Fair Lawn Friends of Music Meetings

Fair Lawn Friends of Music Board Meeting

A Board meeting was held on Thursday, November 17, 2011 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria.  The meeting commenced at 7:37 pm.

Ms. Lucas opened the meeting.  She congratulated the Marching Band on a great performance at Nationals.  She purchased her IPOD and will learn how to use it shortly.  She again thanked FLFOM for their gift.  Ms. Lucas is impressed with the amount of involvement with the parents.

In January, three of the orchestral students are auditioning for the North Jersey Regional Orchestra (Senior Program) and one auditioning for the Junior Program.  

Mr. Kafer then spoke and welcomed everyone.  He acknowledged what a great Marching Band season we had.  He is very proud of how the students behaved on the trip to Nationals.  He likes the new hotel site.  Thanks Patty for coming through finding this hotel at the last minute!

The parents came together to make a good lunch of sandwiches for the students on Saturday, November 12th.  The cost per person only turned out to be about $3.00 per student.  The students had a good warm up.

We had a great show and thrilled to take 5th place.  We beat Absegami at Nationals and beat Nazareth in captions (best percussion) this year.  Red Land is also one to watch.  Percussion took first place in captions for the second year in a row.  The colorguard placed two points higher than last year and they helped with the scores for the visual.

The buffet dinner had a few issues with adequate seating as there were several schools there at the same time.

Winter Guard and Winter Percussion meetings will start up.  There is a meeting next week on November 22nd for the guard.  There is a percussion meeting tonight and practice starts in three weeks.

There is no confirmed date for hosting the winter competition, however we plan to do one this season.  

Paul Kafer is considering hosting a fall Marching Band competition in October.  This would be a big fundraiser.   It would have from 5- 9 bands.

The fundraising event would assist us in purchasing some needed equipment and supplies.  Our drum battery is starting to wear out.  Most of them are 5 years old.  We also need new Marching Band uniforms.  The uniforms are around 10 years old.  We need to purchase about 125 uniforms in various sizes.  The uniforms cost about $275/student and it is unlikely that the district would help with this cost.  We may be able to reach out to corporate sponsors to have them help us purchase the uniforms.

The instructors are going to a meeting with the USSBA on December 3rd to discuss the possibility of FLFOM hosting a fall competition as well as various other topics.  

There is also discussion about starting a middle school percussion group next year.  

Jazz Ensemble is starting tomorrow.  Mr. Kafer needs a trombone player.  The Pitt Orchestra will start soon (possibly December 20th).

The Symphonic Band is doing wonderful.  The Wind Ensemble needs to focus more and talk less.  However, Mr. Kafer thinks that they will have a great concert.

Barbara Addon presented a FLFOM shirt to Paul Kafer and Allison Lucas.  

Congrats all on a great season!

Lisa and Dave Gotlib and Tami Herschaft did an audit review of the Treasurer’s records.  Lisa Gotlib presented the results and there was a tremendous improvement from last year’s records.  Nancy Lent did a great job in keeping the records.  The team (Lisa, Dave and Tami) did a detailed review of the months of October 2010 and January 2011.  The following minor discrepancies were cited:

• One check was not signed by a parent.
• Two checks dated August 15th were not deposited until October.  At that point, one of the accounts were closed.  We need to try to deposit the checks in a timely manor.
• Honorariums over $600 should be given 1099 forms.

Overall, the records looked very good.  Thanks to Lisa, Dave and Tami for doing the audit for FLFOM!

Membership Report (JoAnn Le Grand)

No new members this month.

Roadie Report (Rob LeGrand)

Everything went well at Nationals.  There were lots of roadies helping this year.  

The trucks never showed up to take out the equipment on Sunday morning so the equipment was not removed until Monday.

Quartermaster Report/Bake Sales (Chris Schultze)

The students have been involved with the bake sales.  We need to keep up the spirit.  

The second bake sale was done by the orchestra and we earned $113.

The next bake sale is scheduled for December 12th and the Percussion and Pitt will be responsible for this one.

Barbara Addon did a lot of work to help with the quartermaster functions this year.

Cathy Greco donated plastic bags to store the plumes.

Chris Gazzi helped with making sure the plumes were all collected after each event.

The garment bags should be checked to make sure there are no plumes stored in them.

The uniforms need to be cleaned again.  The Bridges class will do this cleaning for us.

Thanks All!

Treasurer’s Report  (Bob Greco)

Bob provided copies of the Treasurer’s Report to everyone who attended the meeting.   We still have $900 in TD Bank leftover from the transition of bank accounts to Colombia Savings Bank. We paid $12,000 in honorariums to the instructors.  Paul Kafer and Jamie Szeinberg determined the figures based on time and attendance of instruction.  We gave $250 to the drill writer as part of the honorarium.

Fundraising Report (Barbara Addon)

Mrs. Vanni will once again do the ink cartridge fundraiser collection.  There will be a box in the band room with a list of the qualified cartridges.

We made a profit of $300 from the sale of the FOM apparel.  The students want to do Bound sweatshirts and other apparel.  We may consider doing sweatpants with each section’s name on the leg.  There is a logo already designed.  Gem Sports is preparing pricing for this.  Thanks to Barbara and Eddie Addon for coordinating the sale of shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts.  There are still some more shirts available for sale.  See Barbara or Eddie Addon.

Bob Greco got information on Chili’s night (Tuesday or Wednesday) in which if you present the voucher, Chilis will give us 10% of the profit.

We are looking at a date in January for the Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast.  We need a minimum of 17 volunteers to assist with serving and clean-up.  The breakfast would run from 8 – 10 am and the volunteers would need to arrive at 7:30 am to prepare.  All volunteers need to 17 years old or older.

We are also looking at a date in January for a Lia Sophia Jewelry sale at Fair Lawn High School.

Some other suggestions for fundraisers include the sale of gift cards from Great Lakes gift company.  This has gift cards for all stores imaginable.  

Restaurant.com offers fundraising efforts.  If you pay $10 for the card, you get a $ or % off the purchase.

If anyone has suggestions for fundraisers, please let Barbara Addon know.

Miscellaneous 

If anyone wants pictures taken throughout the year, please give a memory stick to Patty Reiner and she will copy the pictures to the memory stick for you.

There is concern about the condition of the bleachers for hosting a fall competition.  This needs to be presented to Paul Kafer.

We would need a lot of parental involvement to run this competition. 

The end of season Marching Band Dinner will be on December 6th at the Athletic Club.  The cost is $30 pp and parents are welcome.

The By-Law Committee needs to meet.  

The winter concert will be on December 19th.  We need people to bake and donate water to sell as concessions.  Maureen Policano is chairing the concession.

We had a conversation about venues for the end of year awards dinner.  Since tagging does not cover the expenses, we need to consider some less expensive venues.  We have been holding the event at the Venetian for the past several years.

The next FLFOM meeting will be on December 8th at 7:30 pm.

The meeting adjourned at 9:25 pm. 

A Board meeting was held on Thursday, October 13, 2011 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria.  The meeting commenced at 7:35 pm.

Ms. Lucas opened the meeting.  She provided FLFOM with a “Thank You” letter for the purchase of an IPOD and gift card for her use with her Orchestra students. 

She is having a very good year and has a nice enrollment of students.  The first set of lessons began this week at Memorial due to the flooding situation at Memorial Middle School.  A couple of her students study privately as well.  She is preparing for her concert on December 19, 2011.

