No-Quorum Meraki-ish Meeting Notes for 9/19/23

At the September 29 2023 Meraki meeting, we failed to reach a quorum of 6 attendees. We did however discuss Meraki topics, and notes of those discussions are worth posting.

Attending: Mellen, Deb (Facilitating), Lily (Timekeeping), Eva (Vibes), John (Notes) (No quorum)

Thanks to Deb for her notes, with edits by John:

• 2023 Annual Membership Meeting: Sunday December 3 after dance. We need a facilitator for this.
• Board and Officers Recruitment for next term: We still need to recruit. Deb is willing to be president and would enjoy. Historically the outgoing president has had the role in feeling out who might step in.
• Where can we dance update: Kari finally got a list of contacts for the area community centers and will get right on that tomorrow. She is sending a Use of Building Facilities form to the Westbrook School Department. Eva brought up Red Bank Center in SoPo.
• Sound system loudness update. The hand held and wall meter are fairly synched. Aiming for sustained limit of 85 dB on the wall. Went well so far, although it did pop up above 85 a few times….we’ll continue to note how this is going.
• 10th Anniversary celebration planning. An announcement will go out 2 additional times.
• 2024 Retreat: Oct 18-20 2024. Prez needs to sign contract. Prices up a little bit but fine. Additional membership fee ($125) also. March 2024 we could do a full retreat in March but no heat in Rowland rooms, so that seems like a bad idea. Idea of doing a day-long “mini-retreat,” holding an indoors long dance + potluck: we will discuss this idea next time. 
• DJ update: We are taking a slightly different approach to training DJs than we have in the past, one that happens in phases. Starting with training people around creating setlists in the spirit of PCD's vibe, and following a five rhythms structure to some degree.  When or if our core DJ trainers feel confident that the person is a good match for the job with song selection/ordering, etc. there would be a debut set alongside a PCD DJ who will mix your music if you don't know how (and show you some of the ropes).  After that, if things are still looking good, and the DJ is following through, seems reliable, and is responsive to feedback, etc. there would be a second (solo) debut when ready. Followed by feedback from participating DJs and a determination about whether or how we are holding the new DJ based on need and ability.
• Add to agenda for next time, proposed by John in light of the increased costs to DJ’s to run their music and in light of our financial health: Increase DJ fee.