SHS BAND PARENTS ASSOCIATION

BOARD MEETING MINUTES

OCTOBER 14, 2008

 

 

President, Gary Vogel opened the meeting at 6:44pm

 

Everyone introduced themselves and the following members were in attendance:

Director - Mr. Malcolm

Director -  Ms. Newhouse

President - Gary Vogel

President-Elect – John Babinchak

Treasurer - Cherie Heckford

Treasure - Penny Cople

Secretary  - Michele Bozarth

Board Member - Sue Moynihan

Board Member - Ann Corbell

Board Member - Sonia Bhatia

Board Member - Bryan Bozarth

Board Member - Kiera Guarino

Guest - Kevin Fletcher

Guest - Michele Wawoe

Guest - Kathy Vogel

Guest - Clayton Pritchard            

 

Gary thanked everyone for attending and spoke for a few minutes about the different lives all of our kids live and that they all seem to find a “home” in the band.

 

1.       DIRECTORS COMMENTS – MR. MALCOLM & MS. NEWHOUSE:

 

Ms. Newhouse spoke about marching festival on October 18th and that the kids are working really hard. They are starting to realize that there are only 6 rehearsals left until Deland. The concert last week was well done. She thanked everyone for their help.

 

Mr. Malcolm stated that he was a little worried about the progress the band was making because they were a week behind due to the weather and all the events are still in the same spot. He feels that everything will go well and he is always proud of the show they put on. He spoke about the decision to not do a post game show at Lake Howell because 25 students had SAT’s the next morning and hopes that everyone respects that decision. He was very impressed with the concert. It was a very good way to start the concert season and all the bands did well. He was very relaxed and even got to sit down and enjoy the show. Maybe a little too relaxed, he forgot to let Sue do the drawing from the cheesecake fundraiser. He stated that we are ½ way through the football season, only 3 weeks away from FBA with only 6 rehearsals. Then he thanked Sue for a great job with the Fundraiser. He spoke about student named Billy B. Wilson. He is a “gunkie” and participates in Trick or Treat for UNICEF. Billy asked if the band would sponsor him and gave a presentation with a video to the class. All of the student were great and took boxes to collect money and need to bring them back the first week of November. He stated that the kids blow him away and Thank you also to the parents.

 

2.       PREVIOUS METING MINUTES:

 

Previous Meeting minutes – everyone received these by email. A motion was made by John to accept the previous meeting minutes that were received by email and the motion was seconded by Sonia. The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.       TREASURER’S REPORT:

 

Cheri handed out a copy of the budget and asked for any questions. She is going to have a draft budget to Mr. Malcolm by Friday for his review. Mr. Malcolm thinks we are comfortable and on track. Cheri explained that there is a separate account for the student’s funds. This will keep everything clean. It will also be good once the first trip deposit is paid. Bryan made a motion to accept the treasures report as read and the motion was seconded by Sue. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Penny spoke about the contracts and scholarships. We are making progress. 70% of the dues are paid. We have a handful of payment plans – some are good, some are ok and some are nothing. Penny will continue to get a list every week to Mr. Malcolm & Ms. Newhouse and Mr. Malcolm will take care of it.

 

4.       CHERI – MARCHING FESTIVAL:

 

Cheri asked to get more details for the Marching festival. Kids need to be at the school by Noon, they will be leaving on the bus at 2:00pm. She will line up parents. We need to bring a table, 3 chairs, and signs for the food table and water. Also Cheri will be getting  PB & J for anyone who is still hungry.  The volunteers will need to ride the buses, take student to the bathroom and monitor the stands. She asked about how to handle those students who will want to go straight home from the marching festival and Mr. Malcolm said he will handle that. We are not sure if UCF band will be there this year.

 

5.       SONIA – SHS TEXAS & JOURNEY ED:

 

Sonia spoke about the SHS Texas band. She told everyone that it was a school of 630 total students with about 75-100 in the whole band. She asked for ideas on how to form a long distance friendship with them. Ideas that were brought up include a “Hello” from the stands, a video message from our band and sending them a marching video. Clayton suggested that before we do anything we explain to our band who they are and show them some information on them maybe including some videos. Mr. Malcolm also suggested that we keep in touch with our Japanese friends.

 

Sonia also spoke about JourneyEd. This is a heavily discounted education software web site for students and teachers. They have great discounts. She asked if we would be interested in becoming an affiliate with them. It would entail posting a banner on our website with a link to their site. Every time someone went through the link from our site and made a purchase we would receive 5% of the total. A motion was made by John that we become an affiliate with JourneyEd and add a link to them on our site the motion was seconded by Kiera. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Sonia asked if everyone had received the email of the report on the status of things being done for the changes of hands. She said that Kevin was handling the website and Michele was handling the newsletter and collage. The only thing left to cover was the video taping. One parent has stepped forward. We have 4 band parents taking pictures. She appreciates everyone helping. Mr. Warner has also stepped forward to take pictures.

Sonia's report submitted by email to the board before the meeting:

1. Website transition: It is coming along well. Kevin is now solely in charge of the fundraising and band trip pages. When he posts new information, he tells me and I mention it on the Latest News page. He and Michele have a good sense now about how I gather information for the website.

 

2. Newsletter: Many of you have already sent in your articles, Kiera was the first, and Terry sent in an extra one that was very relevant. I appreciate those of you who have checked in to tell me yours is on the way. When Michele takes over the newsletter next year, the current progress with accountability should make her life much easier. Band directors and Band Council have their deadline next week.

 

3. Photo/video: We still need two parents to take video next year. I have one possible recruit in process, but we need more. They will not have to “make” the DVD – Kevin and Michele have offered to edit it, but we do need two parents to provide quality raw footage. PLEASE refer them to me if you spot a likely candidate. I will make a request in the newsletter too.

