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Davidson B Room, Renaissance Hotel -- Nashville,
Tennessee These Board members were present: President Toban Dvoretzky, Secretary Fred Hinesley, Manager/Treasurer Ed Hartley, Past President John Plazek, and Directors At-Large Don Dobson, Gil Lefholz, Tom Millot, Russ Seely, and Ken Wheeler. Absent with excuse: Vice-President Steve Shannon. Absent: Director At-Large Bob Walker. President Dvoretzky called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and led the group in singing "Down Mobile." REVIEW OF RESPONSIBILITIES President Dvoretzky opened the meeting by noting that henceforth the Board of Directors would be notified of any matters which were to be discussed at a board meeting. He called attention to a copy of an article from the Houston Business Journal, "Efficiently run boards need new tactical and administrative tools" and reviewed its highlights. The average U.S. board seat, according to the article, requires 173 hours a year. The average AHSOW board member, Dvoretzky observed, does, perhaps, two hours of total work a month in response to the newsletter. Nevertheless, he remarked, AHSOW work will be more efficiently done if preliminary work on issues is done in committees. The Board, he observed, cannot do its best work by continuing to function like a committee. JACKSONVILLE MID-WINTER BOARD MINUTES Dobson moved that the minutes of the Jacksonville Mid-Winter Board meeting be approved. The motion was seconded and passed. MEMBERSHIP & FINANCIAL REPORTS Hartley reviewed the Manager/Treasurer's Report. He noted that AHSOW membership stood at 1457, which was the same number of members we had a year ago. He called attention to the fact that the membership number included 287 men who had not renewed their membership -- 61 more than had not renewed at the same point in the previous year. He remarked that this was the first time that we had not shown an increase in membership since 1994. Following a discussion of efforts to improve renewal rates, Seely suggested that a membership committee be formed to consider ways in which renewal rates could be improved. Dvoretzky remarked that the members of the committee did not necessarily have to be board members and that three to five men would be a good number to make up the committee. Since it is not easy to ascertain whether men who do not renew their AHSOW membership also do not renew their Society membership, it was suggested that we ask Scott Hoge at the Society office to review our list of men who did not renew and let us know which ones of these did not renew their Society membership. Seely suggested that we might ask the international office to include AHSOW dues in the Society bill, as it does the chapter and district dues. Dobson made a motion that the president appoint a membership-retention committee to consider ways of improving renewal rates and that the committee be directed to report their findings to the president within 60 days. Seely seconded the motion, which passed. Dvoretzky appointed Lefholz, Seely, Hartley, Dobson, and webmaster Phil Richards to the committee, and named Dobson chairman. Other persons, Dvoretzky said, might be added to the committee. Hartley read the names of the following AHSOW members who had passed away during the previous year: Bob Bower 96 N.C., Thomas Gay 83 Ill., Frank Heffernan 87 Mich., Wayne Lowell 96 Ore., Bill Mac Devitt 82 N.Y., David F. Mell 94 Pa./Fla., Bob Rouse, N.J., Allen Smith 79 Calif., Chet Svensen 94, Fla. A moment of silence was held in their honor. Hartley finished his report by observing that AHSOW was financially sound. Receipts for the year 2000 exceeded our disbursements by $3,885.43, and receipts for the first half of 2001 exceeded disbursements by $2,359.58. Assets at the end of the first half of 2001 totaled $19,392.28. Seely made a motion that the membership and financial reports be approved. Lefholz seconded the motion, which passed. Dvoretzky commended Hartley for his outstanding and complete report, and he also commended Plazek for locating a company which will supply AHSOW shirts at a reasonable price. BOARD NOMINATIONS; HONORS Dvoretzky announced that Terry Clarke had stepped down from his position on the Board of Directors in April and that Dobson had been named as his replacement. He also announced that Bud Hillier, who had served on the AHSOW Board of Directors continuously since its beginning, had decided in April to step down. Past International Society President Gil Lefholz had been named as Hillier's replacement. Dvoretzky praised Hillier for his dedicated and distinguished service and presented him with a plaque as an expression of appreciation. The Board of Directors gave Hillier a standing ovation. Plazek made a motion that the nominee for the AHSOW Hall of Fame be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Dobson seconded the motion, which passed. Dvoretzky reviewed the outstanding contributions of the new Hall of Fame member, Phil Richards of Connecticut. Dvoretzky called particular attention to Richards' establishment and scrupulous maintenance of the AHSOW web site, and of his devising a system by which members can vote electronically on issues submitted to the membership for voting. The Board of Directors gave Richards a standing ovation. All officer positions and two at-large positions, Dvoretzky announced, would come open this year. Dvoretzky and Shannon had agreed to continue as President and Vice-President, respectively. Hinesley had agreed to continue to serve as Secretary for a special one-year term. Hartley had agreed to continue as Manager/Treasurer for another year, and Plazek would continue as Past President. The at-large position held by Dobson was open for a three-year renewal. Millot had consented to step off the board in favor of Bob Folk, editor of the AHSOW newsletter. Dobson made a motion that nominations to the Board of Directors be closed. Plazek seconded the motion, which passed. OVERHAUL OF RENEWAL