December 2016

Secretary's Note: Readers should understand that this evening actually features two meetings: The Annual General Meeting (which provides a year-in-review perspective and an opportunity to elect Directors for the following year), followed by the December Business Meeting (a brief and usually pro-forma session that lets us address any pressing issues).

The December 6th annual meeting of the Folk Project Board of Directors was called to order at 8 pm at the Chimney Rock Inn in Gillette, NJ, following a tasty meal and warm fellowship.

Present: Kathi Caccavale, Joanne Cronin, Lois DeRitter, Allan Kugel, Bob McNally, Lindsey Meyer, Chris Riemer, Jay Wilensky, and Barrett Wilson (officers and trustees); Mike Agranoff, Pat Brangs, Ken Brody, Christine DeLeon, Lori Falco, Paul Fisher, Deborah Graham, George Otto, Pam Robinson, Ed Roffman , and Leigh Walker (committee chairs).

Absent: Mike Del Vecchio, Grover Kemble, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Mitch Radler, Mark Schaffer.

Guests: Loretta Brooks, Gloria Fisher, Peter Glenn, Barbara Goldenberg, Steve Humphreys, Andy Koenig, Evelyn Maurer, Evelyn McNally, Barbara Moo, and Bob Safranek.

ANNUAL MEETING

President’s Report Written Report

Barrett had nothing to add to his report.

Treasurer’s Report Written Report

Chris reported that our overall finances are in good shape and we ended the year with a net operating income of about $2,500. Admissions make up 85% of our income, followed by donations at 9% and dues at 5%. Our biggest expenses are performers and rent, each taking 41% bites out of our budget. The departments show a healthy profit, with Swingin’ Tern leading the pack at almost a 14% margin, due to generous donations. Getaway’s margin was almost 5%, Minstrel’s was almost 3%, and Special Concerts showed a small loss of about 3%. Our cash balances have grown slightly but steadily and we’re up about $3,000 over the past 18 months. Our Vanguard account has done quite well, having almost doubled in the same time period.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Finances Written Report

The endowment fund: Andy reviewed the Vanguard account’s history and investment strategy and stated that the original $74,000 investment from 2008 is currently worth about $123,000, most of which is earmarked for Getaway.

Minstrel Booking Written Report

Mike A. reported an average of 92 paid audience at regular shows, with a $1,200 profit for the year. This amount is less than last year because Minstrel, like other venues, is now paying its share of insurance. To help offset these costs, the Open Stages moved to the cheaper Terrace Room and the Minstrel door price will soon rise to $10. Thanks to an anonymous 2015 donor, we bought a sophisticated, built-in sound system that has improved the listening experience at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. Due to restrictions imposed by the town, the start and end times of shows are now earlier.

Publicity Written Report

Paul, who chairs our largest committee, said their mission has grown and now includes merchandising as well as online publicity, webmaster, web team, and social media featuring two active Facebook pages and a YouTube channel. Media is moving away from print and the committee has adjusted in kind. This year, our FP website reached viewers in 107 countries on 6 continents!

Event Hosting Written Report

Christine reported an average attendance of 26 people at the 11 Evenings of Music, which included two new locations. 90 people attended the July 4 picnic and we’re looking for a new picnic location for 2017. Huge thanks to the Roffmans for hosting our picnics over the years.

Newsletter Written Report

George thanked his essential committee members for proofreading, producing, and mailing the monthly newsletter and he especially thanked Kathi for her improvements to the newsletter production.

Minstrel Staffing Written Report

Deborah accomplished a goal of recruiting new bookkeepers and is looking to increase consistent volunteers for head staff and kitchen. She welcomed new committee chair Peter Glenn.

Special Concerts Written Report

Pam reported that the committee produced 10 events in 2016, including 4 concerts, 1 festival (NJ UkeFest), 2 house concerts, and 1 workshop. Over 1,000 people attended and over 51 folks volunteered. She thanked her volunteers for their hard and enthusiastic work.

