ACGA BOARD MEETING Minutes — JANUARY 20, 2025 via Zoom
Present: Mari Emori, Sally Jackson (recorder), April Zilber, Vicki Gunter, Lee Middleman, Julie Taber, Ren Lee, Sean Free Alcala, Susie Rubenstein, Iver Hennig, Piper Christine, Jan Schachter, Emil Yanos, Barbara Prodaniuk, Tamara Danoyan, Scott Jennings, Cheryl Costantini Absent: Chris Johnson Guest: Jacob Miller
The meeting began at 5:15 pm.
Welcome (Mari)
The first order of business was to elect officers for 2025. Those present voted unanimously (Yes:16) to accept the following slate:
President: Mari Emori
Vice-president: Chris Johnson
Secretary: Sally Jackson
Julie Taber was elected Treasurer (Yes:16, Abstain:1)
Piper Christine was approved as the new Festival Treasurer (Yes:16)
Guest member Jacob Miller introduced himself. He is a Bay Area ceramicist working at Higher Fire, Foothill College, and CSMA.
Membership Report (Emil)
Emil is working on hiccups with the renewal process, mostly related to payment using credit cards. 313 members have renewed so far, 57 of which are new members. Non-renewing members total 59. The board briefly discussed other membership platforms.
All-Member Meeting (Mari)
The All-Member Meeting on January 25 will be a hybrid meeting using Zoom for those who cannot come in person to the Palo Alto Art Center. ACGA member Britt Jensen will run the meeting. Mari will organize the agenda. Sally and Tamara will cover hospitality with coffee, etc. Three ACGA artists will give virtual studio tours. Mari has prepared a member survey asking for feedback about the organization, and hopes to report the results.
Festival Update (April)
Currently there are 78 artists registered for the 2025 Clay & Glass Festival, more than we usually have by this date. The booth map has been redrawn to accommodate some smaller and larger booth sizes as well as highlighting premium corner booths. A glitch with PayPal which prevented some registrants from paying has been fixed. The possibility of selling beer and wine at the festival is still being investigated. The cost to ACGA will likely be around $2000. If sales are robust, we’ll recoup some of that from the vendors. Julie and Susie are examining the festival’s volunteer jobs. The Board discussed possible options for artists who do not want to leave their booths to volunteer during the festival.
Residency Program Participation in the ACGA Clay & Glass Festival (Mari)
Mari presented the Festival Committee’s recently drafted proposal for Residency Programs (like Cobb Mountain Arts and Ecology Project) to participate in the festival. Discussion focused on how restrictive or inclusive our policy should be. After a few edits, the board voted unanimously in favor of the proposal (Yes:17).
Financial Report (Julie)
At the end of December, 2024, our assets totalled $130,069. More will be coming in soon for booth registrations. We budgeted a total net income for 2024 at $1700, but in fact ended the year ahead by $13,000.
SoCal Fire Fundraiser (April)
We have collected money through a GoFundMe fundraiser for ACGA members who have lost homes and/or studios in the Los Angeles fires. April will consult with a nonprofit lawyer to find out how to give the money through the proper channels.
The meeting adjourned at 6:45 pm.
Next meeting: 5:15 pm, Monday, February 17
