Project Meeting Notes Taken by Aaron Bornstein

Project Meeting Notes – Taken by Aaron Bornstein

Date: September 11, 2009 – 3:00pm

Attendees:

Brian Allison, Client

Steve Bauer, Leeds

Aaron Bornstein, Leeds

Sam Houpt, Leeds

Joyce Jung, Leeds

Sara Nasser, Leeds

Leann Tatelman, Leeds

Meeting Ground Rules:

1. Be on time

2. Stay focused on the topic discussions

3. Consider all ideas and be open to constructive feedback

4. Be proactive and fully participate in roles

5. Be prepared

6. Be organized

7. Be respectful

8. Be positive

9. Violations result in bringing snacks to next meeting

Meeting Agenda:

New Team Member Introductions – (majors, hometowns, and interests), client introduction to new team members
The new team members were also introduced to Webex, which is a file sharing/communication tool developed by Cisco. We will use this device to document most of our files and keep the group updated on the status of the project.
Remote Team members introduced by Brian
Discuss Overall Goals of event and foundation for achieving them
Background on last year’s event and changes for this year
Group compiled Questions discussed
Website
Jon Hartmann from last year's team is interested in designing and updating the event website
Sponsorship Discussion

Suggestions
Get to sponsors earlier
Sponsors-
Banners/recognition
Winter park restrictions
Place for Dinner- Lodge at Brian’s (near Sole Vista)
BRAD- Banquet room, space, happy hour, restrictions, early guiding service (logistics for that- will you hold part of the mtn for us- possibility)
Get donations, and cash if they want
What's in it for them: free admission, etc
Get demo skis

PR- local news, restaurants, student organizations, Boulder Freeride,
Co-Marketing with WP (TALK TO BRAD)
Social Media- Facebook

Future Meetings
From here we decided the group should meet every Wednesday at 4:30 or 5:00, and Brian would usually be able to attend.
Proposed Schedule
Priority- website, sponsors, reasonable idea of event details
Break up the following
Charter and timeline
Sponsors
Website updated
Date for ‘Save the Date’- Week of October 12
Talk to Chad about Corporate Sponsor section
Majority of money came from
Friends/family
Cisco employees
Silent Auction
Confirm that Backcountry skiing guide is interest in doing avalanche awareness training for all attendants
Specify messaging
Where/what the money is going towards
People want to feel good about it
Need to sit down with the Nature Conservancy for specifics
Contact Grand Foundation Board
See if Hitachi mentors can market the event to their clients
Market to water people and see if they are interested in speaking
Don’t have EIN # yet, Brian will update

Project Meeting Notes – Taken by Aaron Bornstein

Date: September 15, 2009 – 5:00pm

Attendees:

Steve Bauer, Leeds

Aaron Bornstein, Leeds

Sam Houpt, Leeds

Joyce Jung, Leeds

Sara Nasser, Leeds

Leann Tatelman, Leeds

1.Determine individual Roles and Responsibilities

Logistics/planning
(Sara / Leann)
Banquet room
Lodging (2 types)
Catering
Events
Base camp
Team building events
Competitions
Seminars
Budget and alternatives

Marketing
(Joyce and Steve)
Figure out from Taylor about specific projects (where money goes)
Email lists, flyers, t-shirts
Coordinating website (Jon)
Speakers
Contact TNC
Define approach (message, who's involved, where the money's going)
Design/Logo/Image
Talk to Chad about sponsoring
Facebook

Sponsors/donations
(Aaron/Sam)
As many as possible
Compile last year’s list
Sales pitch
Info on corporate sponsors
When to ask for $$/Product
**figure out from Brad who we cannot work with**
Limitations

2. Chose Team Lead- Steve

3. Discussed Project Deliverables

4. Discussed use of Hitachi Mentors

5. Discussed donation process

Bank account in name of Exceler8s
Receipt for donations
Use Carbon copy sheets

6. Questions to ask Brian

What time does the event end?
Will we serve dinner on the last day?
Is Berthoud taking place on one or both days?
Did competitions take place before or after happy hour last year?