Community Services Written Report

On behalf of the FP, Pat sends cards to FP members in response to life events. She fields performer requests from the public and praised the volunteers who performed for Meet Me in Morristown, the Memory Café, Hanover Arts Council, and the Mt. Tabor House Tour.

Swingin’ Tern Written Report

Leigh thanked all the volunteers as well as generous dance lovers who donated financially. He paid warm tribute to Joel Remde, who died earlier this year, for his role in S&T’s success.

Horses Sing None of It Written Report

Ken reported 27 shows recorded this year and said the biggest change was Cablevision’s change of ownership. Barrett recognized Sandie Reilly for her invaluable work with Horses.

Electronic Communications Written Report

Lori recapped a year of Constant Contact email blasts, event registrations, surveys, membership renewals, etc. They upgraded the MinstrelGram by consolidating 3 email lists and created a Special Concerts webpage within CC that is integrated with the FP website. Statistics as of April (CC changed their reporting timeframe): our average open rate is 33% with a click-through rate of 11% (both very good statistics), we sent out about 222,000 individual emails, and have about 4,400 contacts. We pay a little under $800/year for this service.

Membership Written Report

Eddie reported 332 memberships consisting of 534 persons. He welcomed new chair Joanne. We gave a special round of applause to Eddie, who’s leaving the board after decades of service as president, treasurer, and committee chair.

Getaway Written Report

Pat reported for Mark, who said that Getaway drives new active FP memberships and that performers often comment that we’re one of the best run festivals they visit. The committee runs on volunteer power, from the steering committee and the core volunteers to the general volunteer support of well over half of the Getaway community in attendance.

NEW BUSINESS – ELECTIONS

Formation of the 2017 Board

The president had not created an agenda and was unclear regarding the voting procedure, which led to quite a bit of discussion and referral to the FP By-Laws. The main question was whether the new officers should be elected by the current trustees or, instead, by the new and continuing trustees. There was widespread agreement that the procedure needs to be clarified, the wording needs to be precise, and the board should consider revising the By-Laws regarding election procedure and terms of office.

For this election, this is how we voted: all FP members in attendance voted for the open trustee positions; the newly-elected trustees and the continuing trustees voted for officers (trustees who are retiring on Dec. 31 did not have a vote); the current year’s trustees, officers, and committee chairs voted for new committee chairs (the incoming trustees did not have a vote).

As there were no nominations from the floor, the slate of recommended candidates was elected. We applauded our outgoing board members and welcomed our new trustees, officers, and committee chairs!

TRUSTEES (by unanimous vote of FP members in attendance):

3 trustees for Jan. 2017 through Dec. 2019: Ken Brody, Allan Kugel, and Evelyn McNally

2 trustees for Jan. 2017 through Dec. 2018: Olga Alvarez and Elizabeth Lachowicz (filling Jay Wilensky’s and Joanne Cronin’s unexpired terms)

1 trustee for Jan. 2017 through Dec. 2017: Steve Humphreys (filling Barrett Wilson’s unexpired term)

OFFICERS (by unanimous vote of the 7 new and continuing Trustees who were present):

President: Steve Humphreys

Vice President: Barrett Wilson

Secretary: Jay Wilensky

Treasurer: Mike Agranoff

NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRS (by unanimous vote of the current 2016 Trustees, Officers, and Committee Chairs):

Membership: Joanne Cronin

Minstrel Staffing: Peter Glenn

All other committee chairs are continuing.

Note: the Archives Committee, which was voted into existence last July, will begin functioning as of Jan. 1. Lindsey is the chair.

ADJOURNMENT

The annual meeting was not adjourned, nor was the monthly meeting called to order.

MONTHLY MEETING

Secretary’s Report Election Results

The November 2016 minutes were accepted as written.

ADJOURNMENT

The two meetings adjourned at 9:31, following a transfer of the gavel from Barrett to Steve, accompanied by a rousing bleat of Hail to the Chief by the wags in the room. The next meeting will be held at 8 pm on January 3 at the home of Pam Robinson and Bob Safranek in New Providence.

Respectfully submitted,

Lindsey Meyer

Secretary