September General Membership Meeting Minutes

September 11, 2006

The meeting was opened by President Steve Wolff with the Pledge of Allegiance 

Mr. Cohen addressed the membership. He stated that the band has the continued support of administration. Mr Cohen said that the newspaper picked up on some information about a “participation fee.” Reading this in the newspaper upset the administration, the Board of Education and some people in the community. Discussion on the topic was held with Mr. Kershaw. A “participation fee” per se is against school policy and all monies collected to date must be returned to those who have paid. If parents then chose to donate the money back to the band or place it in their child’s account that is up to their discretion, but the money must be returned. Mr. Cohen stated that the school appreciates the Band Parent organization support, and that they will try to do what they can to support the program as well. Representatives from administration will be meeting with all of the schools and organizations within the schools to discuss issues. Mr. Cohen also said that buying more uniforms and instruments is the price of success; as the program grows and becomes more successful, costs to run the program increase. The clause in the Gloucester County Times article regarding scaling back, refers only to what the administration and BOE can do to help us cut back on our financial outlays to support the band. When asked if it would be appropriate for more letters to be written to the papers on the subject, Mr Cohen related that Mr. Burzichelli had taken issue with the NJSIAA in the past and implied wrongdoings that probably did not exist. Burzichelli’s current issue is with fees for extracurricular activities and it is probably best not to enter into banter that may be misrepresented by the media. A question was raised by one of the parents as to what will be cut by not collecting the fee. Steve reviewed that the money was to be used toward meals, transportation, uniforms, etc. It is possible that the color guard will not be getting new uniforms now. Jackie Wyatt asked if the fee was worded differently if it would have been okay. Mr. Cohen replied that anything implying mandatory fund raising is not okay. Mr. Knapp said that it has been the practice in the Athletic Department to require attendance at camps to be able to make a team; he was not sure why the band parents were being picked on. Mr Cohen stated that he was not aware of this practice and said it should be brought to the Athletic Director’s attention if such a situation arose. Debbie Blaum raised the issue of the football game being resumed while the band was still on the field doing their performance at Homecoming in past years, both Mr. Cohen and Mr. Kershaw said there has been conversation on this subject and it will not happen again this year. 

Thank you letters were read from Steph Keen and Michael Wyatt for the WDBP sponsoring their recent drum major camp experience and from Courtney Coats for being chosen as a scholarship recipient.   

Treasurer’s report was given by Rose Rossiter

                        General Account $$$$$*

                        Student Credits $$$$$*

                        Available Balance $$$$$*

                        Concession Stand Account $$$$$* 

A question was raise as to whether a child in both band and choir has one student account or two. The band and choir keep separate accounts for their members. 

August Minutes – have not been posted on the Web yet, but a motion was made by Joanne Tunis and seconded by Dee Leonard for the to be posted before next month’s meeting and reviewed by then rather than read them aloud at tonight’s meeting. 

Fundraising Report given by Eileen Mannion – Spirit wear sale is ongoing; we have a large stock of Band Parent items and a limited supply of marching band items, please check with Eileen if you need something. Items posted on the Web for your review.

            Mum sale is in progress until Sept ember 30^th; the mums are 3/$12.00, come in an 8” pot and are picked up by the buyer at Pump House Gardens. The band member should make the sale, bring in the money and then will be issued a coupon for the buyer to use to pick up the mums. A $4.95 credit is received by the band member for each coupon sold.

            Insulated Coffee Mugs have been ordered and will be sold for $5.00 at the football games; this price will include free refills. 150 mugs were ordered.

            Ad book – last year’s printer backed out, we obtained pricing from various sources, and the best price quoted was $960 for 500 programs. Ad sales totaled $2500.00 with $1250.00 being deposited in student accounts and $1250.00 profit made. At a cost of $2.37 per book, if they are sold for $5.00 we would make about $2500.00 profit on the sale of ad/program books. Cindy Mattson said that the band parents used to utilize various copy machines throughout the high school to copy the books at no charge in the past, but we had been told by Mr. Cohen that we were not allowed to copy the books at the high school. Jackie Wyatt and Cindy Mattson also mentioned that the band parent organization owns a binder machine and we could potentially bind the programs ourselves to reduce costs. With the programs not being available until Friday afternoon, Steve felt that there would not be enough time to exercise this option. 

