Public Meeting Minutes 2/1/26
Ashland Kentucky Pride Meeting Minutes
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Call to Order
A public meeting of Ashland Kentucky Pride was held on February 1, 2026 at the Ashland Branch of the Boyd Co Public Library. It began at 1:47 pm and was presided over by Heather Hayes with Jenee Kesling as secretary.
Attendees
Board Members in Attendance
Jenee, Brontë, Heather, Taylor
Board Members Absent
Holly, Elliot, Taz
Quorum: Yes
General Members: 5
Approval of minutes
Heather made a motion to accept the meeting minutes for the month of January. Jenee seconded. Motion approved.
Treasurer's Report
Heather made a motion to receive the treasurer’s report for the month of January. Jenee seconded. Motion approved.
Reimbursement for shared bank account ($100)
Taylor questioned if we were repaid for opening a shared bank account for the Coalition
Heather has the check, just hasn’t deposited it yet
The storage unit hasn’t been paid since August. We need to pay October-February ($200)
Taylor submitted receipts for merchandise purchased to sell at events. Taylor made a motion to be reimbursed $424.23 for the merchandise purchased. Jenee seconded. Motion approved.
Special Items
Presentation by Audra and Kasheena about AFC and intersectionality
Audra and Kasheena provided us with an educational presentation on the intersectionality of marginalized people and demonstrated the similarities in stereotypes of Appalachians and POC/immigrants
Hand out: Ally Up! Practice Effective Allyship
Hand out: Representation vs Tokenism
Kasheena provided additional information and sources in the Discord
Vote to accept new Bylaws
Revised bylaws were presented to the board to look over prior to the meeting
No one had issues with proposed changes
Jenee made a motion to accept the proposed changes to the bylaws. Taylor seconded. Motion approved.
Appoint time keeper
Going forward, at the start of each meeting, a time keeper will be appointed. The goal is to keep us on track and stay under 1.5 hrs. Additional time may be added for special items.
Andrew will be our time keeper at today’s meeting
Committees
Events
Need 2-3 volunteers for the Tea Party on February 22 from 1-5pm
Heather, Jenee, Chris
Taylor is setting up a way to presell tickets online with square and jotform
She passed this info to Chris
Need to locate Pride's craft box for Craft Night on February 12
James will go check the storage units
Jenee will ensure we have craft supplies
Safe Zone
Need to schedule future trainings
Holly scheduled meetings
Someone needs to make the facebook posts and add to our calendar
Media
Need to start making posts about positions that will be open in June. Anyone wanting to run must have active member status for the last 2 quarters
Heather will make a graphic to post
What's the status of the Newsletter?
Taz was not in attendance and is the only person left on that committee
Need more volunteers. Doesn’t have to be as elaborate or printed, just a monthly update
Unfinished Business
TCCC training
Holly is in communication with Barker and trying to coordinate a good date in March
New Business
Morehead Pride is April 18th. Should we table?
Most agreed we should
Heather will get us registered
Andrew, Jenee, and Chris volunteered to run the table. James offered his truck if needed for transporting tables, tents and merch
Rescheduling the April meeting
April’s meeting lands on Easter. We need a new day and venue
The Sunday before (March 29th) has the least conflict
Heather will attempt to reserve the Carol Jackson Building
Upcoming Grants
JustFundKY grant proposal due 3/15
Can probably use the same as last year
Foundation for the Tri-State grant proposal due 2/27
Heather will apply with the assistance of Taylor
Appalachian Community Fund grant proposal due 2 months before money is needed
It Gets Better: Changemakers grant for Youth Pride opens in March
Taylor passed the info to Heather. Heather will attempt these grants with help
It was suggested that we should have a few board members trained in grant writing and possibly form a grant committee
nonprofitready.org - Free online trainings for nonprofits
Discussion of getting a storage unit specifically for Pride (not shared)
Between increased merch, newly added christmas decor, and possibly buying our own tents/tables we need more space
Taylor priced units at Affordable Self Storage
$40/mo - similar amount of space for the same price
$54/mo - double the space
Bonus - it is accessible for trailers
James says he could make more room
The board will discuss and decide
Harmony House (Huntington) spring Renn Faire will soon be looking for vendors
1-3 of May
No registration date yet
There was interest in tabling. We need to stay on the look out for registration dates
Discussion of purchasing dedicated tables and tents for AKP use instead of borrowing
It was agreed on that we should have dedicated tables and tents that are property of AKY and kept in storage
We decided to start with 3 canopies (Merch, Info and freebies, Youth) and 6 tables (2/tent)
Taylor found a deal on amazon - 10 tables - $464
Bronte will research and price these items and report back to board for final decision
ISO new Treasurer and Parliamentarian
Andrew was volunteered for Parliamentarian
Chris said he could do Treasurer
Upon discussion, an official appointment will be made at the next meeting.
Announcements
February 10th, 5:30 - 8:00 pm - Bi-monthly Gayme Night at the Ashland branch
February 12th, 5:30 - 8:30 pm - Craft Night at the Ashland branch
February 17th, 6:00 - 8:00 pm - Community Care meeting at the Ashland branch
February 20th, 6:00 - 9:00 pm - Virtual Safe Zone training
February 22nd, 2:00 - 4:00 pm - Steeped in Pride tea party
February 23rd, 5:30 - 8:00 pm - Bi-monthly Gayme Night at the Ashland branch
February 26th - Pride Bingo/Pride Beer release at Eridanus
March 1st, 1:30 - 3:30 pm - AKP Monthly Meeting at the Ashland branch
Adjournment
Heather made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 3:00 pm. Jenee seconded. Motion approved.
