ChoralNet Board Meeting
June 7, 2006
Washington D.C.
Attending:
Called to order at 9:39 A.M. by President Feiszli
Board members:
Coult, Hague, Ekberg, Feiszli, Fuller, Shasberger, Albinder: Hoffman arriving at 10:21
Partners:
Ian Bullen, Bill Brett
Manager:
Martin Knowles
Agenda altered to accommodate late arrival of Treasurer
Approval of Minutes:
Coult moved, Ekberg seconded motion to accept minutes, passed unanimously.
Feiszli opened with executive report:
1. Purpose of organization, relevance of current services, duplication by major choral organizations.
2. Fund drives waning, grant development stagnant, solid support of new partners, question about major choral organizations continued support,
Possible new commercial partner areas (touring, concert attire, etc.)
3. Purpose – service driven agenda. Website and lists are old technology. We should be out in front, doing things for our profession.
4. Our North American centrism is still the common perception
Partner Reports
IFCM – Feiszli report. ChoralNet still suffering from last summer’s server switch immediately prior to Kyoto Symposium. Situation helped greatly by ChoralNet’s offer to subsidize IFCM $1000 in photocopying costs. Major problem with IFCM is distance and lack of communication with leadership. Feiszli hopes to communicate more regularly with IFCM leadership to alleviate the problem and help create a more positive image of ChoralNet activities. This report stimulated much discussion and rapport. The focus moved to globalization and discussion of multi language lists
ACDA-Fuller report. Proud partner. New officer lists are helpful and appreciated. Charles is becoming SW President elect as of July 1 and will be leaving MUSICA and ChoralNet Boards. New Tech Chair will likely be offered for service on the CN Board.
Chorus America-Albinder report. Connections are good but could be more specifically defined.
Rehearsal Arts- Doing well, sales up 150% from year 1. 14th title in production. New pieces Bach St. John and Brahms Requiem. Brett described the product and services.
Small World:Black Folder-Bullen reports: New product announcement: The Choralex compact, for singers. A ceremonial check was given by Bullen to Hoffman to mark Small World’s entrance onto the Board.
MUSICA report – Jim: Good relationships with Jean on a personal level, but limited flexibility with Musica interface on a technical level. Most reports from ChoralNet users continue to be less than positive about the useability of Musica searches in either web or CD form. High detail in the bibliographic references is a key point of discussion. According to Musica Board minutes, the user login is set to be removed.
Patron Development:
Thanks to Frank for Collegiate Men’s Chorus Inc. patronage.
Discussion about Patron development followed.
Financial Report – Hoffman:
Good financial status attributed to solid Partner support.
Discussion ensued regarding donor development.
Thank you notes for the current fund drive will be sent.
Hoffman and Knowles will develop a non-donor and lapsed contributor list for all Board members to review and select known contacts to make a direct appeal to. Message to web based users also recommended.
Fuller moved Ekberg seconded the adoption of the report. Motion passed unanimously.
Grant Development: Albinder will spearhead effort to apply to the NEA
and will apply in the appropriate category this year.
Fuller moved Coult seconded a motion of support to Albinder in his grant development support. Motion passed by acclamation.
Banner advertising and credit card payment issues discussed. Suggestion made to investigate Paypal.
By-Laws Revision:
It is noted that the by-laws on the website, specifically, article 3.3 needs to reflect the changes from the May 2005 meeting.
3.3 Manner of
Election and Term of Office. The Directors shall be appointed by the Board of
Directors of the Corporation, according to the formula set forth in this article
for representation by defined classes of Directors, by a simple majority vote of
the Board of Directors at a regularly scheduled meeting. Each director so
appointed shall take office at the time of appointment and shall continue in
office for one year and until such director's death, resignation, retirement,
disqualification, or removal. There shall be no limitation on the number of
successive terms of office for which a director may serve.
A Director may serve a maximum of five successive terms
with an interval of at least one year before re-appointment. The
Board of Directors will consist of at least four (4) Partners, two (2) Patrons,
and one (1) Donor:
Directors over the number of seven (7) may be Partners, Patrons, or Donors. In the event that there are not sufficient candidates from any class, vacancies may be filled at the discretion of the Board of Directors. A record of contribution to the Corporation within the past twelve months at the appropriate class level is required to maintain eligibility to retain a position on the Board of Directors.
Hoffman moved and Albinder seconded to amend article 3.2 to state:
“The Board of Directors shall be at least seven (7) and not more than twelve (12), and may be increased or decreased only by an amendment to these bylaws, provided however, that no decrease in number shall have the effect of shortening the term of any incumbent director. “
Motion passed unanimously.
Message was sent to webmaster Allen Simon, to request that these changes be made on the ChoralNet website.
List and Forum report – Hague:
Classifieds and Forums have been updated. Other changes to the multi topic user subscription and to the InterChoral format are pending. Discussion followed.
Hague reported questions about the implementation of InterChoral. Discussion followed.
Coult moved and Ekberg seconded to empower Feiszli to contact A Coeur Joie to implement InterChoral’s French language version in conjunction with Hague and Knowles. Motion passed unanimously.
Website:
The Board discussed its encouragement for the continued work in translation and noted the improvements being made in this regard.
Ekberg moved and Hague seconded that first page of the website be a language selection site. Motion passed unanimously.
Podcast:
Feiszli, Ekberg, Knowles, Conley, and Topping are identified as members of the Podcast project.
Ekberg and Brett volunteered to come up with a survey for ChoralNet donors to ascertain their satisfaction with current services and interest in potential or user identified services.
Press Releases-News:
Send content to the Secretary for distribution
Brochure:
Hoffman shared the draft of the brochure. Discussion followed.
CAG: Feiszli reports no progress, but plans to work on this during the summer months.
New Business:
Board Development:
Fuller is leaving the Board, and Hoffman may not seek re-election.
Discussion followed regarding election procedures and Board
Development.
Ekberg offered to serve in the capacity of treasurer in 2007 if needed.
Choral Competition Project – Brett: Brett suggested developing an international choral composition contest. Discussion followed. Shasberger and Brett will explore possibilities.
Next Meetings:
October 2 – 16
November 15 -22 Elections only
In Person Meeting 2007: Suggestions offered:
ACDA National in Miami March 7 – 9
June 6 – 9 Chorus America in L.A.
Other possible date recommendations welcome
2008
June 10 – 15, 2008 Chorus America – Denver
With multiple arts organizations
Special Election:
Fuller moved and Ekberg seconded the election of Bill Brett to the Board. Motion passed unanimously.
Executive Session:
Feiszli solicited reports from the Board regarding their areas of responsibility.
Feiszli initiated discussion to review the performance of the ChoralNet Manager.
Meeting Adjourned at 4:00 P.M. for pictures on the front stoop of Albinder’s house