Walldog Minutes
3/13/07
Attendance:
Sandy Parnell (Volunteer Recruitment and Events), Tracy Nielson (Communications), Jenny Breen (Events), Brenda Johnson (Communications), Jackie Hayes (Fundraising), Steve Jevning (Fundraising)
(The above people have attended a meeting and committed their involvement in the project and on the Walldog Steering Committee)
Staff Attendance:
Sarah Linnes-Robinson (Volunteer Recruitment and Events…with the thinking the latter will flow into the prior), Mark Hinds (Fundraising and Communications), Carole Bersin
Additional Community Interest and potential involvement on the Steering Committee or a working group of the Committee has been expressed from:
Karen Heegaard (Volunteer Recruitment and Events)
Katherine Harter
Angel (Lyndale)
Assistance to the project but not participation on the Steering Committee has been offered by:
Cathy McCarron (Communications—task delegation ok, no meetings)
Purpose of the meeting:
Provide a Walldog Project Description and define the Role and Commitment of the Steering Committee (monthly meetings and involvement on a sub-group).
Clarify the work done to date (potential sites identified, some businesses approached, 3 sites secured, outreach to potential lead artists initiated, concept of project approved by arts commission, commitment from zoning to assist in determining amount of actual lettered “signage†that can be included in each site and a promise to keep hands-off of the mural topics).
Clarify the decisions made regarding the direction and structure of the project so far (project will include 6 sites rather than 8 since MLK is secured and is so big, painting by community members will be encouraged in a controlled manner, waivers for all painters will be secured before any work is done, subject matter will be determined by the artist and the business, 2 sites will require the mural being attached to their building).
Confirm participation of community members in the project on the Steering Committee and on a specific Working Group (see attendance list at beginning of document).
Lastly the conversation turned to naming the event so it can “go publicâ€; this is a key decision that needs to be made very quickly. A summary of the conversation is included below.
Naming the event is critical so we can begin to market it both for fundraising purposes but also to the artists. The consensus was the name needs to be short, active, mention the Walldogs, mention Nicollet rather than the neighborhoods, and can be a quick phrase and a longer tag line.
Names that were discussed included:
Up against the wall (up against a wall time-wise and while painting but an negative urban hold-up connotations came from many people)
Paint the town (familiar phrase, old-fashioned appeal but to big of an image, scale it down to the corridor)
Walldogs on Nicollet
Something showing a dog in a French coonskin explorers cap or beret with a thin moustache (By the way Nicollet WAS a French explorer, however, the Nicollet that Nicollet Avenue is named after is not the famous Jean Nicollet often called the Peacemaker who went into negotiations with many Indian nations wearing a flowing colorful Chinese Robe but rather a French geographer and mathematician named Joseph Nicolas Nicollet known for mapping the upper Mississippi River in 1830’s.)
****************************
ACTION:
This is where we need to pick up the conversation by e-mail. Over the next few days please jot down your brainstorms, reactions to other brainstorms, and let’s work together to come up with a name. I hope we can settle on something by the end of the weekend. I’m going to start the conversation by listing some loose thoughts here for us to begin with…please copy this list into your e-mail and be sure to hit “reply all†so everyone can begin talking from the same list.
Walldogs on Nicollet
Who let the dogs out on Nicollet?
It is day, now we must paint. Paint dogs, paint.
Off the wall –Walldogs on the loose on Nicollet
Dogs Explore Nicollet
Every Dog has his day
Every Walldog has his wall
Explore your neighborhood—meet a Walldog
Explore Nicollet—travel with a Walldog
Nicollet Corridor—Home to the Walldogs for a weekend
Out of the doghouse and into the street
Don’t let your dog try this
Ever seen a dog on a 20 foot ladder?
Doggoneit—( Or….dog ON it!)
Dogs loose on the corridor
Paint the town red—Wild Walldogs on the loose
Do it WallDoggy Style-
***********************
Upon some sort of agreement that we will reach soon, I promise, Carole will take the name to a friend of hers for a few ideas of images…ideally these can come back to the group for refinement before or at the next meeting (Thursday night April 5th at 8 PM at the Lyndale Office, 3537 Nicollet.) Please note the regular meeting time of this group will be the 1st Thursday of the month at 8 PM! She will also use the name immediately to post the event on the Walldogs site pages and begin recruiting Walldog participants/volunteers for the event.
Minutes provided by Sarah Linnes-Robinson, Executive Director, KFNA.