November 2019

(Note: These minutes were written in October 2020 based on an audio recording of this meeting. The Roll Call in particular needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Those listed as present were definitely there. Others might have been, but if their voices didn't make it to the recording, we'd never know.)

The meeting was called to order at 8:05 PM on November 12, 2019 at the Chatham-Summit Friends Meetinghouse, 158 Southern Blvd, Chatham, NJ. Mitch Radler led us in Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Thanksgiving Song, and Bob McNally volunteered to lead the song next month.

ROLL CALL

Present: Paul Fisher, Mitch Radler, Bob McNally, Mike Agranoff, Lindsey Meyer, Chris Riemer, Gary Pratt, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Jay Wilensky, Allan Kugel, Lois DeRitter, Evelyn Maurer, Jean Scully, Sandy Reilly; Absent: Mark Schaffer, Leigh Walker, Pam Robinson, Christine Del Vecchio; Guests: Jeff Cantor

MOTIONS MADE

  • We approved the October minutes, as amended.

  • We agreed to add a new item to the Folk Project's Rules of Engagement, reminding us to keep our cool.

  • We agreed to contact the NJ Department of Labor before cancelling the Workers’ Comp Policy.

  • We accepted the Nominations Committee slate for 2020.

  • We agreed to absorb the costs associated with the OpenStage’s fundraiser, donating all of the proceeds to LIFE Center Stage.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Treasurer (Written Report)

The Treasurer stands on his written report.

Other

Jean made a brief report based on a phone call from Mark, to let us know that Robin Schaffer is out of surgery and a favorable outcome is expected.

OLD BUSINESS

Meeting Etiquette Redux

Paul reminded everyone that we’re all here voluntarily, and yelling and interrupting each other is unacceptable. With that in mind, Lindsey asked that we read the Rules of Engagement to start this session. She handed paper copies around, and several directors took turns reading them in sequence.

Jay asked that we add an eighth rule to the list, reminding us to keep our cool. The board agreed, and Chris (as the original author of the current rules) offered to handle the wording and publication of same.

Audience Etiquette from a Member’s Perspective

Paul reported that we have at least one reader of The Folk Project newsletter. He’s gotten an email from a Paul Ferris who replied to his article about audience etiquette.

(The issue here is one raised by Jay last month. Some of us feel it’s amusing to “interact” with the performer on stage, but Jay's view is that it’s really a kind of heckling that makes us look small time.) Paul Ferris agreed with Jay and hoped the board would unanimously adopt a no-heckling policy.

Web Team Input Request

Paul apologized for not communicating clearly on this point last month. The web team wasn’t looking for people to serve as beta testers, just for general ideas about how our landing page should look and how the site should be structured. They’re ready to implement whatever makes sense but are also looking for ideas and buy-in.

John Lamb offered to host a face-to-face meeting as a way to share ideas, but Bob McNally suggested those interested should look for websites that do this well and forward the links to John and the rest of the team. Allan cautioned that John will be out of town for the next week, so don’t be disappointed if he doesn’t respond right away.

The Passing of Our Members

This is about how we should address the news that members of our extended family have passed.

George has been running this kind of content in the newsletter for two years. RIP notices have been included as part of Good of the Order, in a special black-framed box, but Christine (who has been managing GOTO content) didn’t like that approach. What are the alternatives? Perhaps a separate "In Memorium" section? Articles of remembrance? Given that the newsletter is a finite vehicle (and that there's likely to be more of this kind of news in the years ahead), space is an issue.

Jay has circulated some ideas via email. He’s thinking about managing this kind of content on the website, not in the newsletter. Maybe a page for “Events,” which could be births, deaths or other notable developments in the larger folk community. That would let George deal with things in just a sentence or two, and link to additional details. Evelyn remembers that before we relied so much on email, the newsletter kept everyone more informed about what was going on. She thinks It was better that way and helped reinforce our sense of family. Bob McNally agrees. Evelyn would be happy to be the clearinghouse for this kind of content. (Applause for Evelyn.)

