Tuesday November 12, 2019, 7:00pm
Attendees: Christian Montes, Erin Trampel, Nathan Brown, Austin Rexroad, David Deatherage, Ruth Robarge; Staff: Lee Heartman, Jeanine Asay, Joe Duncan
Acting Proxy: Erin Trampel for Emily Kunnen, Christian Montes for Liz Murray, Ruth Robarge for Jessie Riggins
Called to order at 7:01 pm.
Minutes approved as submitted.
Reports
Artistic Director, Lee
Fall Concert was wonderful. Very proud of the performance and the new space at the Gem. Lots of positive feedback from members and audience. Rehearsals for holiday going smashingly.
Grant for Neighborhood Tourism and Development filed (May 2020-April 2021)
Project Grant for ArtsKC (Spring Concert) filed - This is a different grant than we applied for last year (mission support) because of the added costs of the commission so we targeted the ask instead
Working on next season dates. Theme is Duality.
Fall - Opposites Attract (big pieces include Vivian Fine’s Triple Goddess, Julia Perry’s Symphony for Winds, Randall Standridge’s Stonewall 1969)
Winter - Sleigh Rides: Old and New
Educational - A World Shattered: Chamber Music Before and After World War I (HALP WOODSHOPPING TITLE!)
Spring - Massive Light (Big pieces include Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 finale, Carolyn Bremer Early Light, Jonathan Frantzen Last Twilight, music from the video game Cuphead)
Taxes due Nov 15
Renewal for Association of Concert Bands
Renewal for Non-Profit Connect
Renewal for Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Timpany discussion moved to new business. No additional news.
Board Chair, Christian
Almost have our tax exempt form submitted. Missouri requires that we submit the past three years worth of financial records to them along with the form in a specific format.
Calling Armor Hills, Kingswood, John Knox, Children’s Mercy, and The Gardens tomorrow to see where we can play some holiday carols for our older and younger members of the community that can’t always get out. We will probably do this on December 19th as we have the most response, but I think we should mention it at rehearsal this Thursday to hopefully get more people motivated to participate.
Matthew if things are still broken with the website, can we get together and maybe restart the whole thing from scratch? I’m still not sure why it wont update and we need to get it working again.
Website is still under discussion. Christmas carol music is scanned if needed.
Vice Chair, Austin
No report submitted.
Nothing to report.
Treasurer, Nathan
Financial documentation available upon request.
Nothing to add.
Secretary, Erin
Minutes submitted on Oct 29.
Nothing to add.
Business Operations, Ian
December Concert Items:
We are set for the concert at the Lyric. I will need to advise Sarah of the schedule once we have it decided when we’re going to load in.
I will reach out to KCPD and get security set up. We are required by contract on this one to have off-duty police.
Lyric has installed a lighting system since our last visit so that is good. We will incur an additional $100 cost for use of their lighting system. If we want more than one “look” it costs more but I don't foresee us needing more than a standard wash. I do not know where their rig is compared to where we want to set up to perform but I’m sure we can make it work. I can arrange to stop by in advance to take a look if preferred.
We need to decide what we want to do for chairs. Recall that the Lyric is a blank space so we will need to set up chairs for both the band and audience. Lyric owns 400 chairs total that we can use at a cost of $1 per chair. We could also investigate whether renting chairs from a vendor is the same or better cost.
Because we will need to set up the audience as well, it is important that we have a sizeable load-in and load-out crew since this will all be on us.
We should plan to carry our sound system for this concert. It will be a simple set up but also our only option.
We should try to have art ready for the programs on 02 DEC 2019.
Next Year:
I have reached out to the Gem with potential concert dates for next year. I am awaiting a response.
Not attending meeting. The board agrees to use the Lyrics lighting system and chairs.
Mighty Mo, Joe
Dress rehearsal is this Thursday at Central Presbyterian, for Sunday’s concert which starts at 3 pm. It is free and open to the public, in the Sanctuary (upstairs). An audience reception will follow at approx. 4 pm in the Proudfoot Fellowship Hall, honoring the Sweet 16 donors.
In reply to Kelly’s thoughts on the reception (thanks, Kelly!), I agree that a fairly small scale would be fine. Maybe a Costco sheet cake, punch and cookies, mixed nuts (chocolate-covered, I’ll donate them), and so on. Light on decorations since we need to vacate the premises at 5 pm so that the janitor can re-set the space for a group that meets the following evening.
