General Meeting called to order at 9:03 pm
CALL TO ORDER President, Pat (Cherie) Cox
Please turn off your cell phones
ROLL CALL Secretary, Lorri McIntosh
Absent: Tami Helms: Round Dance Screening and ORDTA, David Stutzman: Blue Mountains Council, Dave Cooper: South Coast, Doris Koozer: Umpqua, Rikki Lobato: Goodwill Ambassador, Roger and Linda Putler: Goodwill Ambassador
Substitutes: Cherie Cox filling in for Dave Cooper, Richard Stevenson filling in for Doris Koozer
INVOCATION Immediate Past President, Karyn (Matt) Buchheit
FLAG SALUTE 1st Vice President, Joyce (Mike) Welton
MINUTES Secretary, Lorri McIntosh
Motion: Marilyn Schmit moved to accept the minutes. Betty Chipps second the motion. Motion carried.
PRESIDENT – Patrick (Cherie) Cox
I have two committees working. They’ve made progress, which will be detailed in their reports.
1ST VICE PRESIDENT – Joyce (Mike) Welton
No report
2025 MID-WINTER FESTIVAL - Julia Buchheit
We had 807 registrations/attendees this year. We do not have a preliminary financial report yet.
2025 SUMMER FESTIVAL - Lorri McIntosh
We have been in a holding pattern until after Mid-Winter; many of the committee members are on the Mid-Winter Committee. Airfare and flight information for Dan Preedy is complete. Motel Reservations are done. Display boards have been given to committee members who requested (Kious/Coen, Marilyn Schmit, Kalmbachs, and myself). If anyone else wants a promotion display board, contact me.
We had our promotion party yesterday from 2-3:00 pm and sold 26+ ribbons. Thomas Buchheit did a great job and everyone had fun with the line dancing with Cathy Houston. I’d like to encourage you to attend our Summer Festival July 11-13, 2025.
2026 MID-WINTER FESTIVAL - Karyn (Matthew) Buchheit
We are looking forward to next year with a theme of “Dance Around the Clock”. The featured caller will be Ray Brendzy, the featured cuers will be JL & Linda Pelton and the featured clogging instructor will be Andrew Perry. We sold 64 ribbons so far this weekend.
OREGON FEDERATION NEWS -Tim (Kathy)Roberts
Nothing interesting to report. We hover around 825 subscribers. I only get club news reports from half of the councils, and even then, it's only about half the clubs in those councils. I'd like to know more about why that is. Do people just not see it as a valuable resource, or do they not know about it? Let me know by email. We have a section for all clubs and councils to add to the OFN.
2ND VICE PRESIDENT – Julia Buchheit
No Report
SECRETARY - Lorri McIntosh
No Report
TREASURER - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
I have paid the BMI billing and reimbursed Brooke for the ASCAP fees that she paid. We are good on licensing until the SESAC bill comes due in late May. The CDs that I set up at Oregon State Credit Union renew in February and I have the interest transferring from the CD’s to the savings account so I have access if we need money to operate. We are making 4%+ each month and it was a wise decision to move away from Key Bank.
We had some person try to transfer money from the Insurance Account to outside of the country. It was caught and the account was shut down. So a new account had to be set up at the Salem Ladd Branch US Bank. I set it up and then Vicki came in to get her signature on the account. Since I am a co-signer on the ORDTA account, I had to set that account up also and Connie Clark had to go to an Aloha branch to get her name on the account. It was a problem for Vicki since she had to order checks and wait for them to arrive. I got her some temporary checks to operate with until her new checks arrived.
The directory payments from the councils have all been received.
The people who have signer permission met on Friday of Mid-Winter week at the Albany Key Bank to get their signatures on the account. It is the only time we are together on a Friday. Seems to be the best time for all of us.
The USDA dues have been paid as has the insurance fee for a Certificate of Insurance for Federation activities anywhere.
As of the writing of this report, I have not received transactions of insurance activity from October through December. The financials are current except for the insurance account.
MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN – Susan Harrel
The Badge Board has been completed. I will bring it to the Mid-Winter Festival and to our morning meeting so you can see if your council needs to have any changes or updates. If your club did not send a club badge without a name, tape was put over the name.
INSURANCE CHAIRMAN – Vicki Pounds
The USDA insurance submission went well for the most part. I am continuing to build relationships with many council and club volunteers who helped fill out their club paperwork for this year’s insurance. Thank goodness we have these folks. We rely on so many people who do this seemingly invisible work that is so necessary for our clubs.
Attached is a summary of the club roster count for 2025. We went from about 1,190 individual dancers in 2024 to almost 1,300 individual dancers in 2025.
One adventure was in late October, when someone hacked into the US Bank account and added a recipient to the Zelle account that is a bank service we do not use. Luckily the bank sent an automatic email informing me of the change in the account and we froze, then closed the old account and opened a new account. No money was stolen, but we did incur about a $60.00 expense ordering new checks, deposit slips and endorsement stamp.
