Harvest Moon Folk Society

HMFS Board

Minutes

Board Meeting - August 20, 2006

Present: David, Jimmy, Teresa W., Wayne, Janet, Tammy, Neil, Theresa, Elaine
Absent: Dwayne, Nancy, John
Guests: Roger Burns and Kathy Scott
Officer Nomination: Vote on at the next meeting

The slate of officers were nominated and motions made and approved as follows:

President: David White

Vice President: John Bryson

Secretary: Teresa Wilson

Treasurer: Elaine Robeson

David said that if he was elected president, he would need to give up leadership of the MoonDance. He will continue on the band/booking committee.

Policies:

Smoking Policy - Our non-smoking policy was changed and approved. (Motion made by Teresa W. and Wayne seconded it). The policy with changes will say: "All dances sponsored by Harvest Moon Folk Society are held in an alcohol- and drug-free environment. Smoking is not allowed in the building or on the grounds inside the white fence". Tammy will make signs for porch, gate and doors. Teresa W. will see about getting a receptacle for cigarette butts.

Guidelines for Special Activities Policy - Guidelines for defining special activities and the degree of involvement of HMFS in special activities were discussed and approved. David had originally submitted these guidelines as an amendment to our by-laws. The board decided it was more appropriate to include them as policy, which can be changed or modified more easily than by-laws. The purpose of this policy is to clarify and provide more guidance to what is already written in the HMFS by-laws. Specifically, it defines different levels of HMFS involvement in special events, either as sole-organizer, partner, co-sponsor and non-sponsor. Wayne, Jimmy and David will make changes to the policy and Jimmy will post on the website.

Teaching Sessions:

Reiterated that caller is in charge of teaching beginners before a dance. There was discussion about adding items to the instruction list such as discouraging "hopping". Others felt that this was a technique issue and not necessarily the caller’s responsibility. We can provide a list with guidelines to emphasize and what to cover but need to allow callers to have some flexibility. David will develop these guidelines.
Nominating Committee:

Committee consists of Tammy, Wayne and (John). The committee made a nomination of Jerry Vice as new board member. His application was read, a motion was made and all approved the nomination. We also need to recruit more members to the nominating committee. It was agreed that we would announce Jerry as the new board member at half time at dance in the near future. Jimmy will bring a list of all the board members and their terms to the next board meeting.
RFL Purchase:

Wayne and David have been chief negotiators with Leon on the purchase of RFL. It was decided we need to develop a contract which would put the amount down and the amount to be financed. Terms will be worked out and included in the contract. Ernie is available to us to help develop a contract and give us advice. The board voted and approved on the creation of a contract and gave them the OK to proceed and create these terms.

Items to include in the contract:

Earnest Money (and put a cap on it) if Leon needs it.

Interval: Maximum amount of time for the closing to occur and have money after contract is signed. (30-60 days).

Need to come up with a figure of what we can afford on a monthly basis. We think about $1000/month. We would save $45 on the storage unit, $200 per dance we now pay in rent etc. We could make $1500 on a benefit dance if donations could go to down-payment (which are tax deductible).

Other things to consider:

A contract will be developed to buy RFL and David will work out the details. Ernie, Teresa, and Wayne will work on it with him.

Fund Raising Committee was formed: Theresa, Wayne and Neil will come up with ideas to raise funds for the purchase.

Loans Committee was formed: David, Wayne, Teresa and Elaine will look for ways to finance through soliciting loans. Elaine will talk to banks as a start.
Publicity Committee:

Jimmy is going to see about getting an article in the media about RF and what we are trying to accomplish. A contact person will be included. David and Jimmy will work out details.

Next Board Meeting: The next meeting will be at Doug and Joan Shier’s house. This meeting will be combined with MoonDance follow-up meeting.

Board meeting from 3-4:45 pm

MD meeting from 5-6:30 pm

Potluck at 6:30 pm