Grissom Band Parents Association
Regular Meeting Minutes

Monday, February 27, 2006

Board Members (2005-2006)
Name	Office	Attendance
Cherry Hovik	President	Present
Jim Gatherer	1st Vice President	Present
Laura Mollere	2nd Vice President	Present
Mary Setzer	Treasurer	Present
Teresa Montgomery	Treasurer	Present
Rex Simmons	Secretary	Present
Bill Connell	Director	Present
Theo Vernon	Director	Present

Call-To-Order: 7:02 PM

• President's Report
  • A motion to approve January meeting minutes was given by Jim Krenn, second by Kristy Fugit. Minutes were approved.
  • John Wilson reported that season football tickets will not be available starting next year. All tickets must be purchased at the gate. Everyone should come early to avoid standing in long ticket lines. Parking has also been raised to $3.
  • The board has discussed the situation regarding the spring trip cancellation. Many reasons have been given for why many students did not sign up to go, but no one is really sure what the overriding reason is. Parents are encouraged to share their thoughts by emailing Cherry and explaining why their student did not choose to attend this year's trip.
  • Dean Stone is heading up the nominating committee for next year's board. Forms are available for nominating people to the board, and the committee will review those and meet before the March meeting to put a final list of candidates together. Additional nominations will also be taken from the floor at the March meeting when the candidate list is presented.
• Directors' Report
  • The bands will be going to Huntsville High on March 14^th for State Competition. Alternate performance date will be the 13^th. State will run from 8 AM to 6:30 PM on both days. There is no admission charge.
  • District Honor Band went well, with many positive comments about the students. All-State will be in Auburn on April 20^th-22^nd and will cost $135/student. We will use a school bus instead of a charter to save money.
  • The spring trip has unfortunately been canceled for all bands except Sym I and A Jazz due to lack of participation from students in the other bands. We had no choice due to insufficient instrumentation in the other bands, and it's impractical to combine bands. This is the first time GHS has ever had to do this. Low participation was noted as early as November and several notices were put in the newsletters to encourage students to sign up or risk having the trip canceled. This is a problem that exists at many other schools as well. For students who signed up and now are not traveling, FULL REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN. By taking Sym I and A Jazz, a complete cancellation was avoided which would've cost $150/student in cancellation fees. The school won't allow students who aren't performing to go along "for fun," so that was not an option. A few chaperones are still needed for the bands going on the spring trip, which is now to San Antonio. Travel dates have not changed.
  • We are looking into traveling every other year in the future to avoid trip cancellations like this year. Seniors will take a small trip on off years. We're also considering a non-binding travel contract for students to encourage participation and better determine participation levels. Will also try to have travel plans together sooner so families can make plans further in advance. Next year will be a no-travel year.
  • Feedback from students mostly indicated that they were disinterested in the trip. Parents at the meeting strongly suggested that we do a survey and find out exactly why other families chose not to participate. Parents should send suggestions to the directors for what should be on the trip survey. It was also suggested that trips should be required, not optional.
  • A Jazz will find out by March 2^nd if they are accepted for the Ellington Festival in NYC. If accepted, travel will occur right after GHS graduation.
  • A pancake breakfast will be held at Ruby Tuesday on March 4^th from 7 AM to 9:30 AM, with trombones and baritones working. Students should arrive by 6:30 AM.
• Treasurers' Report
  • Account statements were made available for all students. Students whose trips were canceled have already had their accounts credited. A form is available to indicate how the account balance should be handled. Balance can be refunded or carried forward to next year. Refunds need to be processed promptly. The final trip cost for students still traveling will be emailed to everyone later.
  • Final profit figure for the Expo is around $6000, which is very good for the first year. The investments this year should improve profit for future Expos.
• First VP Committee Reports
  • Banquet
    Still need adult help, sign-up sheet is available. Especially need parents of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to help so senior parents can enjoy the banquet. Susan Field still needs photos, both digital and prints are acceptable.
  • Concerts
    Thanks to everyone who helped with District, which went very well.
  • Hospitality
    Thanks for help with winter guard camp and District.
  • Guard
    Winter guard competition in Bessemer went well. They placed 2^nd to UA.
  • Uniforms
    Thanks for all the help on fitting night.
  • Chaperones
    Might need some help with the one-way trip from school to Huntsville High for State Competition, if buses are even used.
  • Trucks
    Need drivers for State Competition and graduation.
• Second VP Committee Reports
  • Fruit
    Looking for a new grower for next year. Had to make a minimum order in January, and O'Dell had the wrong date for the February sale and had no fruit to send us. Fruit available later in February is a kind that doesn't sell well, so all remaining sales have been canceled for this school year.
  • Scrip
    Received $8000 to date.
  • Grants
    Working on feasibility study involving the installation of a new cell tower behind GHS to raise money.

Adjournment: 8:13 PM