November 2018

The November 13, 2018 meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m, in the art-filled home of Yolanda Fundora and Pamela Zave. The meeting began with applause for Yolanda and Pamela’s hospitality.

ROLL CALL:

Present: Steve Humphreys, Christine DeLeon, Dave Heistand, Allan Kugel, Evelyn McNally, Olga Alvarez, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Bob McNally, Kathi Caccavale, Lois DeRitter (officers and trustees); Mark Schaffer, Joanne Cronin, Mike Agranoff, George Otto, Paul Fisher, John Mahon, Pam Robinson, Sandie Reilly (committee chairs).

Absent: Lindsey Meyer, Leigh Walker, Chris Riemer, Jean Scully, Jay Wilensky, Mitch Radler, Ken Brody.

Guests: Elly Faden, Gary Pratt, Pat Brangs.

MOTIONS

The Board:

• • Approved the October, 2018 minutes;

  • Approved a subsidy of $400 each for Pam Robinson and Bob Safranek to attend the 2019 Folk Alliance International convention;

  • Adopted, with a modification, the Best Practices proposed by President Steve Humphreys; and

  • Adopted, with agreed-upon amendments and corrections, the slate of recommended Officers and Trustees, and committee chairs, presented by the Nominating Committee.

  • A proposed amendment to the Bylaws which would eliminate the requirement that the President also be a trustee did not receive the necessary 2/3 vote of the Board. [President Steve Humphreys noted that the absence of six directors precluded passage of the motion, and that it will be renewed at the December annual meeting.]

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Treasurer: WRITTEN REPORT

Treasurer Chris Riemer was unable to attend, and relied on his written report.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Swingin’ Tern: WRITTEN REPORT

Chair Leigh Walker was unable to attend, and relied on his written report.

Publicity: WRITTEN REPORT

Incoming Publicity chair Elly Faden noted that she is transitioning into the position and has begun to a write a manual concerning the committee’s operations and reports. She is investigating using Google Box for Board reports, to reduce the flurry of PDFs received by Board members and centrally locate the reports. Mike Agranoff noted that the Back Office contains accessible room for distributing and housing the reports; he suggested, with Elly’s agreement, that Chris Riemer, who maintains the Back Office, be consulted.

Community Services: WRITTEN REPORT

Co-chair Pat Brangs primarily relied on her written report, while noting that October was a sad month, with the passing of Andy Goessling, Mike Del Vecchio’s mother and Gloria Friedman’s son Mark.

Event Hosting:

Chair Jean Scully was unable to attend. In Jean’s absence, Dave Heistand noted that although the turnout for the November Evening of Music, hosted by Elly Faden, was small, the music and interactions were “great.” The December/Holiday Eve O’ will be hosted by Steve Humphreys, and will be held on December 1, to accommodate the Tony Trischka “Of A Winter’s Night” Special Concert, scheduled for December 8.

Minstrel Staffing:

In chair Jean S.’s absence, Dave H. noted that Minstrel has a number of new volunteers.

Newsletter: WRITTEN REPORT

Chair George Otto relied on his written report. He added that in Kathi Caccavale’s absence, but with her instructions, he and Pat Brangs coordinated their efforts on the October Newsletter and all was well.

Membership: WRITTEN REPORT

In finest Steampunk fashion, outgoing chair Joanne Cronin reported that she is greatly looking forward to deleting the “Filemaker” program from her computer. Mike Agranoff cited John Lamb’s success, via his connection to Tech Soup, in obtaining a reasonably-priced program for incoming chair Gary Pratt. Gary thanked Joanne for her valuable introduction to the post, and Joanne offered her ongoing assistance. Joanne also noted that Deborah Graham will likely be stepping back from her role on the Committee, and will need to be replaced. The Board thanked Joanne for her dedicated service.

Sound Reinforcement:

Chair John Mahon reported that a training session for sound operators will be held on November 16, when Minstrel will be dark [see Minstrel Booking, below]. John also noted that difficulties have arisen with Concert Window due to equipment overheating, and noted that MUF technician Alex West will install ventilation. Pam Robinson raised concerns about possible noise from fans; John will look into the issue.

Archives:

Chair Lindsey Meyer was unable to attend, and no developments were reported.

Horses Sing None Of It: WRITTEN REPORT

Chair Sandie Reilly and Representative Ken Brody were unable to attend, and relied on Ralph Litwin’s report.

Getaway: WRITTEN REPORT

Chair Mark Schaffer reported that the Committee is hiring performers for Spring Getaway, and making adjustments to its programs to adapt to the new Stony Point location and pricing structures. Among the objectives is to land a bigger-name performer for the Sunday concert; Mark hopes to draw 50-100 Sunday attendees, including newbies.

Mark has received many comments from Getaway attendees that they would like to bring their spouses to the event. To accommodate attendees who may not be music or folk-oriented, he intends to offer a continuous alternative to folk-music programming.