I had a handful of problems to solve and have ideas I would like to experiment with a different approach for next year.
• Some insurance packets distributed by council delegates did not get in the hands of the club volunteer who handled the paperwork. I was able to email the paperwork to the club volunteers so they could complete the paperwork.
◦ I was impressed with one volunteer who initially created his own form; of course, he received the proper paperwork, and it all got done.
• Some paperwork was not turned in on time and I worked with the clubs to receive the paperwork and payment. It appears that some council meeting dates can make distribution and collection of paperwork difficult to manage in a short time span.
• Multiple clubs were not told what the 2025 rate was despite forwarding that info to council delegates. These clubs contacted me and they received the info they needed.
With one exception, a person who is not an email person, club volunteers communicate quite well using emails with attachments. I have all their email addresses and phone numbers as a backup. Working directly with clubs could shorten the timeline of paperwork by working directly with the clubs rather than passing paperwork from one person to another to another then back again.
I would like to experiment with selected councils I think would benefit with emailed insurance paperwork and see how that works. The check would still need to be mailed. I think this a simple enough of a process that anyone with basic computer skills could handle.
PAST PRESIDENT – Karyn (Matthew) Buchheit
The Randall Award was presented during Mid-Winter Festival opening ceremonies on Friday. Recipient was Linda Neuschwander
Grant Committee – no requests received
Nomination Committee – met Saturday morning.
On The slate for elected officers:
We can still accept nominees through the end of January. All information will be passed on to the Secretary after the 1st of February.
PARLIAMENTARIAN - Tim (Kathy) Roberts
No report
EDUCATION/PUBLICITY - Kathy (Tim) Roberts
On Saturday, January 24, I taught a seminar on Using Social Media. We had 22 people attend. A 37-page document with the information that I presented was distributed to those who like paper. I also distributed 20 thumb drives with the document to everyone. During the seminar, different platforms were mentioned. We spent most of our time focusing on how to use Facebook basics. I’ve been requested to present an advanced Facebook class for Administrators during Summer Festival.
The 2025 OFSRC 2-4 Day Festival flyer has been updated and posted to Facebook. I am still missing the flyers for Corvallis Squares’ Gleneden Beach in March, Beachcombers’ Birthday dance and Battlerock Festival, Central Oregon Round Up, Rosetown Ramblers’ Scares & Squares, KC Squares’ Potato Festival, and Hayshakers & Sunset Promenaders’ Seaside Sashay.
I continue to monitor the Federations’ Facebook page. When I find flyers on my own Feed that are not on the OFSRDC page, I post them to the Federations’ page. I also am still posting for individuals who are not comfortable posting their own flyers. We still have scammers attempting to post, but since the last meeting, only one has gotten past me. I found it about 10 minutes after they posted and took care of it. Facebook has changed their rules and tools again. We have increased membership again and now have over 1,300 members.
Be sure to check out the OFSRDC Summer Festival 2025’s Facebook page. Please join the page so that you receive information about our activities firsthand.
HISTORIAN - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
I continue to shred club directory forms from years ago and I found some accounting records that were done by hand from the 60’s that are in the shred pile. There are about three to four more notebooks of stuff that I need to go through in order to decide what to keep if any of it. This is stuff that I got from Mike Odell many months ago. I shred as I have spare time and ambition to sit on the hard surface of the hearth to shred where our shredder sits.
LICENSING – Brooke Davison
BMI & ASCAP fees have been paid for 2025. As usual, there was a slight increase in fees ($5 for BMI and $8 for ASCAP). Will be collecting fees from Mid-Winter on Sunday. Been having conversations with dancers about music licensing recently. Delegates, feel free to pass my name and contact info to your clubs for questions about music licensing. Recently I was informed about a former club president that signed a contract with BMI a few years back, didn't pass along the information to their successor, and now the club owes $1,000 in past due fees. More than likely, the club president didn't need to sign the contract and could have relied on the licensing secured by their callers and cuers. I recommended they cancel their contract. BMI/ASCAP has tried to convince them they need the license. Their concern is if they own the building and rent it out to non-square dance groups that may play music.
Check with clubs about BMI/ASCP licensing and pass my name on to members and officers. Brooke is available to answer questions. Clubs do not need to have their own license for BMI or ASCAP, they are covered by caller and cuer licenses.
YOUTH ADVISOR - Julia Buchheit
There were 66 youth registered this year. We had 24 ribbon scholarships given – these were all from donated funds. The youth earned fun badges Friday evening. They enjoyed a country fact/flag search as well as puzzles and games on Saturday.
Pacific NW Teen Square Dance Festival will be at Blanchet Catholic School in Salem, Oregon on May 9th and10th this year. Salem Swingin’ Stars will have 16-23 youth of their own participating in squares and calling. Silver City Squares currently have close to 30 signed up to participate. As this is their first year, I am asking the Federation for a donation to help Salem Swingin’ Stars.
