New siding for the web site: It has now been about 18 months since we went “live” with the new web site. We need to consider a decorative remake of the current web site – decorative rather than functional.  This is analogous to putting new siding on an old building, changes the appearance and nothing else. Studies show that changing the visuals on the web site results increased use. Our cost will run about $100 at most. A remake means changing only the visual image, not the web address or menus or anything else, and we can probably get the remake from a commercial design house rather than creating our own. It is easiest to plan the remake through the summer and roll-out in the fall (this October will make 2 years with the same web site visuals.) Action item

 

Searches: With the exception of some odd combinations, we generally come out at the top of web searches on Google, Bing, and Yahoo for people likely to be looking for us. Reports from concerned people who have found the old web site have dropped to one this quarter. 

 

Last 7 Days - The Top Ten Successful Search Queries (All Engines)

Hits: We are still on track for ½ million hits this calendar year. We can expect a spike in hits approaching Easter as people look for churches to visit during the holiday season. We have about 50-60 unique site visitors daily. Our single most popular page last quarter was for children’s activities (Sunday school.) Fresh content in that area is advised. I have sent Lisa Day a note on this asking for input. We also had a spike in downloads of the preschool brochure after a new one was posted last month. About 113 copies have been downloads in the last 7 days. So the committee can get a feel of how the web site is used, earlier this month I added a small counter to the bottom of the web site. It looks like this:

Outside Feeds: We have successfully negotiated with the Virginia Conference to create an RSS news feed to post the Sunday Advocate and other items as they become available. This should begin this month. We tested calendar feeds from the district and the conference this month (closed Monday.) I recommend keeping these calendar feeds, but adding them to a separate or two separate calendars for clarity. Action item

Browsers: Browser support is good. Windows users outnumber Mac users by 10:1. For the first time people using browsers other than Internet Explorer are in the majority. IE is still the single most popular, followed by Netscape/Mozilla, Firefox, and Safari.

Changes to MP3 & Video handling: An upcoming change in the volunteer staffing made it desirable to wait for one quarter before changing how we upload and display videos and MP3s on the web site.

Mailing Lists & Committee Web Space: We support mailing lists for this committee, for CERT, for UMM, and for Church & Society. Web mailing lists and space is available to all. Suggest making a flyer for committee chairs explaining the tools and their use/utility. Action item

Grace!
Rev. Roger Baker, OSL
Webmaster

Those present were:  Pastor Jeff Mickle, Curt Silvers, Bruce Ball, Jill Barney, George Glaze, Art Jones, John Oakes, Derek Reinhard and Eleanor Wise

Welcome: Curt Silvers presided over the meeting.  Derek Reinhard opened the meeting with a prayer.

STANDING BUSINESS:

Approval of September Minutes:  Curt asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the September meeting.  No changes were noted.  Art Jones moved to approve the minutes, and the minutes were unanimously approved. 

Room Re-numbering Report:  John Oakes was in attendance at the meeting and he stated that the room re-numbering project was to be completed by November 14, 2009, but he needs the assistance of his fellow Boy Scouts.  They have trips planned through the first weekend in December, and the weekend of December 12 is the first weekend they are available to complete the project.  He estimated that replacing the room signs would not take much time.  He has all the required approval signatures for the project and has the check to purchase the signs.  There exists $480.00 in the Scouts account for completion of the project.  The cost will be $1,211.00 for the numbered signs without directional signs.  His little brother will complete the second half of the project with directional signs.  He will order the signs next Saturday as the man who sells the signs works from 9:00 to 1:00 daily, so Saturday is his only available time for ordering them.  He plans to have two groups of four Scouts working on either side of the wing and it should only take a couple hours to replace them.  He had hoped that members of the Committee would lead the groups since the members know what needs to be done.  Derek asked if the signs need to be placed according to any height requirement, and it was noted that the current signs are in accordance with the County requirements.  The price of the signs made without Braille decreases by $1.00 per sign.  The new signs will be placed in the same locations as the existing signs.  They will come with double stick sides.  There are plans to get the page protectors for the maps and to include a place for “You Are Here”.  Derek asked the total sign count, and John stated that it is 70+.  Derek asked if the Trustees decided how the rooms are to be numbered and it was mentioned that the Trustees and the Communications Committee members had all reviewed it.  Slider tags will also be used.  Bruce Ball asked if we need new slider tags, and John said no.  Curt will go with John on Saturday to help order the signs.  Curt and Derek will be out of town on December 12, but Bruce and Art will be here to help with the placement of the signs.  They will start at 9:00 a.m. on December 12 and finish by 1:00 p.m.  The project should take two to three hours.  Bruce asked the color of the signs, and it was stated that they will remain the same color with slider tags (maroon with white letters).  George Glaze said the Committee needs to assess John’s project and sign off as the project manager.  “Signs by Tomorrow” will make the signs and is located near the Springfield mixing bowl.  Bruce stated that John’s report was good and that John should put his brother in touch with the Committee members to discuss the remainder of the project.

Website Report:  Roger Baker was unable to attend the meeting but reports that the church website is improving nicely.  (See Roger’s report attached.)  There is an issue with the link for mobile browsers which he would like to disable for one month in order to rectify the problem.  He reports that the MP3’s will be ready for use by the end of the year.  George Glaze suggested adding music to the website.

