Fran Miller died Nov. 27, 2010

Frances J. Miller, 88, of White Pigeon, died Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo of natural causes. 


Fran is the wife of Zeb Miller. They have attended NIBGA festivals for many years and could be found at the top of Michigan hill with their many friends playing music.

Wheatfield Jam Nov. 26, 2010

Just a reminder about the jam session this Friday. Hope to see everyone there!

 Pot luck dinner

 5-10pm

 Wheatfield Municipal Building
 170 S. Grace St.
 Wheatfield, In 46392
 219-956-3119

There will not be a jam in December because it falls on Christmas day. Our next jam will be on New Years Day.
Bobby Davis

NIBGA board meeting minutes Nov. 21, 2010

November 21, 2010  Meeting of Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association

At South West Conservation Club, 5703 Bluffton Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46809

The meeting was called to order by Vice President – Joe Steiner  at 12:25 P.M.

Officers present were:                        Board Directors:

 Vice-President - Joe Steiner                  T.J. Collins

 Secretary -  Barbara Collins                    Paul Saurborn

                                                                        Pam Keiper – Via conference phone call

Others present were: Taxi Chair – Chris Cooperrider: Vendor Chair – Jeanette Young

Three other members were present in the meeting.

Jim and Linda Winger were absent because they were at their 50^th Anniversary Party. Congratulations Jim & Linda.

The minutes of the last meeting were e-mailed by Sect Barbara Collins on October 17, 2010 to all officers.  

 T.J. Collins motioned to accept . Second by Paul Saurborn.  All approve. Motion carried.

The Treasurer Linda Winger sent the October Financial report to each officer, Totals as of 10/31/10.

Paul Saurborn motioned to accept. T.J. Collins second. All approve. Motion carried.

                                                       INFORMATION ITEM:

The contract for 2010/1011 between Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association and South West Conservation Club has been signed and paid as of 10/17/10. This is where the meetings for Oct., Nov., Jan., Feb., March & April are held. The jamming is open to all ~ Beginning at noon until about 6:00 P.M. the third Sunday of each month that meetings are held.

                                                        OLD BUSINESS

501c3 research. Chris Cooperrider has been researching all the details of becoming a 501c3 club. There are a lot of details (rules and regulations) and forms involved. Chris explained all the details she has gathered up to now. Chris reported that it is very involved and detailed and will take a lot of work to achieve this. She will continue to research and work on the project. At this point we do not qualify for 501c3.

TABLE: 501c3 until further meetings.

Joe Steiner will continue to work on the Electrical problem at the gate area.

T-Shirt project. Linda Winger has captured all historical shirt designs and posted them on the web. She needs to know who designed some of the early ones. Are we missing any? If anyone has any helpful information about past T-shirts, will  you please contact tres@nibga.com or give her a call.

TABLE:  Vendor chair Jeanette Young will look at the Wood Vendor situation. She has had several offers and will need to settle on one vendor by May.

                                                           NEW BUSINESS

Joe Steiner – Band Chairman – gave a list of bands hired and ones being considered for Spring and Fall 2011 Festivals. There was discussion and suggestions on bands the club is interested in.

Consideration – possible change to workshop format.

      Add intensive workshop to festival, maybe Friday during the day?

      Earmark money for an instructor. Discussion followed. Each attendee would possible pay $20.00 each for a 4 to 6 hour instructional class.

Paul Saurborn motioned to earmark $500.00 for an instructor in an extended workshop. Pam Keiper second. All approved. Motion carried.

There was discussion about instructor possibilities. Paul motioned for Joe Steiner to find an instructor. T.J. second. All approve. Motion carried.

Advertising for 2011

  Ads committing to Tri-State blue book in MO & Terry Lease S. IL 125.00 each full page.

Approval to continue that add.

IBMA guide has an ad (as part of our sponsorship cost.)

Discussion on advertising budget for 2011.  It was decided to go with last year’s budget.

T.J. Collins motioned to set the advertising budget at $6,000.00. Paul second. All approve. Motion carried.

Advance tent rental due 12/31/10 to get the discount.

