MINUTES KXNM BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING - Thursday – January 21, 2021
Due to Covid-19 social distancing restrictions, the Board of Directors met using a hybrid model that combined both in-person (limited to 5 participants) and Zoom, a video conferencing application, for directors not participating in-person.
Present in-Person: Lacey Cromer, Frank McKinnis, Joyce McKinnis
Present in Zoom: Angela Gonzales, Ladd Hagmaier, Bill Simms, Keith Smith, Art Swenka, Randy Wright
Not Present: Babbi Baker, Dixie Swenka
Art Swenka, President called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. In-person participants maintained Covid-19 safety protocols throughout the meeting by wearing a facemask, and practicing social distancing.
The Pledge of Allegiance was said by all directors present.
A quorum was met with 9 of 11 directors present.
CONSENT AGENDA: Lacey Cromer motioned to approve the agenda for the December 17, 2020 and the minutes from the November 19, 2020 board meetings as submitted; Joyce McKinnis seconded the motion. Art Swenka conducted a roll call vote and directors unanimously approved the consent agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
- Nomination and Election of Officers: Art Swenka presided over
Bill Simms, Vice President – two-year term
Joyce McKinnis, Treasurer – two-year term
Randy Wright, Secretary – one-year term
Frank McKinnis motioned that the current officers be nominated and elected to their respective offices by affirmation and Angela Gonzales seconded the motioned. Art Swenka conducted a roll call vote and directors unanimously approved the re-election of current officers for Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.
Fundraising Discussion – Lacey Cromer, Assistant Station Manager reported on a new fundraising initiative that involves online auctioning of donated items. Lacey and Joyce McKinnis recruited donors and volunteers to organize the donation of goods for different baskets including: baby items, toys for kids, beauty, an Easter basket, etc. Lacey indicated that 148 individuals have shown interest in the auction in the first three days since the auction site opened.
The auction will be conducted online from January 29 – February 10, 2021 on the Facebook Page of Friends of the KXNM Foundation. Directors were impressed with this initiative and thanked Lacey and Joyce for their innovative idea and excellent work.
OLD BUSINESS:
a. Update on Pattern Energy Partnership - Art Swenka reported on ongoing discussions with Pattern Energy, which included streaming to specific countries, and ongoing events at local high schools. Art discussed streaming with Austin Burch, Station Engineer, who said the station can stream to particular countries and states.
Lacey Cromer also reported that broadcasting the Estancia High School Drama Club’s productions is ongoing. The next drama is Dick Tracy scheduled for broadcast on January 30, 2021. Lacey has trained Lianna Torrez, a Estancia H.S. student, to record, edit and produce the shows and recommends that Lianna would be an excellent candidate to be a student intern at the station.
b. Ceiling repairs and cost estimate from Wesley Cromer - Art Swenka contacted Wesley Cromer, who does carpentry work,
and asked him to inspect and estimate costs to repair the drop ceiling at the station. Wesley recommended using precut
furring strips to support the ceiling, which will reduce the man hours required to do the job and costs. He will begin work
this weekend.
c. Update on the Sounds of Central New Mexico – Randy Wright, Board Secretary, reported on the new show featuring local bands. Randy said that seven shows have been recorded featuring a variety of bands and musical styles including
- Reverand E and the Vagrants – Blues
- Swing Shift – Swinging Jazzy Dance
- Rye Creek – Folk and Western
- Odd Dog – Soft Rock and Original Songs
- Gilbert Ortiz – Tex-Mex, Uptempo Dance
- Stanlie Kee and Step in – Traditional Blues
- The Keys Band – Country
A website for the show was created and can be found at https://www.kxnm.org/sounds-of-central-new-mexico.html The website includes the following information:
- Archived shows are available on demand as MP3 files,
- Band photos, bio information, live performance schedules are posted,
- Band contact info: websites, Facebook, You tube, email are listed,
- Search buttons are available to find the band’s shows and to submit comments about the show.
Randy, Art Swenka and Bill Simms commended Bill Cochran for doing a great job hosting and producing the show, and applauded Lacey Cromer for editing.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Joyce McKinnis, Treasurer reported that the station had a year-end net loss of ($1,500) and commented that this was expected given the business climate during the pandemic.
Joyce announced that the station received a New Mexico Finance Grant for $10,000 funded by the CARES Act. The grant can be used for any expenses. She deposited $5,000 of the grant into the station’s operating bank account , and $5,000 into the station’s savings account.
Joyce said that she will apply for the second round of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, but was concerned about the qualification requirement of recipients having a 25% revenue loss from 2019 to 2020.
VICE PRESIDENTS REPORT: Bill Simms discussed the immediate need to supplement, if not replace the TransWorld link between the station and the tower with a fiber optic connection. The TransWorld connection includes five links that occasionally malfunction and need replacing. This also creates a balancing and volume normalizing problem with the broadcast.
Lacey Cromer reported that she is installing Ivolume, a software that interfaces with Itunes (and Radiologik) that will help to balance and normalize the volume of the 125,000 plus songs in the station’s playlist.
Bill also reported that the shows he produces Archaeology in Your Backyard, Weekly Weather, and the FFA Livestock and Commodity Shows are all working smoothly.
PRESIDENTS REPORT: Art Swenka commented that Plateau is ready to install fiber optic to the tower and is working on a five-year lease with them. The fiber optic link is highly reliable and would eliminate the malfunctioning links currently affecting the broadcast. Art commended Frank McKinnis for negotiating a turn-key agreement with Plateau for fiber optic installation and service.
Art announced that the next board meeting is scheduled for February 18, 2021.
The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted: Approved:
Randy Wright
Randy Wright, Secretary Arthur J. Swenka, President
January 23, 2021
# # # END # # #
KXNM Community Foundation Officers and Directors
Art Swenka, President | Bill Simms, Vice President | Joyce McKinnis, Treasurer | Randy Wright, Secretary
Directors: Babbi Baker | Lacey Cromer | Angela Gonzales | Ladd Hagmaier | Frank McKinnis
Keith Smith | Dixie Swenka
Directors Emeritus: Rhoda Geduld | John Griego | Pat Lincoln | Norm Onarheim | Matt Page