SFBAPG Meeting of 20 Aug. 2011

Location: Fairyland

Prior to meeting, Michael Nelson announced membership dues are now payable and forms are available.  He also stated that he has Gala tickets as well.

Meeting called to order by Jesse at 5:35 PM.

Randal talked about the Fairyland event for tonight – the “sleep over” (not for us but for the public). He listed the schedule for dinner and the performance that he would be giving at 8:00 PM.

Randal also stated that Lewis Mahlmann has been in the hospital for the past month and is now home with nursing care. He is celebrating his 84th birthday in Sept.

Michael Nelson – Treasurer Report

We have $7,223.87 in the treasury, with $1405.25 designated for scholarships.

$2,000 has been designated for the Gala. Membership year is Sept. 1 – August 31.

He has envelopes and membership forms available for those who wish to pay their dues tonight.

Tickets for the Gala (our 50th Anniversary) are also available. This will be 24 Sept. 2011. Ticket prices are $25.00 for members (past or present), and $35 for non-members. This will include a wonderful catered dinner and fabulous entertainment. Entertainment will include the Oregon Shadow Puppets w/Thumbilina, and Bob Hartman – who is the puppeteers’ Puppeteer.

Michael – Gala Committee Chair

Listed need for volunteers:

C Volunteer Coordinator

C Hospitality Committee (People who will welcome guests and orient them to facility)

C Bartender

C Cleanup Committee

C Memorabilia Chair (items to sell)

C Memorabilia to display – contact Randal

Newsletter: Talib requested articles for the newsletter

Membership: New members/guests were introduced: Gabriella and Yvonne

Valerie and Michael had just seen “Stuffed and Unstrung” in San Francisco and presented their review – They loved it!. They described how the show is done to involved the audience yet still allow a “puppet performance” environment. They do recommend it as an “adult” entertainment.

Ernie Fosselius brought his collection of Mechanical Marvels and delighted us with their operation. Daniel Krakauer showed how he has created another mechanical puppet using cogs and wheels.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 PM for dinner at the train station.

Submitted by: Sharon Clay, Secretary

Meeting at Fairyland at noon on 6/8/011.  Attending:  Conrad Bishop, Art Grueneberger, Jesse Vail, Randal Metz, Valerie nelson and Michael Nelson.  Absent:  Sharon Clay, Lex Rudd and Talib Huff.

A discussion and review of the bylaws for determining officers was followed by
Art would be willing if (1) there is better email communication, (2) more board meetings can be conducted by phone conferences and (3)need a strong VP due to his Sacramento home.

Motion:  Art G for President  Motion made by Mike N, seconded by Val N, passed unanimously

Motion:  Randal M. for VP made by AG, Jesse V seconded,  passed unanimously

Motion:  Val N for membership , Mike N for treasurer made by Art G, seconded by Randal M, passed unanimously

Motion:  Sharon Clay for secretary (if she is willing)  made by Art G, seconded by Val N passed unanimously

Art will call and ask Sharon if she is willing.  (She has accepted as of 6/10/11)
We discussed using Posterous for our email communications so no one got left out of the conversations.
Valerie N will send a thank you note to Barbara Grillo  for her service on the board.

Treasurer:  We need cosigners for the guild banking.  Bylaws state that one can serve as treasurer for 6 years, so Val n is done.  Michael Nelson will take over duties.  Val N will ask Lee Armstrong and Barbara Grillo to be cosigners for amounts over $500.  Bylaws state that cosigners must not be board members.
Jesse V moved that we ask Lee and Barbara to be cosigners, Art G seconded, passed unanimously

Scholarships:  Art will send guidelines he and (?) developed for review and comment by the board.  Art would like that the scholarship application have a timeline and a deadline so the job is more manageable.

Jesse wants to discuss bringing in outside performers, discussion was postponed for next time or new business.

