9:03 AM General Meeting
Please turn off your cell phones
CALL TO ORDER President Tim Keck (Tami Helms)
Membership Chairman Gil Shoemaker has resigned. Tim Keck appointed Cherie Cox as the new Membership Chair to complete the term. Tim asked for a vote of approval from the board. Vote was Yes.
ROLL CALL Secretary, Lorri McIntosh
Absent: Jan Steele, Central Oregon Council
INVOCATION Immediate Past President, George (Patty) Hermann
FLAG SALUTE 1st Vice President, Karyn (Matthew) Buchheit
MINUTES Secretary, Lorri McIntosh
Correction to the September 18, 2022, Minutes: Last page, next meeting will be in LINN County -- not Lane County
MOTION: George Hermann moved to accept the minutes as corrected, Marilyn Schmit second the motion. Motion passed.
PRESIDENT – Tim Keck (Tami Helms):
My tenure so far has been quite eventful.
We have had some committee activity. We will be addressing the proposal to change the festival dates, the revision for the Grant Fund Committee, and a revision to the BMI/ASCAP position under old business.
We have some new business to discuss, concerning responsibilities of the Caller Liaison and the status of the Membership Chair. Look for that under new business.
I have had to respond to issues that resulted in policy direction. They are member conduct and service animal policy. Both will be discussed during Good of the Order.
I have had discussions relating to dancers and age-related activity and I provided guidance for that topic.
It has been fun writing the President’s corner for the OFN. It seems that I have no end of topics available. If you have a suggestion, feel free to send me your idea.
We have good news relating to membership and square dance activity you should see that in the other reports.
I want to thank each & everyone who have assisted me with the accomplishment of my duties. I appreciate your commitment to be on a committee or to express an opinion about a subject or issue that needs to be resolved. Sharing that information has allowed me to obtain an overall perspective on the state of our organization.
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT - Karyn (Matthew) Buchheit:
No report
2023 MIDWINTER FESTIVAL - Lisa Kious:
There were 707 dancers this year, 250 more than last year.
2024 MIDWINTER FESTIVAL - Connie (Paul) Seamans:
I am on track for my year. Will sell ribbons at this Mid-Winter, website will be ready to go by the first of February, Have most of my committee, at least all the important position.
My after party this year is combined with the youth. Bring your mask, for one adult and one youth will get a free ribbon for the best mask. We will have both featured caller and Darrel Kalmbach call from 9:30 pm to 10:30 pm. Please join us for a fun time.
OREGON FEDERATION NEWS - Tim (Kathy) Roberts:
The OFN continues to go smoothly. I would like to get more council reports. Currently, we receive reports from 4 councils; 6 are on radio silence.
SECOND VICE President - Patrick (Cherie) Cox:
No Report
SECRETARY - Lorri McIntosh:
It’s been busy since our last meeting. I have been recovering from ankle surgery and hope to be able to dance during Mid-Winter. I want to thank Kathy Roberts for assisting me with the secretary duties, she is fantastic with helping.
TREASURER - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit:
The review of the books has been completed and all is well. A couple of suggestions were included, part of which I can do and the other one, only partially. The yearly bills for ASCAP and BMI have been received and forwarded to me to pay. The checks have been mailed to Brooke for her to send along with the invoices. The Randall Award engraving will be paid on site during the Festival.
The financials are being worked on as I write this report and will come at the meeting or by email.
All the clubs have paid their dues and there are still state directories available. I have 9 of 15 left and Patrick has all the rest that he took home from the September meeting. I have been taking them to dances as I sell Mid-Winter ribbons and lay them on the table next to the registrations. I have sold about 8 of them that way.
MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN - Cherie (Pat) Cox:
Per Marylin Schmit: Currently there are 53 clubs in the Oregon Federation and five clubs in the Square and Folk Dance Federation of Washington who belong to the Oregon Federation also. They insure with Washington insurance and the last head count I had is 193. They are in the process of renewing their insurance so will get a new headcount later this year. Their insurance year runs from September to August and Oregon’s runs from January to January. The Washington clubs are Happy Hoppers, R square D, Muddy Frogs, Columbia River Squares, and Buzzin’ Bees.
Their insurance Coordinator is also the Membership Chair.
Gilbert has a listing of the clubs and when their Oregon Corporation renewal is due and that is published in the OFN monthly.
INSURANCE CHAIRMAN - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit:
The renewals were completed around December 20. Some clubs got emails asking for more money since they paid the 2022 rate. I did not process their paperwork until the money was received. Some clubs have a credit on my books since they paid for secondary members or some members that were part of another club and not made aware of the other club. The total to start 2023 is 1233 primary dancers which includes recently added class graduates and member renewals. The ending amount for 2022 was 1435 primary. I look forward to receiving more names as the club’s graduate dancers and they join their clubs. The Mid-Winter insurance has been received and forwarded to their insurance person.
