Minutes. November 15, 2016

Minutes. November 15, 2016

Members present:

Aaron Davis

Victor Gascon

John Wetzel

Fred Druseikis

Dianne Britton

Marguerite Frongillo

Natalie Weston (via telephone)

Connie Robinette (via telephone)

The meeting began by approving the minutes of the previous meeting.

The Treasurer's report was tabled, since we did not have up to date financial information (Virginia was unable to attend).

No reimbursements were reported to be needed by anyone.

The reports from our last dance were discussed, with the primary theme being that the
problems we are having are common across the southeast as far as we can tell, and so are not likely to be the result of anything we are doing wrong. 

The mailing list was discussed.  Aaron has taken over the mailing list, and there was some discussion to clarify this issue.  Aaron is using mailchimp as the email list tool.  Content to be supplied by any of us who are up for supplying it.

Marguerite indicated there was no change on the status of bookings.

We discussed recruiting students and other community members as dancers and board members.   No new candidates have been identified.

The mission/vision statement issue was bought up, and it was made quite clear that this issue is settled, and that this is a matter of record in previous minutes.  Just some minor confusion about it having been voted on.

The selling of our old speakers came up briefly, JWetzel reported that this was just a matter

of getting the deal done (Jonathan is to purchase them).

Liability insurance  JWetzel reported that the Emerald Ballroom does have some liability coverage, which provides us with some protection.

The possibility of having a pot luck dinner was discussed.  We decided to try a "hybrid" pot luck in January, meaning that we would invest up to $100 of group money to provide part of the food.

Aaron reported briefly about the contra video he is working on for us.

We discussed leadership positions and possibilities.  Victor indicated he would be willing to

serve at least one more year as president.  John and Connie both indicated a willingness to serve in that role after that, should it transpire that no one else is interested in doing that.  Everyone serving at present seems to be willing to serve in their current office for at least one more year.

There was considerable discussion of the low attendance, with no new ideas as to how to

deal with this issue, other than to soldier on for now as best we can.

Summer dances for next year were discussed.  FOR THE MOMENT, and pending the results and attendance of future dances, we are going to hold off on:

A Techno in July AND

A Live dance in August.

We will need to check and see if we still need to pay for the hall on those months.

The official donation receipt form was unveiled, and the need for it discussed.

Jonathan' birthday party date has been shifted to January 27,which eliminates anyone having to choose between his party and our December dance.

The next meeting will be held on January 10, 2017.

The meeting was adjourned.

Minutes. September 13, 2016

Minutes. September 13, 2016

Members present:

Aaron Davis

Virginia Winn

Victor Gascon

John Wetzel

Fred Druseikis

Dianne Britton

Marguerite Frongillo

Natalie Weston

Jonathan Janzen (via telephone)

The meeting began by approving the minutes of the previous meeting.

The Treasurer's report was provided, and accepted by voice vote.

The reports from our last dance were discussed, primarily our financial loss at the dance, which was approximately $278. This also brought up the fact that we need more "Jacob"s to help with our attendance issues. 

The mailing list was discussed, and we decided to have Aaron take over the mailing list, and move it over to mailchimp, and act as the publisher of content to be distrubuted thereby.  Said content to be supplied by any of us who are up for supplying it.

Marguerite provided a brief report on the status of bookings.

We discussed recruiting students and other community members as dancers and board members. 

Victor talked about his experience with attempting to network and gain publicity using MEETUPS as a tool.  In spite of having no luck, he is going to give it another try until the next meeting.

Victor and Aaron will be meeting to discuss details about/for our marketing efforts.

Victor has an action item, which is to add contra dance links to our website/blog space.

Poonam and Connie continue to post in facebook and other social networking spaces.

The group agreed to allow John Wetzel to attempt to sell our older speakers.  Jonathan Janzen expressed an interest in possibly purchasing these.

The board discussed again the issue of liability insurance. 
John has an action item, which is to check with Emerald Ballroom and try to find out whether we are covered under their insurance (if any).

Victor indicated that he continues to work on updating the website/blog for our group.

Jonathan suggested that we might do buttons, both NAME buttons but also MESSAGE buttons (messages like "I dance both roles").  Virginia responded with our history with name buttons and tags, and indicated that this is something she has done plenty of, and someone else would have to take on this issue.  This issue will be discussed again at future meetings.

The board decided that, because of the election, the next meeting will be held on November 15, 2016, a week later than it would normally take place.

The meeting was adjourned.

MINUTES, July 12,2016

Minutes, July 12,2016

Members present:

Amy Lacoste

Aaron Davis

Connie Robinette

Virginia Winn

Victor Gascon

John Wetzel

Fred Druseikis

Dianne Britton

Marguerite Frongillo

Natalie Weston

The meeting began by approving the minutes of the previous meeting.

