America250MI Committee Meeting Minutes 11.20.2023

November 20, 2023

1:00-2:00 PM via Zoom

In attendance:

Becca Murphy, Amy Bradfield, Sharon Carlson, Kelly Van Wormer, Larry Wagenaar, Eric Hemenway, Mark Harvey, Matthew Stiffler, Daniel Truckey, Sandra Clark, Brian Egan, Adam Oster, Fred Johnson, Steve Brisson

1. Introduction to Becca

2. Updates from Meetings

a. Capitol Historians and Event Planner: Met with Valerie and May to see what could be done for a 2026 event. She got from the meeting where they could have it (Heritage Hall), large meeting rooms that can hold up to 400 people each. Other option is the Capitol lawn, spaces for lawn tents with specific size (those would be public). Good to get started on planning it now. Date: They will be closed on July 4, but possible to have people work on weekends and holidays. Larry said we need to have a high level meeting with governor’s office to pull them in and see what their thoughts are. Was good to speak with them to find out what was possible.

b. Sons of the American Revolution: Met with Mickey McGuire. SAR has 700 members across the state, grave markings happening across Washtenaw County. Kelly shared that they have joint events all the time and that she shares information with them and about sponsorships. Larry said good to focus on getting people on the board from different areas.

3. Branding

1. America250MI Logo

b. Mascot Logo

c. Branding Guidelines: Need to work on Mission statement, create subcommittee

to work on this (Matthew Stiffler brought this up, he may be willing to join the committee.) Replace logo at top with MI logo. Sandra had question about using it for beer and wine sales. As we get closer Fred Johnson votes for more control. Question about using political campaigns, want to be non-partisan. Brian says enforcement may be difficult. Larry suggested making it a trademark, so we have more rights. Sharon Carlson: Possible to search internet for uses out there to regularly monitor, agrees that we need to control it more. Application for just use of the logo and not be a sponsor or partner. Amy brought up that we may need a subcommittee to help with determining if the logo could be shared or not with a particular request.

4. Sponsorship

1. Sponsorship Levels: Becca asked if we should have this on the website or just when people ask questions. No downside for website publication, but don’t use Americana as a level, they may be interested in being a sponsor and that could be confusing. Brian had a question about having a lower level ($50), but Larry brought up it’s hard for recognition. Accessibility is important, there should be a mechanism for including anyone who wants to take part. List on website? People get sticker? Sandra asks if sponsorships are annual or last until 2026. The document says annual, Kelly said we should define what the annual year is (fiscal year, calendar year). Amy questions, could it be a year from when they start their sponsorship? Revisit use of logo on website at lower levels, will get really long on the sponsor page if things go well. Kelly brought up the benefit, “designation as a virtual signature event sponsor” and what that means. Becca and Amy are also not sure, so we need to discuss.

b. Sponsors vs. Partners: Will define internally and get back with the committee.

c. Partners and Officially Recognized Events (How committee members can help.):

Brian: A tile that has embedded links to the website if they are interested in

participating. Sharon: QR code, which you can put on business card. Hard to know the volume, will go up as we get closer. Sandra: We need to make sure we have a statement about revoking the use of the logo. Adam put a link to Pure Michigan logo request for what to do (https://www.michigan.org/logorequest). Defining the guardrails is going to be challenging.

Timing issue. Sharing information as soon as possible is important. People have to get in front of the board.

5. Strategic Planning

a. Large Celebration Brainstorming – Larry said we need to speak with the governor first. Kelly said having similar events throughout the state that are the same type of format. Adam Oster: MI specific dates that are more applicable to us, good way to connect people on different dates. Brain Egen: National Parks during bicentennials – some type of community expression (bells ringing, moment of silence). Fred Johnson: Underground Railroad, Arsenal of Democracy, contributing troops during Civil War, immigrant communities (long roots), things that have both a national and state connection.

b. Program Guide Launch – launching it on November 28, Adam: share one or two sentences that could be used on social media, work with MHC about sharing on their network as well. Sandra said she would.

6. Subcommittees

1. Potential Subcommittees

   1. Logo application

   2. Events

   3. Diversity/Inclusion

   4. Mission Statement

   5. Development

7. Adjournment: 2:05PM