MSU ALUMNI BAND Alumni Band Executive Board Meeting Minutes May 4, 1997 Present: Bob Rice, Gordon Spink, Gary Baron, Doug Goodrich, Beryl Falcone, Mike Klass, John Whitwell, Dave Catron, John Madden, Joe Levine, and Henry Nelson. Meeting was called to order at 2:05 pm by President Bob Rice Secretary's Report: 1. Motion by Gordon Spink to accept minutes from March 16, 1997 meeting with following corrections. Seconded by Mike Klass. Passed all ayes. · Dale Bartlett was present at the March 16th meeting. Treasurer's Report: 1. Treasurer's report attached. 2. Discussion about various "funds" in treasurers's report · Jim Cook Memorial Fund - Set up as a memorial fund for deceased Alumni Band President. Not sure what the original intention of the fund was. Bob Rice to check with Roger Weyersberg for clarification. · Instrument Funds - Originally established to fund the purchase of new trombones for the Spartan Marching Band. What is in the fund now is the surplus from that effort and will be used for similar projects in the future. 3. We should get the phone company to combine the two phone bills into one. 4. Motion to accept Treasurer's report by Gordon Spink. Seconded by Gary Baron. Passed all ayes. SPECIAL MEETING At the spring reunion on April 20, 1997, a special meeting of the members present was held for the following business: · Motion by Gordon Spink to allocate $1,200.00 to fund the archiving of the papers of Leonard Falcone donated to the MSU Archives by Beryl Falcone. Seconded by Gary Baron. Passed all ayes. · Motion by Doug Goodrich to allocate the necessary funds to hire someone to summarize the results of the recent survey sent out with the spring mailing. Seconded by Ed Deeb. Passed all ayes. OLD BUSINESS Buildings (Dem Hall) 1. Ed Deeb reported that in a discussion with Jim Forger it was mentioned that he (Forger) had met with Lou Anna Simon (MSU Provost) and that the proposal for going ahead with Demonstration Hall as a band building was looking good and would probably go forward. He further added that if the idea was moved forward the Alumni Band would be looked to for significant assistance in fund raising for the building. Music Commission 1. John Whitwell reported that we expect the piece in the fall of 1998. By-Laws 1. Secretary will have an official copy of the by-laws for each member by next meeting. Plaques 1. No update. Spring Reunion 1. There was a good turnout for the event. 2. Roger Topliff, an alumnus from Denver, needs a copy of the music prior to the reunion because of failing eyesight. The music department will be reminded prior to each event to send Roger the music in the future. 3. It was generally felt that the instrumentation was good and that the extra half hour of rehearsal was beneficial to the performance. 4. MSU students were used as fill-ins. 5. Discussion was held about the possibly reversing the order of performance, ie. have the Almuni Band play first and the MSU Band second. This might make it more attractive for the MSU Band members to listen to the Alumni Band performance. The possibility of a combined band performance was also discussed. John Whitwell will investigate. NEW BUSINESS New Secretary 1. Motion by Ed Deeb to appoint Joe Levine to the post of Secretary for the Alumni Band to replace Gary Baron who has resigned because he is moving to Boston. Seconded by Doug Goodrich. Passed all ayes. Alumni Band Scandinavian Tour 1. No update. Survey 1. 250 were returned with mostly positive comments. 2. The biggest issues appear to be good, available parking and better seating in the stadium. · John Madden announced that there were be 300 parking places available at the corner of Kalamazoo and Harrison (next to the State Police station) on the day of the fall reunion starting at 7:00 am at a cost of $5.00 per car. · John Madden has contacted the ticket manager concerning seating for this fall. The Memphis game will probably not be a sellout, therefore there is a good possibility that the Alumni Band will be able to sit in the stands. 3. Those that indicated that they would like to help will be contacted. 4. It was generally agreed that the membership should be receive an response to some of the concerns that were raised. Gordon Spink agreed to do this. 5. There was interest expressed in participating with the Strolling Spartans at basketball and hockey games. This organization is run by Gary Marks and names of those interested in participating will be turned over to him. 6. There was discussion about the dress code for the Alumni Band and it was generally agreed that a dress code would be very difficult to enforce. John Madden made the suggestion that we come up with a nice uniform shirt with an Alumni Band logo on it. There would be no specifications on the trousers. Newsletter 1. Bob Rice raised the issue that the newsletter cost $900 - $1,000 in the past and that the recent issue of the Encore cost $1,800 for one issue. 2. Beryl Falcone expressed concern about the rising postage costs for the newsletter. 3. Ed Deeb stated that the reason this mailing cost so much was because of the extra items that were included with the newsletter, such as tour info sheet and the survey questionaire. 4. It was stated that about ¼ (600 of 2200) of the mailing is to paid members. 5. Motion by Gordon Spink to continue the Encore for the fall mailing. Seconded by Ed Deeb. Passed all ayes. Fall Reunion 1. New registration form was presented by Beryl Falcone and suggestions for improvement were made. Ed Deeb will refine it and include it in the next mailing of the Encore. 2. All articles and correspondence must be received by Ed Deeb by May 15th with a target mailing date of June 1st. 3. The University President, the Alumni Association Director, Athletic Director, Football Coach, Music Department Chairman, Walter Adams, and other Big Ten band directors will be included in the mailing. 4. It appears that Jenison Fieldhouse is still are best bet for a facility for the fall reunion, even though it may cost us to improve the sound system. John Madden will report on this. 5. John Whitwell will contact all participating music directors. 6. John Whitwell suggested that it might generate interest to feature a particular year, era, or group (such as the saxophones) at these events and to include a social event for that group. Motion by Gordon Spink to feature everyone 65 years or older at this years event. Seconded by Doug Goodrich. Passed all ayes. 7. Motion by Gordon Spink to have Joe Levine check on a the availability of facilities for the social function honoring participants 65 years or older and to determine costs for food, rental, etc.. Seconded by Doug Goodrich. Passed all ayes. Big Ten Trivia 1. A former band member had an entrepreneurial idea of creating a Big Ten Trivial game several years ago and had a number of these games created. There are 2000 left and he/she is willing to donate them to the band to use as a revenue generator. These games sold for $12.95 in 1985. 2. Questions were raised about whether the information would be dated and if there is a market for such a game. Storage will be a problem if we cannot move them quickly. 3. Bob Rice to get a sample for discussion at a future meeting. Web Site 1. Gary Baron volunteered to work with Mike Weiszbrod to set up an Alumni Band Web Page linked to the Spartan Marching Band site. Souvenirs 1. Doug Goodrich displayed samples of sweaters and sweatshirts with Alumni Band emblems that could be sold as souvenirs. The most popular sweatshirt was green with an Alumni Band logo that cost $30.00 each (+ $2.00 for xxx-large). 2. Suggestion was made to place an ad in Encore. 3. Decision on what to order and the quantity was tabled until next meeting. 4. Gary Baron turned the remaining uniform mementos over to Gordon Spink. Board must make a decision on what it wants to do with the remaining uniforms. Meeting adjourned at 4:30 pm Next Meeting: Sunday, August 3, 1997 at 2:00 PM at Buddies in Okemos