August 20 meeting at Fairyland:
Randal stated that the plan is similar to before, with several performances throughout the day, an exhibit that he will set up and a meeting with potluck at 5 pm.
Craft people:  Val stated that it seems to always fall on the same few people.  Can we pay them?  Randal thinks that we can move the $200 from Fairyland through sfbapg to the craft people who help each time.  They can use it on supplies and their time.  He will contact Lee Armstrong, Elisheva and Tia and see if this is what they would like.  If not, we can approach other guild members.
Motion:  Conrad moved we reimburse craft people with funding from Fairyland.  Art g seconded.  all agreed.
Subject of meeting:  tossed a few ideas around, liked the idea of automata, Randal will follow through

Pearl Dailey:  History ephemera and biography info was left to Randal so he can write up an obituary for the next newsletter.

The 50th Party:
Date is currently September 24, 2011, place is Uptown Center in Oakland.   This may change if lee Armstrong gets a performer who needs a different date.
Jesse V will talk to nearby church about using their lot.
Mike wants to nail down the date and place and caterer by the end of the month.

Motion:  Val moved, Jesse seconded:  That we place an ad in the P of A festival program featuring our anniversary and party.   All agreed.
Jesse will ask jerry Williams to design an ad, Michael will send the logo and information to Jesse.

Frances Lerner, who presented her work at the meeting on june 8, was interested in joining.  We agreed to present her with a membership as a thank you.  Val will write to her.

michael will contact matt Baume and ask for a front page link to the party info on <http://sfbapg.org>sfbapg.org

meeting was adjourned at 2 pm and most of us watched “the Reluctant Dragon” from back stage.

SFBAPG Meeting of April 9, 2011

Location: Zocalo’s Coffee Shop, San Leandro

Meeting called to order at 7:05 P.M. by Conrad Bishop

Newsletter:

Talib announced he is back as newsletter editor

Scholarship Committee:

Art – new guidelines are out for scholarships. Please send in applications and questions to Art.

50th Anniversary:

Jesse – current dates in consideration: 9/24 and 10/1.

Sharon presented prices (quotes from BYOG in Dublin) for t-shirts to be sold at National Festival, or locally to publicize and commemorate the 50th anniversary.

Elishiva suggested that we survey the members as to who would buy a t-shirt.

Art – suggested that if promotion is the aim of this, we do an ad in the Festival Program advertising the anniversary, and send out postcards to members and ex-members and groups. Art would check into the ad – deadline & cost.

The idea of t-shirts was voted down.

Introduction of attendees.

Performance by Bernie Beauchamp of Beaupromo Puppetry – Reno.

Bernie is traveling across country performing on the way to the National Festival. He is a marionette performer, and had musical performances by Sophie Tucker, Nora Jones, Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima.

Jesse showed a couple of classic films by George Pal including Tubby the Tuba.

Meeting adjourned at 8:55 PM.

Sharon Clay

Secretary

SFBAPG Board Meeting, Feb 9, 2011

Meeting was held at 2 pm in the Nelson home. Present were Conrad Bishop, Barbara Grillo, Jesse Vail, Randal Metz, Valerie and Michael Nelson.

Survey report:

Conrad compiled 16 replies to a survey asking members where and when they prefer meetings.

Treasury report (see attachment)

Conrad suggested a separate line item for projects like the guild mugs.

A card for Talib was signed by all to accompany the stipend for his newsletter work from Sept 2009 to May 2010.  Check was for $225.

Val agreed to reexamine the costs for newsletters, why is this year’s larger than last year’s cost?

Conrad moved to accept the treasurer’s report. Michael seconded. Passed unanimously.

Hospitality: Valerie asked to buy a bin for plates, forks, etc. Conrad so moved, Michael seconded, it passed.

Membership: We have 110 members, perhaps a Guild record.  We need to remove a reference to Paypal on the website.  Conrad said he would take care of it.

There was a vote at the Jan 29, 2011 meeting to end printing the yearly roster for all members.  It will be sent by email PDF files to everyone, and a printed version at Guild meetings for those who don’t use email.  A discussion on how to combine two kinds of files for this ended with Jesse offering to ask for a friend’s help.  Michael will email the info to Jesse.

