HomeMy WebLinkAboutYouth Advisory Board - Minutes - 05/07/2008YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES
Regular meeting — May 7, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Council Liaison: Lisa Poppaw
Staff Liaison: Steve Budner, Recreation, 221-6861
Board C erson: Josh Disney
Board Members Present: Lee Swanson, Laura Lamb, Matt Strauch, Caroline Wockner, Josh Disney
and Scott Umbreit
Board Member(s) Absent: none
Staff Members Present: Steve Budner, Administrator — Recreation Department
Carol Fahring, Staff Support — Recreation Department
Guest(s) Present: Jill Walusis and Megan Greer, Recreation Department Marketing &
Publicity
The meeting was preceeded by a dinner for the members and our guests beginning at 6:30 pm.
Call meeting to Order:
The regular meeting of the Youth Advisory Board was called to order at 6:45 p.m. by Board chairperson
Josh Disney.
Approval of Minutes from March 5, 2008:
On a motion by Laura and seconded by Scott, the minutes were approved unanimously(6-0)
Approval of Minutes from Apri12, 2008:
On a motion by Matt and seconded by Lee, the minutes were approved unanimously(6-0).
Agenda Review:
There was no agenda review.
Citizen Participation:
There was no citizen participation.
Megan spoke first on how to write a press release. There are 2 main differences between a press release
and a public service announcement. First the PSA is much shorter and just tells the date, time, location
and fee. Second the PSA usually goes out to radio and TV and the press release can go to print media as
well.
Press release:
• Can post it online
• Can be a prepared statement
• Needs to read clearly and simply
Who, what, where, when, why and how — Put this information up front
Try to encourage a specific action
Can focus on different target audiences with different media
Youth Advisory Board Minutes
May 7, 2008
Page 2
• Know contacts at each medium so you can send it directly to them. Send it to as many people at
each location that you can. The more eyes that see it, the better the chance that it will be published.
• Make sure the medium knows when it should run
• Make sure it is newsworthy and eye catching so they will run it
• Should never be more than 2 pages
• Always justify the margin to the left — font can differ
• Use proper grammar and spelling
• Send pictures, if applicable
• Use quotes that start discussion
• If there is bad news being reported, stress actions being taken to rectify the situation
• Know deadlines for the media
• Ask them for a proof of what they entered or have them read it back
Jill spoke on PSA's which are usually visual & audio media. Every word should be in all caps and should
be spelled out. Do not use abbreviations. Include places for them to pause (type out "pause"). Practice
reading it so that you know how long it will take the announcer to read it and mark the time on the PSA.
You should usually have several versions of the same PSA, including different lengths , ie a 10 second
version and a 30 second version.
Chairman's report:
Josh spoke about a documentary he had seen produced by friends of his about youth in poverty in Fort
Collins. 1 in 5 kids in Fort Collins are below the poverty line. He would like the YAB to align with a
group to support in the fight against poverty. Lee suggested a group called Millenium. Josh would like the
YAB to bring awareness of services in the city such as transportation and low income housing to kids
who need them. The group agreed that this would make a good presentation in the speaker series next
year.
Other business:
Liason reports: Matt reported on City Council. They are currently meeting on very routine issues.
However ASCSU is still very upset about the 3 unrelated law. City Council has already ruled that they
will not be changing it in the foreseeable future, but ASCSU can not accept this.
Lee had no update on Affordable Housing. The only minutes he could find were from last year. Carol is
going to ask Karla Smith how often the minutes for boards are uploaded to the city's website.
Laura had nothing new to report on Poudre school district.
Caroline reported that the Loveland Youth Commission has 5 spots open. They are doing summer events,
ie a Battle of the Bands.
Kai had nothing new on the Parks and Recreation board.
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May 7, 2008
Page 3
Scott reported that the Transportation board is still working to make College Avenue more bike
accessible.
Sneaker series: The board decided to start the series in November with a speaker on credit as it applies to
youth. The November meeting will start at 6:30 with the speaker at 7:00 pm. Laura will get the speaker
and Caroline will work with her on writing a press release and PSA , which will be ready at our
September meeting. The next speaker will be on the health effects of recreational drugs and Josh will find
a speaker for this. No date was determined for this speaker. A possible third speaker would talk on
poverty in Fort Collins with an emphasis on youth.
Kai updated her e-mail address which is 11091 (&,psdschools.org
City Council is having a board training session on September 27 from 9 am — 3 pm at NACC for all board
members. The training will be done by youth engagement teams.
Resignations: Letters of resignation were submitted by both Lee and Matt. Lee has been on the board for
5 years and feels like it is a good time to leave the board. Matt is attending school full time in the fall, in
addition to working at Bas Bleu and will not have the time.
On a motion by Laura and seconded by Lee, the board voted unanimously (6-0) to adjourn at 8:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Carol Fahring, Staff suppo
The next meeting will be Wednesday, September 3 at 7:00 pm at
NACC.