tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81009436504854779612024-03-06T14:30:54.258-05:00ContraCola BoardColumbia Traditional Music and Dance governing board<br>
cotmdboard.contracola.orgColumbia Traditonal Music and Dancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16210880086998146627noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-73678560789154219632024-03-02T21:03:00.001-05:002024-03-06T14:30:22.775-05:00Minutes January 10, 2024<p>We gathered at Virginia Winn's house at 7pm.<br /></p><p>Present: Fred, Dianne B., Victor, Gail, Virginia, John, Dianne P-Q.</p><p>Absent: Maris, Kenny</p><p>Via Google Meet: Marguerite</p><p>John called the meeting to order at 7:35pm.</p><p>Minutes of the last meeting (November 29, 2023) were read and approved.</p><p>Dianne B. gave the Treasurer's Report. The current balance is down $230 from last meeting and $130 since last dance (which was in December last.) She estimated that we are seeing $150 loss per dance over the last year to date. The report was approved.<br /></p><p>Marguerite presented the Booker's Report. The dance schedule follows:</p><p>Jan 13, Band Cloud 10, Caller: Chris Hernandez, at CFMA</p><p>Jan 27, Band Sherlock's Meow, Caller: Leslie Bowers, at CFMA</p><p>Feb 27, Band: Lettuce Prey, Caller: Tom Machlin, at Bill's Pick'n Parlour</p><p>March 23, Band: CCOB, Caller: Joel Wilder, at CFMA</p><p>April 27, Band: TBD, Caller: Chris H, at CFMA (expected)<br /></p><p>May 25, Band: TBD, Caller: Kenny Greer, at CFMA (expected)</p><p>June 22, Band: TBD, Caller: TBD, at CFMA (expected)</p><p>July: No Dance</p><p>August: No Dance</p><p>The discussion centered around the decision to reduce our dance production from two dances per month to one dance per month, staring in February. Also, we will not be producing dances in July and August because of inadequate HVAC at CFMA. <br /></p><p>Discussion regarding the possibility of using Bill's Pick'n Parlor as a venue ensued. The board expressed generally positive remarks about the prospect. We would need to see how this experiment turns out. <br /></p><p>The Booker's Report was approved.</p><p>General Business.</p><p>Victor Gascon was elected as an at-large board member, filling the slot that became vacant after Karl resigned. The vote was unanimous.<br /></p><p>Dianne P-Q reported on some informal discussions she had with CDSS executive members at the recent Berea College dance week regarding the whole process of restarting a dance community after covid. Possibilities for grant development and workshops to engage the community are possibilities. For example a caller's workshop. She recounted a bit of how some other dance communities have dealt with the restart. She will investigate further.</p><p>Last dance Report:</p><p>Table staffing, and staffing the dance in general is something that needs to be proactively managed. Because we have been trying to produce two dances a month it is inevitable that there will be some months with personal conflicts.</p><p><b>ACTION ITEM:</b> <i>Fred will provide a consolidated list of tasks that need to be considered to put on dances at CFMA. </i> We have a lot more to do there to set-up and tear-down in that venue.</p><p>Also, at the last dance we forgot to get water so that was an example of the kind thing that can fall through the cracks but can have a big effect.</p><p>Another item identified in the discussion was this: Caller's need to provide more detailed instructions on how the swing works to keep a proper distance between dancers to minimize collisions (not able to express the exact sentiment from my notes).</p><p>Change of Venue. Bill's Pick'n Parlor is eager to have their facility used by dancers on 4th Saturdays, so it make sense to try to align our dance series with theirs. The February dance is an experiment to see if and how this can work. More to come!</p><p><b>ACTION ITEM:</b> <i>John will check into the requirements for our insurance and to have Bill's venue added if necessary.</i><br /></p><p>Mailing Lists: No changes.</p><p>Meet-up Group. Dianne P-Q. has investigated and restarted the Meetup Group established by Karl earlier. One insight gleaned from the Charlotte group is that they see the contra dance as an activity that helps provide a context to further socialize. Their objective is not dance per se rather social interaction with members of the meetup group; they regularly have dinner before coming to the contra dance.</p><p>Child Safety Policy. Not really a big issue. Back burner and maybe not needed.<br /></p><p>Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 13.</p><p>The meeting adjourned at 9:03pm.</p><p>s/Fred Druseikis</p><p>The following additional items have transpired since the date of the meeting and the date that I transcribed my meeting minutes: <br /></p><p>(1) The second January dance was called by Stephanie Marie in place of Leslie Bowers, who had become ill with respiratory symptoms.<br /></p><p>(2) During the interval since the meeting, Marguerite had the foresight to compile a list and field test it in the several e-mails she prepares in the days leading up to the dance date. Here's the list of tasks she identified that need to be covered when producing the dance at CFMA.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
unlocking the CMFA door at 6:00 pm </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
bringing chairs upstairs</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
bringing tables upstairs</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___ running the table: collecting
admission, verifying venmo payments, making the zip code list</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___ counting the receipts and recording attendance statistics</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___ <i>handling the money</i> (either doing it or oversight)<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___ <i>paying and thanking the band, caller,</i> and sound person for their work<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___ <i>making the general announcements before the break </i>(publicly thanking talent & sound guy, announcing future local dance schedule and dances in other areas.) <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
bringing water, ice, pitchers and cups</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
bringing snacks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
putting up directional signs</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
bringing chairs downstairs</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
bringing tables downstairs</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
gathering and putting away directional signs</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___ neatening
the pink studio after the dance</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___ sweeping the dance floor <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
making sure our group is out of the building and locking up after the dance</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">___
other [please specify]</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The items in italic are the ones needed at Bill's Pickin' Parlor.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> <br /></span></p><p></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-19961028914924282732024-01-03T12:48:00.000-05:002024-01-03T12:48:29.675-05:00Minutes November 29, 2023<p>The Board met at Virginia Winn's house at 7:30pm. Some of us gathered earlier to enjoy some conversation and dessert.</p><p>John called the meeting to order at 7:33pm.</p><p></p><p>Present: Maris, John, Virginia, Marguerite, Fred, Dianne B., Dianne P.-Q.</p><p>Absent: Gail, Kenny, Karl <br /></p>Karl has resigned from the board effective immediately. Kenny is in the process of relocating to Kentucky and might possibly be less available than when living in Myrtle Beach. We do however continue to value his involvement and hope that he will be able to continue to advise us on relevant matters.<br /><p>The minutes from the previous meeting were approved.</p><p>Dianne B gave the Treasurer's report and noted that our seasonal loss from operations is expected to be approximately $1000 for the interval from July - December 2023. One person overpaid and this will be handled informally. The CCOB played at the November dance and for this reason the gate receipts balance the expenses (which were quite minimal since the band was free.) A motion was made to accept the report was made, seconded and approved.</p><p>Marguerite gave the Booker's report. Some discussion was had about the nature of the commitment to bands and callers for the specific venue (e.g., either CFMA or Lake Murray.) Some verbiage was discussed for inclusion in e-mails spelling out the nature of our somewhat fluid venue situation and -- in the interest of full disclosure -- being up front about our commitments to all concerned; and the timing requirements for notifying CMFA and LM about the need for their hall. The Booker agreed to provide this notification.</p><p>The board discussed, and a motion was made, seconded, and approved, to begin to use the 4th Saturday of the Month as the nominal date for our events; and that we would begin transitioning to this as soon as possible. The two dances scheduled for January 2024 (Jan 13, and Jan 27) will take place, both at CFMA (Cloud 10 and Sherlock's Meow, respectively.) The dance schedule starting in February will be 2/24 (TBD see discussion below; CFMA is not available and LM would be the nominal fallback, except for the possibility of Bill's Pickin' Parlor); 3/23, 4/27, and 5/25 all at CFMA. The second appearance of CCOB is being planned for 3/23.<br /></p><p>Also in the discussion was the prospect of using Bill's Pickin' Parlor as a venue due to apparent interest of the owners in being inclusive of all varieties of live music (among other things.) This was being actively investigated and the Board authorized the possible relocation of the February dance to Bill's from CFMA if that made sense.<br /></p><p>A motion was made to accept the Booker's report, which was seconded and approved.</p><p>Other Business</p><p>Dianne P.-Q. brought up the idea of trying to use "Meetup.org" to better effect. There was discussion; the Board approved a budgetary expenditure for fees to Meetup.org so that Dianne could further investigate how best to use it and to be able to model that on how it was being used effectively by the Charlotte group.</p><p>Staffing the table at dances needs to accommodate the times when Fred is planning to be absent. There may be some ways to allow dancers who are interested in helping out to do that. This could be possible with increased use of venmo or some other ways of reducing the amount of paperwork and the amount of money in the pouch (e.g., to find a way to keep just a minimum amount of money -- enough to make change -- instead of the entire amount needed to pay the talent.)</p><p>Child Safety policy. On the back burner for now.</p><p>Mailing list updates. Dianne B. reports that we have 139 complete entries (names, emails, and phone numbers for texting.)</p><p>The next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 10, 2023.</p><p>The meeting adjourned at 9:13pm.</p><p>/s/ Fred Druseikis</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-20971041583283552742023-11-04T11:57:00.001-04:002023-11-14T14:19:21.978-05:00Minutes October 4, 2023<p>Present: Dianne B., Dianne P-Q., Virginia, John, Marguerite, Fred</p><p>Absent: Karl, Kenny, Maris, Gail</p><p>The meeting at Virginia's house was called to order at 7:46pm. (Yes, we got started a little later than usual.) It was believed by those present that there was a quorum.</p><p>The minutes for the previous meeting (August 9, 2023) were approved, with the notation that the next meeting, which had been scheduled for September 13, was postponed due to illness. It is the meeting being held presently.</p><p>The Treasurer's Report was approved. We have had only nominal expenses and our run rate has been consistent with date reported in previous months. We will be paying CFMA for the hall on a quarterly schedule at which time we will use the communication to reaffirm the intended near-term schedule.</p><p>The Booker's Report communicated the following data:</p><p>10/14/23 Band: Cloud 10, Caller: Tom Macklin, Sound: Tyler, Table: Fred<br /></p><p>11/11/23 Band: Contracola Open Band (debut), Caller: Joel Wilder, Sound: Tyler, Table: TBD<br /></p><p>12/9/23 Band: Evil Twins, Caller: Kenny Greer, Sound: Tyler?, Table: Fred<br /></p><p>1/13/24 Band: Cloud 10; Caller: TBD, Sound: ?, Table: ?<br /></p><p>2/10/24 Band: CCOB?, Caller TBD: Sound: ?, Table: ?</p><p>(Note coverage for staffing the table where we collect admission fee and zip codes. This is here as a reminder that it needs to be addressed by the board sometime before the dance; it is not a new responsibility for the Booker. Often this can be addressed in the few moments while the hall is being set-up. Fred normally volunteers for this but needs a substitute when he's not available.)<br /></p><p>Dance Report: The overall assessment of the CFMA hall is that it is marginal at best and Lake Murray is a much better choice for ambiance; CFMA's obvious value is proximity but that doesn't mean much if dancers aren't showing up. In that respect if we are going to continue to sponsor dances with low attendance we can just as well do it at Lake Murray as CFMA. We have also relearned why we don't hold dances in the summer, viz. Columbia's well-earned reputation for being "famously hot." One of our possible out-of-town bands privately communicated to us that they would not be available for awhile for us for a couple of reasons; the first being that the travel down to us (and back in the dark) on I26 was especially difficult for them because of all the construction; and second, because the dances have been too low energy to make the trip worth the effort. Hopefully we can get them back after things improve.<br /></p><p>Other Topics</p><p>CCOB: The band has been practicing and several players are excited about performing. Some are still content to either sit it out or wait for another time after the November 11 debut. The CCOB would like the opportunity to play more often if that suits the Board.<br /></p><p>Child Safety: We will carry this forward. Maris and John will prepare something.</p><p>Mailing List: Nobody has been taken off lists yet. There are 2-3 additions every month. The Givebutter platform had a technical issue that resulted in not all to receive text messages; it is working now.</p><p>Advertising: There was discussion about the effort required to publish our events in different media. It's not simple. There is a certain amount of work to get it done and it varies by the outlet. There are services that will help with this, but of course they cost money and we have no idea if they are really worth it or even appropriate for our need.<br /></p><p>Meetup Groups: We have heard from folks in both Charlotte and Charleston that Meetup is working for them. We need to understand how they are using it to their advantage and the effort required to make it work.</p><p>Two Dances per Month: There was considerable discussion about the wisdom and ability of continuing to produce two dances per month given the level of attendance we've experienced since our restart last August (2022). The consensus in the room was that we need to cut back to one dance per month. This is an opportune time because of events. The following was motion was proposed:</p><p>Proposed motion to be voted at later time: <i><b>We will soon be voting on (via email) about whether to end </b></i> our experiment of running two dances per month year round. We <b><i>may be</i></b> going to go to one dance per month, on the Second Saturday, with the primary venue being CFMA with Lake Murray being backup. We <b><i>thus may also</i></b> not produce dances during the summer months, viz. July and August. <b><i>Note: John Wetzel edited these minutes by modifying the italicized portions of this paragraph and the following sentence.