2020-11-23 Youth Commission MinutesPage 1.1.1
Youth Commission Meeting Minutes 11/23/2020
Commission Members Present:
Chair Owen Lee
Treasurer Sydney Pearson
Secretary Brook Roberts
Grace Kamila
Finn Paynich
Brooke Rinehimer
Aaron Nateephaisan
CALL TO ORDER
Commission Members Absent:
Co -Chair Jacob Sawyer
Zane Marulitua
Hunter DeLeon
Staff Present:
Casey Colley
Kim Anderson
Chair Owen Lee moved to call the meeting to order at 6:04 pm over Zoom.
Owen read the land acknowledgment statement.
II. INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: PROFILE PHOTO
With the new Instagram account, @edmondsyouthcommission, a profile photo is needed for it.
➢ A color theme that carries the symbolism of Edmonds, could be a primary focus in the
picture. Blue would be that color.
➢ On the same note, the ferry is also symbolic of Edmonds. And the picture could include
an illustration of that ferry wrapped around our organization's name. Edmonds Youth
Commission can be shortened to EYC.
o Could also be the fountain instead of the ferry. But what else is representative
of all of Edmonds, rather than just the downtown are? We're not only
representing the youth of the downtown area.
➢ A different idea would be a circle with hands with the EYC acronym wrapped around it.
Using different skin colored hands to promote diversity, and to show we're supporting
all youth, not just those of a certain skin color. Perhaps people of tied hands to show
how we are interconnected with one another, and share similar struggles that youth
face.
Using different symbols, such as the BLM fist, LGBT flag, in the logo. This would be a
hard idea to achieve as there are so many movements to include, therefore the word art
alternative would be an interesting idea.
Based off of our discussion, we have decided that going with the word art idea would be the
best option. With "EYC" (short for Edmonds Youth Commission) in the center and faces of youth
with different skin colors surrounding the acronym. Grace's sister will illustrate our profile
photo, and it will be on the consent agenda of the December 16th meeting.
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III. INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: BIOGRAPHY ABOUT THE COMMISSION
With the new Instagram account, @edmondsyouthcommission, a short description about what
we do (biography) is needed to inform the general public.
➢ Should include important information about the Commission including our key values,
what the Youth Commission does, how we impact/benefit the youth of our community.
The URL in our biography can link directly to our Youth Commission page on the City
website to show what we do at a broader level. It would be best to put our
endorsements and initiatives on our website, and do constant "shameless plugs" to our
website.
➢ A condensed version of our current mission statement would be best so when people
pull up the website, they can see how everything falls into place in terms of our work
and community engagement.
o With that said, the biography will be: "For youth, by youth, aiming to protect,
preserve, support, and advocate for all youth in Edmonds."
IV. INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: CAMPAIGNS & INITIATIVES TO POST ABOUT
The purpose of our Instagram account is to have a platform where youth can keep up with our
campaigns or initiatives. It is also a useful tool in spreading the word about other campaigns and
initiatives.
➢ To continue to support our focused goal this year in mental health, we need to post on
topics relating to mental health.
o Shannon suggested something similar to the 'Strive for 5' campaign, where
people are encouraged to reach out to 5 family members or friends during this
time of COVID, per day to see how they are doing
o Could interview individuals personally impacted by suicide
➢ A LinkTree link in our URL biography could be useful in sharing about campaigns and
initiatives, but seems a bit unprofessional. At the end of the day, we should do what's
best for the youth of Edmonds by using these types of services, even if it may seem
"unprofessional". We could always change this later after we create it, if we don't like it
or if it's not useful. Owen will make it and forward it to the rest of the Social Media
Committee.
In regards to our posts, we can use simple infographics, similar to what is commonly
shared about important social issues.
o For example, with the 'Strive for 5' or 'Take 5 to Save Lives' campaigns, we can
make a post, then save the post as a highlight. Each posts can have —5 slides in
it. Threads of hotlines can be added, and the posts can be reposted to the story,
while being saved as a highlight. Important to include the policies of
confidentiality with these hotlines, as well.
o With the Snohomish County Health District Suicide Prevention alert, it can be
posted as a screenshot.
o The first three posts will be of the 1) 'Strive for 5' campaign, 2) One with
hotlines, and 3) the SnoHD suicide prevention advisory.
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Can also do Instagram takeovers, with Commissioners taking over the Instagram for a
day and showing what they do, including how they take care of their mental health,
while posting with the story feature. All of this can be combined into one singular
highlight.
V. INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: WHO TO FOLLOW & GAINING TRACTION
➢ Should the account only follow Commissioners? No, it should follow everyone who
follows the account as people will have more incentive to unfollow if we don't follow
them back, and we are trying to increase engagement. Accessibility needs to be
prioritized.
o There is no general City of Edmonds Instagram account, although certain
departments (like Parks & Recreation) have accounts that we could follow, in
addition to the SnoHD account.
o Following the Instagram accounts of Edmonds High Schools ASBs would be
important, and if we could ask them to repost our posts, that would be a useful
tool in gaining attention among Edmonds youth. Owen will reach out to other
school accounts, excluding EWHS, as he already manages that account.
Posting stories or posts using Instagram's ad feature would be a great way of reaching
our target demographic, where we can focus on a specific area and age.
➢ After our first post, everyone will repost it to their personal account to help gain
traction.
➢ A press release would be a good idea to help spread the word about our Instagram
account on MEN or the Edmonds Beacon.
We could work in collaboration with Edmonds businesses to spread the word about our
account by highlighting a business every month and asking for promotion from them in
return. Many businesses tend to be open to this idea. Could be done on both a post and
a story.
VI. REVIEW OF DISCUSSION
➢ The profile photo must be complete before we post anything.
If posts advocate for something, there should be a story highlight. Although, no more than 5
story highlights on our profile.
When posting, utilizing hashtags and tags are essential to get on the explore page. A good way
to track insight and traction is by using the organization feature on Instagram. This would also
help us with getting ads set up.
LinkTree: will include the 'Take 5 to Save Lives' campaign, hotlines, and other helpful resources
beyond those two, in addition to our Youth Commission website.
Before we do any member highlights, we should gain at least 100 followers, then start posting
normal posts.
o A waiver will need to be signed by Youth Commissioners and their parents before any
posts can be made with pictures or videos with members in it.
First post will be welcoming visitors to the page, second will be the SnoHD public health
advisory, and then after 100 followers, we will start posting on a regular schedule.
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The goal is to have everything up before 2021.
VII. FINAL COMMENTS
Brook: new members should check their email for an email update. At the next meeting, we will
be having a guest from FairVote WA, an organization that advocates for ranked choice voting.
➢ Casey: please complete your biography for the Youth Commission website, and include your
pronouns. She will send out a consent form for photos and videos.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Owen Lee adjourned the meeting at 6:58 pm.