Minutes
Board Meeting: April 22, 2007
Present: David White, Elaine Robson, Janet Swell, Tammy Miller, Dwayne Plaisted, Teresa Wilson, Wayne Richard, John Bryson, Jerry Vice, Jimmy Smith, Catherine Scott
Absent: Neil Cross
Guest: Jennie Wakefield
Acknowledgements
David expressed gratitude for the following.
- Thanks to all for organizing and participating in Leon’s memorial service.
- Thanks to Jennie, Elaine, John, Neil and Terri for hosting/helping with the first dance at the Y.
- Thanks to Jerry for arranging for the trash pick-up. Hosts are to make sure the trash can is outside the white fence for pick-up and that all trash is bagged and securely tied.
- Janet will be resigning as of 01 June 07 from the board. Thanks for being such a great board member and for your thoughtful input over the years.
- Thanks to Teresa for the documentation for volunteer co-ordination program.
- Thanks to Jimmy for keeping track of policy and procedures.
Minutes
Wayne makes a motion to approve minutes from the last board meeting. Elaine seconds. All approved.
Effective Board Meetings
A quick review from the last meeting.
- Hold each other accountable
- Keep track of time
- Keep to the point
- Committee chairs be prepared with succinct reports
John expressed appreciation to Theresa’s facilitation (i.e. using the ball to identify the speaker).
Tribute to Leon
Tammy and Wayne will explore places to store Leon’s ashes and to formally memorialize him. Theresa suggested to place a plaque by the door with Leon’s name and birth/death year. It was also suggested we mount the RFL sign on the top of the building.
John, David and Wayne will explore the possibility of a wake for Leon, more in line with to Leon’s wishes. Other suggestions were made to honor him, as some board members felt the memorial service we had was sufficient. This may be done after we create a memorial space for Leon inside/outside building w/ ashes (in)/monument (out) and may also be incorporated into a benefit dance for Crossmore (sooner than later). A few board members indicated the committee could work this out.
Scott/RFL
We have established a working relationship with Scott. Wayne has talked with Scott, who is considering raising the rent to cover grass cutting, electricity, insurance, taxes, etc. as he feels these are Scott’s responsibilities. Potential items to discuss with Scott include:
- a formal rental agreement
- building condition and needs, insurance
- a per month rent vs per dance fee.
- status of River Fall’s purchase
Some suggested that we wait before bringing up some of these issues
David and Wayne will talk with Scott about these issues.
After a merry-go-round discussion on grass cutting, Wayne agreed to work with Scott re: options on grass cutting.
Leon’s junk: Scott plans to clean-up the property and “do something” with the old trailers, bus, stuff lying around, as well a stuff underneath tarp on the patio. Need to ask Scott if we can clean up the shed so we can use it instead of the Marietta storage. We want to keep the stuff inside RFL.
Finances
We have approximately a $10,000 bank balance. We’ve already paid for the next two dances, 3 months storage and $6500 for cabins/campsites for Moondance.
The first Y dance only lost $56.
Start money
Elaine explained the procedure regarding the start money/emergency money. There are 2 bags of money: $150 of start money ($100 in 1s and $50 in 5s) and $150 in emergency money ($150 in 1s). The emergency money is only in the event the host runs out of 1s. If you need to take 1s out of the emergency money, replace it with the appropriate bill, i.e., if you take out 20 $1s, put in a $20 bill. At the end of the evening, when counting the money, replace the big bills in the emergency money with 1s. Let Elaine know when there are too many big bills (more than $50?) in the emergency money so she can make the adjustments. Leave emergency money with Weogo during the dance. Make sure both bags have $150 at the end of the evening. Never use these monies to pay out shares.
Booking/callers – no comments
Building/Maintenance
Grass was discussed earlier.
It was suggested that we “credit” board members who host meetings to pay for snacks, etc. Elaine suggested to pay $25 to the host for snacks if host chooses. Everyone agreed.
Jerry bought mats for the door. Maybe if adding an extra mat at the foot of the steps will help reduce dirt as well.
Wayne is looking for better vanities and automatic towel dispensers for the restrooms.
Work day list is still long, lots to do. No works days planned until Wayne talks with Scott.
Trash pick-up discussed earlier.
Teresa suggested getting a Rubbermaid storage cabinet (~$280) to hold the extra supplies next to the current supply storage. All approved.
John will pick up new water filters and more floor compound.
Nominating committee
There were no nominees. It was suggested we need a handout to give potential board members describing the responsibilities on the board. This can be found on our website. Encourage those interested to participate in community prior to becoming involved on the board.
Youth representatives – we need to start with a vision of why we want/need this role as a proposal to be submitted to the board. (Sec’y note: At the 3/07 meeting, John, Wayne, and Tammy agreed to prepare a proposal to be presented to the board)
No board members are leaving in October.
Large crowds
We’re doing what we can do and it seems to be working. What else do we need to do?
Have caller announce BEFORE the dance begins that the floor is rough and possibility of splinters and nails cutting feet. Include in email announcement what type of shoes to wear and barefoot is risky.
Announce at last dance BEFORE the break to pay at the break.
Several options for additional dances to complement the dances at RFL on Saturday nights:
Y dance
Discussion ensued whether to continue the Y dance after June. Dwayne made a motion we take off the 3-month cap and extend for a longer period of time. Wayne seconded. All approved For further discussion, Jennie indicated an article was in preparation for a Greenville magazine, as well as a press release and pictures in local papers. Voted to accept motion. All approved.
John gave two estimates for a stage at Y ($200 and $300); we tabled a decision.
Advance Dance
The one Friday advance dance in March was a success with requests for more. Tammy motions that we have one advance per month on Friday. Theresa seconds. Sunday dances were brought up as possible advance dance time. The past indicates not enough attendance on Sunday. Voted on advance dance to be held on Friday. All approved.
Sunday dances
For the occasional Sunday dance that does not have enough dancers to pay to gate, David suggested increasing the minimum share for the band, caller and sound person. Wayne made a motion to increase the minimum to $150. Tammy seconded. David was thinking along the lines of $135-$150. Wayne retracts previous motion and made motion to $135/dance. Tammy seconded. All approved.
Publicity
The committee requests $200 for college newspaper ads. Wayne moves we approve the $200 expenditure for publicity. Tammy seconded. John wants tracking of attendance/costs for Y & RFL dances. All approved.
One more mail out of newsletter. Currently, 267 members on email list. Sign up for the yahoo list will be prominent on the schedule and an easy link on the web.
Jimmy would like Moondance intake included in annual income for submission to the Greenville business community (GSA).
Jimmy reminded us that the board has oversight of all committees, including Moondance.
Jimmy suggested we increase the minimum age requirement for being on the board to 21. This will be followed through with an email discussion, or be put on next meeting’s agenda.
Moondance Committee Report
Registration has been increased to $90/person.
Secretary’s note
Wayne invoked a “call the question” at the meeting. Unfortunately, I did not realize the importance of this and did not record where in the meeting it occurred. To “call the question” means that when someone says “call the question”, the chair then immediately asks for a vote on whether or not folks think enough discussion has occurred. If 2/3 say yes, then, the vote on the question [motion] can happen. See the info from the web. http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/call.htmlPlease read. Using this procedure judicially can help keep us on track when a clear consensus has already been arrived at.
Next Meeting
River Falls Lodge, 09 June 2007, 3-6pm followed by potluck and dance.