November 2021

The November 2, 2021 meeting was called to order at 8:17 pm, via Zoom, by President Elizabeth Lachowicz.

Present: Trustees: Pamela Zave, Bob McNally, Allan Kugel; Officers: Elizabeth Lachowicz*, Paul Fisher*, Peggy Karr, Jeff Canter*; Committees: Mark Schaffer, Evelyn Maurer, Sam Edelston (acting), Gary Pratt, Mike Agranoff, George Otto, John Mahon, Jean Scully, Sandie Reilly; Absent: Diane Polledri, Joe Guzzo, Todd Dennison, Leigh Walker, Lindsey Meyer; Guests: Sasha Forgoston, Sam Edelston

*also Trustees

SECRETARY'S NOTE: "Written report" is no longer a link., as subpages are are now stored files, not URLs. The reports can be found under the particular month (click on the down arrow) in the Table of Contents at the top of the screen.

MOTIONS MADE

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

• Motion made to amend the bylaws to extend the number of consecutive terms that the Treasurer can serve from two to four. Motion passed unanimously.

• Motion made to replace Nancy Beyer with Sam Edelston as Publicity Chair for the remainder of this year. Motion passed unanimously.

• Motion made to accept the nomination slate as proposed by the Nominations Committee. Motion passed unanimously.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Treasurer's Report: (written report) The bank finally told Peggy that she could have several credit cards and asked anyone who needed a FP credit card to contact her.

OLD BUSINESS

Motion to Amend Bylaws to extend Treasurer Term Limit: In October, Nominations committee Chair Gary Pratt moved to amend the bylaws Article VI Paragraph 1 to extend the number of possible consecutive terms the Treasurer can serve from two to four. As required by the Bylaws, the vote to approve the motion was held this month. See Motions Made.

NEW BUSINESS

Introduction of Sasha Forgoston: President Elizabeth Lachowicz welcomed Sasha Forgoston to the board as the co-Chair of the Swingin' Tern committee. Sasha will serve (among other things) as the proxy vote for Leigh Walker on the occasions that he is not available to attend Board meetings.

Addition of Sam Edelston as Publicity Chair (replacing Nancy Beyer): President Elizabeth Lachowicz reported that Nancy Beyer has resigned and needed a replacement. Sam Edelston volunteered to take over. See Motions made.

Ad Hoc FP Face Lift/Branding Committee: Treasurer Peggy Karr proposed that a committee be formed to explore the possibility of a logo to replace the "lightbulb". She suggested that the Newsletter and Publicity committees, among others be involved in this effort.

Ad Hoc “Save Our Stages” Grant Committee Info for WIKI: While unsuccessful in applying for the grant, the committee generated a large amount of documentation which could be used for future grant applications. That documentation will be archived in back Office.

Presentation of the 2022 Board Nominations: Gary Pratt shared the slate of candidates for the 2022 board. See Motions Made.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

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

Membership: Chair Gary Pratt reminded the board that all board members must be FP members, and that some memberships have lapsed. He stated that he will send an email to all present and nominated Board members apprising them of their membership status.

Streaming: Nothing to report.

Horses Sing None Of It: Nothing to report.

Special Events: (written report) Chair Mark Schaffer noted that special events relied on being sold out to meet expenses, and that this is probably not going to happen in the near future. This will affect, among other things, the Getaway, which will not be scheduled until conditions improve. He spoke about considering different types of events, including, for example single day events. He asked that people who have ideas please share them with him.

Troubadour Staffing: Chair Jean Scully noted that the volunteer numbers have also declined precipitously, and it has been very difficult to staff the live events. She urged those who could to sign up to help out.

Publicity: (written report) Chair Sam Edelston thanked Paul Fisher and John Lamb for all their help in bringing him up to speed. He also commented on some of the numbers recorded in his report. He also was happy to report that Jean Scully is going to resume posting to Twitter. Gary Pratt reminded members that it would be helpful to "like" and "share" all the FP events on Facebook.

Sound Reinforcement: (written report)

Archives: Nothing to report.

Open Stage: (written report)

Troubadour Booking: (written report) Chair Mike Agranoff stated that the Troubadour attendance is about half of the pre-Pandemic numbers. He felt that it is important that the Board members attend. He reminded the board that all attendees are required to be vaccinated.

Community Service: (written report)

Swingin’ Tern: Co-chair Sasha Forgolston reported that a sister group Valley Contra Dance in Pennsylvania is holding a dance on November 13th , and Swingin' Tern will be interested in how it turns out.

Newsletter: (written report) Chair George Otto reported that the Newsletter is fairing reasonably well through the Pandemic. He plans to work with others to see what further improvements might be made.

Meeting was adjourned at 10:05 p.m. Next month’s meeting is Tuesday, December 7, at 8:15 p.m. in cyberspace via Zoom.