</i></b><br /></p><p>(For parliamentary nerds: a motion was made, it was seconded, it was discussed, but further discussion and action has been tabled <b><i>pending discussion and an eventual vote via email</i></b>.) <br /></p><p>John will send an email summarizing his analysis. That e-mail shall be incorporated by reference into these minutes, as will the responses by others to it.<br /></p><p>Next meeting: Wednesday, November 8, 2023</p><p>Adjourn: 9:18pm</p><p>s/Fred Druseikis/</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-2058969797507961712023-09-06T09:17:00.000-04:002023-09-06T09:17:50.528-04:00Minutes August 9 2023<h1 style="text-align: left;"> COTMD Board Minutes August 9, 2023</h1><p>Present: John, Fred, Virginia, Dianne B, Dianne P-Q, Maris, Gail, Karl (via Zoom)<br /><br />Absent: Kenny, Marguerite<br /><br />The meeting was held at Virginia's house. John called the meeting to order at 7:31pm.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Minutes from the Previous Meeting.</h2><p><span> </span>A motion was made, seconded, and passed to accept the minutes of the previous meeting.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Treasurer's Report.</h2><p><br /><span> </span>CFMA has been provided a YTD list of zip codes recorded from dancers since last August. They were happy to get this.<br /><br /><span> </span>The YTD dance season spreadsheet has been posted to the board blog.<br /><br /><span> </span>CDSS annual report has been submitted.<br /><br /><span> </span>A motion was made, seconded, and passed to accept the Treasure's report.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Booker's Report.</h2><p><br /><span> </span>Marguerite provided a written report via email because of her planned absence.<br /><br /><span> </span>The Booker is very concerned about the lack of commitments to dates for the CFMA venue and alternative. This indecision is creating problems.<br /><br /><span> </span>There was some energetic discussion. Different opinions were expressed. Some strong opinions were voiced.<br /><br /><span> </span>John resolved to clarify the role of the Booker. A different role (the "Joseph Whisperer") would be identified to help facilitate the approval of dates from CFMA and to secure the alternative venue from Susan Fort if needed. The Booker would be only responsible for lining up the talent (bands and callers) for the expected dates.<br /><br /><span> ACTION ITEMS: </span>John will produce a written description of roles.<span> </span>John and Dianne B would discuss scheduling issues with Joseph.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Dance Report.</h2><p><br /><span> </span>The July dances were very uncomfortable because of inadequate cooling in the hall. Our space in the building in particular is inadequately cooled. Several (many) dancers left early because of it. The July heat this year has been particularly oppressive. It was noted that for many years earlier this century we didn't dance during the summer. We forgot why; and now we've experienced an Ah ha! moment.<br /><br /><span> </span>Free passes have been coming in; not in great numbers but some.<br /><br /><span> </span>Attendance is still low, as recorded in the Treasurer's report.<br /><br /><span> </span>The AC (cooling) appears to be under some kind of automated schedule; it would be good to see if that can be altered to accommodate the times of our events.<br /><br /><span> </span>It was noted that the cooling might improve if we can keep the door to the room closed.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">ContraCola Open Band.</h2><p><span> </span>There was a report on the goals and progress.<br /><br /><span> </span>This group would like to play in the Fall. Two dates are available: 10/28 and 11/11.</p><p><span> </span>It was suggested that the group might be able to play a few times a year, something like once a quarter beyond the initial debut.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Mailing List Status.</h2><p><br /><span> </span>We will be inviting/reminding people on our newsletter e-mails to update their contact info. We now have over 100 names with phone numbers.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Child Safety Policy.</h2><p><br /><span> </span>Maris researched the topic of child safety at dances and gave a report on how other groups handle this. There is a lot of good material to draw from. ACTION ITEM: Maris and John will formulate something.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Next Meeting.</h2><p><span> </span>September 13.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Adjournment.</h2><p>9:31pm. Yes we went much longer than usual.<br /><br /></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-80878903671267641152023-08-08T00:26:00.001-04:002023-08-08T17:33:33.865-04:00Minutes July 12, 2023<p>COTMD Board Minutes July 12, 2023<br /><br />The Board gathered at Virginia Winn's house at 7pm to enjoy some dessert and coffee.<br />John called the meeting to order at approximately 7:30pm.<br /><br />Regular board members attending: </p><p>Gail, Maris, Marguerite, Virginia, Fred, Dianne, John, Karl (via Zoom) </p><p><b>Motion to accept the minutes of the last meeting</b> (June 14) was made, seconded, and approved.<br /><br /><b>Treasurer's Report</b><br /> Turnout numbers are lower than expected for no specific reasons. Hall credit is 20% of gate receipts, not $2 per dancer.<br /><br /> The spreadsheet was published on the Contracola board (private) blog.<br /> A motion to accept the Treasurer's report was made, seconded, and approved.<br /><br /><b>Booker's Report:</b><br /> Coverage at the dances will be tight as folks go out of town.<br /> Marguerite will be out of town July 22 and Aug 12.<br /> Karl may be out of town July 22.<br /> Fred & Dianne will be out of town Aug 26.<br /> Gail and Karl will coordinate key exchange for the dance on July 22.<br /><br /> The current schedule looks like this:<br /> July 22 band: "Chris & Bobby" caller:Tom Machlin<br /> Aug 12 band: "Blueridge Rounders" caller:Chris Hernandez<br /> Aug 26 band: "Square Root" caller: TBD<br /> Sept 9 band: "Tea & Whiskey" caller: Kenny Greer<br /> Sept 23 band: "Sherlock's Meow" caller: TBD<br /><br /> The Booker wishes to note that hall dates for October and beyond have not been committed. This makes it very difficult to schedule bands and callers. We must implore Joseph to approve these dates ASAP.<br /> David Knight and accompanist are asking $310.<br /> The Booker's report was accepted.<br /><br /><b>Report for Recent Dances:</b><br /> Two short breaks at approx 50 minutes after start are working OK.<br /> Bands should be prepared to play three waltzes instead of normal two.<br /> Callers are being helpful in implementing this.<br /><b><br />Free Passes: Worth it?</b><br /> Yes; not a lot of response but some.<br /> Consensus: We should continue it.<br /><br /><b>Contracola Open Band (CCOB):</b><br /> Rehearsals have started held. Turnout has been good. Interest is there. Some participants are interested in playing.<br /><br /><b>IRS Filing:</b><br /> Dianne will do this. John will assist as necessary.<br /> This is entirely gated by the end of the fiscal year, June 30.</p><p> There are two pieces: the CDSS report (detailed), and the Federal Form.<br /> Current issue: records for capital expenditures from previous years are being hard to locate.<br /> <br /><b>New Board Member:</b> A motion to appoint Dianne Palmer-Quay to the board was made, seconded and approved. Dianne will add her to the board email lists, etc.<br /><br /><b>Mailing Lists</b>: There are three: the master mailing list, the musicians list for the CCOB; and the "hold harmless" list created when we had people sign waivers. We are missing phone numbers for a good number of emails on the master list. These were not collected originally because we had no use for them. Now we have the capability to send text messages, so there is a need.<br />Dianne will be initiating a campaign to have people update their contact info.<br /><br /> Marguerite noted that there is some interest in the Scottish dance community to participate in contra dances.<br /><br /><b>Child Safety Policy:</b><br /><br /> We need to have some child safety policy writings. Other groups probably have material that we can adapt and use. Maris volunteered to look for some.<br /><br /><b>Next Meeting: </b> August 9, 2023<br /><br /><b>Adjourned:</b> 9:04pm /s/Fred Druseikis<br /><br /><br /></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-91445749964887748922023-07-06T16:03:00.000-04:002023-07-06T16:03:53.656-04:00Minutes June 14, 2023<p>COTMD Board Minutes June 14, 2023<br /><br />The Board gathered at Virginia Winn's house at 7pm to enjoy some dessert and coffee. The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:30pm.<br /><br />Regular board members attending: Gail, Marguerite, Virgina, Fred, Dianne, John, Karl (via Zoom)<br /><br />Absent: Kenny, Maris<br /><br />Guest: Dianne Palmer-Quay<br /><br />The minutes of the previous meeting (May 10, 2023) were approved by voice vote.<br /><br />Dianne Britton presented the Treasurer's Report. Details are in the spreadsheet available to board members only. The treasures' report was approved.<br /><br />Booker's Report<br /><br /> June 24, Marshal & Lucy w Chris Hernandez calling<br /> July 22, Chris & Bobby w ? calling<br /><br /> CFMA Hall Commitments<br /> Aug 12<br /> Aug 26<br /> Sep 9<br /> Sep 23<br /><br /> Kenny Greer will call Sept 9.<br /> Other bookings not committed at this time.<br /><br />General Discussion<br /><br /> There was some discussion about gender roles during dances. There was a concern expressed about the practice of dancers changing roles in the middle of dance, and that some might find it confusing etc. We decided to avoid a general discussion of gender issues as this was going to sort itself out by the mutual behaviors of dancers in the moment and not some dictum or policy originating from the Contracola board (LOL). As for how callers should practice their craft (i.e., gents & ladies, larks & robins, etc, etc.) we feel it be best left to the caller.<br /><br /> The Darlington Post Office has been renovated and its management is interested in starting a local contra dance series. They contacted us via the Contracola web site and John followed up with them. They may visit us some to see how it works and get further guidance.<br /><br /> The liability insurance is coming up for renewal per requirements of CFMA. Thank you John for addressing the onerous task of answering the of the multitude of questions the insuror asks. Dianne reported she has renewed the hall insurance. John noted that we need to keep a copy of the policy in an accessible place. We are using Google drive to store the documents for this year as well as last year. Google drive provides board members with exclusive access.<br /><br /> Frustratingly, we have discovered that Charlotte is now dancing on 2nd Saturdays in conflict with us. It's not exactly clear that there may also be some irregularity in the schedule. Some consternation was expressed. Externally it seems like an insensitive move, yet we are ourselves aware that there are externals that often force decisions certain ways. We're not going change as we have enough trouble already getting dates cleared with CFMA in a timely manner.<br /><br /> With regard to dance operations, we've been experimenting with how breaks work (i.e., longer intentional pauses between dances) during the dance. We agreed to try two shorter breaks. If breaks are too short it's hard to get time to socialize. We are working toward two breaks, with a waltz during each for those who wish; limited to 5 minutes, unless the band has issues and needs some more time. Trying this out on the fly. It was noted that there ought to be some kind of "agenda" displayed at the table in order to set expectations as folks arrive.<br /><br /> Cleaning up the contact list is an ongoing process and a task. We are going to continue to use Mailchimp for emails, rather than convert entirely to GiveButter (which we use to support donations, and to provide technical support for text messages to mobile phones.)<br /><br />Marketing Efforts<br /><br /> Anticipating students return in early August, Karl would like some volunteers to help distribute literature on campus.<br /><br /> Gail will be at Soda City next Saturday to pass out a few free dance cards.<br /><br /> Dianne is continuing to post our events to various outlets.<br /><br /> Maris is actively talking up the Contracola dance.<br /><br />Children policy.<br /><br /> It was noted that there were some rambunctious children at a recent dance. The lack of adult supervision posed a risk to safety of both the children and the dancers. We need to articulate an expected behavior policy for children.<br /><br /> Admission is free for children. Teens and adults pay.<br /><br />ACTION ITEM STATUS<br /><br /> AI - John - Federal Tax Filing (waiting on June 30 to pass to trigger next fiscal year.)<br /><br /> As write the first draft a cryptic note appears in my notes, literally:<br /><br /> AI - Fred - "agenda"<br /><br /> That's all she wrote. I’m not recalling what this means. Anyone care to refresh my memory as to what seemed so obvious to me at that moment I could never forget it? I didn't think so. It may come to me. Before posting, it came to me; see comment on dance operations above.<br /><br />Next Meeting<br /><br /> The next meeting will be July 12. July 26 was an agreed upon alternate, depending on John checking his calendar. John reported to me that July 12 is good, so July 12 it is.<br /> <br />The meeting was adjourned at 9:28pm.<br /><br />/Fred Druseikis/<br /><br /></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-66143971688744702782023-06-05T20:20:00.000-04:002023-06-05T20:20:50.887-04:00Minutes May 10, 2023<p> COTMD Board Meeting May 10, 2023<br /><br />We met at Virginia Winn's house around 7pm to enjoy some dessert and conversation.<br /><br />The meeting was called to order at 7:31pm.<br /><br />In Attendance: Maris, Gail, Marguerite, Virginia, John, Dianne, Fred, Karl (via Zoom)<br /><br />The minutes of the last meeting were approved.<br /><br />Treasurer's report.<br /><br />Dianne presented. Details appear in a spreadsheet dated 5/6/2023, which is posted on on the COTMD Board google group discussion board (as are all COTMD Board conversations). Net of operations, to date there is a $160 loss. Expect to see a loss of additional for the upcoming 5/13 dance.<br /><br />In earlier discussions there was some confusion about an $80 discrepency having to do with the first dance of the season back in August 2022. This was resolved: the amount having been paid to Susan Fort for the use of the Lake Murray Contra Hall.<br /><br />The actual written records for dances in early 2020 just before covid (recall that there were two dances, in January and February) have been either misplaced or lost. Dianne asked Marguerite to see if she can reconstruct the data from her notes on what the Bands, Callers, and Sound Techs were promised to be paid for these two events. (Update: Marguerite was able to provide the information.)<br /><br />As a side note: CFMA appears to like us. They have accepted our credentials documenting our not-for-profit status thru CDSS.<br /><br />A motion to accept the Treasure's Report was made, seconded, and approved by voice vote.<br /><br />Booking Report.<br /><br />Marguerite presented. David White and Becky Stoval will be the band for 5/13/23 dance at Lake Murray with Kenny Greer calling. Stephanie Marie will be calling on 5/27/23 at CFMA with Sherlock's Meow playing. Tyler will be doing sound for both. (Updated: Tyler ended up with a conflict for 5/27, so John set up sound and instructed Fred and Dianne about the main points for operating it, and Fred learned what needed to be done to pack it up and put stuff away after the dance.)<br /><br />At the time of this meeting there were no additional dates confirmed by Joseph at CFMA. June 10 and June 24 are of immediate concern. Karl will express our concerns about the need for timely scheduling with Joseph. (Update: the June dates, as well as some others, have been confirmed.)<br /><br />Report on Recent Dances.