Meeting brought to order by President Dennis Marsh at 9:30 a.m.
This meeting is being recorded. Reminder, when you are on the microphone, this is being recorded. Also, please announce your name before you speak.
ROLL CALL: Recording Secretary, Virginia (Ed) Myers
Officers: All present, except: Judy Gelmstedt & Chuck Bos
Appointed Officers: All present, except: Jim & Avis Kinkaid
Delegates: All present except: Carol Bro and Interstate Highlanders
Active Goodwill Ambassadors: All present except: Ray & Zola Jones and Harold & Barbara Kleve
INVOCATION: Dave Cooper
FLAG SALUTE: 1st Vice President Barbie Cooper
MINUTES:
MOTION was made by Barbie Cooper to approve the minutes as presented. Seconded by John Guches. Motion approved.
OFFICERS REPORTS:
PRESIDENT: Dennis Marsh (Ilana Widders)
Good morning. I would like to thank Jim & Kay and Tim and Kathy for a wonderful dance last night, even though Ilana and I could not be here for the entire weekend due to the memorial service we attended for one of our club members. We have heard nothing but good words for your festival; job well done. (Applause.)
I would like to try something for the next two meetings. Placed in front of you, you have a paddle with a green and red side, red will be "No" when you're voting and green will be "Yes." At the last State meeting, at some times it was hard to see whose hand was up and who wasn't. So when we're voting, I would like you to get a little higher in the air so we can read it and get your vote quicker.
1ST VICE PRESIDENT: Barbie Cooper (Dave)
Thank you to all of the OREGON Federated Officers & Committee members, and a SPECIAL "Thank You" to Jim & Kay and Tim & Kathy for all your effort and work on this wonderful Summer Festival! (Applause.)
I know everyone always talks about where they have been dancing and what clubs they have visited but I have decided to share something very different in my report this morning!
Callers and Cuers is the subject and just how few we have in Oregon. We had the privilege of spending a week and half with 4 (yes, 4) National Callers over the 4th of July weekend at Circle 8 Ranch in Cle Elum, Washington (if you ever have the opportunity to go there, go it was an outstanding weekend. While we were there, it really opened our eyes. I was just amazed. We had an opportunity to spend a wonderful, wonderful time with 4 national callers. We have approximately 90 Clubs in the State of Oregon and only 51 Callers and 45 Cuers. Personally, I was quite surprised about that. So that means that most of these Callers and Cuers work for more then one club, so when we say we need to help promote Square and Round Dancing in the State of Oregon for more dancers, we also really need to help to get new callers and new cuers. We need to have them trained to call and cue dances and to teach lessons so our activity continues to grow.
I challenge all Clubs, Councils and the Board to help sponsor individuals interested in becoming a leader in teaching or calling or cueing by helping to offset the fees with scholarships. I personally feel that this will really help promote this activity to grow! Clubs and Councils, take the time to visit club members and see if they have some dancers interested in learning to call or cue and then be prepared to send them to an accredited Caller or Cuer School which is sponsored by Callerlab or Roundalab. The state is already looking into the grant program to help offset these costs so we can give a big boost to this activity that has brought us all here today. I would love to hear back from each individual (either by phone call, by e-mail, by a letter) on how they plan to support new callers and cuers!
After speaking with the 4 national callers, one of the callers had been calling for over 40 years, some of them have been calling for 30 years. They all, over their years, said that if you don't have a caller and a cuer at each individual club, that club will not continue to grow. And by looking at the numbers in the State of Oregon, the numbers are dropping down. They already have proven that it works; I think that we all need to jump on board and do whatever it takes to make this happen.
2006 SUMMER FESTIVAL: Co-Chairs: Kay & Jim Rogers and Tim & Kathy Roberts
We enjoyed doing the festival; we had a lot of fun with it and I want to say that I appreciate everybody that came. Thank you all for attending the Summer Festival. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and had a chance to check out the floors we rented. Our advance registration was down this year, but we managed to make a little money in spite of that fact. The final figures are not ready at this time, but we have a pretty good idea. We will be turning over about $2500.00 to the Federation, which is not bad considering we came into this festival with 300 people advance registered. I realize there is a lot of competition in the summer time and I only want to remind you that Summer Festival and Mid-Winter should be sacred to Federation members and encourage your clubs and areas to go dark during that time so that they can support the Federation. This is one of the main functions of having the Federation so that we can all pool together and have a good time over the weekend.
I want you to remember that we had Lee and Barbi Ashwill, Pat and Ted Young, Ron and Marilyn Schmit, Loretta Flint and Del Stobbe, Carolyn and Bob Bosch, Gary and Betty Willoughby, Tim, Kathy and Amanda and Jim and I and that was the total committee. So if we can do it, anybody can do it. Many thanks to our Committee for everything they did to put this together. (Applause)
Amanda Roberts, Youth Coordinator:
Our dancing on the beach with the youth had 7 squares dancing at one time with another 2 dozen standing around and watching. We had more people up on the turnaround watching the square dancers. People who were watching were making comments to square dancers, "Oh that was so cool." So hopefully we will get more square dancers coming into the clubs in this area.
I want to make sure everyone got their fun badges; if you didn't, I have the badges here and you can see me afterwards. I would like to thank SqDini for the badges they made for us and everybody loved them. The adults wanted the teens and the teens wanted the adults sometimes. At the pizza party, we had 17 youth. They all had a great time. We ordered 6 pizzas and we took 2 home. (Applause)
2007 MID-WINTER FESTIVAL: Dan & Ginger Allen
No Report.
2007 SUMMER FESTIVAL: Joyce and Gary Clark
We are here and off to a good start. Our theme is "Seaside's Revvin' in 2007!" It is a 50's theme and we would like to ask the Federation for dispensation for these type of white t-shirts, short sleeves of course, and regular square dance attire for the 2007 Summer Festival.
We have a signed contract with the Seaside Convention Center. We have an agreement with featured callers; it's the Crew minus one or three-quarters Crew with Daryl Clendenin, Les Seeley and Randy Dibble. They will call as a trio and will be in the main hall on Friday and Saturday night as a mainstream-featured event. There will be plus dancing at other times during the weekend, but we're going to feature that trio and have their program only so there will not be any other competition those nights and all the dancers will be in the main hall. We have an agreement with Ken and Dianne Pratt as featured cuer. We will also be using a lot of other Oregon callers and cuers during the weekend.
The Tualatin Valley Council is the sponsor for this event, and we have a good committee with all the clubs taking part in the participation of putting this on. This weekend we have received a lot of good suggestions, or changes and ideas for next year. We are going to incorporate as many of them as we can. We have ribbons to sell. If you haven't signed up, get a registration form from us, fill it out and we will send you your ribbon and/or we will give it to you today. We have sold 8 registrations so far and many have taken the forms; and Lee & Barbie were the first ones to turn in their signed registration form with a check.
We're excited about next year; we really have a good act to follow. It was great being here this year and seeing how things were put together. We have a lot of good advisors and know who to go to for advice on the different things.
2008 MID-WINTER FESTIVAL: Leonard & Marcia Snodgrass
We do have a signed contract back from our featured caller and that will be Stefan Sidholm from Sweden. Some of you have already heard and danced to Stefan in Leavenworth, but those of you who haven't have a real treat in store. We are working on the rest of our featured cuers and prompters and so forth and on our committee rosters. That is where we are right now.
We are looking for more volunteers, especially from the Emerald Empire, and if the Emerald Empire Council, at their next meeting, could talk again about anyone who might want to volunteer for Mid-Winter, we would like to have their names. We need to get our committee dockets full. Our e-mail address is mwf2008@comcast.net. That is how you can reach Leonard or I.
OREGON FEDERATION NEWS: Vivian Fairburn
Barbie Cooper report on POOF Meeting July 15, 2006:
We had a large attendance. It was wonderful to see so many people join in. We had a really enjoyable meeting; we got a lot of information to share.
To summarize, we had presented to us a Contract for the OFN Editor. It had already been approved by the POOF Advisory Board; it has now been signed. The Treasurer has a signed copy of it; he will be making the monthly payments which will be in effect in September. The secretary has a hard copy and an electronic copy, which will be included in the minutes when you receive them. Vivian has the third copy.
The other thing that we talked about was subscription dances. This is something that has gone awry; we used to do these dances all the time. We are presenting the following: There are 13 councils in the State of Oregon and the POOF members would, very much, encourage every Council to host one dance a year for the OFN. We're hoping that you will notify Vivian or one of the state officers as soon as possible which dance you are going to host each year, so we'll know who it is and we will make every attempt to have a state officer at that OFN subscription dance.
This is a contract between the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs (OFSRDC) and the Editor, Oregon Federation News.
Purpose: The production of a news magazine heretofore referred to as the OFN (Oregon Federation News).
Guidelines: The OFN will be produced according to: Section X - Publications of the Practices and Procedures for the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs.