Project Meeting Notes – Taken by Aaron Bornstein

Date: September 16, 2009 – 6:15pm

Attendees:

Brian Allison, Client

Steve Bauer, Leeds

Aaron Bornstein, Leeds

Sam Houpt, Leeds

Joyce Jung, Leeds

Sara Nasser, Leeds

Leann Tatelman, Leeds

1. Discuss role and responsibilities from Tuesday, Sept. 15 meeting

Reviewed each group and confirm bulleted points

2. Marketing

Define website requirements
Other Promo materials
Fliers, ad in backcountry magazine
Article in Daily Camera / Colorado Daily
Check with WP about co-marketing
Brian will resend Webex invites

3. Donations / Sponsorships

Conflict is with on-mountain sponsorships
Can they restrict?
Move forward if no response
Create generic sales pitch
Get a sale
Talk to people we know/relationships with
Last years sponsors
Anyone that chad knows
Local companies
Develop first draft list of companies to approach
Sponsorships
Prioritize
Use last years list
Watch companies
Check with Boulder Bolder Sponsors to see if any interest
Brian knows Director of BB- will provide contact info
Look into possibility of having Warren Miller present?
Donation Process
Need 501C3 in place before we can accept donations
Need to obtain it soon
Do the benefits of PayPal outweigh the costs
Talk with Jon about process
Bank account will be set up by Brian shortly
Need to determine if donations shipped to Winter Park or to us in Boulder

4. Logistics

Need to set up central location
Find bar to host happy hour
Need to determine food/catering/prices
Breakfast for 2 mornings (Thurs/Fri)
****NEED TO GET EXCELER8S BADGE****
3x transportation to and from berthoud
Need to tighten down registration
Registration at "base camp"
What to include in reg price?
Tickets, food, lodging, etc
Plan competitions
Print itinerary
Breakdown
Phone numbers, etc
Happy hour
Brian wants to speak on dinner night
Allow for Berthoud on both days, give option of 1 or both days

5. Milestones

Save the Date
Dependent on sponsors, website and event details nailed down
Pick date that we want website final
Need draft/requirements first- 2 weeks prior to deployment
Need an operational site 1 week before deployment
Create a full timeline
Make an appointment to meet at TNC in early October
Make an appointment to meet with Markus in Mid-October

6. To do for next week

Start contacting sponsors
Create timeline/milestones
Determine if there is a way to do html, email blasts

Project Meeting Notes – Taken by Aaron Bornstein

Date: September 23, 2009 – 6:15pm

Attendees:

Brian Allison, Client

Steve Bauer, Leeds

Aaron Bornstein, Leeds

Sam Houpt, Leeds

Joyce Jung, Leeds

Sara Nasser, Leeds

Leann Tatelman, Leeds

1. Brian Updates

Still need a meeting with TNC to understand where the money is going
Due to lack of timely response from Brad, Brian has provided his boss’s contact info- Crystal- who we should contact to speed things up
Suggestion to schedule a standing meeting with Brad, every other week to reduce the chances of him ignoring us
Brad will be getting back to Joyce in a few weeks with joint promotion info
Brian thinks we are fine with our 501C3- but have not received anything in writing
Brian will provide when he receives
Chad wants to take the lead of contacting last years’ sponsors

2. Website Update

Steve spoke with Jon and he is willing to do all of the website
Need a timeline for Jon to get website going
High level catch so the site can be useful
Group decides that the front page needs more grab
Overview of Event
Overview of last years event
Clearly advertise our sponsors
Group suggests checking with TNC regarding a link to Exceler8s on their site
Need a new logo with more edge and color- to capture the essence of the event
Also need a call to action on the site- registration, donation, etc
Jon will code the website with security to accept donations
Need EIN #
Will set up a section of the website so participants can compete in real time to see how much money everyone can raise
Incentivize using in-kind donations
Incentivize people to pay online
Suggest having discounts for early registration to get a better idea of numbers
Registration Fee of $20-$30 will include Dinner, T-shirt, Breakfast, Transportation, and happy hour
Doesn’t include lodging or lift passes
Create forum for early-bird registers only
Set up individual accounts for each group member to update site as needed
Need to follow up on desired dates for website open for business

3. Website Marketing

Need our message from TNC, marketing package (what we are offering), and a general idea of the events taking place
Need to agree upon what we are trying to portray to our audience
Spirit/experience of event
How many web pages will we have?
Needs to look more professional compared to last year
Need to work through how to design it
Does Jon want to interpret our wishes or does he want a pre-specified layout?

