October 2012 TIA general meeting

The October 20 TIA meeting was a general meeting with no scheduled speaker. Several topics were discussed, including the upcoming TIA elections in November.

Carl Papa announced that the TIA will be meeting at a new location starting with the January 2013 meeting. The TIA will meet at the Cedar Bluff campus of Lincoln Memorial University (LMU). The Cedar Bluff campus of LMU is at 421 Park 40 North Blvd., Knoxville, TN 37923.

Enter the main entrance of LMU. The security guard will direct you to the meeting room. The TIA website has a copy of the map below, with directions to the new meeting location.Carl discussed the Tennessee Inventor Expo (TIE). Last meeting the consensus was to postpone the TIE that was originally scheduled for January 2013. A major purpose of the TIE was to increase the membership of the TIA.

Carl made an appeal for speakers and speaker topics. Suggested topics included

• Shark Tank type of event at a meeting. One concern expressed was the impact if the idea was criticized.
• Kickstarter. Carl said he was investigating Kickstarter funding of projects.
• Vol Court at The University of Tennessee. Vol Court offered entrepreneurial workshops and cash prizes when it was held this past spring.

Tom Kulaga responded to a question about the librarian position. Currently, the TIA library is not being used, particularly when so much is available on-line. Tom mentioned that the TIA may be subscribed to Inventors Digest magazine. Tom thinks that TIA members get a discount if they subscribe. The consensus was that the unofficial Librarian position should be stricken from the TIA.

Martin Skinner announced that the Oak Ridge Public Library will have a TIA display open to the public for the month of November. The display includes a copy of the TIA Inventors Handbook, the TIA website, a notice of the new meeting location, and various TIA paraphernalia.

Carl Papa announced that the elections for the TIA officers for 2013 will be held in November. Tom Kulaga passed out a sample ballot to those in attendance. Everyone was asked to think about how they could participate in the TIA.

Election Ballot

Elections! will be held during the November meeting, which is our Annual Meeting. Additional nominees can be nominated at the meeting before voting begins. Everyone is encouraged to either volunteer themselves for a position or nominate another for any position.

Everyone's attendance is requested to ensure that the TIA continues to meet the needs of our members.

The following is the ballot that will be voted on during the November meeting:

 * - Incumbent is term limited and cannot run for the same position.