Meeting Minutes – August 14, 2023

In attendance: Marilou Moschetti, Bruce Fihe, Susan Penney, LeAnn Bjelle, Jen Dyer, Joan Vierra, Marsha Hein, Amy Chirman

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm.

1. The Santa Cruz Friends Meetinghouse (Quakers — QMH) at 225 Rooney St. in Santa Cruz has been visited by a number of Board and general members multiple times for consideration as a new location for SCTAG general membership meetings and workshops. The QMH has been found to be an improvement over the current meeting site for reasons including better parking, a more centralized location, no stairs, padded seating, stronger built-in AV tools, and a second room available for workshops. While no food or beverages can be taken into the main meeting room, they are allowed in the second room and on the outside patio. Should additional parking be needed, the next door church is willing to allow parking on their site.

The QMH only wants a use agreement and asks that chairs be stacked at the end of meetings. If other community groups request use of the QMH at a time that butts up against SCTAG use, those groups will be provided other meeting locations on the property by the QMH Coordinator.

A motion was made to relocate the SCTAG monthly general membership meeting to the QMH location effective the October, 2023 meeting. The motion was seconded. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. General membership will be notified of the change at the September, 2023 meeting, which will be run by Bruce since Marilou and Joan will be traveling. The relocation announcement will be presented by Susan and LeAnn.

2. Discussion about the collection process of workshop fees took place. Should the materials fee be included in the total due for any workshop registration, or collected separately by the “workshop angel” at the time of the workshop? How might the different processes affect the workshop contract or the cancellation/refund process? It was determined that including the materials fee in the total due for a workshop registration is easier to manage overall, in particular as it relates to the event contract six-week cancellation agreement and the refund process.

Member event registration cancellation refunds are proposed as follows:

One month or more from event: full refund

Two weeks to one month from event: 50% refund

Event date to two weeks from event: no refund

A motion was made to approve the materials fee inclusion in the workshop registration fee and to approve the proposed registration cancellation refund process. The motion was seconded. A vote was taken and passed unanimously.

The master copy of the workshop contract is available on the Guild website.

3. SCTAG Bylaws are being updated. Marilou, Bruce, and Amy will continue to work on this project.

4. An update on the Guild library was provided by Marsha. The recent library use questionnaire that went out to members received a 60% response rate. Feedback includes that members want more hands-on access to browse and borrow from the collection and want increased currency of collection materials.

The library currently comprises approximately 500 items held on three 3-foot wide, six-shelf bookcases. There are also ephemera including pamphlet-type materials and boxes of weaving samples.

Might a lockable, rolling bookcase be obtained and a location identified, perhaps at the QMH, to house the guild library in the near future? More discussion and exploration around this matter needs to occur.

5. The Treasurer’s report was provided. That document is available on the Guild website.

6. The following information about CNCH 2024 was provided to the Board:

CNCH 24 will be April 25 through 28, 2024, at the Double Tree by Hilton in Rohnert Park, CA.  The theme is Enduring Fiber Roots. 

There will be ten teachers covering:  weaving, dyeing, shibori, spinning, tapestry, basketry and kumihimo.  There will be a gallery, vendor hall, and marketplace for local sellers.  The conference booklet is expected to be online at CNCH(dot)org in September.  I have some “save the date” cards for people when we all meet again.

There will be a silent auction to support the grant/scholarship fund.  Each guild will be asked to contribute something for the auction.

The meeting was called to a close at 8:45 pm.

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