<br /><br />Concern was raised regarding the "pace" and activity level of the evening and when there should be break(s). For as long as we can remember we have been staring at 7pm with teaching until 7:30, with the first half of the dance running until 9pm. Then there would be a break until approximately 9:15, with the second half running until 10:30. That means the first break is two hours after arrival. Pretty demanding for new dancers. This is a kind of frantic, dance fanatic, schedule.<br /><br />What we tend to be seeing is that new dancers take the late break as an opportunity to exit, for whatever reason. Experienced dancers tend to stick around.<br /><br />It was generally observed and felt that maybe we should have a second break given that the level of activity for some people may be too long without a break. It was suggested that we try something like a short (10 minute) break at 8:30 with the dance to resume at about 8:45 until 9:40 +/- with another short break, and then the conclusion for as many as will.<br /><br />ACTION ITEM: "Agenda for the Evening" Poster -- "Somebody needs to make a poster."<br /><br />This would allow us to simplify staffing the admissions table. The thought is that all dealings with money can be done with by 9pm, including paying the staff.<br /><br />Also related to admission in general is the issue of various promotional cards ("Get in Free", Two for One,) with mandatory paid admission vs "Free for all" (i.e. no admission) supported by freewill donation. Discussion of this was tabled for a future meeting. In the interval, Board members should be mulling this.<br /><br />Advertising.<br /><br />We try to keep various advertising outlets updated with event announcements for inclusion in their publication, but it is unclear how effective they are for us. We need to see if it makes any difference given all the changes in how marketing is done in the modern world of the internet. Is this something we do because we have always done it? or because it works? It is a lot of work.<br /><br />Another question is if we have any paper flyers being distributed at other dances in Charleston or Charlotte. It's one thing to say you should use QR codes, but QR codes don't post on the frig very well. We need to explore how to get mutual cooperation between different dance communities to raise awareness of ("promote") other groups. We need volunteers to get paper flyers to events in other nearby places. Maybe callers can help with this, just a thought. Possibly using the communications channel with the caller and our booker to facilitate promotions. (Here's a not-very-good idea: somehow use fed-ex office to get flyers printed locally to the caller so they can then take them to the local dance in their area. Obviously this means that the half-life of a flyer has to be more than a couple of flyers, like maybe an entire year.)<br /><br />Gail will take some flyers to Charleston.<br /><br />Board Membership.<br /><br />The board officially adopted the slate of officers posted in the minutes of the last meeting. A motion was made, seconded, and approved by voice vote. (President: John, VP/Booker: Marguerite, Treasurer: Dianne, Secretary: Fred) At large members: Gail, Maris, Karl, Virginia, Kenny.</p><p>Bob has resigned and is getting married in Virginia soon!<br /><br />General Stuff.<br /><br />A Facebook group has been created -- now we have both a Facebook group and a Facebook page. It remains to be seen if one if more useful or appropriate than the other. Most contradance groups are represented by a Facebook group rather than a page, it seems. Expect to see invites, etc.<br /><br />Texting is a thing that won't go away. We need to be able to use it too. Dianne has a plan to get texting integrated into our mailing lists and GiveButter/Venmo support. Expect to see some progress along this axis.<br /><br />Contact List Cleanup. In the past not enough information has been collected to satisfy the data requirements for GiveButter (mobile number for texting; email for receipts; full name for recording donations for IRS receipts.) We are going to encourage people to update their contacts and then we'll delete all the ones that don't respond to a personal reminder.<br /><br />With regard to the UofSC, Karl is looking for some help with distribution flyers and cards on campus. The Russell House initiative has not progressed due to the end of the semester. Looking try it again in August. Russell House suggested that we approach individual departments and campus housing about posting in their space. (For the record, there are upwards of 100 academic units at the UofSC.) However, the fact that there is a significant amount of off-campus housing does suggest an opportunity that is vastly different from the original situation back in the day when all housing was on-campus.<br /><br />Dianne will be handling the IRS filing, with support from John. It is due in September. But the IRS filing can't be done for 2022-2023 year until after June 30. IT MUST BE DONE, OR ELSE!!!!<br /><br />John asked me to make a note about the continuing urgency of not forgetting our next IRS filing. This note in the minutes will serve as a reminder to keep this item on the meeting agenda at each meeting until we get this done.<br /><br />Contracola.org DNS needs to be renewed. (Update: done.)<br /><br />ACTION ITEM STATUS.</p><p>Gail -- Churches: some don't like dancing LOL -- WIP (Work in Process)<br /><br />Karl -- Posters in Libraries -- CLOSED<br /><br />John -- Richland Library -- They don't post any except their own flyers, or sponsor the event. -- CLOSED<br /><br />Maris -- Bill's Pickin' Parlour -- Under new management.<br /><br />NEXT MEETING. June 14, 2023<br /><br />Adjourn: 9:14pm<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-89022194927813572642023-04-12T09:50:00.002-04:002023-04-17T15:49:26.730-04:00Minutes April 5, 2023<p> COTMD Board Minutes April 5, 2023<br /><br />The Board gathered at Virginia Winn's house at 7pm to enjoy some dessert and coffee. The meeting was called to order at 7:27pm.<br /><br />Regular board members attending: Marguerite, Virginia, Fred, Dianne, John, Karl (via Zoom)<br /><br />Guests: Maris, Gail<br /><br />The minutes of the previous meeting (March 1, 2023) were approved by voice vote.<br /><br />Dianne presented the Treasurer's Report. The following specific items were noted:<br /><br />(1) The treasurer is waiting for some additional records from Victor to address a $80 discrepancy. It is believed that this amount was paid to Susan Fort for the use of the Lexington Contra Hall for the August 2022 dance; the treasurer is looking for a bit of documentation for that.<br /><br />(2) A spreadsheet of the current operating expenses (since restart in August 2022) was discussed. The spreadsheet PDF is posted in the COTMD board blog. The line item "Hall Credit to CMFA" was noted. John stated that the actual amount should be $884.12 instead of the number $750 recorded in the spreadsheet; as that was the number communicated to Joseph at CMFA.<br /><br />(3) At the 2nd dance in March, there was a discrepancy of $110 discovered in the actual cash on hand in the kitty. There may have been some uncertainty about the amount in the kitty at the opening of the admission table. (Since Dianne and Fred were playing in the band that evening, and Marguerite was at home ill, Karl stepped in to help. Consequently there may have been some uncertainty about what processes should be followed.) A discussion ensued over possible oversights, the responsibilities of board members in accounting, and note made of updates to written procedures for instructing those who staff the admission table. Dianne and Karl agreed to cover the missing funds and to treat the episode as a learning experience.<br /><br />(4) CDSS membership fees have been paid.<br /><br />(5) IRS filings need to be made this year as they have not been for at least during the time of Covid.<br /><br />(6) ACTION ITEM: Get copies of COTMD 501(c)(3) legal status (i.e., Letter from CDSS) to CMFA.<br /><br />The Treasurer's Report was approved by voice vote.<br /><br />Report on the last two dances: Low attendance was noted and there was some discussion as to possible conflicts. The first March dance was during UofSC spring break; it also conflicted with the Carolina Meltdown that same weekend. The second March dance also had low turnout. There was speculation that another concurrent event was ongoing then.<br /><br />A discussion ensued regarding how to get more publicity out. Some other locations for distributing flyers were mentioned: Skyline Club, Bill's Pickin' Parlor, State Government bulletin boards, The Star newspaper.<br /><br />ACTION ITEM: Karl and John would work together with Virginia to update the flyer to include the notation "501(c)(3)" somewhere in it.<br /><br />Karl briefly discussed the UofSC table at Russell House. The expense of that is likely to be much less that originally thought. There seems to be some uncertainty about the dates available for when the table can be put up. It was noted that the time remaining in the semester is short as classes end in late April. Having the table in August when school starts up again seems like an important goal.<br /><br />An idea for promotion using "business cards" that would also allow the bearer to have a free admission to a future dance was discussed. Many thought it sounded like a reasonable and low-cost way to help get attendance up.<br /><br />The content of the business card would be something along the lines of:<br />"Admit ONE -- CHECK IT OUT -- QR Code for more info -- Contral Cola 501(c)(3)"<br /><br />ACTION ITEM: Virginia and John would work through creating an initial batch based on the ideas discussed.<br /><br />The following were also noted as ACTION ITEMS:<br />Gail -- check with singles groups at some local churches to gauge interest;<br />Karl -- put flyers up in the Lexington (Town) library;<br />John -- put flyers up in the Richland library;<br />Maris -- put flyers up in Bill's Pickin Parlor;<br /><br />Marguerite presented the Booker's Report. Three piece out of town bands are more expensive that our current payment guidelines allow. Some configuration (subset) of ContraForce is often willing to come up to play possibly on shorter notice however current rules limit the amount we can pay; the difference is quite small.<br /><br />The following motion was made, seconded, and approved by voice vote:<br /><br />"The president is authorized to approve exceptions to the current payment rules for bands and callers requested by the Booker."<br /><br />The renewal of Board membership is required in May. The current officers agree to continue in their roles.<br /><br />President: John Wetzel<br />Vice President & Booker: Marguerite Frongillo<br />Treasurer: Dianne Britton<br />Secretary: Fred Druseikis<br /><br />Virginia Winn and Karl Smith agreed to continue as at-large board members.<br /><br />Gail Sullivan and Maris Burton have agreed to become at-large board members.<br /><br />At this point it is not known if either Kenny Greer or Barbara (Bob) Fellenstein wish to continue being on the board.</p><p>Update: Per e-mail, Kenny has agreed to continue.<br /><br />ACTION ITEM: We need to verify that Kenny and Bob wish to continue.<br /><br />Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 10, 2023.<br /><br />Adjourn: 9:37pm<br /><br /></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-82417781546040100932023-03-28T18:08:00.002-04:002023-03-28T20:07:45.430-04:00Minutes, March 1, 2023<p> COTMD Board Meeting March 1, 2023<br /><br />We met at Virginia Winn's house around 7pm to enjoy some dessert and conversation.<br /><br />The meeting was called to order at 7:37pm.<br /><br />In Attendance: Margurite, Virginia, John, Dianne, Fred, Karl (via Zoom)<br /><br />The minutes of the last meeting were approved.<br /><br />The results of the two dances held in February were discussed. Attendance was about 40; a notable number were present at 7pm for instruction - so callers should be prepared to teach as soon as there are enough bodies. Joseph and one of the CMFA board members popped in during one of the dances to see what was going on.<br /><br />Dianne gave the treasurer's report. The dollar figures for funds in the bank and in the kitty (working funds) were reported. A Venmo account for COTMD payments has been created and can accessed via QR code. There is also a QR code for email lists. Dancers who wish to pay online can do so using the Venmo app. We ask that they add fifty cents to cover the transaction cost. Accounting for gate receipts is made slightly more complicated because of this. The report was approved.<br /><br />John is preparing a letter to Joseph at CMFA detailing the serial numbers of the equipment being transferred to them. Joseph does not want to make a big deal of this nor go into great detail about the discussions for paying for the use of the hall. In short CMFA gives special consideration to 501(c)(3) organizations use of the facility without expecting payment. (This may have something to do with how CMFA does its budgeting and making a big deal about it just complicates things.) In this respect they are different for us rather than individual artists renting the space.<br /><br />The COTMD board approved the concept of 20% of gross receipts (paid admissions) as a reasonable benchmark figure to give to CMFA for hall use. (Editorial: the point of this is to recognize that by not accounting for an actual cost we are not being truthful to ourselves about what it costs to produce a dance series, and therefore whether or not we are solvent in the longer run. Nothing is forever and we may be required to find an alternative space for whatever reason.)<br /><br />The Booker reported increasing difficulty with lining up bands and callers. Wisdom dictates the use of "duos" for out of town bands. As of this meeting there was no band for March 25. At the meeting Sherlock's Meow agreed to play for the dance. The board OK'd the booker to discuss price flexibility for out of town bands as some subset of Contraforce may be willing to play for us.<br /><br />There was considerable discussion about the issues of what dates there were to be scheduled. At the time of the meeting there was no venue committed for May 13 or May 27. The realities of scheduling dances and getting low attendance because of other competing factors was considered (yet again.) We are pursing a very aggressive scheduling plan with two dances a month. Keeping up that pace puts a strain on everyone when there is not enough hands to help out.<br /><br />The uncertainty about scheduling dates creates considerable stress for all involved in the booking process, as dates too near the present vastly reduce the number of possible callers or bands available to book on short notice. This is a major issue.<br /><br />Booking Action Items:<br /> John will give Karl the list of OK dates for the dance series.<br /> Karl will give consideration for how to adjust the list to maintain momentum as we work to rebuild the dance community.<br /> Karl will communicate back to the board and with Joseph on the dates.<br /></p><p>A motion was made and seconded: that Karl is authorized to spend up to $350 for expenses related to ContraCola event promotions at UofSC Russell House.</p><p><br />The next meeting will be Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at Virginia's.<br /><br />The meeting adjourned at 9:07pm.<br /><br /><br /></p>Frederick C Druseikishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292735986763726871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-3940961560118084252023-01-21T17:15:00.005-05:002023-01-21T17:24:10.322-05:00Minutes, January 18, 2023<p> Minutes, January 18, 2023</p><p>The meeting was held remotely, using Zoom software provided by Karl. Attendees were Marguerite, John, Dianne, Fred and Karl. The meeting itself commenced around 7:20 when it was apparent no one else would be joining.</p><p>The first item was the treasurer's report, provided by Dianne. This took some time as there was a lot to review. There was extensive discussion of how to account for funds we "would have spent" if we were paying CMFA 20% of our door. It was agreed that this needed to be accounted for in such a way so as to account for what we actually spent AND for what we would have spent. We also agreed that Dianne could deal with this issue as she sees fit.