   The discount is a significant savings.

Paul Saurborn motioned to accept the savings offer. T.J. Collins second. All approve. Motion carried. Treasurer Linda Winger will send payment before 12/31/10.

Postage is going up in 2011. Linda Winger purchased 4,000 forever stamps. This will result in a large savings if rates go up.

Barbara Collins motioned to approve the purchase. Paul Saurborn second. All approve. Motion carried.

Xymmetric internet mail and domain name fee is $135.00 every 6 months. Need approval to pay.

Barbara Collins motioned to pay. Paul Saurborn second. All approved. Motion carried.

Evernote Premium.

  Evernote allows posting of events fliers on web site.

  Premium version will allow OCR on additional files, at cost of $45.00 per year.

     (There was discussion and an explanation of this feature)

T.J. Collins motioned to purchase the Evernote Premium one year on a trial basis and see how it works for us. Paul Saurborn second. All approve. Motion Carried.

There were no expenses to approve.

T.J. Collins motioned to adjourn. Paul Saurborn second. All say yes. Carried.        1:45 P.M.

Sincerely – NIBGA Secretary – Barbara Collins

The next board meeting is Sunday January 16, 2011. 

NIBGA T-shirt designs

Linda has taken pictures of many of the T-shirt designs used over the years. They are in the Picasa web album.

Take a look and see if you can help with corrections or additions.

10/17/2010 NIBGA board meeting minutes

October 17, 2010       Meeting of Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association at South West Conservation Club, 5703 Bluffton Road, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46809
The meeting was called to order by President Jim Winger at 1:00 P.M.

All officers present were:                                Board Directors:
President – Jim Winger                                       T.J. Collins
V. President – Joe Steiner                                   Pam Keiper
Secretary – Barbara Collins                                Paul Saurborn
Treasurer – Linda Winger                       Acting for Joe Wyandt who resigned – Dave Keiper
Vendor Chair - Jeanette Young; Taxi Chair – Chris Cooperrider; Associate Gate Captain – Leslie Ellis;  and 4 Other members.  

• The minutes of the last meeting were e-mailed by Sect Barbara Collins on September 8th, 2010. Paul Saurborn motioned to accept the minutes as read. T.J. Collins second. All approve. Motion carried.
• Treasurer Linda Winger e-mailed the August and September Financial  reports to the officers. It was reviewed at the meeting. Pam Keiper motioned to accept. Paul Saurborn second. All approved. Motion carried.
• There was a review of the Fall 2010 Festival Income and Expenses. Tres. Linda Winger handed each officer a copy of the Preliminary report (as of 10/15/10).   No action needed.
• Pres. Jim Winger gave each officer a copy of ‘Attendance and Income History. This is a history of May 2000 to Sept 2010. Covers = Weekend tickets sold, Electric sold, Friday/Saturday/Sunday daily tickets sold, Income, Expenses, Net Profit, % Profile, # of people total attendance. And a notation of the weather at each festival.
• Question- Why did we only make $10,000.00? Down about 700 people. Didn’t loose money. How can we increase attendance? This will be discussed later as the meetings go on through the winter. 

INFORMATION ITEM

      The Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association’s contract for 2010/2011 with South West Conservation Club has been signed and paid as of 10/17/10.  This is where the meetings for Oct., Nov., Jan., Feb., March and April are held. The Jamming is open to all beginning about noon until 6:00 P.M. the third Sunday of each month of the meetings.

OLD BUSINESS

• International Bluegrass Music Association Convention reports by: Jim Winger, Chris Cooperrider, Joe Steiner & Linda Winger. Each gave a report of the events of the week, seminars they attended, what they learned and observed. Many bands were watched for possible entertainment for Kendallville festivals 2011. 
• Consideration of possibility of workshops with Bull Harmon in 2011
• NIBGA as an IBMA sponsor at the 2010 Convention in Nashville in early October. Report from Joe Steiner. NIBGA gained much attention and feel the sponsorship was worth while. 
• The Danny Bryant (limb on truck) accident was discussed. It will be taken care of by fairgrounds insurance
• 501c3 investigation will be continued by Pres. Jim Winger. Priority for this winter.