OFN Advisory Committee: This committee consists of three POOF Members (Past Officers of the Oregon Federation) of the OFSRDC (Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs), each of whom serves a 3-year term. As each member completes his/her third year and retires from the OFN Advisory Committee, the incoming President of the OFSRDC appoints his/her replacement on the committee.
This committee shall advise the OFN Editor and take care of emergencies of the magazine in order to maintain production of the magazine. This committee (3) has the right to authorize the expenditure of funds for the production of that magazine as an emergency arm of the POOF's and OFSRDC. The production and operation of the OFN is maintained by the Past Officers of the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs (POOF). The OFN Advisory Board and/or the POOF will maintain a liaison between the OFN Editor and the OFSRDC.
Term of Contract: This contract will be in effect for an indefinite period of time. A call for a review of the contract can be made at any time by the OFN Editor or by the OFSRDC.
Independent Contractor: The OFSRDC will pay $275.00 per month to the OFN Editor. This payment will be made as long as the OFN remains fiscally solvent. The editor will be an independent contractor and will receive an annual 1099 from the OFSRDC.
Staff: The OFN Editor. This position requires approximately 30 to 40 hours per month to complete the outlined duties. Approximately 20 of those hours occur between the 1st and the 8th of each month of production.
Production Schedule: The OFN shall be produced 12 times a year. Eleven (11) issues will consist of a minimum of 40 pages 8 ½ "x 11" and one summer issue may consist of only 32 pages. Additional pages will be added by eight pages at a time.
Job Requirements:
The OFN editor must have his/her own personal computer, printer, scanner and copier. A fax machine may or may not be required. The OFSRDC must acquire and own Microsoft Office Professional, graphics and/or publishing software as needed.
The OFN Editor must have his/her own Internet access and agrees to maintain it at his/her own expense.
The Editor must have a computer support system already in place if needed. (Software and hardware support.)
The Editor needs a thorough working knowledge of:
Microsoft Office Professional products, digital photography, graphics programs, email and internet programs,
Organization newsletters and periodicals,
Post Office rules and requirements,
Knowledge of web press graphics design programs (such as Quark),
Knowledge of printing shop operations and requirements,
The Editor should have a pleasant and outgoing personality. He/she must have the ability to resolve issues and promote the OFN and square dancing. The Editor should have salesmanship skills to market and to "sell" the OFN, including advertising and subscriptions. The Editor should have the necessary skills to motivate the editors from the Area Councils and reporters from the clubs to submit articles and photographs of interest to all dancers.
The Editor must be a professional and maintain the OFN office in a business-like manner. The records must be organized and kept current as if an audit were possible at any time. This professional behavior must be extended to the Federation, Councils, Club's, and to the dancers themselves.
The Editor will be allowed to seek out and recommend contracts for appropriate support services such as those with the capability for graphic design and web press printing. This contract will be reviewed and approved by the POOF Advisory Board referred to the OFSRDC president for signature.
The Editor and the Advisory Board will review the contract between the OFSRDC and the selected graphics designer and publisher every two years. At this time the Advisory Board will: a) allow the contract to stand, b) recommend minor changes to the contract, or c) recommend a solicitation of bids for a new publisher.
The OFN Editor is responsible for:
The gathering of all materials, articles, artwork, advertisements, and photographs of interest to the readership from area councils, clubs, dancers, the State Publicity and State Reporter, and State Officers associated with the OFSRDC and other media sources. The gathering of club articles will be coordinated through the area council editors according to a designated deadline. The information must be available to the Editor by the designated deadline each month.
National Convention: The Editor will provide up to 300 copies (total) of the March, April, May and June OFN issues to the OFSRDC to be used at the Showcase of Ideas at the annual National Square Dance Convention . This will be coordinated through the First Vice-President of the OFSRDC.
Archive: One issue of the OFN will be maintained in an archive and each year's issues of the OFN will be bound for historical purposes and submitted to the Historian of the OFSRDC for safe keeping. One issue of the OFN will be sent to the Knight Library for archival purposes.
Dated this 16th day of July, 2006.
________________________________ _____________________________
Vivian Fairburn, OFN Editor Dennis Marsh, OFSRDC President
Vivian Fairburn:
I have two gift subscriptions for OFN. The first Council that hosts a subscription dance will receive these two gift subscriptions to give away. A year's subscription to the OFN, two of them.
The OFN is still profitable. The fiscal year to date is $33,366 in income and $22,597 in expenses. Total profit to-date is $10,769.
However, before you start figuring out ways to spend that money, we had a paper cost increase as well as a credit from the printer for a price mistake in September. The additional $380 (approximately) per month will be reflected in the coming year.
Our ads are averaging 34.5% per month for the year. Our current expenses (without the credit) are averaging $2,254. Our paid subscriptions average 970 per month. That means that the cost of producing and mailing the OFN is $2.30 per month per subscriber. The subscription rate is $1.25 per month per subscriber. As long as the advertising continues consistently as it has been this year, the OFN can remain profitable for the subscription rate of $15.
We always have extra issues every month (I have 125 or more every month) which are available for all new dancers. It is a good idea to let them have some before the lessons end. They will get used to seeing and using it. Then when (and if) the club gives them a free 3 month subscription, they will be well aware of its value and continue their own subscription. There were many clubs this past year who never asked for free copies. I would encourage the requests for the benefit of the new dancers.
I also would love to have more articles from dancers, more profiles from clubs, and love to have pictures. We try to fit them in as often as we can.
2ND VICE PRESIDENT: Jim & Kay Rogers
We had a good time in San Antonio, even though it was hot. I am still being stalked by the insurance chairman, who seems to show up everywhere I go. The TVC float in the 4th of July parade was well received. It is a lot of fun to see the kids smiling and people enjoying our music and costumes.
RECORDING SECRETARY: Virginia Myers (Ed)
I am very happy to be here this weekend since I had to miss Port Orford. I understand it was a beautiful, sunny weekend. I want to again thank everyone for their kind e-mails and encouragement. I am making good progress even though it seems slow but therapy is going to continue. I won't be square dancing for about a year but I am round dancing; I even did the polka last night even though a lot of people were holding their breath.
I have good news regarding the square dance national liability insurance; the end of June I received notice that the claim was approved and they are paying the balance of the medical bills after Blue Cross. What a relief, the medical bills are up to $35,000 with the orthopedic hardware in my arm and shoulder at $11,115.
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY: Glory Guches (John)
I would like to extend our hearty congratulations on a festival well done. We enjoyed it what little we could go. I have no report this time.
TREASURER: Bill Rooper (Annadale)
Everyone should have a copy of my report. If there are any questions, I would be glad to answer them. I was happy to be here and be able to do a little dancing.
MEMBERSHIP: Judy Gelmstedt (Chuck Bos)
Sorry that we were unable to attend this meeting. Chuck is in the hospital with a hip replacement.
I have received Portland Area Council, Emerald Empire Council, Lincoln Tillamook Area Council, South Coast Council, ORDTA, and Sagebrush Shufflers Club Directory Information. Tualatin Valley Council is complete; I was not available for it to be delivered to me. Thank you to everyone that has responded so far. I am sure everyone else has theirs ready to be turned in today.
Clubs that have not paid their corporation dues as of July 13, 2006 are as follows:
May Past Due:
July Due Dates:
August Due:
September Due Date:
INSURANCE: Kay Rogers (Jim)
I want to remind you from Judy's report that one of the copies of those directory information sheets that you turned in goes to help build the State Directory that's going to be distributed in September. This is the Second Vice-President's job and as his chief assistant, you need to start gathering that information. If you didn't bring it, you're in jeopardy for the State Directory. We need everybody's information.
Thank you for doing such a great job of sending in your new members and special events. Remember and remind your clubs that each new member name needs to be accompanied by a check for $4.10. Jim and I were elected as Western Region Vice President of USDA in San Antonio. We hope you will all take advantage of having the USDA free information pamphlets for your clubs. Let us know if you would like more news about other USDA programs.
PAST PRESIDENT: Dave Cooper (Barbie)
Not much to report at this time. The HORSES benefit proceeds keep coming in, and the amount raised for this year approaches $4,000.00. Thanks to all the councils, clubs, and individuals who donated so generously, making this the biggest donation ever to the Adaptive Riding Institute.
On a personal note, I had the opportunity to attend a caller's school at the Circle 8 ranch in Cle Elum, Washington. I found it to be very challenging, and I hope to continue to improve my skills with the goal to help teach lessons in the Central Oregon area. I had a chance to call at Summer Festival. Don't call me just yet to do a dance, I have a lot to learn!
PARLIAMENTARIAN: Tim Roberts (Kathy)
No report.
FINANCIAL ADVISOR: Mike Odell (Shirley)
I have reviewed Feb. - July '06 OFN ads and compared them to Vivian's audit sheets. With the exception of one full-page ad in July to replace a final (and prepaid) ½ page ad (that was to be in June), all ads seemed to match up properly. Also of note, several prepaid ads are or have been collected.
We might want to consider raising ad rates to adjust for inflation. And perhaps with Vivian's negotiation skills, she might "horse trade" ads with other publications, so as to increase awareness of square and round dance lessons and dances, websites, locations, etc.
