PCD Annual Membership Meeting Notes - 7 December 2021

 Portland Community Dance held its Annual Membership Meeting on Tuesday December 7, 2021, at 7PM on Zoom.

Participants:

Deb Grant (Facilitator), Kari Prichard, Jimmie Prichard, John Boynton (Notetaker), Martin Steingesser, Judy Tierney, Rudy Gabrielson, Mary Ellen (Mellen) Deschenes, Marion Knox (timekeeper), Rebecca Booth, Shelagh Reiser, Lindy Ost, Blair Fridgen (Vibe checker), Elizabeth (Lilly) Nolan, Lori Harley.

With 18 attendees, we met quorum of 10% of our 136 current members.

Agenda:

1. Ingathering - Martin & Rudy
2. Summary of 2021 - Blair
3. Finance - John
4. Racial Equity meetings - Mellen
5. Space - Kari
6. When Can We Dance - Rudy
7. Thank outgoing officers / board
• Blair Fridgen, President
• Oracle Miller, Secretary
• Tree Tenney, Treasurer
8. New Year's Eve / Day (added during meeting) - Lindy
9. Elect new officers / board
• Mary Ellen Deschenes, President
• John Boynton, Secretary
• Lori Harley, Treasurer
10. Outgathering/adjourn

Meeting:

Ingathering

Martin and Rudy offered a poem accompanied by piano.

Summary of 2021

Blair gave highlights of 2021.

Finance 

John shared his screen for a Finance report, showing gradual decline in our account balance and a discussion of our costs and income. PCD now accepts Venmo payments, and has a QR code displayed at the greeter's table for that purpose, which one dancer was able to verify that he could successfully make a donation via Venmo.

Racial Equity meetings

Mellen summarized the Racial Equity meetings that PCD has been conducting. Group facilitation rotates among participants, and the group usually considers a particular question for focus, for example looking at how and where we first learned about race, and the impact that has had.

Space

Kari summarized our experience with Ketcha Outdoors (formerly Camp Ketcha), who have been very accommodating to our needs, and have been great to work with.

When can we Dance

Rudy summarized the proceedings of the When Can We Dance committee, who are now Rudy, Kari, Rebecca. (Bart and Oracle also contributed, but are no longer participating.) The group have been monitoring the Covid infection rate in Maine and changing guidelines from the Maine CDC and developing proposals for consideration by Meraki on when might return to indoor dance, and under what conditions or restrictions.

The group has recommended that we won't dance inside until the daily infection rate is below 10 new cases per day, and as of the meeting, the daily infection rate is over 500 per day.

The group decided to open up the discussion beyond the confines of the original committee membership, and invited new members for a broader perspective, to meet on Thursday Dec 9 at 7PM. New committee members who indicated their interest will be Alban, John, Julie, Jeff, Lori, Shelagh, and Martin.

Rudy recognized and thanked former committee members Bart and Oracle for their perspectives and input.

Thank You to Outgoing Officers

We thanked outgoing officers Blair, Tree, and Oracle, for their service to PCD. Deb made particular note of Oracle, who recently resigned as Secretary and as a member of PCD, for the strong role he played in introducing the Formal Consensus process, and for his assiduous attention to matters of process.

The group expressed thanks to

• Deb for her facilitation of this and many Meraki meetings,
• Mellen for making regular announcements,
• John for his back-office contributions, 
• Kari for her work with Ketcha,
• Wizengamot (operations committee) members Blair, Kari, Jimmie, Lilly, Sunshine, Tim, and Lori, 
• DJs Kellie, Jason, Chloe, Parks, Deb, and the rest of the DJ crew,
• Jason for his work with equipment and customizing our current equipment cart, and
• everyone who has helped PDC to put on our dances and keep the community vibrant.

New Year's Eve / Day

Lindy mentioned that we hadn't planned anything yet for New Year's Eve or Day, and with the timing of New Year's Day on Saturday this year, the suggestion was made to reach out to Christa, who holds a regular Saturday (non-PCD) dance, to see if she is holding her dance on the Saturday of January 1, with the idea that PCD members could dance with her group if they were seeking New Year's dance opportunities.

Officer / board elections

We elected the following new officers and board members:

• Mellen Deschenes, President (beginning January 1 2022)
• John Boynton, Secretary
• Lori Harley, Treasurer

Lori and John's positions take effect immediately, and Mellen will be able to serve as President beginning in 2022.

Future Meetings

We scheduled future Meraki meetings for Jan 18 and Feb 15. (Update: Jan 18 meeting rescheduled for January 4, so Meraki can consider When Can We Dance proposal before the first scheduled dance in January)

Tentative agenda:

• Collecting donations - in light of the slow decline of our balance, do we need to make changes?
• When Can We Dance? - committee update / proposal
• DJ update - do we still have enough DJ juice to keep dance going?
• How's it going at Ketcha?
• How We Roll - a review/update of the Meraki meeting process

 Outgathering/adjourn

Martin and Rudy performed a brief reprise of their ingathering poetry/piano piece.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM.