Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Minutes of Past Meetings
MINUTES
25 September 1989
Present: Helen Bechdel (Vice-president), Carol and Kevin Burke, True Fisher (Chair and President), Lurene Frantz, Rob Gannon, Joyce Hagen, Anne Jacobs, Melady Lehm, and Peter Schneeman (Secretary).
(1) The Minutes from the meeting of 31 May were approved as written.
(2) In the absence of Joan Blasko, Peter delivered the Treasurer's Report:
Savings: $4594.21
Checking: $ 383.63
(3) True announced that there would be a meeting on Friday (at Anne Jacobs') to discuss the loss of the arts coordinator grant from the PCA, and Debbie Ingram's resignation.
(4) A Nominating Committee consisting of True, Anne, and Peter was approved.
(5) True announced that the fund-raising letter has raised $800 so far. Lurene Frantz suggested doing a follow-up on past contributors, and Peter suggested that Jim Dunne enter such information into his computer so that lists of contributors past and present could be compared.
(6) There was a brief discussion of The Centre Democrat.
(7) Joyce Hagen not having yet arrived, there was no formal Gamble Mill Gallery report, though True said that the calendar of exhibits was pretty well filled.
(8) Melady reported on Summer Sounds. The Garver grant covered the cost of six concerts (@ $100/group), and ASCAP fees ($7 to $12/concert), as well as postage for the fund-raising letter. About $400 in donations were collected at the concerts themselves, and so it was a very successful series.
(9) Neither Judith Schardt nor Joe Vasey was able to attend, and so there was no Film Forum report.
(10) True announced that the first concert of the Sunday Afternoon at the Library series would be October 1.
(11) Rob Gannon reported that so far the most recent letter of the Plaque Project has elicited one response.
(12) True announced that the mailing soliciting craftspersons for Victorian Christmas have gone out, and responses have begun coming in.
(13) Lurene Frantz, following up on the "Ed Garcia" grant, then took over, to make her own observations and lead discussion on where we are now and where we want to go from here. She began by observing that one of the things that seems to be concerning us is the question of who will will take over the leadership of BHCA. It is not unusual in such organizations, she said, to have a "core that cares," but the problem is to develop a systematic process for incorporating new people. She suggested that we might consider taking on the status of a Board, in order to call people in to work on specific committees, since it is generally easier to get people to work on specific tasks. Also, one is (or can be) automatically rotated off a Board, thus allowing that "core that cares" respite from continued responsibility. It is also possible for a Board to be deliberately comprised of persons representing various dimensions of the community (e.g, an attorney, an artist, etc.).
She suggested trying to bring one or two new persons to each meeting, or to create some mechanism for bringing new people in on a regular basis. Some will end up staying, others, of course, not. The BHCA should take advantage of its image of success. Melady suggested that we devote 15 or 20 minutes at the end of each meeting to bring in new members.
The discussion turned then to the arts coordinator position. Lurene suggested that we get a specific office space, rather than having someone working out of her or his home. We should strive, at this point, for professionalism; we "have to take that next step." She suggested that we search out the people we want to apply. I.e. we must be constantly on the lookout for candidates who are ready, who are at a point in their lives when this is just the kind of position they are looking for. We should, in effect, be constantly recruiting. "Don't be afraid to ask; it's ego-building."
And as part of this professionalism, she suggested that the Treasurer's Report be detailed, so that everyone has a clearer idea of what money is coming in and what money is going out.
Some discussion then ensued regarding improving the BHCA's activities in the historical (as opposed to cultural) area. It was decided to send True to the PLAN (PA Local Arts Network) fund-raising seminar.
The idea of sponsoring a workshop for contractors in historical preservation and renovation was met with considerable approval, as was Melady's suggestion of creating a kind of "speaker's bureau" on this topic. Lurene suggested that Jay Claster, for example, might be interested in working with us on a seminar.
In closing, Lurene said that we should possibly focus on a single new project for the coming year, whether it be a "welcome wagon" kit on historical preservation, or whatever, so that our energies aren't too diffused.
(14) After some brief discussion of plans for the Friday meeting, this meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Peter Schneeman
Secretary