4. Event Experience

Give back, stretch selves in team environment and learn about Colorado River
Manifestation has changed
Seminars appealing to multiple audiences
Updating participants on what the TNC used last years money for
Not just having fun, but gaining awareness
Advertise what’s great about the organization
Breakdown what the money can lead to

Project Meeting Notes – Taken by Aaron Bornstein

Date: September 30, 2009 – 6:15pm

Attendees:

Brian Allison, Client

Steve Bauer, Leeds

Aaron Bornstein, Leeds

Sam Houpt, Leeds

Joyce Jung, Leeds

Sara Nasser, Leeds

Jon Hartman, Remote

1. Project Deliverables

Discussion of class deliverables for Brian’s knowledge
Received an OK of our project purpose
Discussed Themes of Event: Give back to community and provide a challenge
From a mission standpoint- for the Colorado River Project to succeed, we need the community to come together and have fun
Also to provide awareness to make right choices

2. TNC Update

Brian will schedule a meeting for 2 weeks out

3. Chad Update

Needs EIN # from Brian

4. Brad/WP Update

Needs Brian to sign contract in order to further negotiate terms
Brian will contact Brad about getting together for contract signing
Will have bank account set up in 1 week
Finishing up 501C3 application, have received non-profit legal status with state
Contingency Plan for Location due to lack of WP response
Plan B- Town of WP
Plan C- Sol Vista
Plan D- New location
If the base changes, we need to have everything in one place

5. Advertising

Radio
Reach and price
Assume free b/c charity
Placements from Markus and his supporters

6. Website, Jon phone conference

How soon for a new look using mock design?
By October 7
Jon will update website as we feed him information
Also using content management system so the group can easily make changes without Jon’s help
Site will be setup as a brochure site
Main Page
Main page
Brief description
Top navigation
TNC Info and link to Colorado River Project Site
Want a single 'About' tab
sub-tabs for Exceler8s, Project Team, About WP, and last years event
Registration/Donate
Competition for registration
Explain how it works
Individual registration
People can sponsor you
Have separate section for results from competition
2-3 day turn around time for mailed in checks-
Need to determine way to coordinate info and update site
Use In-kind donations to incentivize competition
Possible options- free event, free skis, etc
Teams based on companies
Business registration
Registration/prices
Advertise companies on side bar
Early Registration
Sign up dates
Pay in full
Incentivize
WP/B tickets and guide paid at base not on website
Will coordinate with WP for group discounts
Payment System
Ecommerce store with direct deposit
Security?
Secure payment process
Kicks out receipt after purchase
What about credibility of the site?
Will have a security certificate
Wells Fargo Bank Acct
Brian needs to Setup merchant acct
Jon will inform Brian of specifics
Sponsors
Should high donators have recognition with advertising/links to their site on the sidebar of every page?
Yes
Don't need to do packages
Setup exceler8s.com/sponsors page so potential sponsors can visit for more information
WP/B Information
Whatever we want about guides, town, etc can be added as created
Event Details
Schedule of tentative events should be placed asap
Sara has mock schedule and will email it out
Contact
Phone/Email
Place a contact form on the page with space for name, contact, and message
Suggest to send to only 1 central account to minimize multiple responses
still works
Questions Concerning Payments
Will it track payments for accounting purposes?
Yes
Let Jon set up the site and handle the databases to ensure it stays clean and easy to use
1st save the date:
Estimated to be 2nd half of October
Next Wednesday, October 7, will have the template/shell and desired pages completed
Need to get save-the-date email list from last year
Want to draw up mock save-the-date in due in 2 weeks
Immediately:
Brian will email EIN #
Need to email updated charter to Chad and Jon

Project Meeting Notes – Taken by Aaron Bornstein

Date: October 7, 2009 – 5:00pm

Attendees:

Brian Allison, Client

Steve Bauer, Leeds

Aaron Bornstein, Leeds

Sam Houpt, Leeds

Joyce Jung, Leeds

Sara Nasser, Leeds

Leann Tatelman, Leeds

1. Brian scheduled call with WP on Friday from 12:30 - 1:30pm

Things we want to cover
Contract
Life tickets- group discounts
Joint advertising with WP
Have sara and leann get Brian a list before Friday's meeting**
Boulder center for sports med- getting in shape for ski season
Some kind of tie
Race conference-- who will attend besides me and sam?
Benefits of sponsorships
What it means to them?
No more than 3 categories
Willing to pay for berthoud (hold 10 spots for sponsored ppl) or lift tickets
Free on mountain stuff
Depending on the types of marketing we pull together, we can provide preferred spots for larger/key sponsorships
Priority online sponsorships
Company provided Banner
Extreme team building event
***Talk to Aaron Davidson about getting companies to put booths up/sell things****
Brian will send me a 1 page summary that he sent to Jim in July***
Boulder bolder Contact from Brian….Cliff Bosley-

