2013 Board November

HEARD BOARD MEETING
NOVEMBER 13, 2013

President Rod Passmore called the meeting to order at 9:30 am on Wednesday, November 13, 2013.

ATTENDEES:

Rod Passmore, Susan Kolman, Jack Brock, Cathy and Hank Short, Sue Snyder, Judy Pykare, Dave Newark, Diane Leonte, Reta Severtson, Shelley Mowry, Pat Kilburn, Richard Borgmann, Carol Gunn, and Linda Hefter. Special guests were James Pepper Henry, John Bulla, and Mark Scarp from the Heard Museum. Jerry Bryan was absent.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Hank Short made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 9, 2013 Board Meeting. It was seconded by Dave Newark and approved by all.

PRESIDENT’S REMARKS:

Rod congratulated Shelley Mowry for the outstanding job she did on the recent Santa Fe tour. He praised Lucille Shanahan for the great job she did on the Staff Appreciation Luncheon. One hundred and thirteen people attended including Director Jim Pepper Henry and John Bulla. He thanked Cathy Short and Sandie Straub for the wonderful job they did on hospitality at both Weaver’s Market and Spanish Market. He welcomed Mark Scarp as the permanent replacement for Ashley LaGravinese who has decided to stay home with her new baby. We wish her well and welcome Mark as the Guild Liaison as well as Fair Liaison. Rod also announced that Rob Lamar will be the replacement for Mitch Miller who has moved to California. Rob will be here thru Indian Fair and Market. A permanent replacement will be named by the end of May.

DIRECTOR’S REMARKS:

Director James Pepper Henry was happy to report that over two hundred people attended the Veteran’s Day activities on November 11th. It was covered by several of the local television channels. The Director took part in the ceremonies with a traditional dance. He hopes to expand the activities next year with a Pow- wow and a gourd dance. He would like to include a Sunset tribute and an oral history component. There would be postings on social media and possibly a musical group.

He reported that the Mercado de las Artes had better statistics this year because of a system of issuing wrist bands as people entered. Saturday’s attendance was 1815 and Sunday’s attendance was 1351 for a total of 3166 people. There was no fee to enter but 737 people gave a suggested donation of $10 or more. Fifty-eight vendors had $104,000 in art sales. The shop sold $27,000 on Saturday and $13,000 on Sunday. Dr. Pepper Henry would like to expand next year by adding more performances at the market and to incorporate more Day of the Dead activities.

As to the Weaver’s Market the sales were at $18,900 (19 rugs were sold) which was about half of the previous year’s sales. The shop sold $30,000. The Weaver’s Market was held this year on the same day as the Navajo rug auction at Pueblo Grande Museum. Next year the Director would like to incorporate more demonstrations such as wool dyeing. There may be some things we can to as far as scheduling and conflicts with other venues. For example, the Devoured Culinary Classic event at the Phoenix Art Museum is the same weekend, March 1st and 2nd, 2014, as the Indian Fair and Market.

Dr. Pepper Henry said that plans for the Lego Exhibit are progressing nicely. Local artists are being involved in the design process. He is working with Legos with the hopes of an endorsement. A May opening is planned.

He also talked of possible work with the Matisse Museum in France down the road in 2015. The Matisse Museum features Yupik masks and Aleutian works. He is also interested in investigating a Frida Kahlo show in connection with Spanish Market.

He reported that the Heard is working on Strategic Planning with Bob Berendt. Some ideas are:

  1. The Heard has applied to the Piper Foundation for an institutional planning grant. A questionnaire will be sent to Guild members after the first of the year.
  2. The goal of the questionnaire is to present the results to the BOT by May.
  3. The Heard is working with ASU/Michael Crow to establish a relationship with ASU.
  4. The Heard is working on a memorandum of agreement with ASU that would include workers, database, facilities and classes.

We thank the Director for attending the Board Meeting and sharing this information.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

Treasurer Jack Brock reported that the Treasurer’s accounts totaled $127,164 as of October 31, 2013. Of this, $71,452 is in Restricted Funds- Special Events is $11,000, Student Art Workshop is $14,257 and Scholarship/Grant is $46,195. Unrestricted Funds are $55,711.

