January 2011

OPENING CEREMONIES

The meeting was called to order at 8:02 PM on January 4th, at the home of Pam Robinson and Bob Safranek.

Roll Call

Present were Gloria Friedman, Jim Gartner, Allan Kugel, Carolyn Messina, Brad Pryor, Eddie Roffman, Bobbie Rosengarten and Ruth Wolfish (Trustees), Mike Agranoff, Pat Brangs, Connie Crawford, Carl Croce, Scooter Ferguson, Nancy Kelner, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Chris Riemer, Pam Robinson, Bob Safranek, Rachel Streich and Jean Scully (Other Board Members) and Joanne Cronin, Lori Falco, Jim King, Evelyn Maurer and Mark Schaffer (Guests). Absent were Lois DeRitter, Sandie Reilly, Robin Schaffer and Rick Thomas

As an initial ice-breaking activity, given the new folks in the room, Eddie suggested that everyone identify themselves, tell us what they do on the board, and reveal something people probably don’t know. It was entertaining and informative. Who knew that Connie was almost an Olympian in 1980? Or that Allan ran 1,000 miles in his senior year in high school? Or that Mark once braided Toni Kalem’s hair?

Secretary’s Report

Four change requests were submitted via email for the December minutes, as shown by the revision marks in the on-line version. The most important change was the creation of a revised, final slate of 2011 Directors as a December attachment (rather than as a link to the November minutes), since the version actually used at the meeting was changed on the fly.

The minutes were approved as amended.

Treasurer’s Report

Eddie (as outgoing Treasurer) reviewed the numbers, cautioning that they should still be considered preliminary since the books are not yet closed on 2010. We roughly broke even for the year and he believes the individual venues are all performing well, both operationally and artistically. The December 30 account balances showed $6,400 in checking, $23,300 in the Money Market and $79,200 in the Vanguard account.

Rachel Streich (as incoming Treasurer) introduced herself to the group, and mentioned that while she currently works as a massage therapist, she was an accountant in an earlier life. She’s familiar with QuickBooks On-Line and confident that she’ll be up to the job.

Mike took this opportunity to repeat his perrenial assertion that the QuickBooks data is misleading because it includes non-venue income on the venue reports. That is, the Minstrel is credited for dues collected and merchandise sold at the coffeehouse, even though this money has nothing to do with the Minstrel activity. Responding as a previous Treasurer (and the person who set up the QuickBooks structure), Chris repeated his usual rebuttal, pointing out that the reports reflect what really happened: dues were collected and sales were made at the Minstrel. If Mike doesn’t want to see them in his report, all he has to do is add a filter to say “admission income only.” It’s easy peasey. Eddie agreed, noting that one of his standard reports already shows the numbers the way Mike wants to see them. Rachel will consider the matter.

BUSINESS ITEMS

Constant Contact

Lori recapped her remarks from the November meeting, reminding everyone that Constant Contact is an email marketing program to which the Festival Committee subscribed on its own, and which she feels would have broader value. It provides template support and a photo library, and makes it very easy to create and distribute good-looking emails. She had a sample for show and tell.

Answering some questions raised last time, she said it’s not possible to have multiple logins within a single account. However, logins can be shared, and more than one person can be logged in at the same time. So as long as we have clear ownership, we shouldn’t have a problem with one person overwriting another person’s work. There might be a problem in the system security protocols, since if a person tries to log-in and has forgotten the password, the system will lock the ID after six failed attempts. It can only be reactivated with Constant Contact’s intervention. That might be inconvenient, but Lori thinks we should be able to work around it.

The database considers one person to be one record, but each record can be associated with multiple lists. So if John Doe changes his email address, we only need to change it in one place; whatever lists he might be attached to (Minstrel, Festival, etc.) will be adjusted accordingly. Chris added that another advantage here would be an expanded self-service mail activity, in which visitors to our Web site could sign up for email updates. Constant Contact is also smart enough to purge duplicates, if necessary, in answer to a concern expressed by Mike.

A subscription suitable for our needs (allowing up to 2,500 names) will cost us $250 per year after a non-profit discount, which several people felt was extremely reasonable. Lori also felt it would be best for us to consider this as a committee-level matter while we learn the ropes, and she’d be happy to help anyone who wants to give it a try. Swingin’ Tern has already expressed interest.

In closing, Eddie agreed that we needn’t make a motion to take this forward, and urged everyone to take a look at this new resource. He thinks it’s great for the committees to innovate this way, but it’s even better when we can spread those innovations across the organization. Fostering such cross-pollination is one of his personal goals for 2011!