PUBLICITY & STATE REPORTER & EDUCATION ADVISOR: Marilyn Schmit (Ron)
It has been a busy couple of months since our last meeting.
We have made the TV ad and the paper ad for Ron's work and the picture from Mid-Winter finally made the July issue of the National Geographic. I have both here to look at.
We attended the Annual Meeting of United Square Dancers of America where Jim and Kay Rogers were elected to the position of Western Region Vice-President. It is the 25th anniversary of USDA and I won the door prize of a red, white, and blue lap blanket.
A young man from the Silver Stars in Vancouver, who belongs to the Oregon Federation, has been awarded a $1000 scholarship from the Youth Committee of USDA and will be attending Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. We congratulate Kobuk Samuel Cleve Kastella on his accomplishment.
Ron and I were one-fourth of the square representing the Oregon Federation in the Parade of States. We were happy to participate and waved to a lot of dancers we knew. Others participating were Ted and Pat Young, Leonard and Marcia Snodgrass, and Jim and Kay Rogers.
By the time the next meeting is held, we will have become grandparents for the 10th time with a new addition in Hillsboro. All of our grandchildren now live in Oregon and we will be able to see them all more frequently.
HISTORIAN: Patty Reese
No report.
BMI/ASCAP: Ralph Lambert (Linda)
Everything is current with both BMI and ASCAP.
I have provided a copy of the memo to the Chair of the 2006 Summer Square Dance Festival for their use in submitting the proper fees. Lee Ashwill being their Treasurer is very prompt and I already have the checks from them. Thank you very much, Lee.
YOUTH ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR: Kathy Roberts (Tim)
My family and I were pleased to present the first Oregon Federation Scholarships to Michael Kious at his Oaky Doaks dance on May 20th. We danced with the Oaky Doaks for about an hour and then drove to Salem to present Victoria Moore her scholarship at her club, the Funtastic Squares. It was an honor to present both scholarships to the students in front of their home clubs.
Barbie & Dave Cooper have presented me with a plaque that the Federation purchased to be displayed in the scholarship recipients' home clubs. Since there are two recipients this year, each club will be able to display the plaque for about 4 ½ months until the end of April, when I will pick it up so that it can be presented to next year's recipients with their scholarships. Thank you, Barbie and Dave, for this wonderful idea.
As you know, thanks to all of you and the generosity of all of the Oregon and Washington dancers, we will be awarding scholarships to qualified seniors each May from now on. This year, as I reported last meeting, we had more applicants than funds. Next year, even more students will have the opportunity to apply, and it would be wonderful if we could help each one of them. We will continue to have our Scholarship Dance in the spring. However, I would like to challenge each council to help us earn more money during the year so we will not have to turn away any of our fantastic students next May. Please ask your councils and clubs to pass the "hat" asking people to donate money for next year's scholarships at some of your dances. If all of the councils and clubs could do this, we would have the opportunity to present more scholarships and, eventually, larger ones. The Silver Stars very generously did this prior to our May Scholarship Dance and earned over $100 for our program. This allowed people who normally may not attend a State Benefit dance to support our Scholarship. If your council or any clubs in your council are able to accept this challenge, I would like you to publicly present the money to the scholarship fund at the next state meetings during your council reports. Thank you in advance for considering this challenge.
Our TVC Youth Dance on May 21st was a well attended dance. There was a lot of energy and everyone had a good time. We were also privileged to hear a couple of outstanding youth callers and cuers.
Our daughter, Amanda, organized a couple of events during Summer Festival this weekend. She was able to tell you about them earlier. Unfortunately we did not have any youth participate in the calling and cueing opportunities during the 2 hour mainstream dance Saturday afternoon. Everyone had a wonderful time; we had Ed Craig, Leonard Snodgrass, George Clark, Harold Kleve as callers and Susan Healea and Dave Cooper as cuers. I could hear comments that they hoped we would try this again next year.
We did not have any youths ask for assistance to attend Summer Festival this year. If you have any youth that would like to attend Mid-Winter or any other state-sponsored square dance activity and cannot afford the fees or ribbons, please contact me. We have scholarships available to help youth dancers.
ORDTA: Dennis Smith (Elaine)
(Report e-mailed on July 17, 2006)
ORDTA met yesterday. There were 8 members and 1 guest in attendance. No official business was conducted due to lack of a quorum.
Those in attendance discussed why members weren't present at the meeting, and why dancing in general is down. One opinion was that the number of dancers and clubs is down because of the drop in the number of callers. This directed the conversation to the drop in the number of cuers and how to recruit new cuers. Several ideas were presented, including online classes.
ORDTA's fall meeting will be held on Saturday, October 7, at 10:00AM at the Emerald Square and Round Dance Center in Springfield.
ROUND DANCE SCREENING: Barbara Schaumburg (Larry)
Oregon Round of the Month
August 2006
RUTHLESS written by: Baldwin's
Phase II Two Step
Chosen by: Blue Mountain Council
September 2006
SWEET LIPS WALTZ written by: Aoyama (Japan)
Phase II + 2 (hover & Impetus)
Chosen by: Central Oregon Council
CALLER ADVISOR: Leonard Snodgrass (Marcia)
I would like to thank the Committee for a great festival this weekend. We had a great time and look forward to coming back again next year. I have no report at this time.
SHOWCASE OF IDEAS: Marilyn Schmit (Ron)
We want to thank Ron and Neta Minten for transporting our Showcase of Ideas display to San Antonio. They took two boxes of Portland books, a big box of OFN's and the picture collage. They also transported the picture display back home for us.
We are in our 16th year of representing the Oregon Federation and plan on doing so at least for another four years. The Oregon Federation will receive a 25-year participation award in 2010. We plan on being on hand to receive that award, as that will make 20 years that we have done the Showcase of Ideas.
San Antonio had us in a location that was off the beaten path so we only got rid of about 15 OFN's and less than 20 of the Portland books. We saw less people than in past years and it slowed down in the late afternoon and Ron and I left the display unmanned at about 4:00 pm each day, which is not our usual way of doing things.
In the next few years, Oregon will request placement next to the Washington Federation so we can promote the bid for 2012 for the National Square Dance Convention. Any ideas for the next showcase are welcome.
STATE TRAILERS: Jim Kinkaid (Avis)
No report.
OFSRDC MEETINGS: Barbie Cooper
I wanted to let you know the upcoming State meeting dates:
MOTION (Jim Rogers): Mr. President, I move that the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs expend $10,400.00 to purchase 4,000 square feet of the plastic, snap-together flooring from Ron Holland, plus 7 rolling carts to hold the flooring.
Discussion:
Jim Rogers: Ron Holland will sell us the used plastic, snap-together flooring for $2.25 per square foot. If we purchase 4,000 square feet, that will be an expenditure of $9,000.00. The rolling carts are $200 each (used); seven will be required to hold 4,000 square feet.
This purchase will pay for itself over a period of time. The flooring would be available for use by both the Mid-Winter Festival and the Summer Festival. As an example of how this flooring will pay for itself, the Summer Festival 2006 will have to rent some of this flooring at a cost of $2,000.00. That will reduce the amount of profit returned to the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs by $2,000.00 as all of the profit from the 2006 Oregon State Summer Festival is to be returned to the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs.
Mr. Holland has agreed to deduct the $2,000 rental fee from the purchase price.
If the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs is successful in bidding for a future National Square Dance Convention®, the flooring could be used for this Convention, thereby reducing the cost of flooring required. This would increase the amount of money returned to the clubs, councils and the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs.
In addition, this flooring could be rented to other Festivals not sponsored by the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs, if the Festivals required additional flooring.
The 54th National Square Dance Convention® Corporation has agreed to store this flooring, without cost, for at least the next 12 years.
Dale Worthington:
For the 7 rolling carts of flooring, how is it usually transported? Do we need a semi to move it or can it be moved with pickup trucks or a trailer?
Kay Rogers:
You were all invited to witness the installation and the take up, delivery and removal of the flooring this weekend to answer any questions that you had. I'm really sorry if you missed that opportunity by helping us. The flooring was taken down this morning and was loaded on the carts, was taken downstairs where Ron Holland is either going to deliver it to Salem or take it home to Tennessee. He is using a three-quarter ton pickup and a trailer. He has a 32' gooseneck trailer which was about half full. He has been doing this for a long time. He said they started out with a flat trailer; you just tie it down and tarp it if it is rainy weather. We unloaded the flooring; we had about 8 to 10 people helping us and it only took us an hour and a half to get both floors down. This morning they were taken up in about a half hour with 4 or 5 people. You can move them with your pickup and a trailer. Remember you may not need the entire 4,000 square feet. We only used 3,200 square feet this weekend and, I believe, we had too much in the round dance floor. Any other questions, let me know.
Mike Odell:
I danced on it and saw other people dance on it. I talked with many people and some of them, and I agree with them, that it isn't the best flooring possible. One guy in our square in the plus hall fell; he tripped over the crack in it or something. Many women told me they didn't like it because their heels get caught in it. I'm thinking that maybe there's something better out there. My wife's hips were feeling hurt so there is something that just doesn't set right with me for $10,000.