Marilyn clarified what the difference is between primary and secondary members: Primary is the club a dancer pays insurance through; secondary club member is where the dancer joins a club a does not pay insurance as they pay it through their primary club. Also clarified: members who are no longer dancing still need to be insured due to potential for accidents, insurance needs to be paid if they are on the membership list.
PAST PRESIDENT - George (Patty) Hermann:
Not much to report from the Past President. No requests for grant funds or scholarships have been received. I was tasked with forming a committee to look at the description of the Grant Fund Committee in the P&P’s. That was done and the new description is attached below for your perusal. The vote to accept the revised description will be taken at the meeting. I will have copies of the current Grant Fund Committee description at the meeting so it can be compared to the revision. I do not have the computer skills of Mr. Keck or Ms. Davison to add in colored letters to designate the changes…
The Randall Award went to Dave and Patty Cooper this year.
PARLIAMENTARIAN -Tim (Kathy) Roberts:
No report
EDUCATION/PUBLICITY - Kathy (Tim) Roberts:
A few months ago Mid-Winter asked if I would be willing to include the Callers’ Saturday morning Seminar under the OFSRDC Education umbrella. I agreed. Our first seminar went very well. Thank you to our featured callers Steve Edlund and Justin Russell for leading the seminar and sharing their experiences. Two of the items discussed were SSD and mentoring callers. Including Steve and Justin, we had 12 people attend. We had 2 new callers, 1 prospective youth caller, a retired caller who is considering calling again, callers who have received the OFSRDC Caller’s Grant and experienced callers.
Our Educational Seminar on BMI/ASCAP/SESAC Licensing followed the Callers’ seminar. Thank you to our moderators Brook Davison, OFSRDC Licensing Coordinator; Tami Helms, ORDTA President and Cuer; George Hermann, Caller and past OFSRDC President; and Leonard Snodgrass, Caller and Cuer. Brooke researched many topics that she felt important for the clubs, callers, and cuers. The panel did an excellent job and I appreciate their willingness to share their information. We had a couple cloggers attend with several questions that were answered. Unfortunately, we only had 8 people attend this important seminar (including Tim Keck, Tim Roberts, Marilyn Schmit, and myself). Brooke will be writing a series of three articles for the OFN on the information she researched. Thank you, Brooke.
The Federation Facebook page is up to 778 members. Facebook has changed their rules on how they handle Groups. People no longer have to agree to the rules before they can join a group. We’ve had several organizations and nondancers join our Group. For the most part, this has worked out. There are a few people who have tried to post nondancer information, advertising, jokes, etc. I have caught and deleted most of them. If you notice a non-dance post that I have missed, please let me know and I’ll remove it. When I remove a post, the poster receives a warning and is notified what rules they violated. The next time they post an item that is not dance related, I will permanently remove them from the group.
HISTORIAN - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit:
There has been no activity since our last meeting. The list for the Chairman’s Award and the Wood Award are finalized and the plaques are in my vehicle ready to be taken to the engraver
LICENSING – Brooke Davison:
All music licensing fees are paid and up to date. Filed 2022 Event Report for BMI as required. Will be collecting licensing fee reimbursement for Mid-Winter during or immediately after the festival.
YOUTH ADVISOR - Karyn (Matthew) Buchheit:
As of January 8, 2023, there were 45 youth signed up for Mid-Winter (ages 19 and younger). We also had 11 youth ages 20-26 signed up. The youth committee awarded 16 youth ribbons scholarships for Mid-Winter.
Youth has received a letter from Silver City teens requesting financial assistance to send 37 youth to the teen festival in Auburn Washington, needed is about $13,000. As of last night, we have about $4500, parents and teens are reaching out for assistance. This is the largest group to ever attend this festival and the largest group to attend.
ORDTA -Tami Helms (Tim Keck):
Meeting yesterday the organization doing well, donated $500 to the youth to help with expenses to attend the teen festival.
ROUND DANCE SCREENING -Tami Helms (Tim Keck):
Round of the month is going ok. Club delegates are responsible for picking a cuer advisor for that council. That person will get the round dance choices and will submit the dances back to Tami. Each council gets to pick the round of the month.
CALLER LIAISON -Terry Halley (Betty Chipps):
No Report
WEBMASTER - Tim (Kathy) Roberts:
Tim K requested an email for the president to use for communication with the board. Tim R- yes, I can put that together. Dave Cooper asked about POOF emails, Tim R. this committee no longer exists.
GRANT FUND COMMITTEE - George (Patty) Hermann:
No grant applications have been received at this time.
Our committee rewrote the Grant Fund description for the P&P’s. The text is presented in new business.
STATE FAIR - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit:
A letter will go out in late March or early April to let my contact person know that the Federation is interested in dancing at the State Fair in late August and early September. We will not hear anything until July for any further action.
