November 2008

OPENING CEREMONIES

The meeting was called to order at 8:06 PM on November 11th, at the home of Chris Riemer. This is one week later than usual, having been postponed because of Election Day.

Roll Call

Present were Lois DeRitter, Scooter Ferguson, Jim Gartner, Ed Roffman, Bobbie Rosengarten, Mark Schaffer and Ruth Wolfish (Trustees), Mike Agranoff, Connie Crawford, Lori Falco, Andy Koenig, Elizabeth Lachowicz, George Otto, Liz Pagan, Sandie Reilly, Chris Riemer, Pam Robinson, Pat Rolston, Jean Scully and Bob Safranek (Other Board Members), and Alan Kugel, Ken Rolston, Judy Bubar and Scully the Wonder Dog (Guests)

Absent were Jim King, Evelyn Maurer, Brad Pryor, Rick Thomas and Rivka Willick.

Secretary’s Report

Although a quorum was present, and the board initially agreed to accept the minutes of last month’s meeting, we changed our collective mind. Given Rick’s absence, and a general uncertainty about whether changes might have been submitted to him electronically, the approval was deferred. Andy also believed that contrary to Rick’s minutes, we never officially approved the minutes of September, since we did not have a quorum at the time they were discussed. He feels both September and October need to be ratified at next month’s meeting.

Treasurer’s Report

The two automated QuickBooks reports were distributed as usual on November 1. There were no questions from the floor, and the Treasurer had nothing intelligent to add.

BUSINESS ITEMS

The Folk Project’s Yahoo Group

Mark reported on an issue that’s emerged in connection with the Yahoo group known as NJFP, which was launched in mid 2005 by Gwen Orel. At the time, she was the Project’s Special Concerts chair.

It currently has 81 members, generates relatively little traffic and in recent weeks has been the target of some inappropriate postings. In a note to the list, Scott Sheldon suggested it might benefit from a moderator, and volunteered himself for the job. In a follow-up post, Gwen wrote that moderating the exchanges would go against “the whole inspiration for openness and folk,” that no listserv on earth is ever completely free of spam and that Scott and Mike Agranoff’s criticism amounted to bullying and harassment.

Mark has attempted to mediate this dispute, so far without success. The situation is also complicated by some lingering resentment on Gwen’s part. Her father died in September 2007, and it seems the Project has never officially acknowledged that fact with formal condolences.

Some of those present felt the list has been convenient from time to time, and they’d like to see it continue. Unfortunately, our options are limited. Gwen controls the list, and we can neither shut it down nor assume control of it without her involvement, even if it does carry the Folk Project’s name. Mark will continue to work the problem on the organization’s behalf.

Reimbursement of Event-Related Expenses

Mark reported that Jim King has withdrawn his motion that the Project establish a policy governing the reimbursement of expenses related to members’ attendance at events such as NERFA. Andy protested this action, believing that once a motion has been proposed and tabled, it must be acted upon by the board as a whole. Jim no longer has the option of withdrawing it.

Given Jim’s absence, there was no further discussion.

The December Meeting

As agreed last month, the December meeting will be held at the Chimney Rock Inn on December 2nd. Those who attend the dinner will be asked to pay $15.00, with the balance covered by The Folk Project. Lois noted that in prior years we’ve been encouraged to order our dinner selections in advance, but George felt it’s not really necessary.

Woodsongs Update

Mark recapped the situation surrounding the Woodsongs concert series. These concerts are being held locally at the Clearview Cinema in Hackettstown, and feature a live local performer as an “opening act” for a recorded concert; Mike, in fact, is “opening” tomorrow night for Kathy Mattea.

The pilot series was to last for eight weeks, and with the support of Community Services chair Elizabeth Lachowicz, Mark has managed to book five of them. The live performer was to receive 30% of the gate, but at an average of four people per show, it’s not what you could call lucrative.

Mark initially liked the idea, but didn’t want to get the Folk Project involved in filling the seats. (“We’ve got our own shit to sell,” he said.) As a vehicle to promote the Project, and a way to get some gigs for our members, it seemed like a good idea. Clearview has done some nice flyers, and a fair job on its website. But there’s been no radio advertising and in Mark’s view, it’s just not working out.

There was some extended back and forth here, related to the low name recognition of the taped performers, the spotty quality of the projection, the idea that Clearview should use MTV Unplugged shows instead of Woodsongs shows, and so forth. In the end, Elizabeth thanked Mark for stepping up to the plate on the booking, and Mark said he’d be terminating the Folk Project’s involvement after the pilot series.