Motion: I, Julia Buchheit, move that the Federation donate $1,000.00 to the Salem Swingin’ Stars youth to help with their expenses for the Pacific Northwest Teen Square Dance Festival. Cece Glidewell seconded the motion. Discussion about the need for funds today as the next Federation meeting will be after the teen festival. Since this is their first year, they will have additional expenses. They need to design and make their new outfits. This costs a lot of money initially. Silver City does not plan to ask for a donation this year, they have enough funds from the previous year to roll over forward this year. Motion carried. The check should be made to Salem Swingin’ Stars and given to Shiela Machado.
ORDTA - Tami Helms (Tim Keck)
February OROM was selected by Blue Mountains Council:
“TIE A YELLOW RIBBON” by Tony Orlando & Dawn
Choreo: Ron& Georgine Woolcock
Phase II Two-Step
March OROM selected by ORDTA
To be announced at a later date
ROUND DANCE SCREENING - Tami Helms (Tim Keck)
No report, we have a meeting during Mid-Winter.
CALLER LIAISON - Terry Halley (Betty Chipps)
No report
WEBMASTER - Tim (Kathy) Roberts –
No report
STATE FAIR - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
I will submit the request to dance at the Fair in late March after I return from Pre-Convention in Waco, TX. The dates I hope to get are August 26, August 28, and August 30. I usually don’t hear back until late June when the staff is hired for the summer.
BACKGROUND CHECK - Tim (Kathy) Roberts
We are caught up through today. We still need Summer Festival’s talent and Mid-Winter’s Ray Brendzy.
USDA - Marilyn (Ron) Schmit
The winter meeting of USDA was held in Tucson, AZ during the weekend of January 17-18. There were 22 in attendance with nine others who were absent and part of them tuned in via Zoom.
The meeting was held at Casino Del Sol outside of Tucson. It is a nice place with a casino, meeting rooms, several restaurants, and some rooms that had temporary flooring laid for dancing. There were 180 dancers at the Southern Arizona Callers and Cuers Association (SACCA) Festival sponsored by SARDASA. 20 different states were represented, and USDA made our presence known on Saturday night with our red, white, and blue outfits in the Parade of States. The meeting next year is in the Eastern Region so we won’t know until later where.
USDA has a membership of 1,036 clubs and insures 22,000 dancers through the insurance program that Oregon is insured under.
Several topics were discussed including the 501(c)3 program that Oregon chooses not to do because of the fiscal year changes many clubs and councils and the Federation would have to make.
The next meeting is in Shreveport during the National Convention. Tuesday is the Pre-Annual meeting, Wednesday is the Annual meeting where the Affiliate delegates get to attend and vote on various matters, and the Saturday Post-Annual meeting. I will be sending out a letter with a request for delegate attendees from Oregon sometime in March.
The National Executive Committee of the National Square Dance Convention is trying to get a 501(c)3 designation but have not started on that yet. The NEC has done away with the Showcase of Ideas so my position on the National Committee will be reduced after Shreveport. This is the last year for a full set of tables to display why people dance, and some tourist stuff. I am asking Karyn and the youth to design a tabletop display again this year. Last year’s got misplaced after the tear down on Saturday. It will be shipped to Shreveport in the back of Lorri’s pickup along with the USDA supplies that I need to have for the meetings. She will be compensated some gas money for transportation costs.
I will be taking an inventory of the publications in the rack in the foyer of the Linn County Fairgrounds while it is set up for Mid-Winter. Please take some time to see what is available and it will be replenished at the National Convention while I am there.
I will be asking Patrick to nominate me for the Secretary position once Mid-Winter is over. I can do the position for a total of three years with a nomination yearly.
a. Investigate the possibility of hosting a National Convention.
b. The largest gathering of square dancers in the world. Dancers come from around the world.
c. The National Square Dance Convention is owned and managed by NEC (National Executive Committee).
d. Oregon has done 2 National Conventions in the past.
e. Conventions have extensive education seminars and serious dancers that expect all levels of dancing.
i. Expect tours, hundreds of callers and cuers.
ii. Large selection of venders.
Investigations: Cost and expenses were presented.
• Salem and Portland are the only cities in Oregon that can support the Convention.
• Requirements for the Convention were presented.
• In addition to the Convention, you must host a Pre-Convention 18 months prior to the Convention
5 possible locations
1) Oregon Convention Center
a. The cost would eat up the budget at this location.
2) Exposition Center, Portland
a. Charges separately for parking
3) Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene
a. 170000 square feet,
b. It’s large enough, free parking, it’s affordable,
c. The fairgrounds sits in a hotel/motel desert. Bus service needs to be provided.
d. There are no nearby restaurants.
