First Church Communications Team
Tuesday,
Sep 26, 2006
Members Present: Bill
Bartscher, Bennett Griffin (Chair), Harold Jones, Margaret Jones, Jerry
Niebaum, Michelle Parmley.
Grand Opening Week in Review: We began the meeting by
reviewing the events of Grand Opening Week to compare notes and update those
that were not able to attend.
Saturday: The Punt, Pass & Kick
event attracted about 15 participants.
Sunday: Consecration service was
well attended. A collection for the Eudora UMC building fund was taken up
during the consecration service and several people would like to know how much
was raised. The cross run went well. The church picnic was moved indoors
because of threatening weather, but this did not seem to pose any problems.
Monday & Tuesday: The open houses on these
days were lightly attended, but those 2 days were marketed to just the church.
Scott and Kathy Gates were pleased with the turnout for the Geo Cache event.
Wednesday: The square dance was very
well attended.
Thursday: The community open house
had a steady stream of visitors and many tours. The organizers of this event
were pleased with the turnout despite not having a ribbon cutting ceremony as
we had hoped. There is still a possibility for a chamber ribbon cutting at a
later date. Also, it was suggested that we collect photos from Grand Opening
Week to submit to the newspaper for the People and Places section, especially
since we were not successful in getting a second article in the paper.
Friday: The tailgate party had
approximately 150-200 people in attendance. Bennett spoke with a few people
that were not church members and spoke to a man that heard about it on the
radio (KLZR during the live remote broadcast). The connection with KU students
and campus ministry was a little disappointing, but overall it was a successful
event.
Saturday: The daytime events on
Saturday were well attended and the event organizers were very pleased with the
turnout. There was a full crowd in the afternoon for the fall festival. It was
a warm and windy day so all the inflatable games were moved indoors, but there
was plenty of room. The Youth Concert had a smaller turnout than was hoped for
(approximately 30-50 kids) but those that were in attendance were treated to a
great show and all the kids had a good time. There were a few things learned
from this event about getting the word out to the youth. For instance, Bennett
suggested that the band’s name should have been used for the branding of the
event rather than the phrase “Youth Concert,” however, that may not have
changed the outcome. Also, it was discovered that a future need for the
building might be a 220 electrical circuit for the stage area if we plan to do
any more concerts like this in the future.
Overall: The week was a success and
the team accomplished what it set out to do. It was stated that the single best
thing we did was to put together the master calendar for the entire week so
that everyone knew what was happening when. We should all feel good about the
work done.
Communications Team Purpose &
Future Goals: Jerry brought up a good point about the perception among
church members of the purpose of the communications team. It is thought that we
are THE marketing group for the church handling all promotions. This, of
course, is not the case and we’ll be working toward educating the congregation
on what our purpose is as a group. This discussion led us to create some goals
for the remainder of our term, which concludes at the end of the year. We came
up with the following 4 goals: 1) To understand and communicate the results of
the survey we conducted this summer; 2) To promote the various activities
associated with the Advent season; 3) Outline the function of the
communications team (which will most likely become a permanent committee
beginning in 2007); and 4) Design a system and specific processes for promoting
church events.
Sign Proposal: Bill
brought to the attention of the team a proposal that the Board of Trustees is
considering. Phil Godwin would like to fund 50% and possibly the entire cost of
a sign outside the downtown building in the space below the Rose window (West
side of building). The proposed sign is a painted aluminum cross with flame,
the universal United Methodist symbol. Bill wanted to make sure this met with
our approval since we have spent so much time talking about the branding of the
church. It was agreed that this is a good idea, so Bill is going to report back
to the Trustees that the sign proposal should go forward. Also, he will suggest
that the signs on the downtown building should be changed to include the new
church logo and one added at the Celebration Center.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, Oct 10th, 7:30pm.
Bennett will prepare a tentative meeting schedule for the remainder of the year
to discuss at our next meeting.