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Meeting Minutes
Alumni Council Meeting June 15, 2005
Present for Alumni Council Meeting June 15, 2005
Lewis Frisch Nicole Singer
Juli Martin
Charles Ledley-ph
Jeffrey Paul Bobrick
Kat Reilly
Max Yestin
Eric Weiss
Matt Haiken
David Bearg - ph
Stephanie Segal Hartmann
Jasmine Winkler Stobbe
Juliet Ross -ph
Jeffrey Paul Bobrick warmly welcomed the young alumni attendees. Reviewed
how we are all members of Friend's of Buck's Rock. All present were invited
to talk about their background and why they cared about the mission of
Friends of Buck's Rock.
Jeffrey relayed wonderful news from Stan Simon (Lou's Brother) of McGraw
Hill's offer to donate some $25,000 to Friends of Buck's Rock in order
to send deserving inner city teens to Buck's Rock. Eric will be following up and it appears likely that 5 campers will be sent. In addition Friends of Buck's will again
sponsor the two campers we sent last summer.
Charlie Ledley reported on the Margaret Danzig memorial held earlier in the
week at Camp. A tree, similar to the one planted for Sybil, was planted and
Josh Danzig read Jeffrey's message from Friends of Buck's Rock.
Jeffrey reported on the weird place we are currently in, where Friends of Buck's
Rock has accomplished so much, but yet still find ourselves hampered by
inconsistent efforts, an inadequate base of active, supportive and involved
members, and a lack of accountability among the members of the Executive
Committees. He compared this to a boat that makes great forward progress,
but is constantly springing leaks and needing bailing.
With this in mind Jeffrey outlined new standards of accountability and the
overwhelming goal for the next year of filling all open executive positions
and turning the Alumni Council into a productive working body.
Jeffrey, Stephanie and Lew reported on discussions to clarify the role of
the Alumni Council, creating an in-between position of responsibility
between our open membership and our elected Executive Committeepersons.
The Council would be open to all former campers, including but not limited to young alumni who have completed their first CIT year. Members would be expected to participate in a minimum of two meetings per year and to serve on at least one committee, actively promoting the work of Friends of Buck's Rock. They would receive their newsletters by mail and receive special free invitations to one Friends of Buck's Rock Event annually.
We discussed the changes in By-Laws required to implement the above. The EC
will vote on a proposal over the phone later this month to present at the
Alumni Council meeting in September so that changes can be approved in
accordance with procedures outlined in the By-Laws
There are currently provisions for the Alumni Council to include up to six
Young Alumni members in addition to the 2 potential seats allotted to each
of the established Executive Committees. With the exception of two Young
Alumni seats now filled, all positions on the Council are open. Our goal is
to fill them by December.
We were pleased to welcome on the phone David Bearg from Massachusetts. A
1960's alumni, cousin of Jim Slater, David's son Nat is a CIT in Metal/Sculpture this year. David has written an excellent essay about his life's work and Buck's Rock and is considering offering a home tour as a Friends of Buck's Rock event.
Jeffrey commented on how pleased he was that all committees sent in reports to
this meeting and thanked the Executive Committee for their renewed commitment and integrity. Reviewed openings on the EC noting the resignations of Marc Richter and Maurice Mizrahi.
Alex's publicity report submitted by e-mail discussed the need for us to
focus on getting grant proposals written. We haven't been doing this because
we don't have volunteers to handle the follow-up. Should we be paying
someone to do this? We are of course concerned about paying members to do
work, while other members volunteer. But we could consider hiring someone to
do this, perhaps even on a contingency basis, in the same way that we hire
some data services. Jeffrey proposed we send out 2 e-mails seeking
volunteers but if no response was received by August, we should consider the
possibility of hiring grant writers at the first meeting next year.
Events Outreach discussed the sad news of Winnie Winston's death and
reported on pending contacts with Ricky and Gwyneth to ascertain the
family's wishes in regards to tributes, memorials, donations, etc. David and
Lew will be contacting those active in folk music during Winnie's years and
we will be considering what we can do through the Newsletter.
We discussed our Alumni Day at Camp, July 30th, and poor response to date.
Planned two additional mailings to stir up interest. Discussed role of CIT's
and staff in making these events successful, emphasizing the need to be
working with staff before Camp begins.
There is a report on the website being posted on the internal blog. We have
over 200 in the Directory but Noah reports it will require additional
funding to move us forward to the next level.
Stephanie re-emphasized the care that must be taken if we were to consider
hiring voting members of the EC to perform tasks for compensation. This
raises complex legal issues.
Stephanie will begin work on a meetings schedule for next year. She pointed
out need to begin fund raising campaigns earlier -- December as opposed to
February and reviewed the time it takes to prepare and mail fundraising
letters. She will post a procedure on the internal blog so that we can
become familiar with what's involved and stressed that her term in
Fundraising is fast coming to an end so the need for a replacement is
urgent.
Juliet is moving back to NYC in July and looks forward to much more activity
as a Member At Large in the coming year.
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