9:00 AM General Meeting
Please turn off your cell phones
CALL TO ORDER President, Tim Keck (Tami Helms)
ROLL CALL Secretary, Lorri McIntosh
Absent David Stutzman, Blue Mountain Council; Joyce Welton, Central Oregon Council; Robert and Young Lumsden, Goodwill Ambassadors.
Substitutes Lily Smith for Blake Smith, Rogue Sis Q Council; Terry Halley for Dale Brabham, Tualatin Valley Council.
INVOCATION Immediate Past President, George (Patty) Hermann
FLAG SALUTE 1st Vice President, Karyn (Matthew) Buchheit
MINUTES Secretary, Lorri McIntosh
Motion Betty Chipps motioned to accept the minutes as written, George Hermann second the motion, motion carried.
PRESIDENT – Tim Keck (Tami Helms)
As stepped in the office of president, I referred to our purpose stated in our constitution. I used that purpose to maintain my focus on what is important us as an organization. Hopefully I made a difference, however that will be for you to judge.
The following is a brief recap of the activity that has transpired during my tenure as president.
My budget showed that we would operate at a loss. That came true. Here are some of the big expenses that we had. Charity & Grants $ 2,000, Travel reimbursement $3,000, and Directory expenses $350. Our Main income sources Mid-Winter & Summer Festival have not yet recovered from our encounter with the pandemic. However, I believe that we are moving in the right direction.
Membership
This year We have suffered from the loss of several clubs, a sad thing, however, our overall numbers of dancers is on the increase.
Marketing
We have started the process to improve our image by updating our web page. The webmaster Tim Roberts and I have been the primaries who have been working on this project. This one will take time.
Issues addressed.
As with every organization, there are issues that arise that at times become emotionally charged to the point that an intermediary is needed to resolve the issue. I had to field several events with some to the point of writing a policy statement concerning the issue. This is always a difficult task for two reasons. One is that emotions get in the way of objective civil discourse. Secondly as president of the federation, I have no authority to give or enforce direction. I hope that I was able to provide alternatives or solutions that were acceptable to the parties involved.
Goals.
Communication. As president, I made it a goal to ensure that I had open lines of communication. I made every effort to find out what was happening throughout our organization so that I would be able to determine what we as an organization believed to be worthy of my focus as President.
I did my best to assist where needed and maintain an objective viewpoint. Before deciding or providing direction, I used the Constitution, Bylaws and P&P’s constantly to ensure that I was following the intent of our membership. I did my best to rectify the inevitable inconsistencies of those documents when the situation arose.
One communication issue of note is the Federation mailing list. There have still been issues with some board & committee members not receiving the emails. However, these people have been identified and a special effort has been made to ensure they get the information that they need.
Motions. At the beginning of my time as 1st Vice President, I stated that one my goals was to have a current Motion Book. My efforts to date have been fruitful. I now have listings of motions, resolutions, proclamations, guidelines & statements beginning from incorporation in 1957 to present day. A good portion of them have references to existing minutes that are currently available on the web page. There are still 17 years of missing minutes to account for.
Elections. The election year for 2023 was a first in that we had our first ever election using an electronic ballot. Even though there were some issues to resolve, the overall effort was a success judged by the number of returned votes compared to our traditional process. I would like to Thank our Secretary, Lorri McIntosh and our Webmaster, Tim Roberts for their diligence with making this happen.
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT – Karyn (Matthew) Buchheit
No report
2024 MIDWINTER FESTIVAL - Connie (Paul) Seamans
No report
2024 SUMMER FESTIVAL - Lisa Kious, Lisa & Bill Cohen
We are gathering our committee members and starting to work on all the details. We have a flyer created and our caller and cuer have received their contracts. We are working on getting the website set up. We could still use some help if anyone wants to volunteer.
2025 MIDWINTER FESTIVAL – Julia Buchheit
We are on track.
OREGON FEDERATION NEWS - Tim (Kathy) Roberts
The OFN continues to go along pretty smoothly. We hover just below 800 subscribers.
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT – Pat (Cherie) Cox
No Report
SECRETARY - Lorri McIntosh
No report
TREASURER - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
With the election done and installation to be held on September 10, it is time for check signees to meet at Key Bank to get your signatures on the account. President Karyn Buchheit; 1st Vice President Patrick Cox; Immediate Past President Tim Keck, along with Marilyn Schmit, Treasurer.
Vicki Pounds will need to get with Marilyn Schmit at US Bank to get her signature on the Insurance Account.
Vicki will be getting an application to fill out for the Employee Fidelity Bond. Please fill it out as soon as you can and get it back to me to submit to State Farm. Patrick has returned his already.
Financials were done after Labor Day to finalize our fiscal year. The reports will be in the distribution container at the meeting. They will not be done in time enough to go along with the reports.
MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN – Cherie (Patrick) Cox
| Clubs- dance styles | Dance Level | Total for State= 56 |
|---|---|---|
| Square Dance |
M/S only= 8 clubs
Advanced only= 6 clubs |
Total= 46 |
| Clubs without callers | 12 | |
| Clubs without cuers | 20 | |
| Callers calling for federated clubs | 28 | |
| Cuers cuing for federated clubs | 22 | |
| Callers who also cue | 7 | |
| Round Dance Clubs | Up to Phase IV | 4 |
| Associations | 3 | |
| Traveling Clubs | 1 | |
| Clogging | 2 | |
Clubs with most members: Silver City, Independence Wagon Wheelers, Star Promenaders, Happy Hoppers, and High Desert.
Lorri asked if any of the clubs has SSD listed as a level. Cherie: only one club, Star Promenaders in Medford, OR.
INSURANCE CHAIRMAN - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
The renewals for the 2024 insurance year have been distributed to the council delegates. The price per person has not been announced as of yet.
