Annual Member Meeting Minutes

All Members meeting EVFAC August 14,2021 1pm-235pm Minutes

Participants: Live at EVFAC:

-Leigh Alexander, Dain Daller, Carol Nieukirk, Mark Bond, (board members), Maria Jonsson

-Trish Spillman, Kathy Konecki, Winkey Cherry, Nancy Woodruff, Jan Heffner, Glenna Dean, Lynne Hoyt, Liane Brown, Steven Lennert, Vanessa Harris, Mary Grow, Lyndsay Remeroski (membership), Jennifer Wieemir (guest) Total 13

Participants: via Zoom:

Lyssandra Wilson (education committee), Diana Kirkpatrick, Linda Bentley, Barbara Roybal, Laurie Waters, Shari Hurst, Natasha Nargis. Total 7

Grand Total of 20 participants for meeting. Carol Nieukirk monitored the zoom participants.

1st Agenda item: Welcome greetings from Leigh, Carol etc. voting in a new board member.

-Circulated ballots to get a vote in on potential new board member Maria Jonsson, Dain handed out ballots, zoom participants voted as well on line.

2nd Agenda item: Financial report, Leigh Alexander, Secretary

-Financial shape of EVFAC is pretty good, use quickbooks for accounting. EVFAC has somewhere around $32,000 in the bank at present, handed out Financial Statement of Activity for July 2020-July 2021. Most of money from on line retail was generated by FFF for 2020. We did away with Agile Iron and have transitioned to Shopify, a much more user friendly system. There is not enough money to hire a director at present. We want to provide more online retail (finished goods, yarns), but we need someone to do it. Lyndsay Remeroski asked if we could pay someone to do it? There is a severe lack of staff, and the one staff member we have and the 4 board members have a lot to do. EVFAC received some grant money from NM Arts, and we got a grant from the Sheep Association for Churro week. We applied for another grant, $25,000 provided by the Cares Act and the National Humanities, we will hear more about it in September. Leigh is also writing another grant.

3rd Agenda item: Trish Spillman, Leigh,

-there is a historical film being filmed in the neighborhood and along the street outside EVFAC in September. They will film for 4 days. Leigh talked to Darnell. They may even replace out front window that has a bullet hole in it. The center may get at least $2000 or more a day from the film people. Some closure of the center involved?

4th Agenda item: Lyndsay Remeroski

-In July of 2021 there are 194 active members. We had 318 members last year, 2020. We need to work on recruiting new members now in 2021.

5th Agenda item: Carol Nieukirk

-Dye room improvements. When the hot water heater stopped working we spent $2500 to get a gas hook up for dye room. We need to put in a large range (better than hot plates what we have now) for big dye pots. Some additional money needs to be spent to finish up dye room. Want to install a hood. We need an additional $4000 to finish up the dye kitchen. Will have better ventilation with more improvements.

6th Agenda item: Lyssandra Wilson-education committee via Zoom

-Education Committee Report. Have interfaced with local schools in Santa Fe, Carlos Vigil middle school. Lyssandra is working on modernizing database of the centers instructors, and updating the information for teachers. Finding out when teachers want to start teaching, and how, via zoom or live in class. There is a need for more EVFAC members to be on the education committee. Winkey Cherry will contact Lyssandra to help her out.

*We need to put a member outreach on the Agenda for the next meeting.

7th Agenda item: Dain Daller

-ongoing teaching at EVFAC. There was a very successful La Madera 4H weaving class with 5-16 year old girls at the center for 4 or was it 5 days. It was a huge success. All the weaving was displayed at the Rio Arriba county fair and many of the girls won ribbons. Amanda Speer taught the class. Trish Spillman mentioned that we need to get in touch with the moms for fund raising opportunities. Amanda can email the moms. Vanessa Harris is teaching adults with disabilities in the back room with a grant from LANL, she currently has 5 students and the grant goes until the end of the year. If you know of anyone who qualifies let Vanessa know.

8th Agenda item: Leigh A.

-Fleece sale at EVFAC was a profitable event, the center paid for the shearing of Los Luceros sheep. We are trying to try to process more local sheep and provide more rug yarn to the community. There is a shortage of rug yarn, Clasgens rug yarn not available at present. There is a coop called Rainbow that is a Navaho group, we would like to get them involved during Churro week.

9th Agenda item: Dain D.

- Shopify, new POS system that replaced Agile Iron. Center is saving 1000’s of dollars a year with this new system. Fall Fiber Fiesta will be live (if possible) and online. Dain has been working on a new jot form where members can take and submit their own pictures for the on line shop at EVFAC (not the FFF on line shop). Live FFF will be at Scottish Rite Temple. No jurying this year, everyone (1st come first served) will be accepted with EVFAC membership. There may be some booths where 2 people can share a space. EVFAC members if they are not in the Live FFF event may have their work posted on line for sale. Application will be ready for FFF by September 1st, deadline is the 30th of September. 50 people total booths, some booths may be shared. Photographs for the FFF on line store will be taken at EVFAC, 10 items per member same as last year. Need more volunteers for FFF. We will use square space for the FFF online shop. We did not mention that we need to hire someone to coordinate the FFF event. We will have enough $ from the vendors.

10th Agenda item: Debbie Harris

-report on retail sales at EVFAC, more tourists now in August, better sales than in earlier part of the summer. Selling looms, yarns, donated items, some consigned goods. On line sales have dropped a bit. The slowest sellers are ready made fiber goods. Debbie stressed the serious lack of rug yarn from Clasgens, looking for an alternative source of rug yarn.

11th Agenda item: Leigh A.

-Taos Wool Fest October 2-3, EVFAC booth will sell only yarn and weaving supplies, no consigned goods. We desperately need people to man the booth for both days. Churro week October, fiber classes- ½ of the classes are already sold, 8 of the dinners are sold at Los Luceros, Moroccan lamb dinner, on the 6th of October, SW tours, chauffeured bus, 42 non-members, and 35 members participating so far. Mary Grow’s husband involved in dinner at Los Luceros. A max of 30 tickets can be sold for dinner and lecture, and participants must have proof of vaccine or negative test, and will wear masks. Steve Lennert mentioned restrictions for Covid may cause the cancellation of the Taos Wool Fest.

12th Agenda item: Leigh A.

-Plume from the Dry Cleaners next door. They are working on a mediation plan now, possible water and air contamination. They are monitoring the wells now. Phase I: Develop a plan, Phase II: A remediation plan. If it is just soil contamination that is an easier fix. Trish Spillman mentioned another sewer smell outside in front that was only at night.

Kathy Konecki asked about the property next door, if there were any changes?

13th Agenda item: Carol N.

-Name discussion of Espanola Fiber Art Center (EVFAC) and the New Mexico Fiber Art Center. We are a center with 2 names. Future discussion needs to happen with members and board members. If there is change, it will be a big paperwork project. Kathy Konecki said members need to decide if we are EVFAC or something else. We tabled these discussions for a future date, Liane seconded. Steve Lennert, member of a quilt/needlework guild mentioned that changing names to be more inclusive of all the fiber arts.

*Ballot election results for an additional board member Maria Jonsson, it was unanimous with the members live and via Zoom. Maria is our 5th board member and will be issued her own key to the center.

If anyone has an item for the newsletter, please send to Beth Orrell. Caroline Dechert would like as many members as possible to submit images of their work for the member pages on EVFAC website.

EVFAC is trying to hire an additional employee, 8 hours a week to help Debbie out with her tasks.

Moving to adjourn the meeting at 2:35pm, Carol N., Vanessa seconded. Meeting adjourned.