Lee Ashwill:
Mike, I appreciate all your comments. My only suggestion is that those people who do not like that floor, we would really like to have them help us install a wood floor in order to keep it in proper perspective for the dancers. We get all the complaints about the tape tripping people and hurting them. So I don't know what other answer there is.
Bill Rooper:
A question in a different area. Assuming the Federation buys this, are the Festivals going to pay rent on it to pay it off or is it going to be free to the Festivals? How is this going to work?
Kay Rogers:
I can't answer that question without absolute authority. That decision hasn't been made by the body. I would believe, in my opinion, that Summer Festival and Mid-Winter would be able to use the flooring at no charge. If we did that in this instance, the Federation would have saved $2,000 that we paid to rent it for our festival. That money would have gone immediately toward the purchase, so with $4,000 a year in savings, it wouldn't take very long to pay off $10,000.
Barbie Cooper:
I had an opportunity to dance on the floor too. My concern is when the ladies are dancing, they are backing up and my heel was getting caught in the square connection each time. It's nice to have the cushion but my feet do not glide on the floor. I spoke with the gentleman individually to find out if there was any other thing that he could do. He said there is a wax that they can put on but there is such a fine line on the application that sometimes it gets too slippery. I was having trouble with my hips too. I agree we need something; my concern is maybe we could postpone this and form a committee to find out if this is the best we can have, and if that's the case, purchase it or is there something else we're not aware of? I agree with everyone that when you tape those wood floors together, it's a pain. I think maybe we need to take a little more time.
Leonard Snodgrass:
There is another option and Lee and Barbie are familiar with it. We have an event at Willamette University called "Puttin' on the Ritz." We have a portable dance floor that we put down. I'm not sure what it costs. It is a parquet floor and has an aluminum frame. Between each of the sections, they're like 3 or 4 foot square sections with a small piece of aluminum underneath it that snaps together. It's really solid, there is no cracks and no chance of getting caught in it. It is an actual parquet floor. I can find out where we got it and how much it costs.
We as square dancers put up with whatever we can get away with rather than say we have the best activity in the world, we need to find the best floor that we can put down and whatever it costs, we find a way to get it. Rather than say we can get this for cheaper, let's go with it and then half the people aren't happy. So when you have an unhappy dancer, they won't come back the next year. If we keep them happy, they will keep coming back. It's worth the extra effort to go for the best.
Sharon Greenman:
I want to ask a question in a different direction entirely. Sunset Area made the remark that it was going to be stored with Mid-Winter. I understood it was suppose to be stored free. Dennis Marsh: That is correct.
Carolyn Bosch:
I would like to put out a challenge to everybody. We're talking about a floor that's going to benefit us all at the Summer and Mid-Winter Festivals. Why don't we put a little can on each of our registration tables and say this is for something that is going to benefit us all, donate a little bit each time and maybe we can afford a wonderful floor then.
Dave Stutzman:
I have a technical question. Is the only appropriate flooring, carpet that this floor can be laid on?
Kay Rogers:
I realize that this floor is not perfect. I concede to that fact. None of the floors that we mentioned is perfect. We don't want to dance on the carpet, we don't want to dance on the cement, we don't want to dance on the deck so floors are very important. I feel this is a good option. If you don't want to take this option, then I think you should form a committee and make a recommendation of what you do want to take. I do want you to keep in mind that there is no perfect answer.
Lavonne Bussey:
I wanted to ask if this is the flooring that has all the different little things all through the middle of the tile, not just on the outside? Kay Rogers: Yes.
Lee Ashwill:
Mr. President, this is Dale Holland.
Dennis Marsh: Welcome Dale
Dale Holland:
Thank you all very much. It's a pleasure to be with you. Any questions I can answer, I will be glad to do what I can.
Dave Stutzman:
I was asking about the installation, whether it could be placed on sub floors rather than the carpet and whether it would be more stable cushioning than we had on the carpet this weekend.
Dale Holland:
More stable in what regard?
Dave Stutzman:
It needs to be more stable or more rigid. There seemed to be a lot of flexibility in the joints on that flooring.
Dale Holland:
Yes, that's built into the flooring to give you a little bit of a cushion. They do make another type which is rigid but, trust me, you do not want it because it will not sit still. This will sit on everything except a long nap carpet. Any time you put it on a real long nap carpet, it tends to walk a little bit but we have found it very rare to see long nap carpet in any of the hotels or installations we have done. We had two installations that the floor walked on us because it was on a brand new carpet that was very long napped, not like the short purpose here. You can put it on concrete. I'm putting it down next week in North Carolina on a running track outside. We have had no problems with it so far. The only problem we have had is on long nap carpet; it tends to walk with the nap.
Ilana Widders:
Could you tell me about the surface like a rough blacktop? Is that like the running track you were talking about? We have a barn that has a rough blacktop. We were wondering how it would sit on that?
Dale Holland:
This is a stone surface running track but we have put it on asphalt. Yes, we have.
Dave Cooper:
This is more for the body than Mr. Holland. At our last meeting, we talked about Mid-Winter Festival had purchased plywood flooring from the Nationals. If this body decides to buy this flooring, it appears to me that we could be partly reimbursed because I'm pretty sure that the cost of the flooring that Mid-Winter Festival purchased, this body paid half of it because that came off the profit for Mid-Winter. If we buy this flooring and they sell the plywood floor, then this body should get half of the money that that floor is sold for.
Kathy Roberts:
There were some comments before you came into the room where there was concern about the width of the crack, where some of the ladies high heels would get caught in the width of the crack. Do you have some other dance floor material that does not have that crack or could you recommend a different material that you may have that would not have that crack in it?
Dale Holland:
The ones they make are all snapped together like that. They have made one for us that was a harder surface but it would not sit still on carpet. Once you make it more rigid, it does not bite into the carpet like it should and it tends to walk. We have not had anyone who actually got a heel caught in it or anything. One thing that you have here is cooler weather. If you were in a warmer place, it would be a little bit more flat than it is. It is built to have some cushion on it. It would be interesting to see the comments of people who danced on the concrete and then came back and danced on this over a period of time. It will protect your knees and ankles a lot more. We have not had anybody with a heel stuck in the cracks; they appear wider than they are. Once you put any pressure on them, they do flatten out.
Al Wolf:
I was wondering what experience you have had using this on cement. With the gripper teeth that grip into the carpet, isn't it going to slide on cement?
Dale Holland:
No sir, it does not. If you were to put a small 4' x 4' section down, it might tend to but if you put any size to it at all, it stays.
Al Wolf:
Have you had any experience with people using this for dancing where you're moving all the time and the floor could shift?
Dale Holland:
We have a lady that does "Show Stoppers." We do all of her shows for her, and she instructs dance for young girls - tap, ballet and all of that. They are very fast moving. We have put it on concrete for her at four different locations, and we have not had a problem.
Mike Odell:
Have you danced on it yourself?
Dale Holland:
I'm not a square dancer; I'm a ballroom style dancer and I have danced on it. We routinely put it down for square dance and round dance, and we have done karate championships and the lady with the instruction classes.
Mike Odell:
There are a lot of spins and turns and pivots; I found very difficult to do
Dale Holland:
I talked to Kay about that, and the answer is a very small amount of dance wax and I could not find any yesterday to apply to it. The safest way to remedy that, and what we recommend, is a large industrial dust mop and just a light touch of pledge to it and it will make the floor become quicker on turns and such. You have to be real careful because this floor will go from a little bit sticky to zip real fast. We had one put down, we put dance wax on it and they ran a service cart over it and dripped water on it; and dance wax and water don't mix. It can be made a lot of faster with just a light touch of dance wax or the dust mop with pledge.
Fran Westphal:
Could you talk about wear, breakage and length of service we would expect to get from it?
Dale Holland:
We put 27,000 feet down in Anaheim last week and we pulled 6 pieces out Normally we have found that 90% of the breakage comes when someone's putting it down, instead of being patient and lining the tabs up. It has a loop in the tab that has to interlock. If that person is not patient enough to make those sit right on top of each other when you step on it to line it up; if they just beat on it, you will break one of them. Sometimes when you're taking it up, if someone bends it the wrong way, you're subject to tear a tab off. You always have to bend the smooth surface away from you.
Barbara Schaumburg:
Is this the same floor that we danced on at our nationals here last year?
Dennis Marsh: The round dance, yes.
Barbara Schaumburg: I dance Phase 5 & 6 with a lot of spins and turns in it and I danced nothing but rounds last year. I had no problem with the floor. As you know we dance round in a circle; it did not move or try to climb the wall. I thought it was great; I enjoyed it.
Vivian Fairburn:
What kind of warranty is on this and what does it cost for replacement pieces that get broken and how long would it take to replace the pieces?
