FHC Band Boosters Meeting Minutes

November 11, 2008

President's Report -- Kathy Oberlin

Review of Past Events and Business

The Community Tailgater, Knight-time Classic and the Homecoming Parade/Dinner/Game went well.

Bandtasia Results— Carol Gillespie reported that we sold 762 tickets for the 10/14 performance and 1114 tickets for the 10/16 performance. The total amount sold was $1876.00. Our total ticket profit for both nights was $9082.96. The 10/16 performance was reported to be sold out and the FAC turned away 87 people wanting tickets. Carol said she was very pleased with everything and thanked all the volunteers. She has agreed to chair the production again next year.

Senior Recognition Dinner--We recognized 62 seniors. Everything went well. Karen Tittel did a great job with the flowers--they were beautiful. Ellen Hamersma handled the photography. Karen McCarthy organized the dinner.

Marching Band Banquet--430 attended the banquet this year. We fed the group in record time, the buffet was better organized this year and we heard only positive comments.

Other Projects/Accomplishments

Patron Letter – This fundraising request was sent out October 3rd. The response has been similar to what we received last year at this time. Considering the current economic conditions, we are pleased with the results.

Trailer Improvements--Our new uniform hats/boxes are larger than our previous ones and more challenging to organize and store. Band parent, Brian McCarthy designed and built a new storage unit for the uniform trailer. The storage unit swivels and hooks onto the wall to accommodate space restrictions. Bill Morrow and Mark Oberlin helped with this project.

Credit card Machine--We recently purchased our own credit card machine. In the past, we borrowed one from the district however, due to increased demand that was getting difficult. We will make it available for band camp payments, donations and other band related fees. Andrea Keefer (Asst. Treasurer) will be ‘the keeper’ of the machine.

Upcoming Projects/events

December Concerts -- Monday, December 8th at 7 pm in the FAC. Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble I, Jazz Ensemble II and Jazz Lab Ensemble.

Thursday, December 11th at 7pm in the FAC. Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble.

February Artist Series: The annual Evening of Percussion will be Monday, February 23rd. We are still finalizing the details. Jazz Night will be Tuesday, February 24th. Diego Rivera will be our guest artist. He has studied under Andrew Speight, former director of jazz studies at MSU. Jody Vant Hul and Judy Bouly are chairing this event. We are still seeking volunteers to distribute posters in the community.

Band Trips: Mr. D said he had looked into a trip to Purdue in January; however, the timing is a problem. The kids would be starting exams the Monday they would be scheduled to return. He is looking into some other festivals later in the spring. In addition, he said we were invited to submit a tape of our band to potentially march in the Inaugural Parade in Washington DC on January 20th for President Elect Barak Obama. Approximately 800 high school bands will submit tapes and 30 will be chosen.

Band to Elementary Schools -We have had some requests for our band to perform at area elementary schools (specifically Ada Elementary). Mr. D said he would be happy to work that out. Band parent, Liz Henry will be coordinating this with the directors.

VP Of Operations Report

Mike DeNeff was not available, so the report given by Kathy Oberlin.

Concert Attire—Female: We are using a new source for concert tops. Andrea Keefer said that all the fittings were done and the order was actually delivered today.

Male -- The boys have been fitted for their tuxedos, however some have still not paid the $30 usage fee. Boys can also choose to wear a black suit if they own one. Karla Good is in charge of the tuxedo fittings.

Hospitality--Tricia Heneveld has volunteered to be in charge of concert refreshments for this year. She will be looking for volunteers to help serve, donate, and clean-up at concerts.

VP of Fundraising-- Lisa Shatney

Keycard: We sold 484 key cards. The boosters made $1,452 and the kids made a total of $3,388 for their accounts.

Band Spirit Wear—Kim Banks said we made $1,500 in clothing sales so far. She would like to get some samples for new items before the end of this school year so they can be presented to the kids before and after band camp. She said she still has 65 monster shirts available and is looking for ideas to use these.

Halloween Fundraiser – This went well and we received $500 for our participation. Marcia Poikey chaired this.

Poinsettia/Holiday Greens Fundraiser – This is underway. The program was offered via an email to all band families. Greens will be delivered the Monday after Thanksgiving More details are available on the Band website. Cindy Gilbert chairs this.

Ad Sales - Deb Glover reported that ad sales for Bandtasia and the February Artist Series are going very well. At this point last year, we had $12,000 in ad revenue and this year we currently have $11,925. Lori Eck is co-chairing ad sales with Deb Glover. There will be another Ad Sales push prior to FAS in Jan/Feb.

Old Uniform Usage/Fundraising – Mike DeNeff is looking for a creative way to utilize logos or decorative trim from the old uniforms on a new fundraising item (ex. cinch sacks, shadow box, etc.) Right now she is working to obtain affordable samples.

Secretary Report-- Melinda Kozulis

The minutes from the last booster meeting were approved.

Treasurer Report -- Brad Berkshire--We reviewed the Band Budget, Allocation of Resources and Fundraising Summary. There were no significant questions or issues.

Directors Report--Mr. DeStefano

The MSBOA Solo and Ensemble will be Saturday, January 31, 2009.

The registration deadline is November 20th. Forms are available from Mr. Engelsman or Mr. DeStefano.

Mr. D thanked all volunteers, boosters students and the student leadership team for a fantastic marching season and banquet. He also reviewed the dates for the December Concert Series, the February Artist Series and he discussed our potential Washington trip.

-Page 4-