SHS BAND PARENT ASSOCIATION

BOARD MEETING MINUTES

April 14, 2009

 

 

President Gary Vogel called the meeting to order at 6:34pm

 

Members in attendance were:

 

Mr. Malcolm - Director

Ms. Newhouse – Director

Mr. Jennings - Music Intern

Gary Vogel - President

John Babinchak - President - Elect

Cherie Heckford – Treasurer

Judy Malkowski - Treasurer

Michele Bozarth - Secretary

Bryan Bozarth - 9th  Grade Rep

Michele Wawoe - Publicity Committee Member

Kevin Fletcher - Publicity Committee Member

Kathy Vogel - Liaison with SHS Boosters

Terry Sisaleumsak – 11th grade Rep, Bandquet, Band Camp

Scott Smith – Bandquet Committee Member

 

 

1.      TERRY – BANDQUET

 

The idea for this year’s bandquet started last year at band camp with Terry and Scott Smith. Terry turned over the discussion to Scott who then introduced 6 of his college students who were helping him plan the event. Scott explained that this was the first step in their careers. They will someday be planning large events like the Super Bowl and the Emmys. It is a great thing because they get the experience and we get a great event. Terry is guiding all of them, but the ladies are doing all of the work. There are a total of 5 committees and they will each be giving us a report. The great things is not only are they event planners but they are very close to the students ages so they know what is “hot” right now. Scott also explained that they are being graded on this event. Ashley & Iliani are in charge of the food & beverage. They went over the menu choices and dessert. We will be having a cake for dessert. They are looking for ideas on the icing color and cake flavors. It was decided that we would have a chocolate/vanilla swirl and the icing should be in the school colors. There will be root beer floats at the after party. They are looking at souvenir cups and are still researching this. This way it will give them something to remember the night. Scott added that after last year they did some research and found that most people came for the awards, ate dinner and left. This year one of our goals is to make them want to stay. We are going to divide the event into 2 separate events. We will have the awards and dinner and then go into an after party. We want the kids to go “WOW”. The doors will open at 6:30 and dinner about 7:00. We will be having all the sodas donated. We will be in need of parent volunteers to help with the event. Emails will be sent out to all the parents asking for help. There will be all different time slots available.

Decorations are being handled by Sydney. She gave a report on the decorations. There will be 2 separate areas. This way the area for the after party will be a surprise. One area for the awards and dinner and the other for the after party. The dress will be cocktail attire, homecoming attire, Sunday best, etc. No Jeans or flip flops.

Carolyn is in charge of donations. They are in the process of looking for prizes. They will be emailing the parents for ideas. They will be having different games. This will be a great option for those who don’t dance. They will be heavily marketing this event. Facebook, emails, posters and mini commercials are just a few of the ways they will reach the students.

Questions that were addressed: 1. Dates - will be allowed. 2. Cups - are still being researched and they will get back to us. 3. Drinks – we have a lot left over and will get Scott a count. 4. Balloons – we have some in the closet and will get a count. 4. We are looking for a poker table if anyone has one. 4. Prizes – maybe the pros from the Jazz night can donate lessons as a prize.

Entertainment will be the same DJ as last year. The students need to request the songs in advance so that we can screen the lyrics.

 

 

2.      DIRECTORS REPORT – MR. MALCOLM & MS. NEWHOUSE

 

Ms. Newhouse gave us a review of the past. March 30th we had State Solo Ensemble and Jazz Festival. The jazz band got straight superiors. We also had numerous superiors on solos along with excellent solos. Everything went really well and we are really proud. On March 31st we had the Journey thru Jazz concert. This was a great success. Everyone had a great time and the performances were amazing. It was a great first concert of that type. On Wednesday the 1st we had rehearsal for the trip and then we left on Thursday the 2nd. The trip went really well, we had to change some things around because Monday it was supposed to rain all day. So we flip flopped Sunday and Monday. On Monday it was raining all morning but we got ready to perform and the skies opened up and the sun came out, we played and we finished playing and loaded everything up, as the last piece of equipment was getting loaded in the buses it started to downpour. It was a really great trip. The kids were very well behaved. The seniors bonded a lot as well as everyone else bonded with each other.

