JEA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES

April 17,  2026 – 8 a.m. CDT

Room 101 FG, Level 12, at the Minneapolis Convention Center

I. Call to order – Val Kibler, MJE

President Val Kibler called the meeting to order at 8 a.m.

II. Roll call – Shari Chumley, MJE

Board members, committee chairs, JEA staff and state directors present were:

Board of Directors:

Valerie Kibler, MJE, president; Justin Daigle, MJE, vice president; Rachel Steil, MJE, educational initiatives director; Shari Chumley, MJE, director-at-large; Timm Pilcher, MJE, director-at-large; and Veronica Purvis, DBA, CAE, executive director (ex officio, non-voting)

Committee chairs:

Louisa Avery, MJE, awards chair; Laura Negri, MJE, Career and Technical Education chair; Rod Satterthwaite, MJE, certification chair; Aaron Manfull, MJE, digital media chair; and Jessica Hunziker, MJE, Journalist of the Year coordinator

JEA Staff:

Davonte Longmire, membership engagement strategist.

State Directors:

Morgan Bricker, MJE; Katie Fernandez, CJE; Annie Gorenstein-Falkenberg, CJE; Ben Langevin, CJE; R.J. Morgan, MJE; Sarah Nichols, MJE; Matt Paveo; David A. Ragsdale, CJE; Lisa Roskins, CJE; and Larry Steinmetz, MJE

Recording Secretary: 

Shari Chumley, MJE

Note: CJE and MJE designations are in the roll call, but will not be repeated each time a name is in the minutes.

III. Approval of minutes – Kibler

Timm Pilcher moved and Rachel Steil seconded approval of the minutes from the fall 2025 general membership meeting in Nashville. (Passed unanimously)

IV. Reports

President Val Kibler highlighted reports and actions from the March 23, 2026, board meeting.

A. Summary of board action – Kibler

1. Kibler read the commendations list
   1. Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE, commended by Louisa Avery for organizing the judging and writing the press release for this year’s Candace and John Bowen Adviser First Amendment Leadership Award winner.
   2. Sara-Beth Badalamente, CJE; A.J. Chambers, MJE; Mary Kay Downes, MJE; and Cody Harrell, CJE, commended by Louisa Averyi for volunteering to be panelists in a new session about how people can prepare to apply for Rising Star, Broadcast Adviser of the Year, and H.L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year.
   3. Jason Block commended by Aaron Manfull for being a great long-time contributor for the JEA Digital Media library. Recently, he shared his MJE project, which helped net another seven great posts for the site. His efforts through the years have helped make JEA’s Digital Media Library a great one and helped schools throughout the country.
   4. Sarah Nichols, MJE, commended by Andrea Negri for helping promote FAPFA to new schools. While it’s not certain her efforts are the reason, we had the second-highest number of round 1 applications this year and a significant number of new schools.
   5. Jan Ewell commended by Andrea Negri for creating a bank of old Press Law exam questions, which helps me and future SPRC chairs find items that haven’t been tested recently and draw inspiration for new exam questions.
   6. Jim Streisel, MJE, commended by Justin Daigle for volunteering to help with our Partner Project in Ohio. He provided great instruction and ideas to the students and advisers in attendance.
   7. Jessica Hedaria commended by Justin Daigle for, with her first year under her belt as state director, putting in place a JOY competition and continuing to provide great messaging to her state members.
   8. Timm Pilcher commended by Rod Satterthwaite for stepping up on short notice to represent the Certification Committee at the Jostens business meeting in New Orleans in January. At the event, Timm supervised in-person testing for eight yearbook representatives, and Jostens officials complimented his adaptability, professionalism and dedication to the certification process. 

Detailed reports from all board members, committee chairs and state directors are included in the spring 2026 semiannual report.

B. JEA Operations – Veronica Purvis, DBA, CAE

Governance and Goals:

Veronica Purvis thanked Michelle Balmeo for her work coordinating the board elections and congratulated all of the nominees and Andrea Negri, who was elected to a second term, and Sarah Kirksey, who will join the board May 1 as director-at-large. She also thanked Sandra Coyer for her service on the board. 

Purvis noted some goals she envisioned that she had discussed with the staff in January included:

1. Operational/financial/sustainability
   1. staffing structure plans
   2. audit budget/programs
   3. diversify revenue streams (e.g. job board)
   4. strengthening sales & fundraising program
2. Strong membership community and growth
   1. formalize membership recruitment/retention plan for all stakeholders
   2. member newsletter improvements
   3. GrowthZoneautomation for membership
   4. increase use of Forum
   5. member app & member website
3. Robust education and events
   1. current/accessible curriculum that can also be monetized
   2. strive for exceptional event experiences across website, materials, onsite, marcom, etc.
4. Content marketing/storytelling across the organization
   1. marcom including a content marcom plan
   2. website improvements
5. Technology transformation
   1. data and metrics organized
   2. Dashboard

Purvis also shared a slide that showed what the membership breakdown was per state. She said there have been no major swings across the states.

The most notable membership growth was in Texas, Florida and Missouri since the fall report and in the last year.

• Texas — Largest Growth (30 fall to spring) and (90 spring to spring)
• Florida — Significant Growth (18 fall to spring) and (7 spring to spring)
• Missouri — Strong Growth (17 fall to spring) and (23 spring to spring)

C. Financial Reports – Purvis

1. FY 2025/26 (February 2026)
   1. Revenue $752,610; expenses $775,980; net -$23,371
   2. Liabilities $5,808 + equity $1,331,242 = assets $1,337,050
   3. Investment account $1,391,509 (+ $36,823 endowment) = $1,428,332
2. FY 2026/27
   1. Budgeting has concluded and the board votes on 26/27 budget
3. Audit/990 begins June
4. JEA Giving Days
   1. Scholastic Journalism Week Feb. 23-27
   2. World Press Freedom Day May 3
   3. Sept. 17-25 (Constitution Day to First Amendment Day)
   4. Free Speech Week Oct. 19-25
5. Skyline’s grant agreement ends June 2026. Work has commenced on renewal.
6. Convention financial report from Nashville
7. Statement of activity and financial position

More details are included in Purvis’s portion of the semiannual report.

D. Diversity Report – Timm Pilcher, MJE

1. DEI report – Timm Pilcher summarized the information that Sandra Coyer had presented to the board meeting in March since Coyer was unable to attend the convention. 

E. Items of Concern, Attention, Update – Officers, Directors, Committee Chairs

1. Committee chairs reminded the group when and where their respective committee meetings would be held during the convention.

V. New Business

1. Julia Satterthwaite moved and Laura Negri seconded to commend the Minneapolis local committee members for all of their hard work and effort on the convention. (Passed unanimously)

VI. Adjournment

It was moved by Laura Negri and seconded by Rachel Steil to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 a.m.  (Passed unanimously)