September 11, 2007
Music Boosters Board Meeting Minutes

Submitted by Kathy Cranford, Secretary
Next meeting scheduled for October 9, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.

In Attendance:

Mike Cummins, Christoph and Pia Weber, Abby Yrizarri, Rides Deleon, Althea Flora Menta, Fernando Marquez, Debbie Morris, Maria & James Raley, Ozzie Csanadi, Meesook Lee, June Hom, Maria Guapo, Jose Peregrino, Tina Desagum, Bob DeSagum, Jeanne Hoey, Hongseog Kim, Jinsook Kim, Nilantha Sirisowa, Imran and Rumna Khan, Vine Loving, Ramiro Orellano, Laurette Verbinski, Sukgwan Lee, Yuichi Kamikubo, Malou Rogers, Connie Canseco, Isabela Weizman, Karin Walin, Ellen Goetze, Carolyn Suazo, Fred Perez, Freddie Riboni, Melissa Alcazar, Cecilia Joy, Mae Reyes, Jan Frost, Kathy Cranford, Luchie Delino, Melvina House

The meeting began at 6:40 pm.

Welcome:

Vice-President Christoph Weber welcomed all who came to the meeting, which included many new parents. He briefly described the role of the Music Boosters and explained that we need parents to volunteer for several board positions including President. The Music Program receives very little money from the school district, so the rest is up to the parents; for example we need to coordinate fund raisers, transport equipment and instruments to performances, provide food for the students, pay for festival fees and some sheet music, etc. Christoph explained the importance of each family’s fair share donation which makes the Music Program possible. It is up to the parents to make this happen. Also the Music Boosters pay the salary of the Color Guard coach.

Volunteers:

Some of the positions we need to fill are President, E-script coordinator, and uniform manager. Carolyn Suazo volunteered to chair the Fundraising Committee and also be the Liaison with the Centurion Foundation. The uniform fitting will be taking place in the next 3 weeks so it would be good to have new volunteers so they can be trained. The current uniform team has seniors that will be graduating next spring. We need volunteers to come in now to see what needs to be done.

Financials:

Treasurer Jan Frost then gave the financial report. She brought a large poster that summarized the budget for the Music Program for the school year. Estimates were based on last year’s budget. Approximately $12,000 is needed to support the program for a year. The budget was approved.

Mr. Cummins:

Mr. Cummins took the floor next. He welcomed all new and returning parents to the Music Boosters. He explained that the Boosters are made up of band, color guard, and orchestra parents. Since the school district provides very little funding, we depend on parents’ fair share donations and fund raising. Mr. Cummins outlined what items and services the fair share donations provide.

This year there is a new Principal and two new Vice-Principals. There is a proposal for a music budget which is based on the number of students in each program. Some students are in both band and orchestra. Mr. Cummins explained during the first semester the Music Boosters are active with band performances, and the orchestra is more active during the second semester. He described how the California budget cuts have affected the music and arts programs first. Mr. Cummins will be running six performing groups this year. He needs support from the parents. We need help in different areas – truck driving, sewing, carpentry, etc.

The color guard will be performing at halftime during football games and at field shows in the fall. During the second semester, they will attend a competition circuit which is held indoors, and they will compete against other schools.

Mr. Cummins said he will be working with the new principal to get more for the music program this year.

Fundraisers were the next topic of discussion, and Mr. Cummins explained their importance and also rallied for getting the students more involved. The first fundraiser is going to be Entertainment Books, selling for $40 each. The Music Program receives about a 40% return on this fundraiser. If every student can sell just one book, that will be a successful fundraiser. Students who sell Entertainment Books will get a deduction from their own account.

Reminder: Fair share donations are tax deductible.

Mr. Cummins gave an inspirational pep talk about getting our students to help contribute to their family’s fair share donation whether it be from a job they have or a portion of their allowance or another source. Some parents gave examples on how their children have contributed.

Performances:

Then Mr. Cummins went over the performance schedule for the fall. Performances at football games are:

• October 13th - Homecoming – call time 1:30 pm. NOTE: There has been a time change subsequent to this meeting,
• October 19th - UCHS vs. Clairemont, game held at Scripps High School, 7:00pm, and
• October 26 – UCHS vs. Kearny, 7:00pm.

Mr. Cummins is going to talk with the Principal about bringing a pep band (Class B uniforms) without color guard (as opposed to the full marching band with color guard).

The scheduled field shows are:

• October 6th – Westview - NOTE: There has been a cancellation subsequent to this meeting,
• November 3rd at Mira Mesa (evening show), and
• November 17th at Ramona High School.

We may participate in the finals competition on December 2 if we place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. Students in marching band will be dressed in Class A uniforms for field show performances.

Mr. Cummins will distribute performance schedules once the locations for the “away home games” are finalized. Also there will be a Holiday performance.

He then went over the Class A and Class B uniforms. Class A uniforms are the brand new uniforms that were purchased last year. Class B uniforms are blue t-shirts (order form has been sent home), black pants, and black socks and shoes. For the Homecoming performance, the marching band and color guard perform at the pre-game show in their Class A uniforms. Then they can return to the band room and change into Class B uniforms before returning to the stands for the game.

Mr. Cummins requested help in designing and building a shade structure to cover the bleachers where the band will be sitting during the Homecoming game.

Mr. Cummins encouraged parents to keep attending the Music Booster meetings! They are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 in the band room. We want the students to have pride in their group and be a family.

There is a possibility of a different type of festival at Sea World in May. It would be great if we could attend this festival, but it depends on whether we have funding for it by then. The Music Boosters would incur the expense of the school buses.

All the attendees and Mr. Cummins gave a big THANK YOU and applause for Pia and Christoph Weber who have been the Presidents for the past 2 years. They now are Vice-Presidents and are more than willing to help and train a new President. We need to fill the positions of President, Uniform Manager, and E-script coordinator. There will be uniform fittings during class tomorrow and Thursday.

Fundraising:

Isabela then took the floor and gave a wonderful speech about fundraising. She explained how she had the idea last year of having a raffle at each concert. The prizes included donated gift baskets and gift cards from local businesses. These raffles were very popular last year and she hopes to continue with them this year. All ideas for fundraisers are encouraged!

It was suggested that we should get the entertainment books out there soon before other groups start selling them.

The website for the Music Program is www.uchsmusic.com. To e-mail one of the board members, type the title first; example treasurer@uchsmusic.com, president@uchsmusic.com, secretary@uchsmusic.com, etc.

Mr. Cummins told us about a possible fundraising opportunity. A former student of Mr. Cummins plays trombone in a band called Rising Star. They perform regularly at Humphreys. They have offered to perform in a fundraiser event to benefit the Music Boosters. If anyone has an idea about how and where to organize such an event please talk to Mr. Cummins.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 pm.