Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Marcel Fortin

Members Present

Steve Reynolds, Norvill Clark, Dick Bartlett, Connie Lupardus, Bob Johnson and Marcel Fortin

Guests Present

Partners Present

______________________________________________________________________.

Approval of Minutes

A quorum was not present

Correspondence

Unfinished Business

1. 05/06 Benedum Grant

Create a survey to be sent to active and inactive members on what is needed to get better participation at the local and Alliance levels. Be prepared to discuss ideas for this survey and who in your communities need to be contacted.

Discussed the need for business cards and stationary as part of the branding of the Alliance. Agreed to order cards, envelopes and to use the letterhead file provided by Gwen Hagaman to create stationary as needed. Brochure discussion as to format; slick 4 color format, mailable with logo and containing mission, goals/outcomes and a minimap of service area.

2. 501c3 Status

Application has been processed as of Sept. 15^th. Awaiting response from IRS. Do not

anticipate any problems. Will need to develop strategies for fundraising efforts – website, direct mailings & personal contacts.

Contacted IRS and was informed that the application has been received and they had not assigned the application as of yet. They have increased processing times from 120 days to 200 days due to high number of applications. The date for processing should be around April 2006.

3. The ARC “WV Distressed Communities Telecommunications & Technology Initiative

Have received notification of receipt of the grant application. Senators Byrd and Rockefeller have sent support letters. Delegate Steve Kominar and organizations from Mingo County are sending letters as well. Determination for the award should be around November.

Have continued followup on the application. The WVDO is still reviewing and does not have any estimated dates for notification of awards.

4. Heritage Tourism Workshop followups Reports

Organizational Committee discuss on next steps. Chair: Bob Johnson

Bob Johnson discussed the Dec 5^th followup meeting to be held in Lewisburg. Appalachian forest Area designation to plan for ½ an 1 day excursions for the area.

5. AllianceWV.org Website

Be prepared to provide input and ask questions on how to upload items to the site. We need

to begin to take advantage of the cost effective method of promoting the Alliance. Need ideas on

how promote the site.

Steve Reynolds discussed the new Yellow page area that has been added to the website.

5. Coal Connectivity Grant

Status and discussion on how the Champion Communities can provide local input

Discussed the progress of the project and how the coal industry has shown great interest in the proposal. Members interested and were asked to identify coal companies in their areas and to have contact names, so contact can be made as soon as possible.

6. “ WV. Distressed Communities Broadband Assessment Project” –Verizon/Frontier/Benedum Grant status on application and details of the project

Had a discussion with Mary Hunt-Lieving and she related that the project would be funded and that Benedum would match dollar for dollar any monies put in by telecomm providers in the future.

7. Reports

Heritage Tourism Committee Report

No Report

Broadband Committee Report

No Report

2005 Operational plan Committee Report

No Report

New Business

Reports: Community Reports

The reports presented last meeting showed the progress from the champions in attendance.

We need to hear from the others so we can share experiences and best practices.

Speaker:

No speaker

Next meeting:

Jan. 18, 2005 Conference call meeting

Adjournment

Adjourned 10:55

Respectfully submitted: Marcel Fortin