PRESS RELEASE

Minutes of Jamaica Debates Commission Meeting  March 30, 2007

Present:

Philmore Ogle                         Chairman

Gary Allen                              MAJ

Brian Schmidt                         MAJ

 In attendance

Eleanor Henry                         MAJ

Trevor Fearon                         JCC                                        

Call to Order

The chairman called the meeting to order at 9.40 am.

Apologies

Apologies were received from Lyndon Williams and Jennifer Grant.

Review of Minutes of March 15

In the absence of a quorum, the Minutes of the meeting of March 15 were reviewed and one amendment noted:

5. First bullet point, change “precedence” to “precedent”.

 

Discussions

The meeting reviewed the feedback from the Editorial sub-committee on the panel of moderators and questioners. The Minutes of the Editors meeting was circulated as well as the revised list of moderators and panelists.  The editors indicated that they would defer to the Commission to make a determination on the issue of releasing the names of the production team.

The meeting was also advised that Senator Johnson had requested that he be joined in these meetings by Ms. Olivia Grange who is the party expert on media/production matters. The decision was made that the Commission would agree to invite Ms Grange on condition that Senator Campbell would be permitted to bring his party’s counterpart should he so desire.

The Press Release was reviewed and amendments recommended. Additional comments would be sought by round robin e-mail.

 

Date & Time of next meeting

The next meeting with the parties was set for Thursday April 5 at 9.00 am at the RJR Communications Group facility.

There being no other business the meeting was terminated.

Summary of Action Items as at March 30

1. Update documentation in preparation for sign-off - Eleanor Henry
2. Check with the Electoral Advisory Committee to establish the names of the other registered political parties – Eleanor Henry
3. Conduct final review of the standing of all registered parties vis-à-vis the criteria for inclusion in the debates - Commissioners
4. Prepare list of nominees for liaison officers – Gary Allen
5. Forward sponsorship package to Christine Harris of the JCC - Eleanor Henry
6. Follow up with NDI – Trevor Fearon
7. Follow up on funding possibilities – Eleanor Henry
8. Feedback on meeting with US Ambassador – Anthony Chang/Philmore Ogle
9. Follow up on last audit report – Lyndon Williams/Philmore Ogle
10. Schedule sponsorship meetings –  Eleanor Henry  
11. Prepare draft sponsorship contract – Eleanor Henry
12. Send sponsorship packages to all active prospects in keeping with scheduled meetings – Eleanor Henry
13. Prepare Gantt Chart – Eleanor Henry
14. Complete administrative activities for JDC’s registration - Eleanor Henry
15. Contact PR representative and invite them to the next most convenient meeting –  Gary Allen
16. Plan and monitor PR and public awareness campaign – Brian Schmidt
17. Meet with Gerry McFarlane to discuss supplement layout – Trevor Fearon, Eleanor Henry & Jennifer Grant
18. Contact Ministry of Foreign Affairs to finalize protocol issues – Eleanor Henry
19. Contact moderator  re scripting – Gary Allen 

 

Prepared by:

Eleanor Henry

March 30, 2007

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