March 2018

MOTIONS THIS MONTH

• • The board approved a Folk Project contribution toward computer enhancements at MUF, up to a maximum of $300.

OPENING CEREMONIES

The meeting was called to order at 8:03 PM on March 13, at the Randolph home of president Steve Humphreys.

Present were Steve Humphreys and Chris Riemer (officers), Olga Alvarez, Allan Kugel, Evelyn McNally, Christine DeLeon and Dave Heistand (trustees), and Lois DeRitter, Mark Schaffer, Sandie Reilly, Jean Scully, Mike Agranoff, George Otto, Paul Fisher, John Mahon, Pam Robinson and Mitch Radler and Pat Brangs (committee chairs and co-chairs) and Pat Brangs (Guest). Absent were Ken Brody, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Bob McNally, Kathi Caccavale, Jay Wilensky, Joanne Cronin, Lindsey Meyer and Leigh Walker.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Secretary’s Report

The minutes of the February meeting were approved, as published.

Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer stands on his email report. Pam had questions about two events, last year’s Halloween Show and this year’s Valentine’s Day show. Chris couldn’t answer off the top of his head, but will run the appropriate reports and email them to her.

President’s Report

Steve had prepared a presentation for the board, but technical problems kept him from showing it. It was deferred until next month.

He reminded the group that Dave Heistand has agreed to explore the issues of “civility and discourse” within the board and will be making an initial statement tonight. Steve also warned that in the future, he will not respond to any emails he feels are discourteous. If you contact him and don’t get a reply, that might be the reason. Allan felt this was itself somewhat discourteous, but Steve was firm in his position.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Special Concerts

Expanding on her email reports, Pam first apologized for having so much to say tonight. She also prepared a separate report covering her experience at Folk Alliance International (FAI).

She thanked the board for helping cover the expenses she and husband Bob Safranek incurred to attend last month’s FAI convention in Kansas City. She’s returned with various items of swag and printed materials for any interested parties. It’s the second year The Folk Project has attended this event and she felt this return engagement boosted our credibility. She and Bob have already bought tickets for 2019, which is set for next February, in Montreal.

Among other things, she’s learned there’s a union of traveling musicians called Local 1000, which can help with everything from health insurance to pension planning. It’s something we may want to look into further, if only to help spread the word. One of Local 1000’s programs is called Fair Trade Music 1000, which is seeking to establish sustainable living wages for performers.

FAI is also working on a possible deal with ASCAP and BMI, which might reduce the Folk Project’s costs and/or reporting paperwork. And there’s an organization called Tech Soup that can make software available to nonprofits at a reduced cost.

An interesting trend discussed at the conference is how social media has become deeply intertwined with live folk music. People, especially millennials, are blogging, live tweeting, posting snippets of video and otherwise opting to be more than passive members of the audience. They don’t just want to watch, they want to feel part of the event. She wondered if we should have someone do this on The Folk Project’s behalf at our events, so that the various posts and tweets lead people back to us. Folks had mixed feelings about this. Some worried about the potential distraction to other people in the audience, or negative reactions from the performers. Are there legal implications? George Otto felt that as long as we weren’t actively encouraging the practice, we should be OK. And Olga felt there was nothing we could do about it anyway. She sees it everywhere, and over the last two years it’s become the norm.

Pam closed her report by mentioning the names of the wonderful performers she saw or met in Kansas City, which are literally too numerous to mention here.

Getaway

Expanding on his written report, Mark let the board know that the Acoustic Kid’s Getaway planned for Memorial Day is turning out to be a tough sell. We’ve gotten some expressions of interest from schools and other contacts, but no actual registrations. Given that sales are “dim,” he’d appreciate any help people could provide by way of referrals. Mitch has some connections in scouting, but Memorial Day means parades, and that’s where the scouts will be. Even if it doesn’t pan out for Spring, Mark would like to revisit the idea in the Fall. George felt we should leverage our connections with other organizations to help promote Kid’s Getaway. It’s a unique idea.

The Getaway is adding a new kind of workshop this year that will focus on the art of playing solos – an alternative to our usual emphasis on harmonies and vocal technique. Chris asked if Mark wanted to isolate the P&L for Kid’s Getaway (like Getaway Day last fall). Yes, he does.

Open Stage

Mitch expanded on his written report, thanking the Board for its support of his work on reinventing this venue. He’s happy with it so far. The March Open Stage adjourned to the “traditional afterparty” at Steve’s house, although Steve cautioned that he hasn’t been authorized to a “traditional” degree.

Minstrel Staffing

Jean said things are going fine, and all the shows are being staffed.

