| In attendance: President Toban Dvoretzky, Marketing & P.R. VP Russ Seely,
Member-at-Large Casey Parker, Earle Holt as proxy for Secretary Fred
Hinesley, and Manager/Treasurer Ed Hartley. 1. Call to Order/Welcome The meeting was called to order by President Toban at 9:05 AM. A quorum could not be met so no business could be conducted. Toban welcomed new board member Casey Parker to the board. Toban thanked Earle Holt and Dave Rislove for their readiness to serve as proxies. 2. Nashville International Board Minutes Toban noted that the minutes of the board meeting at Nashville in July of 2001, with one typo corrected, had been distributed. 3. Membership and Financial Reports Ed Hartley passed out a nine-page report on the current conditions of membership and finances. The text portion was read. The membership stands at 1397 (as of Jan. 14, 2002), essentially the same as last year at this time (1389). Ed pointed out that President Toban's year-round efforts to get unrenewed members back onto the rolls is one of the main reasons that we maintain our numbers. Accounts show a balance of $24,609 US and C$254. The nine members known to have passed away since the Nashville meeting were remembered with a moment of silence. 4. Mission Statement Toban brought up the subject of the need for a mission statement and noted the copy of such a statement in the material handed out for the board meeting. There was brief discussion of the statement and it was agreed that it would be good to substitute the word "act" for the word "art" in the statement. There was brief mention of a form "Statement of Availability" which had been filled out by Toban and by Ken Wheeler. Toban asked that all board members fill out this form. 5. Service Delivery/Board's Role Toban noted the inclusion, in the board hand-outs, of a ten-page piece "What a Non-Profit Board Is." He briefed it and mentioned the need for service delivery. A side discussion developed on the value of the organization making a contribution for every member who died. This led to comments regarding the desirability of making contributions to the AHSOW Memorial Fund. Russ Seely suggested a form for making such contributions be included in the next publication put out by AHSOW. Russ Seely remarked that nothing is required of members and it was noted that Casey Parker, as FWD DEC, expects members, especially new ones, to put out some effort. It was suggested that this subject be an agenda item for the General Meeting in Portland. It was suggested that everyone should go home and put serious thought into what members should be doing. 6. Bylaws Revision/Flow Chart The major purpose of the current revision of the bylaws is to re-describe board positions so that staff functions are attached. Included in the handouts is an Interaction Chart of the various positions. Toban described how jobs would be distributed through the various positions. He noted that Glenn Schilberg of Pennsylvania will be taking over Membership Services. Russ remarked that going through the responsibilities of the positions would promise a lengthy meeting in Portland. There was some inconclusive discussion of whether or not there should be a Past President's office as part of the board (the proposed revision does not provide for such a position). 7. July Board Expirees Toban noted that there would be retirements from the board in July. He asked that names of potential replacements be submitted at the earliest opportunity. 8. Health Updates; Sign Cards Toban reminded everyone that there were three get-well cards ready for signing, including one for Donna Lefholz. Russ mentioned that Gil also was having some health concerns. 9. DEC Powwow Toban said that the DEC meeting was scheduled for the next morning in the same room. He said it would be mostly a brainstorming session. 10. Plans for Portland International Toban said there was a need to have things lined out in advance. He suggested that arrangements be made for a speaker phone in the room so that a quorum might be established with a conference-type hook-up. He noted that Ed Hartley will not be present most of the time (to "man" the AHSOW room), so there will be a need for teams to be set up. It was also noted that it would be good to have a merchandise table manned. There should be a good response, based on trials for assistance at Kansas City. It was noted that we have only to ask the membership and then schedule to meet the heavy traffic times. The planning might be incorporated into the logistic positions. 11. Old Business: Membership Integration Phil Richards has been working to get Kenosha to handle membership functions. He reported that Kenosha is willing to integrate our membership process into the overall Society dues process. While there will have to be changes in our process, the integration appears to be a straightforward arrangement. It will be similar to what Kenosha is already doing for PROBE. Because we collect our dues over a two-year period, it will take two years to complete the effort. Phil noted that there are lots of pluses to the idea, but implementation may take a while. He hopes that it may be in place by Portland. Glenn Schilberg, it was noted, is familiar with the Kenosha membership data base. It was further noted that there is no resistance to the idea, but there is also no priority. It was mentioned that Russ might be able to "nudge" the idea. 12. New Business: Upgrade Website? Phil Richards reported that our website uses a site that is managed by the bass of Uptown Sound. It is a very responsive site, and is available at no cost, but there are limits on what can be done (for instance, there is no ability to use forms). Phil said that to utilize a new site would cost approximately $350 annually. There was quiet agreement that such a venture was not worth the cost and that the matter was not one of urgency. 