May 2012

OPENING CEREMONIES

The May 2012 Folk Project Board meeting was called to order at 8:08 pm on May 1, 2012 at the home of Lindsey Meyer in Peapack.

ROLL CALL

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

ADMINISTRATION

Secretary’s Report

The May minutes were approved as written.

Treasurer’s Report

Rachel was absent due to a family emergency. Eddie passed out her financial reports showing all is well. 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. There was no email report.

Mid-Year Committee Staffing

Due to family commitments, Scooter is stepping down as Minstrel Staffing Chair and Pam has agreed to spearhead the search for a replacement. Scooter will continue to host the Open Stage. Mark pointed out that there’s a difference between Scooter’s position and the weekly Head Staff, as the latter generally rotates each week.

ADA Compliance

Because we accepted the ACMA (Arts Council of the Morris Area) grant, we need to comply with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Elizabeth summarized a training session she and webmaster John Lamb attended on ADA compliance for non-profits. She said that many non-profits, such as the FP, don’t own their own properties and are somewhat limited in their ability to comply with physical requirements, as they can’t make structural changes. Churches are exempt from the ADA but luckily, the MUUF is wheelchair accessible. On the electronic end, John is working to make the FP website more accessible.

We are encouraged to say “people with disabilities”, not “disabled people” as we don’t want to define people by their disability. We should let people know that all are welcome, use proper symbols, and use disclaimers when advertising if we have limitations. Reach out to people who appear to need help but ASK them “do you need help?” to avoid annoying those who are capable. We should invite people who have disabilities to come to events and give us feedback about their experiences. “Awareness and sensitivity are prime,” said Elizabeth.

Discussion followed Elizabeth’s report. It was pointed out that MUUF is missing a grab bar in the bathroom but this is an easy fix that we could offer. For more information, visit the Cultural Access Network website http://culturalaccessnetwork.org .

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

Festival

Mark reported that although Festival “sold out” during pre-registration, the actual registration came up 15 short. None of the families with young children who had pre-registered actually registered, so the children’s program has evaporated. Ungar & Mason fans tend to see them at their venues, so are unlikely to come to our Festival. We’ve broken even, however, and there is another bright side: more adults means more profit, less loss. The maximum number of attendees is 180, including staff. We’ll all have to adapt to the new location but “it’s just different, not bad.” Pre-registration gave him and Robin good information, even though people dropped out, and they’d do it again.

Camp Bernie is booked for fall festival on Columbus Day weekend, although the search continues for a more ideal location. Jeremy Kittell Band is booked and Mark is now looking for a folkie solo performer or group. The committee’s email report is here.

Minstrel Booking

In recapping his email report, Mike told us that the confluence of Good Friday and the first night of Passover dealt a blow to Minstrel attendance. He decided to use Scooter’s idea and reschedule Open Stage to holiday nights in the future. In a change of policy, Mike will include tics turned in in determining artist pay, as this will be fairer to the performer.

Mike reported that with the funds voted to his committee last month in the Asses in Seats (AIS) initiative, he approached a performer who is currently beyond the reach of the normal Minstrel budget. The performer responded favorably but that brought up an interesting dilemma: in all likelihood, he’d bring in a sellout crowd which would obviate the need for the funds. How to avoid a sellout? Howie agreed to pursue this as a Special Concert but it leaves the conundrum of how to get more asses in Minstrel seats without risking a sellout.

Discussion followed about how to spend the AIS money. Eddie reminded us that the idea is to give committees confidence to take risks. We discussed other venues for large audiences and the 314-seat Bickford Theatre was mentioned as a possibility.

Minstrel Staffing

Scooter says it’s “in flux” (see: President’s Report).

Swingin’ Tern

Leigh was absent but his email report is here. Gloria described Techno Contra, which attracts a younger crowd: the hall is dark with flashing lights and “young people love it.” She showed us the new green Swingin’ Tern canvas bag and noted that people who search “Swingin’ Tern” online or search "swingintern.org" are led to the dance page of the FP site.

Internal Affairs

Jean was absent and there was no email report.

Newsletter

Carl recapped his report that told us he printed 400 newsletters, mailed 253, and spent $340.09 on printing and postage.

Publicity

In recapping her email report, Whirlwind Nancy Kelner told us her committee hit approximately 70 media outlets in April. Twelve press passes have been given out so far and she has created a log sheet for Minstrel and SnT to use. She continues to contact publishers and webmasters to correct misprinted dates, web addresses, etc. She told the Board she wants to redo the FP business cards to reflect our northern NJ range, as many people see the Mendham address and think everything’s in Mendham.

Membership

Scott was absent and there was no email report. Eddie has been talking with Scott about stopping sending newsletters to people whose membership has expired.

Community Service

Joe was absent due to a family emergency. There was no report.

Horses Sing None of It

Ralph’s report is here. As it was Sandie’s birthday, we all sang a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday”. She reported that all’s well in Horses Land.

Merchandise

Gloria sold 3 shirts in April and reminded us that “Embroid Me” will embroid our logo on anything. We discussed bringing a display rack to Festival to show off merchandise. There was no email report.

Sound Reinforcement

Kevin recapped his email report and 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.

A local charitable organization is offering a $5-10,000 grant for capital purchases and Kevin would like to apply for it. He says our Minstrel equipment is aging and asked for input from the Board. There was no lack of suggestions. Ed said that infra-red listening devices would help us comply with the ADA. Scooter suggested integrating our wires into the MUUF building so as to eliminate snake cables. Pam suggested Kevin talk to Bob Safranek, SnT, HSNOI, and Festival for ideas. Ed wants to put the grant info on the wiki. Scooter topped off the lively discussion by declaring “iPhones for all!” sparking laughter from the crowd.

Proposals are due the 3rd quarter.

Special Concerts

Howie expanded on his email report, saying they’re trying to figure out why the low attendance for the Keith Murphy workshop and concert, which resulted in a loss of $163. He thanked Mark and Robin for hosting and Lori Falco for sending out email blasts for the events. Lindsey said perhaps there were too many events for one evening: separate tickets for the workshop and concert, split by a free pot luck and followed by a free evening of music, may have confused people. Mike suggested that reaching out to guitar groups could have brought in guitar fans, since Murphy is a well-known guitarist and suggested using this angle for future House Concerts. Pam said that Murphy announcements at Minstrel happened after the break so people didn’t buy tickets during break. Scooter responded that he can’t force volunteer MCs to make announcements and that if they don’t know the performer, it’s hard for them to pitch to the audience.

Upcoming Special Concert: Howie wasn’t going to pursue Trout Fishing in America because of the date (between Christmas and New Years) but the Board was encouraging. Mike pointed out that the last time the Minstrel sold out was the Dugan’s Hooligans concert, which was between Christmas and New Years.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:59 pm. The next meeting will be on June 5 at the home of Eddie Roffman in Randolph.

Respectfully submitted,

Lindsey Meyer

Recording Secretary