Presidential Thanks for Giving

Mark circulated a sign-up sheet for his proposed Thanksgiving weekend dinner, a “planned pot luck” which he and Robin will host at stately Schaffer Manor for Board Members, volunteers and friends. He hopes everyone will be able to attend.

Minstrel Makeover Update

Mark went over the background for Mike’s recent email, which outlined a number of changes to be made in the management of the coffeehouse. These changes were themselves the result of a number of brainstorming sessions aimed at correcting some perceived shortcomings of the current administration. To wit:

• • Mike will allow several Special Concert nights at the Minstrel, booked by the Special Concerts committee and carrying a higher door price.

  • Mike will accept more input on booking decisions, particularly from Sandie, something that Mark feels will help “expand the palette” of this venue.

  • To counter a certain lack of “touchy feeliness” for entry-level performers, Scooter will begin serving as MC at the Open Stages, and will also book the opening acts from same, subject to Mike’s veto in cases of extreme disagreement.

  • Mark will get more involved at the front desk, and be more aggressive about charming people into return visits. He’s also going to work on a higher level of advertising, with the support of his Poster Girl (“I prefer Poster Wench,” said Jean.)

Mike wants to put through a bit of a rebranding effort, too, dropping the word coffeehouse and going only with “The Minstrel.” He asked George to make this happen at the website, and asked all present to be aware and try to reinforce the change. Also, he asked Special Concerts to be very careful and explicit about their own branding of Friday night shows, so as to manage the audience’s expectations.

Discussion ensued…

Bob felt the rebranding needs to be driven through our publicity outlets too, some of which are still running the old starting time. George plans to address both issues with a direct mail blast on fluorescent colored paper. Bob felt follow-up calls might be needed, but George was confident the paper would do the trick.

Alan wondered if the name change might lower our profile on Internet search engines, since “The Minstrel” alone puts us into a much bigger search pool than does “The Minstrel Coffeehouse.” Jim West hated the idea of the name change, and would personally like to see us go back to The Minstrel Show Coffeehouse. He loves Special Concerts, and would like to see more of them, but doesn’t think they should be held on Fridays at MUF. The Minstrel brand stands for cheap, good music, and we shouldn’t do anything that might erode it. Jim Gartner agreed with that, believing Special Concerts should be on a different night, and at a different place. Lois was also sad about the name change, but conceded it might be the right decision. Liz countered that the younger generation may not even associate “coffeehouse” with music.

Finally, Andy said he could not imagine a less efficient way of conducting this discussion, and urged us to terminate it immediately. And that gave the last word to Connie who suggested we change the name of the coffeehouse to Starbucks.

Mike was given a round of applause, for forbearance and dignity under pressure.

REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES

Minstrel Booking

A decent month in October, with an average attendance of 82.8 for regular shows and 70 including Open Stages. However, Mike has observed a general decline in both the number of performers and the size of the audience at Open Stage.

The rent will be going up shortly, and a price increase may be in the offing. November’s line up is very strong, with April Verch, the Four Songwriters show and Small Potatoes. Connie wondered if Mike was doing anything to attract a younger audience, since she felt there should be interest. Lots of colleges in the area, and lots of people looking for an inexpensive night out. Mike said frankly that he didn’t know how, but Scooter had a “host of ideas.” (“I’ll get right on it!” he said.) Swingin’ Tern is doing some youth outreach work, and is happy with the results, so Connie suggested a possible joint flyer.

Jim West felt the Minstrel should consider a price increase now, to keep its finances healthy. However, Mike felt the goal wasn’t to make money but to fill seats. The Minstrel is still profitable, and he’d rather have bigger crowds than larger tills.

Minstrel Staffing

Sandie thanked Amy Livingston for her help in the staffing job – it’s as if a great email weight has been lifted partially from her shoulders. However, they always need help, so if anyone feels like lending a hand, there are always jobs for all. Chris mentioned that when Amy is sending mail to the Yahoo Volunteer group, she might want to reconsider her handle. An email from sandiereilly is pretty easy to recognize. One from haverwench sounds a little lewd.

Membership

Subscriptions to the eNewsletter are holding at about 100. There have been a few new sign-ups, but also a few reversions, with people asking to go back to paper. People who are renewing on paper are opting to stay with paper.

Andy added that there’s a legal requirement specifying that non-profits must notify their members in advance of the annual meeting, and that in his reading of the law, this notification must be made in person or via US email. Email is not enough. There was some contention on that point, but Andy strongly advised against any board decision to “disregard the law.” We went around on that point for a while, and the discussion ended when Mark agreed to consult our friends at the Pro Bono Partnership.