Michael spoke of wanting to find lapsed members of the Guild to include them in the 50th party.  Randal thought Sue Brinton could help. Valerie thought Randal could help.

Other business: Lettie Schubert’s books and puppets will be sorted through by Jesse and Randal. They will decide which things to include in a silent auction at the 50th party.

Barbara moved that we hold a silent auction that includes some of Lettie’s puppets at the 50th party. Val seconded.  Passed.

Scholarship Committee:

Conrad proposed that Art Gruenbacher be chair of the scholarship committee.  Michael suggested we check by-laws to see how they are appointed.  Conrad agreed to look into it.

Future business:

A discussion of the need to focus on education and possibly internships as the next goals for the Guild after we have the party behind us.

Next meetings:

April 9, 2011, 6pm.  Jesse has a connection with Zocalo, a café in San Leandro that will let us use their space for free. A presentation, then a potpourri/slam.

June 5, evening, place to be determined.

Aug. 21, or whenever Fairyland has planned their annual event.

Sept. 24 or Oct. 1 for 50th party.

Val moved that these dates be accepted for future meetings.  Barbara seconded.  Passed.

Plans for the 50th Party:

Michael presented a list of venues that members of the party committee have compiled.

They are mostly in the East Bay, range in price from free to $1,100.

We each gave our ideas on what the party should be.  Michael wants a party that reflects the history and importance of the event, so perhaps a fancier venue.  Barbara liked the idea of a more elegant place, especially if the cost could be kept low.  Val said she liked the idea of the garage, which could be a fun venue, or the more elegant places, provided the cost to members didn’t get too high. Jesse thought we should use the garage venue for a different event. He would like to use catered food that would be ready ahead of time, then use theater group students to serve us.  Conrad was unsure if he could attend with his production close to opening.  He wants whatever the members want, so long as it is fun and not too expensive.  Randal was also concerned about cost.  He likes Fort Mason and Studio 1, which have a history with the Guild.

$2,000 is set aside towards the party.  $95 in donations have come in.  Randal suggested a $50 for the 50th campaign.  Others suggested we try to get more donations.

We talked about what the entertainment should be and came to the consensus that a range of performers from the Guild, to show the breadth of who we are, is preferred to bringing in a big name.  We want to have short acts that haven’t been seen at a Guild meeting for some time, and a range of styles.  We decided the venue needed to be a place that would allow us enough freedom to do this.

Randal will put together a display on the history of the Guild for the party.

The meeting was adjourned at 4 pm.

Then we realized we need to make sure the nominating committee is functioning. Conrad will email Lee Armstrong and Elisheva Hart to ascertain what is going on.

The January Meeting of the SFBAPG was held on Jan. 29th at Christ Presbyterian Church in Terra Linda, CA.

Meeting called to order by Conrad at 6:35 PM

Announcements:

Regarding Scholarships from P of A  for the upcoming National Festival:  Applications are available online.

Guild Web site:  If members offer services or have a performance that they wish to publicize on the web site – let Conrad know so you can be added to our list of referrals.  This is a good way to get the word out about your services.

There is an upcoming performance in San Francisco in February by Kevin Augustine.  Conrad has had the opportunity of working with him and he is very unusual and delightful.

Guild Member Lex Rudd, of Primal Visions, has now become a designer with Folkmanis Puppets, and 4 of her designs are now being manufactured.  She had 3 of these at the meeting on display.

Reports:

Membership:  Michael – Membership renewals or applications are being accepted tonight.

Membership Roster:  It has been suggested that the roster be emailed to members and those who wish to print it, can, and those who don’t use it, don’t have to.  This method of distribution would save us a lot of money in duplication and postage.  Motion:  by Jesse that roster be available in PDF format to members via email but also available in hard copy at meetings for those members without computer resources or who want a printed resource.  2nd. by Greg. Motion passed.