Remember that any names you write in will be charged for 2023 at the $5.25 price to the end of the year. They should have been insured much earlier. Some clubs have a credit on the books and that is reflected on the money form in the packets. The credit should have been used during the year for new members who joined the club.
It is my intention to be a background person on this account until the new person is comfortable in what is required to have things in alignment. It is not an easy position to train for, so give her some time.
I will assist her until she gets comfortable with all the emails she will receive and answer her questions when she does not know what to do with something.
I sent a current listing of the clubs and their councils to USDA for Elizabeth to use for her end of things when doing paperwork for us. It helps with her filing system.
PAST PRESIDENT – George (Patty) Hermann
My goodness this last three years has flown (drug?) by!! Seems hard to believe this will be my last report for this council. Little did I know what I was getting into when Lorri and Karyn braced me at Mid-Winter about running for the First Vice-President position. You only have to go to four meetings a year, they said. You get to tell people what to do, they said. Only AFTER I agreed, did they let me know it was a three-year commitment. So, people, if Lorri and Karyn come to you as a couple to ask you to run for an office, run!! Run as fast as you can away!! Hahaha
Seriously, I have enjoyed my time on the board. I really learned a lot about the inner workings of this group. A big “thank you’ to the square dance community for electing me those many years ago and thank you to the board for allowing me to have this opportunity. Unfortunately, this COVID thing messed with two of my years so I did not get the chance to do some things I thought I might want to do. We did figure out that we CAN have a meeting online and still get the jobs done. With OJT (On the Job Training), I missed some things I should have done and was late on some others, but I could not have done anything at all without the assistance of the two Tims (Keck and Roberts). Thank you guys very much for keeping me on track. Most of all I could not have done it without the support of my wife, who was my rock through these last three years.
I shall miss working with this group and I wish you all great success moving forward as you rebuild this fantastic activity of ours.
I passed out a folder to the delegates a packet for the Randall award. The delegates have the ballot for the Randall Award, along with the bios of the nominees, the bios and pictures of all nominees will be in the OFN. We have 6 nominees this year, one from Central Oregon, one from Tualatin council, one from Portland Area Council and three from Mid-Willamette council.
PARLIAMENTARIAN - Tim (Kathy) Roberts
I have the P&Ps on the web site updated. We need to discuss (offline) whether it's still worthwhile to distribute copies.
EDUCATION/PUBLICITY - Kathy (Tim) Roberts
Thank you to the 21 people who attended yesterday’s Delegate & Officers’ Training Session. I updated my Delegate & Officer Training Guide for the meeting. I hope everyone will find it helpful this year. It is designed to be an easy reference guide for you, I hope you read through it and use it this year. Let me know if you didn’t receive your hard copy. The guide was also sent out through email. Thank you to our contributors and speakers: Tim Keck, Karyn Buchheit, Tim Roberts, Lorri McIntosh and Marilyn Schmit. I appreciate your contributions and your time.
While I was updating the Training Guide, I decided to check out the Publicity and Education section in the P&P’s. It was out-of-date; it might have been accurate 10-15 years ago. I rewrote the section to bring it in-line with what I’ve been doing in this position for the last 8 years and added a section on Social Media guidelines. I distributed my P&P rewrite for your consideration during yesterday’s meetings. There is a motion on the Agenda in New Business to consider replacing the Publicity and Education job description with my proposed rewrite.
I’ve been updating and reposting my list of 2023-2024 OFSRDC Festivals on Facebook. I have flyers through the May 10, 2024 festival. I am looking for flyers for festivals between May 24 and August 2024. There are 4 festivals in October – I hope everyone can check out at least one of them. October 6-8 is the Kountry Rhythm Rocking Outlaws, October 13-14 is the F Square D’s Fall Festival, October 20-21 is the KC Squares Potato Festival and October 27-28 is the Hayshakers & Sunset Promenaders’ Seaside Sashay. There have been 2 major festival changes since last meeting. The Kountry Rhythm Rockin’ Outlaws’ Country Fever October 6-8 has changed its location to the Buckeroo Barn in Medford. The second change is we have a new 3-day festival coming up May 10-12 with the Country Cutups at the Boring Barn. Their Spring Fling has Andy Allemao calling and Tami Helms cueing. The Festival Flyer listing the festivals is up-to-date on Facebook.
My flyer with the OFSRDC club lessons in the state has been updated on Facebook. I keep it up to date as I am notified of changes. Thank you to the clubs and councils who sent me their lesson information and for posting flyers in the OFN. Everyone received a copy of the lesson flyer during yesterday’s meeting. Please share the information and encourage your nondancing friends to consider taking lessons. We have lessons being offered from Kelso, Washington to Yreka, California. From Warrenton to Bend. How cool is that! Good luck to everyone on your lessons. Hope they are all successful.
I updated my “Thinking Outside the Box” list of ideas on how to promote your club and lessons. I included a section on places to consider holding demo dances. I included the list in the Training Guide and posted it on Facebook in August along with the lesson list. I’ll be putting it in the OFN in November or December.
I am working on the list of OFSRDC Club Jamborees and hope to post it on Facebook soon and in the November OFN. I need information from all of the clubs and councils who are holding jamborees. Right now, I only have a few listed.
Last meeting, Tim Keck requested that the Federation participate in National Dance Day. After the meeting, I created a flyer with ideas on how clubs or councils might consider holding special dances on September 16. The flyer was posted on Facebook and sent to the OFN with an article inviting the dancers and clubs to participate in National Dance Day. I am pleased to say that I’ve heard of a few dances that are being planned. We have clubs with dances that night, a club dancing at a Farmers Market, and a Community Dance on the 16th. Thank you to everyone who are participating.
Facebook is up to 973 members. Remember that the OFN and Facebook are excellent sources of free advertising for your clubs and events. If you don’t have someone in your club who can post for you, be sure to suggest to your clubs that they should ask club members’ children or grandchildren for help. They can also contact me for help with advertising.