</p><p>There was also one item that came up that requires further information. There is a notation in one of the charts that Dianne showed us, which seems to imply that we gave CMFA $80 dollars for our very first dance at the pink room. It is not clear right now whether that was put down as an expected expenditure, or whether those dollars were actually paid out, and if so, by who, and to whom. Dianne is going to check with Victor on this. It may also be possible to determine whether that $80 dollars disappeared out of the cash kitty, out of the bank account or didn't go away at all, by looking at all the funds we had before that dance and comparing it to all the dollars we had after that dance. </p><p>Next, John reported on the status of the installation of equipment in the pink room (equipment slated to be transferred to CMFA ownership to compensate them for allowing us free use of the room until we have recovered those expenditures). The status is that all equipment we purchased for this transfer has been installed, and all that remains to be done is to test the bluetooth part of the system, and then brief CMFA staff on how to use the gear. The formal transfer will take place after those things have been done.</p><p>Next, Marguerite provided the status of her booking efforts. We are making good progress, but some slots (bands and or callers) for upcoming dances remain to be filled. This discussion also covered the next agenda item, which is the status of which dates at CMFA we have been able to reserve for our use.</p><p>Next, the status of our social media outreach was discussed. Dianne and Karl are handling this, and based on recent increases in attendance at dances, these efforts are effective and are bearing fruit. One important issue we discussed was how to keep control of our branding and continue to use variants of the text string "contracola" and keep that within our ownership in the online universe.<br /></p><p>Next, John reported that he had collected all information that he thinks he needs to correctly identify which persons and entities are covered by our insurance. John will write up what he thinks are correct identifiers, and negotiate with our insurance agent to correct our insurance documents in a manner acceptable to us and the insurer.</p><p>Next we discussed our future plans, basically how far ahead to try and plan dances. Marguerite pointed out that planning as far ahead as possible makes her job easier (more lead time). On the other hand, our future plans ought to be somewhat guided by finding out what works and what doesn't. For now, we seem to be happy with looking ahead about three months, except that, as Karl pointed out, there are some special cases where we have to decide what our plans are way ahead of time, such as during the November and December holidays. <br /></p><p>The attendance at our last two dances was the next agenda item, but this had already been covered earlier during the discussion regarding our social media outreach. </p><p>We finished by setting our next board meeting as Wednesday March 1.<br /></p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-43836597131788183762022-12-12T23:05:00.007-05:002023-01-10T18:41:38.521-05:00MINUTES NOVEMBER 16,2022<p></p><p>Attendees were :<br />Virginia Winn, John Wetzel, Karl Smith, and Marguerite Frongillo. During votes, John was proxy for Fred, and Marguerite was proxy for Dianne.<br /><br />At 7:30, The meeting commenced with a report on the November 5 dance:<br />In spite of being unannounced at our previous dance (10-22), there were 16 dancers (ncluding two board members). We charged $8 admission, as the first mailchimp announcement of this dance, sent 10-28, gave $8 as the admission cost. We needed to charge this amount, as subsequent personal advertising by board members had to adhere to that price, so as to avoid any potential charges of false advertising. <br />Karl kindly is contributing $54.00 in cash to help with door shortfall.<br />Future dances will have $10.00 admission, as this is our normal charge..<br />So far we have not paid anything for CMFA. At this point we have paid out (or will pay out) about $750 for sound equipment that John, Karl, and other COTMD members have purchased for and installed at CMFA for the use of all CMFA clients. Our room rent for CMFA is expected to be 20% of the door for a given dance. Twenty per cent of the door for our 4 dances at CMFA have not yet added up to $750, so we have not paid any room rent yet.<br /><br />John and Marguerite provided different parts of the treasurer's report, since Victor was not present. Those present voted to approve the report.<br />Aside from the normal "status of funds" part of the report, it also included mention of a $500 contribution from an anonymous doner, and a $54 cash donation from Karl to help cover the shortfall caused by our inability to charge a full $10 per dancer at the last dance.<br /><br />The attendees voted to approve the minutes of the previous "emergency" meeting (these are posted on our board website!) <br /><br />There was an agenda item to approve expenditures of $100 for canned music, but this item was not taken up for discussion.<br /><br />Approve expenditures for sound gear for CMFA:<br />John provided a list of costs for all already-purchased and installed "intended for transfer to CMFA" sound equipment, as well as for other items intended for the same that still needed to be purchased, with the latter being close estimates and the former being the actual amounts spent. The total amount we expect to spend for gear that is intended for transfer to CMFA should total less than $750.00. It is intended that COTMD ‘s donation of this equipment will serve two purposes:<br />1. The funds thus spent will be considered as substituting for fees we would ordinarily be charged for use of the CMFA space.<br />2. The equipment will allow more flexible use of the "pink room" by our group and other groups which might be able to make use of a complete sound system that can handle any audio source (microphones, line level signals and bluetooth signals).<br /><br />A vote to approve all of the above previous and future expenditures (expected to total less than $750) was proposed, seconded and approved by vote. The vote has the effect of approving all expenditures for the CMFA intended equipment that has already been paid out by Victor, and all of the above items that have not yet actually been purchased, once those expenditures are submitted to our new treasurer. <br /><br />Victor had recently announced via email his intention to resign his position as our treasurer. Dianne Britton offered to serve as our next treasurer. A motion was tendered to approve her as our new treasurer. The motion was seconded and all present voted in favor.<br /><br />John announced that Dianne has kindly volunteered to (in addition to acting as treasurer) be in charge of our BlogSpot website, as well as MailChimp marketing or our dances. <br /><br />Those present enthusiastically suggested much needed steps that we hope that Dianne will address:<br />A] Update the “Dance Information” section of our BlogSpot, designating music as “recorded or live band”<br />B] Have a prominent button or link where people can request having our email notifications sent to their email address; have this in multiple places- even in MailChimp emails.<br />C] Have a prominent “donation” button in our BlogSpot.<br />D] Get rid of our outdated, unused websites, such as Lake Murray Contra.<br />E] Every link we have – email, Twitter, Facebook, Meetup, Instagram etc- needs to be displayed on every marketing outreach item. Karl said he would help with Twitter, Meetup, and Instagram, but it might be best to have a designated board member who could handle all online and real world marketing efforts. For now, Karl and Dianne will be handling their respective marketing platforms and efforts.<br /><br />John explained that our insurance contract holds harmless our organization AND both of our venue owners, CMFA and “Lexington County Contradance.” The latter term does not correctly identify the protected entity, so that needs to be changed to whoever is the responsible owner of the land parcel that contains the Lake Murray Contra Hall (most likely Susan Fort or someone in her immediate family).<br /><br />We discussed possible ways to manage contacts between our insurer and the board: Currently we need to remember to contact our agent yearly, to pay the bill. It would be much better for us to give our agent our contact information and contact us every year. Karl is on record for contacting our agent, who works for a subsidiary of the insurance company.<br /><br />The meeting attendees were informed that we have paid out $650 for insurance this year, and this will be an ongoing yearly expense.<br /><br />We discussed the current problems associated with not having a fixed, known to be available for sure venue, which holds up our ability to hire callers and bands because we cannot do that if we don't have a venue pinned down.<br /><br />We briefly discussed "music licensing" in general and Emily Rush in particular:<br />John mentioned that music licensing and recorded music contributed to changing square dancing from a folk tradition to a money-making modern "club square dancing" phenomenon. John also stated that Emily Rush is a great (and widely acclaimed) caller. However, charging as much for a collection of recorded music curated by her as would ordinarily suffice to pay for a live band seems excessive (John's opinion).<br /><br />John also shared pertinent comments that board member Kenny sent via email and that are paraphrased here: <br />1. It is crucial that we be able to plan our dances a well in advance, and announce each dance way ahead of time, so our dancers know we will be there for them.<br />2. It is important to minimize, or even phase out the recorded music dances within about a year because our crowd wants live music.<br />3. The caller runs the dance. Others need to acknowledge that the caller has a plan, and to cooperate with the caller.<br /><br />Much time having past, John adjourned the meeting at about 9:15 PM.<br /><br />NOTE (by John Wetzel): Although this information does not match what was decided AT this meeting, the next meeting has been scheduled for January 18 at Marguerite's house. <br /></p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-75852502558600297412022-11-08T23:54:00.000-05:002022-11-08T23:54:31.294-05:00Minutes, Occtober 27, 2022<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">On October 27, 2022 a hastily planned "emergency" meeting was held at Marguerite's house. Since low attendance was expected, several people gave proxy voting powers to other board members who they expected to attend. Only Marguerite, Bob and John were actually able to attend. Victor was planning to attend, but could not. Virginia, Fred and Dianne gave proxy voting powers to John and Marguerite, to be used if appropriate. Karl attended via a telephone set on speakerphone mode. Since this meeting was not a regular meeting, and because there were very few people present, John W decided to limit the agenda to the "emergency" items. The emergency consisted primarily of disorganized scrambling to figure out whether we could have dances AND should have dances in November (previously planned) and December (previously rejected) AND, if so, how to pull that off. A secondary consideration was looking ahead to the first three months of 2023, and trying to do some longer range planning to cut down on the disorganized, very short fused zig zagging of our organization.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Karl reported that per a meeting with Joseph, the following dates were available: Nov 5 and Dec 10. Marguerite responded that Kenny was available on Nov 5 and that no one had responded regarding December. The board had previously decided that December would have no dances, but Karl insisted this was a bad idea. Because Karl was on the phone, the entire rest of the meeting was taken up by the participants arguing about whether to consider a December dance. Because of the way phones work, this ended up with everyone present being very annoyed at our inability to converse in full duplex mode (meaning you and the other person can talk and hear each other at the same time). It quickly became apparent that the conversation and the meeting were a waste of time, and so the meeting was halted with some basic planning instructions as the only take-away. John asked Karl to approach Joseph (of CMFA) about the following dates in January, February and March of 2022: The second Saturday of each of those months AND the Friday just before that (for canned dances) AND the fourth Saturday of each of those months (for Live band dances). Karl was asked to explore ALL of those dates with Joseph, and to inform Marguerite immediatly of the subset of those days that were provisionally available. John also asked Marguerite to investigate the availability of callers (and bands where applicable) as soon as Karl provided her with those provisionally available venue dates.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">It is important to note that as of this meeting, the official board plan was still to have NO December dance. This point was re-iterated to all board members after the meeting, via email.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Because of the emergency nature of the meeting, the lack of participants and the ongoing lack of agreement about how to proceed, no attempt was made to conduct ordinary business, such as treasurer's reports. No formal board approved decisions were made at this meeting. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">As previously agreed, the next regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Virginia's house.<br /></span></span></p><br /><span style="color: #888888;"><div><br /></div></span>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-34713321109817368872022-10-24T18:29:00.016-04:002022-10-25T11:37:19.788-04:00Minutes September 7, 2022<p> COTMD Board Meeting September 7, 2022 at Virginia Winn's house.<br /><br />John called the meeting to order at 7:30pm.<br /><br />Attending in person: John, Dianne, Bob [Barb], Fred, Virginia, Marguerite, Victor; nobody was remote. It was determined that we have a quorum.<br /><br />Victor presented an abbreviated treasures' report stating the cash on hand balance in the checking account. Victor dontated $100 to help cover expenses for the last dance (held 8/28/22 at Lake Murray.)<br /><br />Minutes of the previous meetings were read and approved. These were for the Board meetings held July 13, and May 25.<br /><br />The main topic of dicussion was around issues for using the CMFA [Columbia Music Festival Association] space on Pulaski Street. It was generally agreed that using this space as much as we can is a good thing in view of the fact that Lake Murray is so far out of town.<br /><br />There are issues:<br /> (a) Scheduling: it is unclear when we can get commitment for our dances;<br /> (b) How often and when to promote the new location.<br /> (c) Sound support issues because of equipment.<br /> (d) A donation to CFMA is expected; the question is how much; $80/dance?<br /> (e) CFMA requires insurance.<br /><br />We are striving for two dances per month. The 4th Saturday dance will be with a live band. The 2nd Saturday dance will be with recorded music.<br /><br />[NOTE: At the time these notes were transcribed, we had in fact held three dances at Pulaski Street, on 9/17/22, 10/08/22, and 10/22/22. The 9/17/22 and 10/08/22 dances were with recorded music. The 10/22/22 dance was with a live band.]<br /><br />The Board authorized Karl to get the insurance coverage as required by CFMA. He stated that the cost might be in the $600 range per year. CFMA has contacts that are familiar with the requirements.