The board meeting was held at Virginia's house.
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm by president John.
Present: Dianne B, Victor, Dianne PQ, Virginia, Marguerite, John, Fred
Absent: Gail, Kenny, Maris
The minutes for the last meeting were reviewed. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to accept the minutes.
Dianne B gave the Treasure's Report. There were only two transactions; a payment to Susan Forte for use of her hall for the August dance; and the annual premium for insurance. Net balance in the bank has declined to a level not seen for many years, possibly a decade. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to accept the Treasurer's report.
Marguerite gave the Booker's Report. She noted that Tyler cannot do sound for the October 26th dance; and Fred and Dianne will both be away for that dance. As a side note, un-powered monitors belonging to F&D are located at LMCH; and Tyler has the power amp needed to use those. Coordination will be necessary to make sure the necessary equipment is at LMCH.
The current dance schedule (as of 10/9/2024, but see below) is:
- October, Victor calling, with music by (sorry I didn't note this.)
- November, Joel calling, with CCOB
- December, Dianne P-Q calling, with Chris Lakos & Friends,
General business items were discussed.
The last scheduled dance, for September, did not happen because of the hurricane; it became apparent that there are additional difficulties with the road to LMCH because of downed trees and mud. It seems that LMCH has neighbors that don't like it and remove signage.
An initial impression of Arsenal Hill as an alternative to CMFA has led to a remark that "Arsenal Hill is not viable." This is because the occupancy restrictions will limit attendance and result in all dances depending on additional donations to cover costs. The context for the discussion is a need to find a venue because of the rural and remote nature of LMCH and the perceived issues with CMFA as a space.
Discussion was had about doing some kind of thing with the "First Thursday" events in downtown Columbia. An inquiry was sent to us by the person responsible for the event in the Columbia city government. The board discussed the concept. The upshot was that exactly 0 new dancers would come form this as a single event, with a lot of work to get it to happen. There might make more sense if there were a dance series coupled with this idea. Dianne B accepted the action item to communicate back to the city's representative about our concerns and reluctance.
Dianne PQ had raised up a couple of ideas for discussion, with the discussion focused on Family/Community Dances. There was discussion about possibly designating one of the dances, perhaps February 2024, as a Family dance with a pot-luck; and with different times, 4-7 pm was suggested. The venue was unclear. The general idea was approved by the board.
In view of F&D's absence, it was agreed, that Dianne PQ, would take charge of the "green bag" for the October 26 dance. John would be doing sound, and Victor would be calling, so that between the three of them the desk operations would be covered.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at the usual time and place.
The meeting was concluded at 8:59 pm.
/s/ Fred Druseikis