Upcoming events April 21st – Jazz Chiefs concert at 7pm. April 23rd – State concert MPA at 4pm. April 28th – Incoming parents meeting at 7pm. May 7th – Showcase concert at 7pm. May 12th Orchestra concert at 7pm. May 19th – Percussion concert at 7pm (this is a date change). May 29th – Bandquet at 6pm.

Mr. Malcolm explained that it was his dream for the students to have the best music education, have a great band trip and develop great memories. This was a phenomenal trip. Dr Bahtia has put out a request for pictures. She has requested that you clean them up and not just do a photo dump. Pictures are already on the internet. He suggested that maybe we create a Facebook just for the DC trip. Nick Alverez has a memorial video on YouTube. He thanked everyone who went on the trip. Everyone should be proud of the kids that went. We really have to honor our kids at the bandquet. We want to show them that we really appreciate and respect them. It is amazing how many people have done a lot of work behind the scenes. We should be really proud of what is happening at Seminole, it is not happening like this everywhere else. We keep adding and doing new things. The Journey thru Jazz concert just started as an idea then it turned into so much more than that. Thank you to everyone who was involved in that.

Mr. Jennings also stated that it was an exceptional trip. He learned a lot. It was great to see the opposite side of the coin. He got to see what it takes to do a band trip. His last official day will be next Friday. He stated that he wants to come back.  It has been a great experience overall. He thanked everyone for the opportunity.

 

 

3.      PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES

 

Previous meeting minutes – everyone received by email. The only change that needed to be made was Penny’s last name was spelled incorrect. The change will be made and minutes will be revised.  A motion was made by Bryan to accept the previous minutes that were received by email with the change and the motion was seconded by Cheri. The motion was passed unanimously.

 

4.      TREASURER’S REPORT

 

Cheri handed out the Treasurer’s report. She explained that the top sheet shows what is left in the band trip account. There is $653.70 left in that account. She reviewed the bank balance and the breakdown from the Journey thru Jazz proceeds this should increase a little because the left over soda and water would be taken off and applied to the band bandquet and some additional orders that have come in. This amount should not decrease unless we get a bill for additional CD’s.  The last thing she reviewed was the profit and loss which shows all the categories. A motion was made by Michele to accept the treasurer’s report as presented and the motion was seconded by Bryan. The motion was passed unanimously.

We need to decide what we are going to do with this money that was left over from the band trip. Mr. Malcolm stated that a lot of this money was from a credit from Kaleidoscope for the NY trip. We did not overcharge any students for the trips. There was a discussion on the matter. A motion was made by Judy to leave the extra money in the trip account for future trips and the motion was seconded by Cheri.  The motion was passed unanimously.

 

 

5.      SCOTT - BANDQUET

 

There was a question on if we need to increase the budget. Scott explained that the cost was going to remain the same. The only item that is in questions is the mugs. The cost will probably be about $10.00 per person for everything. There was a discussion on changing the price for the tickets to the bandquet. If we increased the price on the tickets it would help to cover the hurricane glasses for the kids to have a memento from the night. A motion was made by John to set the ticket price for the bandquet at $10.00 for everyone who attends with the exception of senior band students who would be free. The motion was seconded by Bryan. The motion was passed unanimously.

Scott will be meeting with his students and reviewing everything we have discussed. He explained that because the semester ends in 2 weeks he has to give them a grade before the event actually happens. Everyone thanked Scott for all that he is doing. This is a great example of what our band parents can do.

 

6.      BAND TRIP – FINAL REPORT

 

Most of the band trip highlights were previously discussed. A question was asked if we have ever done a post trip survey so see what the students thought. What they liked and what they didn’t. Mr. Malcolm stated that he hasn’t ever done that, but that during the year he will ask them for their ideas. Since he has done this a good amount of times he has a pretty good feel for what they like. There was great praise for Mark with Kaleidoscope and how great he is. He was there when parents needed him. He was very flexible especially with the rain that we had. A suggestion was made to have the kids send him a thank you note that is signed by everyone. Mark is a great guy, you really know where is heart is. As far as the kids they were great. They were very respectful and always on time to everywhere they were supposed to be.