HISTORIAN - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
I still have two boxes of stuff from Mike Odell to go through to see what is in them. I took a quick glance and found Federation minutes from 1978 to 1986 and those were given to Tim Keck for his research project on past motions. I brought a box of OFN’s to Tim Roberts for him to scan and put on the website. Or he can designate someone to do it for him. One of the notebooks that I received has Oregon paperwork for when clubs did their Corporation paperwork. If a club needs that info, let me know and I will make a copy for you and send it. There are also two notebooks of stuff from disbanded clubs.
LICENSING – Brooke Davison
No Report
YOUTH ADVISOR - Karyn (Matthew) Buchheit
We had 65 attend the youth dance at the state fair, three squares up the entire time. A thank you from Silver City for the donations from the Federation.
ORDTA - Tami Helms (Tim Keck)
ORDTA has been researching the possibility of having a Roundalab sponsored Mini Lab.
In addition, we are also researching costs, locations, and availability of a Round dance weekend sponsored by ORDTA
ROUND DANCE SCREENING - Tami Helms (Tim Keck)
OROM September 2023 was selected by
Mid-Willamette Area Council
“Lil’ Ol’ Lonesome Dixie Town “by Billy Currington
Choreographed by Chuck and Sandi Weiss
Two Step Phase II + 2 Strolling Vine and Fishtail
October selection will be Portland Area Council
CALLER LIAISON - Terry Halley (Betty Chipps)
No Report at this time
WEBMASTER - Tim (Kathy) Roberts
Slowly moving through the process of getting started. A team has been contacted to discuss any changes.
GRANT FUND COMMITTEE- George (Patty) Hermann
No requests for grants have been received.
STATE FAIR - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
We had three dates to dance at the Fair. August 29 for squares and August 31 for rounds. Performance times were 1-2 pm and the caller was Terry Halley and the cuer was Lane Clem. September 2 was Youth day and the performance time was 11:30-12:30 and the caller was Ian Craig. We danced on the Spirit of Oregon Stage near the food court pod. I had lists to check off as the dancers entered at the Red Gate and they were given passes to go through the gate. Parking passes were provided for the callers and the cuer and for my position as State Fair Coordinator. I had about three squares listed for squares, five couples for rounds, and a tentative count of 104 for the youth. Will see how many shows up and a final count will be given at the meeting.
This is to report the results of attendance for the three days of attending the State Fair.
On Tuesday, August 29th, there were 34 on the list with two no shows and five that went through other gates and not checking in with me for gate passes. Terry Halley was the caller.
On Thursday, August 31st, we danced on a wet floor and we were very careful to dance safely. One person fell, but no injuries; not a hard landing. There were 22 on the list with five no shows and three who went through other gates. Lane Clem was the cuer.
On Saturday, September 2nd, there were 107 on the list. There were 65 who checked in and the caller was Ian Craig.
We had a good time, various sizes of audiences, and with the help of Cascade Sound and Five Guys Named Mo who ran the board, the sound was great and very easy to listen to.
Thanks to all who attended and we have made indications that we will be back next year.
BACKGROUND CHECK - Tim (Kathy) Roberts
We're all caught up through 2024.
DELEGATE MEETING – Zola Jones
We discussed the Randall Award with a lot of opinions.
Midwinter Education Seminar we felt this should be left up to education chair and midwinter chairperson.
Bylaws changes were discussed, wanted the word plurality changed to majority. Tim Roberts: Plurality is received the most voted, majority means to receive more than half the votes. This word, plurality, would be correct in using it.
Electronic ballots- is this going to become expensive? Tim Keck asked for clarification. Zola stated the delegates were concerned about the cost. Tim K. addressed this and there would not be an increase in cost.
Tim Roberts- a Zoom meeting this week to discuss and layout a plan and we will bring information back at a later date.
Motion: The Bylaws article 9 be amended to include the identification of social media as a news source in addition to the Oregon Federation News.
Additionally, to amend the Practices & Procedures Section 10 Publications so as to provide authority & guidance for the use of Social Media sites.
I recommend that this motion be referred to committee to prepare an adequate proposal to be presented at a regular state meeting to be determined.
Patrick Cox seconded the motion.
Rationale: (Presented by Tim Keck)
The use of social media has become a significant source of information. Use of social media to further the purpose of the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs (OFSRDC) has been proven to be of great advantage for the organization. OFSRDC have been using a social media site called Facebook to great effect for several years now. Presently, we have the OFN newsletter as the method to disseminate information to our membership. For an experiment we have created and used Facebook to disseminate information not only to our membership, but also to the public at large. I believe this to be of great advantage to our organization. I believe that it should be identified as part of our organizational structure.
I believe that we need to establish the authority and guidance in our documents so that we may continue to take advantage of this opportunity to inform our dance community.
Discussion: Kathy Roberts - Publicity and Education Chairperson, the Facebook page was not created as an experiment; it was created to fill a need for publicity. The Publicity and Education Chair handles publicity. Kathy addressed information already in the P&P’s as a description of Publicity and Education job/rules to follow. The proposed P&P rewrite has information to address how to handle any problems with social media on Facebook. Brooke Davison: Article 9 speaks to the OFN, are you asking that the By-Laws be changed for the OFN editor take part in this section with publicity. Tim Keck- I do not want to alter or change the duties of the OFN editor. I want to in addition to the OFN add social media as well as the OFN editor. OFN is identified in the By-Laws and Social Media is not.
