MeetingMinutes:2023-03

Called to Order

11:08 AM - Sunday, March 19, 2023

Attendance

Robert Allen (President), Bryan Faris (Treasurer), Christian Hain (Secretary), Brandon Welch (PR Coordinator)

Reading and Approval of Minutes

February minutes approved - 3 in favor

Correspondence

None.

Elected Officer Reports

Treasurer

1. Discussed Game Day contributions
2. Brian submitted a proposal for the 2023 budget
3. Filed annual corporate registration with the Secretary of State

Secretary

1. Minutes (attached)
2. Delivered four bins of games to OutlantaCon

Vice-President

Absent, no report.

President

1. Robert Allen added more games to the game library, we currently have 197 games, 109 expansions, and 3 accessories (like Smallworld book and train) 309 items
2. Took games to OutlantaCon on Friday
3. Toured Out Front theater with Brandon
4. Co-hosted March Game Day at Woofs
5. Hosted March Happy Hour

Special Orders

None.

Appointed Officer Reports

Events Coordinator

Vacant. Duties performed by Robert Allen.

Past Events (since the last meeting)

1. Out@theMovies: Was not held in February
2. Game Day:
   1. Held at Woofs on March 4. 60 people attended. The entrance to Woofs moved, and every patron entering the bar had to walk through the gaming space. The manager insisted on leaving a pathway, which limited how much space we could take up. Woofs could only spare one table (instead of three like last time). May have already outgrown Woofs unless we can bring more tables and chairs.
   2. Discussed likes and dislikes. Brandon mentioned moving to the patio. Christian reminded discussions of perhaps moving to the evening. Robert Allen to ask Woofs. Robert Allen mentioned how friendly the staff is.
   3. Discussed the donation sign that was put next to the sign-in sheet, which brought in $45 cash + Venmo donations.
   4. Discussed how people thought we were bouncers for the bar.
3. Happy Hour: March 16 at Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium - five people attended most of the night, and one person came half an hour before the event ended. Challenging to keep the conversation alive with only five participants, and lots of small talks. Couldn’t point to a single reason why turnout at Church was lower than My Sister’s Room. Discussed no longer going to Church.
4. OutReaders Read The House in the Cerulean Sea, seven attendees (four new) Seven thumbs up.

Upcoming Events

1. March: Out@theMovies: To be held Saturday, March 25. The movie and venue are unknown (Robert Allen to find out from Leah)
2. April
   1. Game Day: To be held Saturday, April 1, 7 PM at Robert Marshall’s house
   2. Happy Hour: To be held Wednesday, April 12, 8 PM at My Sister’s Room
   3. OutReaders: To be held Saturday, April 15, 2 PM via Zoom. The book will be The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
   4. Regular Business Meeting: To be held Sunday, April 16, 11 AM via Zoom
   5. Out@theMovies: To be held Saturday, April 22 or 29 (fourth or fifth Saturday)
3. May
   1. Game Day: To be held Saturday, May 6, 1 PM at Woofs
   2. Happy Hour: To be held Wednesday, May 17, 8 PM at My Sister’s Room
   3. OutReaders: To be held Saturday, May 20, 2 PM via Zoom. Book TBD
   4. Regular Business Meeting: To be held Sunday, May 21, 11 AM via Zoom
   5. Out@theMovies: To be determined

Public Relations Coordinator

1. Discussed Social Media Network Stats
   1. Facebook: Gained three Facebook Group members, and gained 28 Facebook Page likes. Discussed people posting in the group looking to find players for ad hoc games outside of OutWorlders - liked seeing that engagement
   2. Instagram: Gained 30 Instagram followers
   3. Twitter: Gained two Twitter followers, a significant increase in profile visits (+766%)
2. Reviewed potential upcoming posts
3. Reviewed pictures and Social Media Graphics
4. Discussed promoting Woofs’ social media posts to reciprocate them sharing ours. Robert Allen would like to continue to build and strengthen our relationship with them

Internet Coordinator

Vacant. Duties performed by Christian Hain.

Robert Allen reported a site outage earlier this month. Needed to click the “Renew” option on namecheap.com. The issue was resolved in about 10 minutes.

Historian

Vacant. Duties performed by Christian Hain.

1. Attendance data attached
   1. Game Day: Incomplete; need final attendance sheet
   2. Happy Hour: Complete
   3. OutReaders: Missing
   4. Out@theMovies: Didn’t meet
2. Meetup.com memberships have doubled over the last 12 months

Committee and SIG Reports

Bylaws Committee

Christian Hain (secretary, committee chair) and Robert Allen (president) met virtually via a Slack Huddle Monday, March 13, 2023, to re-review proposed bylaws. Spent an hour reviewing the first half of the bylaws and will reconvene to discuss the second half. Date TBD.

Game Library Committee

Discussed during Events Coordinator.

Out@theMovies SIG

Has not met, no report.

OutReaders SIG

No written report at this time.

Unfinished Business

1. Bylaws - Discussed in Committee Report
2. Nametags: Need to resubmit template designs to align with the templates Robert Allen is using
3. OutlantaCon: Took nearly all games in the library to OutlantaCon, the first time we lent out our library without supervision. OutlantaCon gave us a shout-out during the opening ceremonies. Darie has ideas for cataloging games with barcodes.

New Business

1. 2023 Budget: Brian is to send information to Christian to include in minutes and
2. T-Banner Sign: Reviewed designs, and discussed only needing to replace the vinyl sign and keeping the hardware. Brian to include in the budget.
3. OutFront Theater: OutFront Theater reached out to OutWorlders via Instagram and asked if we would be interested in using their space. Robert Allen and Brandon went for a theater tour, the first time they saw the backstage area. OutFront is trying to convey that they want to be seen as a community center when it’s not being used as a theater. Saturday during the day works well for OutFront.
   1. Robert showed photos. They have round bar tables and 2-top and 4-top restaurant tables that we could use. They also have three plastic 6-foot tables. Could probably have 55 people seated at one time if Robert Marshall could bring tables. The bar would be staffed, we’re allowed to bring food. Not sure how much the drinks would be.
   2. Also reviewed photos of the theater, we’d be able to show movies if we want if we bring the DVD/DVD Player/Laptop to hook up
   3. They also have TV Screens available if we want to hook up video games. Could also create slideshows/promo banners on the screens
   4. Discussed parking that is about the same size as Woofs, parking decks, and a post office parking lot in the area
   5. Potential to invite Werewolf ATL
   6. Earliest we could do would be June

Open Floor

None.

Announcements

The next meeting is April 15, 2023, at 11 AM

Adjournment

12:20 AM - Adjourned.

Submitted by Christian Hain, March 19, 2023