Jack reminded the Board that every contract signed by the Guild obligates the Museum. We are now in line with the auditor’s requirements. In the future, any contract of $7500 or more needs to go thru the CFO, Carlos Rojas of the HM.

GUILD LIAISON:

Mark Scarp noted that requests for help have been much smoother due to less last minute needs. There will be a “Chocolate Tasting Event and Fashion Show” on Friday, January 31st from 5-9 pm. Evit School of Mesa will help with the event. Susan Kolman is in charge of the event. Tickets are $35-$45. Sales to members will be Dec. 2-8 at $35. On Dec. 9th sales will open to the public for $45. Last year’s show was very successful and a lot of fun.

STUDENT ART SHOW AND SALE:

John Bulla, Vice President of Museum Operations, was present to discuss some changes in SASS for 2014. Sue Snyder, Chair of the SASS, asked if there could be a change in the practice of charging Museum admission to people attending the sale. Committee members feel that the cost reduces the number of attendees. John said that would be possible if we had everyone enter and leave at the Eastside doors of Monte Vista. It was decided to make the change. John was also asked to make suggestions for the use of Monte Vista since the remodeling will affect the amount of wall space for the hanging of artwork. John said that no objects can be hung on the walls and therefore our option would be the use of standing panels. We have approximately 32-34 panels and he recommended that we will need about 20 more. He said these will be purchased by the Museum. Sue and her committee will tour the room with John to make these preparations. A check will be made of the existing hardware of which there seems to be an abundance. John brought up the possibility of the use of a “video board” that could be displayed on a continuous loop due to the new equipment available in Monte Vista. The event should be exciting with the opening of the Houser Show on the same night as the Opening and Silent Auction for SA. Both events happen on Fri. April 4th.

LONG-RANGE PLANNING:

Dave Newark reported that on November 5, 2013, Rod, Jack, Dave and Linda Muzzy of the Guild and James Pepper Henry and Bob Berendt, consultant, participated in a preliminary meeting of the HM Strategic Planning effort. The Heard is looking to develop a comprehensive three year plan with yearly reviews that will be used to drive decision making and budgeting. Rod gave an overview including the demographics of the Guild.

Dave Newark is also working on defining a mission and vision for the IF+M since both don’t currently exist. The current focus is to define the team and schedule some meetings to complete the task. The results will be brought to the Guild Board for review, discussion and approval. Proposed Team Members are: Pat Kilburn, Dave Newark, Susan Kolman, Jack Brock, Shelley Mowry and Native American artists, gallery owners, and Museum staff. A goal of presentation to the Guild Board in January 2014 is targeted.

MEMBERSHIP:

Carol Gunn reported problems with the fact that HM membership fees are due at irregular intervals while Guild fees are all due at one time. Notice for Guild dues are sent out in May and due back by August. It is felt that by syncing both dates we would have more dues current rather than uncollected. We also discussed the fact that dues do not cover all the expenses that they were intended to cover. Jack will conduct a study of possible changes in dues, dues structure and the possibility of Guild dues being collected by the Museum at the time of Museum dues renewal. At this time we have 362 members, 84 associate members and 30 honorary members.

BYLAW AND POLICY CHANGES:

At this time we are unable to vote on the proposed Bylaw changes made at the October Board Meeting because they were not published in the last Artifacts to fulfill the thirty day notice requirement. An email will go out to notify the Guild membership before the November Guild meeting that the vote will be postponed. There will be a meeting on Wednesday, December 11th from 10-11 am in Encanto where pros and cons can be discussed before a vote at the January Guild meeting since there is no December Guild Meeting.

COORDINATOR REPORTS:

MUSEUM SERVICES

Shelley Mowry reports

  1. Library-The library has several new volunteers.
  2. Shop-Donita Beckham has two new volunteers for the Shop and is always looking for more. The Christmas Ornament Market is November 28-December 1st with the trees to be decorated on November 27th. A Volunteer Tune Up will be held on November 20th from 12-2 in MV for Central and North workers. New manuals will be ready for everyone as well as a light lunch.
  3. Joan Jasso of the Information Desk reports that the desk was staffed 64% of the time by volunteers. Joan will be working on sending an email blast to ask for more help and will be presenting a workshop for volunteers. The Info Desk is the “face” of the Museum and is a very important first impression to our guests. Joan, Shelley and Lee Peterson will be working to obtain additional volunteers.
  4. Library Book Sale- Shelley is awaiting an update from Louise Wakem. Shirley Weyand is training volunteers to record and log in books.

