June 2012

The June 2012 Folk Project Board meeting was called to order at 8:09 pm on June 5, 2012 at the home of Eddie & Robin Roffman in Randolph. Elizabeth Lachowicz took minutes in Lindsey’s absence.

ROLL CALL

Present were Pat Brangs, Lois DeRitter, Jim Gartner, Allan Kugel, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Bob McNally, Eddie Roffman, and Bobbie Rosengarten (Trustees); Mike Agranoff, Carl Croce, Scooter Ferguson, Howie Goldman, Sandie Reilly, Pam Robinson, Scott Ross, Mark Schaffer, Robin Schaffer, Jean Scully, and Rachel Streich (Other Board Members). Absent were Nancy Dugan, Gloria Friedman, Joe Graziano, Nancy Kelner, Lindsey Meyer, Kevin Redden, and Leigh Walker.

MOTIONS THIS MONTH

Bob McNally moved that the Board acclaim, commend and acknowledge the “Core Four” (Mark & Robin Schaffer, Pat Brangs, Elizabeth Lachowicz) and all their cohorts for a resoundingly successful festival. Rachel Streich seconded and all voted in favor.

ADMINISTRATION

Secretary’s Report

The Board decided to postpone approving the May minutes until our next meeting as Elizabeth (substitute secretary) was unaware of any amendments submitted directly to Lindsey and the group could not recall any details off hand. The approval of May and June minutes will be on the next agenda.

Treasurer’s Report

Rachel emailed her financial reports to the board – all is well. Scooter advised a Minstrel deposit is on the way. Rachel did note an important correction to be made in the P & L where it showed a Festival loss of $2800 but that is not so because 1) we gave Camp Bernie a $3,700 deposit that wasn't deducted from our final payment to them, and 2) we need to apply the $1,250 Agranoff Endowment.

This will result in a preliminary profit of approximately $2,150. However, Mark & Robin quickly stated some expenses have yet to be submitted, and we owe Camp Bernie a few hundred dollars because we paid according to our FP definition of “adult, teen & child registration” which is different from the camp's classification. End result should be “we broke even”. Once accounted for, the $3,700 deposit will remain with Camp Bernie for Fall Festival. All Festival Committee/Staff/Volunteers who were authorized to spend money on Festival expenses are encouraged to submit expenses for reimbursement as soon as possible.

Interested Board members can look at the financials and run their own, customized reports, by logging in at QuickBooksOnline https://qbo.intuit.com/c1/v34.125/0/login?redirect=true . If you don't have a login (or don't remember your password), contact Rachel and she can set you up.

Mid-Year Committee Staffing

(The specifics of this agenda item were addressed later in the meeting when all parties critical to the current task at hand were present. However, an unplanned discussion took place. Many points around staffing in general were made: Eddie: Avoid burn-out. Mike: Find people who felt the task was more fun than “chore”. Mark: Protect the spirit of the role, support a good chairperson, make it fun. Don't just plug someone in to fill a position, could be a disaster, match person to the job. Sandie: Shouldn't push out a happy person, keep competent person in place, don't ask them to resign. Lois: Consider the learning curve for the different positions. Bobbie: Train under someone in the role before they take over. Pat: “Co-Chair” a position. Nancy's name was mentioned as someone with a complex role and who has expressed her willingness to step down to give someone else a chance. Mike pointed out that Nancy does a lot and she has a committee that shares the work load. Mark said since Nancy does it so well, if she's happy she should continue; we'd be better off using a “trainee” elsewhere.)

Pam Robinson spearheaded the search to replace Scooter as volunteer Coordinator and found Jean Scully willing to fill in until the end of 2012. Thankful cheers to both Pam and Jean. Bob made a motion, which Rachel seconded, that the Board acclaim, commend, and acknowledge Scooter for his resounding efforts as Volunteer Coordinator. Unanimously accepted. Applause for Scooter. Pam suggested we look to ourselves and others we know that could be recommended for future openings.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

Festival

Updating their email report, Mark & Robin said we may have even done a little better than breaking even this festival. (Yay!) They thanked Pat Brangs, Elizabeth Lachowicz and the many volunteers for all their work. They reported that the committee's prime directive is to get and keep the numbers up. Seems we'll always have 80 – 100 folks no matter what, but when overall numbers drop, then festival must change.