BACKGROUND CHECK - Tim (Kathy) Roberts:
All MWF 2024 has been checked
There were 5 background checks for 2022.
(See attachment to minutes)
MOTION: Karyn Buchheit moved to accept the revision, Marilyn Schmit second motion, motion carried.
It has been determined by the committee that each festival will be discussed separately.
Mid-Winter Festival discussion
History: The Mid-Winter Festival (originally called Mid-Winter Clinic) was first held in 1961 at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene in February. It was hosted by the Emerald Area Council.
In the beginning, the festival was held early in February and then moved to the end of January, presumably to avoid conflict with the Super Bowl event. It has been held every year since its inception except for 2021; that year was cancelled due to the Pandemic.
The festival had a venue change in 2005. It moved from the lane County Fairgrounds to the Linn County Fairgrounds, due to an unacceptable cost increase for the venue by the Lane County Fairgrounds.
Authority: The Mid-Winter Festival is a Federation sponsored festival that has been traditionally co-sponsored by the Emerald Area Council and it will be until they request that another area council or the Federation assume the responsibility to host the festival.
Profitability: Since its inception, the Mid-Winter festival has returned a profit except for 2022. The 2022 festival was unique in that it was held during the Pandemic. The state of emergency restriction was still in place and as a result there was a reluctance from the dancers to attend the event due to potential health risks. The trend in attendance has been steadily declining from the peak in the 70’s & 80’s with over 10,000 in attendance to present day when we are around 1,000 or less in attendance.
Proposal: It is proposed to move the Mid-Winter festival to a Date in March, renaming it to Spring Equinox for 2023. This is an impossibility in the near future as the 2023 festival is contractually committed to the Date and location of Jan 27-29, 2023, at the Fairgrounds Expo in Albany. There is a contractual obligation with the Fairgrounds through 2026, at which time the contract comes up for renewal. A Consideration for a move to a different date/venue could occur after 2026. If this were to happen, here are the advantages & disadvantages.
Advantages:
Easier Travel as most inclement weather has abated.
There are less conflicts with other weekend events in Oregon & Statewide.
Conflicting Dances Nationally, WASCA Washington DC 3rd weekend in March
Other Conflicts Spring Break Colleges & Public Schools
Disadvantages:
A New venue would need to be established. Currently the Linn County Fairgrounds has indicated that the re-negotiation of the current contact dates would be favorable for 2027 & beyond; changing the dates would make that uncertain. Traditionally moving established events for either venue or dates has resulted in an initial drop in attendance.
During March, there are traditional conflicts with other Square Dances. The 2018 OFN listed over 30 dances scheduled in March, none were full weekends. There will be an occasional conflict with Easter when the event happens in March (last weekend)
Summer Festival Discussion
History: The Summer Festival was first held in 1957. In that 65-year history the event was cancelled or not held 4 times. In 1994 & 2005 it was combined with the National convention that was hosted in Portland on those years. In recent years, the interest in hosting the Summer Festival has been steadily declining, so much so that it is a struggle to get an area council to volunteer to host the festival.
Authority: The Summer Festival is a Federation sponsored festival co-sponsored by the Area Council or Councils who have successfully bid for the festival.
Profitability: The Summer festival was designed to be held in various venues as determined by the hosting council(s). A reason for this is to allow for revenue sharing of the profits (if any) with the hosting council; a direct benefit to the hosting council. Typically, attendance at Summer Festivals is smaller with numbers around 400 being a well-attended event. One reason noted for this smaller number is conflicts with other summer activities such as vacations and competing festivals close to the same time as the Summer Festival.
Proposal: It is proposed to have the date of the Summer Festival moved to September and re-name it Fall Equinox
Advantages:
The September Federation meeting could be held in conjunction with the festival.
Disadvantages:
By September, the Public-school season has begun. This will restrict the availability of venues as there have been many instances of using school facilities. Families with children in school will be impacted as their children will be attending school, impacting Friday scheduled events.
During September, there are traditional conflicts with other Square Dances. In 2018 the OFN listed over 30 dances scheduled in September, none were full weekends. This is also the month that the clubs begin square dance lessons. There are some weekend square dance events, one in Battle Rock, OR that may conflict. Others are out of State, Circle 8 Ranch, WA for example.
Conclusions & proposed action(s)
We recommend that the Mid-Winter Festival continues held during the current time frame at the current venue.
We recommend that the Summer Festival continues to be held as scheduled.
The committee recommended we not change the dates. MOTION: Dale Brabham moved to accept the committee’s report/recommendation, Patrick Cox, second the motion. Motion carried.
The proposed text of the Grant Fund Committee job description is as follows:
The Grant Fund Committee shall consist of the Past President, who will chair the committee, the First Vice President and the Treasurer. The committee is charged with the review and recommendation of requests for financial support by Clubs or individuals for dance related activities deemed beneficial to the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance.