Lois felt there was also an issue of timeliness, noting the recent death of Jim West. Waiting to publish something in the newsletter means people may not get the news until weeks later, and will thus be denied the opportunity to attend a memorial service. She thinks we should consider creating a special "Urgent News" list that could be used to publicize things in a more timely fashion. We could announce that list in the newsletter, and send a membership email blast offering the opportunity to opt in.

Gary agreed there were logistical complications with this idea, but felt it would be do-able with Constant Contact. Chris doesn't think we're the kind of group that could reliably respond to any news in a three-day window, so creating an “emergency” notification list was problematic. Mike also cautioned that “WE” might agree on all of this, but some actual person will be needed to administer it.

Elizabeth had some concerns about security and even about how an In Memorium page on the website would affect our brand. She thinks we need to slow down and think about this carefully. George felt it will be an iterative process and that we’ll be talking about it for the next year. We’ll try something, we’ll get feedback (positive and negative) and we’ll try something else.

In the mean time, Jay agreed to be a point person for synthesizing the group's ideas. If you have thoughts on this topic, send them to Jay via email.

Last Call for Workers’ Comp

Chris referred to his recent email, noting there were some new wrinkles in our decision to cancel Workers’ Comp. The annual renewal paperwork from Liberty Mutual has arrived and indicates that we need to give them formal notice of such a cancellation; we can’t just let the policy run out, which was our intention. It goes on to say that they are then “legally bound” to inform the NJ Department of Labor.

Chris feels it would be “prudent,” and a show of good faith, to contact the Department of Labor ourselves. He’s thinking a letter from himself, the President or the new 2020 Treasurer. The letter could come from anybody, and would be very much like the one we wrote to Liberty Mutual two years ago.

Chris volunteered to write it, and thinks it could go out within 48 hours. We can make our case, and ask for their opinion. There’s no rush, since we’ve been paying for this coverage for over ten years. The annual payment is due in the first week of December, but if the Department of Labor agrees, we can cancel the policy after we hear from them and then get a pro-rated portion of that money back. So, Chris’s recommendation is that we keep the coverage in place until we get a response. He intends to call the DOL first so he has the name of a real human to whom the letter should be sent.

There was some conversation about circulating a draft of the letter, but Jay and Bob felt we could trust Chris to write it well and the board didn’t really need to weigh in on that. Mike moved that we accept Chris’s recommendation, and the motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS

Venue Accounting

Allan thinks we should have more transparency as to the relative profits and losses for each venue. The Folk Project produces lots of “fun, good” things, and the issue shouldn't be whether some of them show a loss. For example, Mike requested (and the board agreed) that Folk Project general funds be used to cover the rental of the Morris Museum's lot while the parking lot was under construction at MUF. Allan thinks that’s really a cost that’s associated with the Troubadour. (Mike does not agree, since Special Concerts and Member Concerts are also held at MUF.)

Allan’s point is that the venues shouldn’t feel they need to show a profit all the time. He went on to say that we should feel good about the shows we’re producing, even if we lose money on some of them. “We shouldn’t be pulling money out of one pocket to put in another, just to make things look better.”

Gary, as membership chair, noted that Dues come to him through various channels (PayPal, Troubadour Tally Sheets, Getaway Registrations). Are they all captured? Chris said yes and no. The dollars are all accounted for under Folk Project General, but the source of the Dues payment is not captured. It’s been a long philosophical disagreement between Chris and Mike, because Mike didn’t want Dues income to appear in his Troubadour reports. Chris’s view is that we are “dumbing down the database” by not capturing the sources of Dues income, while also making more work for the Treasurer.

Mitch wonders how this affects the OpenStage promotions that are trying to drive memberships by offering free admissions. He thinks it made sense for OpenStage to give up its Admissions revenue in exchange for Dues revenue. “Membership is the key.”

Mike has a contrary view. He notes that our Dues income now covers most of our G&A costs, but if we start giving that income to the venues, we’re going to need to start charging the venues with a G&A fee. That’s been problematic in the past. Elizabeth agrees with Mitch, that signing people up for memberships should be considered a kind of investment in our future.

