[grc] GRC Meeting - TONIGHT @ 8 PM ET

[Michelle Bradley]

The concept of a Steering Committee and the GRCA are two totally 
different things.  Apples and oranges.

The GRCA (Grassroots Radio Conference Association) concept was 
considered in the wake of numerous incidents involving the 
misappropriation of GRC seed money and property (the quilt).  The idea 
of the GRCA was to establish a separate legal organization that would be 
able to open a bank account to hold the seed money between conferences 
and be a place to transact business such as accept donations and grant 
scholarships.  It would have been the "host" of the GRC from the time 
when one year's conference ends and before the next year's conference 
starts organizing.

The GRC Steering Committee concept goes back to 2011 based on a need to 
coordinate discussions, assist in conference planning and maintain 
institutional memory in line with the GRC's decentralized, grassroots 
nature.

We are living in different times now.  We are no longer wearing tie dye 
shirts, driving VW microbuses, sitting around a campfire with an 
acoustic guitar and banging on tambourines, singing folk songs.   The 
days of dropping acid have given way to meth and fentinyl.  We need to 
stop thinking like '60s hippies and think like business people given the 
many changes in today's environment also taking into consideration that 
current times are not safe in some areas, worse than ever before, for 
POC and the LGBT (especially the T).  We must also assure that the GRC 
embraces our modern day social diversity (the GRC has been getting 
better at this over time).

As far as I know, no one (not even myself) is even considering a concept 
of the GRCA, even though some form of organization would help protect 
the GRC movement in the future from repeating incidents that have taken 
place in the past.   Again, times have changed.  But then again, the 
decentralized aspect of the GRC is one of its qualities.  As a 
decentralized collective, our trust was violated in the past and some of 
us at the time did not want to see that happen again.

As far as vendors and sponsors go.  Money does not grow on trees.  
Virtually every GRC I have been to has had exhibitors. These exhibitors 
should be welcomed as by their presence, they are embracing the 
grassroots radio movement and the work that we all do.  SCMS has a 
recommendation on the REC website, solely based on their multiple GRC 
appearances. The additional funds from sponsors assures the procurement 
of venues, the ability to cater lunches, enhance the general operating 
costs, keep the admission prices down and increase the ability to offer 
scholarships for representatives of organizations that may be 
economically disadvantaged.

Subject matter experts are not necessarily corporate representatives.  
They are people like you and me who know our subject areas very well and 
attend conferences to present our knowledge in order to spread it to 
others, not to drum up more business.  We have budgets too.  I have been 
able in the past to fundraise in order to offset my travel costs, but I 
can't always count on that.

Again, on the subject of a GRC in 2023.  I talk to many stations, both 
what you we would consider as "grassroots" and those that are not, and 
right now, stations are strapped.  When you consider that virtually 
every station is going to be paying between $159~$500 for a government 
imposed (unnecessary for radio) EAS software upgrade, the ongoing rise 
in music licensing costs and the recovery of underwriters lost during 
COVID, 2023 is going to be a hard year for many stations to attend a 
conference, especially if the location is beyond "roadtrip" distance.

I do feel that we should be soliciting a host for a conference for 
2024.  This will give the host much more time to get things together, 
drum up local community support and fund raise.  This will also give all 
of the participants more time to make plans, allot budgets and get 
through the 2023 EAS nonsense that was imposed on us.

If we must have a 2023 GRC, it should be somewhere that would have the 
least impact to travel, such as somewhere on the I-95 corridor and 
Amtrak Northeast Corridor.  Perhaps in the DMV area. Maybe we can talk 
WERA-LP, WHCP-LP, etc. to look at the potential.  Plus, this could give 
some opportunities to meet with FCC staff and our representatives in 
Congress (or staff) during the trip to discuss priorities that favor 
grassroots radio.

I do like Kenya's idea for a conference in the Bay Area, but let's work 
on something like that for 2024.

Just my thoughts (and only my thoughts).  As a collective, we all have 
our own thoughts, and your thoughts may vary.

=m



On 3/28/2023 9:01 PM, al davis via grc wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 01:31:54PM -0400, Michelle Bradley via grc wrote:
>> Therefore, I would definitely support the reformation of the GRC
>> Steering Committee and I nominate myself as one of the members of
>> this collective, ..............
> Please ..  NO  NO  NO.
>
> We don't need a repeat of that fiasco.
>
> GRC is what it is.  If you want something else, you can start your own
> conference with a new name.
>
> The conference has always had a de-facto informal steering committee.
> It was working great until GRCA came along.
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-- 
*Michelle Bradley, CBT, KU3N*
/Founder: REC Networks/
+1 202 621-2355
https://recnet.com
facebook.com/recnet - Twitter: @michichan