4) State Fairgrounds in Salem
a. In a hotel/motel desert
5) Deschutes County Fair and Expo
a. Transportation problems with limited airport
Other locations investigated and ruled out:
▪ Vancouver waterfront
▪ Pendleton Convention Center
▪ Ilani Casino
◦ Additional Information
▪ General Chairman:
• nearly a full-time job, must be married, required to travel to all conventions
• After the Convention, General Chairman act as an advisor to future conventions.
▪ Preconvention and Convention
• Attendance is required for persons involved with National Convention.
Patrick Cox: we need to continue to consider hosting a National Convention as a possibility so we will keep it on the books and look for an opportunity to host the convention in the future.
Zola Jones: as a member on the 1994 convention, it takes at least 200 people to volunteer, we are still growing and hopefully we will keep growing. I think this is a possibility in a few years.
Blake Smith: I would like a committee to continue monitoring this feasibility of a National Convention in the future.
Kathy Roberts: we need to have 9 dance floors due to the level of dancers who attend a National Convention.
Pat Cox: I am appointing Blake Smith to head the committee to monitor the feasibility of a National Convention in the future. Tim Robers: This committee ends at the end of Pat’s term. To continue the committee, the new President will have to appoint the committee again.
We have been communicating by email, agreeing on a definition. We have agreed on a definition for electronic file sharing. Agreeing on a definition solidifies our collective understanding of the concept and serve to guide and inform our ideas, actions, and speaking the same language to ensure successful communication within the committee and any decisions or recommendations we may offer in the future. We also have been discussing (via email) different types/brands of electronic file sharing options and have begun a spreadsheet which lays out options, pro’s, cons, pricing, etc. The spreadsheet is still in the beginning stages and is not ready to be presented or utilized for any decision making yet. Discussions are ongoing at this point. I am confident we will be ready to provide a recommendation that is detailed and well informed at the June meeting.
BLUE MOUNTAINS COUNCIL - David (Sally) Stutzman
No report
CENTRAL OREGON COUNCIL – Robert Swee
There were 51 dancers from Central Oregon Council in attendance at Mid-Winter this weekend.
The council held their annual fund-raising dance to raise money to be able to help support the clubs in the Council. It was a fun afternoon dance with a theme of “Crazy Hair Day”. And there was plenty of crazy hair.
High Desert Dancers – dancers contributed to a school supply drive through the month of September. The donations went to the local Family Access Network. HDD contributions, combined with other organizations, brought in over $16,000 of supplies. Then in December they held their Books and Bears fundraiser to benefit the Kids Center in Bend.
A new sign promoting square dancing was added to the main sign at the grange where club dances are held. The new sign advertises Square Dancing every weekend with the link to the club’s website.
The club sponsored their annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner on November 20, inviting dancers, family and friends from all over Central Oregon. Over 70 guests showed up for an evening of great food and lots of fun.
They held another of their Community dances in early December. This followed the graduation of 12 new dancers in the hope the new dancers would bring friends to the dance. It was a successful endeavor with 17 interested dancers showing up.
Red Rocks – the club is looking forward to starting their spring lessons on March 2nd. The club had a lot of success with their class last year and look forward to the same this year.
The club is again working with High Desert Dancers to host 4 Triple Up/Double Down weekends this year. For those not familiar with Triple Up/Double Down, one caller and one cuer is hired for the weekend. Red Rocks hosts the Friday night dance and High Desert Dancers hosts the Saturday night dance. Then they alternate having a Saturday morning workshop. All 3 dances are at a discounted rate.
Sagebrush Shufflers – the club participated in the Prineville Harvest Moon Festival by doing a demo for an hour, which included getting people from the audience to get up and give it a try. A booth was provided by the Council and a number of the participants from the demo came by and provided contact information for upcoming lessons.
Speaking of lessons, the club is looking forward to starting theirs on February 12th.
The club also did a demo to provide some Christmas cheer at the Regency Assisted Living Facility. One of the residents, it turns out, was an original member of the Sagebrush Shufflers back in the 1960’s.
The Shufflers held a very successful New Year’s Eve dance, with a sparkling cider toast at 9:00 PST in conjunction with the ball drop in New York.
Sundown Ridge Riders Round Dance Club – Mark just finished up classes teaching the rhythm of cha-cha. Thanks to Mark’s lessons over the last few months, instead of seeing just 2 or 3 couples on the floor for Rounds, there have been as many as 12 couples on the floor dancing the Rounds. He will shortly start classes for the next rhythm, yet to be decided.
EMERALD EMPIRE AREA - Zola Jones
The Oregon State Federation is hosting a Council Meeting on January 26, 2025, with upcoming events including a square and round dancing event on August 22 to 24 and a Council Benefit Dance on March 29, 2025; pre-register at the Emerald Square Dance Center for the dancing event.
Some of our new dancers are at Midwinter.
