December 2010

OPENING CEREMONIES

The meeting was called to order at 8:05 PM on December 7, by Vice President Elizabeth Lachowicz (President Ferguson having been unavoidably detained... he took the helm around 8:15). This year, the Annual General Meeting was held in the spacious back dining room of The Chimney Rock Inn in Gillette (which in the Secretary’s opinion, was much nicer than the upstairs space we’ve used for the past few years).

Roll Call

Present were Lois DeRitter, Scooter Ferguson, Jim Gartner, Nancy Kelner, Allan Kugel and Evelyn Maurer (Trustees), Mike Agranoff, Pat Brangs, Connie Crawford, Carl Croce, Lori Falco, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Sandie Reilly, Chris Riemer, Pam Robinson, Ed Roffman, Bobbie Rosengarten, Bob Safranek, Mark Schaffer and Rick Thomas. (Other Board Members) and Dan Black, Joanne Cronin, Mike Del Vecchio, Christine DeLeon, Marilyn Feldman, Bill Henderson, Andy Koenig, Mark Levanda, Lindsey Meyer, Barb Moo, Pat Rolston, Robin Schaffer, Judy Storey, Rachel Streich and Cathy Thomas (Guests). Absent were Jim King, Brad Pryor, Jean Scully and Ruth Wolfish.

Treasurer’s Report

Ed Roffman expects us to post a small loss for the year, but feels the individual committees are performing well, as are our investments. Looking at the Departmental breakdowns, as well as the detail by Classification, he thinks we’re in good shape. The November 30 account balances were about $7,500 (Checking), $23,300 (Money Market) and $75,800 (Vanguard).

Secretary’s Report

No corrections had as yet been submitted for the November minutes, and none were requested from the floor. The minutes were approved.

BUSINESS ITEMS

Election of New Trustees

Scooter explained that the most important piece of business tonight was the assembly of the board of directors that will run the Folk Project in 2011. This is a three stage process, working from the slate of directors that was proposed last month (see attachment at the end of the November minutes) an amended version of the slate that was proposed last month (see attachment below).

First, Scooter read the names of the new Trustees, and asked for nominations from the floor. There were none. All general members present voted for said Trustees, all of whom were approved with one objection and one abstention.

There was then a brief constitutional crisis, and a difference of opinion as to proper procedure. We all agreed that step two called for the Trustees to vote for the Officers, but were a tad confused as to whether these votes should be cast by the Sitting Trustees (the old board) or the Incoming Trustees (those who would take office in 2011). If the former, we were fine, but if the latter, we would not have a quorum. Mike Agranoff was sure it was the latter, and to resolve the issue, Scooter called the absent Ruth Wolfish. She accepted the Officers recommended by the slate, and the Officers were thereby elected.

Finally, the Officers and Trustees voted to accept the slate’s recommendations for committee chair assignments, and the new board was fully constituted for the year ahead.

Special Thanks

Scooter felt that two of the outgoing Trustees deserved a special mention. Evelyn Maurer is relocating to south Jersey, and will be leaving the board after 28 years of continuous service. Jim King feels it’s also time for him to retire, and he’s been on the board even longer. Scooter thanked them both for their “extraordinary dedication,” and the board added a hearty round of applause.

Special thanks also go to Sandie Reilly, who has served as the coffeehouse volunteer coordinator for eight years. Nancy Kelner seconded Scooter’s words, describing Sandie as “incredibly efficient and effective.” A standing ovation for Ms. Reilly.

REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES

Membership

Recapping his email report, Rick gave a general overview and confirmed that we do have members.

Newsletter

Recapping his email report, Carl would like to “really, really” thank Liz Pagan. (“Without Liz… what can I tell you?”) Liz is the real editor, and Carl described himself as the guy who just comes to meetings. However, he’s also happy to report that by capitalizing on Staples discounts, we reduced the newsletter expenses by about $1,900 this year.

Publicity/Web

On the paper side of things, Nancy reported that the Publicity committee now has nine members engaged in different tasks, handling direct mail, flyers and calendar updates. The ad we placed in The Hometown Quarterly will not reach 90,000 people as expected, because Nancy opted for just one of two possible zones. However, it will reach about 50,000 homes in the towns closest to Morristown, and many thanks to Liz Pagan and Jim King for their work pulling the ad together. It looks sharp, and a copy of the Quarterly was passed around for all to see.

With the addition of some new contacts in 2010, we’re now reaching about 100 outlets through a combination of printed flyers and electronic mail. Nancy also thinks our Publicity has contributed to the increased attendance at Minstrel.

On the virtual side of things, Mark thanked everyone, as he had in an earlier email, including the expanded Web team, which now includes Webmaster John Lamb, as well as Cathy Thomas, Allan Kugel, Rick Thomas and Liz Pagan, among others. He also thanked the entire board for tolerating him during this overly long re-design process. He thinks it will be a pleasure to step down, but appreciates that we didn't bust his chops over the last year, even though we had every right to.