St. Stephens Road Sign Replacement:  Derek reported that the road signs were ordered and are in the office where the Committee members can view them after the meeting.  There are two signs to install.  Hedge trimming needs to be done around the sign located at Braddock Road and Rolling Road.  The signs are screwed in so a socket wrench will be needed for installation.  The signs will need to be examined before installing to see how they need to be installed.  They are pre-drilled.  Bruce mentioned that he and Curt will be available on December 20 for replacing the signs.  George and Derek could assist following the Grace Ministries distribution on December 20, after 1:00 p.m.  Bruce said he would also be available the following Saturday.  Derek asked for bright orange vests, and Curt said he has a vest.  George and Derek will report back if more work is needed. 

2010 Budget Report:  Curt reported that he submitted a straight line budget to the Church Council and has heard nothing regarding this.  The $500.00 slated for the welcome center, which is no longer a project of the Communications Committee, will be used to defray the cost of the room re-numbering signs.   

Roadside Banners:  Art reported that Pastor Melissa Porter-Miller asked for a new Christmas banner for the Christmas comfort service.  He presented a sample of a new banner which states that the service will be “this Sunday” without a date so that it can be used in future years.  The cost for the banner will be taken from the Worship Committee budget.  Art has ordered the banner and it will arrive on November 30 or December 1.  Curt will tell Pastor Melissa that the banner has been ordered.

Radio Communications:  Discussion was held about advertising church events by radio communication. Pastor Jeff Mickle joined the meeting and passed on information that advertising on WAVA would cost between $2,000 and $3,000 for a two to three month service.  Derek suggested that if the opportunity for free advertising presents itself, possibly on WGTS, we should take it.  If the station is given enough time, they will broadcast public service announcements for free, so planning ahead is necessary.  Eleanor Wise mentioned that the stations hold fundraisers and appreciate receiving contributions when advertising for church events.  Curt asked how to proceed from here since payment for radio communication is not an option.  George said when he moved to this area, the website brought him to St. Stephens.  He had also seen signs for various community fairs that looked family oriented.  A booth for the church could be set up at the fairs.  He asked about using the Yellow Pages as a means of advertising, to which Pastor Jeff responded that the cost is $250.00 per month and that research shows that advertising in the Yellow Pages is not cost effective.  Pastor Jeff said that the website and the roadside banners are what get people here.  Curt suggested deferring discussion of this item until after the New Year and he will put it on the agenda for the January meeting.

Pastor’s Remarks:  Pastor Jeff reported the following with discussion:  (1) He is not working on any specific initiatives, except for the Christmas outreach for Grace Ministries; (2) he will be doing another Fishing Expedition in January similar to that of the last couple years with trinkets each Sunday that relate to the sermon that day.  Postcards for the January sermon series will be inserted in the bulletins on Christmas Eve and have also been mailed to the community in the past.  There are no funds available this year for the mailing.  It was suggested that the postcards be printed in house at a lesser cost and placed in the bulletins only to avoid mailing and additional printing costs.  The sermon series will relate to topics in our lives that are chaotic.  Curt asked if he needs anything from the Committee.  Pastor Jeff said that Ryan Fitch has designed the cover of the postcard and Maureen Glaser and Valerie Glaze will do the copying; (3) Curt reiterated the status of the room re-numbering situation to Pastor Jeff since he entered the meeting after John Oakes’ report, to which Pastor Jeff asked if there are any other activities going on in the church the day of the replacement of the signs and stated that Curt should check with the church office.  The Night in Bethlehem will take place that evening for which people will be preparing.  He suggested that John Oakes should fill out the building use form.  Pastor Jeff asked if the room numbers are sensible and sequential, and it was mentioned that the Committee had reviewed and approved the numbering plan previously.  The Trustees are contributing $500.00 towards the project, the Communications Committee is contributing $500.00 and John has raised $480.00 from various fundraisers; (4) Bruce reiterated the website report to Pastor Jeff.  Pastor Jeff asked if Roger knows how many people are using the different areas of the website.  He mentioned that Andrew Conard (a previous minister intern at St. Stephens) is developing for his church on-line church community building and is now web-streaming services.  Two hundred people watched it the first two weeks and the number is now up to 900 for the virtual church.  It is not certain if the drop-off in church attendance is because of the website.  Pay pal now also exists to handle contributions. 

NEW BUSINESS:

Sanctuary Acoustics:  Curt reported that some congregants are having a hard time hearing during the worship services and it may be something that the audio team is doing differently of late.  Bruce suggested that the sound settings seem to be different than in the recent past.  Pastor Jeff will inform Ryan Fitch of the problem.  Curt mentioned that the sound has been more garbled and that he has been informed that the choir members are not able to hear everything clearly.  Bruce explained that there is a difference between how Travis Lightfoot, the current sound technician, and Doug Hallock, the prior sound technician, operate the sound system.  Curt also said that people have reported hearing an echo and that the sound is disembodied.  Bruce also mentioned that two hand mikes were reported four or five weeks ago as having disappeared from the audio equipment around the time of the Community Fun Day in September.  This causes a problem during the time of Joys and Concerns in the worship service.  The Trustees will need to replace them with funds from their budget.  Curt will e-mail Susan Jones, the Chair of the Trustees, requesting that the mikes be replaced. 

Miscellaneous:  Curt thanked the Committee members for all their help this year.  He also mentioned that this is Derek’s last year to sit on the Committee and that he will rotate off

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m. after Pastor Jeff closed with a prayer.

The next meeting will be January 20, 2010, at 7:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Jill A. Barney