ACGA Board Meeting Minutes

Monday, March 18, 2024 via Zoom

Present: Mari Emori, Chris Johnson, April Zilber, Sally Jackson (recorder), Vicki Gunter, Barbara Prodaniuk, Emil Yanos, Ren Lee, Tamara Danoyan, Julie Taber, Susie Rubenstein, Jan Schachter, Sonja Hinrichsen, Scott Jennings, Iver Hennig, Lee Middleman   Absent:  Trudy Chiddix, Cheryl Costantini   Guest: Guangzhen “Po” Zhou

The meeting began at 5:15 pm.

 

Welcome (Mari)

Several board members have received phishing emails that appear to be from Mari, but are actually scams.  Check the email address carefully; do not respond if the address is not Mari’s usual email.

Mari has asked Susie to be our website liaison, replacing Emil, who is now working on graphics and other projects.  Send your website questions to Susie.

International Ambassador Candidates (Mari)

Longtime ACGA members Lee Middleman and Guangzhen Zhou spoke about their enthusiasm for traveling, meeting, and working with other ceramic artists around the world. They are active members of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) and both expressed their willingness to serve as international ambassadors. This role was filled for many years by ACGA member Barbara Brown. The Board passed a motion to appoint Lee and Guangzhen as International Ambassadors (ayes: 15, abstain: 1). They will continue Barbara Brown’s legacy of inviting and hosting international artists here and arranging visits, exchanges, and events in other countries.

Exhibitions Report

Santa Cruz: Iver continues to explore exhibition opportunities in Santa Cruz.  Plans for a show this year at MK Contemporary are currently on hold as we consider timing and budget considerations. Iver is looking into possibilities at other galleries. He and Jan are also working on a proposal for a show two years from now at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History.

Fresno: Ren reported that the October show in Fresno will be announced soon via a call for entries.  The call will be open to members of ACGA, the San Joaquin Clay & Glass Association, and members of Clay Hand Studios, which is hosting the exhibition.

Treasurer’s Report (Julie)

Presentation of February Financial Package: Total assets as of February 29 were $140,027.  An unusually large portion is in our PayPal account because of incoming festival booth fees.

Un-Budgeted Expenses: Julie proposed that unbudgeted expenses over $1000 should be approved by the Board before the money could be spent. After discussing the dollar amount, the Board voted unanimously that unbudgeted expenses of $500 or more require prior approval via Board Member vote (ayes: 16).

Moving Funds from one Institution to Another: Julie asked for the Board to require her to get Board approval to (1) transfer funds of $2500 or more between banking institutions where ACGA has accounts, and (2) make a one-time transfer of $28,000 from PayPal to our Bank of America accounts. Both motions passed unanimously (ayes: 16).

Request to purchase Quickbooks Online: Julie proposed that ACGA purchase Quickbooks Online to facilitate bookkeeping. A motion to do so passed unanimously (ayes: 16)

Proposal for Bookkeeper & Stipend for General Treasurer & Festival Treasurer (Mari)

            Mari proposed that it would be more cost-effective if Julie takes over as bookkeeper, rather than paying an outside bookkeeper each month. She also proposed paying Julie $300/month as General Treasurer/Bookkeeper, paying April $220/month for 8 months annually as Festival Treasurer, and paying $940/year for Quickbooks Online. Julie and April were in a breakout room during the discussion, and the Board agreed with and approved Mari’s proposals (ayes 14, abstentions 2 (April and Julie)).

 

Festival Update (April)

To date, 110 artists have signed up for the festival. April is confident that eventually we’ll have around 120 artists in total. She is working on a few hiccups with PayPal booth fee payments and GoogleDrive photo uploads.  She is seeking a new publicist/media consultant, as Kathy Maag has recently bowed out.  April is also gathering data on what combination of kiosks, banners, and other signage we can afford to add to the festival this year.

 

The meeting adjourned at 6:48 pm.

Date of Next Meeting: Monday, April 15, 2024, 5:15pm via Zoom