BOARD OF
DIRECTORS – June 19, 2007.
The
meeting was called to order by President Fred Hundhammer at 6:00 pm. Present were Rita Irwin, Paul Buckley, C. J. Geotis, Sylvia Rickett, Loretta Geotis,
Suzanne Terpos, Alicia Merel, Arnie Steinmetz, Natalia Gimer,
Gail Burnett, Pat Robenolt, Claudia McEwen, Lauren Spinelli,
Kim Capps, Nancee Rainaud,
Christine Leird, Ginger Michael, Terry McBroom. Absent excused was Tom O’Neil
who was out of town. Absent was Sandra Holland– there was some difficulty
contacting her in time for the meeting.
Approval
of the Agenda: Motion to
approve, seconded and passed, with the addition of election of the officers
and, if there is time enough, the procedures manual that Loretta has been working
on under New Business.
Minutes: Motion to approve, seconded and passed.
General
Manager:
a)
Body
count for May is 899.
b)
I
am in the process of setting up the shows for next season in Wintix. I have sold
a gift certificate for a four-show season package already for next season.
2
CINEMA
a)
Slide
system still being researched. Discussed
below in Building Committee.
b)
Do we
offer a discount for cinema tickets if 25 tickets or more are sold? No
discounts have been granted in the past. We offer a bargain as it is, so we
shall provide no additional discounts.
Other stuff
a) Auditions were held June 9 for the
summer reading, Vanities. The show has been cast.
b) I have information regarding the copyrighted music
we discussed earlier this year to be discussed under old business. Rita discusses
this as an ethical situation regarding copyright payments. Motion to pay seconded
and passed. The value is $133. Rita added that she would donate an extra $50,
Gail $20 and Sylvia $20, Claudia $ 20, Paul Buckley $20, since this item was
not on the budget. (Fred explained that there is no obligation for this).
c) In addition to the following, please
advise if you have someone you think we should contact as a sponsor for next season. TIB Bank (accepted); Marine Bank; First State Bank
(Fred got their commitment); Abyss Dive (cannot commit at this time due
to business changes); EdwardJones (accepted);
Keynoter; Cooke Communications; Waterfront Resort Realty/Cay Clubs (committed and
paid); Coral Construction; Exit Realty; Village Café; Key Colony Beach Realty
and Ameriprise Financial. I have written a press release soliciting
corporate sponsorships.
d) I need assistance from board members to
contact advertisers for next season’s playbill.
Fred, Sylvia and Suzanne have already offered to make calls. Depending on the number of follow-up calls
required, I will ask each of you to take at least five +/- businesses to
contact. Information will be emailed or
hand-delivered to you. Please take a playbill from last year and
look through the index. If there are
businesses NOT listed that you are familiar with and you think we should
contact, please send the name
and phone number to me. I will organize
the list so we do not duplicate calls.
e) I plan to approach a couple of
restaurants and the T-shirt shop to offer a trade agreement for advertising in the playbill in exchange
for food and/or T-shirts for next year’s Pampered Palms. If successful, this
will help lower costs for certain events. This is only to be done with NEW
advertisers.
f) I am still looking for an additional
monitor to hook up in the box office for next season.
g) I have taken our playbill and brochure
to Renee Anderson (Signs by Renee) for a print quote. She has someone in-house that handles
printing. Will compare
with Denny. Paul will be removing
the sign on the railing outside for Renee to refurbish at no cost to us. These
quotes were received and cannot compete with Denny’s.
h) Paul and I have listed several
“maintenance” and “clean-up” projects we hope to complete over the summer. We will most likely schedule Rotary again for
a day or a half-day. Loretta will announce the date that is set with Rotary
and announce it so that we can all help if possible.
i) CJ and I will be in
Committee Reports:
Finance: Gail reported: Cash balance on June 12 was:
Playhouse: $10450, Cinema: 18286, Capital Improvements: $15036, Operating
Reserve: $30094 and Petty Cash: $1450, for a total of $75317. The TIB
certificate of $20000 matured on June 14th and was renewed at a rate
of 5.25%. This makes total cash depositis of $95317.
The committee voted to pay the extra $500 toward the mortgage. OWO price has been $40 for the
last two years, and the finance committee suggests an increase to $45. OWO has
been a consistently sold out event. The motion was made, seconded and passed.
OWO will be October 19th and 20th, with auditions in
August 18th and 19th.