2. Marketing Plan (steve and joyce)

Looking at environmental, business, etc groups that would have interests
Email to tell what it is about and whether they would be willing to promote/cross-promote to their members
Give speech during meetings
Would most likely cost to do 9news
***need to put together a press release****
Cross promote through KBCO
Snowforecast.com
See if Sponsors will put link on their site and promo to their members
Search engine tag
Sam will go to google
Hit up tvs in CU buildings with info about event
Environmental law office knows Steve and will put info out to all environmental groups around town

Look to New Belgium Brewery for sponsorships (joint marketing)
Check on issues with Coors
Student Organizations
Have connections with Greek community through Sarah and Leann
Snowforecast.com will put up a banner for free
When ppl search for Boulder and all ski areas

Talk to Denver Post, and state/local govt
Ask local congress person to attend event-- maybe someone in Colorado River Region
Local gov't representatives to provide opinions

Thank you process for sponsors
Ski Magazine
Warren Miller
Or less prominent film makers in the area

3. Brian

Taylor available- October 21, 5:30 - 6:30pm at TNC
EIN given out
Need to track down invite list
Finishing 501c3 paperwork
EIN # should suffice for state/federal tax #
Need reinvitation to WebEx
Talk to Brad about join marketing restrictions
Ball rooms
Food
Transportation
Talk to REI for monthly memberships- do a class on Colorado River--****

4. Chad Conference Call, 6:00pm

Intro
Helped out last year and graduated last yr
Live in jackson hole, WY
CR Project important to him
Wants to help lighten workload
Provide advice from last year
Was spiritual leader and rain maker on sponsor side
Went round the table
Brian's overview for event and how its different from last year
Agonized all summer whether to do at WP or Silver
Want ppl to give back and challenging ones self and realizing what one's capable of
Broadened mission (above) and bringing community together
WP provides unchallenging environment
Place to bring together
Meeting with Taylor about specific things we can do in context of CRP in context of grand county and front range
Chad:
Challenges
Still important to put challenge aspect into WP
Will clarify with WP this Friday during call
Not going to make it into something it is not
Gain access to getting to the chutes- outside normal bounds
Positive that we will do something for the 'cerc'
Want to get areas cordoned off
Questions
Focusing towards sponsors- way to approach is tell them what we can offer them- what they get out of it
Levels of Exposure-exceler8s central is crucial point to get sponsors
If in MJ / super-gage lift- exposure to others skiing and not just ppl associated with event
Wells Fargo has large tent outside
Sponsors know they get exposure to everyone at WP that day
Need sponsor list
Want to focus on major companies for key backers for $$
Short list for prioritized companies to go after asap (new belgium)
And focus on others for product donations
Focus on what exactly we can get out of sponsors- PRIORITY
Booths, demos, etc
Using Markus's contacts
Getting gear rentals, etc
Want to sell the feeling with specifics
Where they are going
How they are getting there
What's covered
Create the idea in their head
*some subject to conditions*
Need to boil down specifics and talk to Markus
**Send chad our tentative list and Chad will add to list and decide who he will
Registration Prices
Ball park of $30 - 50
1 registration, able to select either venue per day
For Berthoud people, may want avalanche rental fee for those that want to bring own
Want sponsors to kick in as much as possible
Berthoud participants will be paying additional --make sure to mention on site
Fees only cover dinner, t-shirt; wont cover riding
Riding paid on daily basis, in person
Chad able to help most with sponsorships
In ski town and has connections
Can use previous contacts
Biggest to focus on is "what are we giving them"
Are we doing shuttles for Bethoud
Need to ask WP about
For Berthoud portion- give difficulty rating to potential ppl that sign up
Or a range
As much details up front as possible about back country
What are the range of possibilities to experience? --Check with Markus on specifics--
If Markus is willing/get commitment to go over valley and through the woods to top of panoramic
A way to introduce people, get feet wet and what they have to do back there

Chad will follow up with Markus on direct sponsors thru Email
Focus on Bethoud sponsors
Pick his brain from last year

5. Logistics