Newsletter:  Michael – Request for any stories for the newsletter.  If you have pictures, reviews or announcements that you would like to get in the newsletter (for this month) get them to Michael by tomorrow.  Or after that for the March Newsletter.

50th Anniversary Party – Michael – chair of committee.  Party right now is being planned for Sept. or October.  Looking for people to help with the party.  Please volunteerr.  We want this to be a wonderful party.

Library:  Our Librarian Lee has brought part of the library with her.  Books and videos are available to be checked out by people who have been members at least 6 months.  Check them out at one meeting and return at the next.  Lee announced the donation of 3 books by Donna and Dennis Marvin to the library.

Meeting adjourned at 6:55.  Followed by a wonderful performance of “Water Works” by Images in Motion.

Sharon Clay, Secretary

San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers Guild

Board Meeting of 9/20/2010

Location: Michael and Valerie’s House in Vallejo

Meeting convened by Art at 1:05 PM

In attendance: Art, Jesse, Michael, Valerie, Barbara, Sharon & Conrad via Skype

Absent: Randal, Talib

Approval of last meeting’s minutes: 1st. Barbara, 2nd, Valerie

Treasurer’s Report: $8424.79 w/ $1032.25 recent deposit. (Not sure this is accurate – should this be scholarship money?)

Membership report: Last Year we had 104 Members at the end of the year.

Currently: 55 members. Note: Members renew slowly. Some people are renewing online, then the dues have to be mailed in separately. Discussion about possibility of allowing multiple year dues payment.

Advantage: Commitment

Disadvantage: People change emails, addresses, etc. & this gets updated yearly with “annual” membership. The Membership Officer would have to keep track of these memberships

Barbara suggested that this be brought up to the membership at the next membership meeting to get feedback.

.

Anniversary Committee Report: (Jesse, Randal, Conrad and Michael

To be discussed:

Date: w/Holiday Party – or March 12th

Budget? -

Theme: Mardi Gras?

Solicitation of Donations? Yes

Consider searching for past Guild members who may want to attend -

Put at in Puppetry Journal asking old members to return for party, Art will research this.

Entertainment: Should be someone who will be a good draw for the membership.

Food: Catered

Discussion:

Michael: Should be better than our Holiday Party. Conrad reminded that Mary suggested it be part of the Holiday Party.

Who should be “invited”: Frank Oz? Pixar? ILM? Craig Ferguson? (From CBS)

When should we do the inviting? Is January too soon? Too late?

Budget: Barbara – move that we budget $5,000 seed money with recommendation

for matching funds. 2nd. Jesse

Old Business

Next Guild Meeting: October,

Valerie moved, Michael 2nd, that it be in conjunction with Larry’s Halloween Show on 30th.

We would see the show but have the meeting elsewhere.

Conrad’s survey -

No report yet.

Will we still have a holiday party? Yes. Jan. 8th or 15th? Where? Church in Oakland near Lake

Merritt? Was Padmini the contact on this?

New Business:

November Meeting: November 6th – at Contra Costa College 4-7 PM.

Program: Lee Armstrong & Kamela have a program they would like to present.

Guild Challenge: Beginning: Time is running out:

Ending: How did that get on the bottom of my shoe.

Workshop in March at Contra Costa College? Barbara will check into the

feasibility of this.

Scholarships: Mary Decker has the guidelines for the scholarships. Art will email Mary to get a copy of the guidelines. Do we have guidelines that address:

Regarding the applicant’s responsibility for “their share” :

What is the cost of the event to the participant? Does this bear on the amount of scholarship

What is the recipients portion (to pay)? (Airfare, registration, housing? Etc.)

What will he/she do in return for the scholarship

When should the scholarships be given? (Once a year? When we receive applications?)

How many should we give a year?

Is there a max number of scholarships a person can get over a period of time or a max number of times they can apply?

Should scholarships be given for educational purposes? For other than festivals?

Should grants be given for new works? – Art.

Discussion: If anyone goes for P of A grant from our guild we could give extra money if they won the P of A money. Vote postponed until next meeting.

