The CoTMD Board gathered at Virginia's house at 7 pm for snacks and conversation.
Board Members Present: Fred, Dianne B., Maris, Gail, Virginia, Marguerite, John
Board Members via Facetime: Victor
Board Members Absent: Kenny, Dianne P-Q.
Visitor Present: Tess
John called the meeting to order at 7:32 pm.
A motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting, April 8, 2025, was made, seconded, and passed by unanimous vote.
Treasurer's Report
There were no significant transactions over the last month. The bank balance remains essentially unchanged.
The treasurer reported that City Parks department thinks we only need to pay $25 per event, rather than $25 per hour per event. Pearl is on leave with no date being specified for her return, and her stand-in stated that the data entered into their billing system was accurate and was indeed the amount we needed to pay. The City Parks employee seemed unaware of the previously understood conversation with Pearl that specified the latter, which we understood as the hourly charge for the minder. This was received by the board as good news, but there was discussion about a concern that the new City Parks employee might not have fully understood the reality and whenever Pearl returns, or sooner, we might be asked to catch up all the charges in arrears. For this reason, at the moment, there is no need to attempt to economize (shorten) the hours we use Arsenal Hill since we have the whole space reserved from 5-11 pm on the specified Saturdays for one low price $25 per event.
It was observed that this change improves the sustainability of our dance series.
The Treasurer's report was approved by unanimous vote.
Booker's Report
There was discussion about having dances in June 28 and July 26. The AC is in good condition at the facility, but there was still concerned expressed about the heat of the summer, with which we are all familiar. Victor suggested that recorded music could be used.
A motion was made seconded and approved to implement Victor's suggestion. A social event including pot luck is being considered.
Future dances:
August Tea & Whiskey Caller: TBD
There was discussion about hall capacity fire codes in Arsenal Hill. We have explained the situation to City Parks and they have agreed to take it up with the fire marshal. I'm unclear what the status of this is.
Election of Officers and At-Large Board Members
May is the month in which the board considers nominations for corporate officers and at-large members. The following slate was put forward:
President: John
Vice President & Booker: Victor
Treasurer: Dianne B.
Secretary: Fred
At-large Members: Dianne P-Q., Gail, Kenny, Maris, Marguerite, Virginia
The board recognizes that Kenny has not attended any meetings per se, but has contributed to many discussions on the e-mail list over the last year, as well as being an active contra-dance caller plugged into the broader community. There was some discussion about possibly creating a different kind of board member category but the discussion didn't really suggest that it would serve any purpose.
The board approved the slate of officers and in doing so the continuing board members affirmed their desire to continue to support the activities and mission of CoTMD group over the next year.
Discussion of Gender-Neutral Roles in Our Dance Series
Tess joined the discussion to express some concerns about language used by callers in the dance series and specifically how much of an outlier we are in comparisons to other dances she has intended across the country. Specifically both Columbia and Charleston seem to be well behind in adoption of gender neutral dance calling (presently clinging to the gents/ladies language) and she is concerned that this is problematic for our group. Specifically, people may choose to attend dances depending on the use of gender-neutral or traditional calling.
There was discussion. One thought that came forward was the need to be clear to callers what our expectations are for use of gender-neutral terminology.
The board thanked Tess for taking the time to come to the meeting and expressed appreciation for her candor. The board did not take any action except to plan to continue the discussion at the next meeting after having had the opportunity to take into consideration all that had been said.
Next Meeting & Adjournment
The next meeting will be Wednesday, June 11, 2025. The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 pm.
/s/Fred Druseikis
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