Past Meeting Minutes

Meeting 4/18/2010

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Meeting 3/21/2010

The March 21st meeting held at Chrisann Webb's studio was called to order by Susan Matuszek, President. The first order of business was to request a vote to approve Glenda Long as Secretary of the FGD for the year 2010. It was so done by a unanimous vote by the members present at the meeting.

The second order of business was to vote to approve the proposed bylaws as currently shown on the FGD website. Acceptance was approved by a unanimous vote by the paid members present at the meeting.

The April meeting of FGD will be in Jacksonville at Heather Ferman's studio on April 18th. Heather will be announcing the activity at a later date. More information will be posted then.

An announcement was made that Ray Olson has graciously donated his services to hold a murrini class as a fund raiser for the FGD. The class will be open to paid members of the Florida Glass Dragons at a cost of $150.00 to be held May 15th at Dave Schwartz's studio in Haines City. The class will be for a maximum of 10 students. It was decided that a deposit of $75.00 should be paid to hold a place in the class. If more than 10 people sign up for the class, a lottery drawing of those who have paid a deposit will decide who will attend. If your name is not drawn, your check will be returned, of course. Payment must be received by Susan Matuszek by no later than Saturday, April 17th, as the drawing will take place at the April 18th meeting of FGD. If less than 10 paid members of FGD request the class, then it will open to non-members.

May 16th, the day following the murrini class will be the FGD May meeting. It will be held at Dave Schwartz's studio in Haines City and will be a BOC work day with various demo's. We would like to encourage members to attend and help us make lots of BOC beads that day.

Mary Shafer, Treasurer, gave the treasurer's report. A payment was made to Florida Hospital to replenish supplies in support of the Beads of Courage program in the amount of $963.00. Taxes for 2009 have been paid in the amount of $163.00. A payment was made to prepare the taxes in the amount of $225.00. The balance of the Florida Glass Dragons Treasury is $1154.90 at this time.

Candice, Vice President, announced that there are plans in the works for a Beads of Courage event possibly to be held at Florida Hospital. The hope is that lampworkers will be able to demo beadmaking all day to raise money for BOC. Some of the money earned would stay with our group for Florida Hospital. Arrow Springs has offered to donate glass. More information will be provided as we receive it.

Candace also suggested having a meeting dedicated to making cloth bags for BOC. Possibly the June meeting, June 27th, we would set up sewing machines and make the bags assembly style. Several members volunteered to bring portable sewing machines. Non-sewers could press material, assemble pieces, etc. The children love having bags in which to put their beads. Location for this meeting is to be determined at a later date.

A BOC DVD was added to the Library and will be available for check out at the meetings.

Brent Graber, Education Officer, suggested we work on getting perks for members. Suggestions were for obtaining discounts from vendors, group buys of supplies, special classes, public demos to promote lampworking, co-op tables at shows for group members, contests to enter, etc.

Susan Matuszek mentioned that the Gem and Mineral Society in Orlando offers a sale table for $10.00 on the 3rd Saturday of every month at their location. If anyone has other suggestions or has anything along these lines to share with the group, please contact Brent or any officer. The goal of the group is to share knowledge, opportunity and to promote lampworking in the community.

The meeting was then adjourned by Susan Matuszek, president.

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Florida Glass Dragons
May 6, 2009 board meeting
Minutes

