These are the minutes from the 2007 - 2008 season, starting with the general meeting in 2007.
The meeting was called to order by president Jeff Thomas.
The 2006 minutes were read by secretary Susan Wright. The minutes were approved by the membership.
Cheryl P. Read the budget (i don't have a copy)
$17,158.00
balance $4792.47 (get budget from Cheryl)
Jeff told everyone that Karl Doege was added to the board to replace Diane Price.
Cheryl P. gave the crafts committee report.
The committee consists of 3 WCFM members and 2 non-members
Crafts jurying wll be saturday April 14th 9am
There will be 45 crafter spots this coming year.
New business:
elections:
president: Jeff Thomas ran uncontested and was elected
vice-president: Susan Graham and Sheila Sherman were nominated--- Susan Graham was elected
board: winners were: Karl Doege, Alicia Breton, Billy Ward, Richard Boylan, Don Cox
Rule changes were explained. Changes to rule #7, 9, 15
Advertising is probably set, but we are looking for an assistant manager for 8-11am.
6 events are planned; one for each month. (In old minutes 2/12 not on this computer)
Volunteer were ask to help with the events.
It was suggested that a list of the events be printed up.
There is a second space committee member were ask to join.
The spaces outside the sheds will be painted to 10x10' spacing - re sized
there maybe a Thanksgiving market the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Jeff says Southern Living will be doing an article in the Carolina section this year.
Richard mentions their will be a market at the Mast Store on Wednesday afternoons and at the Watauga Medical Center (but only for vegetable growers) and in Cove Creek.
Volunteers are needed to put up the market signs
The meeting was adjourned.
Submitted by Susan Wright
Minutes of the WCFM Board of Directors
Location: Bald Guy Brew on Hwy 105 Bypass
April 3, 2007
Board Members Attending: Jeff Thomas, Susan Graham, Richard Boylan,
Don Cox, Alicia Breton, Cheryl Piracci
Others Attending: Karen Bauman, Mgr. Diedre Smith, Advertising
The meeting came to order at 10:20 am.
It was determined that there was a quorum.
Under new business: Richard Boylan made a motion that Diedre Smith would be hired as the market’s advertising person. The motion passed unanimously.
Advertising ideas presented by Ms. Smith were discussed along with the advertising budget in mind. It was decided to advertise in the High Country Press since they gave us a discounted rate. Postcards would be printed to be distributed by various sources around the High Country. A text ad on Ray’s Weather website would be utilized for the season. Billboards would not be pursued this season.
Under old business: The second space issue was briefly discussed. The new committee on second spaces will give recommendations for the board to act on.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:05pm.
Meeting started at 12:30 Sept. 8th 2007
Attending: Cheryl Piracci, Jeff Thomas, Billy Ward, Susan Wright,
Elisha B., Karl Doege, Karen Bauman, Susan Graham
Susan G. told us the market would be the Saturday after Thanksgiving
at 10-2pm
Karen will ask Diedra if she will do the advertising for $100 with a
$600 budget.
There will be no new members just for this market and no jurying of
wreaths required.
Susan G. wants to do 3 ads in the Mt. Times and the High Country
Press, plus flyers printed.
We may need to get a porta -potty if the restrooms remain closed for
the season
The meeting was adjourned at 1:00
Farmers' Market Meeting Minutes
10-31-07
Jeff Thomas, Susan Graham, Cheryl Piracci, Richard Boylan, Don Cox, Karl Doege, Karen Bauman.
A letter will be sent out to all of the vendors who signed up for the holiday market. Karen will call to reserve one deluxe handicapped john.
The banner should go next to the Wachovia Bank. Karen will check with
the town. Susan will check into sign stands and Karen will count existing holders.
Susan Graham moved that the manager will be paid $200 for the holiday market. This passed.
Don Cox moved that each vendor will be limited to either a vehicle or trailer at their approved vendor space with no vehicles or trailers in the vending space, which is the 10x10 space. This passed.
The next meeting will be on Thursday, November 15 from 2-4PM.
The meeting was adjourned.
Watauga County Farmers’ Market
Minutes
Monday, December 3, 2007
Present: Billy Ward, Alicia Breton, Karl Doege, Karen Bauman, Jeff Thomas, Cheryl Piracci, Susan Graham, Richard Boylan, Don Cox
The meeting opened at 2:20 p.m. at the North Carolina Ag Center, King Street, Boone, NC.
Minutes from last meeting (Oct. 31, 2007) were read. Alicia moved they be approved.
Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report: Cheryl Piracci reported that we currently have about $1000 less this year than at this time last year. This does not represent a problem. A motion to approve
the treasurer’s report was carried.
