CET Booster Club Board Meeting

Minutes, December 16, 2024, Approved January 16, 2025

Present: Trudy Gates (house manager), Cara Genesio (treasurer), Sascha Matish (president), Margie Morris (producer), Alisse Portnoy (secretary), Emily Wilson-Tobin (director).

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm.

  1. Reflection on Midsummer

    1. Seating - would it be helpful (or not) to check off people when they come in to make it easier to see who we are waiting for?

      1. After discussion, the board concluded no. 

      2. About a week before each show, the house manager will check with the director to figure out best ways to seat late arrivals for that show run. 

    2. Missed Cues: anything the board can do?

      1. No journalists backstage for future shows. 

      2. There is a monitor backstage and a new camera was installed, but there has been no information about it. Emily will follow up.  

  2. Adult Volunteers/Employees

    1. CET has to use AAPS contractor to make payments, which includes lots of paperwork for employees and a 22% fee for CET. It still seems to be a necessary process, despite the frustrations. 

    2. Musicians: Brian secures musicians who CET pays, since they are only there for performances and not working with students. 

    3. Tech Director: Adam will start as tech director in January, and Quinn will continue until then and then help with transitions and set design for Curtains.

    4. Costume mentor: Abby Frank is interested, and the board agreed to pay her. We need partnership with some adult volunteers as well. 

    5. Ed will serve as volunteer sound crew mentor for Curtains, and Tiff works with lights crew and is paid for his work. Brian is compensated through the AAPS points system and also the contracted employee way. 

    6. Background checks are complete for adults working with students in dressing rooms, and food volunteers don’t need them. 

  3. Board Policies for Elections

    1. Booster Club Board

      1. Bank needs formal minutes to approve signatories on the account

      2. Sascha and Alisse will create a protocol for elections, including nominations (self and slate), transparent and timely communication, and processes. The draft will be circulated for feedback at an upcoming booster club board meeting. 

    2. Student Board: Emily announced there will be some changes in the student board election process, details to come.

  4. Treasurer’s Report

    1. Account update: $37,875.78 as of 12/15 (at PNC)

    2. Cara’s contact at PNC recommends a savings account for capital expenses.

      1. Better for fraud protection.

      2. Gives us a way to delineate capital expenses (e.g., ladders and bleachers) and show-specific expenses.

      3. If we have to move money from the savings account into the checking account, it’s a good check to see whether expenses are too high. 

      4. Cara clarified the rule about the 1040EZ form: if there is movement of $50,000 or more in a year, the 990 reporting form gets more complicated and likely requires an accountant.

    3. Arbor Farms: The store does not set up ongoing accounts for school groups in the way they do for schools. They will support specific fundraisers for groups. 

  5. Email Lists

    1. As we transition to Square and away from MCommunities for e-lists, it’s a good time to rethink processes. 

    2. Margie will check to see what limits exist on lists with the new website (e.g., number of email addresses that can be added in a day, number of messages that can be sent in a given period of time, number of non-gmail members allowed).

    3. The “big” list and the show lists were discussed. When a show is done, all email addresses are added to the “2009” list (that’s the comprehensive list). That remains useful. 

    4. Consider opt-in requests, before/as we move the big “2009” list and then maybe every three years or so, pending what Square/gmail allows?

    5. Alisse will draft possibilities for processes based on our brainstorming discussion during the meeting for feedback at the next board meeting. 

    6. InstaGram

      1. It was also discussed whether/how much to use CET’s Instagram occasionally for duplication of messages, for students and others who primarily use IG and also who don’t have access to their student AAPS alums once they graduate. 

      2. Emily will check with the student board to see whether that’s okay, and, if so, how that might happen (e.g, someone sends something to the student board’s publicity/media rep?). 

  6. For Upcoming Shows

    1. Land Acknowledgement

      1. Keep doing what CET is doing, though re-record so it remains fresh

      2. Student board is enthusiastic about ongoing education, so the land acknowledgment isn’t just performative

    2. Program Ads

      1. Report on Midsummer program 

        1. The program cost $478 to print; two ads were sold, for $85 and $95

        2. Students did not get together to sell ads

      2. For future programs

        1. Consider family ads, and make them less expensive

        2. No student “ad sales day”

        3. Margie and Cara will draft a proposal for the board to review at a future meeting

    3. Tshirt information has been added to the online registration form

      1. Get sizes earlier is easier

      2. The form isn’t a commitment, but is an information-gathering tool

    4. Thank you notes for teachers, custodians, parent volunteers that kids write during strike.

      1. Board decided this is a great idea; process TBD

      2. Sascha has stationery left over from the love letters fundraiser, and then we can move to CET stationery or something like that

      3. We’ll make a template for thank-you notes that would include who gets thanked for use for each show

  7. Merch - sweatshirts, pop-ups, schedule one always in fall

    1. By Nov 1 each year there will be a pop-up (classic sweatshirt)

    2. Pop ups are easier, though require some additional effort such as guestimating sales for price-setting; Underground Printing may not have all items (e.g., the sort of socks that students want). The exception is show t-shirts, which should be done through the traditional ordering process (rather than a pop-up). 

    3. Margie is happy to work with the student board merch rep to do whichever process students prefer. 

  8. Musical: Next Steps

    1. Dates: mass meeting is December 18; auditions are set for January 7 and 8; callbacks are on January 10; the cast will be announced by January 12; first rehearsal is January 13; tech week is March 8 -12; and the performances are March 13-16.

    2. CET’s performance of Curtains cannot be recorded.

    3. Family meeting for Curtains is scheduled for Thursday, January 16, at 6:30 pm (with a booster board meeting immediately following).

  9. Matters Arising

    1. CET needs a new locked cabinet for supplies. 

      1. The board approved it for up to $250. 

      2. Margie and Sascha will acquire the locking cabinet. 

    2. Media from AAPS

      1. Great that CET was featured

      2. There is a new person in Robin Bailey’s job, and we’ll work on more AAPS publicity

    3. Minutes from general board meeting: in the future, announce that a draft will be posted online within two weeks of the meeting; notice of the posting will be included in an email with a request that amendments be sent to the board secretary within two weeks of posting; after that period, the minutes will be considered approved. 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm, with thanks (again) to Sascha Matish and Bev Davidson for hosting.

Respectfully submitted,

Alisse Portnoy, Secretary