  In attendance were:  Susan Matuszek- President, Glenda Long- Vice President, Mary Shafer- Treasurer,
Candice King-Palgut-  Secretary.  Heather Ferman by conference call,  and Margaret Chan- Activities.
Items Discussed
 Current Financial Report- See attached for figures. Items highlighted in yellow are estimated figures and Margaret Chan will turn is receipts for those items at Saturdays Guild meeting. But current estimates of the intake from Spring Fling was $2,379.00 , expenditures were $1,898.93, with a total raised of $480.07. $330.00 of those funds raised were membership fees. With the removal of the membership fees our profit was $150.07. Our current total assets are $3,535.08
Spring Fling- Change the company used for table rental, they delivered damaged and dirty tables and refused to deal with the problem. For the raffles , have the person who won pick the ticket and announce the winner for the next raffle item. Assign tasks to members rather than wait for volunteers. Have members assigned to give vendors a relief  during the day. Make a space on the vendor application form asking if they want a relief person during the day. Have a critique sheet for the teacher, vendors and members on how we can improve the Spring Fling. Mary will make the form for this year and Candice will work on permanent forms.
Scholarships- Yes we do have enough funds to provide some scholarships to the group for the gathering. Since we have so many attending we will offer stipends to those who are fully registered for the gathering for the entire event, not just one day. The date to complete registration for the ISGB gathering and apply for a stipend is still to be determined. For next year we would like to institute some way for members to keep track of the number of hours during the year that they do work for the guild, and require anyone who applies for a scholarship to have completed a minimum hours of volunteer  time to the guild during the last year. This will aid in spreading the work load of the guild among all members and get more people actively involved.
Postcard Project-The assembly date will be July 12 at Heather Ferman’s House from  12-3pm followed by a dinner. The Dragons are to provide drinks for the event. 300 cards are needed per person who wants to be in the ISGB post card project. Gotprint.com will do cards at 100 dollars for 2500 cards. Members are encouraged to have private cards made and contribute. Doing a group card for the guild was discussed. The tight time frame is a concern, but it will be discussed with Chris or another member about doing the layout and taking the pictures, and print delivery times will be checked into. Members would have to be responsible for getting their beads to who ever is taking the pictures in time to complete the project.
Beads of Courage- Contact has been made with the new person at the hospital. She is now on vacation but Candice will meet with her when she returns and find out what we can do as a guild to help with the program locally. There is some question about  the compatibility of the glow powders. We all need to test them and work with them and find out what does and does not work. The glow glass is perfect for those who are getting radiation treatments, but we need to be sure the beads do not crack.
Member benefits- Scholarships and discounts. We need to make up a new member packet that includes a button, membership card signed by an officer,  a list of member benefits, mission statement, Beads of Courage info, and basic info about the guild.
FDJ On Time- 10% discount to members or up one tier on the price break on items purchased.
Meeting Locations- Goal is to have the next 2 meeting places, and the theme  listed at each meeting of the guild, so members know what is upcoming. Trying to plan past that is difficult because too many people have schedule changes and it would be too confusing to keep correcting a yearly schedule.

Bylaws- there will be a continuation of this meeting on Saturday May 9. We will all meet 2 hours before the guild meeting to discuss this project.

Florida Glass Dragons Social Meeting, Saturday, May 9
11:30-3:00 (or 4ish)

Glow Glass Demo and samples!!

Mary Shafers Home

2651 Crater Court, Lake Mary, FL 32746

Call if you have a problem: 407-951-3965

Bead Challenge: May Flowers! Encased, Sculptural, raised, abstract...
surprise us!

Pot Luck (again, surprise us!!!)

Please bring your glasses and Beads of Courage donations.

Don't forget, too, that Helen is still collecting beads for the ISGB's "Release a Bead"* Project in Miami!! We NEED more Beads for this Project! Please Donate

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*The Release-a-Bead project continues to expand glass bead experiences all over the world. Through the donations of ISGB beadmakers, people from Copenhagen to Vermont, from Santa Cruz to New Zealand have found beads and posted on the Release-a-Bead website: www.releaseabead.com.
This summer, we will be releasing beads in the Miami area to generate excitement about The ISGB Gathering and the Bead Bazaar. 100 of these beads will include Golden Tickets for a free entry to the Bead Bazaar for the lucky finder. Share your love of glass beads with a stranger and maybe he or she will fall in love just like you did! Please make and send your bead (along with the form available on the RAB website) to:
Helen Starkweather
318 Pinewild Ct., Orlando, Fl. 32828
helenae@bellsouth.net
Helen and her team must receive your bead(s) by: June 30, 2009.

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The Fling is Over! Click here for

Helen's Spring Fling Report!

What a FANTASTIC TIME! Thanks to Ron & Rocio, Margie, Chris, Susan, Mary, Glenda Candice and all the others who made this such a special day for everyone!!

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Meeting Sat Mar 14 11:30am – 2pm at Heather Ferman's House in Jacksonville
2789 Kelsey Pl, Jacksonville, Fl. 32257

