The Board meetings of some organizations can be deadly dull, or angrily contentious. Ours don't seem to be, and I think it's because our end result is so gratifying. We are all looking forward to the grand party we are working towards: the Festival. We enjoy it so much, and get such positive feedback from those who attend that working on producing it is very satisfying.
The Board is made up of both elected and appointed members. The latter are Chairs of the various working committees of NEFFA. In addition to the Festival Committees, there are others which oversee less well-known NEFFA activities: the Grants Committee, the Thursday Night Dance Committee, Membership, Publicity, the Ralph Page Memorial Committee, and the NEFFA News. Each of these offers opportunities to try out skills or hone talents which may not be used in our regular lives.
We are always looking for new people to join us in our activities. Elsewhere in this issue you will find news of some committees actively searching for new members; most committees would welcome interested people at any time. Board meetings are open to all NEFFA members, and are a good place to learn more about what might be fun to be involved with. The next meeting will be on Sunday, December 8; call Dan Pearl, NEFFA Secretary at (508) 229-2854 for information about time and place. I hope to see new faces there!
-- Nancy Hanssen, President
Arrangements is also looking for volunteers. We need people to actually help plan and organize the Festival, starting now, and people to help out before and after the Festival. Here are some descriptions of what you could do for Arrangements.
Please let us know immediately if you are interested in any of these activities. Thank you.
-- Angel Roman, Editor
Each year, the Nominating Committee prepares a ballot for the elected members of the Board. We encourage all suggestions from NEFFA members. NEFFA's bylaws also encourage direct nomination by its members: "The name of any eligible person suggested by twenty-five or more members is included on the ballot, if he or she consents." Please send all such suggestions to Nominating Committee Chair Susan Janssen either by email (susanj@edc.org) or by mail (28 Whitman Rd., B-2, Waltham, MA 02154) by January 15, 1997.
The present Elected Board members are named below. Those positions for which the incumbent's term ends in 1997 are to be filled in the April election. Directors and Officers serve two-year terms and may be re-elected for one additional term (the Secretary and Treasurer are always eligible for re-election). Members of the Nominating Committee serve for a single three-year term. Except for those marked with an asterisk, incumbents are eligible for re-election. Positions to be filled are in boldface.
Office | Name | Term Expires |
President | Nancy Hanssen | 1997 |
Vice-President | Bob Solosko | 1998* |
Secretary | Daniel Pearl | 1997 |
Treasurer | Ralph Jones | 1998 |
Nominating Committee | Susan Janssen | 1997* |
Lisa Greenleaf | 1998* | |
Elsa Elliott | 1999* | |
Directors | Shelagh Ellman-Pearl | 1998 |
Lori Fassman | 1998 | |
Rayna Tulysewski | 1998 | |
Jack Janssen | 1997* | |
Claire Reid | 1997 | |
Angel Roman | 1997 | |
Janet Yeracaris | 1997* | |
Linda Palmstrom | 1998 |
In recent years, Nominating Committees have generally recognized that NEFFA is a large organization with a geographically dispersed membership and that most of these members do not know each other or the candidates. There have been a few issues facing NEFFA on which candidates might take opposing views. Thus, there is little point to a popularity contest, with losers as well as winners. Most ballots, therefore, have presented uncontested slates. Unless a meaningful choice on some issue comes up, we anticipate continuing this tradition.
-- The Nominating Committee
New England squares and contradances are currently done throughout the country and in many other countries as well. Much of the credit for this goes to Ralph Page, the Dean of New England callers, who kept dancing alive and healthy in New England through times when no one else was calling traditional dances. The Ralph Page Legacy Weekend will feature some of the best music available, and will promote the vitality of modern contradancing together with the elegance and polish insisted on by Ralph Page.
The weekend will feature an outstanding staff of well known musicians and callers. There will be three dance parties beginning on Friday evening and continuing through Sunday afternoon, including the Banquet and Grand Ball on Saturday evening.
Callers will include Susan Kevra, Tony Saletan, George Hodgson and Scott Higgs, with a variety of callers from Maine (John McIntire, Bill Olson, Nancy Raich) plus Johnny Trafton from Nantucket on Friday night. Musicians will include Drastic Measures (David Kaynor, Robin Kynoch, Rick Mohr, Bruce Rosen), Mary Kay Brass, and Dave Langford. The Friday night dance will feature two of New Hampshire's finest musicians, Bob McQuillen and Harvey Tolman. On Saturday there will be a Retrospective honoring Ralph Page. Other highlights include the Grand Ball on Saturday evening, featuring a variety of musicians and callers; and workshops on many aspects of square dancing and contradancing, including music, dance, and calling. Workshop topics include Ralph Page's Music (led by Bob McQuillen) and playing and calling singing square dances.
As in past years, there will be a number of folklorists speaking on topics of interest to dancers and musicians, and tours of the Ralph Page collection of books, magazines, and records in the UNH library.
Reservations will be necessary for the Grand Dance, and for all meals; all other events may be attended without advance reservation. For information on reservations for the weekend, further details on the weekend, consult the brochure.
-- Ralph Page Memorial Committee
Larry gave some opinions on how a gender-free dance should be run and/or billed. The gender-free task force was created at this time. People want more program information in the booklet: program philosophy, regrets ("Sorry, but Rise Up Singing couldn't come this year"), more crafts and bazaar information.
Day: | Fourth Saturday of every month (except April because of NEFFA) |
Time: | 8pm - 10pm |
Place: | JP Firehouse Multicultural Arts Center, 659 Center Street, Jamaica Plain, Mass. (Next to JP Post Office, #39 bus from Copley Square, Heath St., Arborway, or Forest Hills.) |
Cost: | $5 |
Information: | 617-524-1767 |
Copyright © 1996 New England Folk Festival Association