The meeting was called to order at 8:17 PM on October 8 by President Elizabeth Lachowicz. This meeting was held via Zoom.

ROLL CALL

Present: Mike Agranoff, Loretta Brooks, Jeff Canter, Todd Dennison, Sam Edelston, Paul Fisher, Doug Heacock, Peggy Karr, Allan Kugel, Elizabeth Lachowicz, John Mahon, Bob McNally, George Otto, Gary Pratt, Sandie Reilly, Chris Riemer, Tina Ross Mark Schaffer, Jean Scully and Pamela Zave

Absent: Robin Schaffer

MOTIONS MADE

• The minutes of the September meeting were approved as amended.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERVIEW 

Secretary

Chris reports that everything is under control. 

There was some discussion as to what constitutes a quorum. In the original Folk Project By-Laws, in effect prior to 2018,  a quorum was considered to be six Trustees and two Officers. The new by-laws define a quorum as one-third of the entire Board (which would be seven people), as long as at least half of them are Trustees. Under the old by-laws, we did fail to have a quorum from time to time. We could still meet, but couldn’t approve motions until the following month. Under the new by-laws, it would be hard to imagine a situation where there’d be no quorum. Possible, but unlikely.

Treasurer

Peggy doesn’t have much to talk about. The 990 has been completed.  It has to be filed on-line now, and that process was a bear. It took two hours to get the thing into the system. Jeff was surprised to see that our rent expense doubled between 2023 and 2024. Peggy thinks that’s probably caused by our relative inactivity in 2023, but also feels the rent has increased for several venues.

The credit cards are in process, and Peggy will be happy to provide the new codes to those who need them.

BUSINESS ITEMS

A Nominations Committee

Jean has been speaking to “various and sundry people” for possible engagement on the board. Christine de Leon (a former Director) has approached Jean and is interested in becoming a Trustee. There are no vacancies in the Trustees’ ranks at the moment, but some of the current Trustees wear additional hats. That is, they could surrender their Trustee seat and still remain on the board. Paul has offered to try his hand at the Secretary’s job, since Chris wants to step down at year-end. Mark is willing to fill Paul’s spot as Vice President, but would prefer not to if someone else steps forward. Jean is exploring possible replacements for Peggy in the Treasurer’s job. George hoped that Jean would be able to provide recommendations for personnel changes before the November meeting. Gary will send her the format we used last year, which should be a big help.

Chris offered to pull something together as well, in an attempt to define all the roles and responsibilities of the extended board, including both voting Directors and non-voting support positions. If people have ideas to send him, feel free. But whatever he produces will only be a working document, open for continued revision and enhancement.

Meeting Calendar

Elizabeth think’s it was appropriate to move the meeting back a week this month, so those interested could watch the Vice Presidential debate. She wondered if the same thing should happen next month, so we could watch the Election returns. Gary was happy to make a motion to that effect, but George and Michael pointed out that this has been our standard procedure for many years. We all agreed that a prior board’s motions cannot govern a future board’s actions. But in this case, Gary’s motion and George’s reference to previous decisions were essentially in agreement. The calendar will be revised again in November.

COMMITTEE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Sound Reinforcement

John stands on his written report. He’s working on a new structure for training sound people, given that the job has gotten much more complicated in the streaming era.

Newsletter

George stands on his written report. However, he also wondered how quickly we respond to members’  requests for changes to their newsletter preferences. He’d gotten a question from someone who switched from e-Newsletter to paper newsletter, and then didn’t get the paper version as expected. Todd said that change was instantaneous. As soon as he gets a request for such a change, he updates the database, and (in a case like this), the next batch of labels printed would include that person’s name. However, there is a kind of notification bug in PayPal, and he will address it as part of the automation of the Membership function.

Swingin’ Tern

Doug stands on his written report. He has established the Folk Project’s tax-free credentials at Home Depot, if anyone needs to make purchases there. Gary has definitely seen an up-tick in people responding to Swingin’ Tern posts on Facebook. Definitely more eyes than in the recent past. The jury is still out as to whether the social media ads are working for us. More interest, more clicks through to watch the videos, but no more dancers on the floor. Sam thinks some of that may be driven by auto-plays that are being counted as user reactions. There was some arcane discussion of the algorithmic nitty gritty, but not at a level appropriate for minutes record-keeping.

