The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston
Board of Directors Meeting
June 14, 2014
The meeting was held at the home of Steve Robbins. Present were Steve Robbins, Alan Buck, Mary Metz,
Martha Taylor, Mary Spear, Judy Pushkin, Sidney Buchanan, Scott Peacock, Dru Anne Lundquist, Andrew
Reich, Julia Swindle, Gillian Kruse, John Paul Yabraian, Tim Cragin, Sandy Pushkin, Steven McCary, Ralph
Katz and Cathy Comeaux-Wright.
Announcements – Sandy let us know that her husband David has a fist sized brain tumor so most of their time
now is working on his health and what they will be doing to resolve the issue. It is not cancerous and is
treatable with medication, but they still have a possibility of surgery though the whole tumor would not be
removed. She is interested in talking to anyone with any experience with pituitary tumors. Steve has no TV or
internet due to a trash truck hitting a pole in their alleyway and will be Tuesday before it is back. Ralph let us
know that the banners for the pride parade should be ready by Friday and he will take the posters over for
lamination to be done by Friday. Ken’s car is arranged.
Steve called the meeting to order at 9:50 am. Scott motioned to accept the June meeting minutes as amended
with corrections, was seconded by Mary Metz. The motion carried unanimously.
Alan Buck gave the Treasurer’s report. The account balances are as follows:
Operating Account - $63,613.44 (includes $1,221.69 from Merrills Lewis account); OLD acct has $177.11, but
will be closed soon.
Morgan Stanley/Smith Barney - $17,635.47 (this is the VALUE of the account that includes the Money Market
Acct. of $1367.52; 15 shares of Duke stock of $1,061.25 (cost $1035.45); 1350 shares of DNP fund of
$13,972.50 current value (cost was $14,624.61); 30 shares of Spectra $1,234.20 (cost was $1022.40).) Down
only $414 overall.
Linder Fund - $5,080.30
Ida Account - $30,185.00
The corporate analysis project – they are trying to find a time for them to present their findings, but it will
probably end up being after the show. Steven motioned to accept the treasurer’s report, was seconded by Mary
M. and the motion passed unanimously.
Steve gave the Fund Raising Committee Report. Steve got a phone call from Cullen Trust for the performing
arts, but they let him know that they had not received his signed agreement, but that was resolved so we will be
receiving $15k from them. Unfortunately the Hershstein foundation ran out of money so they will not be
donating the $5k this year, but Steve and Gillian will write a follow up letter. Houston Endowment is down to
a 2 year commitment, but they are committed to $20k each year. No word from any other applications he has
sent out – Hammond. Phillips 66 will donate $1500 by September 15th through Scott’s application to them.
TICKET SALES – Steve let us know that we need to push cast ticket sales since they are very slow right now,
but $40k has come in from patrons so far. This is still less than last year, but Mary S. is seeing some new
names come through.
Steve gave the Production Committee Report – Tom Boyd update – Steve received an email from Tom, and
the pyro funds have been raised and the fire marshal fee will be covered. Tom will be in June 29th and he and
Alistair have been in conversation about the sets and minimal changes to the set. Captioning – Christine
Brandewie let her know that they have the captioning ready, but Jerry will be out of town so he needs someone
to fill in for the last rehearsals at Kinkaid. Steven M. and Barbara will assist. Musicians update – Steve &
Brian met with Lovey Smith to discuss the details for the next 3 years which resulted in a 3% raise for the
musicians. The agreement is being drafted for signature. Every year it is our option of what we pay them for
any recordings we may do. Ken will be in on July 3rd but since his apartment won’t be ready until the 4th so he
will spend the night with Ralph. TECH INTERN – Kate is just a jewel and is as good if not better than the ones
in years past. Cathy advised that the Patron party, Doubletree rooms and Cast party at Birra’s have been
arranged and will be signing the contracts this week. Julia motioned that we raise the cast party fee from $5 to
$10, was seconded by Scott. The motion passed unanimously. We also agreed that the orchestra WILL NOT
be invited to the cast party this year due to it being a lean year. The only reason they were invited for Mikado
was for Ralph’s retirement. Cathy will let Brian know. Ushers contract has been signed and given to Steve –
DLS will work with us again this year for $6700 and will go up next year. Valet is arranged as well.
Photography – we have contracted with Jeff Grass for the chorus photo for the play bill and the patron party.
Steve Feinberg, Julia’s friend and Gillian’s friend will be taking dress rehearsal photos. The photography bill
went from $1100 to $400. Ralph has a friend who is also interested in photographing us for an artistic piece.
Ads for the program – Toyota dealership, the gun shop who donated the musket, and Rob Seible - Gillian needs
to touch base with George about the filler/ad information for the playbill.
Julia gave the Auditions Committee Report. We had an alto drop due to a work situation, but Julia was able
to find another suitable replacement. She did have 2 candidates and invited the other to come back next year.
Martha gave the Operations Manual Committee Report. Status – she is working with John Paul to digitize
the manual – they are very close and there are lots of changes that need to be done to the job descriptions. She
will send out existing descriptions for us to review and update so it may be added to the web. Review of
May/June Activities – We are on target so far with several in process. Create & review action item list –
ACTION ITEMS – PLEASE review to ensure all is done. ACTION to be done – Martha still needs job
descriptions for CD/DVD production (Tim); Scott to prepare slides for the Marquee at Wortham; Julia to record
our radio spots this year; Judy to order concession items; Gillian to get bios from principals and have cast proof
the info for the program; Steve to hire Sound Engineer; Costumes to get a union Wardrobe dresser on board;
Gillian to get playbill information to Typesetter w/final advertising & cast info once reviewed; Mary M. to
arrange for delivery of tickets to Children’s organizations; Cathy showed the board the 2 oval stickers and we
have decided to move forward with the G&S 3x4 and full title in a 4x6. She will let the board know the costs
for minimum quantities; Steve to set the MOVE IN meeting with Wortham. BE SURE to check the LATE
JUNE & JULY action items on page 10, 11 & 12 of the manual.
