drive for morning of Saturday 8/28. Asking for help from board and other members to paper area campuses. Promo will publicize the Bring a Friend Happy Hour for August and the September membership meeting.
III. Political Update
Endorsements: Shaun sent out a BCC email to all candidates who had not yet responded to
screening questionnaire but did not get a response. Board determines we must make every
effort to get a completed questionnaire from candidates who have supported our
organization and pro-equality issues in the past. Shaun and/or Robert will attempt to reach
out to these select individuals with further communication.
IV. Ellen Cohen/HSYD blockwalk is rescheduled for 10/3
November Election Candidate Involvement/Action
Shaun has asked endorsed candidates how we can be effective for them.
Receiving feedback. Will advise as that becomes clearer.
In the meantime, he proposes an action plan for Sept./Oct. that involves a
weekend event (such as a blockwalk, literature drop) followed by a weekday event (phone bank or helping a candidate with literature for instance). With this approach we will be active each week but not be committed every weekend.
Tentative start date to the above plan on Sept. 18 with a political event (Bill
White blockwalk suggested).
IV. Reach Out
Brad is working on a mail piece that pushes a straight Democrat ticket and the diversity
reflected in the party. He has also obtained mailer pricing from a number of printers.
Robert would like to aim for printing 5,000 pieces, if finances allow.
Sept. 18th is a goal date for mailer.
Brad has arranged to use Democratic Headquarters for a photo/video shoot on Aug. 28. Several candidate videos are complete/nearly complete.
VI. Summer Fundraising
Muffin Man dinner with portion of proceeds benefiting HSYD tentatively set for Sept. 9 (update: rescheduled for Aug. 26).
Organized Dem. vs. Republican water balloon fight fundraiser proposed. Board will look into options
VII. Adjourn 8:45 p.m.

HSYD Board Meeting, February 20, 2012

In Attendance: Brad Pritchett, Sarah Melecki, Chadwick Holmes (no quorum)
Meeting Commenced @ 8 pm

I. PAC Budget

a. Current bank balance:
i. Checking: $286.86, Savings: $400.32, Deposits: $1059.97
ii. Grand Total : $1747.15

II. Important Reminders

c. March Board Meeting: March 26, 2012

III. Old and New Business

e. 2012 Candidate Mixer
i. Meet-and-Greet, similar to what HSYD arranged last year at Boheme.
ii. Great way to promote candidates as long as we keep it relatively low-cost to HSYD.

Adjourned: 9:03 pm.

Special Minutes Addendum:
HSYD Board Retreat, April 3, 2012

In Attendance: Brad Pritchett, A.J. Mistretta, Paul Gonzales, Hans Wong, Chadwick Holmes
Also Present: Brittani Williams
Meeting Commenced: 6:30 pm

I. Retreat Logistics

a. Meeting delayed from April 1st due to scheduling conflicts for multiple Board members.

b. Hosted by A.J. with Chinese food take-out delivery! Thanks, A.J.!

II. Membership Development (+ sage wisdom from Brittani Williams)

III. Pride (on 6/23)

b. Benefits of tabling at Pride: name recognition, register voters, meet people face-to-face. Gives HSYD the kind of visibility that shows we’re an active organization.

c. Brad called on the Board to vote on reserving a booth at Pride.
>> Board voted unanimously to approve the expense. Brad will take care of it tomorrow (4/4).

e. Tabling Plans
i. Use Burnt Orange Report as an example with tongue-in-cheek games like the following:
- “The Rick Santorum Birth Control Shuffle – Contestants race across the room with a bottle of aspirin between their knees!”
- “Transvaginal Ring Toss – Throw the ring onto the probe, win a prize!“
- see http://www.burntorangereport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11957) for others…
ii. Give-aways: jelly bracelets, hand-outs with QR codes that take you to the HSYD website…
iii. Planned Parenthood donated 1000 condoms last year. Brad will follow-up with them and see if they can donate more this year.
iv. Brad considering getting a credit card reader so new members can pay dues on the spot at Pride.

IV. Board Duties

Adjourned: ~9:30 pm

Board Minutes

HSYD Board Meeting, October 17, 2011

HSYD Board Meeting, August 15, 2011

I. Board Changes

II. Account Balance

III. GOTV Plan

IV. TSDC Endorsements

V. Upcoming Events

The Houston Stonewall Young Democrats

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