The Meeting Was Called to Order at 7:35 P.M. at the Home of Mel and Esther Mann

Members’ Meeting

May 13, 2012

Present: Neil Collier (Chair), Ruth Gasser, Bill Lidicker, Louise Lidicker, Naomi Lidicker, Esther Mann, Mel Mann, Arnie Stoper, Emily Stoper

The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. at the home of Mel and Esther Mann.

The members present voted to accept the minutes of the April meeting as distributed, without their being read, since they had been emailed earlier. (Later, a small correction was made, by unanimous agreement: the words “for Mel” were deleted from the President’s Report.)

President’s Report

Neil announced that he will meet next week with Mark Ryken (who often dances with BFD and is an architect) and Mark’s friend, an acoustical engineer, to obtain advice about improvements in the acoustics of Live Oak Hall, in preparation for a meeting with representatives of the City of Berkeley. Neil estimates that sound-proofing material will cost about $2000. He will present a detailed proposal for improving the acoustics at Live Oak at a future meeting.

Membership (Arnie Stoper)

As of May 1, we had 143 paid members, 6 on leave, and 17 honorary members, totaling 171.

Last month’s report said there were 148 paid members, whereas this month’s showed 143. It is highly unlikely the Club lost 5 members. Arnie will look into the discrepancy.

April Attendance Report (Alyce Meier)

A 25; I 27; AI 35; B 30; Request Night 25; Live Music Night 47

Bill said he would like to see a decimal point and one figure to the right of it, since these figures are averages. Neil suggested that he discuss that with Alyce.

Treasurer’s Report (Ruth Gasser)

Ruth distributed both the March Treasurer’s Report (because she didn’t have the final version at the April meeting) and the April Report. She noted that the Live Music Night lost only a tiny amount of money; it basically broke even.

Budget Committee Report (Ruth Gasser and Georgia Lee)

Ruth announced that the Budget Committee has recommended a $10 increase in dues for the 2012-2013 dance year, which would bring the dues to $135 a year. Even with this increase, she noted, we will need close to $7,000 in donations in order to meet our expenses for the year. (See the full report of the committee elsewhere in this issue.)

Some members questioned the need for a dues increase since the club has a large bank balance. Ruth replied that we have been running a deficit for a number of years and there is little prospect of a change, so in order to assure the future of the club we should raise dues.

Under the Bylaws, any dues increase must be approved at two members’ meetings. There will be votes at the June and August meetings. (There is never a meeting in July.)

It was moved, seconded and passed (M/S/P) to accept the proposed budget, with the understanding that the vote of the dues increase would come later.

The committee was warmly thanked for its work.

Equipment Report (Ahmad Moghaddas and Al George)

Bill Lidicker noted that one of the plugs on a power strip for the sound equipment isn’t functioning. He will inform Ahmad or Al, who can handle the matter without approval from the Members’ Meeting, because the cost will be minimal.

Good and Welfare Report (Susan Carter)

Louise remarked that Bill and Lenore Link are both having health problems. Bill Link has a leaky heart valve, which may have to be replaced. Louise will ask Susan Carter to send a card.

Folk Dance Federation Report (Bill Lidicker)

This year’s Federation officers were elected at the Blossom Festival on Apr. 22. Lucy Chang (President), Loui Tucker (Recording Secretary) and Sabine Zappe (Treasurer) were all reelected. A new Vice President, Hollis Radin, was elected.

The Federation’s program of New Dancers’ Festivals is continuing. There will be one in the San Jose area in June. BFD has proposed to do one on Aug. 25 (backup: Aug. 26), assuming approval from the Federation, which Bill expected to receive very shortly. Bill volunteered to chair the event.

The Federation is sponsoring a contest for the club that gained the largest number of new members in the year June 1, 2011 through May 1, 2012. BFD, with 17 new members, may win. The prize would be the sheer glory of it.

