YBA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING - ONE MAN’S VIEW

Last night, Friday 12-12-14,  president Sharon Karlson called to order the annual membership meeting of the Yellowstone Bluegrass Association. The general upshot seemed to be confusion. One thing was clear: the YBA board is still trying to retain usage of the Lincoln Building for the jams on Friday evenings. Their task is daunting. With a fairly new administration, School District Two itself is in a state of flux. It seems to be in a continual state of reorganizing staff at the administration building aka the Lincoln. The YBA has found there is no single person to communicate with regarding usage of that building for the jams. The current lockout is over security and one person is in charge of that. The YBA will not be able to access the building unless a security guard is on duty at the door and no one knows about that after Jan. 1.  District Two has no animosity toward the pickers and is not trying to kick the YBA out. The Adult Ed folks actually like the YBA. Besides Adult Ed still another clerk is responsible for booking the auditorium and someone else for the board room and another person for other parts of the facility. (These areas might be more desirable than the excellent bandroom which we have always used. This is because it is a long walk from the NW door to the SE bandroom. Hauling a bass or other instruments with two cases makes this significant.) All of this is why the task has become so daunting. As it currently stands the YBA may be able to keep using the band room IF it takes over teaching guitar and other string instruments for the Adult ED  Night Owls program. That would mean finding members who are qualified and willing to volunteer as teachers for several weeks. They would also need time in their personal lives to do this which is not easy for most working folks. Sharon also would want a non-board  member to be responsible for administering this teaching program. Several of us pointed out some of the difficulties in getting that whole shebang up and running. The YBA has trouble getting members to volunteer to serve on the board which is less demanding than agreeing to teach music for several weeks or to supervise that entire program. It is Sharon Karlson’s understanding that IF the YBA volunteers to teach the folk string instruments then the band room will remain available on Fridays. However, that is coming from the director of  Adult Ed. Getting access through the door is the domain of  another clerk which is a separate problem . THIS WOULD ONLY TAKE PLACE IN THE FALL OF 2015 ANYWAY.  Scott Moore also pointed out the many difficulties in finding an alternative site for jamming. This could include lack of a very expensive YBA liability insurance policy.  Do you find all of this confusing? Me too. I don’t think anyone left last night feeling confidant that Friday night weekly YBA jams would continue. At the same time there was a glimmer of hope for that due to all of  the boards efforts.  Watch for e-mails from Sharon with more information. I wish I could be more optimistic about all of this, but with my many years of experience I find that difficult to do. Any way thanks again to the YBA board and officers for all of their efforts. We wish them happy holidays and good fortune in the New Year.