Brooke - why is this going to require bylaws change? I understand why the policy needs to be changed, I’m not following the By-Law change. Tim K- we need to have it somewhere; it does not exist in our paperwork anywhere. We have the OFN but not Facebook and social media. Kathy Roberts - the OFN was a money generating source is why it was in bylaws and it does still generate income, Facebook, Instagram are not money generating entities. Social media does not need to be in the By-laws, it does need to be addressed under the P&Ps. Dave Cooper - is what Kathy is doing in the P&Ps? Kathy Roberts - the P&Ps do not address social media, the P&P’s addresses things that are outdated and no longer happening. Kathy Roberts reiterated that she re-wrote the Publicity and Education Chairperson’s responsibilities portion to include what is happening today for social media to include future possibilities. Before everything was snail mail and paper copies, this is no longer being done. Today we use Facebook and social media. Tim Keck - I believe that the identification and guidelines for social media is separate and distinct from Publicity and Education. It doesn’t identify the Publicity and Education chairperson as the one responsible for in charge and managing social media. We need something in place for when Kathy Roberts no longer is responsible (when she moves on) to address how the next person can continue the job.
Tim Keck - I recommend this goes to committee for deliberation of separating social media and Publicity and Education Chairperson, Patrick Cox- I want to see that we have definite guidelines on how it is to be done, not that’s the way we have always done it. Brooke Davison – I don’t think adding social media to the bylaws is appropriate for governing the organization as defined what bylaws are for and policies are guidelines for operation. I don’t see how this is a governing entity, it should be an operation policy. Patrick Cox- this should be a direction policy with guidelines on how to proceed as things change. We need to have guidelines set up to prevent corruption of what we have. Kathy Roberts: That is why I re-wrote the P&Ps, to establish guidelines for social media, I have been doing this job for 8 years. I sent the rewrite to Tim Roberts as Parliamentarian to review before distributing the proposed rewrite during yesterday’s meeting. When I set up our Facebook group 8 years ago, Tim Roberts did not want to take on Facebook in addition to being the OFN editor. Since I felt it was part of the Education and Publicity’s responsibility, I created our Federation Facebook page and established the rules that it has been run by; I don’t see why this needs to go into Bylaws for change. I wrote the proposed P&P changes with the ability to be flexible for changes in social media.
Lorri McIntosh: this should be a policy and procedure proposal and not a bylaw change. It addresses how we do it and the procedure for doing social media, it’s not a governing body. Tami Helms: I don’t understand if this goes into review, this doesn’t change Kathy Roberts’ job, this is just to change the organizational operation and adding that our organization is growing and recognize social media.
Motion: Marylin Schmit moved to take this to committee, Julia Buchheit second, motion carried. Committee Chair: Kathy Roberts as Publicity and Education, Tim Roberts as Parliamentarian., Julia Buchheit as Officer., Brooke Davison as Delegate. The committee was asked to bring a report back to the Federation in January at the next meeting. Kathy Roberts explained how the committee were selected. Each committee must have an elected officer (Julia) and a delegate (Brooke).
It was brought to my attention that the State educational seminars are not being attended at Midwinter Festivals, Connie would like to suspend the Education Seminar for 2024.
Motion: Lorri McIntosh moved to have the Education Seminar suspended for Midwinter 2024; Brooke Davison seconded the motion. Tami Helms asked when the seminars are scheduled. Connie Seamans responded at 10am on Saturday morning when advance dancing occurs, if we don’t have an Education Seminar, we could have another hour of dancing for those who dance advanced. Tami Helms reported that there was a seminar called “Would You Like to be Cuer Seminar” to increase awareness for someone who may want to think about cueing, this might be something we could offer. Dave Cooper- I don’t think we can tell the festival what they can and cannot do. Kathy Roberts: per the current P&Ps, under Publicity and Education, it is required for the festivals to schedule an Education Seminar at the Festival. Since COVID, the Education Seminars have not been well attended. Through the years, I have had 2 seminars that have been successful. Our best attended seminar was when I brought people in from Salem to talk about current scams and what to do about them. The other seminar that has been well attended was when I taught people how to create their own social media accounts and how to use social media to promote their clubs. The last Midwinter seminar dealt with Licensing was led by Brooke Davison and 3 other people: a caller (George Hermann), a cuer (Tami Helms), and a person who calls and cues (Leonard Snodgrass). We had 4 people attend. After two cloggers asked their questions, they left. During the last summer festival, we had a seminar on how the Federation and USDA can help the clubs. We had 5 speakers and a low attendance. It does not seem justified to occupy a room for one hour when there is so little attendance. Zola Jones- I think it is important for the area delegates to attend these seminars to take back the information to the councils. Motion carried to suspend Education Seminar for 2024 Midwinter Festival, with a unanimous vote.
Motion: I move that we modify section 7, of the P&P's concerning the Randall Award nominations.
Proposal to modify Section 7, Randall Award in the P&P's
"With the state having ten (10) councils, each council may submit 1 or more nominees. These nominees do not necessarily need to be from the submitting council. We may find that several councils will nominate the same people, therefore assuring that these nominees surely are in contention for the award."
It is the responsibility of the area delegates to solicit nominations of deserving individuals from the club members within our organization. Any member from any club may submit a nomination to any area delegate. The area delegates will forward the nominations to the Randall Awards Chair (Past President). Multiple nominations of an individual will be counted as one. Nominees not receiving the award for the past three years may be considered as part of the current ballot. (approved in 2021, currently not included in P&P's).
Rationale: It has become difficult to solicit nominees for the Randall Award. I believe there are several deserving individuals for this award, however, there is a reluctance to offer them up for the following reasons:
People do not want to fill out the form, specifically the background information. There is a belief that some councils need to approve a nomination before it is submitted. The delegates limit their searches to their area councils.
I believe that the modified wording will encourage more participation in the process.
Pat Cox seconded the motion
Zola Jones: the wordage of any person from any clubs, does that mean any person from the state? Tim Keck any member from a Federation club can submit. Dave C. Please explain what you are proposing. Tim K. It has come to my attention that councils are making the decision of who they will submit for the Randall award. I want to have councils submit all nominees and not be approved by the council first. Tim Keck: I think it is the delegates responsibility to assist with filling out the forms. Kathy Roberts- that’s what the council delegate does is assist with completing the forms. The council has the right to decide who will be submitted for the award, we can’t make that decision for the councils. Tami Helms: there has been misinterpretation of how the Randall award is done. Tim R. The current wording has the nominations going to the delegate and council then to the Past President of the Federation. The wording change would be from the area delegate to the Federation and not through the council.