Dale Holland:
We have in stock replacement pieces that we can ship. We have 30,000 square feet in stock and we can ship replacement pieces. I don't know what warranty my brother expressed to Kay but I will find out from him and give you an answer. As far as the warranty is concerned, you will have one occasion that will break a tab. Now that doesn't mean it's totally useless; you can place it to the outside and still use it. When someone tries to drag something across it or pull something up on it that's not rolling, you can gouge it. You can break anything.
Vivian Fairburn:
So what does it cost to replace those?
Dale Holland:
It would be about $4.00 and something per foot.
Kay Rogers;
Ron Holland answered that question for me after the last meeting. I believe the answer was 8 to 10 years for normal wear and tear, This is also the reason my answer to Bill was Mid-Winter and Summer Festival. I am the personal opinion that we shouldn't be renting it out unless we know we have qualified people putting it down and taking it up.
Dale Holland:
That's where most of your damage occurs; putting it down or taking it up the wrong way. We put that floor down in both rooms in an hour and a half; I think we had it up this morning in about 45 minutes.
Frank Schuchard:
How old is the mat?
Dale Holland:
Some of it is about a year, some of it is about 6 months. They changed the design and made it a lot better where it would stay in place, and we replaced everything we had.
Dan Allen:
For Mid-Winter, I don't see that we have an interest for this right now. I like what Leonard proposed and I have the tendency to lean that way at this time.
President Dennis Marsh: We'll call for a vote:
All in favor of purchasing this flooring and 7 carts for $10,400.00.
Opposed
Motion defeated.
15 Minute Break
The Mid-Willamette Area would like to host the 2008 Oregon State Summer Festival on July 18, 19, 20, 2008 at the Polk County Fairgrounds located at Rickreall, Oregon. This location is only 20 minutes away from Salem, Oregon.
The start up money will come from the Mid Willamette Area Festival Fund.
There are 80 RV spots available with electrical hook-ups. The fee is $10.00 per day, includes showers. Showers are $2.00 a day for people not staying in RV.
The proposed Co-Chairmen for this event is Barbara and Bill Tipton and Wendel Mann.
The Estimated Budget is as follows:
| 2008 Summer Festival Estimated Budget | |
| Revenue | |
| Registration 500 @ $25 | 12,500.00 |
| Vendor Booth Rentals $100 each | 600.00 |
| Split the Pot | 300.00 |
| Trails End Dance | 500.00 |
| Raffle 1 Week at Sun River ( 7 Days) | 1,000.00 |
| Estimated Total | 14,900.00 |
| Expenses | |
| Facility Rent | 3,000.00 |
| Callers & Cuers (includes Trails End Dance) | 3,000.00 |
| Ribbons | 300.00 |
| BMI/ASCAP | 100.00 |
| State Insurance | 250.00 |
| Postage | 200.00 |
| Registration Forms/Flyers | 500.00 |
| Sound | 500.00 |
| Raffle Cleaning Fee | 80.00 |
| Meetings/Hospitality Expenses | 300.00 |
| Estimated Total | 8,230.00 |
| Estimated Total Profit | 6,670.00 |
The Program Book/Dance Schedule, to be determined at a later date.
The flooring for Building C will come from the State Federation, to be determined at a later date.
A special event is being planned to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville for Friday morning, with lunch, leaving the fairgrounds at 10:00 am, arriving back by 2:00 pm.
MOTION (Sharon Greeman): I make a motion that we approve Mid-Willamette Area for Summer Festival 2008. Seconded by Dar Sconce. Motion carried.
The Hayshakers Square Dance Club has asked the Sunset Empire Council to submit a bid for the 2009 Summer Festival at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds in Astoria. It would be on the third weekend in July 2009. The proposal was submitted at the last meeting and a change in the year was noted; the date on the budget should have been 2009. The only correction I have on the proposal is that there are enough spots for 240 RV's parking with electricity. Water, however, only is available to every sixth vehicle. The cost for RV parking is $15 per RV per day.
Bid for Summer Festival 2009
We of the Hayshakers Square Dance Club would like to submit a bid for the Oreogn Summer Festival of 2009 for your consideration.
The Hayshakers Club has approved this bid for hosting the Summer Festival of 2009 on the third weekend of July at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds in Astoria, Oregon. We have reserved the facility but we must place a deposit on the facility as soon as possible.
We have based our budget on 500 dancers attending with the price per dancer of $25.00. There will be a Trails End Dance with a fee of $4.00 per dancer.
There are 240 RV parking sites with electricity hookups at the fairgrounds. Motels, hotels and commercial RV grounds are within a 3 to 5 mile radius.
Monies for this event will come from the Hayshakers Square Dance Club; however, we do reserve the right to apply to the Federation should the need arise.
Additional revenue will be gained from vendor booths, ads in the program book and special meals.
We will be scheduling dancing of Mainstsream, Plus and Round Dancing at the same facility.
We appreciate your favorable consideration of our bid for the 2009 Summer Festival in Astoria.
Respectfully submitted by Cynthia Weber and Joann Bean, Co-Chairman
| 2009 Summer Festival Estimated Budget | |
| Estimated Expenses | |
| Facility Rent | $ 1,000.00 |
| Callers/Cuers | 1,700.00 |
| Sound Equipment | 500.00 |
| Advertising | 350.00 |
| Floor | 1,000.00 |
| Postage/Printing, etc | 700.00 |
| Insurance/License | 350.00 |
| Ribbons | 250.00 |
| Decorating | 200.00 |
| Meeting Expenses/Hospitality | 325.00 |
| Special Meals | 1,200.00 |
| Estimated Expenses | $ 7,575.00 |
| Estimated Revenue | |
| Registration 500 @ $25 | $ 12,500.00 |
| Vendor Booth Rentals | 700.00 |
| Program Book Advertising | 300.00 |
| Split the Pot | 400.00 |
| Trails End Dance | 500.00 |
| Special Meals | 2,800.00 |
| Estimated Revenue | $ 17,200.00 |
| Estimated Net Profit | $ 9,625.00 |
Dennis Marsh: We appreciate your bid. We cannot vote on it until next year at this time. You are on the list to do it.
Tim Roberts: The Summer Festival guidelines we just passed earlier in the year says that we vote on the Summer Festivals two years ahead. So for the 2009 Summer Festival, we will vote at the Summer Festival 2007.
Discussion:
Bill Rooper: As I understand it, Tim and Kay have been working on the computer and have been trying to fit it, but it doesn't look like it's going to be able to be fixed. I would like to have them be able to use some of the money that has built up in the insurance administrative fund to buy a new computer. (Question? How much is in the fund right now?) There's $1,674.00 for administrative costs that has not been spent; she gets 10 cents out of every $4.10 premium that's paid for administration, and this has built up over the years to where it is now $1,674.00.
Tim Roberts:
I thought it was just the battery that was expiring; it will not operate at all unless it's plugged in. I actually ordered a new battery for it and the new battery did not help so there's something in the power circuitry that has gone bad. This is the kind of issue that grows over time to where the computer is not going to turn on, so we would like to get something to replace it. The quote I came up with was about $850. The old one that we are using was purchased in 1999 or 2000; it has Windows 98.
MOTION (Dale Worthington): I make an amended motion to not exceed $1,600.00 Dave Cooper seconded.
Coleeta Quigley:
Since this is an insurance computer, should Kay stop doing insurance and decided to move on to something else, would the computer go on to whoever was doing insurance?
Dennis Marsh: Correct.
Kay Rogers:
I think Tim can tell you that the insurance computer is clean and is used exclusively for insurance business.
Dennis Marsh:
Vote on the Amendment: All in favor of a cap of $1,600.00. Any opposed.
The cap of $1,600.00 is approved.
Vote on the Motion: All in favor of purchasing a new laptop computer for the insurance chairman. Any opposed.
Motion approved; you can purchase the computer.
TUALATIN VALLEY COUNCIL: Pat Young (Ted)
The TVC Youth Square Dancer Jamboree held in May was a great success. There were more than 80 dancers attending, including a larger number of youth who danced every dance and enjoyed the prizes and cookies provided by Kathy Roberts. Several youth callers and cuers participated and they did a wonderful job.
The TVC was well represented in the 4th of July Parade in Hillsboro chaired by Kathy Roberts. The theme was "The Spirit of Square Dancing." Everything went really well even though there was lightning and thunder and a little bit of rain to go with it.
Square dancing will be represented with a demonstration at the Washington County Fair on July 27th. All dancers are welcome; admission is free; parking is $5.00.
Plans are underway for the Hahn Barn Dance which will be held on July 29th. There is always a picnic potluck by the pond and a lively dance in the barn afterward. Come and join us.
The new president of the TVC, Bonnie Deneke, is enthusiastically promoting square dancing. Each week she brings up something new to talk about. Sometimes we all need a little reminder of what we should be doing…such as taking all the flyers from the meetings and making sure they are posted in all our halls and other halls. She recruited a speaker and asked each club to bring three ideas they have had success with in recruiting new dancers to the last Council meeting. Some of the delegates found some new ideas and will be trying them out in the near future.
