The meeting was called to order at 8:16 PM on September 2nd  by President Elizabeth Lachowicz.  This meeting was held via Zoom.

ROLL CALL

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

Absent: Jeff Jonas, Bob McNally, Tina Ross 

Guests: Erik Balkey 

MOTIONS MADE

• The minutes of the August 2025 monthly meeting were approved with one abstention.

• A motion was entered by member Erik Balkey for a fundraiser for Kerr County, TX, which suffered devastating flooding in July and which is the site of the Kerrville Folk Festival.  The text is included below.  After a long discussion, the motion was withdrawn.

• A motion to adjourn was made at 10:15 PM and approved unanimously.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERVIEW 

• Secretary

  • A motion was entered to accept the minutes of the August 2025 meeting.    

    • It was approved with one abstention.

• Treasurer

  • Jeff was not present

OLD BUSINESS

• HSNOI equipment

  • Discussion was moved to the Horses verbal report.

NEW  BUSINESS

• Texas Benefit (Erik Balkey)

  • Erik (a Kerrville Folk Fest winner) proposed doing a benefit concert for Kerr County, Texas, which was the victim of a flood that killed many people.

  • He proposed bringing about 20 local winners and finalists to do a couple of songs each.

  • It would both help Kerr County and build community locally.

  • Motion - We propose that the Board approve of the Folk Project fully supporting a Kerrville Flood Relief Fundraiser Show to be held within the next 4 months, which will be produced by Erik Balkey to benefit Kerrville Flood Relief (https://www.kerrvillefolkfestival.org/flood-relief-donations/). The show will be on a date cleared with Folk Project and Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, with full Folk Project Volunteer Support, where all proceeds (tickets less expenses like rent, kitchen, etc.) will be distributed to Kerrville Flood Relief.

  • The "Why" - Here is my case for the "why" we should do the show.

    • The magnitude of damage, and need. In July, destructive and deadly flooding took place after receiving over 20" of rain in the Hill Country region of the Texas. During the flooding, water levels along the Guadalupe River rose rapidly. As a result, there were at least 135 fatalities. The damage is estimated at over $1 billion. An examination of government preparation and aid reveals significant failures at the local level and long-term challenges in securing state and federal funding.

    • The relief effort from a revered folk institution. The Kerrville Folk Festival is located along the Guadalupe river. In this time of need, it has transformed its Quiet Valley Ranch grounds into a flood relief hub, serving hot meals and providing supplies to first responders, cleanup crews, and displaced residents affected by the recent Kerr County floods.

    • Leveraging the festival's community and its partnership with organizations like Luck Reunion, the ranch is a central point for distributing aid and demonstrating "radical hospitality" to support those impacted by the disaster.

    • The Kerrville Folk Festival connection to the folk scene and shared mission with The Folk Project.  Like the Folk Project, The Kerrville Folk Festival has been around for five decades. It is a historically important event in the folk music scene. It began in 1972 and is now an annual 18-day festival. The festival is known for fostering and honoring the best of songwriting talent from all over the country. It's New Folk contest is perhaps the most revered and respected songwriting contest in the country. It is safe to say that over 1000 talented songwriters for a half century would list their Kerrville experience as the among the most affirming and inspiring of their careers as artists.

  • Long Discussion

    •  A long discussion followed with many ideas and many questions about the goals.

    • Many contributions were oriented towards making it a more financially successful but much broader event but these conflicted with Erik’s intentions.

    • There were questions about who the money would go to.

    • There were questions about the timing of the event being that it would be towards the end of the year and many months after the disaster.

  • Motion Withdrawn

    • In the end, Erik felt that the ideas were getting away from the event that he had volunteered to organize, so he withdrew the motion.

• Nominations Committee

  • Elizabeth asked for volunteers for the Nominating Committee

    • Todd, Jeff Canter, Jean and Mark signed up

  • Jean volunteered to be the Chair.

  • Mark pointed out that there is a lot of new energy behind the scenes.

  • Mike asked that the Committee poll current Board members as soon as possible as to their intentions for next year.

COMMITTEE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS 

Swingin’ Tern

• Doug stood on his report. 

Newsletter

• George stood on his report.

Open Stage

• Todd reported that there was no Open Stage in August.

• A month off due to many volunteers on vacation.

• Todd expects a packed house for September 12th.

• Plans are being worked for a performance/stagecraft workshop prior to an Open Stage, probably in November.

• He also thanked everyone that makes the Open Stage work.

Membership

• Todd said that, due to our membership growth and number of people signing up, that we need an automated membership model.

• The current process involves a lot of manual entry and is too cumbersome for the numbers of signups we are seeing.

• Todd is working with Robin on streamlining the current process.

• He is also looking at 2 or 3 companies that provide these kind of services as possible automation options.

• We have become too big to do it the old way.