Motion fails.
Motion: Lorri moved to Host Summer Festival 2025 at Blanchet Catholic School in Salem, OR. Cece Glidewell seconded the motion. Summer Festival 2025 packets were emailed to the officers and delegates at least 4 days ago. There was a discussion about whether or not a National caller and cuer were going to be hired for Summer Festival 2025. The group was informed that no contracts have been signed as we are waiting for approval. National caller and cuer were considered but may not be the final decision. It was noted that round dancers may not attend if a national cuer was not hired for this festival. The committee will take this under advisement. Motion carried to proceed with Summer Festival 2025.
Karyn requested a correct budget for the next meeting.
This is the first reading and will be brought back in January for further discussion. The proposed changes to Article 7 of the By-Laws are in italics below:
The nominating committee shall file a report of nominees with the secretary no later than February 1st. The secretary shall deliver a ballot either by post or electronic to the secretary of each Federation member club. Each member may cast a ballot for one of the candidates for each office or may propose an additional candidate by writing in such name in the space provided. These ballots shall be returned by member club and must be postmarked (if mailed) or date stamped (if electronic) no later that May 1st. Any candidate who receives a plurality of votes cast will be declared elected. Delegates were requested to take this information back to the councils and clubs and return with any discussions.
BLUE MOUNTAINS COUNCIL - David (Sally) Stutzman
No report received.
CENTRAL OREGON COUNCIL – Joyce (Mike) Welton
The most exciting thing that is happening in Central Oregon is the formation of a New Dancer Competency and Retention Committee. It is made up of representatives from all clubs, callers, new dancers as well as established dancers; total of 10 people. They have met once but there’s another meeting scheduled soon. Coming out of the pandemic, it has been evident that a few new dancers are not as competent as they should be in order to assimilate into their club. We do have the benefit of having an on-going Mainstream Workshop every Sunday and have recommended that they go, however, not everyone who needs this workshop has attended. This is happening with all three MS clubs. This committee is investigating how best to solve this issue and open dialogue between the clubs to find a solution. Fingers crossed.
We continue to support promotional booths at local events. Lessons for the High Desert Dancers (HDD) and Sagebrush Shufflers are beginning in September. The Red Rocks have their lessons in February.
We’re having a Council Dance on September 30th with Adam Christman calling and cueing. Fun begins at 7 at the Pine Forest Grange in Bend.
The Central Oregon RoundUp was gratefully very successful. Having been “dark” for three years, we weren’t sure what to expect this year. We enjoyed the calling of Jay Henderson and cueing of Dave Cooper. Next year (2nd weekend of August) we’ll have Ray Brendzy calling and MaryAnne Callahan cueing. This event is a fundraiser for three clubs; Red Rocks, HDD, and Shufflers. All three clubs provide the heavy lifting at the RoundUp: Hospitality, Silent Auction (made over $1000), Decorations and Set-Up and Tear-Down. It's been a joy getting back to normal.
The Red Rocks held a BBQ/potluck before their Aug. 4th dance. Everyone had a great time and brought out some long-time members who hadn’t been attending. Along with the HDD club, they’re having a Double Down/Triple Up dance event with Randy Dibble calling. The theme is “Back to School” by encouraging everyone to bring school supplies to donate to Family Access Network, both of Redmond and Bend.
The Sagebrush Shufflers participated in the July 4th Parade in Prineville. They decorated the Council trailer with lots of July 4th Red, White and Blue including having a new banner draped on the front. Members of all clubs also participated in their event. New this year, they are having the Parks & Rec. department handle their lessons…they collect the money, pay the caller, and provide the location.
Ridge Riders Round Dance Club is just finishing Foxtrot lessons. Mark McDonald is teaching 11 songs in all so that dancers can immediately dance at club events. The club will continue their 1st and 3rd Thursday night dances through summer. Mark’s club is growing and everyone is enjoying having a round dance club again in C.O.
EMERALD EMPIRE AREA - Zola Jones
The next "free" Community Dance will be on Saturday, September 23; 6:30 p.m. at the Emerald Square Dance Center, in Springfield. AND-- "New Dancer Lessons" start on Tuesday's, October 3rd and 10th, 7:00 p.m., also at the Emerald Square Dance Center.
Of the seven clubs in our Council; most are dancing: Cascade Callers & Cuers - 5th Saturdays. Cast-A-Shadow (Advanced & Challenge) - on Sundays, call ahead to verify. Single Trees - 2nd and 4th Fridays. Spin-Cycle-Squares - Sundays, call for dates. Whirl-A-Ways - 2nd and 3rd Saturdays. These are all at the Emerald Square Dance Center. The; Misty Valley Cloggers, and Sweet Home Squarenaders, are now traveling clubs and will hold at least one dance a year, to be announced.
Our next Area Council meeting will be on Monday, September 18, 7:00 p.m. at the Emerald Square Dance Center.
AND--we will also be hosting the next State Federation meeting, during Mid-Winter Festival as usual, on Sunday, January 29, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., in Conference Rooms 3 & 4, of the Willamette Building, at the Linn County Fair Grounds. Same time, same place, as before.
We send our wishes to everyone for very special "Holidays" and for you all to stay safe and well.
INTERSTATE HIGHLANDERS - Cece (Sarge) Glidewell
We are still struggling, our first square dance lesson Thursday night with one new couple and another club couple. Potato Festival is still on with Dave Cooper cuing and Jim Steele calling the 2nd weekend in October.