Their focus is on: Bringing in local talent, masters who teach so that local people will show up, ,, Grover Kemble (for the Fall) who has students; offering different musical styles to attract new people; and providing quality workshops. So it is not a Silver Bullet but a bunch of Silver BB's and with this approach they think folks will come back.

Scott inquired about being “Sold Out” and Mark explained that we were close. Pre-registration did but we lost a lot of new families and the whole “family program” dissipated. Scooter cautioned on “master workshops” that may intimidate various musicians. Mark said it was about quality: we want folks to walk away from the workshops feeling like they have learned something. Bobbie expressed concern over the crowding of the concert hall. Robin explained their intentions to redesign the floor plan, approach meals differently, and make better use of the Chapel. Bob McNally agreed with finding instructors who were not just masters but gifted and inspiring teachers. He also suggested getting barn-burner acts to which Mark mentioned the Jeremy Kittel and Magpie for the sing-along lovers.

Eddie said Festival was “amazing!” Lois commended Mark & Robin specifically to their spirit, Mark's good humor and Robin's exceptional organizational skills. Mark mentioned they knew some things would be issues ahead of time, e.g., the concert hall. We will have the next festival at Camp Bernie not just because Star Lake was not available, but because we can expect to see improvements. Mark wrapped up their verbal report with an invitation to join the Festival Committee for a day, Tuesday, June 12th at 7:30 at their house in Rockaway. The committee’s email report is here.

Bob McNally made a motion, seconded by Rachel Streich, that the Board acclaim, commend and acknowledge the “Fab4” / or as Mark put it: “Core Four” and all their cohorts for a resoundingly successful festival. All in favor: Hooray! Unanimously accepted! Applause, applause!

Minstrel Booking

In recapping his email report, Mike told us we had 50 – 60 people on Movie Night which accounted for the $52 loss in May. Regular attendance averages 109 paid, non-regular 94.8. He reported a successful Phil Ochs Night with 165 paid, and they made $390 in admissions $1,390 in performer fees and $435 in sales. The Minstrel has been operating with $2,800 in the black for the past 12 months.

MUUF is still in the process of determining their future. Though churches are exempt from ADA compliance, access is important, along with their other needs. MUUF is exploring possibilities for enlarging the premises, finding a new place, etc. with consultants. What they decide could be quite a ways out, but the Folk Project is still welcome, whatever they decide.

Mike intends to use the AIS Grant (Asses in Seats) for RUNA on January 25, 2013. RUNA wants a $2,000 guarantee so we can expect to shell out $800-900 but he feels it will be well worth it. He will send a link to RUNA to HSNOI. Jean suggested he (and Nancy) reach out to Paul Harris, who is an expert in all things Irish, to possibly share RUNA info with his network.

The change to the feature act pay schedule has been implemented. It now counts incoming Tics in the calculation of the feature performer's pay.

Mike is working with Amy Livingston to create a “FileMaker” database for volunteers enabling targeted searches by position, frequency, etc. They just need to work out the bugs. Jean Scully believes the new database will be great.

We had to make up $230 for Beppe Gambetta's show which had an unexpectedly disappointing turnout though the show was wonderful (several claimed). Scooter mentioned that Beppe now lives in the area and perhaps doing the same show in the same area had an impact. Jean learned from Beppe, that he did not do his usual advertising. Pam confirmed he did not respond as expected to Facebook postings.

Allan inquired if Mike noticed any impact on attendance the week before Festival or the week after. He hadn't, but could look further. Allan also suggested perhaps using Tics differently to help meet the performer guarantees. Mike felt it wasn't an issue, as we're generous to both performers and volunteers. Lois asked if Mike used YouTube for opening acts. He uses Sonic Bids but still requires “Live” performances for his decisions.

Future Bookings include the Kennedys on 1/4/13, and RUNA, 1/25/13. Before then, mark your calendars for a special Friday after Thanksgiving Past Presidents Concert championed by Barrett Wilson, featuring many FP Presidents of the past, including Barbara Moo and Larry Kaufman.