Martha gave the Taskforce Committee Report – Archive Organization – Monica is downloading all photos
that she has taken since Martha now has an external hard drive – both raw and jpg formats.
Scott gave the Marketing Report. Graphics/Mailer – We do need to shoot photography for the next 2 shows
(Pirates then Ida). Mary M. brought up the personal interview on the Austin Society’s site, and thought that
Alistair could do something similar for our shows that we have on the website. Steven M. will work with
Alistair on a 2 minute version for Sorcerer, Pirates and Ida. He will try to meet with him on June 22 nd before
rehearsal. Gillian has sent out and will resend an email requesting cast bios. Publicity – he has worked with all
the publicity outlets on cuts to reduce costs. Houston Press is giving us a few more perks – including us on
email blasts, and some have lowered their rates – Houston Symphony magazine. Contracts have been signed
and we are at the same budget as last $22k. Houston Public Media let him know that they are unsure if they
will have Front Row any more so we may not be performing live on the air. Julia informed us that Dera Moye
may have a contact at the local FOX affiliate and asked her to contact Scott with any information. We have 60
second spots on 1070 AM that we will share with Birra’s – 30/30 each. They will have the back cover again.
Gillian offered to help with the Facebook campaign so they will be meeting to review. Mary S. hopes to have
the show shirts for sale on Wednesday at rehearsal – both women’s and generic sizes. Judy is having an issue
with the provider of the mugs so will look at someone else.
Andrew gave the Database Committee Reports. Website: the blurb in the Semaphore about Glenn Larratt
was well deserved. There have been issues with PayPal, but it is not Glenn’s issue it is PayPal’s issue. There is
a note on the website giving the options – either have a PayPal account or call us to purchase tickets. We will
continue to use PayPal for generic donations on the website, but ticket purchases have been rough. When we do
move to Houston First next year, we will continue to manage patron ticket sales and will need to have that
PayPal issue resolved. A separate PayPal account will need to be set up for the Foundation so the funds are not
mingled. Having multiple people able to modify the website has been very beneficial, so Andrew thanked John
Paul for handling issues. John Paul also gave kudos to Andrew and Gillian. Database: Nothing new to report.
Tim gave the CD / Video Committee Report. Iolanthe – No updates since Julie is waiting on the sound and
Glen Wheeler is working on the feed from David Goddard. We have no time line from Glen so Steve will
follow up with him to get some sort of “by when” date so we may get this finally resolved. Patience & Mikado
video status – Nothing to report since we are waiting on Iolanthe to see if we want her to edit Patience &
Mikado. SORCERER - We are still planning on recording Sorcerer ourselves. Regarding a pre-recording of
the show, he had been thinking of that for Iolanthe but the feedback was that people like to see costumes. We
do have still photos of sets and costumes that could be used for Sorcerer. Steven is hoping that during the week
of dress rehearsal that his equipment will be able to read the lighting properly. He will test it out during tech.
He does know a place that rents better equipment to use, but we would still use our people for the recordings.
Scott brought up the option of calling a local university TV/AV department to see if the students need a project
and we could have them do the recording for us. This will be a learning year.
Jim Robinson, who serves as Chairman of the Foundation, was not present to give the Foundation Report.
Mary Metz advised that the total of investments and cash for the Foundation is $155,000.
Gillian gave the Expanding Presence Report. Pride Parade – The parade is in 2 weeks, June 28th, we are #97
in the lineup out of 112. Apparently they opened registration early this year at a first come first serve basis. We
are paid and squared away, but we still need a fire extinguisher (Steven M. will bring one), and Steven has also
made arranged the trailer. We do need to promote the parade at rehearsal for volunteers and attendees. Show
shirts are the basis with whatever extra accessories that people want to use while passing out necklaces. It starts
at 8:15, but people need to be there by 6pm for judging, so 4pm for set up and staging. Sid let us know that
Alistair will appear at Christ Church Cathedral and Tony Day has arranged for Alistair to give a show at the
River Oaks recreation center summer camp. Gillian is working with Tony for a group to go to Pumpkin Park
again - 3 solos and a talk by Alistair. Clarewood House, University Place and Eagle’s Trace have been set up
with Brian and Alistair. Alistair will also be saying something at the Queen’s Tea through Mary M. Steve let
us know that we are having issue with people personally paying for things for these events. In order to keep
track of expenses, we need to turn in expenses for reimbursement. We all need to do a better job of getting
reimbursed for expenses. You may then, in turn, make a donation to cover those expenses.
New/Old Business – Video project – Nothing to report. Digital Music Download Status – John Paul let us
know that all the music out there and available for purchase, and a note about it will be in the program. It is on
Amazon mp3 also at a lower cost, so we need to push Itunes since we make more money there. There is no
additional update for the Lamp Lighters mini summit meeting. Glen Taylor has expressed interest in attending
along with Steve and Barbara, so it is possible that we will have representation there if it does move forward.
Brian Runnels will be changing schools and will be teaching at a Fort Bend high school.
Upcoming Meetings:
July – NO MEETING
August 11th – Steven McCary
September 8th – Cathy Comeaux-Wright
October – Annual meeting at Steve Robbins house
November 10th – Sidney Buchanan
Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Steven and was seconded by Sidney. Meeting adjourned at 11:50
am.
Respectfully submitted,
Cathy Comeaux-Wright
Secretary
APPROVED:
Stephen M. Robbins, President