Mike is firm on his opposition to giving the venues credit for Dues income, but wonders if there might be some other way to understand that. He’s thinking separate Excel spreadsheets that would break down the Dues revenue by source. Chris is skeptical. Is that yet ANOTHER job for the Treasurer? Chris said that at The Folk Project level, it makes no difference. We would understand things better if we let the Dues appear as revenue for the departments that collect them.

Good of the Order

Christine Del Vecchio wants to retire from this responsibility, and Jean Scully is willing to take it over. She thinks it makes sense to assign this task to the Secretary.

Annual Meeting(s) Support

Paul said we need a P/A system, a financial person and a sheet cake. George will order the cake, the Treasurer will handle the money, and Jay will handle the PA. Elizabeth volunteered to circulate a list at the meeting to get a rough head count.

Later this week, it’s also the annual meeting of the Morris Tourism Bureau. Paul can’t make it, so if anyone wants to attend and represent The Folk Project, let him know.

Nominating Committee

The slate was circulated earlier by Mark.

There are only three changes from the current roles and responsibilities. Mike will replace Chris as Treasurer, Jeff Cantor will replace Bob McNally as Trustee, and Mark will take over Special Concerts from Pam Robinson, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Joe Guzzo is taking on the YouTube Producer job that has been nominally held by Chris Riemer (although that’s not a board position). The board approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Troubadour Staffing

Nothing particular to report. Tom Paxton and The Don Juans was a big success, with only five people on staff that night. This shows we can handle a sell-out show with a small crew. Jean also noted the resignation of Ken Brody, who has been one of her most stalwart volunteers.

Jeff Cantor suggested that the name of the job currently known as Sound Assistant be changed to Stage Setup, because it's more accurate and would probably be easier to fill. Jean likes the idea.

Event Hosting (Written Report)

Rest on report.

Publicity (Written Report)

No report yet. Probably tomorrow.

Sound Reinforcement

New setups at Getaway this year, and it all worked very well. Mike plans on trying a new video streaming platform, but has changed his mind about doing it with the Best of Open Stage show.

Archives (Written Report)

No contributions this evening. Lindsey is working on surveying the current collection and will be making a list of holes that she’d like to fill. Old minutes, copies of newsletters, financial records and so forth. Please give her a call if you have questions.

Getaway (Written Report)

Rest on report. Chris asked if we’ve finalized the Stony Point fee. Mark is trying to negotiate with them, but Elizabeth said they’re much tougher than our usual YMCA venues. Maybe two more works.

OpenStage

Congratulations to Mitch for his fund-raiser (applause). We’re absorbing the costs, and donating all of the proceeds to LIFE Center Stage. Roughly $1,000. OpenStage has also gotten another $1,000 grant from Morris Arts.

Troubadour Booking (Written Report)

The Zoe Mulford show had 79 paid, and 15 or 20 of those folks first saw Zoe when she opened for Susan Werner. So, Mike thinks the idea of pairing a solid but little known act with a big-name headliner is a win-win strategy.

J. P. Cormier is playing this Friday and Mike has been plugging it as an "Agranoff Imperative." He’s only showing 16 advance sales, though, so that label may not be working anymore. It used to be an effective tool for driving admissions and enthusiasm, but all things must pass. Otherwise, rest on report.

Swingin’ Tern (Written Report)

Leigh submitted an email report, but was not present this evening.

Community Services (Written Report)

Rest on report.

Newsletter (Written Report)

Rest on report.

Membership (Written Report)

Rest on report.

HSNOI (Written Report)

Rest on report. Chris mentioned that he hasn’t had any expenses from HSNOI for almost a year. Are there any? Postage? DVDs? Sandie said there have been very few, and the committee members have just been covering them personally.

Special Concerts (Written Report)

Rest on report.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 10:05. Next month’s meeting is the annual membership gala at The Chimney Rock Inn, in Gillette.

Chris Riemer

Forensic Secretary