Barnstead Old Home Day Meeting Minutes

January 16 | January 30 | February 20 | March 12 |

Old Home Day Committee 2008
Meeting Minutes March 12, 2008

Meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m. by Committee Member, Eileen Murley. 

Attendance was taken and the following members were present
Jennifer Beck                  David Brown               Jerrisa Brown
Sandy Burt                      Bruce Grey                 Andy Houle
Jill Jacques                     Amy Jennings            Cate Kowalski
Ken LeGrow                    Eileen Murley             Paula Vardaro

The minutes from the January 30 Committee meeting were discussed and the following edits were requested:
Add Cathy Apfel to the Ad Sales position
Add the position of Entertainment and Rentals, with Jill Jacques as team lead

A motion was made by Paula Vardaro to accept the January 30 minutes, as amended.  The motion was seconded by Andy Houle. The motion was unanimously approved.

The minutes from the February 20 Committee meeting were discussed and the following edits were requested:
Change the spelling of Bruce's last name from Gray to Grey in the list of attendees and the bullet item on page 2 regarding the Theme Coordinator.
Change the spelling of Paula's last name from Vadaro to Vardaro in the list of sub-committee assignments
Change the description of the "Older than Toddlers" kids games on page 3 to read "coins in shavings" rather than "toys in shavings"
Edit the description of the Entertainment and Rentals on page 3 to remove the extra "to be" before the word "rented"

A motion was made by Amy Jennings to accept the February 20 minutes, as amended.  The motion was seconded by Bruce Grey.  The motion was unanimously approved.

Town Clerk Cindy Treadwell joined the meeting for a few minutes to swear in four Committee members:  David Brown, Sandy Burt, Amy Jennings and Cate Kowalski.

Sandy Burt agreed to take the position of Theme Coordinator.

Co-Chairs Mark and Ginger Sargent have found two people who have agreed to coordinate the Canoe and Kayak race:  Tom Frangione and Jim Kallgren.

The arrangements for outreach at Town Meeting were finalized. 

Andy Houle has agreed to address the Meeting on behalf of Old Home Day.  Eileen Murley provided Andy with some talking points he could use, if he chose.  Andy reported that he had a conversation with Bill Gosse, Town Moderator, regarding addressing the Meeting at the beginning of the session and Mr. Gosse suggested that Andy advise the Meeting that the Committee intends to request an increase in the budget for Special Events Insurance when he addresses the Meeting.  Eileen Murley will email information about the Special Events Insurance to Andy Houle.

Cate Kowalski brought the volunteer sign-up cards.  Paula Vardaro agreed to get them to the Town Meeting before the Meeting begins

Andy Houle, Paula Vardaro and Eileen Murley will distribute the cards to the seats before the meeting.

Sandy Burt made a poster to display at the Meetings. 