All clubs or individuals requesting financial support from the Federation to help promote square dancing, round dancing, clogging and line dancing in their area/club/council must submit a written request to the Grant Fund Committee chairman. Only requests submitted by Federation members to the committee will be accepted. These funds are to be used to promote dancing. They are not to be used to pay Caller/Cuer salaries or club or hall maintenance.
A Callers or Cuer may apply for a scholarship of up to $500.00 to cover tuition and housing costs for attending a Caller or Cuer class or seminar intended to help improve their calling/cueing skills. The attendee must be currently mentored by a Caller or Cuer from a Federation member club. A receipt for tuition and housing must be submitted to the Grant Fund Committee upon completion of the class or seminar. A Caller or Cuer may receive a maximum of two scholarships from the Federation. A discussion of how this scholarship will help the Caller/Cuer and the Federation and Letters of Recommendation are highly recommended. They must also submit a report to the committee after each class or seminar reporting on what they have learned, any contacts they have made and how this helped their calling/cueing skills. The Caller or Cuer shall perform at a Federated club dance or a Federation sponsored event or festival within a year of the completion of the class or seminar.
Requests for grants/scholarships shall be submitted in writing – either by regular mail or digitally to the Committee Chair. The committee will review the written request for funds, and make a recommendation for approval or disapproval, no later than the next scheduled Federation meeting. A motion shall be made regarding the request for discussion and action by the Federation.
At a minimum Requests for Grants shall have information regarding:
◦ Their costs
◦ If assistance has been requested from any other organizations
◦ Why the funds are being requested.
The more information given to the Grant Fund Committee, the easier their job will be. Also, remember the committee CANNOT make the decision to approve the grant or scholarship. They can only make a recommendation at the next Federation meeting. So, give them plenty of time.
Contact the current Past President with questions about this policy.
Brooke asked if non-federation members could apply. The original intent was to allow non-members to apply. It was requested to establish this information in the P&P’s. Kathy Roberts: a caller was a previous caller and needs brush up, can she apply for a grant? If they are not a member of the Federation, do they need a mentor from a Federated club? Yes. George Hermann: when a person receives a grant, they must submit a report after the caller/cuer school to the federation. MOTION: Karyn Buchheit moved to accept the report as amended by the committee, Cece Glidewell second the motion, motion passed.
a. 1st Vice President- Patrick Cox
b. Secretary (1 yr.)- Lorri McIntosh
c. 2nd Vice President (2yr)- Cherie Cox & Julia Buchheit
d. Treasurer- Marilyn Schmit
e. Membership- George explained what the membership person is responsible for. Sue Harrel volunteered to accept the nomination.
Nominations close February 1st.
BLUE MOUNTAINS COUNCIL - David (Sally) Stutzman:
No report
CENTRAL OREGON COUNCIL - Joyce (Roger) Welton:
The C O Council held their Halloween Dance on Saturday, October 29th, and enjoyed the Calling and Cueing of Adam Christman at the Redmond Grange. We had a huge turnout (7 squares) with so many costumes that we should have had an award but didn’t think of it early enough. Bummer! Adam Christman and his family came with full costumes including their little ones which added to the festivities.
Historically, the High Desert Dancers have held a Turkey Dinner (Thanksgiving style) in November with all area dancers and families being invited. The club provides the turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes but everything else is potluck including awesome pies. They fed over 65 people that night and so many of us appreciated the opportunity to get together again after the 3-year hiatus (hehe).
The Rockin’ Outlaws Club (Jim Steele’s) continues to provide Mainstream workshops every Sunday afternoon. Jim asked that the area clubs encourage new dancers to come to the workshops to hone their skills after they get out of lessons.
Our new Round Dance Club, Sundown Ridge Riders, held their first dance (December 1st) and had 24 dancers in attendance. Very happy with that response. They will be having one dance a month - 1st Thur. of the month - and weekly lessons on Sunday afternoon. Mark McDonald continues to get new members. So happy we have Round Dancing back in Central Oregon!
At our Council, we discussed the motion made at last meeting regarding moving the Winter and Summer festivals to other months. After discussion, we fully support such a move. Its always been a “crap shoot” if weather will be OK for us to travel the pass to attend in January. This year has especially been troubling because of the huge storms we’ve experienced. Please give this change serious consideration for those who don’t live in the Valley.
Also discussed was the Summer Festival event. With all the Oregon Festivals that are available for dancers to attend, another one in the middle of summer seems overkill especially given that attendance has dropped off. Why does the State compete with other festivals at a time when local festivals are struggling for attendance? Now I’m not aware of all the festivals attendance but I do know of a few that certainly could use more dancers. Moving the Summer Fest to September at least lessens the impact to other festivals.
