SUNLAND SONGSTERS OFFICERS MEETING- MARCH 19,2026

The meeting was held at the home of Carolyn Dorn, Club Treasurer.  All four officers were present: Paul Meiners, President; Bill Blewster, Vice President; Carolyn Dorn, Treasurer; Mike Boes, Secretary.

BUSINESS ITEMS

-Usage of songster websites, .com and .org and the costs to maintain each site.  The 2 sites mirror each other.  It was agreed by all that it is unnecessary to maintain both sites because they are redundant.  That way we pay for maintenance of just one site and avoid the expense of maintaining both.  The board unanimously agreed to keep the .org site and terminate the .com site.  Paul will consult with Kevin Tracy to insure the decision does not create any unintended issues before cancelling the .com site.
-Flowers for the Director and the Piano Accompanist will be purchased by Cindy Daniels.  We will also purchase flowers for Sandy Weins this time.  All of the bouquets that will be presented are to show the club’s appreciation for all the work these individuals do.
-New contracts for the Director and Piano Accompanist were discussed for the Christmas, 2026 and Spring, 2027 concert sessions.  All were in favor of raising compensation for the Director from $2000 per session to $2100.  The piano accompanist will be raised from $1,750 per session to $1,850.  The contracts for Jung and Susan will be presented to them by Paul.
-The calendar for the Christmas 2026 and Spring 2027 concerts and practices, etc. was discussed.  Carolyn presented a proposed calendar for each session with practices beginning on October 1, 2026 for the Christmas concert, which will be performed on December 5 and 6, 2026.  Practices begin on January 14, 2027 for the Spring concert which will be performed on March 20 and 21, 2027.  The board approved the proposed calendar.  
-Hiring additional musicians again for the upcoming concerts was approved by the board.  These include drummer and others such as flutist, violinist, trumpeter, saxophonist, etc as deemed appropriate for the music in each concert.
-Carolyn, club treasurer, provides financial reports on a quarterly basis to the Sunland Village HOA.  The HOA also requests that Sunland clubs make annual charitable contributions to the Sunland Village community.  The board agreed to purchase a collapsible wheelchair for the Auditorium.  The board will look for additional options for the upcoming fiscal year.  The expected contribution amounts appear to be in the $1,000 to $2,000 range each year.
-ASCAP documentation and fees were discussed. Fees are paid by the club treasurer.  They are calculated using a formula provided by ASCAP and the fees will vary for each concert.  We are current on our payments and will continue to report information and monies for fees as required by ASCAP.
-Songster membership fees and future concert ticket prices were discussed.  The board agreed to leave membership fees at $20 per session and to keep concert ticket prices at $10 per person attending.
-Concert slides have been produced by Don Cook as a service to the club.  Don has not yet decided if he will continue to do this for future concerts.  If he decides not to, the club will need to locate a new source for the slides.
-Potential dates for a fundraiser for the new fiscal year have been obtained by Paul from the HOA office.  The potential dates are January 23, 2027 or February 6, 2027.  If we elect to not do a fundraiser this fiscal year, the date reserved with the HOA can be cancelled, but we should do this asap, and at least a month before the scheduled date.  Mark Lucas and the Rhythm Cats are interested in performing for the fundraiser again.
-We use a service called Worldpay which provides access to credit card processing.  This was used frequently for the fundraiser because of the higher ticket prices.  We did not us e for the Songster Spring concert.  Carolyn provided the amounts we paid to use this service.
-Committee News- It was discussed that the vice president is in charge of oversight of the various Songsters club committees.  The club will need a new Nomination committee leader as LuLu has decided to retire from the club.  The next committee signup opportunity for members will be in October, 2026.
-Carolyn provided bank balance and financial information to the board.  The board reviewed all income and expense items for the new budget.  Adjustments were agreed on for several line items.  Carolyn will factor these into the budget for the new fiscal period and provide a new budget report. The club is currently in a favorable financial position and has sufficient funds on hand to conduct the upcoming Christmas, 2026 and Spring, 2027 concerts.

Respectfully,
Mike Boes
Secretary