MID-WILLAMETTE AREA COUNCIL – Brooke Davison for Julia Buchheit
Quite a few of our clubs were dark over the summer months, but are now starting back up with their regular dance schedules. Those clubs that did not go dark were busy with dances, beach trips, visitations, parades, fairs and art festivals. Most, if not all clubs will be hosting lessons this fall. Golden Squares held their farewell dance in August. Independence Wagon Wheelers hired Daryl Clendenin as their new club caller and Stephanie Lazano as their new club cuer. In addition, IWW voted to move their dance location from the Polk County Fairgrounds to the Salem Square Dance Center. The Mid-Willamette Area Council Fall Festival Dance is scheduled for September 30 at the Salem Square Dance Center.
PORTLAND AREA COUNCIL - Betty Chipps (Terry Halley)
Portland Area Council meeting was held August 21, 2023.
President Jeff Knapp summarized the state insurance information he received from Marilyn Schmit: Clubs based in Oregon get their insurance through the OFSRDC’s affiliation with United Square Dancers of America (USDA). That insurance covers Oregon dancers when they attend a dance sanctioned by any USDA affiliate organization. Oregon dancers are not insured when they attend a dance sponsored by an organization that is not a USDA affiliate. Washington is not a USDA affiliate — Washington clubs get their insurance from another source. Therefore, when an Oregon dancer dances in Washington, or a Washington dancer dances in Oregon, they are not covered by their home club's insurance.
• Bottle drop program is doing well and is a give-back to PAC Clubs. In the month of August $400 was deposited (in bottle drop funds) and four, $100 checks were issued to four clubs.
STATE News
• September 16 is National Dance Day. See the September OFN https://ofn.club/2023-09 for possible venues for a dance demo to promote our clubs.
CALLER ADVISOR
Scott Zinser was a caller for the Central Oregon Roundup, hosted by the Central Oregon Council. This year there were 6 squares, down from the usual 10-12 squares pre-pandemic. The roundup always takes place the second weekend in August. Make sure your clubs see flyers for this annual event so they can plan to attend next year.
BUSINESS
Jeff Knapp. President, reviewed the PAC Constitution and Bylaws - proposed changes and amendments were provided to all PAC Clubs in June. PAC was DARK in JULY. At the August 21st PAC meeting, the revised PAC Constitution and Bylaws were discussed. Written ballots were distributed to club delegates present. Motion to adopt passed.
PAC - Fifth Friday dances 2024: Clubs may co-host with the PAC on any of these dates and share 50% of net profit.
● NOTE: There will NOT be a Fifth Friday dance on March 29, 2024.
Instead TVC will host a Tri-Council Dance on March 30, 2024.with PAC and Evergreen Councils in attendance. All PAC Clubs are encouraged to attend. The 2025 & 2026 Tri-council dances will be hosted by PAC & Evergreen Council, respectively.
• May 31, 2024
◦ There was discussion about making one of the fifth Friday dances a new
dancer dance, with new callers calling one tip. (Or) one hour prior to the
PAC dance, hold a free dance for dancers with no prior experience, who
could then stay and watch the PAC dance. The August 30, 2024 PAC dance was
mentioned as a good possibility, given its close proximity to the start of
fall lessons.
PAC Anniversary Dance visitations:
• Heads to the Center has decided not to have an Anniversary dance on
Sept. 2, 2023.
• The next Anniversary dance is the Country Cut-Ups, SAT., OCT. 7th at
Boring Barn.
Fifth Friday profit-sharing and allocation of responsibilities was
deferred to the next PAC meeting so that Vice President, Tami Helms
(absent August) can take part in the discussion.
• Gerry Blakney produced a PAC flyer listing lessons for all PAC clubs.
(like Kathy Roberts does this at the state level). Flyer can be found at
dancepac.org.
• For the September PAC meeting, New Dancer Jamboree schedules will be
coordinated.
Bachelor & Bachelorettes: Lessons start Sept. 13; joined Chaps &
Petticoats at the Clackamas County Fair. Audience was small. Several
dances this summer went DARK due to the heat.
Buzzin’ Bees: Lessons start Oct, 8; dance season starts Sept 9
Chaps & Petticoats: Lessons start Sept. 10; first dance is Sept. 15.
Country Cut-Ups: Lessons start Sept. 14; outdoor floor recently painted
and is currently in use; craft show at the barn on Nov. 11 (9 am-5 pm),
vendor application form distributed.
River City Dancers: Lessons start Sept. 17.
Rosetown Ramblers:
Lessons start Sept. 13 with free taste and dance, Sept. 9 at Sellwood
Community House.
NEXT MEETING
The next PAC meeting is Monday, Sept. 18 at Oak Grove Community Club at
7:30 PM.
ROGUE SIS-Q –
Lily Smith for Blake Smith
Our last council dance, June 30, was very successful. We enjoyed dancing
to Wayne Weaver and Bob Dingman at Star Promenaders Square Dance Hall.
Our next council dance is September 29 with Chuck Simpkins calling and
Rikki Lobato Cueing at Josephine County Square dance Center in Grants Pass.
We are giving new dancer dangles for students who have graduated and visit
at least 2 clubs dances, 1 council dance, and 1 caller/cuer dance. The
student receives card and must get signatures when they dance at each
entity.
We have several members in the ill or family cancers (Elaine Funk, Bill
Brooks, Phil Ramey, Pierre Petetit, Jaci Tonkin, Keith McNeal, Carla &
Chuck Simpkins)
Rogue Valley Callers & Cuers had their annual Hot August Hoedown for
all levels of dancing.
Pear Blossom Festival Committee have set aside $1000 to assist new dancers
who may be financially challenged for lessons. Each club with be
distributed $125 for September classes, and $125 for January classes.
These funds are to be used ONLY for students in beginner dance classes.
The clubs are responsible for submitting a report on how the money was
used and how much was used.
Charlie Brown Squares
Having a special dance at the Josephine County Square Dance center with
Scott Pearce from Folsom, California calling. Pre-rounds start at 7pm, and
then floor level dancing starts at 7:30pm.
