Embedded Files
Meeting called to order at 8:05 p.m on April 2, 2019 at the Chatham-Summit Friends Meetinghouse, 158 Southern Blvd, Chatham, NJ. The opening song was “Swimming to the Other Side” led by Jean and Dave. Christine will lead next month’s song.
MOTIONS MADE
March minutes were accepted with no corrections.Jean proposed making a list of action items to accompany the minutes going forward to make it easier to track items that require attention
Lisa Hallman was voted in as new Publicity Chair, replacing Elly Faden.
The board agreed to provide non-financial support for the FMS June Days reunion event, lending them our on-line expertise and ticketing platform.
The board agreed to a name change, in which the Minstrel Acoustic Concerts will become the Troubadour Acoustic Concerts.
ACTION ITEMS
ROLL CALL
Present: Trustees: Elizabeth Lachowicz, Todd Dennison, Lois DeRitter, Dave Heistand, Christine DeLeon, Ken Brody, Allan Kugel; Officers: Paul Fisher, Jay Wilensky, Jean Scully, Chris Riemer; Committees: Lindsey Meyer, Pat Brangs, Mark Schaffer, Sandie Reilly, Jay Wilensky, Gary Pratt, George Otto, Lisa Hallman, John Mahon, Pam Robinson Absent: Leigh Walker, Bob McNally, Evelyn McNally, Mike Agranoff, Mitch Radler
ADMINSTRATIVE REPORTS
TREASURER’S REPORT: Chris will send out report shortly.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PUBLICITY: Paul announced the resignation of Publicity Chair Elly Faden from the board. Lisa Hallman was unanimously elected to fill her position and will also continue in working on the e-communications issues.
MINSTREL BOOKING: Paving of the MUF parking lot will begin 6/3 and MUF will be closed completely from 6/3 to 6/16, so the 6/7 Small Potatoes/Jean Scully concert and June Open Stage are cancelled. Paving will continue until September and will necessitate parking at the Morris Museum and on the street.
EVENT HOSTING: The June EOM will conflict with the June Days Reunion and so will move to Sunday afternoon 6/9 at 2 p.m. He is also open to new events under Event Hosting; bring any and all ideas.
MINSTREL STAFFING: Two very large shows went off really well with some new volunteers. Due to the presale of tickets, volunteers will not be able to use multiple ticks on these big nights. If you volunteer that night, you can still get in free; if you have ticks and there are seats available, you can get use ONE tick to get in; if you have bought a ticket and there are seats available, you can use ONE tick to bring in a friend or date.
MEMBERSHIP : Gary is working to automate sending membership renewal letters. Gary and Lisa will be updating the Constant Contact and membership data, focusing on who uses what data and fields, who is responsible for updates etc. Pam suggested that Gary add a question to the ticket purchase form asking if it’s a purchaser’s first time at the Minstrel, which will trigger getting a second-timer pass at the door. Elizabeth noted she used to check Getaway attendees’ membership status and inform them they needed to renew.
SPECIAL CONCERTS: Mike A is working on a joint event about racial issues featuring Reggie Harris and Greg Greenway called Deeper Than Skin. Pam is working on the holiday show and Mark is working on some potential house concerts.Pam is excited about the possibility of getting NJ Uke fest approved for NJ teacher continuing education credits.
SOUND REINFORCEMENT: John has set up two overflow rooms so far, and will probably use the Library (former Green Room) going forward as it is better quality sound with no delay. He will also be training sound people at some point to route the sound to all the new places it needs to go: Concert Window, overflow room and lobby.
OLD BUSINESS
Gary expounded upon the e-mailed name change report. 150 names were submitted, were winnowed down to 16 by the committee and presented to Mike A, who chose 6 to be voted upon by the board. Motion made and passed to rescind the vote made at last month’s meeting choosing a new name for Minstrel, which had not passed muster with the board. Motion also made to change the name to The Troubador Acoustic Concert Series, the name chosen through the voting process an email poll.
After a long and spirited debate, the motion was passed. A vote was also taken to form a task force to spearhead the effort to manage the name change in its many ramifications.
NEW BUSINESS
FMS Partnership Project: Mark ran through a brief history of the Folk Music Society of Northern New Jersey, which disbanded about 20 years ago after about 30 years of wonderful music parties, house concerts, the very popular Bottle Hill Band and especially June Days, folk concerts attended by thousands at Eagle Rock Reservation, which were many FP members’ first exposure to folk music. FP was in a sense a second generation of FMS and there was a lot of overlap between our membership. A 50th anniversary concert of the Bottle Hill Band on 6/8 is in the works, several FP folks are on the board, and they’ve asked FP’s help in selling tickets using our platform. 50 of 200 tickets are reserved for FMS folks. Mark’s motion to help this endeavor by hosting their ticket sales on our platform through PayPal was unanimously passed with the proviso that Mark will handle details, including getting a letter from FMS rep regarding insurance.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 9:52 p.m. As noted above, future meetings are planned to be in the Chatham Summit Friends Meetinghouse, 158 Southern Boulevard, Chatham.
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