CALL TO ORDER: President, Gary Clark
Called to order at 9:05
Please turn off your cell phones
Absent Committee Chairs: Licensing: Ralph Lambert
Absent Delegates: Joyce Welton (Central Oregon Delegate), Gabriel Smith (Umpqua)
Absent Goodwill Ambassadors: Rikki Lobato, Rob Keene, Roger and Linda Putzler
Guests: Bill Putnam (President Muddy Frogs) Blue Mountains
ROLL CALL: Secretary, Lorri McIntosh
INVOCATION: Immediate Past President, Karyn (Matt) Buchheit
FLAG SALUTE: 1st Vice President, George (Patty) Hermann
MINUTES: Secretary, Lorri McIntosh Corrections to last minutes: top
should read Minutes not Agenda, correction to Roger and Linda Putzler, Good of the order: Karen to approved minutes as corrected, under ORDA report, change year to 2021.
PRESIDENT - Gary Clark
I hope this finds all the councils in Oregon planning to get back into square and round dancing again. It appears that the pandemic is over, but be aware of the governor's guidelines when they are posted.
For those clubs that are dark for July and August, don't let that stop you from dancing. Please visit clubs that are dancing through the summer. Also, attend any and all festivals that are coming up. It's so good to enjoy socializing once again. Just being with others is exciting in itself. Visit and catch up with your club members. Plan a summer picnic--not only for your club, but for the entire council as well.
It has been a long dry spell of not dancing. As we get back to normal, think outside the box in planning for your next set of lessons. Caller Lab has an excellent document on marketing for classes and helping to recruit couples and singles. Please read this. It's a big document but well worth the time to have a committee review it for some new ideas. https://knowledge.callerlab.org/front-page-2/dancers-homepage/
Thanks to each one of you delegates for hanging in there through this tough time of sheltering-in-place. We made it! I look forward to seeing you all in person for our September Federation meeting.
FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT - George (Patty) Hermann
Well, things are looking better. As I write this on July 1st, the governor has declared the state "open". That means we are on the road back to what we had before this pandemic. It sure has been a long, long journey. Mask mandates are removed in most areas. Some clubs have already started dancing and I am sure more will follow. Although, some have still opted to wait until September to start up again. I have not heard of any adverse effects of those dances. I will tell you that it sure felt good to get out on the dance floor.
I did receive some bad news that a Portland area club has decided to fold. The Tumbleweeds square dance club voted to dissolve. This means we lose another daytime seniors group. I remember when Jess & Stella Tufts started that club at the square dance center on 50th and Kelly. I am sorry to see it go.
I urge you delegates to go back to your council and work to support smaller clubs in your areas. Those are the most vulnerable. Use the resources available from our State Federation, if necessary, for assistance.
2022 MID-WINTER FESTIVAL - Karyn (Matt) Buchheit
Website has been activated though there are some corrections that need to be made and several more things to add to it.
I do have the display posters and will be getting them out to the visitation chairs
2022 SUMMER FESTIVAL - Rogue Sis Q council has been discussing and looking for a venue to have Summer Festival. TVC has talked about and feel it is not possible at this time. Tim R. recommended to discontinue festival due to low attendance and difficulty with venues. Lorri recommended the Federation take lead the committee to coordinate the councils to put on the festival in Salem school where it has previously been held. The school allowed and welcomed the Federation Summer Festivals to be held every other year in odd years. Gary recommended having the festival in 2023 with Federation lead and coordinate the councils to put the festival together. Zola asked about financial report with not having festivals, no loss.
2023 MID-WINTER FESTIVAL - Lisa Kious
We have chatted with both our callers and pending the borders reopening we will have Steve Edlund and Justin Russell for our features. We are still working on trying to nail the fairgrounds down on the dates. And that's it so far.
OREGON FEDERATION NEWS - Tim (Kathy) Roberts
I appreciate those Area Editors and clubs that have stuck with us through the pandemic.
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT - Tim Keck (Tami Helms)
Directory Project:
As of this meeting, I will need a final tally of the directories to be printed. I will ask each area council in turn at the meeting for that tally. Please be prepared to respond.
The cover art for the directory has been selected.
Final updates to the directory are almost completed. I will be proofing the directory in August and then sending it to the printers so as to have the printed copies for the September meeting.