3/16/09

Dear Dragons!
If you had the chance to come to JAX for the meeting and passed it up then I want you to give yourself a swift kick in the fanny! What you missed! It was an incredible day and all thanks to Heather. First we got to tour her incredible studio set up! To Diiiiiie for! She has so much glass it makes your head spin! The meeting had a terrific turnout, I lost count after 15 Jacksonville people arrived. Sadly, only 4 of us from Orlando were able to make it. Kudos to Ron and Rocio for trying their best to get there but getting stuck not being able to land their plane due to smoke and fog. The meeting was short and sweet so we could get right to the socializing, pizza and torching! We moved on to two demos performed by Heather and myself. It was my first time getting the opportunity to play with something other than a minor! Heather put on a video from one of the past gatherings of Lucio Bubacco building an incredible sculpture and talked a bit about the experience. After this it was into the cars and off to Lucid Visions studio to watch Josh and Lance working on various items for their galleries and a huge dragon sculpture they are creating in collaboration with 2 other artists for a Las Vegas competition. They answered questions and then opened up a huge box of boro glass they had no use for and let everyone pick through it for glass to practice and play with.
I can't remember the last time I left a meeting wanting to get on my torch and play as soon as I got home! The new friends I had the opportunity to make and the glass work I was able to witness has reinvigorated me! I am putting the rotten economy and depressing world news on the back burner and just enjoying my glass passion again even if only for a little bit!
This is what the Florida Glass Dragons is going to be. These past couple of months we have been working to make changes to how meetings are run so that they are fun and inviting. We have been repeatedly asking ourselves what is benefit to being a member of the glass dragons? I can tell you now that our list of member benefits is growing and we are looking for more suggestions. Just to highlight a few that we have now, glass demos, jewelry making demos, meeting other glass artist (ok that ones pretty easy!!), classes sponsored by the dragons, glass bulk buys, organized field trips like the one we just did to Lucid Visions. $25 for an FGD membership is a small price to pay, but wait, there's more! Ok, channeling infomercial guys now! But really, there will be more. We haven't finished answering the question of "what are our member benefits". I hope to see you all at our future meetings and if you are someone that has been wondering if you should renew with us or join us for the first time then let me answer that question; YES, you should!
Yours truly,
Susan Matuszek
President

The meeting was called to order at 11:50 at Heather Ferman's Studio, Jacksonville, Florida by Susan Matuszek, President. 

Susan announced there are two contests which might be of interest to members.  One is for lampworked beads, ceramic beads, jewelry designs, precious metals, off mandrel glass designs and small sculpture and marbles by "The Annealer Magazine", entry deadline April 1, 2009, winners to be published in the fourth issue of the magazine.  Check their website, www.theannealermagazine.com/Official_Contest_Rules.htm for more information.

 Another contest is for ISGB members who are invited to put their best bead forward for a juried exhibit, "Perspectives", that will be featured at the Glass Art Society (GAS) conference in Corning, New York, June 2009.  The deadline for entries is April 20, 2009.  Direct questions to Sarah Riggle or call 1-866-473-4742.

A plea for help was received from Katy Abbott, ISGB Director of Education, on behalf of The Bead Museum, 5754 West Glenn Drive, Glendale AZ 85301. The Bead Museum is now the only place that has a comprehensive collection of beads available for study that is open to the public.  Due to the drop in economy, they are struggling to keep the museum open and the ISGB has been asked to put the word out that if anyone feels they can contribute funds towards the stability of The Bead Museum, they would be gratefully accepted. 

Announcements were made regarding The Spring Fling to be held April 18th at Rocio's Studio in Cocoa, Florida.  Many vendors have already pledged donations of items for a "Pick and Choose Raffle". an auction, and regular raffle.  The items for each of these will be determined prior to the event based on the total items received from vendors.  Several artists have agreed to conduct demonstrations at the event including Pam Dugger who will be holding a class on Sunday.  There are still a couple of spots open for that class, therefore anyone interested in taking her class should contact Susan Matuszek, president@floridaglassdragons.com as soon as possible. 

There is no admission charge for the event for FGD members but they are asked to bring a dessert  The admission price for non members will be $10.00 with lunch included in the price.  Food will be available from Noon until 3:00 and will consist of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, condiments.  

Vendor tables are available for anyone wishing to sell at the event for $30.00 or a half table for $15.00 if you wish to share a table.

We need member volunteers for all areas of the event, set up, cooking, clean up, etc.  Please contact the activities committee, Chris McElroy or Margie Chan to sign up.

Heather Ferman announced that a car pool from Jacksonville to Orlando will leave from the St. Augustine Outlets Saturday morning, April 18th.  Contact Heather Ferman if you wish to car pool, mandarin95@aol.com

Mary Shafer submitted  the Treasurer's Report.  Details are available to FGD members upon request.
A detailed report has been forwarded to Candace-King Palgut, Secretary for the records.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:20 p.m. 

Pizza was ordered and demos begun by Heather Ferman and Susan Matuszek.  A field trip to Lucid Visions studio for demos followed.  It was a great day thanks to Heather, her husband and son for providing her amazing studio for the meeting and being such gracious hosts.  There was a great turnout from Jacksonville for the meeting and we hope many of the guests will decide to join our group.   

