Steering Committee

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Garth has volunteered to write up a briefing on the web site of what took place at our first meeting at Grover's last night. He will be working on that when he gets off work today.

I just wanted to let you all know that I asked one of the steering committee members, Gail Matthey, to search the web and download and print whatever mission statements she finds for blues societies and bring them to the next steering committee meeting so that we can explore them and see what things we may want to include in the mission statement for COBS.

She enthusiastically agreed to "get right on it" :)

Barb

[Cliff]

That's what is needed right now - a "Can Do - Will Do" attitude. I think we've got it and we need to keep it thataway!
Just my 2 cents worth!
I give a BIG thumb's up to all the "willing" members fo the steering committee!!!
I also wanna thank all those that came up with a "directional formula" for this society. I am NOT a public speaker, nor do I have any experience in the organizational aspects of setting up a society or committee. The response from those of you who were present may have slowed down the incursion of grey hairs and the onset of male pattern baldness that has been noted as of late. THANK YOU!!

[Bruce C.Fremont]

"The response from those of you who were present may have slowed down the incursion of Grey hairs and the onset of male pattern baldness that has been noted as of late. THANK YOU!!"

Hear, hear...

[Garth Osborn]

Following is a summary of main points from the first COBS meeting Monday, March 16, 2008.

First of all, the turnout was great and energy and enthusiasm was palpable. A lot of interested folks who are very interested in promoting the blues and helping it thrive and grow as an art form in Central Oregon.

It was agreed that election of officers is premature at this point.

Charly DeMo moved that a Sterring Committee be formed to guide the Society's business aspects. This motion was heartily seconded by several members.

Steering Committee Members:
Charly DeMo
Glenn Brookman
Bruce Fremont
Barbara Ann Storrier
Gail Matthey
Cliff Taylor
Garth Osborn (meeting minutes)

The Steering Committee will investigate the business side of things, including obtaining non-profit status, developing a Mission Statement, membership issues and other business related items. Other business issues include a proper web site with a webmaster, development of an official COBS Logo, merchandising and raising community awareness of COBS and the blues in general. The Steering Committee will meet again March 30, 2008 at Grover's Pub. Mike DeGray graciously offered himself and his business office to act as COBS treasurer. This will be determined later when officers are elected.

Ms. Marc Taylor, secretary of the Cascade Blues Association, offered valuable insight and guidance. She advised that descriptions of officer duties and responsibilities can be viewed at the blues.org web site. Ms. Taylor also informed us that the CBA Board meetings are held separately from the monthly general membership meetings.

Bruce Fremont asked Ms. Taylor if it would be possible to audit a CBA board meeting to get an idea of how the meetings are run. Ms. Taylor stated that would be welcome by CBA board members.

More questions and answers were offered up and discussed, but I believe the important issues are the development of a Steering Committee and the valuable insight of Ms. Marc Taylor and Mike and Gail Matthey, who were part of a blues society in Omaha.

If I forgot anything important, please include it. My notes were hastily scribbled on index cards, but I tried to get the REALLY important stuff.
Garth

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Good job, Garth! I think you just about covered it all except that Charly DeMo will look into holding the next general membership meeting at The Northside Pub in April. He will work on getting a date and time set up asap so that we can let everyone know. It may not be on a Sunday this time, as there are other activities going on at The Northside Pub on Sundays. The meeting for May would be held at The Summit Saloon and stage if that is agreeble to the owners of that venue, and then in June we would be back at Grover's - a rotation of venues.

One of the other items we discussed is the idea that present and future members of the Central Oregon Blues Society would be asked to pay a yearly membership fee, and there would be a discount for family memberships. (This web site will remain free and open to the general public). There would be a higher membership fee for sponsors of COBS, and this fee would include free advertising in the newsletter we plan to publish.

Marc Taylor indicated that some of the benefits included in the Portland Cascade Blues Association's membership, besides the newsletter, are a summer picnic and a Christmas party. One of the biggies that should be considered for fundraising is having a booth staffed by volunteers at various Blues festivals and events to sell COBS merchandise such as stickers, t-shirts, caps, etc.

These are some of the things we look forward to doing, in addition to possible scholarships, a musician's relief fund for local musicians in need, and getting involved with Blues In The Schools, a program that educates grammar school children on the blues and its roots.

[Garth Osborn]

Thanks for filling in the gaps, Barb. As I said, I took notes on index cards and didn't get a lot of the details down. Some of the items you mentioned above will be covered by the Steering Committee, and at some point, we expect to have different committees for the different blues events...education, community awareness, merchandise, membership, etc. I figured we'd get the Sterring Committee going before I reported on more items.

One of my omissions was neglecting to add Mike DeGray's name to the Steering Committee list. My apologies. The incomprehensible scribbling on one of my index cards must have been Mike's name ! I ran out of room on the front of the card, flipped it over and scribbled furiously. When I looked at the card in writing my report, I didn't see a name...just random scribbling. SO SORRY!

Charly DeMo told me I was an "honorary" member of the Steering Committee, as I said NOTHING at the meeting. I told Charly I'd like to function in a "recorder" capacity, with meeting minutes and documentation...working in conjunction with Bruce Fremont, who is interested in the administrative and computing side of things.

