December 2020

ANNUAL MEETING CALL TO ORDER

The 2020 annual meeting was called to order at 8:19 pm, via Zoom, by President Paul Fisher.

BOARD ROLL CALL

Present: Trustees:Todd Dennison, Lois DeRitter, Dave Heistand, Paul Fisher, Allan Kugel, Evelyn McNally; Officers: Paul Fisher, Jay Wilensky, Peggy Karr, Jeff Canter (acting); Committees: Elizabeth Lachowicz, Mark Schaffer, Jay Wilensky, Gary Pratt, Mike Agranoff, George Otto, Jean Scully, Evelyn Maurer, Lindsey Meyer, Leigh Walker

Absent: Christine DeLeon, John Mahon, Sandie Reilly

MOTIONS MADE

• • Motion to elect as new trustees Joe Guzzo, Diane Polledri and Pamela Zave. Motion passed unanimously.

TREASURER'S ANNUAL REPORT (written report)

Treasurer Peggy Karr reported that it has been a busy year, and that the tax returns are complete and she has sent out the Swingin' Tern and other refund checks. She thanked Pat Brangs and Gary Pratt. She also reported that although the original Folk Project tax return was not initially considered by the IRS because of an error, a corrected return was filed and accepted.

PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL REPORT

President Paul Fisher was unable to produce the written report this year due to time constraints, but wished to thank everybody for their hard work, including (but not limited to) the Stayaway, Facebook and Web teams.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Event Hosting (written report)

Vice President and committee chair Jay Wilensky has had such a successful Zoom Song Circle that he is considering extending it past the pandemic. He also had effusive thanks to Todd Dennison for his technical support and Mark Schaffer for his help and guidance. The Zoom Song Circle stands in for the Evenings of Music which, along with the July 4th Picnic, were cancelled due to the Pandemic.

Publicity/Web (written report)

No developments were reported.

Sound Reinforcement (written report)

Rested on Report

Archives (written report)

Committee Chair Lindsey Meyer reminded everyone that if they have Folk Project Memorabilia to contact her in regards to archiving. However, the combination of the closure of Rutgers University (where the collection is stored) and the limited space available in her apartment, she prefers not to take in any new donations, but will attempt to accommodate those who contact her with material they cannot keep. She thanked Pam Robinson, who stepped down this year as Special Concerts Chair, for her donation.

Open Stage (written report)

Rested on Report

Troubadour Booking (written report)

Rested on Report

Community Services (written report)

10 members and former menbers and 10 relatives and friends of Folk Project Members passed away this year. Long time FP favorite singer/songwriter Carolyn Messina is suffering with stage 4 cancer. There is a Facebook site called "Love for Carolyn" where fans can leave messages, and people interested in contacting Carolyn Messina directly should get in touch with Community Service Chair Evelyn Maurer.

Swingin’ Tern (written report)

Rested on Report

Newsletter (written report)

Committee Chair George Otto converted Troubadour events to Stayaway events for a direct link to Stayaway activities. He added new content to the newsletter two new sections; In Memorium and Obits, the latter as a way for members to request notification of upcoming memorial events.

Membership (written report)

Rested on Report

Horses Sing None Of It

No developments were reported.

Special Events (written report)

Committee Chair Mark Schaffer added that one member had donated a large sum which allowed FP to provide a $46 bonus to each performer. He also added that some performers have netted $1000-$3000 for a stayaway concert, and that no performer made less then $300.

Troubadour Staffing

No developments were reported.

Election of New Trustees

There are nine trustees in Folk Project with three trustees elected each year. The candidates this year were Joe Guzzo, Diane Polledri and Pamela Zave. As documented in MOTIONS MADE, all nominees were elected by unanimous vote.

ADJOURNMENT OF ANNUAL MEETING

Annual Meeting was adjourned at 9:18 p.m.

MONTHLY MEETING CALL TO ORDER

The December 1, 2020 meeting was called to order at 9:19 pm, via Zoom, by President Paul Fisher.

MOTIONS MADE

Secretary's note: See attached file (2021 FP Board) for board and committee officeholders.

• • Motion made to accept the November minutes. Motion passed unanimously.

  • Motion made to dispose with the reading of the December reports, and accept the written reports. Motion passed unanimously.

  • Motion made to add Jeff Canter and Peggy Karr to the board. Motion passed unanimously.

  • Motion made to elect the four officer candidates, Elizabeth Lachowicz (President), Paul Fisher (Vice President) Peggy Karr (Treasurer) and Jeff Canter (Secretary). Motion passed unanimously.

  • Motion made to add the committee chairs to the board. This includes all current chairs with the exception of Paul Fisher, and the addition of Nancy Beyer. Motion passed unanimously.

  • Motion made to install the present chairs and incoming chair as 2021 committee chairs. Motion passed unanimously.

  • Motion made to install the 2020 committee chairs to a 2021 term. Motion passed unanimously.

Secretary’s Report – Elections Results

All the elections in the following paragraphs are for the 2021 board.

In order to be an officer, a member must first be elected to the board. Of the four officer nominees, two members required to be added to the board, Peggy Karr and Jeff Canter. As documented in MOTIONS MADE, both members were elected by unanimous vote.

Once that was completed, The next vote was for the four officer candidates, Elizabeth Lachowicz (President), Paul Fisher (Vice President) Peggy Karr (Treasurer) and Jeff Canter (Secretary). As documented in MOTIONS MADE, all four were elected by unanimous vote.

The next vote was for 2020 committee chairs to be added to the board as board elected trustees. The nominees are Mark Schaffer, Evelyn Maurer, Lindsey Meyer, Jay Wilensky, Sandie Reilly, Gary Pratt, George Otto, Todd Dennison, Nancy Beyer, John Mahon, Leigh Walker, Mike Agranoff and Jean Scully. As documented in MOTIONS MADE, all nominees were elected by unanimous vote.

The next vote was to install the 2020 committee chairs to a 2021 term. The nominees Mark Schaffer (Acoustic Getaway, Special Events), Elizabeth Lachowicz (Acoustic Getaway), Lindsey Meyer (Archives), Evelyn Maurer (Community Services), Jay Wilensky (Event Hosting), Sandie Reilly (Horses Sing None of It), Gary Pratt (Membership), George Otto (Newsletter), Todd Dennison (Open Stage), Nancy Beyer (Publicity), John Mahon (Sound Reinforcement), Leigh Walker (Swingin' Tern), Mike Agranoff (Troubadour Booking) and Jean Scully (Troubadour Staffing). As documented in MOTIONS MADE, all chair nominees were installed by unanimous vote. The 2021 board is enumerated in the attached 2021 FP Board file .

January Board Meeting Date

January Board meeting is Tuesday, January 5, at 8 p.m in cyberspace via Zoom.

December Holiday Party

The December Holiday Party will be held virtually this year via Zoom. Besides the main room, there will be additional rooms for participant socializing, including a song circle room to be led by (you guessed it) Jay Wilensky. The date is December 12, at 7 PM.

ADJOURNMENT OF MONTHLY MEETING

Meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

Submitted by Jeff Canter