Music Boosters minutes 9/06

South Portland Music Boosters<= /b>

Membership Meeting Minutes: November 18, 2008

Mike Fletcher, President called the meeting to order a= nd introduced the members of the Board. He then introduced the Music Directors and asked for updates on their programs.

Music Directors’ Comments: <= /span>Abby Hutchins was unable to make the meeting but sent in her report. “T= he Memorial and Mahoney Chorus is very excited to be joining the USM Singers (= on) Wednesday the 19th, to work with Dr. Russell. This was a great opportunity that= I'm glad we were able to take part in. Students will volunteer and take part in= the Mill Creek Tree Lighting once again, along with Bev (Hosic) and her students. It's a great community service that our students can have f= un doing. Our concerts are nearing, one on the 9th and one on the 11th. Our ye= ar is going fast and going well! Thank you for your continued help and support.”

Jean Quinn reported that at Memorial, things are off t= o a good start. She mentioned tha= t the middle school students who performed at the Marching Band home show did very well, and the show seemed to go very smoothly. She discussed Honors Festival audi= tions, saying that most of the students who auditioned were accepted. She also noted that the Wells scho= ol department has eliminated instrumental music at the middle school level. There was some discussion. Craig Skeffington added that it sa= ddens him to hear stories about school districts cutting music at the middle scho= ol level. He loves the feeling of seeing that “sea of kids” on the field. He reported that Marching Band end= ed well, and the Home Show was fantastic. Everything went exactly as it should. He= added that South Portland should be proud of its music program. It is the exception, not the rule.&= nbsp; He listed upcoming events and concerts.

Mike added that the Middle School students who play at= the finals have the support of the High School kids, who line up when the middle school kids come off the field.

Bev Hosic brought the new skeleton and model larynx fu= nded by the Boosters to demonstrate their use.&= nbsp; There will be a concert on 12/2, and tomorrow (11/19), the USM Chamb= er Singers are coming to perform and do a workshop with middle and high school= s. This year’s musical is He= llo Dolly.

Bingo Hall= Special Report: Mike Fletcher reported on the Bingo Hall lease, which expires on January 1, 2009. A couple of weeks ago, the Lamson family, who owns the Bingo Hall, notified t= he Boosters that they wished a meeting to discuss the lease. They notified us at that meeting t= hat they will not be renewing the lease as of 12/31/08. The Lamsons have in the past year started the Maine Boosters Association, with other booster groups working f= or them, providing 4-5 workers per night.&nbs= p; The Booster Association hires employees to do the other jobs. The Hockey Boosters were not able = to maintain working Sunday nights on their own, so they joined the Maine Boost= ers and get a stipend from them. Gary Lamson is the president of the Maine Boosters Association. We have known for a long time that= they wanted Saturday night, since it brings in a lot more money than other night= s, as evidenced by our treasury. Before this, they haven’t been able to staff it adequately. We don’t know what the propo= sed changes mean for the future. = We are currently negotiating. (Christina Davis is our contact person. She has been involved in bingo for quite a while and knows the details.) They have offered to have us join = as another booster group under the Maine Boosters. They have asked to see our budget,= and say they would give us 80% of our budget in exchange for workers each week. The amount we would receive depend= s on whether they are talking about Bingo or sealed tickets or both. Obviously, we don’t want to = lose our source of income. All opt= ions are on the table. Gary Lamson= was surprised by the number of kids we support. They say they want to “sprea= d the wealth.” We suppo= rt 700 kids. The members discussed their concerns with this proposed change.

Christina Davis reported that our Bingo licenses expir= e in April and May. She suggested = that the best solution is to keep the licenses current. She discussed the way the licenses= and lease work. We have worked fo= r 25 years with the Lamson family. Christina will report to the Board and information will be posted to the website.

Mike added that although this is a blow to our efforts= , it is not an end to the Boosters. We have always been defined by our support of the kids and efforts of our volunteers/members. If this h= ad to happen, it occurred at a good time, because we have a great group of dedica= ted and motivated people to take care of things. The board works together to gets t= hings done, taking the initiative. = We will continue to build on our success.

Minutes: A motion to dispense with the read= ing of the September minutes was made by Craig Skeffington, seconded by Cheryl Ouellette, all in favor.

Treasurer&= #8217;s report: Christ= ina Davis reported that we have $223,166.00 combined, in all accounts (total as= sets). She explained the report to member= s, noting that under liabilities, you will see approved expenditures, which are budget approved items, the accounts that are affected when the bills are paid. Winter guard has a nega= tive amount due to a bill that was received late. Admin/Special Events has a negative number because of the 10/31/08 cutoff and the home show profits which will = show in November. She explained ho= w Bingo profits are portioned to different accounts. Net Ordinary Income is our earning= s to date. (It costs a lot to run bingo). A motion to accept the report was made by Melissa Lundgren, seconded by Cindy Fletcher, all in favor. Mike added that the Ex= ecutive Board had approved a motion that stated:&n= bsp; “The Boosters will co= ntinue with all approved Budget Items up to and including the November 2008 member= ship meeting. “

Special Ev= ents Report: Cindy Fletcher and Sarah Huggins reported on the wrap up of Marching Band Home Show, where South Portland earned four stars. We had 95 volunteers, 3000 attende= es, $650 profit, 99 pizzas, 420 hamburgers, and 11 vats of chili! The Marching Band banquet (a pasta potluck) is this Sunday at 5:30. Mike added that South Portland doesn’t get the gate fee for the Home Show. Cindy added we got 50 emails after= the show about how wonderful it was. Our efforts are noticed by all, from 4^th grade on up. MBDA tabulator was very pleased, a= nd also the head judge, and most importantly, Craig was pleased. Thank you to all volunteers. Cindy then discussed the USM Chamb= er Singers visit to the HS. High School and Middle School will see the performance. Brad Morrison of Have Chef will Travel will cater t= he lunch for the USM group for a total of $714.00. This is a great opportunity for our students to see what happens after middle and high school. A motion to approve funding the lu= nch for the USM Chamber Singers in the amount of $714.00 was made by Cindy Fletcher, seconded by Cathy Carmichael and approved by all.

