MAY 2014

BOARD MEETING MINUTES

MAY 6, 2014

The meeting was called to order at 8:03 pm at the home of Dave and Doreen Sherman, in Highland Park, NJ.

Present: Dave Sherman, Lindsey Meyer, Rachel Streich, Paul Fisher, Grover Kemble, Bill Henderson, Eddie Roffman, Lori Falco, Lois DeRitter, Mike Agranoff, Jim Gartner, Joanne Cronin, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Barrett Wilson, Scooter Ferguson, Mark Schaffer, Leigh Walker, Jean Scully, and Allan Kugel. Absent: Bob McNally, George Otto, Sandie Reilly, Steve Humphreys, Tom Picard, Shari Korenstein, and Mike DelVecchio. Guest: Wendy Keilin.

ADMINISTRATION:

April 2014 Minutes were accepted with corrections.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

As of 4/30/14, we had approximately $29K in combined Checking and Money Market accounts, reflecting cash receipts for the upcoming Acoustic Getaway Weekend.

OLD BUSINESS:

ONE-DAY NERFA:

The day was a huge success due to the incredibly hard work of a small but dedicated group of FP volunteers. (NERFA had requested that we keep our volunteer staff down to a maximum of 6 people so as to minimize expenses.) Wendy estimated that there were approximately 115 attendees for the day program of workshops and lunch, and her idea to admit members of the general public for the performers’ showcase at 4 pm for $10 brought in another 30+ audience members. NERFA was very impressed with the FP’s handling of the day’s event. During the day, twenty performers got 10-minute slots to perform one song and be interviewed, with a DVD copy of their performance and interview given to each performer. This one-day “mini-NERFA” gives people a taste of what the “big” NERFA conferences are like, where there are many opportunities for performers. Mike A. noted that the FP is a member organization of the Folk Alliance, and we have 12 Folk Alliance individual memberships available for Folk Project members who want one. You must be a Folk Alliance member in order to participate in a NERFA performers showcase. If interested, please speak to Mike.

NEW BUSINESS:

JUNE BOARD MEETING:

Gloria Friedman is unable to host the June meeting as previously scheduled. Allan Kugel and Cecilia Rowedder have volunteered to host, so we will be in Highland Park again for the third month in a row!

2015 NOMINATION SLATE:

Elizabeth reminded us that the President, Treasurer, and several Trustees terms will all be expiring as of December 31st, and its not too early to start thinking now of possible candidates. If any committee chairs are thinking of stepping down at year end, please speak to Elizabeth.

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION DINNER:

Scheduled for May 18, 2014, starting at 3 pm at Mark and Robin Schaffer’s home, with a catered dinner (no potluck!), an after-dinner “surprise” and jamming afterwards. Committee chairs are strongly encouraged to invite their volunteer committee members. Mike A. volunteered to donate his collection of CD’s from prospective Minstrel performers to give away to volunteers. Elizabeth said a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner should be made an annual event, so that volunteers have something to look forward to. Eddie moved to authorize the President to spend up to $20/person annually for the dinner. Joanne seconded the motion. Dscussion ensued. Lori noted that as volunteers are the engine that makes the FP run, so this is “the most important money we can spend”. Mike A. suggested that if this is to be an annual event, it should be under the auspices of a committee such as Internal Affairs. Jean volunteered to organize the Dinner; she already does the July 4th Picnic. Scooter suggested amending the motion to strike the word “annual” – we should do it this year and then revisit it next year. The motion was voted on as amended – 18 “Ayes”, 1 Abstention. Motion passed.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

NEWSLETTER: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

George absent. See written report.

ACOUSTIC GETAWAY: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

Mark reported that we are 35 slots away from being fully booked with 3 weeks to go. He asked Lori what she thought he could do to help boost attendance; Lori suggested opening up day passes. Mark would prefer not to, as he would prefer the community of a camp full of full-weekend participants, but as he said, he has “lofty goals and low standards”.