Also there was a discussion about giving a Guild Award to local shows (not necessarily involving a Guild Member) that uses puppets in their performance. Possibly 3 members should “see and judge” the shows.

Meeting adjourned at 2:40 PM.

Sharon Clay, Secretary

San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers Guild

Minutes – Board Meeting of April 26, 2010

Meeting called to order by Conrad at 1:05 PM. Attending: Conrad, Michael, Valerie, Sharon,

Mary . Meeting held at Nelson home in Vallejo.

Approval of minutes of last meeting of Guild. Sharon not there, minutes were not taken.

Reports

Treasurer: Valerie: Balance: $7924.04 – of this $1582 is scholarship fund – ($6342.04 – Guild operating funds).

Membership:

Michael: 104 Members People can sign up on the website, but we do have a way for them to pay. Then Michael sends them an email to remind them how to pay. Conrad will investigate the possibility of using Pay Pal.

Website: Michael: Will remind people to get their own website listed on our website.

Conrad: still need to get a “links” page in addition to membership listings which are under “services”. Potential links – P of A, P of A Bookstore, UNIMA, and possibility current festivals. Maybe even a U-Tube link.

Scholarship Committee: Mary

Mary moved to approved Sue Brinton be added to scholarship committee, 2nd Valerie.

Motion passed unanimously

Valerie- moved that $300 be given for scholarships. 2nd Michael- Passed unanimously.

Discussion about what the responsibility of the scholarship recipient should be? Conrad suggested that we formulate long range plans on how to generate scholarship funds; how to generate interest in applying for scholarships, and determine what the recipient should be asked to do in return for the scholarship: write an article for the newsletter? Do a workshop? Do a report? Other?

Discussion as to scholarships:

Valerie: Should a portion of dues go to scholarships?

Sharon: Should we restrict the number of scholarships given each year so we don’t deplete the scholarship fund?

Should applicants be required to be a Guild member for a certain number of years?

Decision on these matters tabled until next meeting.

Larry Schmidt has sent an application for a scholarship. Approved by scholarship committee.

Board Election:

Lee, Mary, Talib are “terming out”.

Nominating committee – this committee is supposed to get one replacement member each year. This has not happened. Elisheva has stepped down but no one else has been selected to replace her.

Candidate for board: Art Grueneberger

Lee will run if no one else wants to.

Future Meetings:

Next Meeting – May 22nd or June 12th?

Discussion: May 22nd – problem finding a venue where video can be shown.

June 12th – College of Arts & Crafts would be more available.

If venue is open to the public, Steven wants a different financial arrangement. Would we have adequate publicity to generate an audience?

Discussion of possible venues for future meetings:

Contact Blake Maxim? He said he has a possible site.

If Oakland – contact Jessie Vale/

St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley?

Methodist Church at Lake Merritt?

San Raphael – where we had Holiday party?.

San Leandro Library?

Board selected June 12th for next meeting – more time to anchor a venue.

Programs for future meetings will be determined by new program chair.

(1) Location for meetings: Should we find a permanent place or itinerant?

(a) Needs a place where people will travel to

(b) Provide a place for performances

(c) Provide a place for workshops

(d) Parking – adequate and convenient

(2) Suggestions

(a) Libraries and churches – restrictions on content

Possibly limited hours and days available

(b) San Francisco – parking -availability and cost

(c) Peninsula – bridges for many people

(d) Marin County – distance; bridges

Puppet Day at Fairyland – August? Probably should have a meeting in conjunction with that.

Meeting adjourned at 3:15 P.M.

Action items:

Conrad – investigate possibility of obtaining Pay Pal for membership payments

Michael – links for web page – P. Of A., Bookstore, UNIMA, current festivals

Send out reminder to members how to get their web sites links on our web site.

Secure location for June 12th meeting

Board Elections

Nominating Committee

Postponed: Scholarship decisions – responsibility of recipients? Qualifications of applicants.

How often can someone apply for a scholarship? Should scholarship events be specified?

