June 2026 Board Notes
Date:
06/09/2026
Attendance:
Board Attended: Denon Schaefer, Echo O’Donnell, Hope Kronen, Jeannette Wallen, Kevin Ehrler, Lori Fischer-Fairbanks and Nick Nelson
Board Absent: Josh Snead
Observers: Alli Cassel, Christina Kramer*, Jacob Warner, J.C. Horvath Jessi Silver, Jo Thomsen and Makaila Kozitza
Notes:
Anime Twin Cities Board Meeting Minutes
June 9th, 2026
7:04 PM
Board Present – Denon Schaefer, Echo O’Donnell, Hope Kronen, Jeannette Wallen, Kevin Ehrler, Lori Fischer-Fairbanks and Nick Nelson
Board Absent – Josh Snead
Public – Alli Cassel, Christina Kramer*, Jacob Warner, J.C. Horvath Jessi Silver, Jo Thomsen and Makaila Kozitza
Agenda is available in the link in the description of the livestream, these meetings are counted for attendance for voting rights please comment your name in the chat and fill out the google form in order to gain voting rights.
We want to remind you at the end of the meeting we have an open session if there are any questions for the board please put it in the chat ahead of time so we can answer it when we get to it at the end.
Agenda
- Recap off cycle board actions and votes
- Hope is running the meeting since Christina is recuperating from her surgery.
- Christina wasn’t on the livestream, but she still observed the meeting.
- Welcome incoming board members: Denon, Echo, Jeannette, and Josh
- New board member training
- Officer positions decided for the new cycle:
- President – Christina
- Vice President – Denon
- Treasurer – Jeannette
- Secretary – Nick
- Planned Discussions from scheduled visiting parties/ATC Partners
Coordinator Updates
- Finance – Jeannette Wallen
- Dollar amounts:
-
- Business Checking: 303,726.84
- Education Fund: 3,098.73
- Business Market Rate Savings (Community Fund): 14,508.96
- Anime Detour – J.C. Horvath
- Two main updates:
- The first Anime Detour staff planning meeting of the new cycle will be held on Saturday, June 20th.
- Additional information is available through the staff Discord and Anime Detour communication channels.
- Staff members are encouraged to attend and reconnect as planning for the upcoming convention begins.
- 2nd Announcement:
- We regret to inform you that Dave Vetrovec, our valued colleague and former president of the Anime Twin Cities Board, passed away one week ago. He contributed greatly to Anime Detour, the community, and GPS (Geek Partnership Society).
- GPS is holding its annual picnic this Saturday from 3–7 PM at Minnehaha. The event will also serve as a memorial for Dave, which was discussed with his family. Everyone is welcome—please RSVP using the provided link if you'd like to attend.
- Community members are encouraged to RSVP and attend, a general message will be posted in the appropriate channels
- Charities – Jacob Warner
- Charity Dinner Planning
- Planning continues for the upcoming charity dinner event.
- Jacob and Alli are working through logistics, pricing, and event details.
- The current target date is July 18, 2026.
- The event is expected to benefit NAMI Minnesota, pending final confirmation.
- Approving Charitable Givings
- The previously discussed total of $19,750 included an allocation of $5,000 for the Obon Festival.
- A request was made for funding the Obon Festival for $6K, so we would need to allocate an additional $1K.
- The revised charitable giving total became $20,750
Motion to Approve the Charitable Givings of $20,750
Nick seconded
All in Favor (All of the present Board besides Christina who observed the meeting)
Motion Passes
- Communications – Makaila Kozitza
- Newsletter coming out this weekend for June.
- Makaila is developing a process to share coordinator updates and meeting notifications through the staff Discord to improve communication and visibility.
- Special Events – Alli Cassel
-
- Completed Events
- Des Moines Con
- Anime Twin Cities attended Des Moines Con.
- The event received a very positive response from attendees.
- Many attendees expressed interest in Anime Detour due to its proximity.
- The convention remains a strong outreach opportunity and does not charge Anime Twin Cities for table space.
- Staff recommended returning in future years.
- Anoka Pride
- Anoka Pride was held the previous weekend.
- Christina Kramer coordinated the event.
- Attendance was modest, but engagement was strong relative to event size.
- Several attendees familiar with Anime Detour expressed renewed interest in attending after learning how the convention has evolved.
- Upcoming Events
Twin Cities Pride
- Scheduled for later in June.
- Volunteers do not need to be Anime Detour staff and only need to be Anime Twin Cities members.
- New volunteers will be paired with experienced team members.
- Interested volunteers should contact the Special Events team.
- Kitsune Kon
- Scheduled in Green Bay.
- Additional volunteer slots remain available.
- Staff members were encouraged to participate if interested.
- Additional Outreach
- Multiple outreach events are scheduled throughout the remainder of the year.
- Twin Cities Con is currently the final confirmed event of the year.
- Discussions continue regarding participation in a potential additional December event.
15 Minute Break (If the preceding topics take little time, the board may vote to skip this)
Motion to Skip
Lori seconded
All in Favor (All of the present Board besides Christina who observed the meeting.)
Motion Passes
Current Month Board Topics
- Coordinator Reviews and Goals
- Nick Nelson presented the annual coordinator review summary compiled from feedback submitted by board members and coordinators for the Communications Coordinator.
- Makaila – Communications Coordinator
- Review: Makaila consistently posts on Facebook and Discord and has created a very sharp and professional newsletter with consistent ATC branding, which is a great addition to how we communicate with our attendees and helps to widen our digital footprint.
- It would be great if we could pickup / continue our posts over on BlueSky whether it is just mirroring the same posts as what we have on Facebook, or if its original content, as well as make sure to keep the monthly newsletters on a consistent schedule.
- Another point of feedback is that it would be ideal to have a better process to get information on to our socials in a prompt manner, however when generally asked Makaila is very responsive when it comes to publishing something specific or if an opportunity to promote one of our sponsors arises, she is very dedicated to the role.
- An additional request we have would be to start posting ATC meeting reminders in the staff Discord, it is a small lift but would go a long way towards keeping everyone on the same page.
- Overall we believe that Makaila was mostly successful in achieving her goals from the previous cycle. She has been a real help with getting content and important information posted to our social channels and having a monthly newsletter is also a nice addition. She is a positive and impactful ATC coordinator, and we look forward to seeing what she can do in the upcoming cycle.
- Goals: Continue developing and improving the Substack newsletter model.
- Publish newsletters monthly, with additional issues during busier periods as needed.
- Promote Anime Twin Cities events, partner organization activities, and supported organizations at least two weeks before each event whenever possible.
- Explore collaboration opportunities with Fanime, an anime and cosplay-focused social media platform currently in beta.
- Encourage coordinators and volunteers to provide event information directly through Discord, email, or other communication channels to ensure timely promotion.
Open Session (up to 30 minutes)
- Any members of the community can bring new business to discuss with the board
- Current Month Board Topics
7:25 pm meeting closed
Please contact atcboard@animetwincities.org or atc_secretary@animetwincities.org if you would like to be added to the agenda for discussion items.