September 2021

The September 7, 2021 meeting was called to order at 8:15 pm, via Zoom, by President Elizabeth Lachowicz.

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

MOTIONS MADE

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

  • Motion made to table the discussion of a replacement Trustee until the October meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Treasurer's Report: (written report) There was some discussion as to whether or not Workman's Compensation has been cancelled. Mike Agranoff volunteered to research the issue. Vice President Paul Fisher stated that the MUF location is now the official address for the FP, and he and the ad-hoc committee he formed would start looking into updating the FP documents.

OLD BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

Replacement for Lois DeRitter: President Elizabeth Lachowicz reported that Lois DeRitter has resigned her position as Trustee. Trustee Pamela Zave suggested that the Board appoint a present member of the board to fill out the remaining term. See MOTIONS MADE.

Nominations Committee: President Elizabeth Lachowicz requested that Gary Pratt reprise his role as the Chair of the Nominations Committee, which he accepted. She also requested that anyone who wishes to join the committee contact Gary directly. The committee will also be asking potential nominees as to whether or not they are willing to serve if the FP Board returns to in-person meetings.

Examination of Future Meeting Dates: Vice President Paul Fisher requested that the either President or Secretary be tasked with looking at the meeting dates to determine if any of those dates conflicted with holidays.

Request for Committee Chairs to Identify Committee Members: Elizabeth requested that all Chairs provide a list of all their committee members for documentation.

Folk Alliance: Mike Agranoff reported that FP has an organizational membership in the Folk Alliance which allows FP to create up to five personal memberships. He asked to if any other members (besides him) would like a personal membership. Gary Pratt, Mark Schaffer, Todd Dennison and Elizabeth Lachowicz requested the other available memberships.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

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

Membership: Chair Gary Pratt reported that Eitan and Karen Grunwald are continuing to research on-line membership platforms.

Streaming: Chair Gary Pratt reported that he and Kathi Caccavale were successful in creating an on-line ticket system through Facebook for the Troubadour.

Horses Sing None Of It:

Special Events: (written report)

Troubadour Staffing: Chair Jean Scully reported that the Troubadour had its first live concert since the Pandemic started with 23 paid attendees. Staffing went well which included the new position of Vaccine Checker, ably manned by Chris Bukata. There were no problems. She thanked Chris, Diane Polledri, and her husband, Dave Heistand. She built two ventilating fans based on HEPA filters and box fans which worked extremely well, moving 600 CFPM.

Publicity/Web: (written report)

Sound Reinforcement: (written report) Chair John Mahon reported that the sound production for the Troubadour performance was successful, with two separate mixes (live and streaming). He also reported that MUF is doing a significant upgrade to their video system, replacing the tripod mounted camera with three wall mounted cameras controlled by a single switcher/mixer. The mixer will be upgraded to face the stage and seat two operators. Jean Scully mentioned that MUF provided an IPAD for watching the show to the lobby desk which she felt was very thoughtful, and hoped to continue.

Archives:

Open Stage: (written report)

Troubadour Booking: (written report) Chair Mike Agranoff added that he had 25 online viewers to his concert in addition to the 23 attendees. He also determined that the payment system he had created was unwieldy and needed to be replaced. The biggest problem was that part of the performer's compensation was the on-line component which was not known on the night of the show. Therefore, the online component would no longer be used. He plans to go back to the pre-Covid plan which pays the performers entirely in cash on the night of the performance.

Community Service: (written report)

Swingin’ Tern:

Newsletter: (written report) Chair George Otto reported that the Newsletter is moving into its Post-Pandemic structure, and requested that any comments be provided to him.

Meeting was adjourned at 10 p.m. Next month’s meeting is Tuesday, October 5, at 8:15 p.m. in cyberspace via Zoom.