In any case, Eddie and Mark feel strongly that going paperless was the right move for many reasons, and Mark intends to stay focused on the selling of this idea.

Newsletter

Liz thanked Elizabeth for her willingness to handle printing and distribution (letting Liz concentrate on layout and design). She thinks it’s a good division of resources. She also warned everyone that the traditional newsletter deadline will be strictly enforced from this point forward. She will no longer chase people down to collect submissions, and no longer “work overtime” to pick up someone else’s dropped ball. If copy that’s expected fails to arrive on time, she will run a blank space with the guilty party’s name and telephone number.

On another note, Winter Weekend is scheduled for February 20-22.

Publicity/Webmaster

George feels the site may have reached “maturity,” and the hit counters seem to have stabilized or declined in some categories. The RSS page is down by about 30 to 160 hits per day, with Festival and Swingin’ Tern showing declines as well. The new pages are up for the Spring Festival, although they’re not fully populated.

George is going to play a more active role in trying to secure photos for the Swingin’ Tern pages, since he thinks they really help improve attendance. He’d also like Swingin’ Tern to develop a more structured way of submitting information, similar to that used by other activities. Finally, he hopes to see more progress on the deployment of an electronic mailing list manager, so he can open the sign-up pages. Thanks to Liz for work on parsing the calendar page information.

Scooter wondered if he could get some Web space to talk about Open Stage. That would depend on the nature of the content, but George is willing to explore the options.

Internal Affairs

The November EOM at the Dugan’s was well attended, with exceptional music much enhanced by the prodigious playing of young Connor. December is tentatively set for the home of Rick and Cathy Thomas, with the Schaffers as a back-up.

Jean has noticed a decreasing amount of food at the evenings, and was personally motivated to go out for some cold cuts and bagels last time. There was some discussion on this point, though, since at least one host has complained in the past about being left with too much food.

Community Affairs

Elizabeth’s computer is back on line. Jim West’s eye surgery, the death of Carol Nerenberg’s mother and the death of Sybil Bannet’s father are among the member developments this month.

Sound Reinforcement

No news is good news.

Finance Committee

Ditto.

Swingin’ Tern

We made money at the last dance, and thanks to Margaret Crowl for facilitating the move to a back-up venue on October 18. It was a “lovely” spot, as well as being less expensive, and would certainly be considered if a permanent move from Ogden became necessary. Connie hopes everyone can come out for the Harvest Hoot, which is designed to please both dancers and listeners. Bob Isaacs will be calling.

The Swingin’ Tern Facebook page seems to be attracting younger dancers, and the Caller Workshop series has been a great success. Thanks to the “phenomenal” Bob Isaacs for putting the workshops together.

Mark would like to get some photos of last year’s New Year’s dance to run in the digital photo frame at the Minstrel. Connie isn’t sure any are available, but will ask around.

Horses Sing None of It

They’ve taped some great shows lately but have cleared the schedule for the next two months, so Sandie has an open booking window while she’s talent-spotting at NERFA.

Special Concerts

The second annual Halloween Storytelling event brought in 35 people, for a loss of under $50, and a pleasant time was had by all.

On Friday, January 16, there will be a Special Concert at The Minstrel featuring fiddle and mandolin wizard Peter Ostroushko, well known to fans of Prairie Home Companion. Tickets are $15. And on Saturday, January 31 (in partnership with Swingin’ Tern), we’re holding a dance and listening event with Reeds, Rhythm & All That Brass, an 18-piece jazz-swing band that includes FP members Jeff Rantzer, Henry Nerenberg, Ev Simpson, and Jay Wilensky. It’s at Ogden Memorial, with tickets set for $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

Festival

Planning is underway for Spring ’09, and the weekend is “mostly booked.” Small Potatoes, Harvey Reid and the Dave Rowe Trio are the featured acts, with Scooter, Kathy Moser and Tom & Amy holding the Folk Project slots. No dance band yet. The committee has decided not to cut back quite so sharply on scholarships, but the details are still being worked out.

The old festival stage has gone to a new home with the Oldwood Community Players. In 2010, Lori may move the Spring event to the third weekend in May, to take advantage of the warmer weather. Those present are generally in favor of such a schedule change.

Storytelling

No report from the absent Ms. Willick.

THE GOOD OF THE ORDER

The meeting closed with the usual good of the order ritual, as documented separately by Mr. Ed Roffman.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 10:02.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Riemer

(Acting) Secretary