I have been in contact with our incoming 2nd vice president, Patrick (Cherie) Cox. We have discussed the responsibilities of the position and I am confident that there will be a smooth transition come September.
COVID Guidelines:
In October of last year, I posted a document on the Oregon Federation Webpage and in the OFN that was intended to provide guidance for the Clubs to help decide when they may want to begin dancing again. I have updated that document several times as the State restrictions have changed.
On June 30, the Governor signed Executive Order 21-15 rescinding and as a result several clubs are dancing again. The current status of people vaccinated in Oregon is 70.3 % as of July 9th. I got this information from https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/oregon.health.authority.covid.19/viz OregonVaccineMetricsGovernorsGoal/GovernorsGoal .
I plan to retire the Guidelines update for the federation if there are no objections.
SECRETARY - Lori McIntosh - Please make sure you use an Arial font, size 12, please. We had a great time at the National Convention with a 4-hour meeting in a very cold room. I have grown to appreciate our shorter meetings. We have been asked to distribute flyers and information for upcoming National Conventions. The outgoing president visited states across the nation and found every square dancer they talked to didn't know about the National Square Dance Convention that occurs every year. Please let our dancers know about the Convention so that people who travel will consider attending. They are planning on attending Mid-Winter Festival in 2022. It's a good opportunity to meet dancers from around the United States and also international dancers from Australia, England, Canada, Germany, Asian countries and many other dancers.
TREASURER - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
The financials are caught up through June 30, 2021. No major bills were paid since the last meeting. The proposed budget for George Hermann has been worked on between the two of us. It will be voted on at the September meeting first thing in new business. I will be putting together a packet of information for the training meeting in September. Pretty much like last year but with one update on the proper 1099 to give to the callers and cuers at the end of the year.
It is time for the annual statement of who is authorized to sign the checks for the Federation checking account. Per the Practices and Procedures, signers are as follows: "Treasurer, President, 1st Vice President, and Past President."
I have Petrina's USDA scholarship papers to give to her.
MEMBERSHIP CHAIRPERSON - Denny Fullerton
Two councils haven't sent in their Membership dues, yet. They have been contacted and are working on it. One club hasn't been in contact with the state yet. All have been reminded. Per Lorri M., Rogue Sis Q Council is mailing their check today.
INSURANCE CHAIRPERSON - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
We now have 1,405 primary insured dancers, an increase of 37 since the May meeting. Way to go to the clubs who have enrolled club members again. In the next few weeks, I will be preparing insurance packets for the clubs and councils for the training meeting in September. The insurance rate will be going up but we won't know how much until November. Remember that in 2021, USDA paid the increase for everyone, so we did not see the raise for the year. We will see it for 2022.
PAST PRESIDENT - Karyn (Matt) Buchheit
At this time, there have not been any Randall Award nominees. If your council wishes to nominate someone for the award, the nomination form must be submitted to me by August 15, 2021. The information and ballot are supposed to be handed out to the delegates at the September meeting.
PARLIMENTARIAN - Tim (Kathy) Roberts - No Report
EDUCATION/PUBLICITY - Kathy (Tim) Roberts
Many of our clubs are starting to think about whether or not they will hold lessons in the fall or next year. Along with this decision comes the dilemma of where to advertise or how. Here are some ideas for you to consider.
*ask if your venue is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Many Chambers mail weekly advertising out to their member business. They might include your flyer.
Make flyers to take around local neighborhood homes and leave them sticking out under doormats or rubber banded to door knobs. Include a "Gift Certificate" for a free lesson.
Post Cards - instead of printing full sheet flyers, consider post cards. Put a fun picture on the front and your information on the back. Post cards are easy to carry and put up. Some places may allow you to leave a stack on a table. They are relatively inexpensive to print - checking on line it looks like you can get 500 for as little as $22.89 - another place indicated $85 for 2500.
Business Cards - are easy to hand out and can convey a lot of information when using both sides. Some business may prefer these - looks like you can get 500 for around $20.
Personal Invites - the personal invite is always the best - a card, an email, a letter…..include a coupon (post card or business card size) for a free lesson to entice them to come.
For the next suggestions, be creative in your wording - BUT remember people are only going to have a few moments to see your sign as they drive by so use minimal words with a large easy to read font. Think about what colors will be the most visible -- Black, Red, dark Blue - maybe a touch of yellow to catch the eye but not for the words.