Eileen Murley will bring a box and a table for the collection of the card

Sub-Committee Reports

Logistics -- No report
Auction -- Sandy Burt has provided to Eileen Murley a binder with all the information regarding the auction.
Jill Jacques will contact Paul King to see if he would donate wood for the auction.
Road Race -- No report
Canoe/Kayak Race -- Tom Frangione and Jim Kallgren will coordinate the race
Theme -- Sandy Burt requested another 20' X 30' tent be rented for theme activities.  Ideas discussed for theme activities included:  frying pan toss, two person saw, strong-man hammer and bell, tractor pull, carnival ride (merry-go-round, cup and saucers).  Ken LeGrow will inquire about the strong-man hammer and bell.  Sandy Burt will investigate the carnival ride and will call Jim and Sally Kallgren to inquire if the tractors are stored in their barn. 
The group discussed the space limitations at the Parade Grounds and decided that the on-site parking should be evaluated to see if it could be reduced to handicapped parking only to free up more space.  The possibility of offsite parking was also discussed, with some sort of shuttle service between the parking and the Parade Ground.  Andy Houle agreed to talk to the owner of the trolleys that lives on Rte. 28 in Chichester.  Amy Jennings agreed to call the new owners of the Appleview Orchards in Pittsfield to see if their hay wagon might be available.
Eileen Murley will ask Dana McCausland about the possibility of designing a logo for this year's event.  Sandy Burt offered to talk with Dana's brother about some logo ideas she has.
Raffle/Merchandise -- Chris Ruggieri was absent due to illness, but she provided an update on her activities by email. 
Chris had obtained pricing for Tee shirts and caps from Tracings Graphics in Alton and from Shirtmaster in Chichester.  Pricing from Tracings Graphics was slightly less expensive and they have been a very cooperative vendor in the past.  The group decided unanimously to purchase from Tracings Graphics. 
The purchase of caps was discussed.  The group voted unanimously to purchase caps.  Pricing for the caps was discussed at length.  By a vote of 8 to 4, the group decided to price the caps at $13.00.  After some discussion about how many caps to order, it was decided to ask Chris Ruggieri to inquire from Tracings Graphics how long the delivery time for the caps was.  If the delivery time was short enough that we could place a second order later in the summer for more caps, an order quantity of 48 caps was decided upon.
Co-Chairs Mark and Ginger Sargent have spoken with Kerry Guptil from Suncook River Canoe & Kayak about providing a kayak as a raffle item.  Kerry is investigating three options and will provide information shortly.
Ken LeGrow reported that Mark Jannini is willing to donate a load of composite wood logs, equivalent to 1-1/2 cords of firewood.  The value is approximately $280.00.  The group decided to accept this donation as the second raffle item.
Chris Ruggieri had suggested in her email a quilt hand-made a woman from her place of work.  Because the quilt would be provided at some cost to the Committee, the group decided to not recommend pursuing this as an option for the raffle.
Booklet -- The date to receive ad copy for the booklet was set at the end of April.  It will be suggested to Chris Ruggieri that she ask Suncook River Canoe & Kayak if they would like to sell booklets from their store.
Youth Music -- Jerissa Brown discussed the need to improve the advertisement for the Youth Music Contest.  They will submit articles to the Suncook Sun.  Cate Kowalski requested copies of anything sent to local newspapers so she can include it on the website.  She indicated their intent to include karaoke in this year's contest.
Photo and Art Contest -- Amy Jennings noted that the Photo and Art Contest needs to be added to the list of Committee reports.
Ad Sales -- Andy Houle indicated that he and Cathy Apfel had split the list of potential advertisers.  Andy indicated that some potential advertisers last year indicated they did not want to purchase ads, so he has suggested to Cathy that they both need to contact new businesses, also.  Cathy Apfel provided an update of her activities by email.  Although slowed down by a recent bout of flu, she is attempting to complete her list in early April.  Cate Kowalski confirmed that she wanted the ad copy by the end of April.  She also emphasized that the ad sales people should make every attempt to get the ad copy electronically to improve the clarity of the final product.
Kids Games -- Jennifer Beck confirmed that the rock climbing wall was reserved.  She had a rental agreement that needs to be signed and returned with a deposit.  She will get that agreement to the Co-Chairs for signature and they will need to request a check from the Town Treasurer.  Jennifer expects to have the insurance certificate from the rock wall people by next Committee meeting. 
Entertainment and Rentals -- Jill Jacques indicated that the Hampstead Players will be unable to provide an act this year due to lack of actors.  The group brainstormed to identify potential candidates for the second children's act.  Possibilities identified included:  Pittsfield Players and Heather Mike, a local fiddler and violin teacher.  Andy Houle agreed to contact the Pittsfield Players.  Cate Kowalski agreed to provide contact information for Heather Mike to Jill Jacques.  Other potential entertainment that Jill Jacques agreed to investigate included:  trackless train ride, pony rides, hay rides.
Andy Houle made a motion to approve Wayne from Maine as one of the children's acts.  The motion was seconded by Paula Vardaro.  The group voted unanimously to approve Wayne from Maine.
A 10-yard dumpster has been reserved.  Six chemical toilets have been reserved.  The order from Taylor rental for tents, chairs, tables and the bounce house is reserved.
Fireworks -- Dana McCausland was unable to attend due to illness in her family.  She provided an update of her activities by email.  She has contacted three fireworks vendors regarding bidding on our fireworks display.  She requested direction regarding the size of the budget for bidding purposes. The group voted unanimously to keep the budget at $4000.00, with $3500.00 coming from the Town budget and $500.00 coming from the Old Home Day funds.  She had indicated that she also wanted to contact the fireworks vendor that provided the fireworks at last year's Balloon Rally in Pittsfield.  Eileen Murley was able to obtain the contact information from Louis Houle from the Pittsfield Rotary.  That vendor is Robert Depodeau from Tilton, 603-455-8614.
Vendors/Exhibitors --  Andy Houle intends to send registration forms to the vendors and exhibitors with return-addressed envelopes.  He indicated that the American Legion Ladies Auxillary intends to have a hot dog cart at the event this year. 
Dinner --  Eileen Murley reported that the Suncook Valley Sno-Riders have committed to presenting the dinner on Old Home Day.  They intend to serve steamship round roast beef, grilled on a barbeque rotisserie.  They have been requested to provide a written description of the plans for the meal, the serving, the advertising and the ticket sales.  They will provide that after their April meeting.
Bouncehouse -- Andy Houle will provide his truck for transport of the bouncehouse to and from the Parade Grounds.  Cate Kowalski indicated we could again use her tractor to transport the bouncehouse on the Parade Grounds.  Jennifer Beck volunteered to prepare a poster with guidelines for the safe use of the bouncehouse.
Baking Events --  Paula Vardaro indicated that we need to develop a means to ensure adequate donations of baked goods for the cake walk.  It was decided that we need to set aside time in a future Committee meeting to brainstorm methods to ensure donations.
Cate Kowalski agreed that we could again use her screened canopy for storage of the baked goods.
It was decided to order only one birthday cake this year, since last year the second cake was not used.
Volunteers -- Sandy Burt asked that each team lead give her the names of any volunteers they intend to use.  Eileen Murley agreed to email Sandy the list of volunteers from last year.  Sandy also asked the team leads to identify their needs for volunteers.