• Attend the Emerald Square Dance Center special weekend event of square and round dancing
• Attend the upcoming Council meeting
All of our clubs are dancing, except Misty Valley Cloggers, who are helping with the clogging at Mid-Winter Festival, as Rick Weidenhaft and his daughter, Megan, are the clogging program chairman.
Some of our new dancers are coming to Mid-Winter Festival, and our area class is scheduled to graduate a week after.
An annual Council Benefit Dance is scheduled for Saturday, March 29, 2025; and the recipient, voted on from the suggestions of area clubs, will be Oregon Horse Rescue.
I have put 'Flyers' with information and pre-registration here to everyone at the table, for the special weekend event of square and round dancing at the Emerald Square Dance Center in Springfield; for a great time with featured caller, Hunter Keller and featured cuer, Rikki Lobato. Also, there is RV parking. Three of our Area Clubs are putting this on, August 22 to 24, 2025.
Our upcoming Council meeting will be Monday, January 20th, 7:15 p.m. at the Emerald Square Dance Center.
INTERSTATE HIGHLANDERS - Cece (Sarge) Glidewell
The Klamath Country Squares delayed their winter dance schedule due to the caller, Cece Glidewell, having a death in the family. However, the dancers are enthusiastic about getting back to dancing in 2025. So far, we have one square but will be advertising a new dancer class that will start in March 2025.
The council has not had any activity since the COVID shutdown other than the required meetings. They will look at bringing back 5th Saturday dances if or when the club is functioning with enough dancers to support the expense of council dances.
MID-WILLAMETTE AREA COUNCIL - Brooke Davison
The clubs that held lessons have either graduated their classes or will be graduating very soon. A few clubs are even planning their next set of lessons to begin in February. Our clubs held New Dancer's Dances to support the area's new dancers and 22 new dancers earned the Ambassador's Badge for attending 7 of 9 of the New Dancer's Dances. Two of our clubs are sending participants to the Northwest Teen Square Dance Competition this May! This year, the competition is being held in Salem! Youth will be selling raffle tickets and buttons this weekend and beyond! Please consider supporting our youth dancers!
PORTLAND AREA COUNCIL - Betty Chipps (Terry Halley)
Portland Area Council will receive nominations for Officers at the February 17th meeting, The elections of Officers will take place at the March 17th meeting. There are four Officer positions: President, V.P, Secretary and PAC State Delegate open for nominations. If a PAC Club member is interested in a position, a job description can be provided.
The PAC Board is in the discussion phase of answering why the proficiency of square dancers has been deteriorating. What PAC Clubs are experiencing really mirrors a broader trend across the country. Our President, Jeff Knapp, shared: part of the problem might be the reluctance of clubs to enforce quality standards for newer dancers because, frankly, we need the bodies and can’t afford to drive anybody away. A PAC committee has been formed to discuss the possibilities and brainstorm potential solutions. We would be interested in what other Clubs have tried and what solutions have worked to increase dancer proficiency.
These up-coming events are highlighted so that others might choose to join us, if in the area:
- The annual Pacific Northwest Teen Square Dance Festival (PNTSDF) - is hosted this year by Silver City Squares at the Blanchet School in Salem, on Friday & Saturday MAY 9 - 10, 2025.
- The Portland Area Council (PAC) hosts the “Happy LUNAR NEW YEAR” dance on January 31 at Oak Grove Community Club: 7pm Plus with Daryl Clendenin, 7:15pm Rounds with Julie Stiers, and continues at 7:30pm with MS & Rounds.
- Bachelor and Bachelorettes, Abernethy Grange, OR City: Wed. February 5 “Valentine Dance" with Kalmbach/Helms begins 7:30pm and on February 19 Terry Halley/Tami Helms will entertain us.
- Chaps and Petticoats 50th year Anniversary is celebrated with The Flintstone Dance on Feb. 21, beginning 7:30pm at the Maplewood Grange, Aurora (Caller/Cuer: Kalmbach and Helms). Come as your favorite Flintstone character - 3 prizes are chosen by the dancers.
- Chaps and Petticoats hosts an OPEN MIC Night on March 21 at the Maplewood Grange with MC's: Thomas Buchheit and Katie Marteny - beginning at 7:30pm, they invite the Silverton youth Callers and Cuers to the stage - it’s good practice for the PNTSDF.
- Country Cut-Ups host: (3rd annual) SPRING FLING weekend (see OFN-Flyer), at Boring Barn, May 9-11, 2025 (Caller/Cuer: Andy Allemao and Tami Helms).
- Happy Hoppers offer PLUS/Round dancing every 1st Saturday and MS/Plus/Rounds on 3rd Saturdays 7-9:30pm at Washington Grange, Vancouver, WA with Craig Abercrombie.
- River City Dancers dance every 2nd & 4th Saturdays with Kalmbach and Helms at Milwaukie Community Club, 10666 SE 42nd Ave, Milwaukie. February's theme is “Stuck on You”.