EMERALD EMPIRE AREA - Zola Jones:
At our January 16, 2023 Council meeting--all of our clubs are dancing, but at times some clubs once a month because of Caller availability or other circumstance. So, if someone is in our area and wants to come to a dance contact the club first to be sure they are dancing on that date.
It was announced that the Emerald Square Dance Center has been reserved for our Council hosting the State Federation meetings on September 9 & 10, 2023, and the State President has been informed of these dates. More information of times, Saturday evening dance, and Hotels, etc. will come later.
Caller-run New Dancer Class has many New Dancers and a lot of Hard Badgers from several clubs helping. Also, area clubs have been having New Dancer level dances in December and January. The class will be ready and looking forward to Mid-Winter Festival.
Cascade Callers & Cuers Association will be doing their next 5th Saturday Dance on April 29, 2023 at the Emerald Square Dance Center; and it will be a great time dancing to all our callers and cuers in one evening!
Roger & Linda Putzler and Christina Corelli brought back their special "New Year’s Eve Dance"; the first one since 2019 (3 years), with over 5 squares attending--always a great way to bring in the new year with our dancing friends.
And---also, always a great way to get the New Year going with Mid-Winter Festival's dancing and visiting with many friends, and making new friends too. So--keep enjoying this weekend. From Emerald Empire Area Council and the Mid-Winter Festival Committee.
INTERSTATE HIGHLANDERS - Cece (Sarge) Glidewell:
The Klamath Country Squares have not had any dances since the Covid lockdown and loss of their dance facility, Triad School. The club has been paying bills as they come due and meeting by phone to take care of business as it arises. Due to the lack of income, it was decided to conserve the funds we have until such time as we can find a reasonably priced dance hall for lessons and dances. The club caller and cuer are working on finding a dance hall for 2023. So far two options fell through, but Sarge and Cece Glidewell have an appointment on January 10 with another facility representative. It was also decided to let the club-council PO Box go since the fee the Post Office Charges is $212 per year. Even splitting the fee between the club-council is unreasonable at $106 each per year. The Glidewell’s agreed to let the club - council use their PO Box for mail receipt. All club and or Council mail will need to be in “Care Of” The Glidewell’s and sent to PO Box 1928 Klamath Falls, OR 97601.
The council also has not been active since the Covid lockdown for anything other than paying bills as they come due and Co-Chairing the 2022 Summer Festival. The council is hopeful that the KCs will find a dance hall soon so they can get back to dancing in 2023.
Within a week of submitting my report we have a possibility for a venue for dancing, apologies to Umpqua Council, we have another engagement for the May meeting and will not be at the dance but will be at the meeting.
MID-WILLAMETTE AREA COUNCIL - Julia Buchheit:
We have had good attendance at most of our New Dancer Dances this year. The clubs who had fall lessons have either graduated their classes already or will be doing so in the next couple of weeks. There are a couple of our clubs talking about starting square lessons soon.
There have been round lessons with more than one group this year. Re-Vu-N-Q finished Jive at the end of 2022 and are now doing Tango. Silver City Squares is finishing up 2-Step and will be starting Waltz in February.
Cherry City Cloggers reported a large class this past fall.
Silver City Squares reported that they are attending the Pacific Northwest Teen Square Dance Festival in Washington in May this year. They currently have 37 youth planning to attend to participate in both Plus and Mainstream Squares, Calling, Cueing and in Intermediate, Basic and Novice Rounds. This is the largest group from Oregon to ever attend the festival and is the largest club attending this year.
PORTLAND AREA COUNCIL - Betty Chipps (Terry Halley):
No business meeting in December; instead PAC gathered, 12/19/22, at the Old Spaghetti Factory, Clackamas Town Center for a Christmas dinner.
Next PAC Meeting:
• The next Portland Area Council meeting is Monday, January 16, 2023 at the Oak Grove Community Center 7:30 PM.
Club Anniversary Dances
B&Bs dance 1st, 3rd and 5th Wednesdays at Abernethy Grange, Oregon City.
PAC Visitation: 4/5/2023
• Special BD Dance, with guest Callers, on WED, 2/8/2023, hosted by Henna Yauger,
Abernethy Grange.
Buzzin’ Bees moved their dance nights to the 2nd and 4th Saturday. PAC Visitation: 4/8/2023
Chaps & Petticoats dance 1st and 3rd Fridays. FLINTSTONE dance & PAC Visitation: 2/17/2023
Country Cut-Ups dance 1st, 4th and 5th Saturdays. DARK for Mid-Winter. PAC Visitation: 10/7/2023
• Spring Fling weekend is April 28-30, 2023 with caller/cuer: Andy Allemao and Tami Helms
Happy Hoppers Dance 1st & 3rd Saturdays. DARK for Mid-Winter.PAC Visitation: 5/6/2023
• Lessons on Mondays: PLUS at 6:30pm, Basic at 7:30pm, starting JAN 9, 2023 at Wash. Grange.