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS:

Pat Kilburn reports

Student Art Show and Sale Chair, Sue Snyder has mailed the large colorful postcards instead of large packets to the teachers and schools who have participated in SASS during the last five years. All of the information is available on the Heard website at this time. Thank you to Richard Borgmann for doing this. The dates for the Show are April 4-7, 2014.   We are contacting area high schools that have not previously been a part of our show. Jeanne Eder and Linda Jones are also passing out cards at events they are attending in November and December. Shaliyah Ben sent info cards to schools that have toured the Heard. Jaclyn Roessel sent cards to schools that she has contacts with. Cards will also be sent in January to IF+M artists in hopes they might have children in grades 7-12 who might wish to participate.

A request for donations before year end has been put in Earthsong for November. A letter with the same information will be sent to Guild and Heard members in January. It is hoped that donations will increase this year as they have been down substantially in the past several years.

All grants have been dispersed per Jackie Kemmer.

Linda Jones of Scholarships says several scholarships are pending due to family emergencies which have made it necessary for students to postpone their schooling until January. Linda and Jeanne Eder are working to confirm these late starts or select students from the waiting list.

Notecards reports that volunteers sold at the Weaver’s Market and both days at Spanish Market. Jan and Jim Patton and Joan and George Jasso took charge of the events. They will also do two of three days at Ornament Market. Reta Severtson will be in charge of both days of IF+M. Several packing days have been held and Deb Monroe has volunteered to be in charge of packing. Pat Kilburn and Rita Baker remain in charge of purchasing, sales, customer contacts and order fulfillment.

Indian Fair and Market

Pat Kilburn has been at work lining up all the functions of the Fair. The first meeting with all the Fair Chairs is Nov. 13 at 1:00. The Steering Committee meets monthly. Plans for all areas are moving along well.

PROGRAMS:

Reta Severtson

Reta reports that Shelley Mowry’s recent field trip to the New Mexico Pueblos on Nov. 1-6 yielded $3400 for the Heard with 33 people attending. Shelley has done a great job of planning these trips and is a tremendous asset to the Heard. The next trip is scheduled for March 5, 2014 and will be to Copper Canyon in Mexico. Details will be in the next Artifacts.

David Rothberg has booked Dr. Leonard Ritt for the Nov Guild meeting. He is retired after 31 years of teaching at NAU and will talk about beaded watch pouches.

The Jingle Bell Brunch is on Dec 4th with a 9:30 social time and a 10:00 Potluck brunch. Pat Kilburn will kick off the 2014 IF+M. Six recipients of the Lifetime Volunteer Award will be published in the December Artifacts. Invitations will be placed on chairs at the next meeting with food requests.

Connie Thornton will be assisting Sheila Morris with hospitality at Guild meetings.

Spring Luncheon will be planned by Sara Lieberman and held at the Scottsdale Resort and Conference Center on May 7, 2014.

The Staff Appreciation Luncheon was held on Nov 9th in MV. Lucille Shanahan noted that there was a large turnout of both Staff and Guild. Forty Guild members donated food and or cash feeding about 130 people. Thank you Lucille!

Heard Guild Explorers are planning lots of fun activities. Upcoming are Dec 9th tour of Two Hawks Gallery in Mesa and Jan 22nd talk by Steven Yazzie and Jacob Medders on “Changing Images”.

Cathy Short and Sandra Straub said the Guild provided food for 43 Weavers and their families on Nov 2. They provided breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as sandwiches for the trip home. During Spanish Market, the Guild provided breakfast and snacks as well as coffee for about 54 artists and families. The generosity of the Guild was outstanding and very much appreciated by the committee and artists. It is recommended that the Guild ask the Museum to match the $150 budgeted for Weaver’s Market for the Spanish Market. A suggestion was made for adding Booth Relief in the future. Thanks to Cathy and Sandie for a great job!