Streaming

No report this month, because Gary has nothing particular to say. In general, Streaming is going very well. He will greatly miss his “sidekick” Kathy Kathi who is going away for a month in January. The nerve!

Future Planning

Reporting for the absent Robin Schaffer, Mark let us know that the committee has been very busy, particularly in the publicity arena. She and Sam have been doing “amazing things.” See the written Future Planning report, below.

Open Stage / Membership

No formal reports from Todd on either Open Stage or Membership. We’re getting a couple of new members almost every week. Todd is also producing The Halloween Show, and once that’s out of the way he’ll get back to work on improving the membership process. This month’s Open Stage was free banana night, and a lot of free bananas were distributed.

Horses Sing None of It

No report from Sandie.

Publicity

Sam stands by his report, with a few additions. He’s gotten updated newsletter data from Mark and will be sending out a revised report that includes it. He again urged people to share their visits to the Troubadour on social media – a great way to spread the word and get more pictures out there. We also have a new volunteer named SenaSanta Stein, who’s going to share some of our show announcements in various New Jersey music groups on Facebook.

Several people have been interviewed for Laurie Riley’s Folk Project history project. He’d love to have more, though, and is also interested in more people who’d be willing to act as interviewers.

Doug raised a question about the use of photos and videos for publicity. Are we allowed to do that without getting explicit permission?  We talked around this issue a bit, touching on both legal aspects and common courtesy. Elizabeth recalled a NERFA session warning that poor-quality pictures and videos can erode a performer’s brand. In the streaming space, Gary only uses images supplied by the performers for publicity. He also thinks it would be wrong to bring the MC into these conversations with the performer. Very awkward for both sides. 

Troubadour / Special Events

Mark is making progress, but points out that most of the folks in Morris County still don’t know we exist. We do great concerts at low cost and the only way to get the word out is through publicity. He thanks Sam for all his efforts to date and is looking forward to the future.

They’ve also made great progress, thanks to Todd’s support, on a new system for managing all the details that are tracked for the Troubadour concerts. It’s going to make a huge difference in committee efficiency and improve communications for the many different players. It’s in a beta stage at the moment, with some venues already playing with the details. Gary looks forward to learning more about this, since he hasn't been asked about his committee's requirements.

Troubadour Staffing

No report from Jean, who was here at the onset of the meeting but was called away by work issues.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting  proper was adjourned at  9:42 PM. Next month’s meeting is November 12 at 8:15 PM, via the usual Zoom link. 

Submitted by Chris Riemer

WRITTEN COMMITTEE REPORTS

FUTURE PLANNING

From: boardplus@folkproject.org <boardplus@folkproject.org> on behalf of Robin Schaffer <robinjs19@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, October 7, 2024 3:41 PM
To: BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Future Planning Committee report

Attached is our report

As always, the Future Planning Committee is open to all suggestions and feedback. If you want to learn more about longer term ideas, please reach out to Robin.Schaffer@folkproject.org.

Rhanks!

Robin Schaffer
Bob McNally

NEWSLETTER

From: 'George Otto' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Monday, October 7, 2024 2:40 AM
To: boardplus@folkproject.org <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Cc: George Otto <GeorgeOtto@mac.com>
Subject: Newsletter Committee Report 2024-10

Newsletter Committee Report 2024-10

Things are proceeding as usual with the invaluable help of Kathi Caccavale, Pat Brangs, Bill Henderson, Gary Pratt, Paul Fisher, and Todd Dennison.

George Otto
Folk Project Newsletter Editor
newsletter@folkproject.org
---------------------------------------

TREASURER

From: secretary@folkproject.org <secretary@folkproject.org> on behalf of timpeg@optonline.net <timpeg@optonline.net>
Sent: Monday, October 7, 2024 6:32 PM
To: board@folkproject.org <board@folkproject.org>
Subject: Treasurer Report October 2024

Hello All,

Balance Sheet & Profit & Loss by Class, Profit & Loss Comparison sheet attached. Happy to answer any questions. We are experiencing more losses this year. Bookkeeping costs have doubled due to many more income streams: Afton, PayPal, Stripe, and Square. All the data needs to be entered and reconciled. Plus all the changes at Troubadour has added to hours trying to get the data right.