Mark also noted that five or six of the eleven upscale rooms in the Stony Point guest house have been taken. An extra charge will be collected for these rooms, to subsidize the price of regular admission and accommodations. Additionally, Mark intends to cut back on full-weekend performers, as a cost-saving measure.

Mark reported that Fall Getaway was highly successful: a profit of $1000-2000 was realized, 26 newbies attended, the average evaluation score was 4.6-4.7/5, and 50 volunteers contributed to an especially smooth operation.

OpenStage:

In chair Mitch Radler’s absence, Elizabeth Lachowicz reported that OS is going well, and that the Bunk Bed [house, sec’y] Band is adding a lot to the event. Elizabeth and Mike Agranoff noted a good turnout for the October OS of 39 paid admissions along with 20 unpaid/volunteer admissions.

Elizabeth also noted that the admission price has been raised to $10 for adults and $5 for kids; Mike A. commented that more notice of the increase should have been given.

Special Concerts/Uke Fest: WRITTEN REPORTS

Chair Pam Robinson noted that on December 8, a Special Concert will be presented of [banjo virtuoso, sec’y] Tony Trishka’s program, “Of A Winter’s Night.”

The annual Holiday Show to benefit MUF will be held on December 21. Pam predicted a “jam-packed, fun night”; in addition to the scheduled performers, Liz Pagan will lead caroling, Joanne Cronin will read poetry, and Bob McNally will preside as MC Elf.

After discussion, including concerning the appropriate time-frame for bringing a motion that requires action, the Board will subsidize Pam and Bob’s attendance at the 2019 Folk Alliance International convention. Pam stressed the importance of seeing new performers and making contacts every year at the event, noting the lag-time between first seeing an act and booking it. Lois DeRitter noted that it is important for the Project, as a “premier organization,” to be represented at FAI. John Mahon noted that bringing in new talent is the “lifeblood” of the Project, and that we should not “take our foot off the gas” in seeking it out.

Minstrel Booking: WRITTEN REPORT

Chair Mike Agranoff noted, to applause, that the first two advance ticket sales for Minstrel have been made. George Otto announced that he and John Lamb have created a URL in which all Project tickets for sale will be displayed on one page.

Mike noted a discrepancy between Minstrel’s year-to-date profit as shown on his report and the Treasurer’s, and explained that it reflects the timing of a charge for Minstrel’s insurance.

Mark Schaffer noted that he and Robin will be hosting a Project party on November 16, when Minstrel will not be presented because of the sad passing of performer and long-time Project member Andy Goessling. Mark reported that Andy’s family supports the event.

OLD BUSINESS

Board Retreat:

Elizabeth Lachowicz reported on her research into a Board retreat, to facilitate cooperation and positive interaction among Board members. She specifically reported on a proposal from Bill Hector, a musician and facilitator with whom she has worked.

The Board extensively discussed issues of cost, structure, and objectives for the retreat. Olga Alvarez noted that a facilitator should take into account whether the fundamental question of whether the purpose of the Project is to be a folk music presenter or a social group [an unresolved question, sec’y]. Dave Heistand, noting that the proposed cost of BH’s proposal is over $4500 for the initial diagnostic phase, described the proposal as expensive, and that the “measurement metric” must be established at the outset in order for the effort to be successful.

Bob McNally stated that the most important issue to be worked on is communication, and suggested that a consultant could more efficiently follow a “marriage-counselor” model, in which s/he would observe a Board meeting and describe and discuss issues arising from the interactions. And, Allan Kugel suggested, in light of the expense of a consultant, that the Board could try to identify and resolve issues on its own. Gary Pratt suggested the New Jersey Center For Non-Profits as a resource. Elizabeth promised that the research will continue.

Best Practices:

President Steve Humphreys re-presented his “Best Practices” to govern Board conduct and interactions with the intent of fostering collegiality and cooperation between Board members. Steve had modified his initial draft of the BP to incorporate suggestions from Board members.

The Board adopted the substantive portions of the BP, while declining to adopt proposed procedures for referring to and reinforcing them at the start of each meeting. The Best Practices, as adopted, are set forth below.

Nominating Committee:

The Board approved the slate of recommended officers and trustees to be elected, and committee chairs to be installed or retained, proposed by the Nominating Committee, with minor adjustments to be made. A chart containing the recommendations can be found here.

Proposed Amendment To Bylaws:

President Steve moved a proposed amendment to the Bylaws, introduced at the October, 2018 meeting, that would eliminate the current requirement that the President also be a Trustee. The purpose of the amendment would be to make an additional Trustee position available, to resolve a current situation which four people have expressed an interest in serving in three currently-available Trustee positions. The amendment did not secure the required approval of two-thirds of the directors, which Steve attributed to the absence from the meeting of six directors. Steve will re-introduce the proposed amendment at the upcoming December/Annual meeting.

ONWARD!

The meeting was adjourned at 9:58. The next meeting is the December/Annual dinner-meeting, to be held at Long Hill Tavern on December 4, 2018.

Submitted in the spirit of the Project,

Jay Wilensky, Secretary