                                                                   NEW BUSINESS     
Board Officers for 2010/2011.  

• All officers have agreed to continue in their offices. Officers will be same as 2009/2010 except for the resignation of Joe Wyandt. Joe resigned due to health problems. His position will not be filled. The officers agreed to continue with 7 officers. All other volunteer help is welcomed and appreciated. 
• A band list composed by V. Pres./Band Chairman Joe Steiner was reviewed. These are bands being considered for the 2011 Festival season. 
• Band Budget was discussed. In 2010 Band Chair Joe S. did not use the entire budget allowed. Paul Saurborn motioned to set the 2011 Band Budget again at $30,000.00 cap per festival.. T.J Collins second the motion. All approve. Motion carried. 
• An email from a man at the festival mentioned the electrical problems close to his camper. The electrical repairs are considered fixed. Joe S. will contact the man on the subject. 

Reviewed;  

• Taxis – Will look at the problem with the 6 seat golf cart the drivers had at F10.
• Golf Carts for officers and Gate Captains. Will use the same amount as this year for the next festival. 
• Port-a-jons – Will order 7. Same amount as 2010. 
• Security – Will continue with the same hours on Thursday, Friday & Saturday. 
• Vendors – Jeanette Young Vendor Chair said some backed out because of lack of sales. It was agreed that there were enough food vendors. Discussion on what type of vendors would be successful at our Bluegrass festivals. Jim Winger gave a suggestion on ways to generate business for the vendors. 
• TABLE: Need discussion and decisions on wood vendors.  And -  how to attract new vendors. 
• Bass vendor said he didn’t sell any Basses. 
• TABLE for November: /Advertising for 2011, Find economical ways to advertise to the public. 

     T-Shirt project; Linda Winger is working on a project of gathering all the T-shirt designs that NIBGA has ever had. She will capture all the designs and post them on the web. Anyone having a shirt with a design prior to 1991 is encouraged to contact Linda. She has the ones from that date on to 2010. Suggestions are welcomed for the 2011 T-Shirt design.
     Dues renewal will be reduced starting now until April 30, 2011. The 2010/2011 membership will be $5.00 per single membership & $7.00 for family. The new 2011/2012 membership will begin May 1, 2011 and return to 10.00 per single membership and $15.00 for a family.  You will receive a membership card to carry and a newsletter each month of your membership (except Dec.)  Apply at NIBGA, 5034 Wapiti Court, Fort Wayne, IN. 46804-4946 (260) 918-4790 or Secretary Barbara Collins, 6731 State Road 8, Butler, IN 46721


The motion to adjourn was by Pam Keiper. Second by Paul Saurborn.     Time 3:20P.M.
Sincerely ~ NIBGA Secretary – Barbara Collins

NEXT MEETING  --- November 21, 2010 at the SWCC

Six stolen guitars

Nov. 3, 2010

I have had 7 guitars stolen from my house in Pacifica,CA. ... 6 Santa Cruz Guitar Company guitars and 1 1951 Model OO Martin Guitar. I am currently in Atlanta, GA on a business trip

(Serial Numbers & pictures available)

1. Martin - 1951 OO mahogany back and sides, OO is a smaller body type,
solid headstock

The Santa Cruz Guitars include:
2. 12 Fret H Model Brazilian Rosewood, German Spruce top, slotted headstock
3. 12 Fret parlor Brazilian Rosewood, German spruce top, slotted headstock with antique gold tuners 4. H Model Koa Guitar, back, sides, top, and headstock with abalone purfling in 41-style - serial # H 259
5. 000 12 Fret mahogany slotted headstock - serial #OOO 510
6. F cutaway with Walnut back and sides, Sitka Spruce top - serial # F 285

All have ornamention such as abalone and mother of pearl purfling, wood veneers on headstock, custom work of all kinds.

If you are offered any of these guitars for sale, please contact me immediately. They are a cherished part of my life and I would like to regain possession if possible... Please help me regain these.

Thank you.
Joe Orlando
650-302-6009