Topeka Blues Society
Monday, August 3, 2015
6:30pm @ Uncle Bo’s
MEETING MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER at 6:34pm
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Suki Willison, Chardy Hern, Gerry Schmanke, Bill Beasley, Gib Ramirez, Rod Peterson, Paul Schwartz and Karen Osborn
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeff Martin, Brian Gabel and Marni Schleuning
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: Bill moved that the minutes of June 29, 2015 be approved, Paul second; approved.
SECRETARY/TREASURER’S REPORT: Karen had handout of expenses and income for past month. Income: SOKBF donations, vendors, merch sales, bucket donations, ice/water/food sales, guitars and cooler giveaways, food refund, Blues Challenge fees, memberships. Expenses: SOKBF food/shirts/artists payments, starter funds, stage & sound, electrical supplies, ice and freezer, office supplies, Summertime Blues artist payment, TBS banners, and BlueHost webpage annual fee. Karen said we have 104 members listed, with 26 already paid for next membership year. Bill moved that Secretary/Treasurer’s report be approved, Gib second; approved.
OLD BUSINESS
SPIRIT OF KANSAS BLUES FESTIVAL WRAPUP
Fund Raising/Sponsorships: Karen had spreadsheets showing Festival budget, income and expenses. All agreed the vendors helped the festival make a profit.
Band/Staging: We again had some issues with people coming into the Lodge, going back stage, and eating without access credentials. Some discussion on how to maintain tighter access – no resolution, but will discuss again before next festival.
Food, Food Tent and Beverage: Some discussion regarding TBS Food Tent. Sales were not as good as last year, and we all agreed it was because of location. Next year the food tent will be with the other food vendors. We sold approx.150 sandwich combos. There were not enough volunteers to man the food tent. Suggestion was made to ask the Betts if they would prefer setting up food tent for their profit, as well as catering the Lodge food.
Promotions & Media: Rod and Caroline did a great job of getting brochures done, while working with Parks & Rec. Gerry distributed flyers at the Lake Shawnee campsite. Karen promoted on Facebook and membership emails. Suki worked with media and Parks & Rec. Rod asked if we should consider paying for local advertising. Bill suggested we work with Parks & Rec to be sure we are mentioned in all their promotions and advertising. The signs leading to the event were smaller than last year – several attendees mentioned having trouble locating us.
Parking: Chardy said there were still issues with the parking gate. Several attendees try to park in that area, and their names were not on the list. She did have a really good list this year to help the volunteers. It was recommended that we have a rope across the entry that will be opened when those with parking passes arrive. Suki also suggested we have Reserved Parking at the front row north of the food tents. We also need to be sure we are ADA compliant and have handicapped parking.
Volunteers: The merch volunteers were on time and very helpful. Gina Hughes was great at the artist tent. We had some great volunteers pass the donation buckets – we need a few more volunteers to do that, especially during the evening. If we have a Food Tent again, more volunteers will be needed.
Merchandize/Event income: Past festival shirts sold out. The current festival shirts also sold very well. Shirts were displayed nicely – Suki recommended getting racks for display. The Sally Mae guitar, cigar box guitar and cooler giveaways were nice additional income.
Vendors: Katie Willison did a great job organizing the vendors and she and Dana Valyer did a great job keeping them happy and organized throughout the day. The Board agreed we will need a Vendor Coordinator to handle vendors. We expect many more vendors next year. There was some discussion about restricting the number of food vendors, but the decision was to monitor the types of food they serve rather than limit number of vendors.
Miscellaneous: All agreed Marshall Barber was a great M.C. We will try again to record the sponsorships to assist the M.C. We need more PortaPotties – Suki will remind them that we have between 7,000-10,000 attendees from 11am until midnight. It was nice to have a wash station this year. Karen will send gift cards to Carolyn, Ray Rodriguez and Marshall to thank them for their time and/or use of equipment. Gib “color-coded” the tents, for easier assembly. Bill said the “post puller” was a definite help in removing posts. All agreed the Board and our volunteers worked very hard, and we had a very successful blues festival!
BLUES CHALLENGE/ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING, Aug. 16th
Suki said Rick Bruner donated a drum set for TBS use. We need a few more components and cases to complete the set. Bill will compile a detailed list of what is needed, and Karen will email membership for donations, before we pursue purchasing. The 44’s will not be able to play or judge our Blues Challenge – Suki will seek judges. Karen will buy frames for posters. For membership renewals, she will have laptop and take membership fees and hand out memberships cards at meeting. Board will seek members interested in running for Board.
NEW BUSINESS
Benefit for Fred Schell: All agreed we should wait awhile and see what his family’s needs are as they recover from their accident.
Paxico Blues Festival, Sept. 19th: Suki has reserved a “party bus” for that weekend. Weekend Package will include two nights at Ramada, two tickets for Friday and two for Saturday at Bo’s, and bus to and from Paxico. Or bus only for $30 each. Coolers and chairs may be brought on bus. Gerry said they can always use Board member volunteers to help with stage set-up. TBS can set up info tent.
NEXT MEETING DATES:
11:30, Sunday, Aug. 16th, Annual Membership Meeting and Elections
6:30, Monday, Sept. 14th, at Uncle Bo’s
Gerry moved that meeting be adjourned, Gib second; meeting adjourned at 8:05 pm.
Respectfully submitted 08/05/2015
Approved 09/14/2015
Karen Osborn, TBS Sec’y/Treasurer