Meeting times and locations – to be determined my new board

Next year programs – to be determined by new board

San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers Guild
Board Meeting of June 24, 2010
Meeting held at Michael and Valerie’s in Vallejo
Members present: Michael Nelson, Valerie Nelson, Barbara Grillo, Art Grueneberger, Conrad
Bishop, Randal Metz, Jesse Vail and Sharon Clay via Skype
Absent: Talib Huff
Meeting convened by Conrad at 7:12 PM
New board members Jesse Vail and Art Grueneberger welcomed.
Approval of minutes from last meeting:
Minutes from board meeting approved, including all motions made at last board meeting
and minutes from general meeting approved.
Resolutions from last meeting:
Pay Pal – Conrad was going to investigate possibility of getting this for membership
payments
Links for web page set up? – Michael. P of A, Bookstore, UNIMA, current festivals?
Scholarship decisions – to the best of my knowledge, the scholarship committee has not
had a meeting or discussion as to how often someone can apply; if scholarship events
should be specified.
Treasurer’s report:  (I don’t have the attachment)
Randal suggested that we move some of our money out into some type of interest bearing
account. Discussion that interest rates are very low. And this would not be very
productive. Larry Schmidt was sent $300 for his scholarship and Stephen Ritz-Barr
received $150 honorarium for last program.
Note: We have a 50th year anniversary (possibly actually even more) coming up next
year.
Perhaps we should consider budgeting some of the money for this.
Michael – did you send out reminder to members as to how to get their website links onto
our web site?
Website: 12 members represented on the website under member services
Membership report:
105 members. Anyone who joins now receives membership for rest of year & all of next year.
Michael reports he gets a few contacts off the web site. Maybe one or two every 3-4 months.
Election of officers and committee assignments
Offices to be designated: President, Vice President, Secretary ,Treasurer, Program ,Nominating,
Membership
Discussion about ‘terms of office” – which officers are are beyond their terms. Conrad
suggested that the by-laws be reviewed about these terms since some offices could be
extended.
Program chair is very important, and Lee did a great job with program, with some help from
Barbara, Sharon and some from Michael and Conrad. But, this really is a very important
job.
Membership officer used to be combined with treasurer, but then Membership officer was
broken off to be an officer on it’s own. Michael has tried to expand this office to increase
our membership.

President: Valerie moved and Barbara 2nd motion that Conrad be retained as President. All yea
Secretary: Barbara moved and Art 2nd motion that Sharon continue as Secretary. All yea
Membership: Jesse moved and Art 2nd that Michael continued as Membership and Valerie
continue as Treasurer. Passed. All yea, 0 no.
Newsletter – Michael will do the July Newsletter. Awaiting Talib’s health report. At this time
there is no information for the newsletter.
Program: Jesse appointed incoming chair of program
Vice President: Barbara moved Randal 2nd that Art be appointed V.P. All yea.
Scholarship: Conrad recommend that Mary Decker be invited to continue as scholarship
Committee chair. But that the issue of scholarships be tabled until the next board meeting.
Conrad recommends that the scholarship committee gather information from board members
as to what the board thinks should be the qualifications and or “return obligation” of
scholarship recipient.
Hospitality Committee: Conrad asked Valerie to be chair of hospitality committee
Puppet Day at Fairyland – August 28th
Vagabond Puppets will be coming in and Fairyland is celebrating its 60th year.
Need a hook to get people to attend the meeting. What do we offer the public here and
what do we offer the members. What do people learn about puppetry?
Jesse suggests that we have several people come that day and set up a table or tables
where they will make puppets during the day
Barbara suggests that we have a pot luck and then some demos or show and tell that will
be of benefit to our members, followed by a short meeting. Hopefully this will result in
some ideas for upcoming meetings.
For the day of puppetry at Fairyland -volunteer groups are welcome. As soon as the
schedule comes from Randal we will be able to move on this.
Next Meeting:
Valerie moved, Barb. 2nd that we have our next guild meeting on August 28th on the Day or
Puppetry – all yea.
Survey: Send survey on yahoo groups and by mail to those without computer.
Conrad asked for input from board on content/wording of survey.
How many meetings should we have a year? Maybe the two big events then several
smaller events? Should we try to schedule meetings to coordinate with other puppet
events? If we have only 4-6 meetings should they be scheduled at a regular date – always
the last_____ of every odd month. Or should we set specific meeting dates?Let’s see what the results of the survey are.
Jesse, Conrad and __________(Barbara?) will scout out venues for meetings/performances.
Recognition of outgoing board members:
It was suggested that SOME type of recognition be given – certificate? Gift?
It was agreed that some type of recognition be given. Recognition in the newsletter
and a gift at the next meeting.
Anniversary Celebration:
Randal: send out invitations to former guild members
Catered dinner? Restaurant? Program of history of Guild.
Conrad moved we form a committee to determine a time/date and location for the
type of anniversary celebration. Art moved/Barbara 2nd that Michael & Randall be
co-chairs of the committee. Sharon nominated Lee to be on the committee also.
Suggested that former members of the Guild send in pictures that represent the
history of the Guild. Sharon suggested a video that represents the history and suggested
that we get a bid from Rik as to what he would charge to put together a 20 minutes video.
Conrad: Next board meeting prior to day of puppetry: possibly August 21st. Conrad will send out
an email questionnaire as to availability of board meeting
Meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM.
.