She is getting ready for the North Jersey Region Orchestra and Band.  There is a junior and senior orchestra for this program.  Fair Lawn has been involved for the last six years.  The students must audition with all the other students in Bergen County.  In order to audition, the student must be a member of the orchestra in one of the schools.  If they qualify, they can ultimately make it to All State.  The All State Concert is at NJPAC on November 20, 2011.  The students who qualified last year are in the concert this year.  Ms. Lucas is hoping that her first cellist makes it this year to All State.

Mr. Kafer then took the floor and discussed the next competition at Jackson Liberty High School in Jackson, NJ.   Absegami is scheduled to be at this competition.

He discussed the fact that if is raining tomorrow, the band will not go to the football game.  He mentioned that the band must function as a football band for them to remain intact.

The discussion of setting up a Facebook page for the FLHS Marching Band took place.

Mr. Kafer added an additional show on October 29^th .  This is because the score is needed for rating and placement for Nationals.  Each week the scores increase even if we perform the same.  Mr.  Kafer would like to be in the top six of the Group IV Open category.  Nazareth is scheduled to be at this competition in the Edison area.  Mr. Kafer apologized about the last minute change.

Nationals are coming up.  The hotel and buses are all scheduled.  There will be a buffet dinner for the students the day they perform at Nationals.

Mr. Kafer said that all other programs are going well.  Dan Burbank is doing field study this year and will be a student teacher next year.  Music Theory is also going great.

This week two timpani heads broke.  They will need to be replaced.

Secretary’s Report(Sherry Ellis)

Sherry read the Thank You letter from Ms. Lucas and the Orchestra.

Membership Report (JoAnn Le Grand)

JoAnn was very happy to report that we have an additional 19 members to Fair Lawn Friends of Music which brings us to a total of 69 members.

JoAnn will send an updated list of members to the Board.

She also received $100 donation from a new band family to her “Bagel Dough Nation” fund.

Roadie Report (Rob LeGrand)

There is a football game scheduled on October 14^th in Clifton.  Rob can use help to load the trucks if the band goes.  There is also a competition on October 16^th in Jackson in which he can use some parents to help.

We are going to try to use ramps to load the heavy equipment for the competition this weekend.

Quartermaster Report (Chris Schultze)

Chris was unable to attend the meeting, but Barbara Addon read her report.  Chris acknowledged the help of Erika Arango, Kim Addon, Freddie Gilbert, Joanna Sczcech and most especially Barbara Addon in assisting with providing uniforms to all the band members.  All of these students now have a uniform and shoes. 

Chris also thanked Cathy Greco for bringing in plastic bags to store the plumes.

Chris also is helping run the bake sales and is anxiously awaiting baked goods for next Monday’s bake sale.  Baking for the bake sales is open to all students and another else who may want to contribute.

Treasurer’s Report  (Bob Greco)

Bob provided copies of the Proposed Budget and the Treasurer’s Report to everyone who attended the meeting.  The total balance in our operating account is currently $29,654.55.

Mr. Kafer gave Bob the Marchathon deposits.

Jessica Hansen handled the collection of funds from the Colorguard to purchase duffel bags for them.

Fundraising Report (Barbara Addon)

Gio’s night is currently scheduled for November 17^th from 5-8 pm.  A full menu will be available and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to FLFOM.

Ellen Glassett will be doing a Lia Sophia sale at the Fair Lawn High Schoool in January.

Barbara is looking into dates for the Applebee breakfast.

Barbara is looking into purchasing shirts (short and long sleeve), hoodie jackets and sweatshirts for the roadies and band parents.  She needs a minimum of 24 orders.  The items will be red with white writing.  An initial order form was handed out to the attendees so Barbara can get an idea of who is interested in purchasing them.

Barbara said that Jay Hansen is saving a lot of money on these items because he is doing the graphics for free.  Thanks Jay!

Barbara reviewed the budget items on the proposed budget that was handed out.  The first motion was made by Dave Rocker to approve the budget.  The second motion was made by Andrea. Ferguson.  Everyone was in favor of the motion and the budget was approved.

We are looking at March 17^th to host the indoor percussion and guard competition.

Senior Recognition Day is October 22^nd.  Corsages will be given to all the senior parent moms.  The senior parents will walk their child up to their spot on the field during the halftime show.  

Miscellaneous

Robin Strauss is looking at November 22^nd for the end of Marching Band season dinner.  We will use the same DJ as last year and all parents are invited to attend.

There are currently about 18 cases of water left.  We need additional donations. 

The spring clothing drive will be scheduled shortly.

The wrapping paper fundraiser is due on October 18^th.

The cheesecake fundraiser will follow soon.

Tagging will take place from November 18 – November 20.  We need to get more students to tag.  We also need to secure dates and locations for tagging.  Sara got the permits for tagging.

If anyone knows someone who wants to donate a trailer, please inform FLFOM.

We should keep in mind for next year that there is a Bergen County grant program that could provide funding for FLFOM.

The next FLFOM meeting will be on November 17^th at 7:30 pm.

The meeting adjourned at 9:12 pm. 

A Board Meeting was held on Thursday, September 15, 2011 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria.  The meeting began at 7:39 pm.

Patty Reiner started the meeting by introducing the members of the Board of Fair Lawn Friends of Music (FLFOM) including herself as President, Barbara Addon as Vice President, Bob Greco as Treasurer and Sherry Ellis as Recording Secretary.  She also introduced Paul Kafer, Band Director and Allison Lucas, Orchestra instructor.

Mrs. Lucas then gave some of her background to the group.  She has been teaching in Fair Lawn for 25 years.  She teaches strings (orchestra) in many of the schools in Fair Lawn including Fair Lawn High School.   She spoke very highly of her students and enjoys working with them.

Mrs. Lucas asked the FLFOM for an IPOD Classic to put music on for her classes.  The IPOD Classic costs about $250 and Barbara Addon suggested that we add $50 in ITUNE cards for a total gift of $300.

Jo Ann LeGrand (Membership Chairperson) asked Mrs. Lucas for a list of student names in the FLHS Orchestra so we can become familiar with these students.  Mrs. Lucas handed her a list.

Mr. Kafer then spoke about his classes for this year.  The Symphonic Band is smaller this year (approximately 33 students).  The enrollment is lower this year because there is a new financial class requirement that students are recommended to take Freshman year.  The Wind Ensemble has approximately 52 students.  Mr.  Kafer also teaches Music Theory.

Mr. Kafer thinks that this year’s Marching Band will be one of the best.  They just received the final drill this week and he thinks it is awesome.  There was a delay in getting the drill written because the individual who was supposed to write it had personal issues.  They needed to find a drill writer at the last minute.  The individual who wrote the drill is well recognized (won several prestigious awards) and Mr. Kafer thinks we got lucky with how everything turned out.  The staff feels very comfortable with the program.

This Saturday, September 17^th is the first competition in Scotch Plains.  Mr. Kafer is concerned about the available space in the trucks for all the equipment and may need some parental assistance with vans.   Next week’s show which was originally scheduled for Pequannock has been changed to Piscataway.  There are not a lot of bands this year in the “ Group 4 Open” category.  Some bands moved to “ Group 4A” and others to different group levels.  The criteria for scoring has changed this year.  There are two different sets of sheets.  The “open” category is based on intermediate and advanced scoring.  Class A can now score up to 100.

This year’s summer music program had the largest enrollment ever.  All the proceeds from the program went to needed equipment.

We are looking for a semi-truck donation.