Fall season kick off – Thursday September 14^th will be shopping night at Sam’s Club. We will need approximately 4 minivans to help transport purchases back to the concession stand, see Steve if available. Also if anyone has available freezer space, we would like to bag and stock up on ice for the weekend. 

Football – Our first game will be Friday the 15^th, volunteers are needed to work the concession stand for the 15^th, 22^nd, and 29^th of September as well as the Friday after Thanksgiving for the Paulsboro game. Once again, we will be feeding hot dogs, water, and baked goods to our band and the visiting team’s band following the half time show.

Senior night may be held during the Paulsboro game due to the limited number of home games this year. Mr. Kershaw explained that this is usually split up between football players, cheerleaders and band members to recognize the senior students in each area. We will need extra non-senior parents to work in the stand on senior recognition night for the band. Mike Wyatt volunteered to pick up gas for the grills prior to the weekend. 

By-laws – Section III Article 4 and Article 7 will be amended following a unanimous vote to include a time frame from April 1^st to January 31st  to increase eligibility to vote and run for office. 

Cavalcade - Port pots are going to be utilized this year due to increased attendance. Dee Leonard asked if people are allowed to utilize the bathrooms in the school, answer was it would be preferable to have them use outside bathrooms.

            Sunoco will be donating 3 light stands for us to use for supplemental lighting.

            Parking – Rose and Pat are overseeing, they requested additional sign ups, gave a brief job description, volunteers should bring a flashlight and a chair. Report time will be 2 p.m. National Honor Society will try to provide 10 students to help with parking. We anticipate that bands will start to arrive around 2:30-3:00.

            Sales and concessions report time for these volunteers is 3 p.m. Tickets are $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for students and senior citizens and will be available at the gate. Sales items to include: Rose, candy, water and air grams, raffle tickets for the quilt made and donated by Eileen Mannion, braided pin holders, buttons, T shirts (long sleeved, ash grey with MIC logo on front and band list on the back, pennants, cow bells, Mardi Gras beads, and 50/50 tickets.

            There will be one awards ceremony at the end of the night for all groups.

            Judge’s food – can really use desert donations. Each band member is requested to bring a 2L bottle of soda or a 6 pack of water.

            Runners – job description given by Rose, report time for this group is 4 p.m.

            People working with the bands should have passes – USSBA issues then to the band directors. If it seems strange that someone identifies themselves as “being with the band” it is okay to question them. 

Meeting dates for October and November – Mr. Kershaw requested that we change the meeting day from Monday to Tuesday or Wednesday for these two months to decrease the nights spent away from home. Eileen Mannion made a motion to change the meeting to Tuesday for October and November, Ed Mannion seconded the motion, and a vote was taken by the membership and was agreed upon by the majority of those present. Darlene McKendry asked if the first Tuesday in November would be Election day , upon review of the school calendar this was found to be the case, therefore the change of days will only apply to the October meeting since school is closed on Election Day. 

Mr. Kershaw’s Corner – Attendance for the rest of the month is very important to finalize the show. The last 60 seconds are not yet in place, Clearview will be the first show with the entire show in place.

            Shoes are in, the cost is $26.00 again this year, if your child ordered shoes, they must be paid for, if not paid yet parents will be notified.

            Practices – TK said he will try to end practices at 9 p.m. but notes that it takes time to pack up and move equipment back to the school. He will shoot to have dismissal time be no later than 9:20.

            Pit Crew – to have about 5 solid members would be great. 

Open Discussion – Eileen Mannion announced that we have received the contract for the Press Box in Scranton for this year. We have reserved 2 coach buses for parents/boosters; sign up sheets are available.

            Ed Houghton said he had just come from the BOE meeting and the BOE is starting to investigate the cost of replacing the field surfaces with artificial turf.

            Debbie Blaum raised a question regarding Steve’s mention of outstanding California trip payments. Rose quoted a figure of about $2,800.00 still outstanding. Steve said that all those who owe money have been contacted and we are working on recouping this money. 

The proposed destination for this year’s Music Department trip is Niagara Falls; price would be in the $500.00 range.  

Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Joanne Tunis and seconded by Gretchen Segado. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Lisa Wolff

Recording Secretary

* - Financial information can be obtained from any band parent's board member.