All DFO members are encouraged to attend the DanceFlurry Organization’s Annual Membership Meeting on Friday, May 31, 2024, during the break of the Albany Contra Dance (approximately 9:30pm). The meeting will be held at the Albany Elks Lodge, 25 South Allen Street, Albany, NY.
DANCEFLURRY ORGANIZATION ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA
Friday May 31, 2024, ~ 9:30 PM
I. Introductory Remarks and Review of 2023-2024
II. Approval of Revised DanceFlurry Organization Bylaws
III. Election of DanceFlurry Organization Board Members and Officers
You must be a member in good standing to vote, with dues paid for the current membership year. If you are unsure about your membership status, please contact dfoadmin@danceflurry.org. Members who only wish to attend the Annual Meeting, which will be held in the smaller room off the main dance hall, are not subject to an admission fee. See the webpage for information about the dance. Information on the bylaws and the slate of nominees is below. Please vote, using only one of four options:
- Attend the meeting in person on May 31, 2024 during the break at the Albany Contra dance;
- Complete the online form by 5:00 pm (Eastern) on May 31, 2024;
- Complete and mail the ballot form via US Post to DanceFlurry Organization, PO Box 448, Latham, NY 12110, to be received by Friday, May 31, 2024; or
- Attach the completed ballot or complete, copy, and paste your responses into an email to nominations@danceflurry.org – please include your name and community in the body of the email, which must arrive by 5:00 pm (Eastern) on May 31, 2024.
We cannot say THANK YOU enough to retiring board member Lauren Keeley. During her 12 years on the board, Lauren led the way on several important initiatives and was tireless in her work on a variety of programs and outreach events. If you knew what was going on with the DFO, it was likey due to her efforts as Media Committee Chair, getting information out on Facebook, events calendars, and the website. Lauren established DF-YO! (DanceFlurry Youth Outreach), a youth- and family-oriented grant program; arranged Flurry scholarships for youth and disabled adults; served as Board liaison to the Sacred Harp Shape Note singing and ALBS (Albany Lindy Blues); and helped bring in African Drumming and Dance as an affiliate event.
As chair of the Community Culture committee, Lauren worked on developing DFO policies and procedures to ensure a welcoming and safe environment at DFO events, helped to establish the Ambassador program, helped with a new ride sharing project, and was instrumental in securing funding and producing the DEI training provided to the board and event organizers in 2020. She participated in a community collaboration effort to identify and form partnerships with local organizations. The DFO has benefitted tremendously from her energy, resourcefulness, constructive approach, and know-how, and we will greatly miss working with her.
DFO Board Members (2023-2024): Kevin Musick, Acting President (First Vice President), Amanada Stickney, Second Vice President, Noel Kropf, Treasurer, Marie Bruschi, Secretary, Rinde Glick, Cindee Herrick, Lauren Keeley, Jordan Knicely, Juliana Post-Good, Harvey Raufman, Anne Seeley, Sarah Stewart.
On leave: John Guay Board Members, Emeritus Co-Founders: Pat Melita and Paul Rosenberg
Staff (Contractual): Shira Love, Flurry Festival Administrative Manager; Jonathan Greene, Flurry Festival Program Curator; Kathleen Crayne; Flurry Festival Marketing; Adam Goodman, Flurry Festival Technical Manager; Jim Mead, Flurry Festival Database Manager; Sue Mead, Flurry Festival Admin. Assistant; Peggy Smith, Bookkeeper; Lorraine Weiss, DFO Administrator
PROPOSED SLATE OF NOMINEES
The Nominating Committee presents the following slate of returning and new directors and officers candidates. Additional nominations may also be made at the Annual Meeting by written petition of five members, as noted on the ballot sheet.
Nominee for President: Kevin Musick (he/him) (Albany County), Acting President (First Vice President), Chair of Outreach Committee, Albany Contra Dance organizer. I am an avid contra dancer, occasional swing dancer, and member of the Albany Contra Dance organizing committee. I have been attending the Flurry Festival since at least 2016, and dance at a number of other events in the northeast.. I joined the DFO Board for the first time in 2020 and have served as chair of the outreach committee, as well as a member of several other committees. I enjoy being able to contribute to this organization and to the great dance community that it serves. In my day job, I work full-time as an electron microscopist, specializing in TEM and STEM based analysis.