Mr. Kafer handed out pictures of the gifts he is requesting from Fair Lawn Friends of Music.  These included a keyboard cart (about $1,485), 10 music stands, drum heads (about $314) and $1,000 towards the drill writer.

A question was posed about the marching band presentation that was done in the gym at the end of band camp.  This showed up on UTUBE.  The concern was about the privacy of the show and others not seeing it in advance.  Mr. Kafer was not concerned about this.  The music is copyrighted.

Sherry Ellis read the thank cards received from the seniors who graduated last year and received scholarships/gifts.

Publicity Report (Bob Gordon)

Bob Gordon discussed the advertising that was in The Community News today.  It has a picture of the Car Wash fundraising event that took place in August and an article on the upcoming competitions.

We are currently experiencing some difficulty with getting the Fair Lawn Friends of Music website updated due to the transition of officers this year.  The schedule of events can be obtained from the USSBA website.  Bob Glasett offered some assistance has he has knowledge of the website language.

Bob will be submitting publicity throughout the year to The Community News, Fair Lawn Patch and Paramus Post.   He will look into getting Channel 77 (for Cablevision) and Channel 37 (for Verizon) to post our shows and announcements.  He welcomes any suggestions, photos/videos to be e-mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you Bob and Carol Gordon!

Membership Report (Jo Ann LeGrand)

Fair Lawn Friends of Music Membership Forms were placed in the packet of forms that were sent to all Fair Lawn High School students over the summer.  This assisted us with obtaining members.  We currently have 50 members out of approximately 150 students.

$1,000 was submitted to Bob Greco (Treasurer) for the membership fees.

Fair Lawn Friends of Music Membership Forms are currently available from Jo Ann LeGrand for anyone else interested.

JoAnn started a “Dough”nation can to use for purchasing bagels for the students.  So far she collected $80.22 and gave these funds to Bob Greco (Treasurer).  Please spread the word about this fundraising.  In addition, we will need to ask for another round of donations for water.

Roadie Report (Rob LeGrand)

The roadies help the band by transporting equipment and instruments to all games and competitions.  They assist in pushing this equipment out for our halftime show for the home football games and at all competitions.  We always welcome volunteers to help roadie.

Roadie hats are currently on sale for $12.00 each.

There is discussion about purchasing roadie shirts and we are looking into a fundraiser to defray costs.

Saturday morning, September 17^th , they will need assistance to add shelves to the trucks.

Quartermaster Report (Chris Schultze)

Chris thanked everyone who helped clean the uniform band room and fit the students with their uniforms.

There was a database of all of the students and their uniform numbers provided to Mr. Kafer.

Treasurer’s Report  (Bob Greco)

Bob Greco handed out a Treasurer’s Report as of September 15^th showing a balance of $15,501.02 in the operating account.  It also detailed all the entries into this account.

The bank accounts were changed from TD Bank to Columbia Savings Bank. 

Fundraising Report (Barbara Addon)

The Fair Lawn Friends of Music held a Car Wash in August which was successful.  They earned $408.06 and had a great time.  Thanks to Maureen and Samantha Policano for their wonderful idea!

Candy sales earned $105.  This candy was left over from hosting the Winter program.  If you know individuals that are willing to sell candy, please let Barbara know.

Candy was also sold during the summer concerts and this earned $132.10.

Our Dining to Donate Fundraisers have currently earned the following:

Six Happiness  - $54

Two Guys Pizza  - $350

To date, all fundraisers have brought in $917.06.

Wells Fargo also donated $1,000 to the Fair Lawn Friends of Music. 

Thank you Lisa and Wells Fargo!

There will be eight bake sales throughout the year.  We need the students to assist in these sales.  The first bake sale will start in October.  Each sale will be sponsored by a different section (Percussion, Brass, Woodwind, Pitt, Colorguard, and possibly Orchestra). 

Chris Schultze and Pat Chimmaro will coordinate the bake sales.

Patty is waiting on approval for the bake sale dates and will provide to everyone once she receives them.

Upcoming Fundraising events include:

Spring Car Wash

Spring Clothing Drive

Dining to Donate:

  Giovannis

  Two Guys Pizza

  Six Happiness

We are hopeful to have a pancake breakfast at Applebees.  They offer a two hour fundraising event.  We would need volunteers to serve and clean up.  We need to guarantee 100 people.  The cost would be $3 per person and any additional funds we raise would be profit.  Applebees would do all the flyers to market the event. 

We will be hosting an indoor competition this season.  We are also looking into a vendor’s night out and a Lia Sophia sale.  It is too late to do a mum sale this year.  We may do a bulb sale in the spring.

Committee Chairs –

End of Year Dinner Dinner – Robin Strauss

Tag Days – Jo Ann LeGrand

Nationals Send Off – Sara Gongora

An audit committee has been formed which consists of David and Lisa Gotlib and Tami Herschaft.

By Laws will need to be reviewed this year.

Patty Reiner will e-mail the budget to everyone.

Rob LeGrand made a motion to approve the gifts requested from Mrs. Lucas and Mr. Kafer.  Ann Ommundsen seconded the motion.   We got a majority approval to grant these gifts.

Patty Reiner mentioned that she received an e-mail from an individual that was hit hard by damages from the flood.  We would like to help this individual as well as others.  We will look into what can be done.

The meeting adjourned at 9:25 pm.

The next FLFOM meeting will be on October 13^th at 7:30 pm. 

A board meeting was held on Thursday, April 14, 2011 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria. The meeting began at 7:37 pm.

Mr. Szeinberg thanked everyone for all the support at the FLHS sponsored competition. The competition was a huge success. The USSBA was very impressed. Both the parents and the children were very helpful. 

This coming week-end, April 16th, are the Winter Guard and Winter Percussion Championships. The Color Guard is scheduled to perform at 11:25 am and the Percussion is scheduled to perform at 7:00 pm. The event is being held at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ. There will be two buses (Color Guard and Percussion) for this event since there is such a large gap in the performance times. Both groups are doing excellent. Percussion took first place this past week and Color Guard took second place. Mr. Szeinberg has tickets for sale. FLFOM will receive some money back for each ticket sold.

Mr. Szeinberg proposed to set aside $1,000 for start-up money from the proceeds of the Indoor competition to be used for hosting a competition in the future. The proposal also included $700 to be used for the Color Guard, $1,000 to be used for Percussion and $1,000 towards the purchase of a new set of drums. In addition, he would like to pay honorariums towards the winter program staff in the amount of $1,300. If there is any money left over, the replacement of equipment is needed.

Mr. Szeinberg emphasized how proud he is of the whole season.

Winter Program Update (Barbara Addon)
Barbara Addon thanked all the parents for their support. The turnout was phenomenal. The event produced a profit of $4,732.47. We had a lot of expenses as start-up costs since this was the first time we held this function. In the future, we will consider selling 50/50 raffles.

As mentioned above, we will be paying out honorariums. The individuals include Reagan, Dan, Marianne, Jamie, Steve, Matt, Ruie, Brian, Alex

If anyone has comments or suggestions for next year’s competition, please contact Barbara Addon.

Nominating Committee (Patty Reiner)
A motion was made to create a nominating committee for next year. The motion was approved. Barbara Addon, Sherry Ellis and Bob Greco will be members of the nominating committee.

Publicity (Russ Mensch)
The Indoor competition was publicized in The Record, the Community News, and Fair Lawn Patch. MSG Varsity was also recruited to film the event

The FLFOM website is constantly updated and parents are strongly urged to check it frequently.

