5/20 Update: Due to severe weather predicted for Sunday afternoon, the Annual Meeting will now take place ONLY ON ZOOM. Members will receive a zoom link by email. We will reschedule the in-person get-together for another date over the summer.

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The DanceFlurry Organization Board of Directors will hold an outdoor, in-person Annual Meeting / “Reunion” gathering on Sunday, May 22, 2022, from 2-4 PM.  Hear about what the DFO has been working on, see your dance and music friends in real 3-D, and maybe enjoy a little music.  

We also hope to offer participation in the meeting via Zoom. If you would like to attend online, please vote in advance of the meeting using one of the methods described below. It will also be helpful if you could let us know you will be attending online by emailing dfoadmin@danceflurry.org.

 

The event will be held outdoors (or under shelter) at the Shaker Heritage Society site, near the Albany Airport.  Bring your lawn chair, instruments for a little jamming after the short meeting, and a dessert or snack to share (or your own dessert/snack if preferred) —  beverages will be provided. The slate of nominations follows the agenda and Covid procedures below.

The Shaker Heritage site is adjacent to the Ann Lee Pond Nature Preserve.  You might plan time before or after the meeting for a nice walk around the pond or a picnic.  A brief tour of the Shaker site will be offered at 1:30 pm.

 

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DANCEFLURRY ORGANIZATION ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA

Sunday May 22, 2022, 2:00 PM
Shaker Heritage Society | 25 Meeting House Road | Albany, NY 12110

I.  2:00   (Re)Meet and Greet

II. 2:15    Introductory Remarks and Review of 2021-2022 (Shira Love, DFO President)

III.  2:30  Election of DanceFlurry Organization Board Members

Note:  A brief tour of the Shaker site will be offered at 1:30.

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Covid Protocols for the Annual Meeting

The DanceFlurry Board has been staying informed and participating in national conversations with the dance community to determine best practices regarding the safety of our community.  The board has endorsed these Covid Policy Work Group procedures for this outdoor event:

• All participants must bring documentation of full vaccination or contact us regarding a medical exemption at dfoadmin@danceflurry.org;
• Contact information will be recorded along with the standard Annual Meeting sign-in;
• Masks are optional;
• If you bring a snack or dessert to share, please package it in a “Covid-friendly” manner to minimize handling;
• Please do not attend the meeting if you have been exposed to anyone with Covid or are not feeling well yourself.

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THANK YOU to our retiring board members:  Barbara Bemis, who led the efforts to establish the Community Culture Committee which has been working for a number of years to build a welcoming and supportive atmosphere at our events; Rich Pisarri, who was elected to the board as treasurer in 2010 and worked to improve budgeting and accounting procedures and who served as board liaison to the Flurry Festival; Peter Stix, who for over 30 years has organized contra dance events including the Albany Contradances! series, Contrafest, and Adirondack Dance Weekend; and Sandy Waxgiser, who has served as board liaison for many English County Dance series and fearlessly chaired the Nominations Committee for years.  We are a stronger organization because of the many years of wise counsel, teamwork, and general devotion they provided to the DanceFlurry Organization. (And they were also just a lot of fun to work with!)

We also say thank you and farewell to two Flurry Festival Managers.  Ian Hamelin began volunteering in 1999 with the Flurry Festival sound crew. He joined the Flurry Committee in 2005, was hired as the Administrative Manager in 2008, and later took on the role of Technical and then Finance and Admin/Finance Manager.  Josh Snitkoff volunteered at DFO events as sound crew for years and was elected to the Board in 2013.  He became Flurry Technical Manager in 2016 and has most recently served as the Administrative Manager.  It is an understatement to say that the last two years have been extraordinarily challenging for the Flurry Festival, requiring a great amount of pivoting and innovation.  We appreciate not only Ian and Josh’s many years of work, but the pivoting, additional strategizing, and innovation that was required from them and the entire Flurry Festival Committee for the successful 2021 virtual Dancing in the Cloud Festival.  Josh also helped plan the benefit event at Caffe Lena this February when a 2022 Festival was not feasible, and Ian ran the sound. 

DFO Board Members (2021-2022)
Shira Love, President                                     Will Anderson, Vice President
Noel Kropf, Treasurer                                   Marie Bruschi, Secretary
Barbara Bemis               Ken Fisher                      Rinde Glick                     Cindee Herrick                                         Lauren Keeley
Jordan Knicely               Kevin Musick                 Rich Pisarri                     Juliana Post-Good                                         Harvey Raufman
Jessica Schatzel             Amanda Stickney          Peter Stix                        Sandy Waxgiser

Board Members, Emeritus
Jen Brown, Past President                           John Guay, Past President                            Bill Matthiesen, Past President
Pat Melita, Founding Member                    Paul Rosenberg, Founding Member

Staff (Contractual)
Lisa Allendorph, DFO Auditor; Jonathan Greene, Flurry Festival Program Curator; Vonnie Estes, DFO Constant Contact PR; Blair Davenport; Flurry Festival Marketing & Fundraising Manager; Kristoph DeMaria, Flurry Festival Technical Manager; Jim Mead, Flurry Festival Database Manager; Sue Mead, Flurry Festival Admin. Assistant;
Josh Snitkoff, Flurry Festival Administrative Manager; Lorraine Weiss, DFO Administrator

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Proposed Slate of Nominations

The Nominating Committee presents the following slate of four returning directors.  Additional nominations may also be made by written petition of five members, provided that the consent of the nominee has been obtained.  

Shira Love, President  Shira joined the board in 2016, and became president in the early days of the pandemic. Through these topsy-turvy years, she has worked to keep the organization structurally and financially sustainable, support mission-related initiatives which keep our members and participants active and engaged, and develop policy and protocols for the resumption of our more usual music and dance activities – which always seems to be right around the corner, if not actually in sight! 

Will Anderson, Vice President  Will is a swing dancer and swing dance instructor who joined the board in 2019.  He served as Chair of the Outreach Committee, helping to plan the online presentation by Kenneth Shipp on the “Revolutionary History of Blues, Funk and Soul” and is now serving on the Finance Committee.

Cindee Herrick was elected to the board in 2019, and is a contra dancer.  She has assisted with grant applications and is a member of the Outreach Committee.

Juliana Post-Good enjoys a variety of dances, including contra and International, and was elected in 2019. She has served on the Community Culture Committee and is the board liaison to the Tri-City Folk Dancers, Family, and Community dances.

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DANCEFLURRY ORGANIZATION 2022 ANNUAL MEETING BALLOT

DanceFlurry Organization members who have paid dues for the 2022 year are eligible to vote at the Annual Meeting. Please contact dfoadmin@danceflurry.org if you are unsure about your member status.

You may cast your ballot by:

• attending the meeting on May 22, 2022 (unless you are attending online);
• completing and mailing this form via US Post to DanceFlurry Organization, PO Box 448, Latham, NY 12110 or emailing the form to nominations@danceflurry.org; or
• completing the online form.

THANK YOU FOR VOTING!