EDUCATION

Diane Leonte reports that the Fall Short course had 17 attendees and was very well received. Jackie Kemmer was the instructor and Carol Gunn was the facilitator. It was held at Heard North and there was much interest expressed in volunteer opportunities.

It has been decided that Las Guias will be charged $25 per each new short course. Info is available on the website.

The National Docent Symposium was held in San Francisco over a four day period in Oct. There were about 450 docents and Museum Education Directors from all over the US, Canada and Mexico. Five Las Guias and Jaclyn Roessel attended breakout sessions and heard key note speakers as well as engaging in conversations with other docents. The main takeaway was that all museums are facing much the same problems and are working on new models for training that are Visitor Centered. Linda Hefter and Jaclyn gave a presentation on “How a Small Museum Utilizes Docents in Training and Education”. These NDS people will meet over the year and work on ways to implement what was learned thru Ed Council. Discussion is under way to discuss the feasibility of introducing new touring techniques during the year and to incorporate these ideas starting next year when Jaclyn will begin teaching the new Las Guias class.

New Ideas the Touring Technique Committee will explore:

  1. Implementing Visitor Centered Tour training.
  2. Exploring new techniques for Children’s Tours.
  3. Offering alternative training for younger professionals who would then guide on weekends or evenings.
  4. Structuring ongoing training sessions on touring techniques for all Las Guias.
  5. Selecting and training of mentor LG to help assist in training of new LG.
  6. Developing criteria for the Ed Staff to select candidates for LG training.

This will require careful planning and staged implementation with cooperation between existing LG and the Ed staff to meet the challenges of a changing society of museum visitors.

Speakers Bureau will be arranging for a review of opportunities to be a presenter thru Dorothy Sullivan. John Neurenberg is the new Technical liaison and will assist Dorothy.

 TECHNOLOGY

Richard Borgmann reports that the first meeting of the newly formed Technology Management Committee was held on Oct. 16th. Reorganization details were discussed: Position Descriptions, Open Positions (Photo Album and Social Network), Results of the Job Fair (no takers), and Dave’s expectations for committee members.

Status reports:

  1. IT Equipment-Sue Pappas is doing an inventory of equipment with updates for virus software. She is working on defining Trouble Shooting and Reporting Process and Hot Spots for Student Art and the IF+M which need to be set up.
  2. Las Guias-Kerry Jo Hanstein is working to learn the job with LG.
  3. Database-Jan Ringgenberg is working for SA and reports the DB is stable and she is making mods and corrections. SA will require assistance closer to the show. She will continue work and Rita Baker will work to complete the User’s Manual.
  4. Rita Baker is working on the IF+M artists database making mods and corrections and taking in booth fees from Fair artists. Artists Exhibitors Chair will require assistance as the IF+M approaches.
  5. Communication-Margie Zebell says the Update process appears to work well. We need to work out details on specific Guild and Membership interactions. Margie will encourage the use of HG email aliases. The Technology committee will work to emphasize their use to address potential Privacy issue concerns. This should be champion their use by the Guild whenever possible.
  6. Audio/PowerPoint-John Neurenberg will work with Dorothy Sullivan on Speaker’s Bureau and use of thumb drive and remote controls.
  7. Webmaster, Volusions (Shopping Cart), Volgistics (Member Records)-Richard says that Membership will play a more active role in member records updates and that we need to look at shopping cart use and design. Facebook will be critical to new Guild Website design. Look to recruit backups for all.

HEARD NORTH

Judy Pykare reports that HN will hold an Appraisal Day on Sat. Nov.16th from 10-2.

Our new exhibit, “American Indian Fashion: From Lloyd Kiva New to Now” will open for Circles members on Thur. Nov. 21st. A members’ reception will be held the following night, Fri. Nov.22nd from 6-8 pm. The exhibit will open to the public on Sat. Nov. 23rd highlighted by a talk by our curator, Janet Cantley at 11:30 am.

The HMNS will once again celebrate the holidays with the 5th Annual Ornament Marketplace from Nov 28- Dec 1st.

Meeting adjourned at 11:55.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Snyder,

Secretary