Digital Advertising
The above list can also be found at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/195ltQg923I8kO1S5bkNfHuajn620tOGQ4Yx MqtrSZc/edit?usp=sharing
I am in the process of gathering all of the lesson information for every club in the OFSRDC which will be displayed in a spreadsheet similar to the one below. Council Delegates, please go back to your clubs and ask them to send me their lesson information. Once I have the information I will post it on Facebook and in the OFN. It will also go to the State Fair in August and will be placed on any bulletin boards that will accept it. After this meeting, you will find an email in your inbox for you to forward to your clubs. It will include the request for lesson information and a link to the list of ideas for advertising lessons. Please forward the email to the clubs in your council and ask your club delegates to get back to me with their lesson information. Working together we can promote every club in our Federation. I hope to keep this information updated through March 2022, so please remind the clubs several times over the next few months to send me their data.
The Federation Facebook page is up to 598 members.
If you have any questions about how to create your flyers or using any of the ideas I presented above, please contact me.
HISTORIAN - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit - No Report
LICENSING - Ralph Lambert
There is nothing going on at this moment since there is no Summer Festival.
YOUTH ACTIVITIES - Thomas Buchheit
There was only 1 applicant for scholarships this year. Working on the caller for the youth dance at State Fair as well as the list of dancers.
ORDTA - Tami Helms (Tim Keck)- No report
ROUND DANCE SCREENING - Tami Helms (Tim Keck)
JUNE 2021 OROM selected by Umpqua Council
Mellow Moonlite Waltz
Choreo: stella & Peter Tennant
Music: Foster & Allen The Spinning Wheel
Waltz Phase II +2 Hover & Chair
JULY 2021 OROM selected by Blue Mountains Council
Happy Days
Choreo: Charlene & James Mann
Music: Pratt & McClain
TWO STEP phase II +1 Rock the Boat
The certificates of recognition have been updated and mailed to all the choreographers for the rounds of the month.
CALLER LIASON - Terry Halley (Betty Chipps)-no report
WEBMASTER - Tim (Kathy) Roberts- No Report
STATE FAIR - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
I received the dates and times while I was gone to Jackson, MS. We are scheduled to dance rounds on August 31 from 1:30-2:30; mainstream on September 2 from 1:30-2:30; and Youth on September 4 from 12:00 to 1:00. I sent out the notice via email to the Federation email listing and put the schedule on Facebook in a post. I have yet to put the flyer on since I have to go to my older computer to do the conversion. Will be accepting names any time from those who are interested in dancing at the fair. No callers or cuers lined up yet. Zola: Thank you for sending out the flyer.
BACKGROUND CHECK - Tim (Kathy) Roberts - No Report
BLUE MOUNTAINS COUNCIL - David (Sally) Stutzman
I am saddened to report that Don Berry passed away last Saturday. Don was the club cuer for the La Grande Star Promenaders for many years. Don and Bonnie started dancing in 1985 and with Don's love of music he soon learned to cue the dances. He preferred cueing while dancing with Bonnie. Don and Bonnie were delegates to the Federation for a time and held several offices with the Club and Council. Don was a life-long member of the LDS church. He spent 4 ˝ years in the Navy where he served as a missile technician. Don retired from Skip-Line Electronics where he designed and built the electronics for paint trucks that paint pavement stripes. Although he was quiet and reserved, Don was a fantastic story teller. If you asked the right question, he would share a wealth of knowledge.
CENTRAL OREGON COUNCIL - Joyce (Mike) Welton
High Desert Dancers (plus and mainstream club) and Red Rocks are slowly beginning to dance again. High Desert Dancers held a four week MS workshop and one PL workshop with good attendance. Sadly, Mark McDonald has withdrawn from cueing and we've lost a very valuable asset to our dance community. The Sundown Round Dance club is considering either folding or pausing for the time being. They danced only once a month. In addition, the Sagebrush Shufflers in Prineville are also folding. It's been a long struggle because of low attendance (and officer volunteers!) and good dance venues. They've tried valiantly to increase their numbers; lots of demos and parade participations. Nothing has seemed to help. Now they are holding a couple of more free dances at a Prineville park with the intention of dancing until the money dries up! Kippen Parret now lives in Prineville and is considering starting a caller-run club…no decision yet.