Nominee for First Vice President: Amanda Stickney (Albany County), Second Vice President, Chair of Diversity Policy Work Group. I grew up learning clarinet and going to the school dances and found the local dance scene in 2010. Since then, I’ve been a committed swing, blues, contra, and Latin dancer, and learned new types of dancing while attending several Flurry festivals. I work in the museum field and have been involved with many public disability forums. Since being on the DFO board, I have helped to compose a new Diversity Policy and worked with the Community Culture Committee to establish ways for people to get more information about events and to find help with transportation. I am looking forward to seeing what might be possible with the DFO and bringing dancing to existing and new audiences.
Nominee for returning board member and Treasurer: Noel Kropf (Putnam County), Treasurer, Flurry Finance Manager. My family and I are avid dancers, singers, and musicians. The Flurry Festival is just about nirvana for us. I have been gratified over the past three years to help DFO and the Flurry community come back from the pandemic stronger than ever. I help organize and produce the Zlatne Uste Golden Festival of Balkan music & dance. I volunteer as sound engineer and talent booker for the Poughkeepsie Contra Dance (HVCD). Previously I worked as a software developer and CTO at Datacap Inc. and IBM, and volunteered as treasurer of Lake Celeste Association, Inc.
Nominee for new board member: Andrea Ferster (Columbia County). I have practiced law in Washington, DC for 32 years, focusing on advising and representing nonprofit organizations on a variety of issues, and have also served on and held leadership positions in a number of DC-based organizations and with the DC Bar (www.andreafersterlaw.com). In 2022, I became licensed to practice law in New York State, which is now my primary residence. As a regular attendee at various DFO dances, including the Flurry Festival since 2014, I benefit from DFO’s events and would like to support DFO in any way that I can be helpful, including by continuing to provide pro bono legal assistance to DFO. I am also interested in supporting DFO’s efforts to have a more diverse and inclusive dance community.
Returning board member: Jordan Knicely (he/him), (Albany County). I joined the board in 2021, after first attending the Flurry in 2016 and volunteering in 2019. On the board, I have been serving on the Media Committee, and I will be helping with the website. My primary community is blues and swing, but I love the variety that the DFO offers—from the pub sing to contra and the fiddle classes.
Returning for full term: Sarah Stewart (Albany County). Having been involved as a swing and blues dancer at DFO events for years, I’m now getting more active in the dance community and “giving back” by joining the board. I also teach swing and blues dancing and will be serving as the board liaison to the swing dance series. Note: Sarah filled a vacancy on the board in Summer, 2023, and is now being nominated for a full term.
Revisions to DanceFlurry Organization Bylaws
Reviewing and revising the Bylaws is a necessary part of responsible government, and in early 2024, a small team of six undertook the endeavor. The team consisted of Team Leader, board member Cindee Herrick, Acting Board President Kevin Musick, Treasurer Noel Kropf, Secretary Marie Bruschi, board member Anne Seeley, and DFO administrator Lorraine Weiss. The work was done in conjunction with legal advice and a review of the relevant state statutes and guidelines for Not-for-Profit organizations, as well as a deep understanding of the culture of the DFO and its role in the participatory dance community of the Albany region.
The final document submitted reflects the revisions this team recommends that the membership approves by a vote. It must be adopted as a complete document. As a quick read of the recommended revisions reveals, most of the changes serve to clarify language. Some changes serve to clarify processes and procedures.
The Bylaws Team submitted the final revisions to the DanceFlurry Organization Board at the April 28, 2024 meeting. The Board approved the revisions and recommends the adoption of the revised Bylaws by a vote at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
The summary of revisions can be downloaded here.
The revised bylaws, along highlighted changes on the 2014 version, can be downloaded here.