Last year I received positive comments on the annual report I wrote on my activities as Dance Co-ordinator – Scheduling and Set-up, so I've decided to do it again this year. The statistics aren't comparable since this report covers 12 months instead of 15. (Last fiscal year was longer because we moved the elections from October to January.)

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES relating to my position on the dance group board:

DETAILED REPORT (for those who care to read that much):

Since our last annual meeting we have had 56 dances plus Sugar Hill & Swing-into-Spring. Here in Bloomington we are blessed with having a very large number of fine musicians, and some of our bands are as good as any in the country. Nevertheless, responding to favorable comments from dancers and musicians about the variety and energy brought by visiting bands from out of state, I have encouraged visiting bands to come, while checking on their credentials before booking them. During this period we have had 6 bands which are entirely or partly from outside Bloomington and Indy, and we have had 6 callers from outside Bloomington and Indy. We currently have 5 bands and callers from out of state scheduled in the coming months.

I have been responsible for cleaning up after all dances except for a couple when the party after the dance was at my house. This involves putting away the sound system and securing the building. In some cases it involves transporting the sound system from the location of the dance and storing it. Many people help in varying degrees with clean-up each week, and I want to give special credit to Cliff Emery and David Ernst. Even with all this help I have always been the last person out of the building, which is usually about a half hour after the dance is over.

Most of the set-up has been done by the two Set-Up Dance Co-ordinators, Kevin and Mark. I have been the primary set-up person on a few occasions when they were not available, and have assisted in varying amounts at most other dances.

Assisting with monthly flier and Orange Sheet production

I have worked with the Communications Co-ordinator in preparing and mailing the monthly flier. In most months I prepared the flier for printing, and after editing and approval by the Communications Co-Ordinator, have taken the hard copy of the flier to the printer. The Comm. Co-Ordinator then labels, sorts, and mails them. In a few cases I have labeled and mailed them. I worked co-operatively with the Comm. Co-ordinator to publish the Orange Sheet. Both of us update the database from which the Orange Sheet and flier mailing labels are produced.

Maintaining Web Page and sending E-mail notices

I have maintained the Web page, and I’m pleased to say that it has been consistently up-to-date, which is often not the case with volunteer organizations. Since I have been doing it, several new features have been added. I also maintain extensive E-mail lists totaling about 350 addresses which I use to send notices of upcoming events. The lists are arranged by distance so that people don't become desensitized or remove themselves from the lists because of receiving a lot of e-mails that don't apply to them.

Maintaining the sound system

We have a good sound system. It is well suited to the use we make of it, and it is robust, withstanding being moved and set up every week. Still, it needs maintenance, and I have done this including repairing stands, re-soldering cords, taking equipment to the repair shop, and purchasing replacement parts when stands, cords, mics., etc. wear out. I have also had our old sound board (that we used prior to this one) repaired so that if our sound board were to fail during a dance we could use the old one as a back-up.

I have provided substantial assistance with Sugar Hill and Swing-into-Spring. This includes help with planning, renting the facility, purchase of food and supplies, hauling and setting up the sound system and other supplies, cooking, clean-up, assisting the SH Co-ordinators in dealing with problems during the event, and storing supplies for next year. Last year I spend over 60 hours working on Sugar Hill during that week, and that does not count the time I spent dancing, sleeping, and eating while at Sugar Hill.

Serving as a liaison with Harmony School

Along with Priscilla and David, I have worked with the Harmony School administration to ensure that their needs are met and situations are dealt with as they arise. This year we had particular problems with scratching of the floor varnish. Priscilla was our primary contact on this issue, but I was also involved in working with the school to mitigate the damage and in finding information about more durable floor finishes which could be used. Communicating the seriousness of the situation to the dancers was especially important.

Booking alternate dance locations

I negotiated with both the Boys & Girls Club and the Waldron Center regarding the summer for the dance and made arrangements for the dance to be held at the B & G Club during July and August 2008 and 2009. This past year we did not need to move the dance to another location except during the summer.

Several times during the year when the treasurer or assistant treasurer have not been available, I have paid the stipends and travel allowances to the band and taken custody of cash until the treasurer is available.

Bill

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