<br /><br />There was a lot of discussion about sound support, given that it had already been established at Lake Murray. The going forward plan is to buy a mixing board (~$250) and some powered speakers. The board approved these expenditures.<br /><br />Booking for Pulaski Street can not proceed until the venue schedule has been finalized. It was agreed that we would have band scheduled through October. November and December schedules are unclear.<br /><br />The next board meeting was scheduled for 11/16/22.<br /><br />The meeting adjourned at 8:32pm.<br /><br />Fred Druseikis<br />transcribed on 10/23/2022 from notes<br /><br /></p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-41175414099014333562022-08-02T18:28:00.005-04:002022-08-02T18:31:45.249-04:00Minutes July 13, 2022<p>Minutes of Contra Board meeting, 7/13/22<br />Those present: </p><p>John, <br />Victor<br />Karl<br />Bob<br /><br />Marguerite<br />Minutes [edited 7-20-22]<br /><br />John calls the meeting to order.<br /><br />John said that the minutes of last meeting were not available, so the minutes were not reviewd and approved. <br /><br /><i><b>ADDENDUM by John: I thought the minutes were unavailable because they hadn't been posted on the COTMD board blog/website. In fact, Fred had sent copies to all of us well ahead of time, and all of us that were at this meeting failed to remember this fact. I have no idea why I forgot it, once reminded of it I remembered having read thru it, because it even included comments about things that were accomplished post meeting via email. I read all that, understood it, and then failed to remember that this info existed when we had this meeting</b></i>. For now, we will have two sets of minutes to approve at the next meeting, this being one of those.<br /><br />Treasurer’s report: <br />$6505.66 in bank<br />$350.00 in cash<br />$6,855.66 total<br /><br />A motion was made and seconded and all voted to accept the treasurer’s report.<br />Victor announced his donation of $175, with which he paid the CDSS for this year’s COTMD affiliation/membership and tax-exempt status.<br /><br />John called for a discussion of what is being done to advertise our August dance.<br /><br />Victor will make it a Facebook event by Wednesday 7/14 and will send a newsletter by the end of this week.<br />Victor will send Karl a write-up to use in advertising.<br /><br />Karl has a contact at the Lourie Center. They will email our Contra events to their list. Karl will fund the first 6 months of a Columbia Contra meetup group. It costs $100 every 6 months. The board can decide on effectiveness over that time and either continue that group or not. It was suggested that we ask dancers, as part of a waiver document, how they had heard about the dance. But we may also get how heard, email, and other info from a sign-in sheet. Suggestion was made to reach out to university radio to advertise the dance. Suggestion was made that many university students may have trouble finding transport to the dance at the lake Murray location whereas the intown location will be much easier.<br /><br />John called for a discussion of insurance. Karl presented the insurance information he had researched. Possible sources were via CDSS, or via an outfit called "Event Helper"<br /><br />The CDSS insurance would cost less, but pay only up to $5,000 for a bodily injury claim.<br />It would have to be approved as adequate by CFMA. The Event helper insurance would cost only a little more, and provide up to $35,000 for a bodily injury claim. That insurance is already approved for purpose by CFMA. Based on these numbers presented by Karl, we had a discussion to try and decide whether to proceed with officially approving our purchase of either kind of insurance for a year. We would expect to pay Event Helper $677 per year to insure up to 24 dance events. If we have one dance in December, and no dances in June, or July, we could have 2 dances a month in the remaining months. We calculated that, assuming 19 dance events per year, the per dance cost of the insurance would be about $36 , (roughly three extra dancers needed to offset insurance cost). Exceeding 24 dances per year would require additional insurance payout. Less than 19 dances would raise the insurance cost per event.<br /><br />The discussion gradually drifted to a consensus that the Event Helper insurance was the way to go. John mades a motion to authorize buying Event Helper insurance for one year.<br />The motion was seconded and followed by a unanimous yea vote.<br /><br />Victor asked that we revisit the question of if, when and how we might need to suspend or terminate the operation of our dance group. The average cost of a dance including talent, sound, and hall is about $500. He suggests that the bottom line is $1500, as this is enough to give 3 dances. If we had to stop, we would have to do a tremendous amount of work to restart. It takes a huge amount of time and effort to apply for grants. John said that the rules for dissolving COTMD are in the bylaws, but that CDSS rules might supersede our bylaws. Following a discussion of this, a motion was made and we voted on this, all agreeing that $1500 was the bottom line causing us to cease regular activity and enter emergency operation. We agreed that if we ever arrive at the point of our budget getting this low, we would meet and decide<br />how to proceed, which could include having three more dances, having one big dance, or just shutting down and transferring our funds and assets to CDSS or to another nearby Contra group, or even going into some sort of hibernation mode. The point of having a "$1500" red line is to trigger a formal required urgent evaluation of how to proceed, not to force any particular outcome.<br /><br />Karl suggested that more could be done to strengthen our dances and preventing us from reaching out bottom line. He suggests reaching out to U of SC students. He also suggests reaching out to other groups to which an individual board member might belong. As an example, he mentioned that he is in a vegan group that is interested in a variety of “events.” They may well be interested in our dance events. Also we could be applying for a grant from the SC Arts Commission. We need to be getting new people to handle things, and we need to seek donations, before we reach the low point.<br /><br />Victor and Karl initiated a discussion of recorded music dances, some of which could be techno. The techno dances vary in how many minutes each of the dances lasts: for example the first four on a particular record were 5,15, 30, and 5 minutes. It was determined that most recorded dances should be traditional.<br /><br />Victor kindly offered to call for us, both for recorded music and for live bands.<br /><br />We are planning to have both a live music dance and a recorded music dance in September, October, and November.<br />We would like a live band for the 4th Saturday in September, but we do not know whether the dance will be at Pulaski St or at Lake Murray.<br /><br />Our strategy would be for our regular/traditional monthly live band dances to ask for CMFA for that Saturday, and if not available, to hold those dances at Lexington or another facility. As for the additional "new in-between dances" we would take the more experimental route of asking CMFA for Saturday first, and then Friday if that was not available. As we gain experience with CMFA we can consider being flexible about using the Pulaski venue by considering either friday or saturday for all dances, but that not being the current plan of action. For now, we are decided to keep our "regular " dances always on the same Saturday, and be flexible about our "additional/new" dances.<br /><br />Bob asked, once we have submitted the paperwork to request a date, how long will it be until we know that the room is reserved for us? [I did not hear an answer to this question.]<br /><br />When dates are secured, John would start to set up sound at Pulaski St., for now using existing amplifier and speakers on the site and relocating these. so that the speakers are in front of the band setup area, and elevated. This would include an amplifier and 2 speakers, and maybe someday in the future a mixing board and wiring for 8 inputs for 4 people (caller and 3 musicians with 2 channels each.) The 8 channel mixer would be for all groups using Pulaski St Pink Room, and would be owned by CFMA and has to be procured some how in the future.<br /><br />Victor, who is the Charlotte contra board’s secretary, informed us that they had 100 dancers at this season’s first dance, but the second dance was a bailout due to Covid. He is also involved with River Falls-Harvest Moon, who are now dancing on the 1st, 3rd. and 5th Saturdays. He mentioned that Charleston has 10 local callers available. They had their first dance last Friday but their new venue could only hold 28 dancers, so they had to turn dancers away.<br />Victor also said that the Charlotte group would like us to sponsor their new version of what used to be the gypsy meltdown and is now the Carolina meltdown. Set for the second weekend of March 2023, it will still be at Camp Thunderbird on Lake Wiley. The cost of renting the whole camp is now prohibitive, so they are only renting the dance hall. They need manpower: their new people are not trained and need help for running the event. They also need money: $500 from COTMD would be welcome.<br /><br />If we had a big event in Columbia, we would have to use gyms in big churches. To avoid that fate, we would need a long term planning committee to work with Arts folks to find appropriate space ahead of time.<br /><br />At about 9 pm, John made a motion adjourn the meeting. It was seconded and all voted to adjourn. <i><b>ADDENDUM by John: I forgot to set a date for our next meeting, so that will be handled via email. </b></i><br /></p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-64175585184630591392022-07-19T18:37:00.000-04:002022-07-19T18:38:12.280-04:00Minutes May 25, 2022<p> COTMD Board Meeting Minutes, for the meeting held on May 25, 2022<br /><br />The Board met at Virginia's house. John called the meeting to order at 7:36pm.<br /><br />Attending: Bob (Barb), Karl, Fred, John, Virginia, Margurite<br />Absent: Victor, Dianne, Kenny<br /><br />It was determined that a quorum was present.<br /><br />Minutes
from the previous meeting April 25, 2022 had been discussed via e-mail
and several corrections were noted; the revised minutes were approved.<br /><br />There was no treasurer's report. There were no financial transactions since the last meeting.<br /><br />Agenda for this meeting: Officer and Board election, Progress on the Dance Series restart<br /><br />Election of Officers<br /><br /> A slate consisting of the current board membership and officer roles was proposed, seconded, and approved.<br /><br /> For the record the officer slate is:<br /><br /> President: John Wetzel<br /> Vice President: Margurite Frongrello<br /> Treasurer: Victor Gascon<br /> Secretary: Fred Druseikis<br /><br /> At-large Board Members are:<br /> Dianne Britton<br /> Kenny Greer<br /> Barbara (Bob) lastname?<br /> Karl Smith<br /> Virginia Winn<br /><br />Dance Series Progress<br /><br />The
board discussed at length various ideas and specifics for how to unfold
the forthcomming dance season. The nature of the conversation was more
akin to a working session to decide what to do, rather than a specified
set of motions for actions to be taken.<br /><br />It was recognized that
we need to have more than an August dance to restart the series. The
discussion revolved around various ideas:<br /> (1) Planning dates through January 2023<br /> (2) Don't consider a dance in December because holidays<br /> (3) Use a live band and caller for August, October, and January.<br /> (4) Use recorded music of various types (trad or techno) for September and November.<br />
(5) Continue planning for the use for the CFMA [Columbia Music Festival
Association] when possible because of it's highly desirable downtown
location (on Pulaski Street just on the edge of the Vista.)<br /><br />Karl
briefly described a multi-target messaging campaign involving different
organizations and web sites. He emphasized the need to begin messaging
in June to let people know "we're coming, details to follow." And then
to message again in July with specifics as they become known.<br /><br />Fred
suggested that a "pick-up band" of local musicians might be possible
for October. This was an off-the-cuff suggestion subject to further
discussion amongst potential participants. If an out-of-town band were
available that would be fine too.<br /><br />Karl further elaborated on the
discussion about the CFMA space and the general nature of the
conversation with Joseph, the CFMA Associate Director. To make the CFMA
space viable as a PERMANENT ALTERNATIVE to Lake Murray, we need two
things to be true:<br /> (a) Commitments for our dance dates, which are contingent on sighing an agreement with CFMA for use of their space;<br />
(b) An additional agreement with CFMA to keep our equipment on-site so
that it doesn't need to be hauled to each dance; this seems to place a
requirement for additional equipment;<br /> (c) Therefore additional
audio equipment may need to be acquired, or moved from Lake Murray, as
long as the CFMA can assure the dates. <br /> (d) It is unlikely that CFMA can commit to the same date for our season.<br /><br />For
the record, in the course of the discussions John wanted to make it
very clear that he has has to retire from the role of audio engineer and
sound tech for COTMD dances. The hiatus imposed by the pandemic has
created the opportunity and necessity for this transition. The COTMD
must set up proper support processes so John can step back from this
support role to which he as so graciously assumed over many years. A
start on this was accomplished earlier this year by moving some of our
equipment to Lake Murray. This reality directly impacts the
requirements for venues. (I am paraphrasing my understanding of John's
remarks.)<br /><br />After an hour's worth of conversation we were mightily
confused, so John created a table in real-time to describe his
understanding of the discussion as of that moment (let's say 8:50pm):<br /><br />Date (Approx) Music Location <br /><br />August Live Band In-Town [CFMA] NOTE: Since changed to Lexington venue!<br />September Recorded Music In-Town<br />October Live Band In-Town<br />November Recorded Music In-Town<br />December No Dance<br />January 2023 Live Band In-Town<br /><br />Specifically we would try to use CFMA for August with Lake Murray as backup.<br /><br />The
date was assumed to 3rd Saturday but this has changed. There are no
commitments from CFMA for these dates. See Notes below.<br /><br />Next Meeting date proposed for July 13, 2022; but this may change based on availability.<br /><br />The Meeting was adjourned at 9:15pm<br /><br />In
writing this I find there is no mechanism that seems to incorporate
business conducted by e-mail. What follows is additional actions take
by e-mail vote, or events and activites of board members which might be
relevant to the substance of these minutes. (Robert's Rules does not
allow the motion to ajourn to be tabled (i.e., deferred) because then
there would never be an end to the meeting.) So our meeting did end,
but we never stop talking (LOL). Hence just a list of e-mail
transactions to append to this set of minutes until they are approved at
the next (face) meeting.<br /><br />BUSINESS SINCE CONDUCTED BY E-MAIL (This list as of June 7, 2022)<br /><br />(1) After the meeting there was an email <b>vote to change the dance date to 4th Saturday.</b>
The motion was seconded and approved. The reason primarily was to
avoid conflict with regional dances often attended by members of the
Columbia dance community.<br /><br />(2) In an e-mail, John notified the
Board that the idea of moving the equipment from Lake Murray to CFMA is
not feasible by the August dance. <b>Therefore the August dance needs to be at Lake Murray</b>.<br /><br />(3)
Victor, Karl, Fred and Dianne, visited the CFMA venue Thursday, June
2. We saw the facility in general and the specific space in
particular. The general conclusion was that this would be quite good
for us. Victor summarized the inspection in an email to the Board.