One innovation has been to set up the back-office computer with a Concert Window feed, so the bookkeeper won’t miss the show. She’s also planning to put together a kind of welcome packet for first timers at Minstrel and Open Stage, including a free pass, the schedule for upcoming shows and whatever else might be useful.

Minstrel Booking

Mike expanded briefly on his written report, noting that February was not a great month and attendance for Butch Ross was a particular disappointment. Butch was a big hit when he opened for Tom Chapin last year. It may be that too much time had passed.

We’re still having some technical problems with Concert Window and MUF wants to upgrade the computer that’s used to run it from the sound board. Mike felt it would be appropriate for us to share the cost, and moved that The Folk Project contribute half the expense, up to a maximum of $300. The motion was seconded and approved, with one vote in opposition.

The March 2 9 show was cancelled because of the weather. Opener Rhonda Schuster has been rebooked for September, but we’re still looking for a date to rebook Magpie.

Swingin’ Tern

Leigh was absent but had submitted a report via email. Allan noted that the dance is working hard, but still losing money. He felt it deserved our “interest and support.”

Publicity

Paul rested on his written report. Pam added that Gordon Ward will be doing his final radio show on WDVR this month, and he’s invited her to come on and talk about The Folk Project. “So, if you dial in you can watch me on the radio!”

Pat asked if The Folk Project had an Instagram account, and the answer was no. However, there is an Instagram account called The Folk Project (New Jersey), but it appears to be a local fan. It’s not an official FP publicity vehicle.

Community Services

Pat rested on her written report, adding that Ken Galipeau’s father has recently passed away. She will send a card.

Event Hosting

Jean has booked Jay and Marie’s for April, but the rest of the year is open. Lois mentioned that she’d gone to a non Folk Project event at the home of Allan Wells, thought it would be a good venue for us and found that he was open to the idea. Jean will get in touch with him.

Christine added that in her days as Event Hosting chair, the board gave her permission to offer a free membership to potential EOM hosts who were not themselves members. That might apply here.

Newsletter

George rested on his written report. He apologized for the late delivery of the printed newsletters in March. A glitch in the process because Kathi Caccavale was out of the country. The April newsletter is looking a little light, too, so if anyone would like to add an article he could use some content. Deadline is only two days away, though.

HSNOI

Ralph had earlier submitted two email updates. Sandie said the electrical work at the new studio is finished and the equipment is racked if not completely wired up. They still need to get the requisite inspections to secure a Certificate of Occupancy but she’s excited at how well it’s all coming together.

She’s done some remote work to become acquainted with the new cameras but may have lost her recording in a power surge. If she can recover it, she’ll have something for show and tell. George agreed that this was exciting and urged Sandie to write something for the newsletter. The April deadline is only two days away, so it may not happen this month. But she will do what she can.

Sound Reinforcement

John had nothing to report.

Archives

No report from Archives this month.

NEW BUSINESS

Agenda Procedure

Steve wanted to talk about a proposal floated last month, and discussed via email, suggesting that all business items be accompanied by a motion. That is, we shouldn’t spend time talking about something until the person requesting the discussion sets forth clearly what we’re actually talking about.

Mike and Chris felt we should make room for open-ended discussions, since there are times when an individual wants to get the Board’s collective opinion without necessarily suggesting a change in policy. Mark felt we might use motions to prioritize our conversations, handling items that had motions attached before dealing with those that didn’t. George thought it would be a mistake to add procedural complexity to fix something that’s not really that big a problem.

Mark also pointed out that extended discussions are just as likely to spin out of something within a committee report as within a business item. He conceded that we do go off the rails sometimes, but he thinks it would be hard to address that with a procedural change. Lois agreed that it would be a mistake to “rigidify” our discussions, as did Allan.

Mike felt it be might worthwhile to have some general guidelines, particularly when it comes to approving large expenditures. He doesn’t have an issue with last month’s allocation for new HSNOI equipment, for example, but he would have liked more time to think about it. John thought we might ask people who want to make a proposal for certain kinds of information and give them a time limit for their presentation. And Chris remembered that we developed guidelines like that many years ago, which can be found in the Library section of the wiki ("Guidelines for Persons Requesting Assistance," Chris Riemer, et al.; 1993.) [Sec: Geez... 25 years ago!]

In the end, the consensus was that there was no need to alter our current practice.

OLD BUSINESS

Board Communications Committee

Dave let people know that he’s had some initial conversations with Steve about the background issues in this area and will be reaching out to others in the weeks ahead. He sees it more like a consulting gig and once he makes a report, his Ad Hoc Board Communications Committee will be dissolved.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:27, remarkably early considering our most recent sessions.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Riemer (filling in for Lindsey Meyer who was supposed to be filling in for Jay Wilensky).