To reignite the old and inspire the new FP community spirit, Mark & Robin suggested a summer series of First Friday Post-Show gatherings. After Beppe's show, sandwiches were served to over a dozen folks in the Terrace Room and an impromptu music session ensued across the hall. Several attendees said it went very well. Pam reported positive comments on Facebook. Bob felt it really gave people a social experience of the FP by participating and not just hearing us tell them about the FP from the stage. That is what Mark & Robin had in mind, a way to include the new folks, learn about them, how or why they got here instead of giving them a hard sell on the FP. Minstrel will fund the $60 per month to cover expenses, and they collected $17 in donations toward the sandwiches that night.

Minstrel Staffing

Scooter says the new money counter is on its way. The board accepted Scooter's resignation and Jean's installation as Volunteer Coordinator until the end of the year. She's looking forward to the new volunteer database that Mike and Amy are building. There was no email report.

Swingin’ Tern

Eddie summarized Leigh's email report for those who may not have read it. Allan expressed concern about getting the Swingin' Tern schedule for the website. Current posting ends with June. Eddie will talk with Leigh and possibly Dan Black to resolve the issue. Publicity Committee member echoed Allan's concern because they require lead time to send out publicity information.

Internal Affairs

Jean reported that Evenings of Music are booked for all of 2012 except November. Need new places, especially since we lost some longstanding places, e.g., the Rick & Cathy Thomas' home. Let her know if you find a place. June's EoM is at Amy Livingston & Brian Hudson's in Highland Park. July 4th BBQ and the drawing for the FP Birthday Show is here at Eddie & Robin's in Randolph. The July EoM is at a new place, Cathy Callahan's in Wayne.

It was agreed that Jean go through Lori Falco to use Constant Contact to email broadcast the 4th of July BBQ details.

Unrelated to IA but FP email-related, Eddie took a straw poll regarding Cafe' Zed's (Tom Picard) request of us to broadcast their new location to our membership. Majority against. Eddie will advise Tom that it's against our e-mail policy but he is welcome to get the information to Liz Pagan for the next newsletter. Pam offered to post the new Cafe' Zed info on our FP Facebook page. There was no email report.

Newsletter

Carl recapped his report saying that he mailed the newsletters out immediately after a wonderfully sleepless festival and holiday. Carl reported two procedural changes: 1) he will call John to make sure he got the file from Liz and 2) he will direct Staples to not only print, but also seal, stamp, label and mail out the newsletters in an effort to expedite mailing and ensure prompt receipt of paper newsletters. He expects this to add $150 to the cost. Carl mentioned that Liz will review and revise the information about Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival as appropriate.

Publicity

Nancy Kelner was absent due to a serious fall which has badly bruised her face, mouth and left her needing some extensive dental work. Luckily no broken bones. She provided a full committee email report.

Membership

Scott provided stats via email. He is working on a couple projects: 1) identifying lapsed memberships that have email addresses for Lori Falco to track down and 2) adding first names to the Excel spreadsheet roster. Mike noted the issue around new memberships that came in through the festival registration process where postal addresses were not required. Elizabeth will track down that information.

Community Service

Joe was absent and there was no report. Wayne Day was very successful. Carl Croce recommended we have an FP table set up there. Mark mentioned a benefit concert: A Mix of Music at MUUF on 6/9 to benefit the Aktion Club, a group of young adults living with disabilities.

Horses Sing None of It

Ralph’s report is here. Sandie reported that the air-conditioning went out in the studio on Tuesday so they postponed taping until Wednesday using the Oakland Studio. She loves the Oakland location – just around the corner from her home. She also acknowledged Dave Kleiner for uploading complete HSNOI shows to YouTube. He is working backwards from the most recent shows, and they are entire shows, including credits. Allan asked if that could have a negative impact since people could post comments on YouTube. Sandie assured us that the main reason HSNOI is on cable is because the public has asked for it. She is working with Nancy to create flyers with all the details for both cable and YouTube.

Merchandise

Gloria said they sold a ton of merchandise at festival. Her report is here.

Sound Reinforcement

Kevin told us that he uploaded all the FP user and service manuals to his company’s website. John Lamb will help him transfer the page to the FP website soon. There was no email report.

Special Concerts

Howie responded to reactions to his email report and has changed the date from before Christmas to after for Trout Fishing in America (12/28/12). He just received the contract so he needs to review it. Mike may need to change the Cotillion Singers.

ADJOURNMENT

Carl made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Jim, and all were in favor. The next meeting will be on July 3 at Joe & Laura Graziano's home in Wayne.

Respectfully submitted,

Elizabeth Lachowicz

Substitute Secretary