Heads to the Center dance Thursdays (taped music) - confirm at 503-808-7361).PAC Visitation: 9/2/2023
River City Dancers dance 2nd and 4th Saturdays. DARK for Mid-Winter. PAC Visitation: 6/10/2023
Rosetown Ramblers dance 2nd SAT at Oak Grove Comm. Ctr, 7-9:30pm .
PAC Visitation: 2/112023
• MS-Lessons are Wednesdays, beginning January 18, 2023 from 7:00 - 8:30 pm at the
Bridgeport United Church of Christ, 621 NE 76th Ave., Portland
The PAC fifth-Friday dances - planned for 2023 Please join us!
March 31, 2023, Co-hosted with Country Cut-Ups at the Boring Barn
June 30, 2023, Co-hosted with River City Dancers at the Milwaukie Community Center.
September 29, 2023, at Oak Grove Community Center…canceled 10/17 but reinstated at 11/21/22 PAC Mtg.
December 29, 2023, DARK
Program for bottle recycles/bottle drops for PAC, the council gives blue bags (non-profit organization) to clubs. The funds is generated to clubs alphabetically at $100, this has continued to assist the clubs.
Chaps and Petticoats had the best turnout ever for their dance.
ROGUE SIS Q COUNCIL - Blake Smith:
Rogue Sis Q Council had a dance Friday night, January 13th with fair attendance. Chuck Simpkins did a great job calling and Rikki Lobato was awesome the round dancing. Our Next Council dance will be in Yreka on March 31 with Dean Black calling and Elaine Funk cueing.
Charlie Brown Squares had an SSD class graduate in December; with 3 of the 4 graduated students joining our club. The newest SSD class started on 1/10/23 with 13 students and more expected. On Jan 7th they had a wonderful community dance event with J Domis and Rikki Lobato - 73 dancers signed in with over 20 youths.
They are looking forward to some great dances coming up.
Dances over the next few months will include callers Chuck Simpkins, Phil Ramey, Darrell Kalmbach, Dean Black & Roger Putzler. Cuers include Rikki Lobato, Bob Dingman, Elaine Funk & Sarge Glidewell. The May 20th dance will be a very special one with the dance celebrating what would have been Arizona Bill's 100th birthday - Dean & Rikki will call and cue as Bill had requested a couple of years ago.
Be sure to put Boatnik Festival on your calendar during Memorial Weekend - this fun party is a 3-day event and this year's featured talent is Joe Saltel & Randy/Marie Preskitt. Adam Christman will join Rikki at her Monday class on April 10th for a Spring Dance Party with squares and rounds. Looking farther ahead they have Buddy Weaver calling our birthday dance in December.
As always - information is available at charliebrownsquares.com
Circle N Squares have been holding square dance lessons at the Karuk Tribe Community Center.
Star Promenaders are holding square dance classes on Monday evenings, dances on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month.
The Star Promenaders birthday dance is scheduled for February 25th with Phil Ramey and Terry Haley calling and Dave Cooper cuing.
Pear Blossom Festival is April 14, 15, 16 at The Star Promenaders Hall in Central Point. Dan Preedy will be calling, and Deb Vogt will be cuing.
SOUTH COAST COUNCIL - Dave (Patty) Cooper:
All 4 clubs in the council are dancing monthly.
Coquille and Port Orford have recently graduated beginner classes. Coos Bay has ongoing class at the present.
Mavericks are starting round dance lessons with Cha Cha at Pacific High School as an after-school program beginning in February.
Patrick & Cherie Cox and Cathy Houston have started Rumba class.
TUALATIN VALLEY COUNCIL - Dale (Linda) Brabham:
I will start with offering a special thanks to Josie Rosenbury for assisting me getting started. She served as our delegate with steadfastness and grace, and we are so grateful for her service.
I am pleased to report that the TVC and its club members are thriving as displayed by a healthy amount of activity, including special dances, festivals, and lessons. Clubs are now back to normal without COVID restrictions. The annual Seaside Sashay and Octoberfest were big successes even though on back-to-back weekends in October. The TVC hosted the Tri-Council Dance in October and a New Year’s Eve Dance.
However, there were significant losses to the square dance community this past quarter. While the loss of traditionally strong clubs, as we experienced with the Toe Draggers is disappointing, losing caller and cuers is devastating. We express sadness and grief for the passing of two of our cuers: Yvonne Clendenin and Bev Flint. We are sad to see Daryl Clendenin withdraw from his active schedule, as he announced in the OFN. Furthermore, Mike and Julie Stout have also retired from their regular schedule. These callers and cuers have been a significant part of our dancing enjoyment, and they will be greatly missed.