2011 Meeting Schedule

Eddie circulated a sign-up sheet for the meetings in the year ahead, which by the end of the night was completed as shown in the attachment, below. These dates and locations have also been captured in the Folk Project’s Google Calendar.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Membership

Rick Thomas is in Washington, but had nothing special to report.

Festival

Recapping from his email, Carl thanked us all for our patience and gave us an update on his negotiations with Star Lake. As mentioned earlier, they’ve changed their minds about not wanting us back. They’ve even softened some of their proposed rate increases, while offering additional options to sweeten the pot.

They’re now willing to allow for a tenting area, for example, and let us stay in their lean-toos (something previously refused). They’ve suggested guided nature walks and other camp-related activities we might enjoy. They’re willing to open another commons area for us (about ¼ mile from the Hilltop Commons) as well as some “family cabins” of unspecified nature. They believe they can save us money on catering with their regular food service, and are willing to rent their performance space to us for Special Concerts. They’re even interested in recommending the Minstrel as a Friday entertainment option for all their weekend retreats.

With that being said, Carl has three possible dates: May 13 in the Spring, and either September 30 or October 7 in the Fall. All of these are problematic, though. On May 13, David Mallett is booked at the Minstrel; Carl was aware of that, but thought we could do the show at Star Lake instead. September 30 is Rosh Hashanah, and October 7 is Yom Kippur. Those present felt the September weekend would probably be OK, since Rosh Hashanah ends at sundown on Friday. But October 7 should be taken off the table.

Much discussion ensued.

Mike believes we don’t have enough time to put a Festival together by May. Lori agreed, pointing out that we’d want to have a flyer ready for the February newsletter, the deadline for which is only ten days away. We haven’t signed a contract for the space or booked performers or talked about workshops, so she doesn’t see how this could be done in time. Scooter, Allan and Eddie also took this position, with Eddie warning that “good is better than fast.”

Elizabeth would love to have an event in the Spring, because she loves festivals, but was concerned that we might not be able to draw enough people without name acts. If we have a loss, it could poison what might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Chris was surprised that Carl seemed so intent on going ahead with an event in May, despite the many unresolved issues and the explicit opposition of so many directors. Carl himself was not concerned.

On the other side of the timing issue, Mark pointed out that we’ve managed to pull off this kind of rapid deployment thing in the past, and thinks it all depends on how we manage expectations. Connie suggested that it might be done in “testival” mode, with a pick-up dance band and only Folk Project performers.

On the matter of logistics, we can’t park on the ball field, but they’re offering a few more spaces as well as the use of their shuttle service. Scooter thinks that with what we’ve learned, the parking is do-able. Elizabeth added that the lessons we’ve learned at Star Lake are really a kind of investment. We should try to capitalize on them, since any new venue will likely come with its own start up issues.

On the matter of the Star Lake relationship, Nancy and Chris were bothered by this 180-degree turnaround. They didn’t want us, and now all of a sudden they do? What’s up with that? Carl thinks one reason for their change of heart was his decision to “incentivize” them. He offered to donate half of any profit we make to The Salvation Army, in order to establish a spirit of partnership. He believes that because of some early misunderstandings, they came to see us as a demanding and high-maintenance bunch. We’ve since proven that we’re nothing of the sort, and Star Lake’s managers see the value we could bring. Bob Safranek was a tad annoyed by this, believing that all those early misunderstandings were cases in which Star Lake itself simply dropped the ball. He’s also bothered by their tendency to change the ground rules at every Festival.

Jim King agreed on that point. He felt the camp seems to have a lot of management turnover, with each new manager going his or her own way. Carl believes the current manager will be there for a while, but admitted he hasn’t gotten any of these proposals in writing. Bobbie mentioned that their past no-tenting policy was supposedly driven by insurance prohibitions, given the possibility of bear attacks. Did they get a new policy? Did the bears move away?

On the matter of pricing, Carl plans to offer a discount to volunteers, and by packaging things differently, he believes he can avoid increasing the cost for attendees, despite a higher rate card at the camp. This was key in Evelyn’s eyes, since she knows that every price hike shuts more people out. Mike suggested that Carl convene a “meeting of interested parties,” including the Festival Committee and perhaps members of the general membership as well, for brainstorming and general consideration. That’s not something Carl wants to do.

Given the time spent on the issue, Eddie asked that we curtail further discussion and deal with any remaining questions off line. Carl will continue his development work.

Newsletter

Recapping from his earlier email, Carl noted that the newsletter continues to go out on schedule, and he continues to reap the benefits of our Staples discounts.

