SBMT Board Meeting

September 13, 2023

Board Members Present: Michael Hirsch (Chair), Steve Sammonds (Vice Chair), Dan Singletary (CTO), Braden Taylor (CFO), Barbara Heninger, Tipu Purkayastha, Soni Kapoor

Not Present: Ed Hunter, Stacy Levin, Nicole Tung

Ex Officio: Doug Hughes, Walter Mayes, Kalyn McKenzie 

Google slides shared with Board prior to meeting include each chair or committee lead’s report. See those reports for more details. 

ACTION ITEMS appear in italics below. Review for your actions.

Board Chair Report Discussion

  1. Theater trailers to be upgraded in December. Includes new paint, re-flooring the dressing room, cleaning green room. Need new couch and chairs in green room? Cost cited. To fund this project, suggest raising rent for trailers.
    MOTION: To spend funds to upgrade trailers. Motion carried.
    ACTION: Barbara to contact SVS to see if we can obtain some of their old chairs; send info about possible sofa to Board.
    ACTION: Braden to approach renters with increased rate
  2. Need volunteers for RENT, especially ushers. Kama training head ushers, so there will be one or more available during Little Night Music.
    ACTION: All Board members review volunteering as ushers at https://sbmt.ivolunteer.com/rent_001 
  3. Discussed Singin’ in the Rain survey and process. Suggest we clearly define how we handle feedback from surveys. Board members Steve Sammonds and Braden Taylor have followed up and continue to follow up with some specific individuals’ feedback from this survey. Noted that if mail with survey comes from surveymonkey, it could go into cast/staff spam boxes.
    ACTION: Organization Committee asked to define our survey process and timeline after each show.
    ACTION: Steve to make sure matching email from SBMT goes out with survey along with surveymonkey mail.
  4. Employee Handbook: Request to create / update from existing docs a handbook for hired employees of SBMT. Need legal advice to review.
    ACTION: Organization Committee asked to create Employee Handbook.
    ACTION: Braden to approach potential legal counsel to review.
  5. Housing a member of RENT cast: Has been taken care of. 
  6. Michael will follow up with a local director who expressed interest in creating a concert for SBMT.
  7. Suggest at the end of each production, staff of the show hold a formal “retrospective” meeting to discuss items that worked well and activities that could be improved.
    ACTION: Walter will do this for Little Night Music, to prototype this activity.
  8. Canopy for auditions, to shield auditionees: current canopy is in poor repair. Kama has located a new one to purchase.
    ACTION: Michael to ask Kama to check cost on getting canopy branded with SBMT’s name.
  9. Articles to introduce new staff: Michael Hirsch and Soni Kapoor will interview new staff members to create content for articles introducing them to the organization and to our patrons and donors through the SBMT newsletter.
    ACTION: Michael and Soni to contact new staff members (Lori, Kalyn) and create article drafts. Send to Doug.
  10. Should we create similar articles about our volunteers or audience members?
    ACTION: Tipu to discuss potential ‘supporter interviews’ with Kama
  11. Sharing building facilities with other arts organizations: Michael continues to look into this with other groups and his real estate contact.
  12. Board term extension? Three Board members are working on an extension that goes to the end of September. No action needed at this time. 
  13. New Board member: Michael Hirsch discussed a potential new Board member. Board agreed that we should invite them to join.
    ACTION: Michael to follow up with Board candidate.

Production Manager Report Discussion

  1. Discussed challenges with current job and potential tasks.
    ACTION: Kalyn to set meeting with Michael, Richard, and Jay to discuss facilities management tasks.
    ACTION: Braden to send facility contacts to Kalyn.
  2. Discussed challenges with scaffolding for RENT and late delivery
    ACTION: Kalyn to follow up with scaffolding company, cc Braden 

CTO – No Report

CFO Report Discussion

  1. Discussing our investments with investment counselor.
  2. We have hired a new Business Manager, Lori Wood. Welcome, Lori! She will handle financial transactions (expenses, purchases, payroll) and bookkeeping for the organization.
    ACTION: Board and Staff urged to cc Lori on any emails regarding finances, expenses, purchase cards, purchases, and other such bookkeeping.

Producer Report Discussion

  1. Need a clearer COVID policy, now that Santa Clara County has ended the emergency. Such a policy would cover what activities SBMT does to keep everyone in a production safe, including what to do if someone gets COVID, whether SBMT provides tests for all, what the policy is for returning to production, and so forth.
    ACTION: Braden will review past policies and propose current policies.
    ACTION: Walter and Kalyn to review.
  2. Reading of Lips Together, Teeth Apart to be held as a fundraiser for The Health Trust (SC County organization that supports persons dealing with HIV/AIDS), after the 10/15 matinee of RENT.
  3. Requested clarification of who should attend Saratoga City scheduling meeting.
    ACTION: Michael, Walter, and Kalyn will attend Saratoga City meeting. 
  4. Suggest a periodic all-SBMT-staff meeting. Would include all hired staff; Board Chair, CFO, CTO.
    ACTION: Michael or Walter to propose an all-staff meeting date and time.

Marketing Manager Report Discussion

Theater Bay Area awards “badges” to theaters for particular activities. Should SBMT submit for any of these awards?
ACTION: Doug to send information about badges to Steve and Ed (Vision and Planning Committee chairs) to review whether SBMT might qualify and submit.

Development Committee Report Discussion

  1. Development team requested we alter our fundraising goals for 23-24 based on last year’s results. CFO asks team to review potential for individual contributions; these will include the donations made during the subscription drive for 24-25.
    ACTION: Barbara to take CFO’s input to Development leads.
  2. Should development team pursue a Rotary grant for a portion of the scaffolding purchased for RENT/future sets?
    ACTION: Barbara to follow up with Cathie Thermond (former Rotary Chair) about whether we could make this application after the equipment has already been purchased.
  3. The year-end fundraising ask will include a call to volunteer. Doug Hughes noted that our programs and our website currently have a volunteer link to a Google form that was set up by the previous ED.
    ACTION: Michael to review current volunteer list and follow up with contacts

Board Meeting ended around 9:30, and went into executive session

Respectfully submitted by Barbara Heninger, September 14, 2023