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Meeting Saturday Feb. 14th at Susan's home:
967 Willow Run Lane, Winter Springs, 32708

Photos from the last Feb 14th Glass Dragons Meeting at Susan's House:

Mary's Ring Demo

Ring Results!

Susan's Encasing Demo:

Dave's Demo:

Food!

Glass Heart Contest!

Purple Dragon Mascot!

Meeting Minutes

The February meeting of The Florida Glass Dragons was called to order by Susan Matuszek, President, at her home  in Winter Springs, Florida on February 14, 2009.  It was stated that the minutes from the last meeting are posted on the web site and all present agreed that it was not necessary to read them at this time.

Mary Shafer, Treasurer, presented her report and stated that the current balance in the FGD bank account is $2,443.04 and in petty cash, $38.00. Payables to be deducted from that amount at this time total $197.68 plus an estimated $500.00 for taxes and filing fees. A fee of $59.88 was paid to Poppashop for the web site and it was reported that the previous fee of $119.00 paid was to be refunded but has not been received. Susan agreed to call them in regard to that refund.

Susan presented the package received from the Beads of Courage program including brochures, cards to be included in bead donations, etc.  Zelpha Meehan agreed to be the administrator of the program in conjunction with Candice King-Palgut, they will collect the beads and mail them to Beads of Courage.

Glenda Long reported that she, Chrisann Webb and Jan Tunnell have been reviewing the By-laws and related documents and will schedule a meeting soon to begin the actual revision of the by-laws.

Helen Starkweather, Webmaster for FGD, was not able to attend today’s meeting. However, all present wish to express their thanks to her for a great job in setting up the new web site and for it’s excellent design.  It was discussed that Helen had requested information from the members in order to complete the site and all agreed to work on getting her the information she needs to do so. Susan agreed to send Helen the meeting dates for the remainder of the year when those are set.  Mary Shafer pointed out that it was possible to have the calendar set up to forward reminders about the next meeting automatically and the activity committee members, Margie Chan and Chris McElroy, agreed to work on getting the information entered for that.

It has been suggested that a new logo be created for the group and some discussion took place about whether or not to have a contest.  The contest could be for anyone, in the group or outside the group, to enter.  No decision was made at this time.

Under new business, there was a lengthy discussion regarding the Spring Fling which is to be held at Rocio’s Studio in Cocoa, Florida, April 18th and 19th, 2009.   Pam Dugger has graciously agreed to teach a class on Sunday and it was decided if more people sign up than the class can accommodate, a drawing will be held to determine who can take the class.  Rocio Bearer may also offer a class if the need arises. It was stated that food would be hamburgers and hotdogs with members bringing side dishes, chips, etc. There will be vendor tables available.  It was decided to have a “Pick and Choose Raffle” and an auction, auctioneer to be determined later.  Zelpha agreed to check on availability of tables and chairs and report next week.  Several members volunteered to contact vendors for possible donations and permission to put a link to the donor company’s web site as a side bar on our web site to show our appreciation.  It was stated that there is lodging available in the area and details will be posted soon on the web site about all of the above. 

A question was raised by Susan  Matuszek whether or not members would be interested in setting up a collaborative table at craft shows in our area throughout the year. We could promote FGD by displaying a banner and information about our group on the table.  Each artist would pay a portion of the entry fee and proceeds from each artist’s sales would be theirs. As a benefit to members, FGD could possibly provide some equipment for setup, such as extension cords, table risers, a tent, etc. Several members expressed interest in participating but nothing definite was decided as it was generally agreed that our attention at this time should be directed toward our Spring Fling.

The next meeting will be March 14th at Heather Ferman’s studio in Jacksonville, Florida.  Possible activities may include a side trip to a museum and/or another studio in the area.  Heather is to check on these and more information will be available at a later date.  Mary Shafer and Susan Matuszek have volunteered to drive their vans so if enough members show an interest, we may carpool, one van for those who wish to come back to the area the same day and one for those who wish to spend the night in Jacksonville.  Anyone interested in going to the meeting and carpooling in one of these vans, please contact Mary Shafer as soon as possible.  Each van can transport six members plus the driver.  

The meeting was adjourned, the food served and demos begun. Mary Shafer taught everyone how to make a wire wrap ring.  She did a great job as can be seen in photos of our rings on the web site.  Susan Matuszek demonstrated how to make an encased floral bead and discussed her use of filigrana and stringers.  David Schwartz demonstrated a beautiful borosilicate flower. Our thanks go to all three demonstrators for sharing with us. Those of you who couldn’t make it were missed. We look forward to seeing you next month.