Allan suggested that the newsletter calendar include the first few days of the following month, since he often doesn’t get his newsletter until the month is already underway. Later, Jim King asked that the Board Meeting date and location be returned to its traditional place in the calendar page. If we want to encourage general members to attend, we have to make it as easy as possible. Carl will bring both points to Liz Pagan’s attention.

Minstrel Booking

Recapping from his earlier email, Mike reported on the abbreviated December schedule, which had a disappointing turn out for Chorus Song Night but a better than expected crowd for Crowfoot. We lost $324 for the month, but brought in $2,385 for the year. Eddie took a moment to say mazel tov to Mike and Scooter, for the continued strength and recent improvements in the Minstrel concert series, For 2010, revenue was up 13.7% over 2009, which is an extremely positive outcome considering the weak economy.

Mark reported that with the agreement of both Mike and Special Concerts chair Pam Robinson, he’s negotiating a May Special Concert at the Minstrel featuring Za Zu Zaz, a very popular band in these parts back in the day. Advance tickets will be $20, and they’ll be available much earlier than usual at the request of bandleader Grover Kemble. So snap them up, because this will be a show you don’t want to miss.

On a final note, Brad mentioned that the creel was left out in the hall after last week’s coffeehouse, and the stage ramp was not stowed properly. Mark was head staff that night, and took full responsibility for this oversight.

Minstrel Staffing

Scooter is proud to report that we are fully staffed for this Friday, and intends to take his new job one week at a time. He’s also added some extra folks this week, given the crowd expected for Mad Agnes.

Swingin’ Tern

As per her earlier email report, Connie notes that Swingin’ Tern almost broke even for 2010. They had a “terrific” New Year’s Eve dance, with lots of new people, and made their numbers even with the absence of some regulars. The college outreach emails should go out this week, using Constant Contact to get in touch with more than 200 local organizations.

Publicity

Nancy began by thanking all her committee members by name (besides herself, they are Jim King, Will Miles, Lynn Miles, Joanne Cronin, Pat Brangs, Alice Weimer and Debby Edelman), and then recapped the information from her earlier email. One of her challenges is developing a clear understanding of what happens between the time our publicity leaves the Folk Project and appears in print -- sometimes the details go mysteriously wrong. The Hometown Quarterly ad hasn’t been mentioned at Minstrel or Swingin’ Tern so far, so unless that changes she would not recommend running a second one.

Gloria Frieeidman asked about Patch.com, and whether it’s now within our outlet space. Nancy will look into it. Carl has a contact there too, and he’ll forward that to Nancy as well. With that in mind, Bob suggested that anyone who has any publicity stuff going on to be sure and bring Nancy into the loop.

Mike asked if we were any closer to a go-live date on the redesigned Web site, but no one present had an answer. Mark’s last contact suggest that it would happen sometime in January.

Merchandising

Serving in his role as designated Merchandising representative in Robin's absence, Mark recapped the points made in her earlier email. Bob briefly reviewed the sales tax issues related to selling regularly at the Minstrel. He also reaffirmed that we traditionally have seen Merchandising as a way to promote the Folk Project, not as a way to make money. So we sell very close to cost.

Internal Affairs

Amy Livingston and Brian Hudson will host the next Evening of Music this coming Saturday (their first) and February will be at Jeff and Maureen Heilbrun’s, in Mountain Lakes. Pam is still interested in doing some workshops this year, in association with the Evenings of Music, and she’ll speak to Jean privately. (Note that this report was preceded by the singing of “Happy Birthday to Jean.”)

Community Services

Pat recapped the information from her email. She also wondered if we might consider doing a joint event with Star Lake, similar to what we’ll be doing again for Wayne Day. An interesting suggestion. Mike asked if we were any closer to putting the performer’s list back on the Web, but that’s not yet in Pat’s near-term plan. She’ll need technical help to make it happen.

Sound Reinforcement

“Hi,” said Bob. (with a wave of the hand).

Horses Sing None of It

No report from the absent Sandie Reilly, but Eddie briefly touched on the information in Ralph Litwin’s earlier email.

Special Concerts

Just a “Hi” from Pam, as per her email report. She thinks the aforementioned Za Zu Zaz concert should be interesting, and added that Mike is negotiating for the return of Aztec Two-Step in the Fall. We’re also planning a songwriting workshop with Anne Hills in association with her May Minstrel gig.

Mark asked if we needed some preemptive action to deal with potential confusion around the higher price for Special Concerts that are staged at the Minstrel. Considering that we regularly give out free passes to future shows, should we worry about people who might try to cash them in at a Special Concert? Those present felt our current practices were adequate, since the passes are clearly labeled "for regular shows."

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:54. Next month’s meeting is February 1, at the home of Connie Crawford in Berkeley Heights.