The treasurers report was given.  It was also heavily discussed, as we lost about $900 in the last season.  This included discussions of various numbers such as "average cost per dancer", and more particularly, how to stop the loss of dollars to our organization.

We decided that at each dance, we will try to obtain a rough count of new and experienced dancers.  This will be done by a caller or other available person at mid dance, using a show of hands, and is not to be added to the workload of those working the door.

It was formally decided that we will terminate the use of "get in free" coupons. 

It was formally decided that we will terminate the selling of prepaid tickets.

There was some discussion of using meetup groups as a way to bring in more dancers.

It was formally decided to take no other actions (such as raising prices) for six months, while we see how things are going. 

This allowed us to finish with the treasurers report.

The agenda items New Reimbursements, Reports from last dance, and Mailing lists were dealt with very quickly (nothing much to discuss).

Fred brought up that there was interest in electronic/computer payments for people who do not carry cash.  This was discussed.  Victor agreed to look into the technical aspects of this.  There seemed to be general agreement that we could probably pull this off, providing that users of this method of payment would probably have to pay a one dollar surcharge to cover costs of the transaction.  BUT it would take time (and create problems for the door workers because of that).

We had a brief discussion about the continued search for potential board members.  No one had any people to suggest.

The latest draft of the mission statement was read twice, discussed briefly, and formally accepted by vote with no changes.  Our now official mission statement is as follows:

"Our mission is to encourage the growth and development of traditional music and dance in the South Carolina Midlands.  We do this by hosting contradances and live music events; by building community through teaching and demonstration of traditional dance forms; and by promoting events in the Columbia area."

We briefly discussed out summer schedule.

We were going to table all remaining agenda items for the future, but first we had a brief discussion of Aaron's proposed video.  We then tabled the rest of the agenda to be handled at future meetings.

The tabled (deferred) agenda items are:

WORK IN PROGRESS
  Aaron, contra dance video
  Links to dance videos on website (Tims idea)
  Posting our dances on dance related facebook sites (Poonam)
  Using meetup groups (although we discussed those today somewhat)
  Midlands Gives (Join as a promotional opportunity, Connie)

NEW BUISNESS

  Sell old speakers?

  Liability Insurance

  Website update (mostly other events)

The next meeting will be held on September13, 2016

People started yawning and the meeting was adjourned.

Minutes 05/10/2016

Minutes, May 10, 2016

Board Members present  (** denotes new members to be voted in at this meeting)

Amy Lacoste **

Aaron Davis **

Connie Robinette

Virginia Wynn

Victor Gascon

John Wetzel

Fred Druseikis

Dianne Britton

Poonam Dhull

The meeting began by approving the minutes of the previous meeting.

Virgina delivered the treasurers report, which was an abbreviated process owing to her not being able to print out anything, due to a fried computer. 
We lost about $85?? at the last dance (I did not record exact amount).

John Submitted receipts for a $30 expenditure to get an amplifier channel repaired (peavy power amp owned by COTMD).

Victor stated (on behalf of Marguerite who was not present) that the signing up of bands for the next season is almost complete, and signing up of callers is going pretty well.

We then held our election to elect officers and members at large.  All officers and members present at the meeting agreed to serve another year, and we therefore voted for all existing officers and members to continue in their present positions, with the caveat that any officers (Marguerite) and members (Jonathan, Natalie and Tim) not present at this meeting retain the right to refuse to serve in those positions.  Fred indicated that he and Dianne might not be able to serve on the board after the next season, this being intended as an early warning of that possibility.

There was extensive discussion of the Mission/Vision statement.  The result of this discussion was that Fred will blend the best elements of a couple of versions of statement that seemed to be preferred by most of those present, with some verbiage to be added (community building, etc.).  The resulting revised statement will be presented for an up or down vote at the next meeting.

There was a brief discussion of "Midlands Gives", with the result that we will try again with this next year, there having been a lot of issues and problems with that this last year.

Aaron offered to create a professional video to answer the question: "What is Contra".  Victor will set up a scripting meeting with himself, Aaron and John to try and create a script to act as a starting point for this process.

The use of Meetup groups and other methods of  outreach were discussed.

We agreed that a July meeting would be a good idea, owing to the summer dances scheduled.  The next meeting will be held on July 12, 2016

Meeting adjourned.

Minutes 03/08/ 2016

Minutes of the COTMD Board meeting of March 8, 2016

Attending were:

Jonathan Janzen

John Wetzel

Dianne Britton

Virginia Winn

Fred Druseikis

Marguerite Frongillo

Victor Gascon

Tim Piesch

The meeting was opened, and began by approving the minutes of the previous meeting.

Virginia presented the treasurers report.  We gained $117 at the January dance, and lost $30 at the February dance.

There were no new reimbursements.

The reports from our last dance were discussed.  This brought up the issue of high tech methods of paying.  Victor agreed to investigate whether it would be feasible for us to sell tickets using debit cards or other electronic technologies.  There was general agreement that we are probably too small for that to work, but we can look into it.