Treasurer’s Report (Nancy Lent)
Nancy reviewed the financial status of the FLFOM. We currently have $17,505.72  in the operating account. We will need to use money out of the operating account for this year’s scholarships as we did not collect enough money from the tagging events to cover scholarships as in the past.

Roadie Report (Rob LeGrand)
Rob LeGrand thanked Eddie Addon and John McClaren for all their help during the indoor season. The roadies are looking to paint the trailer in May. They need to make sure the trailer is in good shape.

Quartermaster/Membership (Jo Ann LeGrand)
There is nothing to report for quartermaster or membership. JoAnn is not going to continue with this responsibility for next year. We will be looking for some new assistance. JoAnn will review the requirements for anyone interested.

The band uniforms will need to be cleaned after the Memorial Day Parade.

Fundraiser Reports (Patty Reiner)
Clothing Drive profited $604. Bake Sale profited $80.11. The Preferred Vendor Card was mailed out and we strongly urge everyone to use the vendors when possible. Tagging profited $1,310.05 and an additional $11.78 from cans that were left around town. It appears that Man Hing was the most profitable location followed by ShopRite, Gotham City and Dunkin Donuts on Broadway. Thanks to Sarah, JoAnn and Nancy for obtaining the police permits for tagging and all their assistance in this effort.

There is a Metropolitan Plant Exchange fundraiser where for each $50 purchase FLFOM receives $10 with the form.

Miscellaneous
Upcoming concerts are May 17 and May 24 at 7:30 pm. Middle School tours will be May 19-20 at the high school.

The Memorial Day Parade is May 30th. The students need to report at 9:00 am.

Meet the Marching Band Night is on May 31st at 5:00 pm. We will need some parents to help.

The Band Awards Dinner is at the Venetian on June 6th.

Summer Music Enrichment classes are scheduled for June 27– July 27. Enrollment forms will be online shortly.

Summer Band Camp is scheduled for the weeks of August 16th and August 22nd.

Thank You notes were sent by the recipients of last year’s scholarships. Sherry Ellis read the correspondence to the attendees of the meeting.

In addition, a Thank You note was sent from the Alutto family (Giovanni’s).

The meeting adjourned at 9:02 pm.

*******************************

A Board Meeting was held on Thursday, March 10, 2011 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria.  The meeting began at 7:30 pm.

Mr. Kafer discussed that he will be the announcer at the upcoming FLHS Winter Program competition scheduled for March 26th.  He believes that the program is in good shape as it has been run in a very organized manner. 

We are getting close to the FLHS musical.  Mr. Kafer’s is pleased with the students’ performances.  He encouraged everyone to attend the musical.

He is currently in the middle of evaluations with both bands.  The students are being evaluated for “chairs”.  Every child gets to challenge another if he/she feels they can perform better.  He/she will go through a blind audition to compare with others in a challenge.

The symphonic band sounds great compared to the beginning of the year.

Mr. Kafer is preparing for AP tests in music theory.

Jazz Ensemble starts after the musical. 

The students from the Middle School will do a workshop with the High School students.

The Disney trip was wonderful.  The performances were impressive.  Mr.  Kafer thanked everyone for their support.  87 students attended the trip.  He will look into what will happen with the trip in the next two years.  He is going to work with the travel group to see about decreasing the costs.

There is a new state requirement as an elective for ninth grade students.  Mr. Kafer is concerned about losing band members in ninth grade to this elective.  Mr. Szeinberg and Mr. Avidon are discussing the band programs with the eighth graders.

Mr. Kafer is trying to find some new pep music for the stands at the football games.

Winter Program Update (Barbara Addon/Jamie Szeinberg)
We currently have 16 groups scheduled for the Indoor Winter Guard & Percussion Show. Sheets were sent out to all the competing band directors.

The show is expected to start at 1:45 pm with the first group performing at 1:50 pm.  The awards will be scheduled for 5:00 pm.  There will be a ½ hour intermission.

The percussion groups will perform first.

The Bridges I class has been extremely helpful.  Thanks so much to both Jessica and Jay Hansen.  Jessica’s class has helped with a variety of things.  Jay designed the floor for the percussion. 

Thanks so much to Barbara Addon for all her assistance in co-chairing the Indoor Winter Show. 

The first competition is at Bridgewater-Raritan High School on March 12, 2011.  Following this competition is Old Bridge High School on March 9, 2011 and then our hosted competition at Fair Lawn High School on March 26th.  We finish up with Pequannock High School on April 9, 2011 and the Championships in Trenton on April 16, 2011.

The Board of Education gave a small budget for the buses.

Mr. Szeinberg thanked everyone for all their support on the programs.

Barbara Addon stated that we have already broke even with the Ad Journal offsetting the startup costs.

Thanks to Elizabeth Arango for talking to the vendors regarding concessions.

Thanks to Robin Strauss and Anne Ommundsen for managing the concessions and all their hard work.

We are looking for gift certificates to local supermarkets just in case we need to run out and get more food.  Donation sheets were handed out to the attendees.

Giovanni’s Deli will be selling food at the Indoor Winter Show. We will receive 33% of the profits from the sales that day.  We will also have some food from Gios in the Hospitality Suite for the judges/directors/staff.  Bridges I will take care of handling the food for the Hospitality Suite.  They will have a separate menu.

There is a possibility that Chartwells will have a person available on March 26th to open up the kitchen for our use.

People will be contacted shortly regarding their volunteer services for the competition. There will be a meeting the week before the competition to do a run through of the competition. 

Thanks to Wilma Cortes for donating the bands that will be used for the entrance to the competition.

The students will be assigned to each school group and will be their guides.  We will also need parents to make sure the groups are moving along.  The B gym will be used for the performances.  The buses will be parked in the Burbank lot. 

The ticket prices will be $10 for adults and $7 for students and seniors.

Flyers will be distributed to schools and locals businesses announcing the Winter Program competition.

Barbara Addon will be the contact person for all questions/issues.

Each Band Director will get a Welcome Packet explaining the layout of the school and the program at FLHS.

We will be having a table selling merchandise from USSBA.  It’s called Band Store in a Box.  USSBA will provide us with approximately $3,000 in merchandise and FLHS will receive a 25% profit for all merchandise sold.  USSBA will drop off the merchandise and take it before they leave on the day of the event. 

Publicity (Russ Mensch)
Russ is looking into Cablevision/New12/MSG varsity attending the competition.

Releases went to the local paper and will continue the week into the show. 

There were also stories posted regarding the Disney Trip and Clothing Drive scheduled for March 26th.

Russ was happy to announce that the Gio’s fundraiser brought in $500.

Treasurer’s Report  (Nancy Lent)
Nancy reviewed the financial status of the FLFOM.  We currently have $10,343 in the operating account.

Nancy is keeping accounting separately for tagging.  This money is used for the senior scholarships.  We currently have five seniors graduating this year.

Roadie Report (Rob LeGrand)
Rob LeGrand and Eddie Addon successfully drove the truck back and forth to Disney in Orlando, Florida.  Thanks so much for their time and assistance!

In April/May, we are planning to paint the trailer.

Quartermaster/Membership (Jo Ann LeGrand)
There is nothing to report for quartermaster as the Bridges I class has washed all the uniforms.

No new membership information to report.

Miscellaneous
The Metropolitan Plant Exchange is sponsoring a fundraiser in which they will donate $10 for every $50 purchase. Forms were handed out at the meeting.

Tag Days will occur April 8-April 10, 2011.

