The meeting was called to order at 8:16 PM on February 3rd, 2026 by President Elizabeth Lachowicz.  This meeting was held via Zoom.

ROLL CALL

Present: Loretta Brooks, Jeff Canter, Marshal Chaifetz, Todd Dennison, Andrew Dunn, Sam Edelston, Paul Fisher, Doug Heacock, Jeff Jonas, Elizabeth Lachowicz, John Mahon, Bob McNally, George Otto, Sandie Reilly, Tina Ross, Mark Schaffer, Robin Schaffer, Jean Scully, Pamela Zave 

Absent: None

Guests:  John Lamb, Sena Stein

MOTIONS MADE

The minutes of the January 2026 monthly meeting were approved. 

A motion to add the Big Orange Tarp to the Folk Project was presented and discussed but not voted on.

A motion to adjourn was made at 10:04 PM and approved unanimously.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERVIEW 

Secretary

A motion was entered and approved to accept the minutes of the January monthly meeting.

Treasurer

Jeff reported that we have been getting spear-phishing emails trying to get payment for fake invoices.  John Lamb joined to explain about the fake invoice for $95,000.  It was flagged by our bookkeeper and Jeff noted that it was full of tell-tale formatting errors and a request for an unsecured wire transfer.  Preventive security measures will include writing checks with only permanent ink, adding bot-traffic controls to the website to prevent email address scraping, and establishing a threshold amount for checks above which both the President and the Treasurer must sign. 

OLD BUSINESS

Annual MUUF Benefit

The annual MUUF Benefit, which was postponed twice due to bad weather, has been cancelled for this year.

NEW BUSINESS

Steve Humphreys

Steve Humphreys has been notified by his employer that he cannot serve on the Board as a Trustee without their approval.  He is currently off the Board and seeking to get that approval.

Big Orange Tarp

Andrew Dunn and Sandie Reilly presented a written motion that asks to add The Big Orange Tarp (BOT) to the Folk Project.  BOT is a community that has been around for over 30 years and functions as a performer resource at festivals and conventions, but they are not established as a formal organization.  This proposal would allow them to raise funds under our non-profit umbrella and that would eventually allow them to choose to become independent if they so choose.   A long conversation followed with a lot of questions and suggestions, including comparisons to the Folk Projecting supporting Café Zed and Storytellers.  Most people said they were in favor but needed more information.  A shared document for questions and answers is to be provided to the Board and maintained by Andrew and Sandie.

COMMITTEE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Almost all committee chairs stood on their written reports.

Special Events and Troubadour

Mark told the Board that next month he would be bringing a motion to fund our Veterans Valor project, which will use songwriting therapeutically to work through the pain many of these veterans have brought back from their service to the country. 

MOVE TO ADJOURN

A motion to adjourn was made at, seconded and passed unanimously at 10:04 PM.

Next meeting will be Tuesday, March 3rd at 8:15 PM on Zoom. 

Paul Fisher, Secretary

AGENDA

BIG ORANGE TARP

FUTURE PLANNING

HORSES SING NONE OF IT

MEMBERSHIP

NEWSLETTER

OPEN STAGE

PUBLICITY

SOUND REINFORCEMENT

STREAMING TUESDAYS

SWINGIN' TERN

TROUBADOUR AND SPECIAL EVENTS

TROUBADOUR VOLUNTEERS