Publicity/Web

• Sam reports that the Treasurer report only show 11 of our history books sold even though there have been quite a few more.

• The current sale is being treated as a promotion and will continue through September before going on hiatus.

  • By treating the sale as a special fundraiser, it avoids having to charge and report sales tax.

  • It was originally to be sold in July and August, but two weeks were taken off during August, so it will continue into September.

• Doug reported that the book will be on sale at the September Double Dance at Swingin’ Tern.

  • He plans to keep a reference copy to look at during future dances so people will be familiar with it when it goes back on sale.

• Sam also reported some requirements that were omitted in the book if it is to be used for on-demand printing.

• A separate copyright page was not included and is required for on-demand printing.

• Sam reported that work on our Privacy Policy has not advanced.

• He is looking for someone to take over as chair of that Ad-hoc Committee.

• Jeff Canter said that he has done support and research but that he is not in a position to take on that task.

  • He did come up with a number of privacy policies that we could “steal”.

• Todd said that he would do it if someone else takes Membership.

• It would be useful for it to be someone with legal experience.

Future Planning

• Robin sat on her report.

Sound Reinforcement

• John stood on his report.

• Sam asked for the correct pronunciation of his last name (Mahon).

• John replied “mayon” as in mayonnaise.

Special Events and Troubadour

• Mark stood on his report.

• He added that, over the years, there have been about 30 regular volunteers.

• Since the start of the current turnaround, 30 more have become involved.

Troubadour Staffing

• Jean reports that there are some new volunteers and that we’ve had some successful events.

• Campfire Night took a lot of extra work but is what made the night a stellar success.

• She proclaimed that Bob Cole is a gift from the heavens.

• She added the sad note that a formerly stalwart volunteer, Geri Silk, passed away recently.

  • She was also known for her flute playing.

  • She was a member of MUUF and they are planning a tribute event.

  • A number of Folk Project members were at her memorial service.

• Jean mentioned that she keeps the tick cards of volunteers who have died (like Geri Silk and Jeff Saxton) in order to have a pool for freebies when people are in need.

• If someone forgets their wallet, the person at the door can use these ticks at their discretion.

• Also, attendees who bring a helper or if we have a visit from a group home.

• This a good way to remember past volunteers.

• Jean told us that larger audiences have meant that we sometimes fall short of food and bakers.

• She is considering setting up a standing order for cookies at Shoprite.

• While she always has promoted baking as the “gateway drug” of volunteer activity, she is seeing the need to no longer depend solely on volunteers for food.

Horses Sing None of It

• Elizabeth asked Sandie to report on our Horses equipment either at this meeting or the next.

• Sandie said that CoViD shut down production.

• Then Mendham TV had a roof leak and flood that forced her to move the equipment on short notice.

  • She and her kids drove to the studio and hauled the equipment to a storage unit which she has been paying for out of pocket.

• The intention was always to get the show going again.

• Since then, she has been trying to get a studio location similar to what we had at Cablevision or Mendham TV but with no luck.

  • We need free use of the facility.

  • We need evening access to accommodate the volunteers.

• One location almost worked out but their Board would not approve it.

• Recently, she has been working with Andrew Dunn, Sally Johnson and Mark Wall.

• They are looking at doing something under the HSNOI name but with more than one artist and some interview time.

• Maybe 3 songs per artist.

• It would no longer be live-to-tape.  

• It would be post-production edited.

• Rather than being in a fixed location, they would go to the artists.

  • All of them go to Falcon Ridge and Black Bear.

  • They plan on doing the first show at NERFA this year, where they plan on at least 4 hours of recording.

  • Performances would be in front of a live audience rather than in a studio.

  • Equipment would be a portable subset of what was used before and would be hauled around to the venues.

• Sandie wants to make sure that her name is still down for the Folk Project with NERFA.

  • Mike said he will make sure that she is listed with FAI so she gets member rates.

• Mike asked how broadcasting will be handled.

  • Sandie said that the name will remain HSNOI, so new shows will go out just as the old ones do.

  • Shows could be broken down and pieces added to Folk Project TV on YouTube.

  • New outlets can also be added.

• Alan asked if there would be a dry-run test of the equipment before NERFA.

  • Sandie said that they will do testing and configuration in the hotel room.

  • Mark Wall is an experienced sound technician and will be able to handle adjustments as needed.

LAST MINUTE DISCUSSIONS

• None

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting  proper was adjourned at  10:15  PM. Next month’s meeting is October 7th, at 8:15 PM, via Zoom. 

Submitted by Paul Fisher

FUTURE PLANNING

NEWSLETTER

OPEN STAGE

PUBLICITY

SOUND REINFORCEMENT

STREAMING CONCERTS

SWINGIN' TERN

TROUBADOUR AND SPECIAL EVENTS