The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

*********************************

A board meeting was held on Thursday, February 3, 2011 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria.  The meeting commenced at 7:30 pm.

Since there was an orientation for the eighth grade parents that night, neither Mr. Kafer or Mr. Szeinberg were able to attend the meeting. However, Mr. Kafer reminded us to tell the parents of the following dates:

February 4th 3-6 pm – Marching Band practice for the Florida trip
February 8th 6-9 pm  - Music program practice for the Florida trip
February 8th 7-8 am – Luggage dropoff for the Florida trip

Indoor Winter Show (Barbara Addon)
Barbara Addon spoke about the Indoor Winter program competition that Fair Lawn High School is hosting on March 26th.    She handed out flyers for ad journals.  She asked that everyone solicit people/companies for advertising in the journal.  Barbara stated that mailings had been also sent out to solicit ads.  Barbara will be printing the journal on her own so there is no cost to FLFOM. 

There are also different categories of sponsors.  These include trophy, show, etc….

At this time, there are currently 11 groups scheduled for the competition. 

We discussed the possibility of having advance ticket sales versus purchasing them at the door.  We would then have a list of individuals who purchased them ahead of time to allow them entry into the school. 

Barbara also handed out forms for volunteers to sign up for different functions.  She asked that individuals complete the form with their selections and return them back to her.  She will start forming the committees.  We need as many volunteers as we can get.

The Bridges class will do the iron-ons for the Volunteer Staff T-Shirts.  In addition, they will bake for the concession bake sale.

We are looking into food concession options.

Each person who purchases a ticket will receive an ad journal at the door.  There will be no additional cost for the ad journals.

Publicity (Russ Mensch)
Russ wrote an article in the Community News promoting the upcoming Gio’s fundraiser, which will take place Feb. 4 from 5-8 p.m.  He also wrote an additional story in the paper about the band’s upcoming trip to Disney in Orlando, Florida.

Russ asked to be provided with photos of the kids at Disney. He would like these by February 17th or 18th so he could include with an article for the paper.

Treasurer’s Report  (Nancy Lent)
There is currently $11,640.79 in the FLFOM account.

Nancy brought up the discussion about TD’s Affinity Program.  She handed out flyers.   She is going to initiate getting existing TD customers to join the program under FLFOM and FLFOM will get a percentage of the annual balances.

Roadie Report (Rob LeGrand)
There were 10 – 12 people that showed up to repair the equipment.  They touched up the paint on the cart.  We should continue to have an annual event to repair the equipment.

The truck is leaving on early on Wednesday, February 7th to go to Florida.  This truck will be loaded with all the instruments, uniforms, equipment and luggages of the people attending the Disney trip.  The truck should arrive mid-day on Thursday, February 8th.

Quartermaster and Membership Report (JoAnn Le Grand)
There is no report for the Quartermaster.  All the uniforms have been handled by Mr. Kafer.

We have one additional  member of the FLFOM.  This brings us to a total of 51 members.

Miscellaneous
Wilma will help with the bake sale scheduled for February 7th.

We need to look into reconstructing the list of seniors eligible for the scholarships this year.

The end of year Band Dinner at the Venetian is scheduled for June 6th.

The meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm.

******************************

A meeting was held on Thursday, January 13, 2011 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria. The meeting began at 7:35 pm.

Mr. Kafer discussed that the kids in the Symphonic Band are performing extremely well since after the break. He is very happy. The Wind Ensemble’s concert performance also went well. The Jazz Ensemble is on hiatus while preparing for the musical.

Bye Bye Birdie is this year’s musical. The Pit has performed one run through the entire music program. They are beginning the second pass of music. The kids are very excited.

Regan is very pleased with the Winter Guard.

There will a parent meeting for those who have children attending the Florida trip. This meeting is scheduled for January 20th at 7 pm.

The Marching Band will be performing in the Disney parade on Saturday, February 12th tentatively scheduled for  2:00 pm. The Symphonic Band will be performing in Downtown Disney on Sunday, February 13th. The time for this performance is unknown at this time.

There are two parents set to drive the equipment truck to Florida. The chaperones, who must be part of the district, are Mr. Kafer, Mr. Szeinberg, Regan Peters, Christine Cannistraro, Dawn Ebner, and school nurse Barbara Rochford.

The only meal not included in the Florida trip package is the one prior to leaving the airport on February 10th . The students will get money for food at the airport on February 15th before coming home.

Mr. Kafer informed all the teachers about the trip and asked for them to give the homework assignments to the students ahead of time.

We will be hosting a Winter Guard and Winter Percussion Show this year on March 26th. This was originally scheduled to be hosted at West Orange, but they needed to withdraw.

Mr. Kafer mentioned that we are in need of a 5 drum battery if there are enough proceeds from the show. We will also need to replace the uniform tops over the next couple of years. Uniforms were last purchased in 2002. They range in cost from $110- $160 per top. We should be able to continue using the same pants. New gauntlets and shakos will also be needed.

Since the show is scheduled for the same day as the musical, we will need to be out of the school by 6 pm.  Depending on the number of participating schools, we will determine what time the show will begin. We currently have 10 competing units (two of which are Fair Lawn). Each show allows 10 minutes per unit and we need to account for about 20 minutes for the award ceremony and intermission. Mr. Szeinberg is the primary coordinator.  Barbara Addon has graciously accepted heading up the fundraising programs. There are a lot of items that need to be coordinated for the competition. These include, but are not limited to:

Food (Parking Concessions – Baked Goods and other food items)
Check In (Parking)
Ticket Sales
Indoor Support
Ad Journal
Air Grams
Candy Grams

The “A” gym will be the first staging area. The parking person will need stamps for the kids and teachers on the bus.

Wilma volunteered to do mailings through her office.

There will be a follow-up meeting to discuss further details.

Publicity (Russ Mensch)
The next fundraiser will be Giovanni’s night out on February 4th in recognition of the Marching Band & Color Guard. The final menu will be given to Russ and distributed shortly. FLFOM will receive a portion of the proceeds from the event.  

E-mails will be sent out to a variety of people to spread the word and instrumental music students and band members are strongly encouraged to get fellow students there for a strong turnout.

Treasurer’s Report (Nancy Lent)
No report since Nancy was unable to attend the meeting.

The audit committee met to review the past documentation. The last audit was done in 2007. In the audit, the committee found mention of a savings account. We need to follow up to see if this account was closed or if it still exists.

The audit disclosed that there is a lot of missing documentation. Checks were made out to cash without a description. The record keeping was very poor and it was difficult to read some receipts as they faded over time.
It was determined that we should have a form for reimbursement of any money from the FLFOM account. Barbara Addon offered to provide a sample form from her experience with FLASE.

Roadie Report (Rob LeGrand)
There will be an equipment repair event on January 18th from 6–9 pm.

Rob and Eddie will be driving the truck to Florida.

Quartermaster and Membership Report (JoAnn LeGrand)
The uniforms were laundered by the Bridges program.  We are very appreciative of their assistance.

There is one additional member to the FLFOM. This brings the membership total to 50 members.

Other News
The concession stand at the winter concert took in approximately $143. The proceeds from the bake sales are $78 for the December sale and $101.50 from the January sale.

The next bake sale is scheduled for February 7th.

There will be a clothing drive on March 26th. This includes bicycles and stuffed animals.

The By-Law Committee meeting is scheduled for January 26th.

We will wait to form a fundraising committee until after the March 26th  Winter Show.

The next set of tag days will be April 8–April 10. We have confirmed tagging at the Shop Rite location for these dates.