EMERALD EMPIRE AREA - Zola (Ray) Jones
Some of our clubs have started back dancing: Single Trees on Fridays, Spin-Cycle Squares on Sundays, and Wolf Pack on 1st Saturdays. Please contact these clubs of you want to come dancing, to be sure they have not had to cancel for some reason. Cascade Callers & Cuers Assoc. are having a 5th Saturday dance on July 31st. The rest of our area clubs are planning to start back in September. And--New Dancer lessons begin the first part of October. These take place at the Emerald Square Dance Center in Springfield; and we are all so looking forward to reconnecting and returning to dancing! Our next council meeting is Monday, July 19. Personally, I appreciate receiving the reports prior to our Federation meeting. When our Council meeting is the next day, I have the Agenda with the reports which allows me to share information with our council.
INTERSTATE HIGHLANDERS - Cece (Sarge) Glidewell
There is not much to report at this time except that we will be focusing on new dancer recruitment as soon as we obtain a new dance hall.
MID-WILLAMETTE AREA COUNCIL - Julia Buchheit
Some of our clubs have been dancing. All of our clubs are gearing up for lessons and dances to start in the fall. We are working at getting the last of the paperwork for dues turned in to us so that we can finalize everything.
PORTLAND AREA COUNCIL - Betty Chipps (Terry Halley)
The Portland Area Council (PAC) met, via ZOOM, on May 17th, 2021. Area Clubs are not yet dancing and await the lifting of COVID restrictions. PAC, along with Country Cut-Ups, will host a 5th-Friday 'outside-dance' on:
" JULY 30th (FRI) at the Boring Barn, Boring, OR - theme is: "Starry Night" with Caller/Cuer: Scott Zinser and Tami Helms (look to the JULY-OFN for Flyer).
On Wednesday, June 30,/2021, Governor Brown released all COVID-19 restrictions in Oregon - emphasizing most venues could return to normal (with exceptions: i.e. medical facilities). Thus, PAC Clubs are planning the return of square dancing:
ROGUE SIS Q COUNCIL - Blake Smith
Charlie Brown Squares
On July 8th the Charlie's danced for the first time since March 2020, with a FunShop to get dancers back in the groove. These will continue 2x week thru July. We will also be having our first dance since 2020 on July 17 with Chuck Simpkins and Sarge Glidewell. We are dark for August as the Fair is happening this year. SSD sessions will start in September.
We have a real treat in October with the wonderful Mike Seastrom coming up for a weekend of dancing and seminars. Mark your calendar for Oct 15-16 when he will be here. Lots of events happening with flyers in OFN, or soon to be. He will be calling the Charlie's regular 3rd Saturday dance on the 16th with Rikki Lobato cueing, as well as additional events happening during day and Friday evening. If you are a caller, he will also be doing a caller seminar on Sunday Oct 17th.
Star Promenaders
Diamond Lake Festival will be happening July 21-24 with Mike Hayworth and Christina Corelli. Workshops have started 2 weeks ago. Lessons start in September.
Circle N Squares are dark.
Rogue Sis Q Council Dance will be held July 30th with Wayne Weaver calling and Bob Dingman at the Star Promenader Hall in Medford.
SOUTH COAST COUNCIL - Dave (Patty) Cooper
Sets-In-Order in Coquille back dancing on 2nd Saturdays. No lessons planned at this time.
Saints N Aints no dances since Covid shutdown. Hoping to have 1st dance on July 17th at Methodist Church in Coos Bay.
Beachcombers have had a couple of fun dances with 2-3 squares dancing. BattleRock on track for Labor Day Weekend. Lessons start Sunday, September 26th, 3:00-4:30 PM.
Roof repair project July 7-9 was accomplished with major help from Whirl-A-Ways Marvin and Karen Baker, Terry Nelson and Leah Firth, and Kevin Heine. Martin Easley, the Beachcombers Deputy Sheriff was in charge of the whole operation with assistance from Dave and Patty Cooper. Looks great and can't wait for everyone to see it at BattleRock.
Mavericks have had one round dance and will be dancing on the 1st Saturday of every month beginning in October.