Conrad Bishop called meeting to order at 6:30 PM.
Approximately 65 members and guests were present. Congregation was invited to attend
performances, which followed, so many guests with children were present.
Guests were invited to stand an introduce themselves.
Valerie Nelson thanked everyone who arrived early to set up and decorate tables.
Lee Armstrong – Announced that the Library Table was available for review and for people who
had been members for more than 6 months to check out material. She also noted that she
brought extra Puppeteers of America Journals, that are available for free.
Mary Decker – reported that scholarships are available and that the Northwest Festival is
upcoming in Seattle. Conrad added that the Southwest region also has scholarships
available.
Barbara Grillo – stated that the March meeting will be on March 13th and will be at Contra
Costa College. This is the location for the Puppetry in Education day for early childhood
educators. She is looking for people to do workshops and performances. If members can
do either of these, please let her know.
Randal Metz – has several CD sent to him by Bruce Sedley for distribution to members who
would like one. These document Bruce’s visit to Fairyland last year. Bruce was a
performer in Fairyland and on Channel 2, many years ago.
Michael Nelson – Membership Officer – Discussed the revised website. Members are invited to
let Michael know what services that they have that they would like posted with their
names on the website
The Sicilian Puppet Theater is coming in April. He is trying to negotiate for discount
tickets for Guild members..
Members: Please take a new roster and check your name off the list, so we know who
took a roster. This will save mailing costs.
Conrad – Added further discussion of the revised web site -What is on it, and why it is valuable
as a tool for Guild members.
Official meeting adjourned at 6:50 P.M. for the following program:
Randal McGee & Groark – who was a delightful M.C. and provided an entertaining “Night
Before Christmas”
Puppet Art Theater Company – with Art Grueneberger and Rachel Malin
Michael Nelson
Eli Nash
Ernie Fosselius
David Krakauer
Brian Narelle and Warren Peace.

SFBAPG Board meeting Jan 18, 2010

2:30 at Nelson residence , attending: Conrad Bishop, Lee Armstrong, Randel Metz, Barbara Grillo, Valerie and Michael Nelson

Absent: Sharon Clay, Talib Huff, and Mary Decker

Treasurer’s Report: Balance at last statement: 8064.48 as of 12/31/09

Balance as of 12/31/08 7023.13

A comparison chart of income/expenses for the periods from Aug 25, 2009 to Jan 17, 2010 and the same period a year before shows we have higher income (from dues) and lower costs.

The current sum of 8064.48 includes $1492. Set aside for scholarships, and $6574.27 in general funds.

A motion was made to make Lee Armstrong a second signer on the checking account. Passed unanimously.