Bingo repo= rt: Melissa Lundgren reported tha= t thanks to the coordinated efforts of our volunteers and other booster groups, Bingo was covered during the Marching Band season. In the next two months, parents and students involved in the Florida Band Trip are coming to the Bingo Hall to = help sell raffle tickets and work bingo.

Membership= : Kathy Carmichael reported that the instrument fair was a great event, making 16 new contacts. She shared the dates of upcoming concerts. (See website for details.) Hosic added that th= e HS chorus will sing at the Tree Lighting at Mill Creek Park.

Publicity:= Cheryl Ouellette reported that publicity is quiet right now, although Octob= er was hectic. Unfortunately, we= were unable to get a lot of signage around the city for the MB Home Show. Chanel 8 was at the finals, and ref= erred to South Portland<= /st1:City> as a “marching band dynasty.”&= nbsp; The PPH was there, and wrote great story, but the pictures were of another band. A motion to acc= ept the report made by Kathy Carmichael, seconded by Steve Laberge, all in favo= r.

Web Site: Dewey Hendricks reported that the website got hundreds of hits in the past several days. He encouraged parents to send him pictures of events – there is unlimited space on the site! Members agreed that the site looks incredible. Parents and alumn= i go to the site to check out pictures of family and friends.

President = Report: Mike Fletcher asked Craig to give details for the Disney Trip. = At this time there is a core group of 85 kids (out of 115 students in the HS b= and programs). One round of payme= nts and paperwork has been completed. By 12/1/08, 50% will be paid. $1= 6,600 has been deposited at the bank for the first round of payments. Kids are already discussing packing. The rehearsal schedu= le is tight with the Musical practices, so Craig plans to meet with students on a= few Sundays, as well as rehearsing with every band student, so the same program= can be played for the Pops Concert this spring. Rehearsal will also take place 2 days before February vacation. The Band will fly out early Wednesday a.m. from Portland<= /st1:City>, returning to Portland on Sunday. Cindy Fletcher mad= e a quick announcement about fundraising events.

Craig also mentioned that the State Jazz Festival (Mar= ch 13-14) will be just as big as the Marching Band finals, with 60 schools participating. This is a big fundraiser with income of approximately $15,000. Saturday is an all day performance day with night finals. Cindy asked whether any hotel information needs to go out. Informati= on will be emailed to directors. Volunteers will be needed for tickets and food, in the gym and auditorium. The Music Boosters website and database of volunteers is fabulous, and we will get all the volunteers we need. A motion = to accept the report made by Dewey Hendricks, seconded by Pete Everest, all in favor.

Bylaws: Mike asked if people had reviewed = the Bylaw Changes. A motion to approve = the Bylaw and Constitution changes in total was made by Cheryl Ouellette, and seconded by Kathy Carmichael. There was no discussion, and the Motion passed.

Budget Req= uests:

Mahoney/Memorial requests 10 bell sets not to exceed $4500. Jean Quinn explained t= hey are little kits the kids can take home to practice on. Motion to accept mad= e by Cindy Fletcher, seconded by Rusty Quinn, all in favor.

A donation of $1000 to the High School Musical: Motion to accept made by Cheryl Ouellette, seconded by Dewey Hendricks, all in favor.

Marching Band, awards for the end of the season: $900. A motion to accept by Steve Laberge seconded by Cindy Fletcher, all in favor.

High School instrumental request for a total of $5,260= , for the Jazz Band to travel to Berklee and Noble ($2100), Winter Guard $2,610, and = Jazz Band shirts ($550). A Motion to accept these requests made by Christina Dav= is, seconded by Cheryl Ouellette. All in favor.

Craig reported that there is a large staff that works = with the marching band. Most of th= em are paid by the City. There are a= few that volunteer for free: assistants Ross Gauvin and Matt LeGuarde. We are n= ot doing stipends due to the issue in the past, but he would like to give them some token to show our appreciation. Both had to travel -- Matt came from <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Boston. Ross live= s in the Gray area. Ross is a success story – he = chose to stay in the area in order to help out with Marching Band. The stipend before was $1000. The other staff received stipends = from the school budget to write the music, arrange the visual show, and run the = drum line. The industry standard is $1000 to $2000. A motion to give a gift card in the amount of $1000 to Ross Gauvin and Matt LaGarde was made by Steve Laberge, seconded by Cheryl Ouellette (total amount $2000 and fee).

Motion to adjourn made by Cheryl Ouellette, seconded b= y Cindy Fletcher, all in favor.

Next meeting: 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Middle Sch= ool. Respectfully submitted by Maggie McNeice, Secretary.