December will be our 56th Birthday dance. Buddy Weaver will be calling
and Rikki Lobato will be cueing. Watch the OFN for more information.
Classes will be starting soon for beginning dancers on Tuesday nights.
Mainstream/Plus workshops will be Thursday nights, SSD dances on the 2nd
Friday of every month. Classes and dances are delayed this month for at
least a week.
As always - information is available at charliebrownsquares.com
Circle N Squares
We will have our first club dance on September 10th in Yreka with Dean
Black calling and Elaine Funk Cueing. Stand by for further information on
attendance and how the dance went.
Star Promenaders
Diamond lake was a huge success with the Brendzy family calling and
MaryAnn Callahan cueing.
SSD dancing on the first Friday of every month with Janet Geiger calling.
No rounds with dances at this time. Looking for a cuer.
New classes start:
Mainstream- Monday, September 11
SSD- Thursday, September 14.
Kountry Rhythm Rockin’ Outlaws
No Report
SOUTH COAST COUNCIL –
Dave (Patty) Cooper
The South Coast has been pretty quiet all summer until Labor Day Weekend
when the Beachcombers hosted the 23rd annual Battle Rock Festival in Port
Orford. 115 dancers and friends spent at least 3 days (some WAY more)
enjoying the unspoiled, unsmokey and wind free Oregon coast, 30 RVs parked
on the grounds at the hall with multiple others filling up the local
motels. Tri Tip Beef BBQ kicked the festivities off on Friday night
followed by a great evening dancing to the calling of Phil Ramey, Darrell
Kalmbach and Terry Halley and the round dance cueing of Dave Cooper.
Saturday dawned a little foggy but did not deter 6 squares from meeting at
Battle Rock beach for dancing in the surf. Afternoon saw many filling the
hall for round dancing phase 2-4. Darrell called and Dave cued Saturday
night.
The Sunday morning Pancake Breakfast got everyone filled up and ready to
go for Cathy Houston's Line Dance Teach followed by the return of the Spud
Gun Shoot Out. Terry Halley called Sunday night with Cathy Houston cueing
rounds before the whole group gathered for homemade pie and homemade ice
cream churned by Brad and Karen Seder. A grand time was had by all with
hugs of farewell and promises to return for act 2 next year.
For National Dance Day we will be dancing on one of the busiest corners in
Port Orford.
TUALATIN VALLEY COUNCIL –
Dale (Linda) Brabham
Meetings
The TVC had an in-person meeting in July and a Zoom meeting in August. We
have resolved to have in-person meetings directly after Federation
meetings and for our annual recognition potluck. We will meet via Zoom
six additional times during the year.
Dances
The TVC has two dances scheduled for the 2023:
We can report that two festivals are planned for the fall by TVC clubs:
The TVC is planning SIX!!! dances for 2024. The dates and status of these
are:
For all other special dances please check the OFN.
LESSONS Offered this fall
Mainstream
2-Step
We are happy to report that Hayshakers graduated 12 students in August.
UMPQUA AREA COUNCIL –
Doris (Neil) Koozer
The Buckeroos have been the most active club during the summer. They had
their normal dance the 3rd Saturday in July followed by a fund-raising
event on 29th of July to generate funds for a new roof and related
projects. The festivities had an early start when the visiting callers,
Jim Steel and Phil Ramey called a few tips for the workers and early
guests at the Barn. The roof has been replaced with a 40-year warranty.
The new president and board are working on other repairs for the barn such
as gutters and other repairs needed.
Saturday began with a yummy breakfast, with many choices. Tables were
decked out with barn-board and sunflower tablecloths, with dollies and
sunflower center pieces. April, one of our new members, supplied the meal.
She and her crew did a superb job. The morning was filled with square
dancing, the afternoon with round dancing and line dancing, and the
evening with a regular dance. Phil Ramey brought up his chuck-wagon and he
and Jim Steele grilled the hamburgers generously supplied by Jim Steele.
The rest of the meal was a potluck. The callers, Phil and Jim, and the
cuers Neil Koozer and Dave Cooper, and the line-dance teacher Kathy
Haskins all donated their services. Individuals and clubs were generous
with their donations, and we ended the night very close to our stated goal.
We are now at the end of August, and we have our new roof. We are now
hoping to insulate the ceiling, and deal with some gutter and drainage
issues. When we accomplish this, we will have made great strides in
dealing with urgent maintenance issues at our 100+ year old building. Many
thanks go out to all of you that have made this possible.
In August we were unable to dance at the Fair, but we did share a booth
with the Umpqua Valley Quilter's Guild so that we could hand out fliers.
We gathered names for a drawing for some free square dance classes. The
Buckeroos danced on both the 1st and 3rd Saturdays in August, the first
one was really HOT, but we lucked out on the second dance.
The Buckeroos will be supporting the Battle Rock weekend in Port Orford
Labor Day Weekend and will get back to their regular schedule on the 16th
with a Community Dance.
The Dancing Friends will start their new dance classes on September 18th
& 19th.They will be learning Jive with Neil Koozer on Monday nights,
and introductory Fox Trot with Rod Skinner on Tuesday. Some intermediate
dancing will occur prior to the class on Tuesday.
The Buckeroo's will start their lessons on October 1st, in the afternoon
with Roger Putzler. He will be providing both beginning lessons with new
students, and plus square dance lessons for those who already dance.
The Timber 8's will probably be dancing only once a month, starting in
October, and traveling to other clubs for their special events on the
other Saturdays.
The UAC will be sponsoring 5th Saturday dance September 30th with Jim
Steele and Neil Koozer, it will be an Ice Cream Social. Jim Steele will be
holding a plus dance/workshop during the morning and afternoon of the
29th. So we hope that people will attend both events.