The Council's clubs are active and busy: The 4n8r's will be going back to Mainstream dancing with every third tip plus; the Coast Swingers have a high school student who is going to Costa Rica as an exchange student and has taught her fellow students a square dance to demonstrate for their hosts; the Cross Trailers have been dancing with several clubs from Portland to Roseburg to San Antonio; the Eager Beavers attended the Sunset Promenaders' Pie Night; the Fireballs held an all singing calls dance; the Hillsboro Hoedown held a Red White and Blue dance-strawberries, blueberries and shortcake; the Mix 'n Mingles dance Plus DBD and their dancers include families and teens; the Toe Draggers mystery trip included a barbeque at a mortuary and they organized the 4th of July float for the Hillsboro parade; the Tri-Squares anniversary is in September; and the Valley Squares had 14 dancers from their class join the club.
UMPQUA AREA COUNCIL: Dar Sconce
I would like to introduce our Umpqua Area Council President, Frank Schuchard.
I want to thank Jim and Kay Rogers and Tim and Kathy Roberts for a wonderful Summer Festival. I had a blast. The committee did a wonderful job too.
UAC is preparing for the upcoming Fair Dancing on August 8-12th at the Douglas County Fairgrounds south of Roseburg. We will have fabulous callers such as Dale Roberson, Ray Graves, Bob Ewing, and Denny Lantz. Our wonderful cuers are Pat Hintz, Marian Cook & Claude Butler. Come to the fair, you will have a super time. The fair has free entertainment Tuesday through Friday nights starting at 7:00 pm in Umpqua Park. Upcoming entertainers are Lonestar, Alice Cooper and Kenny Rogers. If you're going down the freeway the second week of August, stop by. They do have RV parking there. We hope some of you will be able to come and join us in entertaining our fair goers.
Buckeroos had a very successful Roundup the first weekend in June. We had over 20 RV'ers filling the parking lot and 11 squares that danced on Friday night and over 15 squares on Saturday evening. Sunday morning at breakfast, we served ham, scrambled eggs, and pancakes. Our flippers were Dave Cooper, Daryl Clendenin and Dale Roberson (the three D's). The dancers had lots of fun dancing to the calling of Dale Roberson and Daryl Clendenin. Dave and Barbie Cooper were the featured cuers and did an awesome job! The Buckeroos will be starting lessons in September with Dale Roberson as our instructor.
The Boots & Calicos are dark for July and August with their next dance scheduled for September 9th, which will be a Westward Ho dance. Their lessons will begin in September with Ray Graves as instructor.
Timber 8's are also dark for July and August, that's our plus club. Their next dance will be September 15th with Roger Putzler calling.
Pioneer 'N' Petticoats held their Benefit Dance at the Wildlife Safari in Winston in May for their adopted Indian-crested porcupine, named Casey. There was a great turn out and all had a wild time. They will be participating in the Pioneer's Day Parade August 26th in Canyonville, They will also be having a Cake Walk in the park. Their lessons will begin in September with Peter Wood as instructor.
BLUE MOUNTAIN COUNCIL: David Stutzman (Sharon)
Baker City is continuing their dances through the summer. They are planning to dance on a float in the Miner's Jubilee parade next weekend.
I went over to Milton-Freewater Monday evening to attend a special dance called by Jim Kline from Wyoming. I have enjoyed dancing to him on his trips through this area the last 3 years. Don and Pat Wiggins will be back, along with Don Cochrane, to call & cue for the Muddy Frogwater Festival August 18, 19, & 20. This is a community event with music, chicken barbeque, and craft booths in the park.
The La Grande club is not having their Saturday dances this summer. They are having Thursday evening workshops twice a month; mainstream one night and plus the second night. They will be dancing at the fair next month. (Always good for free admittance.)
The Wallowa Mountain Hoedown is September 8, 9, & 10. We are all looking forward to having Dick Spooner back to calling this dance along with Bill and Neva Reid.
CENTRAL OREGON COUNCIL: Carol Bro (Ben Oakes)
(Don Bramhall acted as Delegate Alternate)
Summer in Central Oregon brings out the creativity of its square dancers. There will be casual dances on hot summer nights, a mystery dance to keep us guessing, and many theme and special dances to entice us out on lazy summer weekends.
This year the Shufflers and the Red Rocks have moved their Square Dance lessons to September. The Beauts and the Mountaineers will begin in January as usual. We hope that this will accommodate schedules and allow more folks to take lessons. Round Dance lessons will also begin in September.
We want to remind you that we have two great events still to come in Central Oregon this summer:
Waltz across Texas: Wade Driver, from Texas, will call and Dave Cooper, from Prineville, will cue a special dance at the Pine Forest Grange, Monday, July 31st. From Prineville, you say! Where in the heck is Prineville. Well come join us and Dave will be happy to play tour guide for Central Oregon.
Central Oregon Round-Up: You will be so taken with Central Oregon that we know you will want to return. So, come back the second weekend in August and join us for the Central Oregon Round-Up to be held August 11th and 12th. The featured caller will be Darrell Kalmbach and the featured cuers are Ray and Virginia Walz.
This is a great way to enjoy the fellowship of friends, dance to great callers and cuers and relax with old fashioned country hospitality. We will be dancing in an air-Conditioned building if nature does not interfere. The air-conditioned building is Sisters High School.
EASTERN OREGON COUNCIL: Lorene Griffith (George)
Ione Grand Squares, the only club in the Eastern Oregon Area Council, at this time is still dancing. Due to the conflict of the use of the hall, the club has not been dancing since the last weekend in March.
Not only have they not been able to get together to dance; they were not able to hold their annual Spring picnic either. The creek they must cross to get to the area, where they hold the picnic, was made impassable by high water.
We are looking forward to start dancing this fall in October, however.
EMERALD EMPIRE COUNCIL: Sharon Greenman
I want to thank the Committee for a fun weekend. I really enjoyed it.
The Emerald Empire Area is looking forward to hosting the State Meeting on September 24th at the Sweet Home Squarenaders. They are making arrangements for RV parking.
Also I went to the Washington State Festival in Spokane a month ago. Out of 1,316 dancers, there were 12 from Oregon. None of the state officers were there; I understand there were Nationals in Texas but not everybody went to Texas.
We have lost a long time square dancer, Terry Pearson. He and his wife started square dancing in 1964 with Ivan Midlam. Also Ivan Kohan with the Whirl-A-Ways is needing a triple bypass so please keep him in your prayers. I went to see Don Reed, our past Treasurer. He's doing really great; he has been in Good Samaritan since April because he fell and broke his leg so that's going to put him in a wheelchair permanently. When I walked in, he knew exactly who I was.
Our area will be dancing at the Springfield Filbert Festival on August 4, 5, and 6th. All dancers are welcome; wear your square dance attire and you can get in for $2.50 (that's half price). All of our clubs are participating.
Marilyn Schmit: I would like to know if Emerald Empire is going to mail everybody the information for the State Meeting in September instead of disbursing it today.
Sharon Greenman. It will be mailed.
INTERSTATE HIGHLANDERS COUNCIL:
No report.
LINCOLN-TILLAMOOK COUNCIL: LaVonne Bussey (Al)
Toledo 49'rs Square Dance Club Activity Report
It has been rather a quiet couple of months. On the 3rd of June our club went dark so dancers could attend the Strawberry Festival in Lebanon.
We had a guest caller on the 3rd Saturday in June, Ken Eslinger of Independence, Oregon visited our club and entertained our dancers with his calling expertise.
On the first Saturday in July, we had our regular caller and cuer, Lloyd Larson and Goldie Restorff for a 4th of July dance. Our club went dark on the 3rd Saturday of July in order not to conflict with the Summer Festival in Seaside Oregon.
Past President of the club, LaVonne and Al Bussey, attended the 55th National Square Dance Convention in San Antonio, Texas. They were on two panel presentations for education regarding Club Leadership Certification, and enjoyed the hospitality of the Texas hosts. San Antonio is a very fun city to visit. We enjoyed ourselves very much.
The annual picnic with our barbeque will be held the last part of July. After lunch everyone gathers to play different games, or pitch horseshoes.
Sea Twirlers
They will hold their Birthday Dance on September 10th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm with George and Patty Herman calling and cueing. The dance will be held at the Gleneden Beach Community Hall in Gleneden Beach, Oregon which is just south of the Salishan Lodge on the Oregon coast.
MID-WILLAMETTE AREA COUNCIL: Barbara Tipton (Bill)
Spinning Antlers one of the oldest clubs in the Mid-Willamette Area announced they are disbanding after their August 6th dance. They started dancing in 1978 twice monthly at the Corvallis Elks with 72 member Elks. Al Pedigo was their teacher and Caller. The Club held the first New Dancers dance for the Mid-Willamette Area. Through the years the tradition has continued, sometimes accommodating more that 40 squares.
In later years, the club became a Plus Club and was sponsored by Corvallis Parks & Recreation and members were not required to be members of the Elks.