- Rosetown Ramblers “42nd Anniversary” dance is February 8, 7-9:30pm alternating SSD and Plus tips with Adam Christman at Oak Grove Community Center.
ROGUE SIS-Q – Blake Smith
The May Federation meeting in Grants Pass, a crockpot dinner will be offered along with dancing to the callers and cuers of Rogue Valley. A special rate for rooms at La Quinta Inn, Grants Pass (Get your rooms booked soon): Rooms are blocked for a 10-room group reservation at the rate of $129 plus tax. Blocked rooms are 5 Double Queen and 5 King rooms and include a complimentary hot breakfast, 24-hour indoor pool & spa, and mini fridge/microwave in every room. The cutoff date to book rooms at the special rate of $129 plus tax is May 24, 2025. Reservations can be made at the group rate by calling the front desk at 541-472-0152. Rooms are being held under the group OR State Square Dance.
La Quinta by Wyndham
243 NE Morgan Lane
Grants Pass, OR 97526
(541) 472-0152
Circle n’ Squares:
Circle n’ Squares has faced significant challenges in maintaining their membership since COVID but remain determined. Dean and the team have been persistent and are currently working with six returning dancers—two couples and two singles—learning Plus with the existing group. The club plans to begin new dancer classes this Wednesday to grow their community. Additionally, they are organizing monthly community dances in a small town west of their location to spark interest in square dancing and develop future classes. Although no official club dances are scheduled yet, the group remains optimistic about their outreach efforts.
Star Promenaders:
The Star Promenaders in Medford are thriving, with nine dancers graduating in December, all of whom joined the club. Many of these new members are now dancing as angels at the new class that started on January 6th, which currently has nine students and strong support with 3–4 squares on the floor. Due to enthusiasm, the class remains open for one more week as members invite friends to join. The club enjoyed a fantastic New Year’s Eve dance with Phil-Billy Ramey calling and Mark McDonald cueing. Although they will be dark during Mid-Winter Festival, the Stars will resume with back-to-back dances on February 7 (SSD) and February 8 (Mainstream/Plus with Rounds). The highlight of the month is their 67th Birthday Dance on February 22, with Dean Black calling Squares and Rikki Lobato cueing Rounds.
Charlie Brown Squares:
The Charlie Brown Squares have started their SSD classes, welcoming 10 new students. Classes are now held on Thursdays, with workshops on Tuesdays, which has been a successful adjustment. Recent events included a fun amateur night featuring four callers and two cuers.
Upcoming dances include the annual Tailgate and Chili Cookoff and Hugs and Kisses Dance with Chuck and Rikki in February, as well as a March 1st dance featuring Roger Putzler and Elaine. Many members will also attend the Luck of the Umpqua Plus weekend in Roseburg, March 7–9, with Doug Davis, Dan Preedy, and Rikki Lobato.
Preparations are underway for the annual Boatnik Square and Round Dance Festival over Memorial Day weekend, featuring Jet Roberts and Peter & Chama Gomez. Looking further ahead, their December Birthday Dance will feature Andy Allemao. Additionally, the club will host the Federation meeting and dance in Grants Pass, welcoming dancers from across the state for a weekend of fun.
Kountry Rhythm Rockin Outlaws
Country Fever (Special Event):
The Country Fever Dance/Campout Weekend pre-registration deadline for discounted pricing ends on February 1, 2025. After this, the price increases from $45 to $55 per dancer. Flyers and registrations are available in the Promotional Events area at Mid-Winter. This event, is held at the Buckeroo Barn in Roseburg, will feature Jim Steele and Adam Christman as callers, with Rikki Lobato as cuer. With four great meals, endless beverages, and high-energy dancing, the team aims to exceed last year’s 14-square turnout. As of January 2025, 3.5 squares are already pre-registered.
Workshops and Lessons:
• Mainstream Workshops: Sundays, 2:30–4:00 pm
• Advanced A-1 Lessons: Sundays, 4:00–5:30 pm (soon transitioning to Advanced Workshops)
• Plus Workshops: Wednesdays, 6:00–7:30 pm
These workshops, hosted at Pleasant Ridge Community Hall in Redmond, Oregon, provide dancers with opportunities to improve skills and enjoy a vibrant square dancing community.
SOUTH COAST COUNCIL – Cherie (Patrick) Cox for Dave (Patty) Cooper
Beachcombers are full of enthusiasm for 2025. In November, Dave began teaching a class in beginning square dance at the local high school. He has 3 squares each Friday morning for a little over an hour. They are very excited and are exceeding the school's expectations. This semester the dance class has the largest enrollment of any elective in the school. To expand into round dance, he decided to offer Cha Cha after Thanksgiving and we were overwhelmed by the response...15 couples including high school students, some parents and friends of parents. Most are planning to start square dancing when our new class begins February 16th. Plans are progressing for our 4th of July weekend July 3-5 as well as the 25th Anniversary Battle Rock Festival August 28-31 (Labor Day Weekend). Flyers were available here at Mid-Winter and we are emailing the digital file to all clubs in the coming weeks. We hope to see you there.