 

The Photo part of the committee looks under control for next year with the combined efforts of Bryan, Jason Parker and Ned Warner.

I hope you have had a chance to see the halftime show from FBA on youtube. In preparation for that Friday and Saturday’s performances, students watched video of the previous night’s performance in class to see what they looked like and how they can improve.

 

I am currently working on the DVD of marching festival. We should make approximately $850 in profits from this DVD.

 

Mike Cannavo and I are discussing different possibilities of a photo–DVD in time for the winter concert.

 

Senior night: As an off-duty Senior parent, I took only a total of 10 mins of video, and no photographs at all!!

4. Publicity: I am constantly sending Clayton any articles from the Sanford Herald that feature the band.

 

6.       SUE – FUNDRAISING & BAND TRIP:

 

Sue thanked everyone for all the support and help on the cheesecake fundraiser. We made a 45% profit and raised $3,355.09 and still have a few more orders coming in. She can’t compare it to last year but feels that we did a tab bit less. Gift cards were given out to the kids the day after the concert. There were 28 pulls altogether. One student received 3 pulls, five students received 2 pulls and everyone else received 1 pull. The gift cards were gifted by the marketing firm and a corporate sponsor. She will send a flyer home next week reminding everyone of the pickup date and times.

 

Sue updated everyone on the Christmas trees. The fundraiser will start in about 1 ½-2 weeks. Warren will be making the flyers and John will be helping with the fundraiser.

 

Sue also gave us an update on the Patio grill for our meetings. She spoke with Lucinda and they will be opening in December. They have opened it up for us for the 2nd Tuesday of every month. We will need to decide at the November meeting if will be having a December meeting and if it will be there.

 

Sue told us that Tim from Gators in Lake Mary has offered to have family nights once a month at the restaurant. The dates are October 30th, November 20th and December 18th from 5-9pm. We will get 10% of the profits.  He is also letting us use an area for 6 car washes. Terry will be setting those up. We will use Pizza Hut as a back up 1 night every other month. Also Steak & Shake in Sanford and Lake Mary has offered to do family nights with a 20% profit.

 

Sue gave an update on the band trip. Quarter days & car washes are going well. They will end in November.  There are a few students who are close to earning all of their money. They should be told the day they work that any money that they make over will go somewhere else, maybe towards the cost of the total trip. Terry and Judy are keeping track of what the students earn. Sue will be sending out an info sheet soon. First payment of $200.00 is due 10/31 and no deposits have been turned in yet.  There was a discussion that band dues must be paid before students can go on trip. Chaperone deposits need to follow the same schedule as the students and all chaperones need to make sure they are fingerprinted by the county. There are 114 total spots which include 13 spots for chaperones.

 

Mr. Malcolm thanked Sue for handing the ice machine. Sue said that she is working on upgrades.

 

7.       KIERA – NEW CONCERT DRESSES:

 

Kiera spoke about concert dresses. We all want the girls to look and feel pretty. She is looking at 2 piece outfits and ordering samples. Skirts will be easier. They can be pulled up at the waist and do not need to be hemmed.  Tops are harder because we don’t want anything too tight and are looking for something cool and comfortable. She is looking at a number of different companies. The estimated cost is $3000. about $60-$70 per dress.  This money is separate from the uniform budget. Kiera suggested maybe this money could come from the Band parent association. The suggestion to use fundraisers to raise the money might be an idea. We could use the concert showcase to raise money for the concert dresses since concerts are when they are worn. A motion was made by Cheri to tentatively designate $5000. per year for the purchase of new uniforms the motion was seconded by Ann. The motion passed unanimously. A motion was made by John to designate the family night fundraiser at Gators to concert wear leaving open any other fundraisers to also help in raising the money, the motion was seconded by Kiera. The motion passed unanimously.

 

8.       ANN – SENIOR NIGHT:

 

Ann spoke about Senior night.  Invitations will go out this week. The date will be November 7th at 5:45 in the cafeteria. She is currently looking at menus with River City and Giovanni’s.  Ideas on the menu are turkey, pasta, salad, bread, cake and drinks. There are 46 band seniors and 25 dazzlers & expressions for a total of 71 students. She has some concerns about the budget. Last year she spent $1000. But we had fewer students. Cherie asked if a budget of $1300. would work and Ann said yes. The Dazzlers & Expressions will be providing the drinks, desserts and flowers for all Senior parents. Decorations will be used from last year and Ann will look at what plastic ware we have left in storage. Cherie will handle volunteers that are not Senior parents. All of our photographer parents will need to be there.

 

9.       KATHY – BY LAWS:

 

Kathy spoke about the proposed changes to the bylaws. There was a discussion about the proposed changes and it was decide that Kathy would rework the changes and bring them back to the next meeting.

 

Kathy told us that the grill will be available for the November 7th game and asked if we were interested in doing it. It was decide that we would pass. She also let us know that there are opening at the concessions for all other sporting events throughout the year. She will try and get a copy of the time slots and Cherie will see if we have any parents that are interested.

 

10.   JOHN – CORPORATE STATUS:

 

John told us that on Monday he will be meeting with an accountant who specializes in non-profit organizations. He will bring all the information that he collects back to the next meeting. He said that there was no charge for this meeting and it would help us get some order to how we are to do things. He said that a review is supposed to be done once a year for our bond and should be done by someone that has no ties to the band.

 

11.   NEW BUSINESS:

 

Rob said that we have 290 email subscriptions. He is having issues with 3 email addresses that keep coming back but he is working on them.  We had 4 hours of down time last week and it was the web server not us. The web site has between 50-70 hits to the home page.

 

A motion was made by John to close the meeting and the motion was seconded by Mr. Malcolm. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was closed at 9:28pm.