Membership Report: Report January 17, 2010

Michael Nelson, Membership Officer

Guild memberships continue to trickle in, both renewals and new memberships.

In December I removed all non-renewed names from the Yahoo Group list and sent an email to each of them informing them that they were being removed because they had not renewed. I pointed out all the great guild benefits, offering them the chance to renew again. Two or three took me up on that and renewed, and the rest are now purged from the email list for, I think, the first time in some years.

Currently there are 97 members, including life members and extra names included in family memberships.

The roster is basically ready to print in the format that we have used in the past couple of years. If the board agrees, it will be ready for the January meeting, along with membership cards. The plan is to hand out rosters and cards and the DVDs from Bruce Sedley to all who come to the meeting, then mail the rest.

Member Benefits: There is a very good sounding Sicilian marionette troupe coming to the Marin Civic Center on Friday, April 16, 8 p.m. Tickets are $30, $12 Students 18 & Under. They have offered the guild a group discount price of $5.00 off with a group of 15 or more. I am not certain if the discount also applies to the student rate. Should the board decide to pursue this, the adult ticket price would be $25.00. We would have to commit to buying 15 for a total of $375.00. We would then offer the discounted tickets to the guild for a period and then open it to our friends, email lists or who ever we could find to buy the tickets. Should we pursue this?

I would like to continue to identify and organize benefits like this for the membership. If anyone hears about something like this that would be of interest to the membership, let me know, the more in advance the better.

Other Reports: a Sicilian troupe will be performing April 16, 2010 in Marin. Mike Nelson moved we pursue buying 15 tickets for a group rate, providing his research shows the group is good. Barbara Grillo seconded. Passed unanimously.

The need for membership cards was discussed. We agreed to offer them to anyone who wants, but to announce in the newsletter that we would no longer issue them. Events which require membership proof will have a current list of members at the door.

Library Report: We have most things catalogued, a few odds and ends excluded. Tim Giugni has donated a box of books. They need to be catalogued.

Lee will do this.

Sharon Clay needs to write thank yous to tim Giugni and one other (ask Lee) for donations

Lee wants more dvds for the library. She has $150 discretionary spending.

Conrad and Barbara will email ideas of which dvds.

Website: Matt Baume has been doing a great job. Some options we hoped for are not possible given that he is using existing matrices to reformat the website. We can list the service officers in alphabetical order but not offer a search for, say, all birthday party shows. We discussed how to thank him.

We will ask matt if he wants to put a link to his website on the guild website.

Valerie moved that we send him a thank you gift. Mike seconded, all passed.

Valerie will send him a book or mug, a check for $100, and a thank you note.

Randel Metz will write a guild history update for the website

Jan 30, 2010 meeting plans: Randal McGee wants a separate space where he can film interviews. Elisheva confirmed there was one by phone. Barbara Grillo will help hand out name tags. Table decorations: Nina Dees, Sharon Brixton and Padmini have agreed to decorate a table each. If no others volunteer, Lee and Valerie will bring décor for 2 more tables. The order of events was discussed. We agreed to put Art Gruenberger first, at 7, when the public is invited. Others will follow.

Lee will ask Randal McGee to MC. Mike will send out a request to use the yahoo group to organize rides.

Lee will ask for volunteers to help set up and clean up.

Plans for the Mar/April 2010 meeting: Barbara Grillo will plan a meeting to be combined with a teacher continuing education day at the Contra Costa College. March 13 is probable date. She envisions several workshops and performances. She has no budget. Various funding possibilities were discussed. She will check with the childcare council. She will put an article in the next newsletter asking mambership for workshops and performances.

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia: have sent us a letter asking us to consider sponsoring a part of their tour next year. Lee will ask Mary Decker her thoughts and report back.

Pacific Southwest Regional Director: Conrad wants to explore just what his new title means and what he can do to help the region’s guilds communicate and share resources. There is a scholarship fund, but no one knows how to get to it.

Meeting ended at 4:30.