Further progress including commitments to dates is predicated on
fulfilling CFMA requirements including insurance.<br /><br />(4) Karl has
received the application form from CFMA and forwarded it to the board.
CFMA is requesting a donation at a level commensurate with charges space
of equivalent value. This needs to be <b>discussed</b> because it is
not $50 per dance (as in $1/person) but possibly rather more like $50
per hour (~$200). There is also a charge to a CFMA presence at the
dance which if it is an employee of CFMA is treated as a donation, or
otherwise as a compensation if the person is not on CFMA staff. Proof
of insurance is required to be submitted with the application. An
officer needs to take action on the application.<br /><br /><br /></p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-68380663704507125762022-03-22T20:50:00.000-04:002022-03-22T20:52:39.824-04:00Minutes March 16, 2022<p> <br clear="all" />Minutes March 16, 2022 COTMD<br />Present:<br />Dianne<br />Virginia<br />Marguerite<br />Bob<br />John<br />Karl (new member, see below)<br /><br />The
meeting began with the treasurers report, which was provided by
Virginia, per info from Victor. The report was essentially "no change
since last board meeting".<br /><br />No one had read the previous minutes, so those were not approved, and that will be handled at the next meeting.<br /><br />John
reported on his visit to the CMFA (Columbia music festival association)
space. Although the spaces are more suitable then they were before,
John thinks they are still problematic. The visit was prompted by
information from Karl Smith, who was also invited to attend this board
meeting, and agreed to do so. This resulted in a drawn out discussion
of the space, and the advantages of an in town dance venue. Karl
pointed out that John's notion of "sound leakage" from other Saturday
events was not a real problem, as otherwise other users would have
encountered this issue. It was agreed that John and Karl would visit
the facility on several Saturday evenings (as time and schedules permit)
to see what Saturday nights are actually like at the CMFA space.<br /><br />Karl
seems motivated to try and make a central Columbia venue a possibility,
and was offered (and accepted) an invitation to join our board. The
board voted formally to accept him as a new at large board member.<br /><br />John
pointed out that for the "best" (for us) room in the CMFA facility to
be reasonably workable, it ought to have the following:<br />1. A pair of
powered speakers and a small mixing board that are permanently
attached/assigned and wired into that room. (We need only add mics and
cables)<br />2. Some kind of sound treatment on the two short walls of the room (behind band, and back of hall) to eliminate echo.<br />3. A real "sprung" floor.<br /><br />John
said that if typical Saturday nights do not have audio bleed problems
from other events (per Karl's report that this is not a real problem
based on his understanding) then he would be willing to discuss
possibility that CMFA might put proper sound system and/or echo
treatment in the chosen room, with labor help and advice from COTMD.<br /><br />We
then discussed the "when should we open back up" issue. After
discussing the current covid outlook, we, as a board, formally voted to
attempt to have a dance at Susan's Lexington facility (with option to
shift it to another venue if appropriate) on the third Saturday of
August 2022. Marguerite will research band/caller possibilities for
that date.<br /><br />In light of rapidly changing covid considerations, we
also decided to have our next meeting fairly soon. So the next meeting
is scheduled for Wednesday April 20 (so as to avoid a meeting while
everyone is finishing up their taxes).<br /><br />The meeting was adjourned.</p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-43762968823058374872021-09-16T20:18:00.000-04:002021-09-16T20:18:02.790-04:00Minutes September 15, 2021<p>Minutes, September 15, 2021</p><p>Attending:</p><p>Virginia</p><p>Dianne</p><p>John</p><p>Maraguerite</p><p>Victor (via telephone)</p><p>The meeting began with a discussion of whether or not we could proceed without having a quorum, and all slightly unsure of what the rules were on that. Once Victor joined us, it was clear that we did have a quorum, once we counted all the people who were not present, these being a minority of the board, so that we had more than 50% available to conduct business. </p><p>The treasurer' report was presented and approved.</p><p>The previous minutes were approved.</p><p>Victor reported on the private dance held at Susan's facility last weekend. Attendance was 12 persons, who "had a blast". The hold harmless waivers seemed to work pretty well, although owing to poor lighting conditions and tiny illegible numbers, the algorithm used to generate ID numbers for those signing the waiver may need to be re-visited. Or, a magnifying glass and good lighting might solve all those problems.</p><p>There was a standing email based question that had already been proposed and seconded, that is, to allow John to retain a "callers stand" (stepstool) and a direct box, without having to pay for these, in light of his long service as our sound person. The "ayes" had it, so John did not need to write us a check for those items.</p><p>A motion was made, seconded and approved, to allow Victor to put information about his next private dance on our website. That information will only be placed there a couple of weeks before the event, and the exact verbiage of that notice is subject to review and approval by the board before being published on our website. This is because any such notice has to make clear that our organization is not sponsoring the event, merely reporting the fact that it exists.</p><p>There was some discussion of whether it might be a good idea for those items of sound equipment that are not currently included in the gear that "stays set up and ready to use" (for example, our powered speakers) to "live" at Victor's house rather than store them at Susan's facility. The reason for this is that there are too many people with access to that building, and no way to assign blame if expensive gear goes missing. Victor agreed that he could store un-needed gear at his house, but only for the next couple of years, as he will not be in Columbia after that. Victor also agreed to bring Fred and Dianne's sound gear back to Columbia when he visits Susan's place at his next event. <br /></p><p>A general discussion was held as to when (if ever) things might open back up, contra-dance wise. The general consensus seems to be that, at best, things might get back to normal by Spring of 2022, but it is also quite possible that things will remain in limbo all the way through 2022.</p><p>In light of the fact that our organization will not be sponsoring any dances in the near future, we decided there was no point in meeting as soon as two months out. Instead, we agreed that Virginia would host the next meeting on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.</p><p>The meeting was adjourned.<br /></p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-55333120652043489742021-09-12T18:26:00.007-04:002021-09-12T18:26:57.857-04:00Minutes, July 14, 2021<p> Minutes, July 14, 2021<br /><br />The board met on July 14, 2021 at Virginia Winn's house. We socialized a bit starting at 7pm.<br /><br />Action items are highlighted in bold.<br /><br />The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm by John Wetzel.<br /><br />Attending in person:<br />John, Marguerite, Barb, Dianne, Fred, Victor, and Virginia.<br /><br />Nobody called in.<br /><br />The previous meeting minutes were approved. John will post.<br /><br />Victor presented the treasurer's report. There were no transactions. The cash balance remains as expected. The board voted to accept the report.<br /><br />The majority of the time was spent discussing how to resume a dance series. The discussion centered on concerns for legal liability, the desirability (or not) of the dance organizer being in the role of covid police, the issues of re-engaging the dance community, the issues with bands, callers, and viable venues. There was discussion of the approaches being taken by other dance communities, the need for liability waivers, and the paperwork needed (or not) to make it legally significant as opposed to just theatre.<br /><br />John said he could provide examples of a "hold harmless" agreement modeled on practices in surveying which he thought were both germane to our needs and legally binding. Victor said he would similarly inquire of other dance groups how they were dealing with legal issues associated with covid.<br /><br />With that as the backdrop, Victor described his exploration of the possibility of hosting a private, invitation-only, contradance at Susan Fort's hall. He thought that it might take place in mid-September. He is modeling this on some similar events he saw being tried up in the Greenville area. Victor asked for permission to post an announcement of his event on our Facebook page. The board approved this request recognizing that the private dance idea is a good way to gauge interest.<br /><br />As a second discussion topic, the issue of where the sound system is kept, needs to be addressed. John noted that moving the equipment around is becoming a bigger issue for him personally; and also that setup has a steep learning curve that makes it harder to get a willing new person able to do the job. The upshot of the discussion is that Victor will discuss with Susan the possibility of keeping our sound equipment at her hall in ready to use condition, ideally already wired and ready to go. A motion was made, seconded, and approved, that Victor should discuss sound equipment options with Susan and negotiate with her as necessary for keeping our sound equipment at her hall; and that the negotiation may entail equipment expenditures on the part of COTMD as needed to help reduce the complexity of setup so that newbies can feel confident in operating the sound system when dances finally resume.<br /><br />The next meeting will be Wednesday, September 15, at 7pm, at Virginia's.<br /><br />The meeting adjourned at 8:40pm.<br /><br />/s/ Frederick C Druseikis<br />Secretary</p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-38711237032290790062021-09-12T18:16:00.013-04:002021-09-12T18:20:47.204-04:00 Minutes, May 19,2021<p> COTMD Board Meeting 5/19/21 Minutes<br /><br />After a long hiatus the COTMD Board met at Virginia's house at 7pm on Wednesday 5/19/2021.<br /><br />Present: Victor, John, Virgina, Marguerite, Dianne, and Fred.<br />By phone: Natalie.<br /><br />The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm by John Wetzel. Fred took notes.<br /><br />We agreed to improvise the agenda as this meeting was the first since COVID-19 restrictions went into effect in March of last year (2020.)<br /><br />The minutes from the previous meeting -- November 2019 -- were reviewed and approved.<br /><br />Victor presented the treasurer's report. It should be noted that Virginia had decided to step back from the treasurer's responsibilities at the end of 2019, and Victor accepted the responsibilities. Then COVID happened and financially the group went into hibernation as there were no dances being produced. Victor reported the cash balance on hand based on the most recent bank statements. The board accepted the report.<br /><br />Fred reported that he renewed the domain names used by the group (contracola.org) for two years with the domain registrar. The cost was $35, which is being treated as a contribution.<br /><br />Victor reported that he contributed $175 to the group and paid them as various CDSS related fees during the 2020 financial year.<br /><br />Fred will provide Victor with the technical information needed for the treasurer to take over the domain registrar account for the group.<br /><br />The board next considered the status of officers. A motion was made, seconded, and passed, to re-elect the slate per the last election in May 2019.<br /><br />President: John<br />Vice President: Marguerite<br />Secretary: Fred<br />Treasurer: Victor<br />At large: Dianne, Bob/Barb, Natalie, Casey, Kenney<br /><br />Next the board discussed the status of dance production. The general question was when to reopen the dance series.<br /><br />Two realities need to be accommodated: (a) that bands and callers are reluctant to take gigs given the general level of concern about the spread of covid; and (b) when we restart that there is no continuity with previous dances and it may have been as much as 18 months or 2 years since a local dance was last produced.<br /><br />What came out of that conversation was the following items:<br /><br />(1) We won't be in the role of being "covid police".<br />(2) We need to warn dancers that they really really should be vaccinated; if they are not then "good luck."<br />(3) That social dancing was highly likely to spread covid.<br />(4) Victor and Natalie will be looking at ways of polling community sentiment about when dances should restart; we should set our reopening based on perceived demand.<br />(5) In the interim we can be a focal point for organizing car pools, etc, to dances elsewhere.<br /><br />The Board selected July 14 as the next meeting date; to see what kind of sentiment is emerging for a restart date.<br /><br />The meeting adjourned at approximately 9pm.<br /><br />/s/Frederick C Druseikis<br />Secretary</p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-49914767632677670312021-05-14T17:30:00.003-04:002021-05-14T17:35:15.386-04:00Minutes, November 19, 2019<p>Columbia Old Time Music & Dance<br />
<br />
Board Meeting - November 19, 2019<br />
<br />
MINUTES<br />
<br />
The board met at Virginia house.<br />
<br />
ATTENDING (in person)<br />
<br />
Casey, Fred, John, Jonathan, Marguerite, Victor, and Virginia<br />
<br />
ATTENDING (by phone)<br />
<br />
Natalie<br />
<br />
ABSENT<br />
<br />
Dianne (illness)<br />
<br />
The group gathered 7pm and socialized a bit. John called the
meeting to order at 7:30pm.<br />
<br />
REVIEW OF MINUTES<br />
<br />
The minutes of the previous board meeting, held September 17, were
read and discussed. There was additional discussion of "exit
strategy" options mentioned in the minutes as some had not been part
of first conversation. No changes were proposed and no motions were
put forward in that regard. The minutes were approved.<br />
</p><p>TREASURER'S REPORT</p>
<p>Virginia presented the treasurer's report. There was discussion
of the current loss rate. The report was approved by voice vote.</p>
<p>Virginia submitted her resignation from the Board role of
treasurer but to continue as member at large. Victor volunteered
to fulfill the Treasure's rol for the remainder of her unexpired
term. A motion to so recognize this change was made, seconded,
and approved.</p>
<p>By board action therefore Victor Gascon is now Treasurer.<br />
</p>
<p>A random discussion later in the meeting concerned tax reporting
technicalities. Victor agreed to do this for John, as he was
already familiar with the process.<br />
</p>
<p>DANCE REPORT</p>
<p>The October dance was well attended, headcount in the mid 40's.