Meeting - January 10, 2009 minutes

President- Susan Matuszek contacted Brad Pearson by email requesting a receipt for the funds received from the Glass Dragons. This is in reference to the class he taught in 2008. He was also requested to fill out and return a tax form in connection with his payment for the class. He has made no response.
All letters of resignation have been received from the past officers.
The web site fees have been paid one year in advance to Papa Shop
Treasurer report-Mary Shafer will use an accountant she has trust in to file out taxes for the past year. It will cost 200.00 to file the 1120C form, 10.00 to file it electronically, and 55.00 per hour for any old paperwork that needs to be taken care of from last year. We collected 380.00 in dues at the Christmas Party. We have a total of 2,660.92 in funds. 238.00 of that money is held in petty cash.
New Business
Bylaws- The bylaws are conflicting and need to be revised. A committee has been established to work on that project and report back to the guild with new bylaws to be voted on. The committee consists of Chris Web, Jan Tunnell, and Glenda Long. Current bylaws are to be emailed to the committee by Mary Shafer. A vote was taken by show of hands and was unanimous in favor of creating the committee.
Beads Of Courage- Susan Matuszek contacted the coordinator of BoC and a packet of information is on it’s way from them. Candice King-Palgut and Zelpha Farrell have volunteered to handle the Beads of Courage project. The question of printing our own cards for the guild members to place in the beads of courage donations was discussed. No decision was made on that point.
Budget- A set budget needs to be established for the activities committee. This would cover drinks, paper goods, raffle items and the end of the year party. An allotment of 200.00 will be given to the activities committee out of petty cash, and more monies will be given as receipts for the funds expended are turned in to the treasurer. A vote was taken by a show of hands and passed unanimously.
Calendar- February 14 – Susan Matuszek in Orlando
March 14- Heather Ferman in Jacksonville
April 18- tentative date for Spring Fling at Rocio’s
May 9- tentative at Mary Shafer
Unanimous vote for the activities committee to proceed with planning a Spring Fling

Here are some photos Mary Shafer took from the January 2008 Meeting at Mary Shafer's house:

Minutes for December 6, 2008

Check out our 2008 Christmas party page!

Minutes were read, and approved by Mary Shafer and Melanie Spence.
The new slate of officers were introduced and congratulated.
President - Susan Matuszec
Vice President- Glenda Long
Treasurer- Mary Shafer
Secretary- Candice King-Palgut
Old business- none
New Business-
A new bank account has been established with Bank Of America. Susan Matuszek and Mary Shafer each have a debit card for that account. There was 2,366.88 deposited into the account in checks. There is 128.00 in petty cash.

The Florida Glass Dragons are not an official Non Profit organization.

The current bylaws are contradictory. The officers of the group will meet in the future and rewrite the bylaws and present them to the group. Anyone who wishes to see the bylaws, and or offer input is welcome to do so, They can be emailed to any member who asks for a copy.The bylaws that are currently filed with the state are the bylaws we will work under until new bylaws can be written, approved and filed. It is suggested that we look at the bylaws for Southern Flames as an example.

Meeting was adjourned and the Christmas party began.

Minutes recorded by our new Secretary Candice King-Palgut
Helen's Page/Photos from this Meeting

Minutes for November 16, 2008

*Reading of Minutes
*Nominees for Officers are: Susan Matuszek: President Glenda Long : Vice-President Mary Shafer : Treasurer Candice King : Secretary -There were no other volunteers or nominations
*Voting will take place at Email: vote@floridaglassdragons.com -Chris Webb will tally votes -Voting to commence immediately and conclude on November 30 -New Officers will begin transition to positions as of Dec. 6th Meeting -Only paid members may vote
*New Membership form was presented by Heather -Will be adding a “release of liability” to the membership form to protect people hosting meetings and classes for the Florida Glass Dragons. -Dues will remain at $25 for Individual, $35 for family -New Treasurers address will be added to the membership form.
*Holiday Party Meeting -Dec. 6th 2008 -Will be held at Glenda Longs home. -We approved a food budget of $200 for the party. Guests will be asked to bring a desert item. -Talked about the ornament tree that will be raffled off at the Dec. 6 Party.
*Meeting Schedule is being formed. -Dates are set for 2009. -volunteers requested to host meetings. Jan 10th – Mary Shafer July 11 (?) gathering happening, may not meet February (date pending) –Jacksonville August – No Meeting March 14 September 12 April 11 October 10 May 9 November 14 June 13 December 5
*Gathering Chairmans Selected to help handle Gathering preparations. -Melody Spence and Heather Ferman *Meeting concluded. Food was consumed and demos were given by Heather Ferman and Laura Wendorf.