Susan Wright resigned her position as Secretary of WCFM as of today. Karl Doege agreed to fill in and take minutes for this meeting.
The Holiday Market, held the Saturday after Thanksgiving, 2007, was a huge success. There were many people in attendance.
The Officers and the Board of Directors of WCFM agreed to hold regular meetings on the first Monday of each month at 2:00 p.m. at the Ag Center.
There was much discussion concerning the jurying of crafts. Alicia Breton made the following motion: “Crafters who were juried in for year 2007, who are in good standing, will automatically be accepted in year 2008. However, new crafts by existing vendors, and new vendors, will need to be juried for next year (2008). This will call for a change to the WCFM “Guide for Crafts.” A revised “Guide for Crafts” will be mailed to existing vendors. The revised “Guide for Crafts” will be available to new vendors.” The motion was approved.
The Board and Officers approved the following schedule of events for year 2008:
May 10: Band. “Plant and Herb Festival Day”
June 7: Band. “Spring Greens Day”
June 18 Wednesday Market opens, running to Sep. 10.
July 5: Band. “Red, White and Blue Day”
August 9: Band. “Garlic and Tomato Day”
August 30: Cooking Demo
Sept. 20: Band. “Customer Appreciation Day”
Oct. 11: Band. “Appalachian Craft Day”
There was much discussion concerning the advertising and promotion needs of WCFM, including what has been done in the past and what needs to be done in the future. There is a seeming consensus of the Officers and Board members that Karen Bauman, if she has an assistant, will be able to coordinate her job as Manager with Advertising and Promotion, provided that adequate job descriptions are provided for each position. The idea was also set forth that a third individual might be needed to carry out some utilitarian jobs, including the selling of “T” shirts and sweatshirts.
Karen Bauman expressed her need for a storage space to meet the needs of her job as Manager. Board members and officers are putting feelers out to find a suitable space, preferably with phone and power, at minimal expense.
There was discussion concerning interpretation of the “60-40 Rule” The consensus is that the rule, as stated, is vague and open to various interpretations. The option exists to change the rule to something that is clearer and more enforceable. Members will bring proposals for such change (to the next meeting).
Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
Next meeting: Monday, Jan 7, 2008, Ag Center Building.
Respectfully submitted:
Karl Doege
Watauga County Farmers’ Market
Minutes
Monday, January 7, 2008
Present: Alicia Breton, Karl Doege, Karen Bauman, Jeff Thomas, Cheryl Piracci, Susan Graham, Richard Boylan, Don Cox
The meeting came to order at 2:10 p.m. at the North Carolina Agricultural Center, King Street, Boone, NC.
Minutes from last meeting (December 3, 2007) were approved with one correction, namely changing the date of the previous meeting from November 2007 to October 2007.
The Treasurer reported a balance of $4195.49 as of December 31, 2007. The opening balance on January 1, 2008, was $6,214.50. This Jan.1 balance is about $2000 less than anticipated and reflects expenses associated with the post Thanksgiving Farmers’ Market of 2007. The Treasurer expressed the wish that the Board of Directors look in greater detail at the financial picture at the next meeting.
The Treasurer’s report was approved.
A letter from Linda McAllister was read and discussed. This resulted in a general discussion concerning the outlook for membership for the 2008 Market, the possibility of the need to raise fees and other related issues. Linda’s membership, and that of all other vendors, depends on her ability to comply with the WCFM “Guidelines for Crafts,” revised as detailed below. Alicia will notify Linda, by phone, of the Board’s discussions. Notification will also be made to David Mezyinski and Mary Harmon via telephone.
Revisions to the body of the WCFM “Guidelines for Crafts,” are as follows:
Paragraph 2: The penultimate sentence will read: “The Crafts Committee will be composed of two current vendors plus three honorary members chosen by the Board of Directors.”
Paragraph 3: This sentence is changed to read: “100% of all crafts sold at the market must be hand crafted by the vendor.”
Paragraph 4: This sentence is changed to read: “All craft items by any Market Vendor will be juried every odd numbered year, i.e., 2009, 2011, etc.”
Paragraph 6: This paragraph is changed to read: “Additional jury dates will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors.”
Added to the Guidelines will be a statement to the effect that crafters are responsible for notifying the WCFM Manager concerning whether or not they will be returning to the 2008 Market. Such information must be provided to the Market Manager in order to insure that the crafter’s space will be available at the 2008 Market. Notification must be made to the Market Manager by February 28, 2008.