 

7.      JOHN - BENEFIT JAZZ CONCERT

 

John gave his final report. We made money. He was very impressed with how hard everyone worked on this event. The kids were awesome and had a great time. Robert said that he was very impressed. When talking to people in the audience there was nothing but compliments. The only one down thing was that we had hoped to fill the place more. The weather may have hurt us a little. Also, nobody knew what to expect from this concert so, hopefully we will have a lot more people next year because of the word of mouth about this year. Robert has already said that he wants to do it again next year. Lessons to be learned – find a date that works, maybe a Sunday afternoon instead of a week night. CD’s are still available but we need to get the orders to Michelle by Friday. Sonia has asked if we can take orders for the CD’s at the upcoming Jazz Chief’s concert and if someone could set up a table. This just needs to be run by Mr. Langston at Millennium.

 

 

8.      MICHELE – BAND CAMP

 

Dates for band camp will be August 10th – 14th from 9am-9pm. This should not be a problem. Mr. Malcolm has been in contact with the construction people and they don’t see a problem with keeping us on campus this summer. Registration night will be the 6th & 7th. Freshman day will be the 8th. The other problem is that because of all the budget cuts they are not permitting any of the middle schools to do camps this summer. Mr. Langston has asked if they could piggyback us at the same time that we are using the facility. They would like to come out in the morning to do their camps. Mr. Malcolm is going to talk with Mr. Godrow about this. This would mean that in the morning we would probably have additional 60-80 kids. This would be a good opportunity to make money with concessions. Michele stated that she is just trying to start getting some ideas together for meals, and waters and things like that. She will be getting together with Terry to go over what they did last year and look at ideas for this year. Last year was a little different because it was only ½ day and we did lunch and this year will be a full 12 hour day and be serving dinner.

 

9.      CHERI – TAX CERTIFICATE

 

The certificate is being processed and should be mailed out this week. The number will remain the same it is valid.

 

 

10.  GARY - NOMINATIONS

 

Gary gave an update on the nominations. We have all positions filled except for 2 – Spirit wear and Treasurer – accounts payable. Cheri will handle that position until it is filled. Gary let everyone know if there is anyone who knows someone who would like either of these positions to let him know. We may look at the middle school parents if we need to but with the Treasurer position it may be a little hard for a freshman parent. This should be a very smooth transition. We do have two people that we are waiting for their answers back and once we find out we will present the slate and then vote on it at the spring concert.

 

11.  SONIA – PHOTO/VIDEO

 

Sonia submitted her report via email as follows:

 

Website transition: (You can see what is most important to me!) Kevin,
Michele W and I are meeting in late April for the official hand-off. I'll
keep the Photo and Video page, Kevin will take over the rest. Michele will
be responsible for collecting all content. Please send her all your
information.

Over the past 4 years I have collected many of the forms that we use/ are
posted on the website. I will be giving Kevin a disc with all of them, he
will be the new unofficial "Keeper of the Documents," including the band
letterhead, which is also posted on the secure area of the website.

 I've learned a lot by creating this website in all of its versions since
2006, since I'd never done a website before. It has been a privilege and a
lot of creative fun to bring it to the level where it is a useful tool that
many band students and parents use often, and I am sure that Kevin will keep
our Band banner flying high, he's already learning more technical stuff for
it.  I will continue to be available if needed, and will probably drop by
for a game or two next year and take photos for the website.  Love that
Seminole Band!

 

I have set up a new webpage for New Students.

 Lynx Public Service Bus drawing: We weren't able to submit our entry because
the tax-exempt certificate had expired - it was needed for the application.
There is always next year. Michele W has the information.