VP Production: Rita reported that she needs a
list of the cast for the summer reading from Ginger. The final report for
Clouds was that the play did very well, with the attendance of 626 people and a
higher gross income (and profits) than expected. The play brought in many
people from Big Pine Key and
Playreading: The committee is not functioning now, since it has fulfilled its
responsibilities. Adrienne Hutt brought forward two shows for a winter reading,
and she and the committee have decided to move forward with is “Over the River
and Through the Woods” to be done in February. This is the first time in a long
time that a winter reading is attempted, and it is not on the budget, so
whatever is made will be extra revenue.
Stage Committee:
Building: Paul reported that the emergency lighting has been tested and is fine.
He and Loretta are working on the projects to be done by Rotary. The search for
a slide projector for the cinema is complex (as is the technology involved),
but so far the price for a slide projector is between $500 and $1000. Paul
plans to meet with Bob and narrow down the list and then present it to the
finance committee.
Lauren brought up wiring systems for actors, this has been discussed in
the past and the issues outweigh the advantages (feedback, need for above
average sound technicians and cost).
Entertainment:
There were some glitches with the awards and Christine
apologized for this. The whole Board mentioned how great the party was!
Membership: Suzanne reported that the new membership year starts in August, and that
all members will need to renew. We all need to work hard to ensure that all who are in plays actually do become members, fill out the
forms and make payment. Lauren mentions that in his memory we do not tend to
send out mailing lists to remind membership of upcoming renewal. Fred mentions
that this (and improvements) can be further discussed once committees have been
voted. Loretta is going to email the list of people who have shown interest and
their areas of interest to the board. Kim suggested making the list very
specific, i.e. people who like to paint, build, do concessions, etc. Loretta
mentions that the volunteer school, which mainly trains people for tickets,
ushers and concessions, could be expanded to include other areas – as long as
someone who knows the job can be there to help explain it! Additional ideas for
improving keeping membership up to date were discussed and will be worked on by
the committee when this becomes established.
Other: The people who
got elected are the following, and they are all elected for two years.
Sandra Holland, Nancy, Kim, Alicia, Lauren, Ginger, Gail, and Fred. The board currently is 18, should anyone drop out, Eric is still interested in participating. Fred discussed
that the election at the Pampered Palm is difficult, can be potentially unfair,
including votes from non-members. Claudia reminds us that what complicated
election was not having monthly meeting where people could introduce themselves
before voting.
We need to make sure to have a May or June membership meeting in order to
help the voting process, and Loretta suggested sending an email to vote.
Old Business: Payment of the copyright issue was discussed (above) and approved.
Loretta brings up that she needs help to determine who were
the winners of the Pampered Palm awards for 03 and 04.
The review of Loretta’s suggested policies and procedures documents was
re-scheduled to the next meeting so that the new board members can have time to
review them.
New Business:
Fred opens the meeting for the election of officers: Fred is nominated
for President, and all are in favor. Claudia is nominated for Executive Vice
President, and all are in favor. Gail is nominated as VP of Production, and all
are in favor. Sylvia is nominated as Secretary and all are in favor.
Fred asks if anyone would like to be treasurer. Lauren and Alicia mention
that they would each be willing do the job. Rita read the job description
aloud. Alicia and Lauren were invited to share any expertise they might have in
the field. A vote was taken by ballot.
By a very close vote, Alicia has been elected Treasurer.
Fred reminded all that the reason they have been elected to the Board (or
remain on it) is that they have interests in the Theatre and are willing to
devote some time and efforts to all our endeavors. That means that you (the
Board) are the one that we may call upon to help with a variety of activities.
The participation of all is what makes this a better Theatre for the whole
community.
MCT’s bylaws are on the website. Meetings are every third Tuesday of the
month, at 6:00 p.m. All new board members should provide contact information to
Loretta, who will then be able send it to all Board Members.
Good of the Order: Rita says that as a large board each seat matters and stresses the
importance of new people getting involved. Part of this is that the existing Board
members take the time to avoid speaking in shorthand, explaining some
background and how we got to where we are. We have an amazing Theatre and this
is from what we each contribute to it. Fred adds that we do want to have new
ideas since the Theatre is a continuously evolving organization. There are
things that a new Board may want and be able to try, even if a different Board
tried and obtained no support – new groups of people may be able to undertake
something all over again and make it work.
Adjournment: The meeting was
adjourned at 7:17p.m.
Submitted by
Sylvia Rickett, Secretary