The mailing list status was briefly reviewed, and is up to date.

Marguerite presented the current status of her booking efforts. 

Gail Sullivan had indicated in an email that she had changed her mind about serving on the board, and has therefore resigned.

Jonathan Janzen agreed to serve on the board, and was voted in as a member at large.

We discussed recruitment of students and other community members to grow our dance community.

The comittee tasked with working on our mission and vision statement submitted two draft mission statements to choose from.  These were briefly discussed, with the result that we agreed that anyone who wanted to submit other suggested wording to that committee could do so, if this is done within two weeks.  The committee will review those submissions, and will then create and submit one (or possibly more) draft mission statements to the entire board, at the next meeting, for discussion and an up or down vote.

The creation of a vision statement has been set aside until the mission statement issue has been settled.

The "work in progress" item called "Summer 2016 Dances" was discussed again:

We will have a "regular" dance in August, (previously agreed).

We will have a "techno" dance in July (previously agreed) and we have now agreed to try and combine that dance with a swing dance with possible involvement of a swing dance organization, this to include Swing teaching/dance from 4:00 to 6:00, a pot luck from 6:00 to 7:00, then our techno contra event.

ACTION ITEM:  John Wetzel to check with Barbara at the Emerald to see if this will fly, only then will others talk to swing dance groups about how to make it happen.

The addition to our website of video links about contra dancing was discussed.  Tim agreed to review existing contra dance videos, and to suggest a list of video links (youtube? vimeo?) that could be made a part of our website, with board approval.

There was a brief discussion about possible alternatives regarding the storage and safekeeping of sound equipment, the possibilities of insurance, etc.  We decided for now that we would continue to self-insure (that is, take our chances with fate).

TABLED FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION 
The following items are carried forward from the last meeting, (not discussed at this meeting owing to lack of time):
Posting our dance events on our dance-related facebook pages (Poonam).
Posting ContraCola events on Meetup groups
Midlands Gives: Join as a promotional opportunity (Connie)? 

The next meeting will be on May 10, 2016.

Meeting was adjourned.

Minutes 01/12/ 2016

Minutes of the COTMD Board meeting of January 12, 2016

Attending were:

Natalie Weston
John Wetzel
Dianne Britton
Virginia Winn
Connie Robinette
Fred Druseikis
Marguerite Frongillo
Victor Gascon
Gail Sullivan
Tim Piesch

The meeting was opened, and began by approving the minutes of the previous meeting (including one correction).

Virginia presented the treasurers report.  We lost $66 at our most recent dance.

There were no new reimbursements.

The reports from our last dance were briefly reviewed.

The mailing list status was briefly reviewed, and is now up to date with two new entries handled.

Marguerite presented the current status of her booking efforts.  The June band slot remains unfilled,
and is reserved with first right of refusal to Bob Buckingham (until the end of January).

Gail Sullivan agreed to serve on the board, and was voted in as a member at large.

The board discussed the need to move forward with the creation of a detailed mission statement, as distinct from the all inclusive
goals statement contained in our bylaws.  It is not intended that the bylaws be modified, only that a more specific mission
statement be created.  The board voted to establish a committee to perform this function.  Fred Druseikis, Connie Robinette and
Marguerite Frongillo agreed to serve on this commitee.

The board also discussed the "Review/Update Vision" task from our previous meeting, and decided that this was best handled by
the same committee just established for creating our mission statement.

The "work in progress" item called "Summer 2016 Dances" was discussed at length.  The board voted to do the following:
1. Have a "Techno Contra" dance in July.
2. Have a regular contra dance in August.
3. Implied but not stated outright was the following:
    A. We are temporarily moving from 10 to 12 dances per year (essentially until further notice).
    B. If an out of town band plays for the August dance, this may allow a local band to play one additional engagement elsewhere
       in the schedule.

The idea of sharing an afternoon dance with another dance group, such as the Columbia Swing group, was discussed briefly, and we
then decided to table the matter for future discussion, with points already discussed to be thought over and weighed for further
discussion at a future meeting of the board.

The Board went into executive session to discuss our budget, proposed capital expenditures and other issues. The board remained
in executive session until the meeting was adjourned.

NEW BUSINESS  The following items are carried forward from the last meeting, and were not discussed at this meeting owing to lack
of time.  So, the following may need to be on the next meeting agenda:

    Tim suggested that we add links to dance videos to our website.
    Poonam suggested that we post our dance events on other dance groups Facebook pages (not limited to Contra groups). We already
              cross-post with Lake Murray and Charleston, but we can expand to include Swing and Ballroom dance organizations, and
              perhaps even Meetup groups that we belong to.
    Connie mentioned the related possibility of joining Midlands Gives with other non profits, to garner some contributions and hopefully a lot of attention.

The next meeting will be on March 8, 2016.

Meeting was adjourned.