Minutes June 14, 2023

COTMD Board Minutes June 14, 2023

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.

Regular board members attending: Gail, Marguerite, Virgina, Fred, Dianne, John, Karl (via Zoom)

Absent: Kenny, Maris

Guest: Dianne Palmer-Quay

The minutes of the previous meeting (May 10, 2023) were approved by voice vote.

Dianne Britton presented the Treasurer's Report.  Details are in the spreadsheet available to board members only.  The treasures' report was approved.

Booker's Report

    June 24, Marshal & Lucy w Chris Hernandez calling
    July 22, Chris & Bobby w ? calling

    CFMA Hall Commitments
        Aug 12
        Aug 26
        Sep  9
        Sep 23

    Kenny Greer will call Sept 9.
    Other bookings not committed at this time.

General Discussion

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.)

Marketing Efforts

    Anticipating students return in early August, Karl would like some volunteers to help distribute literature on campus.

    Gail will be at Soda City next Saturday to pass out a few free dance cards.

    Dianne is continuing to post our events to various outlets.

    Maris is actively talking up the Contracola dance.

Children policy.

    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.

    Admission is free for children.  Teens and adults pay.

ACTION ITEM STATUS

    AI - John - Federal Tax Filing (waiting on June 30 to pass to trigger next fiscal year.)

    As write the first draft a cryptic note appears in my notes, literally:

    AI - Fred - "agenda"

    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.

Next Meeting

    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.
 
The meeting was adjourned at 9:28pm.

/Fred Druseikis/

Minutes May 10, 2023

 COTMD Board Meeting May 10, 2023

We met at Virginia Winn's house around 7pm to enjoy some dessert and conversation.

The meeting was called to order at 7:31pm.

In Attendance: Maris, Gail, Marguerite, Virginia, John, Dianne, Fred, Karl (via Zoom)

The minutes of the last meeting were approved.

Treasurer's report.

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.

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.

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.)

As a side note: CFMA appears to like us. They have accepted our credentials documenting our not-for-profit status thru CDSS.

A motion to accept the Treasure's Report was made, seconded, and approved by voice vote.

Booking Report.

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.)

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.)

Report on Recent Dances.

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.

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.

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.

ACTION ITEM: "Agenda for the Evening" Poster -- "Somebody needs to make a poster."

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.

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.

Advertising.

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.

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.)

Gail will take some flyers to Charleston.

Board Membership.

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.

Bob has resigned and is getting married in Virginia soon!

General Stuff.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!!

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.

Contracola.org DNS needs to be renewed.  (Update: done.)

ACTION ITEM STATUS.

Gail -- Churches: some don't like dancing LOL -- WIP (Work in Process)

Karl -- Posters in Libraries -- CLOSED

John -- Richland Library -- They don't post any except their own flyers, or sponsor the event. -- CLOSED

Maris -- Bill's Pickin' Parlour -- Under new management.

NEXT MEETING.  June 14, 2023

Adjourn: 9:14pm

Minutes April 5, 2023

 COTMD Board Minutes April 5, 2023

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.

Regular board members attending: Marguerite, Virginia, Fred, Dianne, John, Karl (via Zoom)

Guests: Maris, Gail

The minutes of the previous meeting (March 1, 2023) were approved by voice vote.

Dianne presented the Treasurer's Report.  The following specific items were noted:

(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.

(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.

(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.

(4) CDSS membership fees have been paid.

(5) IRS filings need to be made this year as they have not been for at least during the time of Covid.

(6) ACTION ITEM: Get copies of COTMD 501(c)(3) legal status (i.e., Letter from CDSS) to CMFA.

The Treasurer's Report was approved by voice vote.

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.

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.

ACTION ITEM: Karl and John would work together with Virginia to update the flyer to include the notation "501(c)(3)" somewhere in it.

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.

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.

The content of the business card would be something along the lines of:
"Admit ONE -- CHECK IT OUT -- QR Code for more info -- Contral Cola 501(c)(3)"

ACTION ITEM: Virginia and John would work through creating an initial batch based on the ideas discussed.

The following were also noted as ACTION ITEMS:
Gail -- check with singles groups at some local churches to gauge interest;
Karl -- put flyers up in the Lexington (Town) library;
John -- put flyers up in the Richland library;
Maris -- put flyers up in Bill's Pickin Parlor;

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.

The following motion was made, seconded, and approved by voice vote:

"The president is authorized to approve exceptions to the current payment rules for bands and callers requested by the Booker."

The renewal of Board membership is required in May.  The current officers agree to continue in their roles.

President: John Wetzel
Vice President & Booker: Marguerite Frongillo
Treasurer: Dianne Britton
Secretary: Fred Druseikis

Virginia Winn and Karl Smith agreed to continue as at-large board members.

Gail Sullivan and Maris Burton have agreed to become at-large board members.

At this point it is not known if either Kenny Greer or Barbara (Bob) Fellenstein wish to continue being on the board.

Update: Per e-mail, Kenny has agreed to continue.

ACTION ITEM: We need to verify that Kenny and Bob wish to continue.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Adjourn: 9:37pm