MEMPHIS AREA BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATION

MEMBERS MEETING

July 13, 2006

 

President John Fitzer called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm. President-elect Keith Carter stepped in to chair the meeting so that John could get off to the hospital to be with his wife.

 

12 members were present.

 

Secretary’s Report: (Bob Waters). The June minutes were approved; minor editorial corrections will be made.

 

Treasurer’s Report: Bill Dutton (no report)

 

Committee Reports:

   Communications – Duke Walker (no report)

 

      Yahoo News Group – Mike Albert

The News Group is free flowing (un-moderated) again so whatever you contribute gets distributed to the entire group.

Mike indicated that everyone who requests to join the News Group is first screened to determine whether they have an interest bluegrass and in MABA before the are allowed access to the group. Several out of state requests were rejected this month.

 

      Website – Keith Carter

         Everything is running smoothly.

 

        NewsGrass – Duke Walker (no report)

Sam Ketchum reported that a second mailing of NewsGrass was sent out on July11th since the UT Copy Center did not have enough paper during the first printing.

 

   Activities – Gordon Jones

The MABA Annual Picnic will be held on Saturday September 16th at the MidSouth Baptist Conference Center at Rocky Point. By unanimous vote, the band scramble will be reintroduced at this year’s picnic. Thanks again to Jim Phillips and Mike Albert for the initial idea of the band scramble.

 

Riverfest will be held at Mud Island on Saturday October 14th.

 

 

   Regulatory – James Johnson

Nothing to report this month which is really good news.

 

   Membership – Maureen Fitzer

Sam Ketchum reported that two new college students joined MABA this month.

 

   Education Steve Craig (no report)

Sam Ketchum reported that Steve Craig will do a bass workshop in the near future. A mandolin workshop is also planned.

      Tom Hood will teach advanced guitar chords on the 1st Saturday of the month.

 

   GRASS – Beth Mays

Beth is collecting health kits for United Methodist Corp of Relief (UMCOR). These kits will be distributed to hurricane and tornado victims. MABA members will assemble the kits together from a list items (hand towel, toothbrush, soap …) specified by UMCOR. MABA was asked to commit to 10 bags, but Beth would like to collect 100 or more. Items are needed by August 26th. Gallon size Ziploc bags will be handed out at the Saturday jams along with the list of items.

 

A motion was made and passed to support Reelfoot Rural Ministries again this year. MABA will donate $250. Reelfoot is located in Lake County, in Northwest Tennessee. The donation will be used to assist with clothing, food, school supplies. Many of the families living in this region are extremely poor, and this donation fits well within the MABA goal of proving rural assistance to needy families.

 

   Lucy Opry – Beth Mays and Woody Marshall

Chris Stuart and Back Country performed at BPACC on July 8th before an audience of more than 130 attendees. The band received rave reviews from MABA members for their wonderful harmonies and originality of their music. Chris Stuart wrote most of the songs they performed.

 

MABA bought 30 tickets to the Chris Stuart performance to be used by the international students association at Christian Brothers University. As it turned out, the students had little interest in attending so the tickets were given to Kings and Daughters Retirement/Nursing Home across the street from BPACC. However, the tickets were placed in a drawer and never dispersed to the residents. Beth indicated that she would be willing to make arrangements in the future for individuals or groups that might not be in a position to afford tickets to be able to attend the Lucy.

 

Claire Lynch will be at the Lucy Opry on August 5th.

 

 

   Welcoming/Caring – Loyce Smith, Jo Edith & James Hudson, Erna Wheeley

Four cards were sent out this month.

 

Old Business:

President Fitzer obtained an application form over the Web for MABA to join IBMA. He also learned that rental rates at the Renaissance would cost $144 per/night for IBMA on September 29th and 30th should MABA be interested in securing a room during IBMA.

 

President Fitzer will obtain an application form for MABA to join SPBGMA.

 

Space and Facilities Committee: Committee chairman, Keith Carter, is still looking for a place for MABA to meet on Saturdays.

 

President Fitzer spoke with individuals at the Germantown Historical Commission and told them that their festival date conflicted with the MABA fall picnic, but that he would still try and recruit some MABA bands to play in Germantown.

 

New Business:

 

A motion was made and passed to have Bob Waters fill the position of MABA Secretary for the remainder of the year.

 

A motion was made and passed to have Maureen Fitzer to fill the position of MABA Membership Chairman for the remainder of the year.

 

President Fitzer received a complaint from the Lord of Life Lutheran Church custodian about children running on furniture and making a mess in the bathrooms.

 

Keith and/or John will speak to members when they take the collection at the Saturday jam about the MABA policy regarding the parents’ responsibility at MABA functions.

 

A recent altercation in Slow Jam resulted in a lively discussion about how best to handle such situations in the future. While opinions differed from loss of membership privileges to a look the other way policy, it was agreed that President Fitzer and/or President-elect Carter would talk to the individuals involved and make clear that this type of behavior is unacceptable and could lead to not being welcome at MABA functions.

 

Meeting adjourned by President-elect Carter at 8:24 pm.