Merchandising

Robin Schaffer, appointed tonight as Merchandising chair for 2011, has already met with Margaret Crowl, who resigned from this job last October. She hopes to have a new T-shirt available by Valentine’s Day, and wants everyone’s input and ideas as to the Folk Project product line. Please get in touch, as she had requested in an earlier email.

Internal Affairs

No report from the absent Jean Scully. As far as Scooter knows, the January Evening of Music is at Judy Hagen’s, in Rockaway.

Community Affairs

Pat Brangs reports a quiet November on the member care front, with a get-well card to John Lamb. She’s also been in touch with Joe Graziano about Wayne Day 2011.

Sound Reinforcement

Looking back, Bob is happy with the sound workshop held in early 2010, which brought us some new regular sound folks. He thinks we have a “good, solid team” at this point, and all the equipment is in good shape. Answering a question from the floor, he has no plans for another workshop in the near future.

Minstrel (Booking)

Recapping his earlier email (presented as an attachment, below), Mike felt that 2010 was a good year. The financials attendance figures are a little misleading, though, because we had a number of “run of the mill” shows, offset by a few blockbusters. The average Feature Act pay is up, as are the creel contributions.

After years of passive resistance, we came out of the closet with ASCAP in 2010, and our royalty costs turn out to be very easy to bear. Head staff is now in a flexible rotation, and that seems to be working well. Many thanks to Sandie for her volunteer coordination work over the past eight years.

We are expecting an additional custodial fee from the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship (MUF), and if and when it happens, the Minstrel may be in for a price increase. Pat Brangs also mentioned that we are now listed on MUF’s Web site, and Nancy added that we’ll be covered by their newsletter, too.

Minstrel (Staffing)

Looking back, Sandie figures that the volunteer coordinator was able to fill 528 slots over the past year, which comes out to something like 8,000 slots since she took on this job. Not that she filled them all herself, of course. She also made the point that “it’s the volunteers who run the Minstrel.” There are 268 volunteers on her master list, of which about 57 are really active. That means the Folk Project’s flagship venue is maintained by about 10% of the membership, and we should all be grateful for their participation and support. She's enjoyed the job, and feels Scooter is the perfect person to take over.

Horses Sing None of It

Horses had a “fabulous” year, in Sandie’s view. They recorded some really great shows, and produced their Best of the Blues DVD. They haven’t quite settled on the best way to distribute the latter, but they will. See Ralph Litwin's email for some details. Cathy Thomas has been instrumental in getting Horses information on the Web site, and Scooter has been working on an iTunes based distribution for individual Horses shows.

Swingin’ Tern

Connie introduced Dan Black to the group. He’s an established dance caller who has also been mentored by come out of Bob Isaacs’ workshop program, and will be taking over as Swingin’ Tern’s booking agent. Xander Kasten will be taking over from Joel Remde as volunteer coordinator, and Gloria Friedman will be joining the board as a Trustee next year, to increase the representation of the dance community. See her email for more details.

The December 18 dance will be followed by the traditional party at chez Heacock-Buckley, and the New Year’s Eve dance will feature Crowfoot. Later in the year, on April 30, we’ll have the special Roffman Anniversary Dance.

Special Concerts

In 2010, Pam Robinson is proud to have produced four concerts and three workshops with a total attendance of about 530 people (including volunteers). They brought in about $10,000, paid out about $8,000, and earned a profit for the Folk Project of around $1,400. Not too shabby, eh?

Festival

We had two good weekend events this year, and Lori Falco felt they were “very nice” (if she does say so herself). Financially, we broke even, and she had a few stats to share about the October event. Considering the fact that the Festival lost about $12,000 in 2007, we’ve come a long way. Some additional details are available in her email report.

There are no concrete plans for a Festival in 2011, and Carl Croce will be taking over from Lori as Festival Chair. However, Star Lake has indicated at least a willingness to have us back, contrary to previous reports. Lori thinks their new prices are pretty steep, but she’ll be happy to let Carl sort out the details as to when (or if) we have a Festival next year.

Fellowship

Scooter had announced his intention to dissolve this committee last month, but an actual request for a fellowship arrived in the past 30 days. He will report on same in January.

CLOSING REMARKS

Scooter thanked the board for supporting him in his first term as president, and looks forward to the new challenges he’ll face as Minstrel Volunteer Coordinator. He applauds the board, and incoming president Ed Roffman rose to lead a cheer for Scooter. (“Hip, hip, hurray!”)

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10. Next month’s meeting is at the home of Pam Robinson and Bob Safranek.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Riemer

Secretary