I have met Jeff Jonas and need to set up some time to start training him.

Karen and I have completed and filed our 990 EZ tax forms and waiting for one more signature to file the CRI Report.

Respectfully Submitted
Peggy Karr / Treasurer

SOUND REINFORCEMENT

From: 'John Mahon' via Board - Current voting directors (officers, trustees, chairs) <board@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 8, 2024 7:56 PM
To: Board <board@folkproject.org>; Mark Schaffer <mark.schaffer@folkproject.org>
Subject: Sound Reinforcement Committee Report October 2024

In September we provided live and broadcast sound for 4 Friday night shows. This included regular Troubadour Shows on Sept 6 featuring Jack Williams with Stacia Thiel, Sept 20 featuring Hubby Jenkins with Andrew Dunn and Todd Dennison and Sept. 27 Featuring Zoe Lewis with Jenny Glenn and Joel Glassman. And on Sept 13, the Open Stage.

All the shows proceeded with no technical issues for sound in the House or the mix for the broadcast.

John Mahon
Committee Chairman

SPECIAL EVENTS / TROUBADOUR

From: Mark Schaffer <mark.schaffer@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 8, 2024 7:33 PM
To: Board <Board@folkproject.org>
Subject: Special Events and Troubadour Report to Board - October 2024

SPECIAL EVENTS

We hired Holly Near in March for the new 4pm Sunday series. The leading name in the running is Closeup Concerts. Suggest something better and win a prize.

Jay and Scotty held a picnic at the park as September’s Afternoon of Music.

Tickets for the NJ Guitar Summit are selling very slowly. Sam is doing a publicity push and we hope the results get better.

TROUBADOUR

The downturn in attendance is national and not limited to folk music and Folk Project, although we do have particular aspects that make the rebound more difficult. Word of mouth helps, but won’t turn low attendance around. Better publicity and bigger names are the best and maybe the only way to bring in a substantial number of first-timers.

Compliments to Robin, Sam, and now Faith Heisler for doing dramatic, creative, and substantial investigations and improvements to our publicity machine. Their work is just beginning. It will pay off over time —  a few new regulars at a time. Not immediately. Thanks to them.

When I began in June, Mike collected Troubadour information streams on his computer in Filemaker Pro and distributed it to the publicity, front desk, sound, front desk, ex checker, volunteer chair, etc. What worked for Mike, I found difficult to manage. Neither of us were happy with the process. Note that both of us remained polite in our frustration.

Over the course of months, Todd developed an online system that collects and distributes data in a substantially more-efficient way, and that enables me as the Booker to manage data from my desktop. It also enables me to work with an administrator, so I can focus more on the actual booking and less on administration.

Here’s how:

When artists fill in their new e-contracts  with data for publicity, sound, front desk, etc., that data gets instantly loaded onto a master Folk Project spreadsheet residing on the web. Our volunteers will have a link to an online spreadsheet specific to their functions and needs, so instead of pushing data with emails, users can pull the data from the web whenever they want. Special thanks to Todd Dennison for his substantial expertise and time spent. Of note, the new system saved me hours last week and will save I estimate hundreds of hours a year once it’s up and running.

This year's addition of adding credit cards, a computerized cash register, and a new chair, created new programming challenges for John Lamb and Mike, and created extra charges by our professional bookkeeping. John Lamb suggested using Square Storefront to organize sales and financial reporting. Todd and I will begin work on that next. We expect that when finished, it will save a lot of time and money. 

Gosh, there was something else. I can’t remember. I’ll go look for it.

