Attendance
In attendance: Hanan Bell, Joan Fairbanks, Jackie Kirn, Teresa Metzger-Howe, Koko Morgan, Doug Potter, Bruce Sherman, Anne Warner, Gennie Winkler, and Samatha Young
Approval of Minutes
a. The August 14, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes were unanimously approved after being amended.
b. The November 15, 2023 General Board Meeting Minutes were approved as written.
Finance
The Fall quarter membership donations were $3,878. Our expenses were $6,003, which was a loss of approximately $2,125. We can sustain to kind of loss for a few quarters. However, if it continues we may need to increase the donation amount requested.
Grants
The Seattle Arts and King County 4-Culture grants total $5,550. The King County 4-Culture Grant payment request needs to be turned in. The grant is for $2,100.
Jackie was wondering, if we had more grant money, then what would we do with it? We could use it to buy equipment, pay for a concert hall rental, or the cost of music shipping.
Membership
Teresa sent a message to all the members thanking them for the playing quality and the ensemble work of the orchestra. Also, she appreciated the strong leadership from the various section leaders.
Music Director
For Winter Quarter there will be some former members returning and some new potential members in various sections.
King FM invited 25 musical organizations to meet and discuss how these organizations could use the King FM's website and their NW focus program to inform people about their programs.
A schedule changed was proposed to Teresa. It was suggested that the schedule should mirror Seattle Public School's matching the mid-winter and spring breaks. It would move our schedule to a week later. Currently, our schedule is the similar to the University of Washington. Doug will do a soft survey of our members to see if they have a desire to mesh with UW and/or Seattle Public School schedules.
Fall Concert
The Symphony's Fall concert raised $1310 for the United Churches Emergency Fund. Ninety people attended while one hundred people have view it on YouTube.
Venues
Joan booked St. Andrews Episcopal Church for the Winter and Spring concerts. The Nordic Heritage may be available for the Spring concert, but we would have to pay the full rental cost. Joan will check with the Museum to see if they still have a community partnership program.
Music/Equipment
The music rental costs will be about $2,000 this year. Hanan has noticed added clutter in the closet we have access to at the Music Center. He will check the Center to see what is going on.
Board Members
Samantha Young was welcomed as a new member of the Board having been voted on to the Board unanimously. She will be the new Membership Director.
Election of Officers for 2023 -2024
The following people were elected as officers to the Board of Directors:
President: Doug
Vice President: Gennie
Secretary: Koko
Treasurer: Bruce
Other members of the Board are as follows:
Music Director: Teresa Metzger Howe (ex officio)
Membership Director: Samantha Young
Librarian: Hanan Bell
Publicity Coordinator: Charlotte Hotchkiss
Development Director: Jackie Kirn
Venue Coordinator: Joan Fairbanks
Discussion of Attendance Policy
A discussion about creating flexibility in the attendance policy was brought up. Is there a way to build in flexibility in the number of absences for the string players who have jobs that are unpredictable? This would be particularly for those who have to leave town unexpectedly and miss more than three rehearsals. This proposal was not accepted. It was agreed that the new policy should have been put before the Symphony members prior to its enactment. The attendance policy needs to be readily available. The members need to be made aware of where the policy is on the website. Doug will include a link to the policy in the welcome to the quarter email sent to all the potential members.
Next Meeting
The next meeting date has not been set.
