EVFAC Live/Zoom: All members board meeting 9-28-2024

EVFAC Live/Zoom all members board meeting 9-28-2024  

Attendees:  

Board members:  Dain Daller (President), Leigh Alexander (Treasurer), Mark Bond (Vice President), Maria Jonsson (Board member at large), Mary Pahl (New Secretary)

Employees:  Debbie Harris (Retail Manager), Kim Zitzow (Director), Amanda Speer (Education Coordinator)

Members:  Suzie Fowler-Tutt, Trish Spillman, Robbie Berg, Miranda Gray, Suzie Hart, Gloria Padilla, Carol Newkirk, Nancy Woodworth, Bob Davis, Clarity Kijs, Lyndsay Remerowski (Volunteer) 

Meeting began 1:10pm.    

ACTION ITEMS:

-Heating and cooling installed for the building (completed)

-New lights installed in building (completed)

-Eblast membership drive/Eblast volunteer drive-need more volunteers

-New volunteer for doing EVFAC membership duties:  Robbie Berg will help out

-Mary Pahl voted in as new Secretary of board

-Youth fiber studio underway in building

-Lecture series beginning at EVFAC

-Need more funding for weaving for disabled adults LANL?

-Fall Fiber Fiests at Scottish Rite Temple and Montezuma Lodge-volunteers?

-EVFAC name won the election-work to change records where needed to complete process

EVFAC membership:  Lyndsay Remerowski

Our membership is up, total of 250 members, 180 before covid.  We average 8 new members a month, with 10 members lapsing in their membership.  Need to find someone else to volunteer for EVFAC membership.  Need to have Microsoft Access 2010 to work on membership duties.   Automatic renewal for membership by email, if members don’t want to renew they respond.  Membership volunteer duties require a couple of hours a month.  Need to do a membership drive to get more members.  Does auto renewal retain CC info, no.  Streamline/modernize EVFAC membership shopify or paypal.  Robbie Berg will help out with membership duties.

New Board Secretary:  Mary Pahl

Trish moved that we vote in Mary Pahl as EVFAC new board secretary, Robbie seconded.  All were in favor.

Financial Report:  Leigh

EVFAC is still doing well financially with classes etc.  We have spent some money on improvements i.e. healing/cooling mini-split system ($43,000), and new lighting.  Hourly wage raises for Kim and Debbie.  Debbie works 40 hours a week, Kim works 30 hours per week.  Contingent on our donor who will pay in January 2025, we are going to hold off on the solar for now ($96,000).  Paid with credit card w/12% interest.  We should be able to pay off the mini-split system in January 2025.  EVFAC has been breaking even at best, hired a Director last year.  Discussion on being open another day.  We need a budget for 2025.  Post the budget on the website.   

Directors Report: Kim Zitzow

In process of redoing the class registration process.  Shopify is main point of sales system which is helpful for bookkeeping.  

Working on a youth fiber studio.  We had a fiber camp for kids this past summer, very successful.  Raised $23,000 for summer camp, McCune grant and United Way grant.  

Mark Bond is 3-d printing rigid heddle looms for kids to use, interns or teachers.  Several schools in ABQ a reaching out for these looms.  Mark 3-d printing looms at “Maker’s Space” in ABQ.  EVFAC maybe can get more grants for inexpensive looms.  Not selling these looms, strictly for educational purposes.  

Peg Ickes is helping with teaching teachers, 3rd Sunday every month.

Mini-split system working well, our old swamp cooler died.  Kim advocating for solar, will save money in the long run.

Starting a lecture series, first program about Churro coming up, honorarium $200.  

Retail Managers Report:  Debbie

Comparing our retail sales from 2023 we are up 29% in 2024.  Brown Sheep yarn, needle felting products and more consignment yarn, Badger yarns (Mark) sell well.  Trying to get more local yarn/weaving yarns to replace Clagsens yarn.  We have a new order in for sewing notions.  Michelle is helping out 2 days a week.  EVFAC needs a long term volunteer, need more volunteer help at the center.  Maybe we could offer a free membership for doing some cleaning at center? punch card?  Debbie and Kim will have a meeting about creating incentives for cleaning at EVFAC.  Free EVFAC rentals for cleaning at center?  Carol N. asked if EVFAC sells local churro yarn, batting, etc.  Very hard right now to get Churro yarn processed, mills are backed up, not enough mills in New Mexico.  Need to have a membership and volunteer drive, eblast.      

Gloria P. mentioned that teachers need to clean up after classes.  Gloria and Suzie have been cleaning up after them.  Need to mention this when teachers propose classes.  Maybe Amanda can stress this to the teachers.

Maria asked about in-kind volunteer hours.  For every hour volunteers log on website, EVFAC gets $31.75 in volunteer hour credit (does not include board meetings for board members)  Folks should log their volunteer hours on EVFAC website nonetheless.    

Educational Report:  Amanda

Amanda works 16 hours a month usually (4-8 hours a week).  Now she is working 8 hours a week in the lead up to FFF.  EVFAC has lots of teachers, lots of students.  More advanced classes are not filling up as much.  November may have been over-scheduled May have to reschedule some of theses classes later on.  Dye tanning classing is expensive but if 2 want to do it 2nd person would cost only $75 more.  

Vanessa Harris classes for disabled getting more popular, she may need an assistant, Kate Jacobsen maybe can fill in here and there.  Need funding for this program. LANL used to fund this, look into getting grant money from them.  

February 2024 Churro Week event, around Valentines day.  Los Luceros, lamb dinner.  Discussion about having dinner at EVFAC, Los Luceros etc....  Northern Rio Grande Heritage Area (NRGHA) getting more involved at Los Luceros.  Sheep need to be shorn when they need it (EVFAC pays for this).  Where can we have the lamb dinner?  Mission Espanola?  Need teachers for Churro Week, Carol will teach.  Bob maybe will build a new thumper by Churro week?

Fall Fiber Fiesta:  Filled up in 1 day, 18 people on waiting list.  Have rented Montezuma Lodge (8 x 5 ’ spaces) now for overflow just on Saturday and Sunday.  Parking may be a problem.  Tables included for folks at Montezuma lodge whoever needs them.  Also fiber demos in lobby area, Carol will help with this.  Raffle for a free class if people visit both Scottish Rite Temple and Montezuma Lodge.  Discussion about jury or not jury for FFF.  EVFAC wants to be inclusive, first come first served.  Will have 2 tables at Montezuma Lodge for consignment items (10 item limit) with 20% going to EVFAC for those who don’t want to have their own booth.  Volunteers for FFF, Lyndsay will help.        

EVFAC/NMFAC Vote results:  Mark

The EVFAC name won the most votes.  Steps will be taken to revert everything back to Espanola Valley Fiber Art Center.

Artist of the Month back at EVFAC.  Trish Spillman, our founder, currently has her work displayed in one of the front windows.  Trish talked about a members group show in May or both April and May at EVFAC.  Good idea.  Also Trish talked about a show and tell in May, and upcycling/recycling show with a lower consignment rate.

Amanda motioned to end the all members board meeting, Mary seconded.

Meeting ended at 2:58pm