The members became close friends and enjoyed non-dancing as well as dancing activities. Now many members have become unable to dance, so as of August 2006, with regret, the club will disband. This is very sad news for the MWA, but we surely understand as a lot of our clubs have older members. Let's wish them well and hope they come to visit us around the valley.
Salem Swinging Stars had a Hawaiian Dinner Dance in June. They had a sit down dinner preceding the dance. The decorations were marvelous. We thought we were in Hawaii.
The Mid Willamette Area have their callers and cuers in place for the Square and Round Dance demo at the Antique Power Land in Brooks, OR (just north of Salem) to promote Square and Round Dancing to non dancers on July 29-30 and August 5-6. If any of you would like to participate, you can E-Mail Sandy Harris, grandsquare1@comcast.net or myself for more information.
Many of our Area Clubs are dark during the summer or part of the summer, so be sure to check the OFN When and Where to make sure the Club you are thinking of visiting is dancing that night.
PORTLAND AREA COUNCIL: Al Wolf (Gail Domine)
New Officers for the 2006-2007 Portland Area Council were installed at our June "picnic" meeting. They are:
President: Dan (Shirley) Mathews
Vice President: Mark (Bev) Engerman
Secretary: Annadale (Bill) Rooper
Treasurer: Enid (Mark) Wheeler
State Delegate: Al Wolf (Gail Domine)
Alternate State Delegate: Tony Haskins
Membership: Judy Gelmstedt (Chuck Bos)
The Silver Stars Memorial Day "Stars and Stripes" weekend was a great success with 16 squares Friday night, 24 squares Saturday night and 18 squares Sunday night.
Many clubs are dark for June, July and August. This gives them a chance to visit on the same nights as their club dances. Of the clubs that are dancing during these months, most have gone to casual attire.
The Recycles have decided to disband with their last dance in September, which is their Anniversary Dance.
The Checkerboard Squares are now having guest callers on the fourth Saturday. Jim Hattrick will still be calling for the second Saturday.
The PAC entered a float in the Gateway Parade on May 20th and was awarded the "Presidents Choice" trophy. George Hermann called for the Oaky Doaks and Checkerboard dancers. Thanks to Reni Reed of the Checkerboard Squares who organized this. The Squaws and Paws collect pull tabs from pop cans to donate to the Ronald McDonald House. They encourage everyone to save them. I can take these to them if your club is willing to save them. Bring them to State Meetings.
The Evergreen Council will host the 2008 Washington Summer Festival. The theme "Swing Through the Gate in 2008" has been selected. This will be held in the Vancouver, Longview area. The Silver Stars, Happy Hoppers and Buzzin Bees will be working hard on this Festival and are asking Oregon dancers to help if at all possible.
Columbia Gorge Plus Club will have their annual campout August 18, 19 and 20th with Daryl Clendenin and Marge Pentecost calling and cueing in the Plus Hall and Bill and Neva Reid doing Mainstream calling and cueing.
The next PAC Dance will be September 29th at the Oak Grove Community Hall in Oak Grove, OR. The caller and cuer will be announced at a later date.
ROGUE SIS-Q COUNCIL: John Guches (Glory)
Council: The new Council Officers took office on June 6, 2006. The officers are:
President: John Guches
Vice-President: Cris Garrison
Secretary: Cyd Hall
Treasurer: Patrick Gillette
The next Council Dance is July 29th at the Greenhorn Grange in Yreka California. If you are traveling south and you would like to dance to some good callers, stop by that night. It starts at 7:00 pm.
Charlie Browns: The club will be dark for the month of August for the Josephine County Fair. The club has also entered a Square Dance Float in the Boatnik Parade in Grants Pass and Merlin Parade. During both, they dance on the float and they have members walking along the side distributing invitational business cards announcing when the next lessons will be. Hopefully they can gather more members and the lessons will start in September.
Circle-N-Squares of Yreka: The club held their annual Gold Diggers Dance with Dan Nordbye calling. They had a lot of fun; there were a lot of Oregon club members from the Rogue-Siskiyou Council. They will hold their annual fund raiser at the Siskiyou County Fair the 9th thru 13th of August.
Lantz's Dantzers: The club has started a new dance so they will be dancing twice a month this year. They are holding a Plus/A1 dance on the first Friday of every month.
Star Promenader's: The club held their Teddy Bear Dance. It was another very successful Teddy Bear Drive for the Jackson County Emergency Services.
Don't forget, next weekend, the 33rd annual Diamond Lake Festival July 19th thru the 22nd. Dance under the stars on a wood floor.
SOUTH COAST COUNCIL: Coleeta Quigley (Chuck):
I want to, first of all, back what Barbie Cooper said about Caller School and how it's important that we support and find callers and cuers that want to get into this. I was at the Caller School and it's a tremendously neat thing to go to. They encourage you and get you so wound up, you're ready to go back and just get involved. I believe, many new callers that went would feel that way. Do back this and try to find callers in your area; people who would like to become callers that you would like to support and help.
I would like to report that there were nine members from the South Coast Area that were able to attend the Nationals in Texas. That was quite a good group from this small south coast area. We had a wonderful time. San Antonio is a beautiful city.
Sets-In-Orders: We received a blue ribbon for our float in the Coquille Gay 90's parade in
June. We will be having a parade float and community involvement booth at the Coos County Fair the end of July. We will also be dancing on Saturday night, July 29th at the Coos County Fair; all of the South Coast Area will be dancing. If you happen to be down that way, join us. Our 60th birthday dance will be October 14th with Dale Roberson calling and Denise Harris cueing. So put this on your calendars. Our lesson classes are scheduled to begin the 2nd week in September.
Beachcombers: Summer has been busy as usual. We had a very nice graduation party with 5 receiving certificates. They just finished their 4th of July birthday celebration. It was wonderful. They had three outstanding callers: Craig Abercrombie; Steve Sullivan and Al Fraser. There were 11 squares one night and the last night there still were 9 squares. It was really great; everyone had a lot of fun.
Last of all, I want to draw your attention to the flyers. The next big dance at Port Orford is the Battle Rock Dance on Labor Day weekend. This is going to be a great dance. We have Denny Lantz and Don Marshall calling and Dave and Barbie Cooper are cueing. So if you want to get down to the South Coast again, we'll welcome you and it will be a blast.
Jefferson State Squares: No Report
Saints N' Ain'ts: No Report
SUNSET EMPIRE COUNCIL: Dale Worthington (Kathy)
The Hayshakers summer activities have been going very well. They too went dark this weekend to help support the 2006 Summer Festival.
The Hayshakers have also made a few visitations to a number of clubs, i.e., Toledo 49ers, Do-Si-Dos, Coast Swingers, and the Silver Stars.
The Hayshakers have also submitted a bid for the 2009 Summer Festival which they hope to hold in Astoria.
Ray & Zola Jones
We are unable to attend this meeting due to another commitment. Zola's family's annual Reunion is the 3rd weekend in July, and has been for over 70 years.
Since the May Federation meeting we have of course attended our own club's dances. On June 2, 3 and 4 we went to the Buckeroo's annual Roundup dance weekend in Roseburg. Always such a fun time with special caller Darryl Clendenin and cuer Dave Cooper, and their own caller Dale Roberson. Buckeroos are a very friendly club to visit, and they really know how to put on the 'feed-bag' too! June 15 to 18 was our own club's annual Summer campout at Camp Sherman near Sisters. 44 of us Whirl-A-Ways were there; 10 in the motel and 34 in RV's, for a great weekend of visiting, eating, playing games, and shopping. Then July 7 we attended one of our local club's monthly plus dance, always a good dance for a good time.
As of June 1 we are now serving as our club's Delegate to our Emerald Empire Area Council, and also continue as our club's reporter to the OFN. And-being on the Mid-Winter Festival Committee we are doing the Program Book again this year.
We will be going to the Diamond Lake Festival, and Central Oregon Roundup-so will see some of you at one or the other-or both!
We hope everyone is having a good Summer, and may the rest of your Summer be just as good or even better.
And-we will look forward to seeing all of you again at the next Federation meeting in September, as our Emerald Empire Area Council is hosting it.
So until then-
Safe travels and 'Happy Highways'.
Al & Fran Westphal
We expect to be among you in Seaside and here we are. The past few days have brought increasing problems for Al in his mobility. He is scheduled for knee replacement on August 14th. The left knee is totally worn out and it just isn't allowing him to walk very well at all. Of course, the right side weakness from the stroke adds to the problem.
Other than dancing with our local clubs, we have been mostly working, doing some physical and occupational therapy and whacking weeds.
Highlight of our summer so far was the POOF reunion hosted by Glenore Carrier and Genevieve Churchill in Tigard. About 30 of us had a great time with good friends and good food. Because we have a number of widowed members and several of our group do not drive distances, some creative car pooling helped a lot. Jack and Rosemary Williams came from Bend via Eugene and brought Jean Brigl and Larry Lauderdale. Lucille Barnes picked up Bernice Gruchalla in Salem, as she journeyed from Corvallis. George and Lorene Griffith came from Ione - the farthest, Del and Bonnie Niemi from Clatskanie and Jim and Dorene Millard from Eugene. The balance of the party came from the metro area, except Westphals from Toledo.