Producer Troy Diggs at Fox4 reached out to ask if MIghty Mo would be interested in an in-studio appearance. After a brief email discussion, he basically thinks that he can better fit us in-studio prior to Mighty Mo’s spring concert. Given the number of musicians and equipment that we use, we’ll probably need a bigger time slot to fit ourselves in and out of the studio than Troy had in mind this time around.
Gig opportunity / invitation (for small ensemble, jazz instruments)
My employer, Kansas City Life Insurance, needs three or four musicians to perform the National Anthem at its General Agent meeting on January 15, 2020, held at the Intercontinental on the Plaza. Downbeat at 8:30 am, with brief rehearsal between 7:30 and 8:00 am.
This will kick off the year-long festivities honoring the company's 125th Anniversary, and KCL has invited MAFB to compose and perform an arrangement of the National Anthem for the musicians we choose. If we are interested in doing this gig, we just need to name a fee so I can let them know. At tonight’s board meeting I can elaborate more on the style and theme they’re wanting.
The board and staff are happy to go ahead with the KC Life Insurance gig. Lee suggests an all Sax lineup, with percussion.
Kelly, Social Director
I surveyed the members at rehearsal for upcoming Broadway shows. There was nominal interest, but not overwhelming for any particular show. For that reason. I will only pursue the shows with greater lead time to make gathering orders, etc, easier on me without rushing during the holiday season.
I have collected sign-ups for the reception at the holiday concerts. So far we have a good mix of members who have committed to bringing sweet or savory food. Last year we also offered punch and ice water. I can take care of the punch unless someone else specifically offers to do so. We still need day-of coordinators to set out the food and have everything ready at the specified time. If we are partnering with any other organization at this concert then perhaps we could get a commitment from them for 1 or 2 people to also help as well.
I have also collected sign-ups for the reception at the upcoming Mighty Mo concert. Jen Kiper has agreed to be the on-site coordinator for the reception. I’ve been told it will be themed to recognize the “Sweet 16” donors. Because of this, I think we can stick with that theme an only offer dessert type options, and punch. I do need to know how extensive and elaborate we want this reception to be. Will we do themed decorations? Shall we do a themed cake from a professional baker, or an inexpensive Costco cake? Realistic expectations for audience size make me lean toward a smaller spread than what we did at last year’s holiday concert. Also, will we be doing anything to encourage the said donors to make new pledge commitments?
Social-adjacent topic with fundraising: what else can we do to help promote and encourage donations to Lee’s birthday fundraiser? From band members, perhaps we can do an at-rehearsal drawing like the type we discussed at a prior meeting, similar to 50/50. If we can get a desirable item donated that would motivate members to buy raffle tickets, this would be a feasible option. Anything to make it fun and interactive, and allow ALL members to participate--whether they want to donate $50 via the website or buy a $1 raffle ticket at rehearsal. We could also do birthday cakes at the upcoming jazz and concert band receptions. To make it fun and interactive, we can set out an assortment of birthday cards. The donor picks a card, personalizes it, encloses their pledge, and drops it a decorated drop box.
The board suggests going ahead with a small but nice spread for the sweet 16 event. There will be a 50/50 raffle at rehearsal next week.
Jeanine, Librarian
Nothing to report
Everything for the season is scanned that can be scanned. Everything else that is coming should be a pdf.
Committee Reports
Fundraising, Jessie
Thanks to everyone that has helped organize this weekend’s Sweet 16 event, and thanks to Kelly and Jen Kiper for taking the lead.
It is time to start planning our annual event.
GoFundMe has started a new charity arm, and I am doing some research and setting up an account. It is free to use for registered nonprofits. It can create donate buttons for our websites, MAFB can run a campaign through their platform, people can start campaigns benefiting MAFB, and it has mailchimp integration. Below is what the donation screen looks like at https://charity.gofundme.com/mafb
Nothing to add.
Marketing, Liz
I have gotten in touch with Choral Spectrum per Jessie’s suggestion. Hoping to get an ad trade set up for the December concert. Please let me know if there’s any other marketing needs. I will not be in attendance at the meeting.
Nothing to add.
Membership, Austin
We had 3 new members last Thursday and another potential members that reached out via email and should be at rehearsal this Thursday.
November membership event is Friendsgiving. Do we have any board members who would like to host or have the space to host a large group. Currently in the poll I put on Facebook, 13 members are available for the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so will plan on doing it then. I will create an official event for it in the forum for everyone to RSVP. I will have sign up sheets for Thursday rehearsal for what everyone will plan on bringing.
