July 2009

OPENING CEREMONIES

The meeting was called to order at 8 PM on July 7, 2009, at the home of Mark Schaffer, by President Mark Schaffer

Roll Call

Present were Lois De Ritter, Scooter Ferguson, Jim Gartner, Jim King, Brad Pryor, Jim West and Allan Kugel (Trustees), Mark Schaffer, Evelyn Maurer, Ed Roffman, Mike Agranoff, Carl Croce, Andy Koenig, George Otto, Rivka Willick Sandie Reilly, Pam Robinson, Pat Rolston, Bob Safranek and Jean Scully (Other Board Members) and Judy Bubar (Guest).

Absent were Rick Thomas, Lori Falco, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Connie Crawford, Bobbie Rosengarten and Ruth Wolfish.

Secretary’s Report

The minutes of June were accepted without correction.

Treasurer’s Report

Eddie says good second quarter! Net profit of $5K. Swingin' Tern has lowered their expenses and increased their income, and Festival is also showing a profit. Eddie has been informed that we should get Worker's Comp insurance (cost: approx $1K per year) to cover performers if they are hurt and lose wages.

Opinions ranged from “nobody else does this, why should we” to “just suck it up and do it, it makes sense.” Mike will investigate what other venues do; Eddie & Mark will look into our potential liability exposure.

Key Dates

Mike filed for a continuance on our incorporation as a charitable organization.

BUSINESS ITEMS

None

REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES

Sound

Nothing to report.

Finance

Andy reported our Vanguard balance as of the end of June is $61,439.69, including a dividend of $581.78. The wild swings n the market have been reflected in our Vanguard balance as well.

Festival

The first slot of the Saturday night concert will be a Next Generation concert. Performers age 25 and under. There will not be a skit at the fall festival, since there was not one ready to go. George Otto is currently working on a script for Spring 2010. Registration for fall festival will begin on August 1. A Lodge double is now the same price as a double in the Commons. If quiet is a priority, the Lodge is your best bet; we expect the Lodge Commons to sell out early.

Storytelling

Storytelling Festival is October 18. Folks wanting to practice their storytelling skills are welcome to come to Open Stage.

Minstrel

Another lackluster month in attendance. 64.3 average paid for regular shows for the month. 58 if we include open stage. 81.1 (regular) for the year. July should be better with some strong booking scheduled. $183 loss for the month. Still $602 in the black year to date. May 29, 2010 MUF is not available due to a tag sale. Mike has asked them to move the tag sale to May 15 to coincide with our Festival when we won't be there anyway; they are considering it.

Electronic tally sheet is ready and will be introduced this week. Mike has had 50 people volunteer to hang up Minstrel fliers which he will email them each month.

Staffing

As always, we can use more volunteers! An email appeal for Open Stage attendees to volunteer has been sent out. Scooter's been happy with how the Open Stage has been going; the music has been exceptional.

HSNOI

Only one show taped in June due to Amy Speace having car trouble. She has been rescheduled.

Swingin’ Tern

The new dance hall at First Church in East Hanover is working out well for us. Paid attendance for the first three dances has been significantly higher than the same period last year (average 52 vs. 43), and with the adjustment in rent, we are coming out ahead financially. Many thanks to the Folk Project Community for the large turn-out at the first dance on June 6! We are attracting new dancers who show enthusiasm.

After applying for a fire permit we were told that we needed a $650 zoning permit in addition to other fees. Upon advice from our pro bono attorneys (and Mark's cousin), we submitted a letter request for an informal review by the Town Planning Board on the argument that we do not represent an unanticipated use of a church parish hall rated for a capacity of 300 people. We haven't heard back yet, and it would suit us fine if we never do.

Special Concerts

Beppe Gambetta concert was pulled together in 2 weeks after Beppe had a hole in his schedule. It really showed FP at its best in the level of coordination, efficiency and cooperation. Beppe was thrilled and made a very tidy profit and had a lovely time.

A 400-seat venue at Drew University has been booked for the 11/7 John McCutcheon concert; tickets on sale 8/1. “Tern Swings” combo of contra and swing dance is on track for 1/30.

Newsletter

Newsletter was held up this month by late contributions. Please get info in as early as possible so Carl and Liz are not caused distress. E-newsletter is growing, especially among new members, although it is only a pdf of the print version at this point. Active content with links is the goal.

Membership

Pat mailed a copy of the latest roster to the Board.

Web & Publicity

As reported by e-mail, George was able to capture the design from the old ceramic mug using technology at his job; he has sent the design to Margaret for future use. Swingin' Tern directions to the new site are up on the website, and directions to the old site are down. There are directions from the old site to the new site as well.

The web company is no longer providing George with the detailed data on website data that they once were; however, he could report that 32 of 63 attendees at Beppe Gambetta used PayPal. As George is going to be transitioning out of the webmaster job, the future webmasters will be contacting Board members in the next few weeks to get feedback on what they like and dislike about the current website and what they'd like to see in the future.

Merchandise

Pam got a lot of great feedback on the black mandala-patterend shirt recently. Perhaps we can add the list of venues to the back of that design and recycle it?

Internal Affairs

Many thanks to Eddie & Robin Roffman for hosting a lovely July 4th picnic. July EOM is at Mark & Robin Schaffer's; August party is at the home of Margaret Crowl.

September thru December are open and Jean would love to get those booked as soon as possible.

Community Affairs

GOOD OF THE ORDER

See the newsletter.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM.

The next meeting will be on [date] at [somebody]’s house in [place].

– Rick (Wikimaster’s Note: Rick is flagged as being absent at this meeting, but the minutes are still being sent over his signature. One of life’s little mysteries.)