PROCESS Dvoretzky requested that board members review for possible future action the material in their handout folders, which related to possible revisions of the membership-renewal process. MISSION STATEMENT Dvoretzky suggested that Dobson spearhead an effort to write an AHSOW mission statement. A discussion followed regarding the need for such a statement. Plazek observed that he did not believe that a mission was needed, while Seely observed that we needed to have the clear definition of our goals that a mission statement would provide. Hartley was of the opinion that the development of a statement would not be worth the effort, and Dobson agreed, adding that we have ample statements and definitions of our goals. Dvoretzky asked Seely to come up with a mission statement for the Board's consideration. GROWTH/INCOME STREAMS Dvoretzky called attention to a proposal in the handout folder, "AHSOW 'Earrangement' Recordings & Folio: Rationale, Pro Forma Income & Expenses, and Marketing Plan." He noted the need to send qualified AHSOW personnel to assist DECs and to hold woodshedding classes at district conventions and HEP schools. The expenses incurred in doing this, he pointed out, would be prohibitive, and additional sources of income were needed. Following a discussion of the difficulties involved in holding woodshedding classes and the problems of having qualified certifiers on hand to audition applicants, Dvoretzky noted that there were people who did AHSOW work at district events who paid, out of their own pockets, the expenses involved. Since there is a need for additional certifiers at district events, he said, we should budget funds to underwrite their expenses. It was possible, he said, to obtain funds through profits generated from sales of the "Earrangement" package, as with these funds, we could "jump-start activities." To budget money for what we needed to do and to be fair to the people who were doing such a whale of a job already, he added, we needed sources of income other than dues. Comments made at the Mid-Winter board meeting were all carefully considered and as many as possible were implemented into the proposal, he said. AHSOW member Chris Arnold, a district-champ singer from the Ontario District, had professionally recorded the tape. Dvoretzky called attention to the proposal's "Three-Year Profit Projections," which showed a first-year profit of $23,039 from the sale of 500 CDs and 500 tapes above the expenses of producing 1500 folios, 1000 cassettes, and 500 CDs. The proceeds would make it possible for AHSOW to send representatives to teach at district HEP schools; they would make it possible to fund Seely's marketing budget so that we could send help to new or overwhelmed DECs; and they would permit us to send AHSOW representatives to district functions as high-visibility ambassadors. The presence of AHSOW representatives would lead to increases in revenues as we inducted new members. Most important, he said, was that the use of these proceeds would, in the long run, lead to greater publicity of and greater interest in the art of woodshedding. In his recent e-mail correspondence, Dvoretzky reported, he had participated in a discussion of the ways in which music educators could be attracted to Barbershop, and a suggestion was made that we could also have an educational market for the Earrangement package because woodshedding is akin to jazz in that it is improvisational. The marketing plan would involve heavy, consistent prepromotion on the Harmonet and on district Harmonet-type listservers. We would emphasize the uniqueness of the product and the potential for personal musical growth. We would accelerate the promotion before gift-giving holidays. On-site promotion would be done in the districts through emcees, and we would also place ads in The Harmonizer. Seely was of the opinion that two questions presented themselves. First, we needed to ask if we were willing to expend $3000 (the cost noted in the proposal) to produce the Earrangement recordings and folio during Year One. Second, once we approved the expenditure of these funds, we needed to decide whether we wanted to approve the use of funds to underwrite a subsidy proposal for travel expenses. He added that he would want to see how successful the market of the Earrangement package was before he would feel comfortable in approving the funding of the subsidy proposal. Following a lengthy discussion of the probability that the package could be successfully marketed, whether or not our current income could adequately underwrite the cost of sending AHSOW personnel to districts needing them, and the financial health of AHSOW, and after three requests by Dvoretzky for a motion, Lefholz moved that an amount not to exceed $3000 be allocated to finance the production of the Earrangement CDs, tapes, and folios. Seely seconded the motion, which passed, 6-1. HEALTH UPDATES; CARDS TO BE SIGNED Dvoretzky reported that former AHSOW president Al Holloway had recently suffered diabetes-related ailments and that Bob Bokman remained housebound. He asked that everyone sign the get-well cards that were on the display table. He also reported that AHSOW member Bob LeClair from Illinois had suffered with a bout of esophageal cancer. Aggressive radiation treatments, however, had apparently eradicated the cancer cells, and Bob was at the convention. He asked that everyone let Bob know of their concern and of their relief at the extent of his recovery. BYLAWS President Dvoretzky reported that he had had a conference with Society house counsel John Schneider regarding the revision of the bylaws and the comments of Board members regarding the proposed revisions. He called attention to the handout entitled "Bylaws Proposed on 16 May 2001, Notated to Show Revisions." One of the significant changes to the bylaws was that the word "corporation" would be used instead of "society" when the term referred to AHSOW. Schneider, Dvoretzky said, recognized that if we had any proxy voting, the