Everyone in a Federation office, elected or appointed, and all delegates, past or present, is a member of the POOFs and is very welcome at any of these reunions. We keep experimenting with locations, as traveling becomes more of an issue for many of our members. We have held several reunions in Central Oregon, one in Eugene, one in Salem and one previously in the Metro area.
Jack and Rosemary Williams may host yet another reunion this year in September in Central Oregon. Look for details in the OFN.
Harold & Barbara Kleve
We have been on the road in our motor home since May, visiting relatives in the Midwest. We arrived in San Antonio, Texas in time to take in the 55th National Convention. Those Texans really know how to throw a party. It was quite hot and sultry but we hear Oregon exceeded the Texas temperature.
Barbara and I served on two educational panels. One was "Dancing in the 21st Century." The other was "Connecting with the Community." We shared the panel with Jerry Junck on one and Betsy Gotta on the other so we were in good company. The panel discussions were well received and well attended. I squeezed in three calling appearances as well as helping George & Nancy Clark in their square dance shop.
We caravanned with the Clarks and Norm & Marci Yoder on the way back to Oregon. How good it is to be home. We have the Summer Festival, Diamond Lake, and Central Oregon Roundup ahead. There are also several demo appearances to promote the fall new dancer classes. Sorry we will miss the Sunday meeting but we gotta gooooo!
Lee & Barbi Ashwill
It has only been two months since we last reported. Since that time we have traveled through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Nevada. Our travels took us approximately 8,000 miles in 6 weeks.
We spent a week in Maggie Valley, NC at the Pride Resort dancing with Larry Letson, Tony Oxendine and Jerry Story. When we left there we traveled to New Orleans and viewed the devastation of that city. You can see it on television, have others describe it for you, but until you physically see it with your own eyes, you just can't imagine what those poor people are still going through. We are happy to say that the efforts of the square dancers, which was spearheaded by Tony Oxendine, contributed $200,000.00 in cash and two semi trailers of goods to the recovery effort. We know that was a "drop on the bucket" for what is needed, but it also shows the compassion of square dancers.
We wound up our travels at the 55th National Square Dance Convention in San Antonio, TX, and we were pleased with 130 dancers from Oregon. Most of our days were filled with meetings, but we danced our shoes off at the "After Parties." It was a very successful Convention, but if there was ever a thought in our minds about moving South, this trip has totally eliminated that. We love the State of Oregon and the lack of humidity. The heat and humidity of the Southern States just saps your energy and you are continually damp.
We thank Kay and Jim Rogers and Tim and Kathy Roberts for their leadership in providing this great Summer Festival. We have had a great time and it is good to see all of the friends from Oregon and Washington. As most of you have probably heard, the State of Washington will be bidding for the 2012 National Square Dance Convention . They will present their bid at the 57th NSDC in Wichita, KS in 2008. We hope that the Oregon dancers will support Washington in the manner they have supported us. At this time, they have not decided whether their bid will be for Seattle or Spokane. If you can help them if they receive the bid, please let their leadership know that. They will be bidding against Oklahoma, so if you can attend the Convention in Wichita, please do so and join with the Washington dancers when they make their bid.
Don & Lonna Bramhall
We would like to thank the Summer Festival committee. It has been a great weekend; we really had a good time.
Well, Don actually did it! His last day of work was June 30 and he is no longer a state employee. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, I believe the saying goes. He has started a new job at the request of a local landfill and now is learning about the other side of landfill management and operation.
Dancing has been restricted to staying close to home since the Port Orford meeting. We went to Ashland for the Memorial Day weekend to visit Lonna's mom and Lonna came down with shingles. She has been recovering slowly, but unfortunately, that has also slowed down our dancing efforts the last few weeks. Don has been helping out and learning at round dance lessons while Lonna has been resting and recovering. Not a lot of fun for her, but as it turns out, it's Don who needs the practice anyway.
The Red Rock birthday dance, our home club, on June 2nd was well attended by local Central Oregon dancers. Cathy Shores make a great birthday cake for the club and everyone enjoyed dancing to Jim Steele and Kitty Kaler. At least everyone but Lonna enjoyed it - she was stuck at home in bed recuperating.
We took a group of dancers to the Wheeler County Bluegrass Festival in Fossil in July and everyone had a great time. This is the third year we have done this. There was a contra dance on Saturday night, which was a new experience to a few of our dancers. The weather was both rainy and hot but the rain limited itself to the end of the weekend and didn't interfere with the outdoor festival performances. Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy themselves a lot and we're looking forward to going back next year. We got to talk with some folks from the Bend area about square dancing and may have some new square dance students for lessons, which will begin in September.
Our next stop is Diamond Lake next weekend and then it will be time for the Central Oregon Round-up in Sisters. We hope to see you in a square at both locations.
GOOD OF THE ORDER:
Kay Rogers:
I neglected to tell you that your little gifts are compliments of the Summer Festival Committee and were instigated and carried out by Marilyn Schmit who made contact with her friends in Hawaii. They purchased these items individually at sales in Hawaii and shipped them over, and so we need to thank Marilyn for her efforts. (Applause)
I also want to clarify a slight misunderstanding in that I had made the comment that when we went to the National Convention in San Antonio, we were going to let them know that Oregon is still a viable convention state and that we intend to hold another national convention some time in the future. At that time, I did not realize that Washington was going to announce their intent to bid. As soon as we found that out, we dropped whatever plans we had to do that so we could completely and fully support Washington in their National Convention Bid and any intention we had to bid would be put off now for at least another three or four years; and then of course it would be four years after that before we would even have a convention. I just wanted you to understand that no one in Oregon had any intention of doing anything but to support Washington. I apologize if any of you were embarrassed in the slightest by a rumor.
Marilyn Schmit:
Just to add a note on the gifts. David Lemon and Kim Akagi are partners in square dancing and have done the Hawaii Showcase of Ideas for many years. With the friendship that Ron and I have made with them, we asked them if they would do the honors of picking up some gifts for us. The results of David and Kim are what all of you received and I hope you like what you received. I will send a thank you note to David and Kim and let them know that everything was well received and we appreciate their efforts on our behalf. (Applause)
Ilana Widders:
I have a request of the State Federation as far as their wording goes on Summer Festival or any planned event. We have said several times that the Summer Festival will be the third weekend. Evidently my definition of the third weekend and this convention center's definition of the third weekend is not the same. Now I find out that my third weekend and their third weekend are two different weekends, so my request is that rather than saying the third weekend that we actually get dates proposed for festivals.
Lee Ashwill:
I would request that each dancer in this room go home to your clubs, your councils and encourage folks to get registered for Summer Festival 2007. This state has got to have more than 400 dancers that can come over to Seaside for a weekend. Next year I would like to see 800 over here. Let's go back and really boost this and get the dancers over here.
Second item, I would like to request that, this body wants the Goodwill Ambassadors to go out and promote activities, how about we have a slot in the box where we can get the information that everybody else gets at this meeting.
Glory Guches:
Lee, great minds think alike. I was just thinking that today, everybody else has a slot why not the Goodwill Ambassadors. At the next meeting, you will have it.
Kathy Roberts:
I was given some Arco gas cards for $50.00 each as a thank you gift. However, my car can't burn Arco gas. If anybody would care to purchase them, please see me.
Vivian asked me to take a picture of the Federation Board for the cover of the OFN. I would like to have the front people stay and then everybody else come in behind them.
Sharon Greenman:
I want to expand on my report that the Emerald Empire Area will send out information to all of the Delegates and all of the State Officers on the September 24 meeting.
Dottie Swenson:
I wanted to put a little reminder in your minds about the need for callers and cuers, which you were speaking of earlier. Darrell Clendenin is an accredited Caller Lab teacher and he's having classes this fall. Keep this in mind when you encourage people to become callers.
Pat Young:
I was listening to the council reports and I get most of my information as to where the dances are from the OFN. There were a lot of dances mentioned here today that I have not even heard about before. I think we need to push to get more advertising in the OFN for those special dances. We might not go to all of them but we do like to get out and attend some of the other dances. (Applause)
Bill Rooper:
If you recall, I made a motion a couple of meetings ago about a fund for caller scholarships. A Committee was to look into the Policies and Procedures of the Grant Fund and come back to make a report. I recently talked with a young man who was interested in becoming a caller. We would like to know if he is eligible for a grant and how to go about it. I think the Committee should come up with their report.
Dennis Marsh: I agree.
Some of the Delegates here say they have been pushing going dark for Summer Festival and Mid-Winter. We would like to hear more from the Councils that are pushing this in their area to just let everyone know that their Councils are helping to support the festivals. When you do your reports, if you are supporting Summer Festival and your Council is pushing to go dark for that time, it would be nice to hear.
ADJOURN: Motion made by John Guches to adjourn the meeting at 12:20 pm. Seconded by Dave Cooper. Motion passed.
Virginia Myers (Ed)
Recording Secretary