On a brighter note, one of our curers, Sandra Pinion, delivered baby Henry on New Year’s Day. Henry was premature and will be in NICU a few weeks. He is doing well, but we ask you to please remember Sandra and Henry in your prayers. We are also pleased to report that Jim Hattrick is back to calling and cueing for us.
The TVC continues to have monthly meetings via Zoom. Although this is practical, easy, and eliminates travel, there are some disadvantages. Most important to note is that some clubs still do not have access to this kind of connectivity. We also find that we cannot conduct transactional business, such as, distributing and collecting insurance forms, or distributing state directories. The traditional custom of exchanging dance flyers is completely lost too. However, TVC remains diligent in the pursuit of our mission to support square dancing. We use the mail a little more and have adapted to carrying out some of these functions through visiting club dances where exchanges can be made.
The next TVC sponsored dance is a 5th Saturday dance on April 29 at the Kinton Grange. The caller is Terry Halley; the cuer is Julie Stiers. Our annual Hahn Barn dance is scheduled for September 30, details to be announced.
We are proud to report that since September eight of our 12 clubs are offering lessons in round or square dance or both. We are grateful still for the brochures provided by the Federation. It has given our clubs an important tool for recruiting students.
Recognition is a key to success when working with volunteers. The TVC has an annual President’s potluck and meeting highlighted by the announcement of the Recognition Award for the past year. On January 23, we recognized Dale and Linda Brabham. Please offer them a congratulations next time you see them. Another recognition that the TVC was active in before COVID is awarding an ambassador’s badge to everyone who visits dances at all the TVC club within one year. We look forward to awarding these again very soon.
UMPQUA AREA COUNCIL - Doris (Neil) Koozer:
Dancing Friends has strongest club in area as they danced throughout COVID. Graduating the first square dance class since COVID.
Buckaroos are having the Buckaroo Round-up with Eric Henerlau and Randy Lewis calling and cueing. Wildlife Safari will be right after the Round-Up. Buckaroos new caller is Sandi Harris, Rod Skinner is a new cuer for the council.
Timber 8’s are using various callers; Misha Case is teaching lessons.
Dancing Friends starting a new Waltz class with Neil Koozer on Tuesdays.
Birthday dance for Buckaroos on 1 and Tiber 8’s on the 22nd of April.
May meeting with Scott Zinser and Neil Koozer.
Melissa James
My last report was compiled before attending the OR Summer Festival in Salem.
It was a fun festival despite low attendance and caller travel glitches. Hats off to the committee for all the hard work! The Thurs night Trail’s End was very well attended
by dancers and 4 callers. It was disappointing to occasionally have halls with no
dancers to support the callers on Friday and Saturday, but these are sparse times
we are in since the pandemic.
I was also able to attend the last PAC dance. And I have danced from Banks, OR to Boring, OR and up to Chehalis, WA in the last month. Everywhere I go dancers are beginning to show up and join in to get the rust out of their brains and get to dancing again. Unfortunately, we lost so many these last two years to aging, distraction, apathy and even fear. We have a lot of rebuilding to do.
The TVC Hahn barn dance was so much fun as usual. It was so nice to be there again even in the heat. Don’t know the numbers but it was pretty well attended.
I just returned last night from a festival in Paris, TX with dancers and callers from all over the Midwest and further. I wore my ambassador badge with pride and fielded many questions about dancing in our area. Compared to some areas we are doing very well. It was a pleasure to promote our area and activity.
Looking forward to seeing many of you at the OR Federation events in Aurora in Sept.
Robert and Young Lumsden
Since we were selected as Goodwill Ambassadors in September, Young and I have danced at a lot of dances (anniversary dances, tri-council dance, jamborees, regular dances, and seaside sashay). We found early on that most dancers didn't know what a goodwill ambassador was. We spend time at most dances talking to people. Showing them how to have fun at dances and encouraging them to
enjoy themselves and spread the fun.
We danced at several jamborees in the last couple months. The major one was the Chaps & Petticoats jamboree. Dancing in a hall with 12+ squares was really great. Every jamboree we went to this year was well attended and a lot of fun. Every student I saw was having a good time. A perfect introduction to square dancing.
Young and I enjoy dancing with new dancers. Helping them to get the moves down, but when they make a mistake not to worry about it. They need to have fun first, getting the moves down will come eventually.
Covid really hurt square dancing. From when we reopened to now, there has been a definite increase in the number of dancers at regular dances. I am confident we will continue to add new dancers and keep square dancing alive.
Rikki Lobato: would like to thank the Grant Committee and members of the Federation for approving my request for assistance in attending the Teacher's Clinic held in Spokane WA by Sharon and Casey Parker in September. I know there were some members who didn't want to approve my grant - but, I sincerely appreciate those that did. The funds helped pay for gas/lodging and food for the 3 nights in Spokane and the long drive to and from Grants Pass to Spokane.