The November dance didn't see as large attendance, head count in
the very low 20's.</p>
<p>It was observed that although Susan does make an effort to have
water put out for the dancers, we are coming up short on cups.<br />
</p>
<p>Via e-mail the week before the November dance, the board approved
the purchase of 10 signs for placement on routes on the way to the
venue. That e-mail chain is included in these minutes by
reference. Summary: we agreed upon the need, a simple design, and
responsibilities for placement; and we bought them for a good
price. General feeling was that while e-mail is workable, it
could have been done a lot faster with face-mail.<br />
</p>
<p>Having signs, there was discussion about sign placement at the
November dance. It was observed that the signs are hard to
recognize in the dark. Victor volunteered to accent a few of them
with some reflective tape to help improve their visibility in the
dark. Board members seemed to have different feelings about
placement and visibility, but it was agreed by all that we'll get
better at this as we have some more experience with it.</p>
<p>A second issue is that the owner is concerned about the presence
of these signs, so they need to be removed after the dance, and
put up within an hour or two at most before the event. Marguerite
was appointed to be the "sign wallah."<br />
</p>
<p>BOOKER'S REPORT</p>
<p>Marguerite give an update on the booking of bands and callers for
the rest of the season. Our web presence has been updated with
that information. Marguerite asked if she should start booking
for next year and beyond. It was agreed that she should start
booking for the 2020-2021 season. (No motion was thought to be
necessary for this.)<br />
</p>
<p>Marguerite asked for permission to negotiate a rate larger than
the current max of $280 for an out of town band for January. Fred
volunteered to cover the difference between the current max and
the price being asked by the band in this case. The board
approved.<br />
</p>
<p>Our schedule currently shows a Techno dance for December.
Jonathan mentioned that <span class="il">Contra</span> Force would be willing to do a live
dance on that date for a very discounted price and the good will
of the holiday season, if they can hold off on making a decision
about it until the end of November and decline if they need too
take a better gig. (This is basically a right of first refusal.)
It was suggested that we just cover <span class="il">Contra</span> Force's generously
discounted price and the cost of the hall and offer to run the
dance as free will donation, and advertise the hell out of it. A
motion was made, seconded and approved to allow Jonathan to
explore this further and to proceed with that if can happen.
Otherwise it will just be our originally planned Techno dance.
Jonathan will be the caller in either case.<br />
</p>
<p>OTHER BUSINESS</p>
<p>A discussion about venues ensued, especially about the parameters
or characteristics thereof. Rather than declare criteria, it
seems more like we just need to record the criteria for each venue
as we visit them. The choice of one venue over another is a
trade-off on several variable, size of the space just being one of
them. There are many other factors. Generally, it was felt the
the Quaker Church, as charming as it is in many ways, has a number
of issues that make it difficult to dance there. The search
continues. In this context there was discussion about the
American Legion Hall in Lexington, its suitability, price, etc.
The exchange was informational and no motions were put forward.
Quaker Church remains a fall-back venue.<br />
</p>
<p>Marguerite raised the issue of how to publicize the negotiating
parameters we have for bands and callers. It is important to have
our basic position and expectations easily available, preferably
by page(s) on our web presence. Marguerite and Victor will review
the current information and Victor will update the web as needed.</p>
<p>NEXT MEETING</p>
<p>Due to person schedules the next board meeting is being delayed
by a month. It is scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, 2020.</p>
<p>The meeting was adjourned at 9:16pm.</p>
<p>/s/ Frederick C. Druseikis, Secretary.</p><p> </p>John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-65319710735306990842019-09-26T09:27:00.004-04:002019-09-26T09:29:36.022-04:00Minutes, September 17, 2019Minutes of Board Meeting of September 17, 2019<br />
Submitted by Victor Gascón<br />
<br />
<b>PRESENT:</b> Natalie (phone), Jonathan (phone), Marguerite, Virginia, John, Victor; a quorum was declared.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>ONGOING BUSINESS</b><br />
<br />
1. <b>Approve minutes of previous meeting:</b> minutes of the last minute were approved with a clarification that our monthly loss is not $300; finances were reviewed and the monthly loss was recalculated at $142 per month.<br />
<br />
2. <b>Treasurer’s report:</b> Virginia presented her report and it was approved as read.<br />
<br />
3. <b>Reports from most recent dance/dances:</b> we talked at length about a new dancer that is restricted to a wheelchair. Although she did quite well, some of our regular dancers did not know how to be good partners to her. Victor offered to reach out to the Contra community on Facebook and also to one of our regular dancers from Charlotte (who danced very well with this new dancer) and seek so me guidance on how to be better partners to her. There was some concern that not knowing how to dance with someone in a wheelchair could be dangerous to the person in the chair.<br />
<br />
4. <b>Booking report (and discuss booking strategies):</b> Marguerite reported that booking is in progress and the group offered some suggestions to fill the remaining vacancies for 2020.<br />
<br />
5. <b>Reimbursable costs and charges:</b> none reported.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>OLD BUSINESS</b><br />
<br />
1. <b>Review of financial analysis from last meeting:</b> as previously reported (see above), the losses per month were re-calculated to $142 instead of $300.<br />
<br />
2. <b>December Dance Venue:</b> There is a question concerning the availability of the Quaker Church for December. John Wetzel will contact Jonathan G. to find out of the hall will be available for that month. We previously heard that it would be, but that Jonathan G. might not be our host, but that another church member would take his place.<br />
<br />
3. <b>Venue Search Update:</b> The group spent some time reviewing progress on our search for a new venue. Marguerite reported on her work with several possible locations. Natalie previously produced a spreadsheet for us to track our results, which she sent to Fred (he is our lead contact on this). Victor will get the spreadsheet from Natalie and make it available to the Board through Google Documents.<br />
<br />
4. <b>Status of Facebook Donations Button:</b> Victor reported that he will have this done by the end of this week.<br />
<br />
5. <b>Exit strategy for COTMD:</b> the group had a vivid discussion concerning the need for an exit strategy in case we cannot continue to operate due to low attendance. Victor suggested during the last meeting that it would be prudent for us to decide when we would suspend operations (either temporarily or permanently) based on a certain amount of bank funds. At this point, based on our current expenses and monthly losses, we can sustain operations for about 3.5 years. Some of the options presented were:<br />
a. Stop operations when we reach a certain balance on our checking account. We will need to decide that at a future date.<br />
b. If/when we reach that balance, do we suspend operations and hope we can re-start at a later date? Do we completely close our doors? If we decide to terminate dances, do we leave the money in the checking account and hope others could use it to re-start the dances later? Do we use it for an all-out dance? Do we donate it to CDSS or another non-profit organization that is closely aligned with our mission? These are all questions the Board will need to entertain in future meetings.<br />
<br />
None of the above precludes us continuing to seek donations and working to improve our dance attendance. The exit strategy is simply a prudent way to plan for the worst-case scenario. John mentioned that, without this in place, we could find ourselves in the same position the organization was a few years ago when Board members had to put in money to keep dances going.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEW BUSINESS</b><br />
<br />
<b>Lake Murray Contra:</b> Jonathan J. and Victor are meeting on September 18 with Susan Forte to discuss using her barn for our dances. They will report on negotiations after their meeting. Three main points will be part of these talks: monthly fee, liability insurance, and management of the hall activities during the dances.<br />
<br />
As a side-note to this, Victor offered to create a Waiver form that we can ask dancers to sign to protect the organization.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT MEETING:</b> the next meeting with be at Virginia's home on November 19, 2019. This is the week before Thanksgiving, and the week after our November dance.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>ADJOURNMENT:</b> meeting adjourned shortly before 9 PM.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-23099488418341849182019-08-24T20:36:00.000-04:002019-08-24T20:36:16.038-04:00Minutes, July 16, 2019COTMD Board Minutes for Tuesday, July 18.<br />
<br />
The meeting was held at Virginia's house.<br />
<br />
People gathered and socialized starting at 7 pm.<br />
<br />
Attending in person:<br />
<br />
Victor, Dianne, Virginia, Fred, John, Marguerite, Jonathan<br />
<br />
Attending via phone:<br />
<br />
Natalie, Casey<br />
<br />
John called the meeting to order at 7:32 pm.<br />
<br />
The proposed agenda was reviewed and approved.<br />
<br />
the minutes for the last meeting were approved. it was noted that connie has since resigned from the board.<br />
<br />
TREASURE'S REPORT<br />
<br />
Virginia presented the treasure's report.<br />
<br />
The the financial documents from the group's checking account were reviewed and approved.<br />
<br />
The treasurer prepared a spreadsheet summarizing the operational results over the last year. This recorded the data from the specific "dance sheets" that record the payments and attendance statistics for each event. There was general discussion about the current run rate (loss) and it was noted that this is (on average) in the vicinity of $300/dance. Attendance has been significantly off from past years. Other dance groups are facing similar problems.<br />
<br />
Jonathan requested that the board accept his calling for two forthcoming future dances as payment in-kind for the outstanding balance on the speakers. The board approved this. The treasurer will make appropriate transactions in the general ledger to reflect this.<br />
<br />
In view of the current run rate, it was proposed that an agenda item be added for the next meeting: Discussion of Exit Strategy for COTMD as an organization.<br />
<br />
It was proposed that a Google Docs folder be made available for Board materials so that those attending by phone would have access to them during the call. This was widely perceived as a good idea. Concerns were raised over the possibility of unauthorized access; it is believed that these can be satisfactorily resolved.<br />
<br />
BOOKER'S REPORT<br />
<br />
Marguerite presented the booker's report.<br />
<br />
We are booking for the 2019-2020 season assuming that we will continue to use the Quaker Church as the venue.<br />
<br />
Compensation-wise, our pay scale for outside bands and callers is similar to that for other groups.<br />
<br />
In view of the current run rate, the booking policy for outside talent is to book only duo's.<br />
<br />
The booking policy is presently to give first preference for dates to local bands and callers. The board generally agrees with this.<br />
<br />
Victor has been working on his calling over that last interval by attending workshops and seeking a mentor. He requested that the board consider allowing him to call a couple of dances supervised by the main caller in an evening so that he can better calibrate his progress. Jonathan volunteered to support this request; and it was also reported that Kenny had made a similar offer as well.<br />
<br />
Natalie put together a spreadsheet to catalog the venues which have been investigated. The secretary will adopt this as a starting point for future record keeping.<br />
<br />
OLD BUSINESS<br />
<br />
With the ascendancy of John to the position of COTMD president, the issue of IRS Forms required by CDSS was revisited. In the interval the IRS has moved from paper forms to an on-line system for mandatory reporting. The required data is similar it just needs to be put in a different place now.<br />
<br />
It was noted that there has been a rather striking gender imbalance at the Quaker Church. Too many larks and not enough ravens; or is it the other way around? There was discussion about the topic of dancing one's opposite role and it was suggested that one of the local callers might offer a brief introduction during the break for those interested. It was generally felt that attendance has taken a hit because of the change in venue and the number of dances that got canceled last season -- one by the weather, and another two because of hall availability.<br />
<br />
There is concern that the scheduled date for the December 2019 dance (12/21/2019) is too close to Christmas and attendance will suffer even more. There is a general question about the availability of the Quaker Church venue during the Advent season as well, so availability is still TBD. Therefore the board voted to cancel the December 2019 dance and instead approved a Techno Dance for that date, to be hosted by Jonathan as caller and DJ, subject to availability of the hall. A voluntary contribution will be requested. COTMD will cover hall rental should there be a shortfall.<br />