13. New Business: Badges Toban suggested that with one individual no longer being responsible for badges, it might make sense to outsource the badges. He presented several design suggestions for a rectangular plastic badge that could be acquired for $3.00 each, or $4.00 with magnetic attachments. Earle Holt, drawing on his talent as a graphic artist, expressed some dissatisfaction with the design of the badges. It was suggested that he would be a great person to come up with a better design. There was discussion of the traditional round badge as opposed to a new rectangular badge. No conclusions were reached. Toban mentioned that several years previously he had conducted an informal poll on this question and that the responses had been all over the wall. Toban reiterated that a good idea would be to have a contractor handle the whole badge business, making the badge and mailing the badge to the recipient. Casey Parker suggested that in lieu of a made badge, a new member could be given a temporary badge noting that the man had qualified - something to take with him. Russ acknowledged that the badge was ugly, but he also noted that he loved it. There is general agreement that the badge is distinctive - it does stand out. Casey pointed out that there was enough inventory of badge parts to last for several years at the current rate of use. Toban remarked that there was some investigating and work to be done: Casey to check on the details of a temporary badge, and Earle to look into designing a new round badge. 14. New Business: Budgets/Fiscal Year Toban said that any outfit with almost $25,000 in the bank was more than just a social club. He stated that it was time to implement formal projects. A couple of sample budgets were included in the handouts. Russ suggested that each individual officer should put his own budget together. Toban questioned the purpose of AHSOW being on a fiscal year beginning in July. There was no discussion. Russ did suggest that a budget could be proposed at the International BOD meeting and completed by e-mail no later than September. 15. New Business: Other A. Ray Scroggins noted that we should all be interested in promoting quartet activities. In this regard he spoke of a quartet club that meets monthly in the Milwaukee area for the sole purpose of singing in quartets. It attracts worn out riser veterans, disaffected current members and former members. All are welcome. He also pointed out that, as a writer, he can support quartet singing. Of course he has done just that with a recent Harmonizer article. B. Earle Holt told of his concerns over being unable to promote woodshedding at a Big Chorus chapter and used the tale to point out how little is understood about woodshedding by so many barbershoppers who should know better. C. Russ Seely spoke with concern of a COTS session in the Ontario District where he observed a woodshedding session. He was overwhelmed with the number of men who showed up trying to find out what woodshedding is and what AHSOW does. The discussion that followed this pointed up the need for a uniformity of the DEC message. There were several times during the course of the meeting when the importance of a uniform message (and action) was noted and emphasized. It was noted that there is now, in every district, an events chairman, and he can be easily approached and reminded that AHSOW can expect a room to accommodate its activities. D. Toban Dvoretzky stated that the informed members of the AHSOW leadership should be making at least spot visits to districts other than their own. He pointed out that we have people who know what is going on but that there are other districts that are discouragingly out of the loop and which need all the help they can get. Once again, the need for uniformity of message was stressed. E. Toban also suggested we consider making refreshments available in the room on Saturday night of the International week. F. It was announced that members Warren Grant and Dick Dickey will be woodshedding-class teachers at FWD Harmony College. G. It was pointed out that in the absence of a lead the Ear-rangement tape could be used. H. Casey Parker mentioned that the coming weekend would be the weekend for Pioneers at Fallbrook, north of San Diego. Casey and other AHSOW members, working with circumspection, use the time to try out new members for AHSOW. There was some discussion as to the suitability of the date. I. There was also brief mention of the Cuthbert weekend in Timonium, Maryland (in February), and the Chicago gathering on the weekend after Labor Day. 16. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 11:43AM. Respectfully submitted, Ed Hartley, Feb. 20, 2002 |