number of such proxy nominees accepted at any meeting should be limited to one. Most of the changes, he noted, were changes in wording, and the proposed revised bylaws were about a page shorter than the original bylaws. Seely moved that the Board of Directors read the proposed bylaw revision and that unless a majority of the members objected to any specific parts of the proposed revision before the AHSOW general meeting on July 7, 2001, the revision would be considered to be endorsed by the Board of Directors. Wheeler seconded the motion, which passed. During discussion of the motion, President Dvoretzky asked for a consensus of the Board approving a hard letter to every member of AHSOW, informing him that the proposed bylaw revision could be found on the web site and that a ballot, which could be returned to a designated AHSOW officer, be enclosed with the letter. The consensus of the Board was that the letter should notify the membership that the revised bylaws would be on the web site, but that members who wanted to review a hard copy could request and receive one. Seely volunteered to check with Jim Warner or John Schneider regarding the technicalities involved in notifying the general membership of the substance of the proposed bylaw revision by e-mail and to convey their views to Dvoretzky. (N.B. Seely subsequently reported to Dvoretzky that the AHSOW Board's action in approving the revision constituted official adoption of the revised version, and that no action by the AHSOW membership was required. As a result of the approval, Seely's title became Vice-President of Marketing & Public Relations, and Shannon's title became Executive Vice-President & Chief Educator.) MARKETING/PUBLIC RELATIONS DIVISION Seely distributed copies of a letter that he proposed to send to all AHSOW members who had held administrative or certifying positions in AHSOW. The letter requested its recipients to identify people in their districts whose strengths could serve in the marketing and public relations areas to be addressed in assuring our future growth and success. He reminded the Board members that AHSOW certifiers had been overwhelmed with the number of duties that had been assigned to them. He asked the Board members to identify AHSOW members in their districts who could assist in AHSOW rooms and who could assist in sales and promotions, and to send him the names of these people as soon as possible. Seely would then get in touch with these people, ask their help, and ask them to report on their activities at the end of the year. Seely noted that he would have the responsibility of devising a plan of action, and the men who would agreed to help would be a part of that scheme. He would act as a sort of sales manager and assign inventory to the men who agreed to help, according to the percentage of AHSOW members within their districts, and to market AHSOW items accordingly. He planned to enlist the help of "angels" -- men who would be willing to provide financial help for AHSOW projects. He stressed that the leadership for marketing AHSOW projects comes from the Board of Directors, and that all Board members must back AHSOW projects and marketing of AHSOW products. Russ related that he hoped to have 75% of contacts for each district in place by the time of the Riverside Mid-Winter convention. DEC ISSUES, BUDGET, 7/6 POWWOW Dvoretzky previewed the DEC Powwow scheduled for Friday, July 6, and urged that everyone attend. He noted that there would be discussions about district reports, and tools and handouts. He called attention to the dry-erase announcement board which had been placed near the lobby escalator and on which there were directions to the room. There was permanent lettering regarding the AHSOW room on the board, and there was space on which erasable statements could be printed. The erasures could be done with a dry cloth. The board, Dvoretzky noted, was durable and lightweight. He asked the Board members to think about the feasibility of purchasing one of these for use in each district whose DEC requested one. The cost, he said, would be around $45-$50 a board, and the vendor had agreed to supply AHSOW at a volume discount. He also called attention to a handout authored by Bruce Dibble, entitled "Greeter Handbook." He asked that Board members review the handout because it contained valuable ideas about the duties of greeters. CUSTOMER SERVICE -- AUDITIONS, GREETERS President Dvoretzky reported that we did not have a formal greeter program this year as we had had the previous year because not enough people had volunteered. He reminded the group that AHSOW members should be courteous and diplomatic toward all visitors to the room. MINI-SHOW Dvoretzky also reminded the group of the mini-show which had been previously presented, and he asked for opinions about whether or not we should try to present it at this convention. During a discussion about the possible times when the show could be presented, Wheeler told the group that he had presented a tape of the mini-show (performed at Tucson) to mini-HEP classes he had held, and that the presentation had been very effective. It was finally decided to make a decision about the presentation on Thursday. OTHER OPEN ITEMS Dvoretzky announced that Seely had been named chief-of-staff to the incoming Society President. The Board complimented Seely with a round of applause. Seely responded by noting that all of our Society leaders believe strongly in woodshedding and added that he was confident that they would be supportive of our programs. NEW BUSINESS Bud Hillier suggested that, at a future meeting, the board may wish to consider providing financial support for the men who regularly attend Harmony College and who spend much of their time working to recruit and certify new AHSOW members while there. Dvoretzky responded that he would refer the matter to Shannon for consideration. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Fred Hinesley, Secretary Click here for previous board minutes. |