Mark Schaffer
Special Events Chair

SWINGIN' TERN

From: 'Doug Heacock' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 6, 2024 5:24 PM
To: BoardPlus - Current Board Select Alumni Key Volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Swingin' Tern Dances September 2024 Report for the Folk Project Board Meeting on 10/8/24

Swingin' Tern Dances September 2024 Report for the Folk Project Board Meeting on 10/8/24

In September Swingin’ Tern held one double and one evening dance:

9/7aft   Gaye Fifer & Orphans        55 attendees [44 paid/7 staff/3 free]         Profit   $ 125
9/7eve Gaye Fifer & Orphans        56 attendees [44 paid/7 staff/1 free]         Profit   $ 106
9/21      Carl Levine/French Toast   38 attendees [28 paid/9 staff/1 free]       Loss   -$163

September profit  $68

2024 cumulative total -$306 loss

The Double Dance was the most successful so far.  It was helped by the addition of ~ten dancers from NYC which was not holding any conflicting dances.  The difficulty level of the advanced dances was higher than in past double dances.  Although widely viewed according to Facebook statistics, it is unclear how much the sponsored video contributed to the success of the dance.  The profit from the double dance was decreased by the loss from the second dance of the month.

A Swingin’ Tern committee meeting was held in person before the 9/21 dance.  Highlights from the wide-ranging and productive meeting were:

• The Swingin’ Tern Fund approved last month by the Folk Project Board was discussed.

• The base pay for musicians has been raised from $80 to $100 per musician.  Additional monies may be offered for distant/higher level talent.  The base pay for callers was raised earlier this year from $90 to $100.

• Stove Dragon [featuring Oliver Scanlon of Pete’s Posse] and Will Mentor have been hired for a double dance on April 5, 2025.  The Fund facilitated a higher guarantee.  Advanced tickets will be offered to determine if a larger venue space is necessary.

• Personal safety/etiquette/consent was discussed.  Guidelines will be developed and posted at the dance.  The dance manager will more formally announce themselves as the contact for any concerns.  Manager buttons have been made.

Yours in dance,

Doug Heacock
chair@swingintern.org

MERCHANDISING

From: secretary@folkproject.org <secretary@folkproject.org> on behalf of Bob McNally <bmcnally@strumstick.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 8, 2024 7:36 PM
To: Board@folkproject.org <Board@folkproject.org>
Subject: Merchandising Committee report

This is an order of some samples, all with embroidered small logos. 

We will also be ordering more of the same shirt that Robin ordered with the large logo, printed.

These samples will all be sellable. However we will show them first at some events and take some "early bird orders” before ordering a more extensive order to keep in stock. We will get a sense of what people want from the early bird test. I have no doubt that everything in the test order will sell, the question will be how many (or any) to keep in stock in larger quantities. And what sizes of course.  These are all unisex designs. The Polos could be ordered in mens / women’s styles if we have a good response to them.

In this order: (all with with small embroidered logo)

• Pocket Tee   (pocket very handy for guitar picks)

• Polo short sleeve with pocket

• Microfleece vest with two side pockets

• Baseball cap.

Again, these are all Small Logo, Embroidered. 

I modified the thin white lines to be more amenable to embroidery and will be seeing final proofs before confirming the order.

I have also ordered some 3” diameter circular stickers suitable for water bottles, guitar cases, etc, with bumper stickers of some sort to follow.

My plan is that merchandising be regarded as a “Venue” with the exception that it is expected to be a clear income source, not a break-even endeavor. We will sell items items at up to somewhere between 1.5x to 2x our cost, that is, selling price will be double our cost or a bit lower than that. 

It is not crystal clear that as a 501c3 we are automatically exempt from collecting NY Sales tax. It might depend on the nature of our retail sales program, and we may need to get an exemption certificate. That is to be determined. In order to get started, Phase One is all apparel, with no sales tax involved in NJ. 

Phase Two, for 2025, will examine some taxable articles such as water bottles, mugs, etc as sample items for Online On Demand ordering directly by the customer. It is to be determined whether sales tax is paid or not on these items.

Phase Three could include keeping stock of some taxable items if we are good to go with that.

PUBLICITY

From: sam.edelston@folkproject.org <sam.edelston@folkproject.org>
Sent: Monday, October 7, 2024 11:39 PM
To: boardplus@folkproject.org <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Cc: publicitycomm@folkproject.org <publicitycomm@folkproject.org>
Subject: Publicity Report for 2024-10-08 Board meeting

Hi, all –

Here’s the October Publicity Report.

In addition to my written report, there are three attachments: Kathi’s Facebook charts, and John’s Web stats for both September and October.

Let me know if there are any questions.

See you tomorrow evening.

Sam