Annual Fall Conference 2017
DISTRICT VI – SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 CONFERENCE – MINUTES
The Texas Federation of Music Clubs District VI Fall Conference was held at Jo Ann Lemmon's home in New Braunfels on September 30, 2017. The following clubs were in attendance: The Wednesday Morning Music Club of Austin represented by Carolyn McColloch, Sue Breuer, Phyllis Noonan, Virginia Kniesner, and Janie Keys; The Etude Music Club of San Antonio represented by Lois Armor, Marque McKay and Cookie Nattinger; the New Braunfels Music Study Club by Mary Wittrup, Jo Ann Lemmon, Johnana Clark, and Martine Allen; and the Music Study Club of Gonzales represented by Vida Burnett, and Laurel Ince; Judy Gorrell came from the Arpeggio Music Club in San Antonio. Mary Thomason (President of District VI) and John Isaacks came from the Crownridge Music Club in San Antonio. Sue and Brett Bachus came from the Opus 64 Club in Austin.
The General Assembly meeting was called to order at 10:13 a.m. Martine Allen, President of the New Braunfels Music Study Club welcomed the attendees. Janie Keys, President of the Wednesday Morning Music Club, responded to the welcome with a cordial thank you, and extended with Opus 64 Club, an invitation to the 2018 District VI Fall Conference in Austin. The "Pledge to the Texas Flag" was recited, and "Texas Our Texas" was sung. Martha Nattinger led the singing while Judy Gorrell played the piano accompaniment. Robert’s Rules of Order was cited by Phyllis Noonan as the set of rules being used by the Parliamentarian for this meeting. The NFMC's "Protocol at a Glance" and “Practical Pointers on Parliamentary Procedure” were distributed to each of the District VI club presidents.
The minutes from the October 2016 meeting were read. The minutes were approved as corrected. Attendees requested that the minutes be emailed out within one week after the meeting and again with the Official Call before the next meeting. When questioned about distribution of the minutes from meetings, members replied that they prefer email distribution plus reading of the minutes at each meeting.
Treasurer John Isaacks presented the Treasurer’s report. The estimated expenses are $400. The estimated income is $670. As of 9/30/17 the balance is $5,138.33 in the TFMC District VI Original Account; and $5,000 in the TFMC District VI CD. Mary Thomason stated the executive committee recommended the acceptance of the proposed budget by the General Assembly. All were in favor.
The TFMC District VI (now TFMC District 6-1) Festival Account will be handled separately. Mary asked each festival chairman to submit a festival budget to John Isaacks. She will send out a template. Discussion ensued about the TFMC Pro-Rata Refund. We need to acknowledge what comes back to District VI from festival fees by tracking them, identifying them, and spending the amounts for the benefit of junior festival program. The refund is identified in the budget as the TFMC Pro- Rata Refund. There is a cap of $500 for this TFMC Pro-Rata Refund. Mary stated the executive committee recommends that we use a portion of the TFMC Pro-Rata Refund ($450 estimated for 2017-18) to recognize and award District VI Junior Festival Chairs up to $50 per chair per annum depending on the Pro-Rata Share from TFMC. The recommendation was approved. Mary Thomason announced implementation of new financial tracking forms: the District VI Invoice form for club dues and the District VI Expense Reimbursement Form.
Mary Thomason made a motion that we create a task force of two people to investigate how to identify, track and utilize the TFMC Pro-Rata Refund on behalf of the district junior festival program. Judy Gorrell and Cookie (Martha) Nattinger volunteered. Cookie seconded the motion. All were in favor. Their findings will be reported at the next Fall Conference.
District VI President Mary Thomason read her report. Janie Keys, the President of the Wednesday Morning Music Club of Austin, read her report. Vida Burnett, President of the Gonzales Music Study Club, read her report. Cookie Nattinger, President of the Etude Club of San Antonio, read her report. Martine Allen, President of the New Braunfels Music Study Club, read her report. Marque McKay from the Etude Club read her "Music in Poetry" report. Reports from Arpeggio, Opus 64, and Crownridge are not required at this session; however, Mary requested future status reports on each festival district’s program at the 2018 Fall Conference.
Mary Thomason announced that she would like everyone to complete the Board of Directors' Assessment of the current District VI executive board in time for the Fall 2018 Conference.
Hostess and pianist Jo Ann Lemmon presented the musical interlude. Jo Ann performed a Bach "Prelude in C Major" and Sibelius' "Finlandia." "The Volunteer's Grace" by Shelagh Walsh (2001) was recited before the luncheon as the invocation. The luncheon was hosted by the New Braunfels Music Study Club. It consisted of a delicious chicken salad with a side of fruit, and a generous slice of lemon cake. Brett Bachus entertained us with impromptu piano improvisations as lunch was being cleared.
New business was conducted after the luncheon. We will elect the officers for the 2019-21 term at the next conference. Phyllis Noonan answered Mary’s call for a volunteer to chair a nominating committee. The club presidents will be the members of this committee. Mary encouraged all officers and chairs to engage in leadership training and recruitment to help “grow” our district. The officer nominees will be announced 30 days prior to the Fall 2018 Conference and an election will be held during the conference.
Virginia conducted the memorial service for five club members who passed away during the previous 12 months: Frances Jackson of the Gonzales Music Study Club; Agnes Lehmann Buhl of the New Braunfels Music Study Club; Vergie Scott, Elizabeth McCurdy, and Mary Lou Connelly of the Wednesday Morning Music Club.
Mary Thomason pointed out the current District VI Bylaws and Standing Rules in our packets. The club presidents received an extra insert in their packets with the names and deadlines of national chairs of awards and certificates. The state chairs names, addresses, etc. will become available on the new website Mary Thomason is creating for TFMC. Chairs should send reports only to the state chairs, and do this by March 1, 2018. State chairs will forward the reports to NFMC. The new website address is TexasFederation.org, and it is mobile friendly. Mary reminded members to review the NFMC's summary of their June 2017 Convention. It has actions and consequences listed. Mary encouraged members to become more familiar with the governance of NFMC and reminded attendees that change starts at the grassroots level with members of our TFMC districts and clubs.
Junior counselor/teacher dues and junior club dues need to be handled differently in order to relieve the workload of our state treasurer. District VI is undertaking a trial whereby festival chairs collect these TFMC membership dues. Ultimately, TFMC may need to create a position for a state junior treasurer. TFMC fees for Federation cups have gone up from $4 to $5. This will impact each district festival’s fee structure.
District VI clubs should post meetings and events on the District VI Facebook page. This will allow our members to see what each of our clubs is doing during the year. Plus, this might result in gaining new members. Mary Thomason also would like to attend these events when possible.
Mary announced that District VI won the Rose Humphrey Trophy again. This trophy is a state award going to the district with the most hours logged in community service. It will rotate among the senior clubs in District VI.
The Courtesy Resolutions Report was read by Carolyn McColloch and the Credentials Committee Report by John Isaacks. The meeting was adjourned at 1:55 p.m. with Laurel Ince leading “The Gift of Song” to Brett Bachus' piano accompaniment.
Submitted by: Virginia Kniesner , District VI Recording Secretary
