BCP General Meeting
General Foundation Meeting June 8th, 2008

President Jeff Simon called the meeting to order at 10:30. All council members were present except Membership Director Erin Ross.

Secretary Stephanie read the minutes of the May 4th Council Meeting and they were approved as read.

First order of discussion was the BCP Art Show. Special Events Director Anayansi stated that she as organizer assisted by Amelia Stroup is planning an art show. The show will take place from Friday, August 15th until Sunday, August 17th in the downstairs section of the Fair Offices. BCP members Delmira Pitti and Chiru the painter from Angely’s Gallery and local artist Cynthis Freiburghaus have already volunteered their help in setting up the show. Victoria Wilson would be contacted for ideas and help in fundraising to pay this event. Various council and general members also volunteered to assist and an email will be sent to the membership asking for volunteers. The artists from last year’s show, along with new artists not in that show, will be sent an invitation to participate. A possibility exists of inviting Panama City artists. Advertising, concessions, and budget were also discussed, along with the suggestion to charge a 10% commission on artwork sold. Jerry volunteered to help work on the budget for the event.

Susan Thoms made a proposal for a musical to take place in early December. She would be writer/ director and Rhody Edwards would be the musical director. The show would be entitled “Reflections: Musical Memoirs of the 60”s as Told by the People Who Lived Them”. The show is proposed for December 4th – 7th, 2008, with a venue not yet selected because of the need for a place that can house cabaret style seating. The show would consist of a house band, backup singers with soloists, and a variety of actors who tell stories. Possible venues, lighting and sound issues, advertising, budget, and dates/times were all discussed. Motion was made by Jerry and seconded by Stephanie to accept the proposal, motion was passed unanimously. (See proposal attached). Due to venue and calander issues, the dates remain flexible.

Vice-President Jim Stroup outlined the election process for new officers based on the adopted by-laws. The Vice-President is the elections officer who runs the election and determines the outcome for each office. The election will take place at the August 3rd BCP General Membership Meeting. There are seven offices to be filled; they include President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Director, Special Events Director, and Training & Education Director. Only members may be nominated and only members may nominate. Notice for nominations will be made by email and on the website starting on June 19th, with the cutoff being July 19th. All nominations must have the nominee’s agreement to serve. If anyone wishes to be nominated for an office may send an email to Jim and he will nominate them. Any office not receiving a nomination by July 19th can be nominated from the floor at the General Election. Only nominations for an open position (no nominee) will be accepted from the floor at the General Meeting. All nominations received will be posted on the website and an email will be sent to all members. Voting is by paper ballot and will be counted and announced at the meeting. New officers will take office on September 1st. If no one runs for a particular office, the elected board to appoint someone.

Ellie Simon gave a recap of her experience directing the first Reader’s Theatre. “Social Security” was a success in many ways. It gave the actors an opportunity to play a role without having to memorize lines and that drew in new actors and potential new actors for BCP. Some audience members found use of the scripts distracting only in the initial minutes; subsequently those watching forgot about the scripts because of the acting. A member suggested using index cards in future productions instead of a large script. There was some disappointment to the show not selling out. But that could be due to many factors, including the bridge construction. Feedback from those in the membership that saw the show was positive.

Ellie brought up the electricity problem at Snoopy’s and suggested that maybe it is time for BCP to start looking for a more permanent venue.

Treasurer Jerry gave his report, beginning with the fact that BCP’s current financial resources were $11,903.00. There is $10,181.01 in checking and a little over $1722.00 in the savings account. In April, Latin Dance Night added $453.01, while in May, Games Night earned $168.25 and “Social Security” earned $906.85. All of the bills for these events have been paid. There have also been dues paid by 24 members, which added another $240.00 to the bank account. With a roster of about 200 members, BCP has a base income right now of about $2000.00 per year which gives us the financial stability to provide seed money and provides for the Foundation’s fixed costs. Jerry suggested that it was time we moved some money into the savings account to earn interest. (See report attached)

Discussion ensued about the best way to have our money earn interest and increase our building fund. The concensus was that mixing the two funds was not a good idea. The idea of putting the money into interest bearing CDs was discussed, but CDs are restrictive, if the money went into a savings account, it could easily be move back into checking as necessary if and when needed. Anayansi stated it would not be difficult to open a second savings account. Member at Large Jack made a motion to transfer $8000.00 into an interest bearing savings account, Anayansi seconded but suggested that we put in $10,000.00 instead. Jerry stated that he would be more comfortable with putting $9000.00 in at this time and Jeff seconded that motion. A discussion followed the motion; Jim suggested keeping a part of each show’s proceeds into the checking account, with the remainder placed into the interest bearing account. Jerry suggested keeping a checking account balance at around $1500.00, with the rest of the monies being put into an interest bearing account. With this amendment, the motion was approved unanimously.

The meeting was opened to the floor. A question was raised as to why we don’t put a portion of the money we have and will earn in the future into the building fund. Another question was, if we do not set aside some money for the building, how will increase the building fund. Jerry answered that any money we designated to the building fund would be stuck there and with our current venue status, we did not want to leave ourselves with unexpected expenses, for example rent, and not have the money at hand to pay for it. Until our venue status is more secure, the building fund will remain separate from our operating venues. We will continue to add to the building fund with specific fundraisers or gifts monies are designated to it.

Jack made a motion that, because we are using Snoopy’s free of charge, we should pay the electric bill as a sign of good faith. Jerry seconded the motion and discussion followed. Someone suggested intercepting the bill and paying it. Questions arose as to whether there would be any legal ramifications to BCP by paying the electric bill, and who would we be paying, as we have no idea whose name was on the account. With so little information, a suggestion was made to table the motion until we had a clearer picture of the situation. A vote was taken and the motion was tabled a t a vote of 4/2. However, Anayansi and Jerry were directed to look into the background of who has the electrical contract, will the lessee (Roy Knight) accept BCP paying the bill and are there any potential legal issues if we do pay the electric bill? When more information is available, we will revisit the electric bill issue.

President Jeff adjourned the meeting at 12:15.

The next meeting will be a Foundation Council Meeting on Sunday July 6th at 10:30 Snoopy’s.

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