Saints N Aints- dance 1st and 3rd Saturday
TUALATIN VALLEY COUNCIL – Laura Irvan
Highlights - Advertising for Square dance events being created/utilized for TVC: Dance week!! from Melissa James - a weekly email with square dance opportunities in the area including written descriptions and attaching flyers.
Social media - Susan Gillespie, Sarah Richmond, and Shawnee Daniel from the Hoedowners have been providing ideas and utilizing social media to advertise. They used “Meetup”, “Nextdoor”, “Craigslist”, and “Facebook”. More people looked than showed up but the idea of square dancing is getting out to the public. People who replied after their classes ended were directed to the Valley Squares for lessons.
Ideas from Sarah (edited)- Leverage posting flyers in stores and venues. If the flyer has a QR code it can take the reader to a website they can bookmark for reference later. Apparently. a club in Chicago gets a lot of dancers just by posting flyers in multiple locations.
1. Post on Facebook - there is a way to "boost" your posting
2. Post on Eventbrite
3. Google "things to do in Beaverton" or other cities near you to see what comes up and try to get on those sites. Googling this shows the following sites which may, or may not be worth exploring for Square Dancing...
○ https://www.reddit.com/r/beaverton/comments/1bb80yw/things_to_do/
○ https://tualatinvalley.org/cities-towns/beaverton/
○ https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g51765-Activities-Beaverton_Or egon.html
○ https://traveloregon.com/places-to-go/cities/beaverton
Dance classes at PCC - At the September meeting, we briefly discussed the possibility of lessons at junior colleges. Below is a link to the process for creating a community class at PCC. The current pay for the instructor is $26.24 per hour for instruction time. Other junior and 4-year colleges may have this same opportunity. From personal experience, the dance classes at PCC fill up quickly. https://www.pcc.edu/community/teach/
TVC meetings are now hybrid, and in person. Meetings will also provide a zoom option so those who are not located close to the meeting location can participate via zoom.
Lowlights - (why I’ve decided to do less square dancing in 2025) My expectations when I dance are to get some exercise and have fun, however, more and more I find that when I go square dancing, my religion, national pride, politics, and personal beliefs are being tested and judged. There are many dancing choices which don’t include these negatives so I will be spending more of my free time at other types of dancing.
UMPQUA AREA COUNCIL – Richard Stevenson for Doris Koozer
In November, we were able to use the trailer given to us by the Portland Area Council in the Veterans Day Parade with 27 dancers participating and Jim Steele calling.
In January, the Buckaroo’s graduated 7 new square dancers, and the Dancing Friends are graduating new students in waltz and West Coast Swing.
In February, the Buckaroo’s will be continuing their Sunday afternoon dancing with workshops called by Don Marshall, rather than a new class. The Dancing Friends will continue dancing on Tuesday with opportunities for advanced dancing and mixed level & rhythm dancing. On Thursdays they will be starting Rumba classes welcoming new and experienced dancers. Cueing duties will be shared by Neil Koozer and Rod Skinner.
Birthday Dance: the Buckeroos are celebrating their 73rd birthday and the Timber 8’s celebrating their 38th birthday, will have a joint birthday dance on March 29th. Darrell Kalmbach will be calling and Neil Koozer cueing. This is one week earlier than normal. They will also be dancing earlier in the day at the Spring Fair at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
The UAC will be sponsoring the first dance in April on the 5th, with Don Marshall calling and Neil Koozer cueing. Don Marshall has recently returned to Roseburg after spending a few years in Texas. Dancers are having fun getting (re-)acquainted with him after the 8-year break. The UAC will also have a dance on May 30th with Roger Putzler calling and Rod Skinner cueing.
The Buckeroos are getting ready for the Round-Up on June 13-15. They have lots of fun events planned. The caller will be Scot Zinser from Portland and cuer Rikki Lobato from Grants Pass.
Other Festivals Happening at the barn will be:
Luck of the Umpqua on March 7-9
Country Fever on October 3-5
Rikki Lobato
I am not sure if I will be at the meeting to present this report, as the round dance teach happens at the same time; but I am sure we have all had a wonderful time dancing and seeing friends. Thank you to the committee for putting on a great festival. I have been busy traveling, dancing, cueing and spreading the word about the wonderful dancing in Oregon. Here is a quick breakdown since the last meeting in September.
September: September was pretty quiet as I was home and house sitting for family. I cued in Bend and then the next morning did a round dance workshop for the group. It was very well received, and I will be doing more of those when it works out for the club. It was a lot of fun - and the dancers were very appreciative. I started a new session of round dance lessons towards the end of September.
