Friends of Thorp Meeting Minutes
March 14, 2013
Home of Anastasia Roilou
Attendees:
Board members: Michael Shelton, Bindu Alexander, Joe Basilone, Maria Bratt, Elaine Brennan, Anu
Dewan, Leslie Grimm, Katie Madden, Laura Martinelli, Anastasia Roilou, Lisa Weisenberger, Tammy
Woods
Others in attendance: Elise Duffy, Mary Nespoux, Janelle Reilly
Guests: Mr. Toledo
I) Thorpapalooza
A. The meeting began with a discussion of Thorpapalooza. It has been officially postponed until
the fall, probably October 6 or October 13. We are finding continual problems with location and
sound systems. Several new ideas were introduced and will be explored by the committee
working on this project.
B. Our basic needs are: good sound system, sound person, 8 x 10 stage, open area for dancing and
mingling, accommodating 200 to 300 people, food and drink available.
II) Moms' Night Out
A. Moms Night Out has been confirmed for April 5. Everything has been cleared with the LSC, Mr.
Toledo, the Zumba instructor and the restaurant.
B. People may attend one or both of these events. All monies raised from this event will go toward
our new library/media center.
C. The schedule is:
1. Thorp gymnasium – 5:30 PM set up with Zumba instructor and Virginia and Anu
2. Thorp gymnasium – 6 PM Zumba class, $10 per attendee, open to the public, people may
pay at the door or in advance, each person will sign a waiver upon arrival. We will market
this to the general public through our usual means.
3. Galvin’s -6:30 PM moms’ night set up with Maria, Elaine and Bindu
4. 7 PM – Moms Night Out begins
a. We will include raffle items. Raffle tickets will cost $5 apiece or 5 for $20.
b. Bindu and Leslie will designate items for the raffle.
c. Maria and Anu will handle the rest.
D. Bindu and Leslie will divide remaining silent auction items from the Taste of Thorp. We will use
items for Moms’ Night out, Movie Day, Report Card Pickup, and Thorpapalooza (in the fall).
III) Mr. Toledo
A. Mr. Toledo arrived and spoke to us about preventing financial problems before they happen. He
complemented us on our transparency and clarity, but wanted to be sure to advise us on several
items.
1. We must submit an annual, independent audit – done by professional CPA, outside of
Friends of Thorp
2. Treasurer’s report must be submitted to Mr. Toledo at the end of each month
3. No family members may be co-signatures on checks
4. The Board may never constitute more than 50% of members from the same family
5. After each event, general financial reporting must be given to Mr. Toledo within 10
business days
6. Taxes must be done on an annual basis
B. Mr. Toledo left our meeting.
IV) Treasurer's Report
A. Joe Basilone gave the treasurer's report. Taste of Thorp was a huge success raising over $40,000
for our school. The treasurer's report is attached for your perusal. Our bank balance is
$49,740.55.
B. Joe also shared some concerns about money transferring between members. Checks must have
something written in the memo line so that he can post exactly what it is in his report. If there is
nothing in the memo line, please use a Post-it note to define what the incoming money is for.
C. Joe also presented options for our bank account at Chase. He suggested that we consider
moving to an organization/consumer account instead of a business account. We weighed the
pros and cons of each type of bank account and the board voted unanimously to move our
account to a consumer account.
D. Joe also challenged us to keep working with social media and especially with Facebook. He
challenged us to get 50 more “Likes” by our next meeting. All events/advertising need to include
opportunities to "like us on Facebook".
E. We discussed our PayPal account. There is some difficulty in removing former board members
from the account but it is resolved now.
V) Taste of Thorp Recap
A. Financial details - Bindu Alexander prepared a detailed financial schematic from the Taste of
Thorp.
1. We kept better records this year than ever and know at what price each item sold. We
know what we made in each category of our silent auction. The big winners were:
a. Teacher baskets and outings
b. Nights out
c. Live auction
d. Large Getaways
e. Experiences
2. The Paddle Raise alone raised $5,000. All monies from the paddle raise are tax
deductible for the donor and will go directly to that Here We Grow campaign. All donors
will be acknowledged to in the Here We Grow marketing strategy. We have incredibly
generous parents and teachers.
3. We decided to survey our membership to gain information about improving this event.
Katie Madden will devise the survey.
4. We discussed the auction booklet, going green and the need for an actual booklet. This
will be included in the survey. Did folks actually use the booklet's? Would a PDF online
be enough.
B. Acknowledgements and Thank-you's
1. The conversation included a reflection of our gratitude to the teachers who participated
in the Taste of Thorp. We are working on Thank-yous to the teachers who participated.
Laura will create thank you cards for us all to sign. We will create a display of thanks
located next to the teacher time punch. We need Mr. Toledo's permission for this.
2. We also need to write acknowledgements to everyone who donated items and perhaps
a thank-you for everyone who spent over a certain amount of money.
VI) Teacher Baskets
A. For next year, our ideal would be to have one parent volunteer per grade level to help with our
communication with our teachers. These volunteers would be board members “at large” and
would not need to assume all of the responsibilities of being a board member. Janelle Reilly,
Elise Duffy and Mary Nespoux have offered to consider working on this for us. Maria, Tammy
and Leslie could help oversee their efforts.
B. We are discussing the need for at least two volunteers to work with the teachers, giving ideas,
setting a timeline, assisting with packaging. We discussed ways to get the art class involved. We
discussed the possibilities of using parent–project days to help create items for the silent
auction.
C. Grade levels for current FOT Board Members:
1. Kindergarten - no one this year
2. First grade - Bindu, Tammy, Katie, Anastasia, Lisa, Colleen, Joe
3. Second grade - Anu
4. Third grade - Bindu, Tammy, Katie
5. Fourth grade – Anu, Elaine
6. Fifth grade - Mike, Leslie, Maria
7. Sixth grade - Laura
8. Seventh grade - no one this year
9. Eighth grade - no one this year
D. We discussed an appeal letter to the teachers to be distributed early in the fall. The goal would
be to let them know how much we made from their baskets and encourage them with ideas.
VII) Movie Day
A. June 2, 2013
B. Joe has secured the Patio Theater from 11 AM until 4 PM for a Friends of Thorp benefit. We will
feature two movies that afternoon, including free popcorn. We will receive a 50-50 split of the
profits.
C. We will definitely raffle a Blue-Ray player and a green Maxi-scooter. Raffle tickets are $10 each.
The event will be open to the general public. We will use our usual marketing strategies.
D. Possible use of Facebook to get ideas for the choice of movie? We tabled a discussion of ticket
prices for this event.
VIII) Fresh Picks
A. We will be selling Fresh Picks for the month of May.
B. We hope to use social media to give recipe ideas within a weekly posting.
IX) Report Card Pickup
A. April 17
B. No school
C. We will have a table with information, raffle items and accept donations to Here We Grow
X) Change for Change
A. We discussed the possibility of having coin collection jars in each classroom (a great idea
brought to us by a third grade mom) and doing a campaign called, "Spare Change for Campus
Change". This will empower students to participate with spare change.
B. We are looking into the cost of rubber, colored bracelets from Oriental Trading. The bracelets
would say "change for change". When a student makes a donation they would receive a
bracelet.
C. We discussed theft and security, getting the approval of Mr. Toledo.
D. We have tabled this until our next meeting.
E. This needs LSC approval
Our next Friends of Thorp meeting will be on April 4, board only. The purpose of this meeting will be to
do an intense wrap up of Taste of Thorp. Location TBD
Our next open Friends of Thorp meeting will be April 11, location TBD