Meeting Minutes Wilde Bunch Executive Board
27 July 2003
1204 Richmond Dr. SE
Albuquerque, NM

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 4:07 pm by President Kevin Niehoff, at the home of Bill Eyler and Danny Lee. All board members were present, with the exception of Treasurer Brian Blackwell. The agenda was approved as submitted.

Reading of Minutes:

The minutes of the April 8 and May 6 board meetings were read and approved.

Treasurer' s Report:

Presentation of the Treasurer's Report was deferred due to Brian's absence.

Other Reports:

Kevin reiterated Danny's earlier concern (expressed in a memo to the board and outlined in the meeting agenda) that board members have been lax about responding to e-mails, resulting in delays in getting the club's business done. Kevin also reminded board members that regular attendance on dance nights is one of their responsibilities.

Vice-President Tony Horvat reported that he had reviewed the fly-in caller contract with Jerry Jestin, and received an informal approval of the terms from him. The contract has not yet been finalized, however, pending the board's approval.

The board members present then voted unanimously to authorize Tony to offer up to $750, plus travel expenses and accomodations, to Mr. Jestin for his services (this being considered standard compensation for square dance callers at similar events), adding the proviso that airfare be reimbursed only up to the lowest fare available on the least expensive carrier flying the route, in this case Southwest Airlines. If Mr. Jestin chooses to fly another airline, he must agree to pay any difference in cost himself. The board asked that Tony try to have the signed contract in hand by August 1, if at all possible.

Meeting Minutes / 27 July 2003 / page 2

Reports (con't.):

Tony also reported that he has reserved the ASDC Square Dance Center for the weekend of October 8-10, 2004, for the fly-in, although no written contract has been signed. The board requested that this contract, too, be finalized (in writing) by August 1.

Tony was also asked to prepare a preliminary budget for the fly-in by the next regular board meeting, in order to facilitate setting fair attendance prices.

Secretary Shannon Thomas reported that she had spoken with a longtime club member who expressed concerns about the recruitment and retention of new dancers, namely (1) that a greater effort be made to publicize the club among women's groups; (2) that members make a point of socializing with new dancers during breaks, in order to make them feel welcome; and (3) that when club members go out to dinner after class, they be sure to extend an invitation to everyone present (especially new dancers) so no one feels left out.

These suggestions received general approval from the board, and it was agreed that henceforth an all-inclusive dinner invitation should be made a part of the regular announcements on dance nights.

Outreach Coordinator Danny Lee discussed our lack of success in attracting new members, and expressed concern that if recruitment doesn't improve, attrition will eventually reduce our numbers to the point that the club will be forced to disband. He asked other board members to contribute any innovative ideas they might have.

Several suggestions were offered, and are summarized below:

--Produce a short video about gay square dancing.

--Design a poster incorporating strong graphic elements, that could be put up at various gay venues around town.

--Arrange a fun dance at the SUB Ballroom at UNM, with a view to attracting new dancers from the university community.

--Reach out to open-minded non-gay square dancers, contra dancers, folk dancers, etc., who might find our club's more casual, less inhibited atmosphere appealing.

--Introduce contra and round dancing into our own program.

Meeting Minutes / 27 July 2003 / page 3

Reports (con't.):

--Move Plus from Monday to Tuesday nights in order to have more experienced dancers available to serve as angels for Basic and Mainstream classes.

--Offer an accelerated beginners' class that would teach all the Basic and Mainstream calls in 3 or 4 day-long Saturday sessions, in order to bring new dancers into full participation as rapidly as possible.

--Promote the Wilde Bunch among GLBT employees' organizations at Sandia Labs, Intel, UNM, and other large employers in our area.

The merits of all these proposals were discussed, but no definitive action was taken.

Member-at-Large Jeanie Beshires reported that she has made tentative plans to hold the next fun dance on Saturday, Sept. 13, possibly at a club member's house. The next--a Halloween party--would be Saturday, Oct. 18 at Bill & Danny's. A third is slated for Nov. 15 at a location yet to be selected. Lastly, Dec. 13 was proposed as a possible date for our annual Christmas party. At this point, all dates are subject to change.

A suggestion was made to investigate the possibility of holding a fun dance at one of the nearby casinos. Jeanie agreed to look into this and to report back at the next board meeting.

Class Director Diane Butler reported that our next Open House has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 9, and that the next Basic class will begin the following Tuesday, Sept. 16.

New Business:

1) IAGSDC Membership Issues / Banner Dance. Kevin brought it to the board's attention that the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs (IAGSDC) claims to have no record of having received payment of the Wilde Bunch's 2002 dues, and that as a result our delegate was not permitted to vote at this year's IAGSDC convention in San Diego. Furthermore, it was unclear who this delegate was supposed to be, since no formal appointment to the position had been made by the board.

It was duly resolved that the board should name a delegate to next year's convention well in advance, and make sure that that person understands his or her responsibilities.

Meeting Minutes / 27 July 2003 / page 4

New Business (con't.):

It was also brought to our attention that a "Banner Dance" to benefit the IAGSDC was held during last year's Chase the Chile fly-in, but that the funds raised have never been passed along to that organization.

Therefore, the board authorized Brian to issue a check to the IAGSDC in the amount of $150 to correct this oversight. The matter of our missing 2002 dues payment is still being researched.

2) Dance-A-Rama ad. The board approved the purchase of a small $15 advertisement in the Dance-A-Rama program, as a goodwill gesture to the host club, Duke City Singles. (This is a non-gay event to be held August 29-31 at the Albuquerque Hilton. Kris Jensen will be one of the callers, and several Wilde Bunchers are reportedly planning to attend.)

3) PetersenFund Grant. Kevin reported that the club has submitted receipts totalling $400 for expenses incurred in connection with our Gay Pride Day recruitment efforts to the Petersen Fund for reimbursement, under the terms of the grant we received from that organization last year.

4) NMGRA Zia Rodeo. The annual Gay Rodeo will be held August 9-10 at the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Posse Rodeo Arena, 10308 Second Street NW. Bill Eyler reported that he has assembled a group of dancers to perform in an exhibition square at this event. Other volunteers are needed to take tickets at the gate. Club members are encouraged to participate, to support the New Mexico Gay Rodeo Association and the Wilde Bunch.

5) Proposed Changes to Club Bylaws. Due to lack of adequate time for discussion, this item was tabled pending an extraordinary meeting of the board to be held Tuesday, August 19, at ASDC, at which this will be the sole item on the agenda.

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned at 5:58 pm. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 5. at ASDC. A special meeting of the board is set for Tuesday, Aug. 19, as noted above.

	Respectfully submitted by
	
	Shannon Thomas, Secretary