
FOTB Meeting Minutes

9:11 am meeting called to order

Review FOTB Finances
o Introduce officers
o We have a quorum
o Donations
 Good news – collections are respectable, marginally down
from last year but very close to normal
 $45,000 total (ytd – we hope to fill in through the end of the
fiscal, June 30)
 Large interest ($13,000) endowment grows comfortable
o Expenses
 ‘Other’ includes a bass drum
 Mailing costs are down, other expenses are in line with
average
 Online donations?
 Can we do it?
 FotB is positive $7,000 (ish)
 Band
 Plus $13000
 Did not buy many new instruments
 Transportation costs are down (Yale, Penn, not
Dartmouth)
 Uniform Purchases were a ‘new’ expense because of
extraneous jacket purchases
 Stu Lange - Are we doing a constant level of 10 jackets
per year?
o Maybe, we did about 15 this year, not sure if we
will do so in the future
o We do have an instrument purchasing budget
that gives discretion to the band officers (this
will be a perennial line item)
o No plans to get new jackets next year
 Stu – what do we do with a surplus?
o FotB has always sent 25,000 to the band with a
10,000 cushion in the band account
o We may adjust our gift from FotB to the band
next year to get the band closer to break even
o Jack – Recommends an instrument repair drive
to get the instruments back in good shape
o Robert S Wright – alums could donate to cover
the smaller instruments

Undergrad update
o President Amanda Lawrence ’14
o Tyler Davis ’15 - Manager
 Band –o- Grams still ongoing
 Road trip added for Volleyball (Penn State)
 We play a lot of volleyball games, the team really loves the
band
 Now playing for women and men’s b-ball
 Men’s hockey (not women’s)
 Men’s lacrosse, men’s volleyball, tried a swim meet
 Stu Lange – Attendance, we have two categories
 Football attendance was average 70 per game
 Winter averaged 35-40, spring was 20ish
 Rehearsal attendance is a big problem (55 in the fall,
winter around 45, spring around 30)
 Album coming up will help with attendance in two
years
 Sharon – spring concert on non-album years to hold up
rehearsal attendance?
 Concert band thing was very good
 Jim Dickinson –constant reminders that ReUnions
was the reason that people had to go to rehearsals
 Are rehearsals still fun?
 Fred Fox Concert? – 63 people not counting seniors
 Rehearsal is now 7pm – this is a good changed (Ben
Elias); there are class conflicts now (Mandy)
 Special Events
 We had a Bat Mitzvah
 Greek Parade in New York (not going to happen again
– first year they paid for everything, this year we had
to pay for transport etc, we were mis-represented in
parade)
 Cliquishness in the band
 Outside view is that band is divided between under
and upper classmen
 Under classmen are different from the upper class,
incoming senior class is very small, incoming sophs
and juniors are very into band – they are the hardcore
bandies, they have a ‘real band’ feeling, detracts from
the everything is optional message of the band. Other
freshmen and sophomores don’t feel welcome anymore
 Increased social events – section bonding events
 Larger than life personality to bridge the groups
 There is still a band club (charter) – they brought band
members to social events and that helps keep the band
working as a social unit

Extra band van space? Students carry their
instruments

Future
o Reduced Mail Costs
o San Diego Trip – RW Enoch
 Send the whole band to San Diego
 Estimated $50,000 cost – growing band will increase the cost
 Estimate around 70 members, possibility the cost will be
increased upward
 Mailings
 September ’13 have a line item
 December ’13 dedicated to San Diego fund raising
 Summer ’14 early mailing (July rather than
September) to push for the final costs
 Ben will contact Bill Powers
 Cost reductions – chartering a flight with cheerleaders?
Football team? Etc? talk to friends of Tiger Football
 Talk to athletics re: flying with the team
o Band exercise video?
o Looking into using off-year alums to bring undergrads as free guests,
pooling the discount for all band under-class members

Elections
o President
 Nominee: Joel Thompson
 Motion for oral vote J Bagdis, second D Casazza
 Elected by unanimous vote
o Vice President
 Nominee: RW Enoch
 Motion for oral vote, second D Zaslavsky
 Unanimous vote
o Treasurer
 Nominee: Ben Elias
 Motion for oral vote J Bagdis, second Sharon Beth Kristol
 Oral vote unanimous
o Secretary
 Nominee: David Casazza
 Motion for oral vote J Bagdis, seconded B Elias
 Elected unanimous vote