The meeting was called to order at 8:17 PM on March 4, by President Elizabeth Lachowicz.  This meeting was held via Zoom.

ROLL CALL

Present: Mike Agranoff, Jeff Canter, Christine DeLeon, Todd Dennison, Sam Edelston, Paul Fisher, Doug Heacock, Jeff Jonas, Allan Kugel, Elizabeth Lachowicz, John Mahon, George Otto, Sandie Reilly, Tina Ross, Mark Schaffer, Robin Schaffer, Jean Scully and Pamela Zave.

Absent: Loretta Brooks, Bob McNally

Guests: Eric Balkey, Peggy Karr

MOTIONS MADE

• The minutes of the February 2025 monthly  meeting were approved with 2 abstentions and 0 oppposed.

• A motion to adjourn was made at 10:05 PM and approved unanimously.

TREASURER'S OVERVIEW 

Treasurer Jeff Jonas reports that our bookkeeper was away but he is catching up on the backlog.  

Karen and Peggy have come up with a new request for reimbursement form which, when properly filled out, will help reduce our bookkeeping effort and expenses.

Allan raised a question about depreciation that Jeff will look into.

OLD BUSINESS

There were no Old Business items on the agenda.

NEW BUSINESS

Privacy Policy

• Need for a New Policy: The previous privacy policy was removed when the website migrated to WordPress. The organization needs a new policy to reflect current practices.

• Ad Hoc Committee Formed: Members including Sam Edelston, Todd, Gary Pratt, and Jeff Canter will draft a new policy. Jeff Canter had already researched templates and similar policies from other organizations.

• Key Considerations: The policy should be practical, ensuring compliance while not over-promising commitments beyond what the organization can maintain.

Stony Point’s 75th Anniversary: 

• Stony Point is hosting a celebration of its 75th Anniversary and the Folk Project is invited to book rooms and participate. 

• Folk Project members Christine de Leon, Frank Sole, and Henry Nerenberg will perform.

COMMITTEE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS 

Swingin' Tern: 

• Doug added to his written report that a concert going on at the church at the same time as the dance led to meeting congregants and some new connections with the church.

  •  Mike spoke with the pastor and wound up with a gig at the church.

Future Planning

Robin stood on her report.

Open Stage / Membership

Todd said he stands on his report.

Sam enquired about Membership rosters not being available for a while and Todd said it should be discussed at the Privacy Policy meeting as he is concerned about members information being held outside of the Membership Committee.  Sam agreed.

Sound Reinforcement

John said he stands on his report but wanted to add something about the new Chu Hall sound system.  We are going to have a first show there and he is trying to schedule a prior meeting for a walk through with the sound and video people.  Mark said the first real concert will be Jeff Daniels but we want to move a regular Troubadour show in there for a dry run.  The technical meeting will happen before that March 14th test concert.  Other details on that test were just coming in prior to the meeting.

Newsletter

George Otto stood on his report.  Elizabeth thanked him and his many volunteers that help run the newsletter. 

Troubadour and Special Events – Mark reported on our growing attendance due to booking more performers with recognized names. Average attendance has gone from 75 last year to about 150 this year.  We had lost about 75% of our pre-CoViD regulars and are now rebuilding, as we have seen many new regulars.  He also discussed some new bookings.

He added that he has planned a May 23rd event he is calling the Brooklyn Invasion and is consulting with Ilusha Tsinadze on it.  He is also planning a Comedy Song Night and a Campfire night.

Mark reported that, due to a booking issue, he wound up with one night with double featured performers and an opener.  He says it will be tight but he will make it work. 

Other big name bookings are in the works but not finalized.

He thanked Robin, Sam, Faith, Todd, Loretta and Sena for their hard work.

Horses Sing None of It

Sandie informed us that if people want to contact her about Horses, especially about possible venues, they need to get her phone number from a board member and send her a text or call.

Troubadour Staffing:

• Jean reported that she will be buying a number of items to fill the voids left with MUUF moving their things to the Chu Hall kitchen.  

• MUUF will give us a place to put a lockable cabinet in the old kitchen area.  

• Jean also proposed setting up a photo booth at our events. 

LAST MINUTE DISCUSSIONS

At Mark's request, Tina gave an overview of the successful planning and registration for the sold out Songwriters Workshop and the almost sold out concert.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting  proper was adjourned at  10:05  PM. Next month’s meeting is April 1, at 8:15 PM, via Zoom. 

Submitted by Paul Fisher

TREASURER

SOUND REINFORCEMENT

STREAMING CONCERTS

SWINGIN’ TERN