TUALATIN VALLEY COUNCIL - Josie Rosenbury
The Hoedowners were the first TVC club to schedule a square dance which was called by Daryl Clendenin back on May 18th at the Aloha Grange and since then several TVC clubs are now dancing again regularly. Check the 'where and when' and flyer sections of the OFN and the Federation Facebook page if planning to attend, especially on hot evenings just to be certain of details.
Most of the clubs left their admission prices where they were, but a couple of clubs have increased admission. The majority of our clubs have decided not to set out food or offer beverages at dances at this time and request dancers bring their own. In most cases masks appear to be optional. It was really awesome to see all the smiles and be able to hug friends again. There are a few TVC clubs that will be waiting until September to schedule their dances.
Social Square Dance (SSD) discussions have continued over the past few months. Most of our clubs have expressed not being in favor of changing their programs to add SSD, but we do have a couple of clubs planning SSD lessons in the fall.
Some clubs are conducting in-person meetings and have upcoming club picnics and campouts planned during the summer, while the TVC and a few clubs still continue meeting via zoom. The TVC is planning a 'do it yourself' Sunday afternoon picnic, August 15th at Noble Woods Park in Hillsboro. The TVC will wait until the 5th Saturday in October for the next council dance.
The TVC discussed the possibilities of bidding for the 2022 summer festival and after careful consideration have determined they will not be submitting a bid even if it means there may not be a summer festival next year.
The TVC paid membership dues in June. The Federation directory count of just 47 is down some from previous years because of the announcement that contact information will be available online.
UMPQUA AREA COUNCIL - Gabriel Smith
Buckaroo Round up was a great success, as was Wildlife Safari in June. Buckaroo's have been having dancing and start lesson in September.
Rikki Lobato/Rob Keene
Not much to report for Goodwill Ambassador. I attended my first ICBDA convention and had a wonderful time. I also cued a set- stressful and fun at the same time!! I've started cueing some dances recently and my schedule is starting to get busy again, Yay!! I will be attending Diamond Lake, always a wonderful time! Then July 30 and 31st, I will be cueing in Bend with Jay Henderson, a great caller. Should be fun. Have some fun dances coming up from CA to MT and everywhere in between!!
Sorry I couldn't attend meeting, I am literally in a cabin in the woods with no cell/internet service
Roger & Linda Putzler
We have been attending the Zoom meetings for Callers and dancers on Tuesday nights concerning Social Square Dancing (SSD) and its possible implementation.
We participated in 4 brush-up sessions with the dancers of the Central Oregon Council. The sessions included an introduction to SSD, review of Mainstream, and review of Plus.
We called a Plus dance for the High Desert Dancers in Bend on June 25.
We have been in contact with a number of former and current square dancers. We will be out of the action for a few months. Roger is having his left knee replaced on July 12, but we are still planning of beginning lessons and dances in September.
Roger dialed into the meeting for the last few minutes. He had his knee replacement and is doing well.
Kathy Roberts: thank you Joyce Welton and the Central Oregon Council for sharing the questionnaire that you sent out to all of your clubs about resuming dancing after Covid. You put a lot of thought into it and it was very helpful. I modified your questionnaire for our club the Toe Draggers. Tim Roberts then tweaked it a bit more and placed in on Google Forms and sent a link to our club members. Forms tabulated all of their responses and issued a final anonymous report which we were able to use when we discussed starting to dance again. If anyone would like to check out our questionnaire, please contact Tim Roberts.
Marilyn Schmit: Thank you to Lorri and Lily for helping to set up showcase at National Convention. During the OFSRDC meeting in September, everything will be at the square dance centers including the Saturday night dance. The Independence Wagon Wheelers are hosting the dance with George Hermann calling. Flyers will be sent to delegates soon.
Tim Keck: meeting on Saturday in September? Marilyn reports the Officers, Delegates and Training Meeting will be Saturday from 2-4pm.
Lorri: shout out to Ron and Marilyn Schmit for the hard work they do at the National Square Dance Convention each year putting the Showcase of Ideas together for each state or representative from square and round dancing, clogging, calling, and cuer organization. This is time consuming and a lot of work to coordinate and put together with tables for display, name plates and putting the Oregon display together at the same time.
Sunday, September 12, 2021, 9:00 AM
Salem Square Dance Center Salem, OR
ADJOURN: MOTION TO ADJOURN at 10:25am