Melissa James
Since my last report of June 20, I’ve had the opportunity to attend many
local dances as well as USA West in Albuquerque. All in all, most dances
are improving in attendance as well as in quality of dancers. I still
spot dancers that are just venturing back after a very long hiatus. Most
dancers are pretty understanding and are helping to bring them back up to
speed. Most of the callers too are being patient and giving some
instructions along with their calling. I am hoping that we continue to see
more come back but what we really need is more brand-new dancers. Most
regular club dances are averaging 1-3 squares. It seems that our bigger
dances with 6 or more squares happen at Anniversary or other celebratory
dances.
USA West had a good contingent of Oregon and Washington dancers. The River
City Riders did several performances that were well received. I was able
to wear my ambassador badge and fielded many questions about what it means
and how our dancing is going ‘out west’. I was able to invite many to
come out for Seaside Sashay and Mid-Winter festivals. I was honored to get
to call 3 tips and teach line dancing 1 hour.
This upcoming week I will attend Tony Oxendine’s caller school and then
next week I fly to Paris, TX for the ‘Evening in Paris’ Festival. Thanks
to the Federation for my large scholarship! I will proudly wear my badge
and do my best to represent the Federation at both events.
This will be my last report as Ambassador; September marks the end of my
2nd year. I have enjoyed wearing the badge and doing my best to promote
this wonderful activity we all love so much. I am encouraged that we will
survive albeit with a very changed atmosphere. Unless we find a way to get
much younger people very involved we will continue to decline. Our area
seems to have enough callers for now but not enough dancers to keep the
clubs afloat. Many areas I heard about in my travels have no callers but
many dancers, or the opposite. And so many of our club members are and
will be aging out soon.
Signing off…
I would like to thank the Oregon Federation so much for their generous
grant for me to attend a caller school in Spokane. Your funds made this
experience a possibility for me, and I greatly appreciate the help. I
completely forgot about saving receipts, so I have copied my checks and
charges from my bank account. I will send these by snail mail to Marilyn
Schmit.
My expenses were:
I met and learned from so many callers, Doug Davis, Adam Christman, Dan
Preedy & Tony Oxendine. There were 9 student callers attending.
Sunday was a huge Salmon BBQ open to the public, I got to do 1 tip and
received many compliments from the crowd.
Monday class was 9am -8pm. Tony worked us hard on formations, modules and
resolutions. I was the newest caller, and he was attentive to try to
challenge me on my level. Some of the callers had been calling for 20-50
years.
Tuesday class was form 9am-4pm. Again, we worked hard on setting up
patters and resolutions for the figures. I was overwhelmed much of the
time as so much information was for more advanced callers, but it was
excellent exposure and some things did start to click for me.
Tuesday night was a dance where the student callers called the dance. I
did better with patter than I had been doing but I did lose my place and
Adam came to my rescue. My singing call was fine.
Weds class was 9-11:30am. Tony critiqued us and gave us pointers to take
away.
All in all, it was a great experience, and I am very glad I was able to
go. Thanks again to the OR Federation for their investment in my calling.
I so enjoy doing it and hope to be able to for many more years.
Robert and Young Lumsden
Young and I have continued to dance at local dances where we could this
summer. Some of the clubs in our area go dark for the summer. The clubs
that danced through the summer canceled many dances because of the heat.
We had a very hot summer.
In July we traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico for USA West. It was
pretty well attended. We danced with people we had met at previous
conventions and a lot of people we just met. We ran into some old friends
and made a few new ones. It was very hot there too. Young and I had a
really good time.
We will be starting lessons in a couple weeks, along with most of the
other clubs in our area. Hopefully, we all have good classes.
Rikki Lobato
Next weekend I am going to California with Lorri and 2 others, I’ve been
busy.
Tim Keck announced Rikki Lobato as his Goodwill Ambassador.
Connie Seamans- in 2023 we had 143 registered in September 2022 for
Midwinter; I have more than 200 registrations as of today.
Tim Keck- I received an email from Jan Steele asking for a donation for
UAC from the Federation to assist with repairs to the Buckaroo Barn.
Betty Chipps- there was a part of the PAC in the insurance statement- the
last statement, the change is for when an Oregon dancer dances in
Washington or other state the insurance follows them wherever they go.
Their own insurance is primary, the Oregon Federation insurance is next.
The insurance follows the dancer.
Ron Schmit: what happened to the banner? Tim Keck responded: we have not
moved forward with that, I can bring information to the next meeting.
Brooke Davison. The spelling of my name needs correction in the directory.
Julia Buchheit: if we like the sound system we are using today, we need to
consider what Pat Cox is using, it’s not the Federation’s sound system.
Tami Helms: we need to see how the sound system does at Midwinter. Pat
Cox: I’m not in charge of it anymore, the next person will need to
consider getting something for Midwinter. Patrick explained that all we
are using at this meeting is the remote mic’s the rest of the sound is
mine. The cost of one of the mixer is not a great a lot of money and not
as heavy.
Fran Westfall: I heard a mention of the number of councils, this would be
wise not to mention the number in case it changes,
Kathy Roberts: Education packets from USDA can be obtained from the
website, you can get 2 for free, you can ask for 10 of their trifolds for
free. The USDA pamphlets are available and have information on several
activities and officer information.
Lorri McIntosh: There was a thank you sent out from Janet Geiger for
everyone to read on what she did at caller school. The Federation gave
her a grant to attend caller school.
ADJOURN: Dave Cooper moved to adjourn the meeting, Brooke second to adjourn at 11:15. Motion carried.
Next meeting:
• August 30, 2024 (Labor Day weekend)
OTHER TOPICS
CLUB REPORTS
ACTIVE GOODWILL AMBASSADORS
Tuition $150,
Festival Salmon BBQ $14,
Hotel $127.34 (I used $241 of my own points to get this price),
Gas came to $176.23,
Other meals I paid cash for, (8 total), were well over $150.
Total: $617.57
GOOD OF THE ORDER
Sundays, January 28, 2024, 9:00AM
Linn County Fairgrounds
Albany, Oregon