There are 14 graduating seniors this year. We need to reconstruct the list of those who qualify for scholarships.

The end of year music dinner will be at the Venetian on June 6th.

The next board meeting will be held on February 3rd at 7:30 pm.

The meeting adjourned at 9:16 pm.

**********************************

A meeting was held on Thursday, December 9, 2010 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria. The meeting commenced at 7:36 p.m.

Mr. Szeinberg discussed the status of the Winter programs.  This year the Color Guard and the Pit/Percussion will be performing as separate entities, but at the same competitions. There are approximately 40–45 kids in both programs. To date, they have held a few rehearsals. There are currently 16 students who are on the floor and 14 students in the Pit. Their music is based on a progressive rock band called “Dream Theater”. The Color Guard has about 14 students including a few new students. They will be incorporating some dance into the Color Guard program.  Mr. Szeinberg is also looking to have a Brass Winter program this winter but there will not be any competitions.

Tentative dates for the winter programs are:

March 5th, March 12th (Bridgewater/Raritan), March 19th (Old Bridge), April 9th (Pequannock), and April 16th (Championships)

Mr. Szeinberg is interested in hosting a show. By the end of this school year, we need to line up a date to host a show for 2011/2012. There are approximately 10-15 people needed to host an indoor show (Winter program) or 20 for an outdoor show (Marching Band program).  Mr. Szeinberg submitted the paperwork to the Board of Education for hosting the Winter program.  One of the issues is that the schools close on Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. and are not open on Sundays. 

The uniforms for the Winter programs will consist of the pants they used for the Marching Band season and new tops that will be purchased.  There is a $200 cost for the Winter programs that covers all costs including transportation, program fees and uniforms.

Mr. Szeinberg thanked all the parents for their ongoing support.

Publicity (Russ Mensch)
Russ advertised the upcoming concert information in The Community News. He presented FLFOM with a check for $131.85 representing the 15% profit from the Quilly’s Fundraiser. Russ will meet with Giovanni’s in January to schedule a date for this fundraiser.

Treasurer’s Report  ( Nancy Lent)
There is currently $8,231.06 in the FLFOM account.

The Winter Tag Days brought in $1,244.55. There were about 50 children that did winter tagging. We did not have use of ShopRite this time. We were only able to stand in front of Empress and Gotham Dinners on Friday night.   There was discussion that the supporters of FLFOM recognized the great work of the students’ performances. We could look into setting up a portable DVD in front of the area where the children tag. Our thanks go out to everyone who assisted in this event.

The profit from the November Bake Sale was $137.75. We also received $100 donation from the Knights of Columbus. We also took in an additional profit of $270 from the Marching Band dinner.

Roadie Report (Rob LeGrand)
We need help in building a cart. The Winter program can use a limited number of people in unloading the truck, carrying the floor off and loading the truck. On Thursday, January 18th there will be an equipment repair event from 6:00-9:00 p.m. supervised by Mr. Szeinberg. 

Quartermaster and Membership Report (JoAnn Le Grand)
We now have 49 members of the FLFOM. One additional member joined in the last month. Blank membership forms will be handed out at the Winter concert program. 

Uniforms will be cleaned before the Florida trip and after the Memorial Day parade.  We can possibly have the Bridges program help in laundering the uniforms. Mr. Szeinberg will seek approval with Mr. Kafer. The Bridges program also assisted in making the dot books this past summer for the Marching Band Camp.

Miscellaneous
We can use assistance in getting the Preferred Vendor program up and running.

The Audit Committee will have a meeting by the end of the year.

The Bylaws Committee will have a meeting in January.

We need to set up a fundraising committee to research different fundraising activities.

We also need an event committee to assist in coordinating events.

We want to look at the possibility of paying honorariums for the Winter guard instructors.

Flag bags will be purchased for the Winter Color Guard program. We would like to purchase 20 bags that hold up to 30 flagpoles. Each bag costs about $32.00.

Upcoming events include:

Winter Concert on December 15th.
Bake Sale on December 20th.
Gio’s Fundraiser in January 2011.
Clothing Drive on March 26, 2011.

The next meeting will be on January 13, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 9:17 p.m.

**********************************

A meeting was held on Thursday, November 11, 2010 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria.

Mr. Kafer opened up the meeting and was very happy with the Marching Band’s performance this year. The Marching Band did extremely well at Nationals, once again finishing among the Top Ten. The band finished 8th place overall and won the National Championship in Percussion. This is something to once again be very proud of. The Marching Band placed fifth in music and tenth in visual.

Mr. Szeinberg, the Assistant Band Director, spoke and acknowledged the Percussion win as “HUGE”. This is especially true when compared to the level of competition we face in Group IV Open.

We will need to expand the brass line for next year. We are fortunate to have Patrick as an instructor. He is an expert in brass. He currently teaches general music at Thomas Jefferson Middle School.

Mr. Kafer went on to explain that next year’s budget is going to be even worse than this year’s budget.

Mr. Watson asked Mr. Kafer to speak with a reporter for the school district regarding the performance this year. We hope to see a story come out of this discussion.

The Marching Band dinner was very nice. The parents have been very supportive and this really helps.

There is a football game scheduled for November 13 and the children are expected to be at the school for 11:30 a.m.

The pep rally this year will be split into two separate rallies. One will be for the Freshmen and Sophomores and the other for the Juniors and Seniors. Mr. Watson is going to present a token of acknowledgement for the Marching Band at the pep rally.

In 2002, we purchased new band uniforms. We will need to purchase new ones soon. The tops run around $150 for each student.

We discussed some potential fundraisers. Mr. Kafer said that Ramsey raised $19,000 by doing a hoagie sale. All of their food was donated.

We talked about the possibility of hosting a competition. Some of the issues are lack of parking spaces and warm up areas. Maybe we could get the school opened up for inside warm ups. If we want to host a show, we need to know by early January.

We usually receive $1,100 per parade that the Marching Band attends.

If we want to have a fundraising concert, this would require start up funds and additional support.

Mr. Szeinberg is considering hosting a winter percussion show at Fair Lawn High School.

The instructors were pleased with this year’s outcome. They thanked everyone for the honorariums.

Jazz Ensemble starts on November 12th.

The winter concert is on December 15th at 7:30 pm.

Pit Orchestra starts on January 3rd.

The cheesecakes are coming in on November 15th and the fruit is scheduled for that same week.

The balance for Florida will be due as soon as Mr. Kafer computes the final balances after subtracting the fundraising efforts.

Publicity Report - Russ Mensch
WABC-TV Channel 7 and 880 WCBS Radio were successfully recruited to attend the band’s final practice on Friday, November 5th before the children left for Nationals. Channel 7 aired the story that afternoon for their 5 o’clock newscast and aired an updated story after Nationals on Monday.  There was also a large article in The Community News.

The website is continually updated with the latest events.

The next fundraiser will be a Dining to Donate with Quillys. Instead of the usual one day, this will be held for three days from November 14–November 16th. You must bring in the coupon and FLFOM will receive 15% of the proceeds of the sale.

Andrew Shin (cellist) became a member of the NJ All States Orchestra.

Treasurer’s Report - Nancy Lent
There is currently $6,220.10 in the FLFOM account. After some expenses that need to be paid out, this will leave $5,760.10. We need to leave a cushion of about $4,000 in the account at all times.

We are currently down $345 from the Marchathon because we have a few returned checks. This money will need to be collected.

Nancy stated that all payment plan agreements for the Marchathon have been held.