JourneyEd: We've made some progress with setting up the account with
Commission Junction, the company that tracks how much is sold  to those
entering from our website. Once we get the new tax-exempt certificate we
will proceed with putting the link on the home page.  The JourneyEd website
has very good prices especially as parents buy new computers for their
college-bound students, and everything is first quality.

Photo/Video committee: At this point, there is nothing in place for next
year.  However, John B takes wonderful photos  (see his JTJ Rehearsal photos
on the website!) and should be pressed into service when needed, and I will
continue to recruit for new parents. The process is simple - if they email
the photos to Kevin or send him a disk, he'll post them. We've been too busy
to ask the school TV production people to help out so far, hopefully
something can be set up.

I've tried to publicize that I'll post band trip photos if they are given to
me. Let's see what turnout we get.

Newsletter: The deadline for the end-of-the-year newsletter is May 8. I will
send out one reminder at the end of the month, and then go with whatever has
been turned in.

Incoming Family newsletter - No luck with this - I had planned to have it
ready by this week for the band directors to take to their visits to the
middle schools.  Despite several reminders I do not have any of the key
welcome letters. Sigh.

Michele W will be doing the newsletters next school year, starting with the
summer issue.

DVDs: The order form for this year's DVDs is posted on the website. There
will be 4 DVDs of this year, discounted for a package deal. This selection
was based on an analysis of last year's sales.   The band directors will
receive 15 sets of the 4 DVDs to use at their discretion. I've also got a
few DVDs left over from last year, offered at half price.

Work on the Marching Season DVD have been interrupted by all the work for
JTJ and then State Solo/Ensemble. I was able to video all but 2 of the
performances on that marathon day. All the Superiors from State are posted
on youtube, and almost all the Excellents with permission by the students.
Currently working on the JTJ video - the footage is spectacular because the
concert was spectacular and the three cameras picked up all the soloists
beautifully. Unfortunately at the concert no announcement was made
promoting the DVD-audio CD, and we missed the best marketing opportunity. So
far I only have 10 orders. Please remember to order your copy by April 18,
the set is priced higher after that.

I looked at having the DVD duplicated professionally, but we don't need
enough copies to make it viable. So the "SHS Band DVD Production Studio"
will resume operations on my dining table.

My plan is to distribute all the orders by Bandquet. This will give me only
a week to make the DVD of the Percussion Concert, but it is doable if I do
the prep work ahead of time.

If I could please have someone from the board to take over filling any
orders or replacing any defective DVDs from June onwards, since I'll have
"graduated."

Over the summer I hope to work on a one-hour overview of the music year to
show on SGTV.

 

 

12.  NEW BUSINESS

 

There is a conflict with the next meeting that is scheduled on May 19th. The suggestion was made to move the next meeting forward to May 5th and there were no objections to that date. A suggestion was made to solicit parent participation and membership on the board at the incoming parents meeting. This will help us get freshman parents involved. The best thing to do is get a list of 8th grade parents and contact them.

Mr. Malcolm made a suggestion about looking into purchasing an outgoing 911 system so that we could stay in contact with the band parents. We could get contact information from the middle schools and get any information out to any band student. Cheri, John and Michelle said that they would look into this.

Mr. Malcolm stated that they have been in the process of getting things fixed in the band room and have found that they still need a few things done like hanging the speakers. He has already purchased the sound system for the room but what we need to do now is run the microphone lines and get them hung. This is something we really do need to do recording in the band room. It would help a lot with the rehearsals. He is asking for about $1000.00 to do the installation, wiring and microphones. Do we have enough funds in the account to handle this? Mr. Malcolm stated that the only other things that would need to be paid out this year would be for the state bus, drum major camp and the awards which should total around $5000. Everyone agreed that if we could do this for under $1000. than it should be o.k. Our objective is to carry over $10,000 to next year and we seem to be in line with that.

Finance committee meeting is scheduled for April 22nd at 6:00. The objective is to start a proposed operating budget for next year.

John stated that the following was needed for the next meeting: A budget and a Slate of officers.

 

The next meeting will be on May 5th at 6:30pm at the same location. Gary adjourned the meeting at 8:33pm

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Michele Bozarth

Secretary