And thanks for covering my oversight about the next general meeting. Forgive my omission...my feeble brain didn't retain the info long enough for me to remember when I finally got around to posting it. Anyway, the next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 30 at Grover's Pub. Looking forward to it, and very much glad to be a part of something I can sink my teeth into. COBS came along at just the right point in my life, and I'm very excited to pour myself into something that means so much to me and our fellow blues lovers.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

No need to apologize, Garth. I was also unaware that Mike was a member of the steering committee until Charly's telephone call saying that he and Mike had been talking about stuff and he (Charly) wanted everyone's emails. The only thing I remember from our meeting was that someone said Mike ought to be treasurer because he already has a business account, Mike seemed agreeable, and others agreed as well.

One thing that I feel needs to happen at meetings is that one person speaks and everyone else listens. Then another person speaks and everyone else listens. It's very hard to figure out what is going on, otherwise. Thanks again for taking notes.

[Bruce C.Fremont]

Right on Garth. I understand you used to work at a news paper. We can leason on anything you need and vice versa.

[Garth Osborn]

Hey All,

Well...the newspaper I worked at was a college newspaper. An award-winning college newspaper. I was a journalism major and the co-editor. I worked as a technical writer at Boeing for a couple years, and at another job prior to that, functioned in that capacity somewhat, producing a training manual for a new hires, which was adopted and used company-wide.

During my tech writing stint at Boeing, I did sit on a number of meetings, publishing meeting minutes and handling the documentation end of things. Word got around that I was good at meeting minutes, so suddenly my Boeing career consisted of meeting after meeting. I didn't get to do that much technical writing after the "meeting career" began. Also, I worked as a medical librarian at a clinic and was the recorder for the Executive Committee...minutes, reports, etc.

I'm far from a journalistic expert, but know how to publish meeting minutes and the like. I think "Robert's Rules of Order" should be our guiding light when we hold a meeting, as a sense of decorum is definitely required, not only from an "etiquette" standpoint, but it also allows more progress to be made per meeting if things proceed in an orderly manner.

Right now, I have a lot of COBS material to look at, but am busy doing my taxes. Gotta keep Uncle Sugar happy, you know.

[Garth Osborn]

Here are the minutes from the Steering Committee meeting Sunday, March 30. Sorry it took me so long to post them here.

Minutes of Meeting

Central Oregon Blues Society Steering Committee

Sunday, March 30, 2008

In Attendance: Charly DeMo, Glenn Brookman, Mike DeGray, Doug Collver, Cliff Taylor, Barbara Storrier, Warren Mathey, Gail Mathey, Garth Osborn (recorder).

Absent: Bruce Fremont


The meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m.

Old Business: None

Motion: Barbara Storrier moved that Warren Mathey act as temporary chairman/moderator for the Steering Committe. The motion was seconded and Warren agreed to act as temporary chairman/moderator.

Progress: Glenn Brookman advised the group that he was unable to contact the attorney as discussed in the first general member meeting. The attorney is out of town.

Progress/Discussion: Charly DeMo then read an excerpt regarding 501c tax status which he obtained from the IRS website. According to the legal descriptions, education will be the means by which Central Oregon Blues Society obtains 501c nonprofit status. Charly reported to the group that a 50-page application must be completed and submitted to an attorney for review. This process is the legal means of providing indemnity to the organization’s officers. Mike DeGray pointed out that all blues societies eventually obtain nonprofit status. Warren Mathey reported that the Omaha Blues Society waited 8 years before seeking and obtaining nonprofit status.

Motion: Warren Mathey moved that the issue of 501c nonprofit status be tabled until additional information regarding positive and negative aspects of 501c status was obtained and discussed. The motion was unanimously seconded.

Doug Collver stated that as a business owner, he will ask his business attorney for a recommendation for a pro bono attorney who would represent the interests of Central Oregon Blues Society.

Motion: Barbara Storrier moved that Doug Collver contact his attorney to obtain a pro bono recommendation. Gail Mathey seconded.

Discussion: Creation of a mission statement was discussed. Following general discussion, Warren Mathey read information from his research regarding crafting a mission statement, that it should be periodically reviewed and modified if necessary.
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Following brief discussion, the committee agreed that the mission statement should be addressed at the next general membership meeting.

Discussion: Membership dues were briefly discussed, and the committee agreed this should also be discussed at the general membership meeting.

Discussion: Doug Collver began discussion of by-laws and referred the committee to the Cascade Blues Association by-laws.

Motion: Following discussion, Doug Collver moved that the Cascade Blues Association by-laws be used as a model for Central Oregon Blues Society by-laws. Seconded by Glenn Brookman, Charly DeMo and Mike DeGray.

Action: Warren Mathey will obtain a copy of the Blues Foundation by-laws and compare with the CBA by-laws, and the committee will select the by-laws that work best for Central Oregon Blues Society.

Discussion: Doug Collver addressed Mike DeGray’s e-mail regarding naming the blues society and the scope of the society. Following much discussion, the committee agreed the issue of formally naming the society will be addressed at the next general membership meeting.

Discussion: Barbara Storrier read from Robert’s Rules of Order regarding corporate charter, by-laws, election of officers and articles of incorporation. Obtaining 501c status can be accomplished only after creation of the charter (legal document), election of officers and incorporation of by-laws. Gail Mathey will further research charter information.

Discussion: Charly DeMo announced his annual birthday party, BBQ and jam session would be held June 20 or June 27, 2008