125 people attended the Marching Band dinner. At least 22 of the children also had at least one parent attend. This is a very good showing of people. We made a profit of $667.50 from this event.

We also collected money as “Thank Yous” for the primary instructors. We issued $805 and the difference of the money collected will be given under a separate check to the four instructors.

Roadie Report - Rob LeGrand
Help is needed for the November 13th football game. We also need help in painting the trailer.  Rob is going to look into the possibility of having someone contracted to do this and the associated cost.

Quartermaster and Membership Report - JoAnn Le Grand

JoAnn recommends that uniforms are cleaned in December prior to the Florida Trip and have them cleaned again after the Memorial Day parade. This will all be dependent on Winter Guard and Percussion needs. JoAnn will reach out to have people assist in the cleaning. Maybe we can do the laundry ourselves at the laundromat.

There are currently 48 members of the Fair Lawn Friends of Music program.

We are going to solicit memberships at the concession stands for the events.

There is still some confusion about the non-Marching Band members joining the FLFOM. All students involved in any instrumental program are asked to join the FLFOM program.

There are a variety of events scheduled for the rest of the year. These include bake sales, etc.   Please check the website for upcoming dates.

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm.

*****************************

A meeting was held on Thursday, October 14, 2010 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria.

The discussion opened up the income from the first bake sale. The Color Guard was responsible for providing the goodies at this sale. The sale was a success with a profit of $129.50. Patty thanked all the volunteers who assisted, including Barbara Addon, Pat Chamaro, Monique, and Wilma Cortes.

The next bake sale is scheduled for November 15th and the Pit will be sponsoring this sale. A suggestion was made that the kids could possibly make up flyers and post them around the school ahead of time.  We are looking to increase the prices for the next sale. 

The seniors will be recognized at half time during the October 16th football game. The students will have a picture taken with their parents and their parents will then walk with them out to the field prior to the half time show. There are 13 graduating seniors this year.

Sample Marching Band and Color Guard jackets were available to view. De & De Athletic Wear was available to take orders.

Treasurer’s Report - Nancy Lent presented the Treasurer’s report. She has collected $13,085 from the Marchathon (participation fee), but this money has not yet been deposited. A portion of this money will be used for the trip to Nationals and the other money has been proposed to use to pay honorariums to the volunteer staff. There is currently $6,239 in the account. Most of the bills have been paid. Of this money, we need to keep about $4,000 in the account as reserve for emergencies. A large discussion took place about the accounting of the $200 participation fee required from each family. There are 91 students in the band, however, Nancy only received $13,085 as of the opening of the meeting. Nancy then collected some checks from Mr. Kafer during the meeting and Mr. Kafer has cash from some students. In total, Mr. Kafer accounted for $16,518 in receipts. There are 10 students at various stages of payment plans. Two students have not paid anything yet, but Mr. Kafer received a letter from one agreeing to a payment plan.  Mr. Kafer assured the group that all monies would be received. Nancy made a motion to deposit the funds she has for the participation fee. The majority approved.  

Mr. Kafer and the instructors are very pleased with the band’s progress. Mr. Kafer is looking to add more visuals in preparation for the New Jersey State Championship competition. The judges stated that the band needs to be more concise to be as competitive as the “tops”.

Mr. Kafer stated that classes are going well. Jazz auditions will take place after Nationals. This year’s musical is Bye Bye Birdie. Auditions for the Pit Orchestra will take place around the second week in December. Rehearsals will begin on January 3rd, 2011. The winter concert is scheduled for December 15th. He is unsure whether or not they will have a winter program for the Color Guard, Pit and Percussion.

Roadie Report - Rob LeGrand said that the turnout has been very good. E-mail reminders have been helpful.

Quartermaster Report – JoAnn LeGrand stated that it has been an obstacle to have the students bring back their uniforms from home, although it has been getting better. A few kids needed to borrow spares.  Although in the past Mr. Kafer has not allowed the students to launder their uniforms at home, he has changed his mind this year. The uniforms should be washed in cold water and drip dried.

There are currently only 39 members of the FLFOM. This is a very poor response. There were blank forms left in the band room on Back to School night to assist in reminding the parents. Forms will also be handed out at the concession tables during the concert and performances.

Publicity Report - Russ Mensch handed Mr. Kafer a check in the amount of $700 from the Two Guys pizza fundraiser. These monies will be used towards the recent purchase of this year’s Color Guard uniforms. Russ mentioned that the owner was happy with the response as his business was up 15% that week.

The next fundraiser will be Quillys over a 3 day period in November. Russ will firm up the date.

The Giovanni’s Deli fundraiser is tentatively scheduled to take place in January.

All the events are updated on the website at www.flfom.org.

Rudy Arango will be chairing the Tag Days. The first set of Tag Days are scheduled for November 19-21.  Anyone aware of locations willing to allow FLFOM to tag should contact Rudy. He already has letters prepared to send requesting permission. We also need a permit from the town. A list of suggested sites was collected and given to Rudy for follow up. Patty will try to find the collection cans.

Rudy also mentioned that he asked Mr. Kafer about possibly playing at the mall for the holidays.

Two committees are needed. The first committee is to audit the financial books. At least three individuals are needed. This should have been done by October. Bob Greco, David and Lisa Gotlib have volunteered. A written report needs to be issued to satisfy the Treasurer’s Annual Report is correct.

The second committee is to review the bylaws. The bylaws are to be reviewed at the March 2011 meeting. Nancy Lent, Wilma Cortes, Barbara Addon and John McCarren have volunteered. Patty will e-mail the bylaws to all. Any changes on the bylaws need to be voted separately. 

There is currently a proposed amendment to the bylaws to add the payout of the honorariums to the volunteer staff. A follow up meeting will be held to approve.

The FLFOM catalog fundraiser is due back on October 15th. The fruit and cheesecake fundraiser will be handed to the students on October 15th.

The end of the Marching Band season dinner will be held on November 8th at the Fair Lawn Athletic Club.  Patty Reiner will e-mail all the details and the form. 

The meeting adjourned at 9:18 pm.

********************************

A meeting was held on Monday, October 4th, 2010 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria. The following individuals were in attendance:

Kathy Echevarria, Past President and Treasurer
Sherry Ellis, Recording Secretary
Joann LeGrand, Quartermaster and Membership
Rob LeGrand, Head Roadie
Russ Mensch, Publicity
Patty Reiner, President
Maureen Policano

The discussion opened up with talk regarding the website. Russ and Patty are currently maintaining it. The bulk of this is done by Russ from what Vern has taught him to administer. The calendar of events is updated and maintained weekly.

Although Nancy Lent was not able to attend the meeting, Kathy Echevarria was able to provide some insight into the financial status of FLFOM. We currently have approximately $4,000 in the account with an additional $6,000 in reserve.

The account signers need to be changed as Kathy Echevarria and Lisa Ahrendt are currently the authorized signers on the checking account and no longer active in FLFOM. We need to change the signers to Patty Reiner and Nancy Lent. Patty will check with Lisa to see if she wants to remain as a backup on the account. Kathy Echevarria said that she will call the bank contact to authorize the changes.

The Senior Breakfast is usually held at the last home football game. In looking at the calendar, we realized that this is October 16th.  Due to the lack of time, we need to touch base with the Touchdown Club coordinator to see if we could join the senior football players for breakfast or need to coordinate our own event. Sherry Ellis will contact the Touchdown coordinator.  

We need to determine if there is going to be a Winter Guard and Percussion group this winter.