The Federation will sponsor a second Officers’ Ball in Livermore, since the first one was so successful. Date: Nov. 3. Theme: Hooked on Classics.

Election of New Officers

Emily (as Secretary) had received no additional nominations, so the names presented at last month’s meeting were elected by affirmation. Gratitude was expressed for their willingness to serve. Their terms begin on Sept. 1. They are:

President: Peter D’Angelo

Vice President: Yvonne Weiss

Secretary: Louise Lidicker

Treasurer: Cathy Leong

Member at large: Carolyn Atherton.

Dance Committee Report (Esther Mann)

The Dance Committee met and made the following decisions:

·  Bill Wenzel will chair the Trial Dance Selection meeting again this year.

·  In the 2012-13 dance year, Andy Partos will be assistant teacher to Claire and Al George at the Intermediate level. David Hillis will continue to be assistant teacher at the Beginners’ level. Both serve without pay.

·  The substitute teacher list was officially discontinued, as it had fallen into disuse.

·  It was decided that the President will make a public statement each year that the Advanced Class only welcomes people who are capable of doing the dances at that level.

There was some discussion at the Members’ Meeting about how to word this statement so that it will not discourage too many people from moving up to the Advanced Class. Ruth commented that it is important not to be rude or unkind to people who have difficulty with some of the dances.

(For the complete report of the Dance Committee meeting, see the BFD Website.)

August Break Committee Report (Ruth Gasser, Esther Mann, Judy Collier, Bev Johnson)

Ruth reported that all the dates during the break are now filled.

There will be a Swing workshop. The teacher will charge for this event, but an anonymous donor has covered the cost, so we will be able to offer all the Break events free. There will not be a Square Dance evening, as hiring a caller is too expensive. Bob Fraley has agreed to lead an English country dance evening but may have to cancel at the last minute.

An ad for all the August Break events, including the New Dancers’ Festival, will be placed in Let’s Dance, the Federation’s monthly publication.

Festival of the Oaks 2013 (Mel Mann)

Mel was uncertain whether to hold the event on Feb. 9 or Feb. 23. With the help of a brief discussion, he decided on the 9th.

Bulletin Production (Arnie Stoper)

We will be producing the Bulletin on a laser printer from now on, because it is far less expensive than using a photo-copy center. Arnie will do this on his home printer but he hopes others can be back-up in months that he’s unable to do it.

Arnie intends to print out the e-Bulletin (with black and white photos and member bios) rather than the text-only Bulletin, although the latter costs only about 12 cents a copy and the former costs about 20 cents a copy (partly because it’s longer, partly because the pictures require toner). This will save a lot of work, since the task of laying out the text-only Bulletin requires several hours a month. Peter D’Angelo will be relieved of this task, so Bulletin copy will simply be sent directly to Emily Stoper for copy-editing.

M/S/P to give Arnie the go-ahead to experiment in any way he likes for the next few months.

Mailing costs: The Bulletin is mailed out to about 20 people, of whom only 9 or 10 actually pay. The others are Honorary Members or institutions. Arnie was asked to seek positive confirmation from the Honorary Members that they still wish to have the Bulletin mailed to them. Other members pay $5 a year to have the Bulletin mailed (which is below cost); non-members pay $9 a year.

Most members of the club receive the e-Bulletin via e-mail and can enjoy it online, in full color, or print it out themselves.

M/S/P to charge $6 to members (except Honorary Members) for the printed Bulletin with one’s name on it if it is picked up at Live Oak and an additional $6 to have it mailed.

Extras will be available free at Live Oak for visitors, since this is a good way to promote the club.

National Folk Organization (Bill Lidicker)

Bill and Louise have just returned from the National Folk Organization meeting, which they very much enjoyed. Those who wish to join should contact Bill.

The host and hostess were thanked and the meeting was adjourned. The officers approved all the motions that were passed.

The next meeting will be at Ruth Gasser’s home on June 3, with a potluck.

Respectfully submitted,

Emily Stoper, Secretary

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