Monday, February 6, 2017

January 25, 2017 Minutes

Old Business
  • Email sent from the Board to MQG seemed to have been received favorably. They would like to teleconference with the board to hear and discuss our concerns. Members should let Amy D know if there things she should bring up to them either at that meeting or when she goes to the leadership meeting at QuiltCon.
  • Quilt Show preparations are in progress. Everyone who submitted a quilt has been accepted. Quilts will be hung February 26 from 12:00-2:00. Debbie is still trying to get information on how quilts will be hung and hanging sleeve requirements. She will email participants with details. Debbie will be at QuiltCon so there will need to be assistance from other guild members to coordinate. The Show is March 3 (Friday) through April 1.  There will be a reception we will need to cover and provide refreshments for March 3 from 5-7pm (Ypsilanti's First Friday event). The gallery is open Thurs/Fri 3-8pm and Sun 1:30-4.  We will need volunteers to staff.
  • Retreat at Hankerd Inn was last weekend. There were 16 attendees. Feedback was not as positive as has been previously so we may want to reconsider using this venue (no ability for someone to opt out of the food with lower payment, facility did not seem as clean as in the past, there were at least 2 reports of vermin (squirrels? or other?) in the ceilings.
  • Charity quilts from the past (2014-15)
    • the Board announced that we have altered our previous decision to sell the 3 quilts in question on eBay. Instead we will be donating 2 for use to Ozone House and 1 to Grilling for the Hungry to auction. These are the same recipients as we'd decided before, just getting the guild out of the process of having to sell them.
    • A recommendation was made to potentially show these at the Quilt Show.  Debbie will see if there is space.
  • Sew-Ins - 
    • dates have been set for the year. We tried to set up about 1/2 of them on Saturdays and 1/2 on Sundays although we weren't able to get an even flip-flop per month based on availability.  Dates are:  Feb 19, Mar 12, Apr 8, May 6, Jun 3, Jul 16, Aug 6, Sep 10, Oct 7, Nov 4, Dec 3.  
    • Note that any of these dates may be re-purposed for teaching events.
    • Based on majority of members attending, the Board has decided to keep with charging $15 to cover food.  A reminder was given to the guild that were we to pay the rent on the space, the cost would be $90-125 so members should consider that a benefit of their membership.
  • Teaching events -
    • Kathy is still looking into the antique/vintage sewing machine repair class although it has gotten trickier to schedule with our space now that we've realized it is a two day class. More to come...
New Business
  • Summer Retreat
    • Creative Passions, July 22
    • Smaller building, will hold 16 members
    • Discussion was held as to whether we want to consider dates later in the year for next year's retreat. A consensus of members in attendance felt last September/early October would be better
    • Cost: $150 per person (+$30 for Thursday)
  • Small thank you flowers were given to last year's guild chairs and departing officer (Karen [charity],  Kim [library], Emily [swaps], Amanda [retreats], Giedra [programs].
  • Bylaws
    • Annual Bylaw review was held by making it a Bylaw Bingo game with donated prizes for all participants
    • Kathy will be posting suggested revisions for the membership to review and vote on.
  •  Elections were held as follows:
    • President - Amy Diebold
    • Vice-President, Programs - Maggie Wilkin
    • Vice-President, Membership - Jackie Mills
    • Treasurer - Amy Stevenson
    • Secretary/Webmaster - Kathy Koch
  •  Board and Committee Reports:
    •  Amy S. presented a Treasurer's report to the membership.  
      • It was noted that we submitted a membership of 55 to MQG for annual dues.
      • We have maintained a balance of approximately $4K in the bank.  Discussion was held on what the membership wanted to do with the money:
        • teachers
        • paying for or supplementing food at retreats 
    • Charity quilts
      • Last year we had several challenges including a charm pack challenge
      • Donated quilts to the PULSE effort in Florida
      • Donated 3'x4' quilts to Motts and the V.A. hospitals
      • For next year some of the ideas include donating directly to Ozone House (they would like twin size since they cater to teens)
      • Brenda has agree to embroider labels to go on donated quilts (someone also suggested we see if Rossie has the screenprint used in past years)
      • Since Maggie was elected VP, we asked for a volunteer to take this position and Jackie MacGregor volunteered.
  • Chair positions for 2017 are:
    • Swaps - Emily Schildhouse
    • Library - Kim Ulrich
    • Charity - Jackie MacGregor
    • Retreats - Amy Stevenson
    • Quilt Show - Debbie Grifka
Monthly Features
  • Library
  • Round Robin (not enough participants this month although others expressed interest - suggested we pick up next month)
  • Member Spotlights (Most Frustrating Make)
  • Show and Share