We cannot have FLFOM on any contracts for liability purposes.

Nancy should validate that all marching band members have paid the $200 fee.

Ms. Lucas has not spent money given to her from the FLFOM for the last two weeks. 

We learned that there is a Roadie budget of $500 that can be spent on needed essentials.

The question was posed if FLFOM wants to take on the responsibility of laundering the uniforms.

We need to establish Tag Day dates. We also need to get permits for these events. We are looking at November 19-21 for the Winter and April 8-10 for the Spring.

The Marching Band end of season dinner will be held at the FL Athletic Club on November 8th.

We have not yet reserved the date for the Instrumental Music Program’s end of year dinner usually held at the Venetian. Last year the cost was $31 per person. Robin Strauss is going to pursue.

Alice Weisser is looking into dates for the clothing drive. The tentative date is April 22nd. There are three bags being saved in the uniform room for the clothing drive.

The first bake sale of the year is scheduled for October 11th. The Color Guard is responsible for bringing in baked goods this month. A schedule needs to be established for the other sections for their contributions.

We need to find out the dates for the winter and spring music concerts.

***********************************

A meeting was held on Monday, September 13th, 2010 in the Fair Lawn High School Cafeteria.  The meeting was called to order at 7:34 p.m. by the President Lisa Ahrendt.

Lisa opened the meeting with a discussion of approving new two board members.   At the June meeting, Lisa requested to step down from Presidency, but at the time we had no parents interested in filling her position as well as the Vice President position that was going to be open.   Since then we have had two individuals who expressed interest. Lisa motioned that Patty Reiner be approved for the President position and Rudy Arango be approved for the Vice President position.  Both individuals were voted in with approval.

Patty Reiner mentioned that FLFOM meetings would be held the second Thursday of every month (except for the month of February).  Patty will e-mail out the schedule for all that provided e-mail addresses.

Mr. Kafer introduced himself and welcomed all the new families.  He was happy to see the large crowd in attendance and suggested that the people get involved with FLFOM and join the committees. 

Mr. Kafer stated that this year is a Florida year.  The trip this year is 25% more expensive than two years ago.  This is partially due to the budget cuts.  We will have to pay for transportation to get the children to the airport this year whereas in the past the school provided this transportation.  Disney rates have also gone up considerably.  Mr. Kafer offered to arrange a payment plan for those who may require one.  The Florida meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 15th .

In addition, due to staffing limitations, the schools will be locked out on Friday and Saturday evenings, so the equipment may need to remain in the truck overnight.

Mr. Kafer mentioned that the Wind Ensemble and Band have started off the year nicely.  Sign ups for Jazz and Pitt Orchestra will be scheduled for later in the year.

He also spoke about his request to purchase a new marimba with the money provided from the FLFOM.  He provided documentation to all regarding the details and the cost of this equipment.  If there are any leftover funds, he would like to use this money to do repairs on the drums.  He is also going to try to sell the old marimba, which he thinks he can get approximately $500.

He also proposed an amendment to the by-laws to allocate a portion of the money collected from the $200 fee to pay the staff members who are not paid an honorarium.  Only four of the staff members receive a stipend.  The other eight instructors do not receive any compensation.  He would like them to receive these honorariums at the National competition.

This year we currently have 91 marching band members and we will remain in Group IV Open.

Nancy Lent is the new Treasurer.  Nancy did not yet receive all the Treasurer reports so she was unable to provide any information.  She will provide the report at the next meeting.

Rob LeGrand presented information about the Roadies.  He thanked the parents who helped at the Sept. 11th football game.  There is a sign-up sheet available for anyone interested in becoming a roadie or willing to assist when they can.

We are in need of water coolers.  We need to purchase two coolers with wheels and a separate water jug.  We currently have a supply of water for the children.  During the year, we may ask parents to donate more bottled water.  A few of the parents offered to lend their coolers for the Marching Band season.

Patty Reiner volunteered to tow the tractor on her vehicle.  Several other parents also offered their assistance when needed.  We are looking for help to paint the trailer.  In addition, the shed needs repairs.

Joann LeGrand (Quartermaster/Membership) reported that all uniforms/garment bags were washed and distributed to the band members.  She thanked Sarah Gongora and Maureen Policano for their assistance.  She also encouraged the kids to take good care of these uniforms.

Membership forms have been distributed to the kids.  Patty Reiner will also e-mail the form to those we have e-mail addresses on file.  The Fair Lawn Friends of Music encompasses all music students.  We encourage all families to join the FLFOM.  Last year we only had 55 members.  There are over 100 children in the music programs. The dues money is voted upon for usage. 

To clarify, the t-shirt fee is not the same as the membership dues fee to FLFOM.

As a benefit to members who join FLFOM, Scholarships are available for those Seniors that qualify.

Russ Mensch is our public relations representative.  He spoke about the local restaurants that are willing to donate proceeds to benefit the FLFOM.   He will provide details in the Community News and on the website monthly.

Giovanni’s Deli will be sponsoring a day in the month of January where a percentage of the proceeds will support FLFOM during a select number of hours in the evening.

Two Guys Pizza will donate $1.00 for every pizza sold from 10/2 -10/9.  These proceeds will be used for the Color Guard uniforms and flags.

Quilly’s will have a three day period in which proceeds will be used to support FLFOM.  The time period is to be determined.  They will also allow tagging at this location.

There are a variety of committees available for the Fair Lawn Friends of Music members.  These include:

Bake Sale – once/month
Tag Days
Clothing Drive
Roadie
Quartermaster

Sign-ups sheets are available. 

Calendars will be e-mailed to all parents with the schedule of events for each month.

The discussion took place regarding bringing in Viridian as a fund raising effort.  Viridian offers their customers a discount on their energy cost.  The bill is stilled issued by PSE&G, however the energy portion is the Viridian cost.  Viridian is willing to offer FLFOM $2.00 per customer that signs up with them.  We are looking to have a speaker come in to discuss further details at the October FLFOM meeting.  There is an incentive to sign up by November 1st.

Patty Reiner will check with Mr. Kafer on the schedule of associated
costs.

Adam Banning presented FLFOM with his plan for “Preferred Vendors”.  He expects that he will have 10-15 businesses of different genres as “Preferred” retailers in the neighborhood.  He will be providing a card for each family to show to each retailer when you make a purchase at these locations.  You will need to collect these receipts and send them in an envelope back to Adam Banning.  Adam will bill the “Preferred” retailers for a % back to be given to FLFOM.   This fundraising effort should begin on October 1, 2010. 

A suggestion was posed that a general card would be issued to families that don’t join FLFOM and a gold card would be issued to families that join FLFOM.  The gold card would possibility offer the family a discount for themselves in addition to a donation to FLFOM.  Adam Banning will look into further.  There could also be a card in the window of these retailers advertising that they are “Preferred Vendors” of FLFOM.    Any additional suggestions and retail contacts should be e-mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Patty Reiner made a motion to have one Vice President and one Secretary on the Board instead of the stated two in the by-laws.  The motion was approved by the majority of attendees.

Patty Reiner also made a motion that if there are sufficient funds in the FLFOM account, up to $4,000 would be given to Mr. Kafer to purchase the requested marimba and repairs on the percussion instruments.   The motion was approved by the majority of attendees.

We will vote next month on the changes requested to the by-laws for the honorariums.

The meeting adjourned at 8:58 pm. The next  meeting is scheduled for October 14th at 7:30 pm in the FLHS Cafeteria.