EUGENE GLASS SCHOOL MEMBERS MEETING
Minutes: MAY 8, 2010 AT 5PM
Membership Attendance: 29 people attended
Board Members Attending: Chris Jenkins & Patti Lomont
Staff Members Attending: Emrich Stovel & Samantha Pritchard
Communications between Membership & Board – Current board members and staff were mentioned and introduced.
1.) Contact Board – through e-mail with issues, concerns, etc. (addresses on “contact page” of EGS website).
2.) Arrange to come to a board meeting – and have issues placed on the agenda. Membership agenda items are usually placed at the beginning of the meetings.
3.) Board meetings scheduled once a month – We do not have regularly-scheduled meeting times, but set our following meetings at each board meeting, so date is known one month ahead. Board meetings will now be listed on the EGS website “events page”.
4.) New Board Members – We hope to add new members with financial and legal backgrounds, to gain these areas of expertise needed for EGS.
Welcome – Emrich and Sam welcomed everyone and discussed the events and objectives of the Members Meeting:
1.) Encourage greater communication and collaboration with our member base.
2.) Inform the members and larger glass community about the current status and health of our organization.
3.) Let members know of the changes we are trying to make and that we want them to be involved in shaping that process.
Ways to get involved at EGS – Become a member at $100/year, with a 50% discount for students and seniors.
Member Perks –
1.) No annual registration fee.
2.) Discounted studio rental.
3.) Free EGS T-shirt.
4.) 5% discount on classes (15% senior members – 60+).
5.) 20% discount on club night (except for hot shop) on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
6.) Opportunity to attend club nights ($100 for 4 hours).
7.) Discounts to other businesses such as: Winship Designs (15-20%), Cornerstone (10% off selected items), Art of Glass (10% off selected items), The Glass Fuser (10% off selected items), Georgie’s (10% off selected items).
Additional Ways to get involved –
1.) Become a sponsor.
2.) Volunteer your time.
3.) Volunteer your expertise.
4.) Donate money.
5.) Donate art.
6.) Donate glass products.
7.) Donate supplies.
8.) Make a project proposal (form currently being created will be available online).
9.) Community outreach.
10.)Give suggestions. A Comments Box is by the office door, and comments and suggestions can be made anonymously.
Facilities Review – Emrich, EGS Facilitiy Director, gave a presentation on each department, and talked about organizing systems in each department.
1.) Hot Shop repair list – 4 yr. furnace, color kiln, Denver furnace (repaired, and ready to fire back up), annealers (need to secure and repair loader doors), glory hole doors being recast.
2.) Cold Shop repair list – band saw is broke, Gemini saws to be replaced, abrasives need upkeep.
3.) Fusing repair list – Paragon kiln needs work, need for additional lighting, Taurus saw parts are on order, table top coverings need to be replaced.
4.) Flamework repair list – Hugh will evaluate needs after Network Charter School sessions are finished. Little tools need to be replaced, and need new stools.
5.) Shop Prices – Services list will be posted.
6.) Procedures for Rentals – Contact Emrich for hot and cold shop rentals. He is coordinating the rentals. Give as much notice as possible. Look at schedule to see when classes are happening, as well as the Network Charter School schedule. The rental book is located in the office for “official” registration.
Personnel – Emrich and Sam shared a proposal for the personnel structure at EGS. It allows for advancement of EGS volunteers in the organization and their own careers. There would be compensation for skill and expertise with a 4 to 1 trade ratio. The goal is to have a fair and transparent structure. We have a world-class facility, and we want to utilize it and our members to its full potential.
Educational Opportunities –
1.) Private 1 on 1 instruction.
2.) 1-Day workshops.
3.) Weekend Classes.
4.) Club nights.
5.) Shop rental.
6.) Glass camp.
7.) Glass parties.
8.) Blow your own floats and paperweights.
Ongoing Educational Needs – We need to improve and develop this by having a more comprehensive catalog and integrated curriculum.
Big classes coming up –
Flamework – John Kobuki, Dellene Peralta, Rick Zar, Loren Stump
Fusing – Patty Gray
Bead – John Winters, Melanie Moertel, Michael Barley
Hot Shop – John Winters, Charlie Correll, Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen
Sign-up for classes in advance! There are discounts for early registration!
Internships – A proposal is currently in the works for a formal program. Staff and board will use information from the University of Oregon Arts Administrative Department.
Financial Report – The situation is not good. EGS is in debt to the tune of $166,000. Part of that is a credit card debt of $61,000. This is a debt that is ten years in the making. In the last 10 years, EGS has spent $2.8 million (5% is debt). EGS has never had an endowment or serious benefactors or trustees. We need to get more grants and get more organized. In the last three years (2007-2009), the average income/year has been $355,000 and the average spending has been $393,000. Our hard cost for the first 3 months of 2010 has been on average $14,500/mo.