<br />
QUEST FOR VENUES<br />
<br />
Dianne reported on the status of our application for use of the Ebeneezer Lutheran Church's gymnasium. Some years ago -- possibly 15-20 -- COTMD did use this venue at a very favorable rate. The following issues have been identified in the formal response to our application: (1) Concern over soles of shoes on the newly refinished floor; can we dance on special floor mats? (2) Can't guarantee 3rd Saturdays; (3) Church must approve all advertising; (4) Hall rental $400/evening; (5) Liability insurance $1M required; (6) Waiving $300/evening cleanup; (7) Significant additional costs if door keys are lost. The board voted to decline the offer.<br />
<br />
Marguerite reported on the Rosenwall Community Center in Lexington. At this point there is no price. The venue's calendar is synced to the public schools. The police department opens and closes the building. It has a stage and wood floor. The building is old; AC power outlets are fewer than we might expect. Has air conditioning. Is 18 miles from Columbia; half-way to Devil's Backbone. Currently available dates: Oct, Nov, Feb, Mar, Apr., May. Still being investigated.<br />
<br />
Virginia reported on the Laurie Senior Center. Expensive $480. In Five Points. Issues.<br />
<br />
Mt. Hebron Methodist Church on Leaphart Road in West Columbia may be a possibility. Marguerite offered to follow up with their senior pastor. Fred will provide contact info.<br />
<br />
DANCE ETIQUETTE ISSUE<br />
<br />
Over the last few weeks it has come to the attention of the Board that one of the regular dancers seems to be having issues with dance etiquette, viz. excessively powerful swings and twirls and seeming refusal to honor the requests of his dance partner. This has been ongoing for some time. Several ladies had noted this when asked; and some reported injuries as a consequence of dancing with the gentleman in question. The Board is concerned first with the safety issues inherit in this situation, and also with the liability issues of not taking action. The Board has formulated several drafts to the individual. The specific content was discussed in the meeting, including issues of tone, and possible consequences for not changing the behavior, including being banned from dances.<br />
<br />
The Board approved the following: that John and Natalie finalize the official letter from the Board and sent it to the individual in question; the letter will be sent under John's name in his official role as president.<br />
<br />
NEXT MEETING<br />
<br />
The date Tuesday, September 17, 2019, was selected. Dianne and Fred noted that they will quite probably be out of the country then.<br />
<br />
ADJOURNMENT<br />
<br />
A motion was made and seconded. The meeting concluded at 9:30 pmUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-69060333446981891112019-05-25T16:04:00.001-04:002019-05-25T16:04:49.426-04:00Minutes, May 21, 2019<div>
Minutes, May 21, 2019</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
--Natalie Weston (via telephone)</div>
<div>
--Bob Fellenstein </div>
<div>
--Virginia Winn<br />--John Wetzel<br />--Dianne Britton<br />--Fred Drusekis</div>
<div>
--Marguerite Frongillo</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The treasurer gave a brief report on available funds.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Various people provided their thoughts on the last two dances, which were both at our new venue at the Quaker meeting hall.</div>
<div>
Attendance
is low, but the dancers who attended the last dance seemed to enjoy
themselves. The working capacity of the hall seems to be about 46 to 48
dancers, allowing 40 to dance at most at one time.</div>
<div>
We can
cover the costs of most dances with that many dancers, but not our
yearly costs, and not "big name/expensive" bands and such.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dianne
Cahill sent us an email indicating that she has determined she cannot
continue to serve on the board, but she is happy to help us out when she
can.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There was some discussion of using
Survey Monkey to reach out to our dancers and get feedback. Natalie
agreed to look into the Survey Monkey issue, including possible
downsides, such as this service possibly requesting that survey
respondents identify themselves using (for example) their facebook ID,
and then demanding access to friend lists and things of that sort in
order to respond to the survey.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We
discussed the fact that apparently no one has updated the list of email
recipients in a while. Virginia will try to find copies of the
handwritten lists of people wanting to join our email lists. These were
photographed, and may even exist as paper copies with the names crossed
out once they were photographed. Virginia will also check with Victor
to see if he has any of those photographs of email lists. We will then
be able to include those new email recipients on our newsletters and
such.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We agreed that Natalie would take
over the maintaining of the email list (ie. trying to keep the email
list of dancers up to date) and that Fred would maintain and update the
website with things such as the current pricing scheme, which was
incorrect as of the time of the last dance.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We
discussed how to proceed with booking, which required us to first look
at our upcoming schedule in light of recent events and issues (venue
change being prime).</div>
<div>
We decided not to have a dance in July, and to have one in August, with a pot luck included in that one.</div>
<div>
We
decided that booking could proceed for next season on that basis, with
some reservation about the December date, which is far too close to
Christmas.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Natalie reported on her research on the metrics of our mailchimp outreach. Those metrics looked pretty good. </div>
<div>
Natalie and Connie agreed to be responsible for sending out reminder/newsletter emails.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We
discussed continuing our efforts to find a better venue. This included
the idea that we need to maintain a list of places we have "checked
out". We also agreed that this is best done by use of a spreadsheet,
and that Fred should be the one to set up and maintain the spreadsheet.
Presumably this spreadsheet would be available for viewing by all (and
possibly for editing by anyone investigating veneus?), in order to
prevent different board members from investigating venues that have
already been checked on and rejected (or are already in process of
evaluation). The spreadsheet allows us to have columns for
accept/reject, as well as things like parking, bathrooms, ambience etc.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We did not discuss the need for recruiting new board members, other than to welcome a new one at this meeting. Welcome,
Bob Fellenstein! <u><i><b><br /></b></i></u></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We voted in the slate of officer candidates as developed during the last meeting, as follows:</div>
<div>
President: John Wetzel</div>
<div>
Vice Presidient/Booking agent: Marguerite Frongillo</div>
<div>
Secretary: Fred Druseikis</div>
<div>
Treasurer: Virginia Winn</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We also voted in the following members-at-large:</div>
<div>
Jonathan Janzen</div>
<div>
Bob Fellenstein</div>
<div>
Connie Robinette</div>
<div>
Natalie Weston</div>
<div>
Cayce Thompson</div>
<div>
Dianne Britton</div>
<div>
Kenny Greer</div>
<div>
Victor
Gascon (Victor has resigned, but we are hoping he will agree to rejoin
us as a member at large if and when he is able and willing)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The next meeting will be on July 16, 2019</div>
<br />The meeting was adjourned.John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-71519544237712682172019-04-20T16:23:00.000-04:002019-04-20T16:23:16.709-04:00Minutes, April 16, 2019<div>
Minutes, April 16, 2019</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
--Victor Gascon</div>
<div>
--Virginia Winn<br />--John Wetzel<br />--Dianne Britton<br />--Fred Drusekis</div>
<div>
--Marguerite Frongillo</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The minutes of the previous meeting was approved.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The treasurer gave a brief report on available funds.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We
discussed booking related issues, specifically when booking for next
season should begin. We voted to delay booking at least until one dance
had occurred at the new venue, as our experience there (will this even
work?) should influence that decision.</div>
<div>
No one has visited
the "ballroom on Broad river road" yet. However, if this is the
"Esmerelda" ballroom, which it probably is, this is unsuitable, per
comments by John Wetzel who has been there.</div>
<div>
Ebenezer lutheran might be workable, we have danced there before, but is costly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Liability insurance was discussed at length. Result:</div>
<div>
1. CDSS affiliated insurance covers only the group not the officers.</div>
<div>
2. Therefore, it does not address our primary concern of protecting board members individually from being sued.</div>
<div>
3.
Therefore, we voted to purchase that insurance only if required to do
so by a venue, and the treasurer is empowered to do so immediately if
such conditions come to pass.</div>
<div>
4. The issue of finding
insurance (or convincing ourselves via research that this is not needed)
to protect individual board members remains on the table. Fred
suggested that we begin by contacting CDSS to find out if there is any
documented history of suits against dance group board members.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Accounts receivable: Jonathan still owes some money to group for speakers.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Victor
spoke with many organizers from around the USA at the bug stomp. The
problems we are having are the same everywhere, and we are actually in
fairly good shape compared to many groups. Meaning we are not doing
something wrong.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Victor will forge ahead on the name tags issue.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Victor announced that he is resigning as President (and from the board also) effective immediately. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The slate of officers to be voted on at the next meeting is:</div>
<div>
PRESIDENT: John Wetzel</div>
<div>
VICE PRESIDENT: Marguerite Frongillo</div>
<div>
SECRETARY: Fred Drusekis</div>
<div>
TREASURER: Virginia Winn</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The next meetng will be on the 21st of May</div>
<br />The meeting was adjourned,John Wetzelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08102884501694411304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100943650485477961.post-15885893851655457942019-03-19T23:37:00.002-04:002019-03-19T23:37:43.573-04:00Minutes, March 19, 2019<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4604789130187210864" itemprop="description articleBody">
<div>
Minutes, March 19, 2019</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
--Victor Gascon</div>
<div>
--Connie Robinette</div>
<div>
--Virginia Winn<br />
--John Wetzel<br />
--Dianne Britton<br />
--Fred Drusekis</div>
<div>
--Marguerite Frongillo</div>
<div>
--Natalie Weston</div>
<div>
--Dianne Cahill</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The
minutes of the previous meetings, as well as all normal buisness, was
tabled/suspended because we needed to deal with urgent venue issues.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The treasurer gave a quick report on available funds.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
There was considerable discussion of the following:</div>
<div>
1. We should go to the JCC because it is big, but it is expensive.</div>
<div>
2. We should go to the Quaker hall because it is affordable, but it is small.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
A motion was made to finish out the dance season at the JCC. The motion was voted down.</div>
<div>
A motion was made to finish out the dance season at the Quaker hall. The motion was approved.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
A motion was made and approved that Connie contact Soda City about venue possibilities.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
A motion was made and approved that the Board will look into obtaining liability insurance from or thru CDSS.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Once
these basic decisions had been made, it was informally agreed that we
also needed to look at other venues in the meantime, and that individual
persons would volunteer to look at particular venues (or do other
related tasks) so that things would actually get done.</div>
<div>
To that end, the following persons agreed to perform the following actions:</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b>Dianne</b> C agreed to go and look at EBENEZER</div>
<div>
<b>Natalie</b> agreed to check out REDEEMER LUTHERAN</div>
<div>
<b>Victor</b> agreed to check on the ELITE BALLROOM </div>
<div>
<b>Marguerite</b> agreed to check on EASTMINSTER</div>
<div>
<b>Connie </b>will put out the word for a hall on SODA CITY</div>
<div>
<b>John</b>
will send out an email describing the "required minimum" info each
person who visits a venue should provide to the board via email. This
is to avoid dribbling out info about a venue over many emails.</div>
<div>
<b>Virginia </b>will contact CDSS about liability Insurance to cover COTMD</div>
<br />
<div>
The next meeting will be on April 16, 2019.</div>
<div>
</div>
The meeting was adjourned,
</div>
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