MEMBERSHIP:

“Things are in place”, says Eddie. Membership reports are being uploaded to The Cloud, so that if he “gets hit by a bus”, we will still have the data. John Lamb fixed the membership sign up on PayPal and now it works great.

E-COMMUNICATION: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

Lori included statistics in her written report. We have 3531 contacts in Constant Contact. Our opening click rates are higher than other comparable non-profits. We sent out a special Minstrelgram featuring the Sycamore Slough String Band which included a video.

SPECIAL CONCERTS: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

The Marc Berger house concert was disappointing – only 10 people attended, and there were only 3 FP members in the audience. Scooter will begin referring singer-songwriters wanting to book house concerts to Zed Music Series and to Dave for Home Made Music Parties, so as not to compete with those venues. He will no longer be running house concerts under the Special Concerts banner. Sycamore Slough String Band (David Gans’s band)’s concert at MUF is this Saturday. Preparations for Uke NJ II are proceeding as planned. He has signed contracts for all performers. Early bird tickets for full-weekend will be $65 available through June 15th; after that, they’ll be $75. UkeFest will be Friday and Saturday; on Sunday, we will be partnering with the Morristown Uke Jam group for a jam either on Morristown Green or Lewis Morris Park. Performer contracts for the year-end Jonathan Edwards/Lucy Kaplansky concert have also been signed. Scooter is planning a Halloween concert in conjunction with the Internal Affairs Committee for a show similar in format to the Valentines Day show, with time slots available for performers to sign up, and performers and audience in costume. If successful, he’ll make it an annual event, with profits from Halloween and Valentines Day shows going to Internal Affairs to pay performers at Home Made Music Parties.

PUBLICITY: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

Paul reported that the Web people have been very busy, among other things, updating the Minstrel tally sheet. Allan reported that a hacker attempted to break in to the FP website in an effort to use our site to control a “botnet”. They were NOT successful. There were postings from Zed Music and Special Concerts committees on our Facebook page. Nancy Kelner got 500 new business cards printed. Jean volunteered to create a FP presence on Twitter.

MERCHANDISING:

Gloria absent, no report.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS:

Dave reminds us that this month’s Music Parties will be on the 3rd and 5th Saturdays instead of the usual 2nd and 4th. The June Party will be at Ken Galipeau’s in conjunction with Ken’s 60th birthday, with a start time of 5 pm. July 4th Picnic will once again be at the Roffman’s.

SWINGIN’ TERN: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

Leigh reports there was a good double dance on 4/5/14, with Brooklyn Swing Ensemble and Bob Isaacs calling – advanced dancers in the afternoon and a general dance that evening. On Friday, 6/27/14, there will be a special dance with Perpetual E-Motion, with Donna Hunt calling. They will also be appearing at a double dance in December.

HSNOI: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

Sandie absent, see written report.

ZED MUSIC:

Tom and Shari absent, no report.

COMMUNITY SERVICES:

Shari absent, no report.

MINSTREL BOOKING: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

Mike A. reported that we averaged 117 paid attendees per show in April; Bucky Pizzarelli and Jack Williams were especially well attended. We were $337 in the black for April.

He put a note in the April Newsletter requesting volunteers who would be willing to provide overnight accommodation for performers visiting from out of the area, and got two offers in response.

New Bookings:

8/1/14 Reeds, Rhythm and All That Brass, with an 8-piece New Orleans jazz band opening

8/22/14 Christine DeLeon, with hubby Mike Del Vecchio opening for her.

9/19/14 Modern Man, with Bob Cannon opening.

Door admission will be going up to $9 in July.

MINSTREL STAFFING:

“Nothing in particular to report”, said Jean. She has recently gotten several very enthusiastic new volunteers.

SOUND REINFORCEMENT: SEE WRITTEN REPORT

Mike D. absent, see written report.

Meeting adjourned 10:03 pm. Next meeting on June 3, 2014, at Allan Kugel and Cecilia Rowedder’s home in Highland Park, NJ .