Vendors will be notified that the WCFM Craft Jury will be held on the 2nd Saturday of April, (Apr. 12), 2008.
Vendors will also be notified that the Annual Meeting will take place on March 17, 2008.
These measures and changes were all approved by the Board of Directors.
Advertising and Promotion issues were discussed. Richard Boylan moved that Karen Bauman undertake the position of Advertising and Promotion Manager. Alicia Breton seconded the motion. Approved.
An assistant to Karen will be considered at another time, i.e., after she has considered a job description for such a position.
The Board authorized Karen to look at the facility at Old Mable School as a possibility for using it as office space to accommodate her needs as Market Manager/Advertising and Promotion Mgr. Karen will inform the Board of her findings.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
The next meeting will be held on February 4, 2008, at the Agricultural Center.
Watauga County Farmers’ Market
Minutes
Monday, February 4, 2008
Present: Richard Boylan, Billy Ward, Cheryl Piracci, Karen Bauman, Susan Graham, Jeff Thomas, Karl Doege
The meeting opened at 2:10 p.m. at the North Carolina Ag Center, King Street, Boone, NC.
Minutes from the previous meeting were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: The proposed 2007 budget was $16,750.00. Actual WCFM expenses in 2007 came to $21, 118.00. The Checking Account balance as of this date is
$3,409.49.
The Board expressed its awareness that the 2007 excess expenditures, and the reasons for them, should be brought to the attention of the membership.
The Treasurer’s report was approved.
The Board adopted a budget of $19,937 for the year 2008.
The Board passed a motion made by Richard Boylan to change the WCFM fee structure by altering the wording of Rule 15 of the WCFM by-laws to read as follows:
Annual membership fee is $65.00 unless both the season’s rent and membership
fee are paid in full at sign-up. If so, the fee will be reduced to $50.00. Each
business may purchase one membership per year. Weekly fees are $6.00 under
the sheds and $5.00 in the open. Rent on Wednesdays is $3.00. All new members
are on probationary status for the first season.
The Board considered a letter from Billy Moretz concerning “Second Space” regulations. Further discussion was tabled until the next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
The next meeting will be held Monday, March 3, at 2:00 p.m. Weather permitting, it will open at the WCFM facility at Horn-in-the-West parking lot, Boone
Watauga County Farmers’ Market
Minutes
Monday, March 3, 2008
Present: Billy Ward, Alicia Breton, Karl Doege, Karen Bauman, Jeff Thomas, Cheryl Piracci, Susan Graham, Richard Boylan, Don Cox
The meeting opened at 2:05 p.m. at the Horn in the West Parking lot, Boone, NC,
Minutes from last meeting, Feb. 4, were approved.
There was no need for a Treasurer’s report.
Karen Bauman reported that only 20+ crafters had, as of this date, notified her that they would be returning to the 2008 Farmers’ Market. However, there are on the order of 20 crafters who have not notified the market of their intent to return to the market this year. In order that the Board of Directors might have a more complete picture of how many crafters will be returning, Jeff Thomas made the following motion:
“Crafters who have not responded to the notification that they must notify the Board that they will be returning to the 2008 Market will be notified, as quickly as possible, that they must, by March 14, 2008, (1) notify the Board of intention to return to the 2008 Market and, (2) give payment of $20 in order to retain vendor space. Failure to comply with both procedures will result in forfeiture of vendor space.”
The above motion was approved.
There was discussion of Bill Moretz’s letter concerning “second spaces,” the result being the following motion by Susan Graham:
“Bill will be notified, in writing, that the Board has received his letter regarding second space procedures, that his letter is under review, that the Board will not have time before the annual meeting to consider all the issues related to second space procedures and that the matter will have to be considered when a new Board of Directors is in place.”
The above motion was approved.
There was discussion about whether or not we wanted to hire a “face painter” to paint faces in return for an hourly wage. The discussion resulted in a motion by Susan Graham:
“Moved that Farmers’ Market not hire this individual.”
The above motion was approved.
There was discussion about the logistics involved in the orderly carrying out of the March 17 General Meeting.
There was discussion about the use of the Advertising Budget and advertising venues.
There was discussion regarding how to alleviate problems with regard to Saturday Market parking and traffic flow. With these issues in mind, the Board agreed that it would make sense to eliminate two vendor spaces (#78, 79) and to restrict the vendor at the north end of the east shed to exhibiting his goods within a vendor space described by a line drawn as an extension of the east shed posts and extending 20 feet beyond said posts.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 p.m.
The next meeting will take place at 5:00, March 17, 2008, at the NC Ag Center, Boone. This is the same date at the General Meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Karl Doege