December member event will be a Holiday Gift exchange. Thinking of having this on the Thursday after the concert, so it isn’t an inconvenience for scheduling. We will plan for the 2 hours that would normally be rehearsal. Ideas for setting the dollar amount for gifts? I was thinking $15, but open to other suggestions. Does the board want to provide food for the membership for this? I thought about asking members to bring something and do it potluck style, but we are asking them to do the same for the Sunday before. Thoughts?
I am working on a document that we can use to follow up with members when they step away from the band, or don’t return after a portion of the season. It is in a questionnaire style format, with space to fill in comments that will then be submitted to me for review and membership committee can follow up, if needed, and take action where needed on the feedback. If anybody has suggestions on questions please email those to me (austin.rexroad@freedomband.com) and I will get those incorporated.
The band or the board are both options for buying food/snacks for the holiday gift exchange. The form mentioned in the last paragraph would be an internal form to help us stay consistent on how we’re talking to the AWOL members.
Bylaws, Christian
The election committee is discussing how to make this electronic and easy to vote/distribute.
Nothing to add.
Election, Christian
The election committee has discussed a few things and set up an email to submit nominations to. So far, a couple of people have had issues submitting an email. If you’re having issues email election@freedomband.com please send me an email (christian.montes@freedomband.com) to make sure we get nominations in. I propose we push back nomination due date until the end of November as we were a little late getting the info out and we have yet to receive any nominations.
Nomination due date is pushed to the end of November.
Webmaster, Matthew
Unable to do updates to the website post store and SSL Cert. Ongoing problem have tried just about everything worked closely with Jessie and Christian. Having some experts that understand the backend coding more to look into this. Hopefully a minor tweak from major updated made months ago. Happy to pass on webmaster responsibilities to someone wanting to do so after this if resolved.
Nothing to add.
Old Business
No old business
New Business
Timpani
Exploring new timpani options. We will sell the current instruments.
Option 1 - my preference
https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/adams-revolution-smooth-copper-timpani/timpani
Option 2 - cheap but still good option https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/yamaha-3300-series-portable-timpani-sets/timpani
Option 3 - standard option https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/adams-professional-timpani-hammered/timpani
One of our main timpanis was accidently damaged while being moved. It was not in good shape and needed to be replaced but we had hoped to make it last a few more years.
Option One: Set of 5, The drum detaches from the base easily, there are bags for storing everything for transport, Each drum gets 1 octave, each drum has a tuning gauge, costs $12,500. We may be able to get a deal on it.
Option Two: Set of 4 ($7,000), lesser quality instrument, similar features to above but not a full octave. We would still need a 5th drum, making the total $10,000
Option Three: $16,000 for a set of 5, more sturdy than what we have now, the industry standard
We will not move forward until we have received more price options. The board agrees on option number one.
KCCI Donation
The Kansas City Center for Inclusion has asked us to be a sponsor in 2020. This is the community we are serving. This could be a board donation every year. Austin suggests going for at least a Harmony level sponsor, as it gives us social media posts.
They are also looking for a silent auction donation for their signature event on Dec. 7th. We could create a swag bag from the merch store along with a set of season tickets for next season and for the Christmas concert, and a CD. We can do a “Sample order” of up to 6 itmes at 20% off our costs. The items will be: Daddy, t-shirt(discount code on a cardboard cutout of the shirt), bag, coffee mug, bracelet.
Assistant director
Lee is not encumbered by having one. It is helpful when he has something going on on a Thursday. They do not need to be a part of every concert. The band really liked Mark. The board and staff agree to keep the assistant director. The job description will be written up.
Diversity statement
Proposed: In concert, programming, and community, Show-Me Pride Ensembles serves a musical and social mission, promoting the voices and stories of those who forged new histories, been unjustly or purposefully overlooked, enriching wind band repertoire, challenging expectations, and establishing a place to celebrate the vibrancy of our multiple communities, artistically and historically.
In concert, programming, and outreach, Show-Me Pride Ensembles serves a musical and social mission, promoting the underrepresented voices and stories of those who forged new paths, been unjustly or purposefully overlooked, enriching wind band repertoire, challenging expectations, and establishing a place to celebrate the vibrancy of our multiple communities, artistically and historically.
The diversity statement will continue to be worked on by Lee.
Insurance committee
The insurance committee will need to be reconvened at the beginning of 2020, especially with the purchase of the timpani. Joe will lead it.
Meeting adjourned at 8:23 pm.