What is the interest on credit card debt?
What is the debt ration from early years to more recent years?
EGS income comes from: registration, contributions and donations, fundraising events, campaign income, gallery sales, and membership dues.
Procedures and Rules of Contact – for the Q & A session were reviewed.
Question & Answer Session –
Andrew – Reminded the membership of what EGS has done and continues to do. We’ve built a beautiful facility. How can we use the building more effectively? He gave an example of the Eugene Ballet as a non-profit that managed to get out of debt!
Emrich – He gave an example of an impromptu class that was offered by Jeff Ballard.
Sam – Mentioned that we have 2,500 people on our e-mail list.
Klaus – Volunteered to organize and sell odds and ends on Craigs List to raise money. He suggested putting donated work from the gallery on e-bay. He also mentioned the Eugene Storefront Art Project (ESAP), which is filling vacant storefronts with art in downtown Eugene. He offered to possibly lend his expertise on credit card debt management.
? (Sorry, didn’t get name/fuser) – Mentioned KLCC as an avenue for underwriting/advertising. It was added from someone else that it is very expensive.
Sam – Mentioned that we have no budget for advertising, and that this is a big problem. Press releases are sent to all the media all the time. We also trade with the Eugene Weekly for ads. She recognized Sue Bradley for her hard work on the EW awards project, which facilitated this ad trade.
Marge – Appreciates the positive changes being made. She feels that departmentalization is essential. She recognized Sam, and all of her hard work, saying that if it wasn’t for Sam, the school wouldn’t still be here!
Sam – Needs help with the on-line gallery and taking photographs of glasswork.
Emrich – There is potential for fundraising by selling high-end art, such as Pino’s.
Drew – Had some questions about the pyramid of folks listed in the personnel chart, and that there are no positions on the monetary side. Who is filling those positions? There’s a need for making a market for student work and creating products.
Emrich – There will be a name for every position, with details of what those positions entail (job descriptions). He will work with and organize the chart with department heads.
Mary – Suggested just separating the administrative and facility sides of the chart.
Jeff – Suggested that we need a marketing person, and that this is vital for exposure. He asked what the percentage was of people attending classes that are from in or out-of –town. (It was mentioned that Sam does most of the marketing, and is spread too thin.)
Andrew – We need a publicist. He also suggested adding a volunteer coordinator and a grant writer.
Styles - $500 is too much for a class. Try to offer more economical classes, and shorter, less expensive classes. Bring heavy hitters in for mentoring sessions. Have business seminars and forums for marketing artwork. They could be run like a club night. What about hosting teachers in other states and bring the teacher to the artists? What about offering on-line classes?
Patti – Mentioned Oregon Crafted (another non-profit organization where she is a staff member) and that they offer classes on the business side of art.
? (Sorry, didn’t get name) – Deborah Crawley will be holding the Glassstock event at EGS, the weekend after Flame-Off.
Alex – Draw the local heavy-hitters to EGS. They do tend to teach out of their own studios though.
Drew – Video tape classes to sell.
Mike – The footage would need to be edited and produced, but could be great for the school. Maybe another committee? People would pay for access to videos.
Kathy (?) - It would be great to have access on-line. If EGS provided it for free, it would be good exposure for the school.
Mary – Steer towards emphasizing the educational part of the school. Don’t get in competition with other artists.
Chris – Find a happy medium, fill the gap for right now.
Emrich – Make the school competitive and user-friendly, price-wise. People could come here to work. Make it mutually beneficial.
Todd – There are so many perspectives, which is great and inspiring, but creates head-butting at the same time. Put aside differences for the love of glass. Draw different people together.
Closing Statements – A big thank-you was given to all for attending the membership meeting. It was a very productive time.
Other ideas that came up after the official meeting was over:
1.) Have an anonymous flame-off.
2.) Promote artists that promote the school.
3.) Have a photography workshop (for photographing glass).
4.) Partner with Oregon Crafted, who offer workshops in the business side of art.
5.) Have one position for marketing, volunteer coordinator, and fundraising.
6.) Take old EGS catalogs and put them out in the community (schools, doctor and dentist offices, stores, everywhere).
7.) Take out the competition element of the Flame-Off. Use the donations to make pieces. Have artists come together and collaborate.
8.) Have more kid’s event.
9.) Make EGS a mentoring destination.
Additional Questions may be sent to the board and staff as a whole:
Info@eugeneglassschool.org
Saeed Mohtadi: saeed@eugeneglassschool.org
Dave Winship: davew@winshipdesigns.com
Patti Lomont: patti@eugeneglassschool.org
Chris Jenkins: cjenkins@auroraglass.org