A couple of housekeeping items - despite what some members indicated - this was not a Cuer school to teach us how to cue. This seminar/clinic's sole intention was to help cuers to learn how to teach dancers and/or to help those who are already teaching to become better teachers and hopefully help continue this great activity of round dancing.
Also, despite the fact that I am lucky enough to be asked/hired to cue in various areas of Oregon; and had the honor of being asked to be featured cuer for Summer Festival 2022 and Pear Blossom 2022 - I do not consider myself a professional. I survive on my full-time job and not from my cueing adventures. I cue because I love it and I teach because I want to share the joy I have for dancing and by doing that I hope to encourage others to dance. I take great pride in my teaching - but it's something I struggle with and have the least confidence in and I try to improve on it each and every time I step on the floor to teach. I don't care how long someone has been teaching - I believe a clinic like this would be beneficial for all dance teachers - from those teaching for 40 days to 40 years and beyond.
Regarding the teacher's clinic - it was such a wonderful experience! The wealth of knowledge Sharon and Casey have is absolutely amazing. They have a wonderful ability to share a variety of ways to improve ourselves and our teaching. A lot of time was spent on how our brains work and various learning styles. I took that information and had my dancers take several of the tests so I could better determine their learning styles and make sure I am hitting all the areas. I was already attempting to do that in my teaching - but knowing my dancer's learning styles really helps to make sure I can get thru to them more clearly. Another great tool I took from the clinic was Sharon & Casey's Intro to Rounds, which they often use at festivals or for their beginner classes. We had permission to record the sessions- so when I returned home I transcribed the information from when they did their Intro to Rounds. Oh my goodness!! I then went to my class and "retaught" the first couple weeks of my Beginner Two Step class!! It was amazing!!! Just taking 10-15 minutes and walking thru closing feet/taking weight vs not taking weight and explaining more clearly to students what that means was a huge success!! My dancers showed a huge improvement and continue to have better comprehension. Just saying it a little differently from what I felt like I said a million times - made all the difference! The Parker's concept of Intro to Rounds is something I will continue to build on and hopefully improve with each class I do. There was so much information given out that it's been a bit of a struggle to incorporate all of it, but I will continue to take the information learned, or at least introduced to us, and try to create better lesson plans and continue to improve on my classes each session. Working full time and having limited time makes the process a little longer to try and dissect all the information - but I am so thankful I could attend and I know I have more tools available to improve each teaching session. My only wish was that we could have had a week-long clinic - because there was so much that we didn't get to or didn't get to really dive into.
Again - my most sincere Thank You for the grant to help alleviate some of the expenses of the weekend clinic. It was most appreciated.
Janet Geiger: Sorry for the extended hold on the grant you awarded me but there still has been no word on whether Circle 8 Ranch is going to continue or not. Jerry Junck has been a long time instructor at the Circle 8 Ranch Caller School, and he has just put out information stating that he is holding a caller school in Lolo Montana in August. I have already made reservations to attend this caller school. I would very much appreciate using your caller grant towards this caller school. Attached is the flyer that Jerry Junck sent out. If this is not an acceptable use of your grant funds, please let me know and I will return the grant money to you at this coming mid-winter festival.
After the caller school I will email a detailed letter of what I learned and how the school will help me further my calling career.
Thank you again for investing in my calling future.
Tim Keck: At the request of several clubs, I drafted policies concerning allowing Service Animals at dances, dancer conduct and discussed age related issues at dances. It is the responsibility of each club to abide by the Federal State & local laws and rules relating to the issues addressed in these policies. The Oregon Federation has an obligation to provide guidance and clarification with issues like these, however, it cannot and will not issue direction as that is not within their authority to do so. The Oregon Federation is always here to mediate issues that clubs may have as they arise and to share results with the entire membership when the results will benefit the organization.
Kathy Roberts: USDA (United Square Dancers of America) has information pamphlets that address several issues with square dancing.
Dave Cooper: We should be supporting Caller/Cuer schools so we could be helping clubs and councils in Baker City and La Grande instead of supporting Washington Summer Festival.
Kathy Roberts: I have a few of Erin Byar’s information pamphlets for anyone who would like them. I would like to encourage all of the councils and clubs to have a host a fund raiser to help with the youth club’s expenses to attend the PNTSDF in May. The TVC Council is sponsoring a dance for the youth with Terry Halley calling and Julie Stiers cueing, April 29th at Kinton Grange. There will be a basket raffle going on downstairs. We would like to invite you to attend – and bring a basket. The more baskets and attendees we have, the greater the donation to the youth.
Marilyn Schmit: Patrick and I still have directories left if anyone needs one.
ADJOURN: MOTION: Dave Cooper moved and George Hermann seconded to adjourn the meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 12:19
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
Sunday, May 7th, 2023, 9:00AM
Buckaroo Barn
Roseburg, Oregon