October: I cued the Country Fever Festival with Jet Roberts and Jim Steele in Roseburg the first weekend of October. What a fantastic time. Wonderful group of round dancers, with over 30 for my teach of the dance I wrote for the weekend. It was well received and a lot of fun to teach and dance. The 2nd weekend of October I danced and had a blast at Scares and Squares with Hunter Keller and Eric Henerlau. I enjoyed doing a quick teach of a Cha to a great group who had never round danced - everyone did a great job and I enjoyed cueing the dance that evening for the group. The 3rd weekend of October was spent cueing in Central Oregon with the wonderful Roger Putzler. It's always fun to cue with him and get extra visits in with him and Linda. The following weekend was spent in Yuba City for Harvest Hoedown. One of my favorite weekends. I enjoyed dancing as well as cueing during the weekend. I was also honored to have the dance I wrote taught by the featured cuers during the weekend. Love dancing with my California friends and sharing all the wonderful events happening in Oregon. Halloween night I had the pleasure of cueing for a dear friend's 80th birthday with the wonderful Tony Oxendine - what a great dance!
November: The next morning, I drove from Salem to Plymouth, CA to spend the weekend dancing to Jet, Kip Garvey and MaryAnn Callahan. The month of November was pretty quiet as I was helping my family by house sitting most of the month. My round dance classes are going very well with a great mix of new and experienced dancers learning the Two Step and Slow Two Step.
December: I cued Charlie's birthday dance with Adam Christman and then the next 2 weekends I cued for the Star Promenaders, Charlie's and the Caller and Cuer Association. New Years week I spent with my best friend as I always do, enjoying great company and lots of good food and entertainment. It's the perfect way to reset and get ready for 2025.
January: I flew to Tucson the 2nd weekend of January to dance at the Hummingbird Hoedown in Sierra Vista. Great weekend spent with Jet and Sylvia Roberts, Tony Oxendine and Bryan & Harue Swift. It was the 10th anniversary of the festival started by Jerry Story and a special weekend with lots of new friends made. Last weekend I cued for the Charlie's Amateur nite and was thrilled that 2 of my dancers cued a dance during the evening. So proud of them both. I did my annual "get out of my comfort dance" and did a short patter and "singing" call - I had the dancers backing me up during the singing portion - so that was great - for everyone! LOL
There are lots of events coming up that I am excited to be participating in and look forward to continuing to wear my Goodwill Ambassador badge everywhere I go! If you have any flyers you would like me to add to my travel folder - just give them to me if you see me or to the council delegate Blake, or Lorri can also give them to me.
Roger & Linda Putzler
Linda and I were busy the few months since the last State meeting. We attended all the New Dancer lessons for the Emerald Empire Springfield (September-January). We were with the Sagebrush Shufflers in Prineville in September, The Red Rocks in Redmond, the High Desert Dancers in Bend, The Single Trees in Springfield, and the Halloween Dance with Corvallis Squares in Corvallis. November led us to the Whirl-A Ways and Cascade Callers & Cuers Association in Springfield, December led us to Lebanon and the Lebanon Square Circlers for their New Dancer dance and once again with the Whirl-A Ways in Springfield. New Years Eve dancing brought us back to Springfield and in January we saw the Whirl-Aways again.
Most of the dances we attended were dancing 2-3 squares. The Red Rock dance in Redmond in October had 5 squares as well as the New Years Eve dance in Springfield. The December New Dancers dance in Lebanon in December had 9 squares.
Linda also attended all of the Mid-Winter meetings during this time, Linda also finished her term of interim Treasurer for the Emerald Empire Council. Roger finished his long time term of Cascade Callers and Cuers Association delegate for Emerald Empire Council, She also attended meetings for the Emerald Square Dance Center board where Music Licensing was discussed,
Lorri McIntosh: Roy from Star Promenaders in Medford went to the hospital while he was in Albany.
Tami Helms: ORDTA had a question about the dues paid to OFRDC, Connie Clark researched about dues to the Federation. They will continue to pay dues, do they have the ability to advertise with Federation- yes.
Marilyn Schmit: I’m going to Preconvention in March, anything I need to take with me.
Sarge Glidewell: thank you for a great festival, we were on the fence about coming, glad we came. Today is Cece’s birthday.
Patrick Cox: we have a new rebuilt sound system that I donated until something better is obtained. The amp is a bit heavy. I would like to suggest we change out the portable mikes as they are not always working well.
Tim Roberts: There are 2 levels of systems for mikes, cheap and very expensive. For the time being we can continue using this system and I will continue looking for something better.
ADJOURN: Motion: Karyn Bucheit moved to adjourn the meeting, Brooke Davison seconded the motion.
Meeting adjourned at 11:16 am.
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
Sunday, June 1st, 2025, 9:00 AM
Josephine County Fairgrounds
Grants Pass, OR