August 2021

The August 3, 2021 meeting was called to order at 8:15 pm, via Zoom, by Vice President Paul Fisher.

Present: Trustees: Lois DeRitter, Todd Dennison, Joe Guzzo, Pamela Zave, Evelyn McNally, Allan Kugel; Officers: Elizabeth Lachowicz, Paul Fisher, Peggy Karr, Jeff Canter; Committees: Mark Schaffer, Sandie Reilly, Gary Pratt, Mike Agranoff, George Otto, John Mahon, Lindsey Meyer, Leigh Walker, Evelyn Maurer, Nancy Beyer, Jean Scully, Leigh Walker; Absent: Lindsey Meyer, Diane Polledri

MOTIONS MADE

• • Motion made to accept July Minutes. Motion passed unanimously.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Treasurer's Report (written report) Treasurer Peggy Karr has begun talks with the bank and MUF in regards to a physical address

OLD BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

Current CDC Guidelines and impact on FP Special Events Chair Mark Schaffer stated that New Jersey is a relatively safe place, but the information is changing fast. He described the medical findings that showed that the chances of a vaccinated person getting a severe case of Covid are extremely rare, except in the cases of those with a co-morbidity. Board members reiterated that FP venue chairs would follow the CDC guidelines at a minimum.

Resumption of In-person board meetings A number of board members spoke both for and against live meetings, with a number of possible solutions discussed. One of the solutions suggested was for President Elizabeth Lachowicz to resolve the quandary by executive fiat. Elizabeth chose to exercise that option and declared, that for the remainder of her term, meetings will be via Zoom.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Shuttered Venues Operators' Grant (SVOG) Ad Hoc Committee:

Membership: Chair Gary Pratt concluded that the Join It platform was not suitable for FP Membership committee use, and they are looking for a another product. He added that the Join It attempt was on a free one month trial, and the trial did not cost FP any money.

Streaming:

Horses Sing None Of It:

Special Events: (written report) Chair Mark Schaffer stated that the majority of the Board would not go to the "Guestival", but he felt that he thought he could probably get 50 people which would allow the festival to proceed without losing money. He felt that he would go on with less then 50 people and accept the monetary loss.

Troubadour Staffing: Chair Jean Scully is looking for fully vaccinated volunteers for MUF reopening. She expects to add a field on the volunteer signup sheet to verify vaccination status.

Publicity/Web: (written report)

Sound Reinforcement: Chair John Mahon is working on training materials to train volunteers on audio and video production. He has cleared his schedule to run sound for the September MUF show.

Archives:

Open Stage: (written report)

Troubadour Booking: (written report)

Community Services:

Swingin’ Tern: (written report)

Newsletter: (written report) Chair George Otto plans to experiment with different designs for the newsletter, and requested feedback from members. He expects the effort to take a number of months.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:47 p.m. Next month’s meeting is Tuesday, September 7, at 8:15 p.m. in cyberspace via Zoom.