Discussion Topics for Future Meetings:

Minimization of on-site parking at Parade Grounds

Possibility of providing remote parking with shuttle transportation to the Parade Grounds

Brainstorm methods to ensure donations for cakewalk

Next Meeting:  Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall

Adjourn:  The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

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Old Home Day Committee 2008
Meeting Minutes February 20, 2008

Meeting called to order at 6:35pm by co-chair M. Sargent
Attendance was taking and the following members were present

Jan Aversa                Jennifer Beck                  Jerissa Brown

Jim Duchaney            Ron Fitzpatrick                Bruce Gray

Andy Houle               Jill Jacques                     Ken LeGrow

Eileen Murley            Chris Ruggieri                 Gina Ruggieri                 

Mark Sargent            Ginger Sargent                Cindy Treadwell

Paula Vardaro           Judy Stowell

Motion by Cindy Treadwell to postpone review and acceptance of January meeting minutes to the March committee meeting, seconded by Andy Houle, the motion was unanimously approved.
The sub-committee assignments were reviewed and the assignments are as follows:

Co-Chairs                                     Ginger & Mark Sargent

Logistics                                       Tony Juric

Auction                                         Eileen Murley

Road Race/Fun Run                       Ron Fitzpatrick

Canoe/Kayak Race                        open

Theme Coordinator                       open

Raffle & Merchandise                     Chris & Gina Ruggieri

Booklet                                        Cate Kowalski

Youth Music                                  Jerissa Brown  & Amy Jennings

Photo/Art Contest                          Amy Jennings & Jerissa Brown

Ad Sales                                       Andy Houle       

Kids Games                                  Jennifer Beck

Entertainment & Rentals                 Jill Jacques

Vendor/Exhibitor Registration          Andy Houle

Dinner                                          Eileen Murley

Bounce House                               Andy Houle

Baking Events                               Paula Vadaro

Volunteer Coordinator                    Sandy Burt

Eileen Murley reported that the Snow-Riders snowmobile club is very interested in putting on the dinner and that she should have a commitment from them by March 1.
Jennifer Beck stated that she would not be able to run the Canoe/Kayak race due to her commitment to the Kids Games.
Ron Fitzpatrick spoke of the challenges of the Canoe/Kayak race and although he is unable to continue, due to the amount of time involved with the Road Race, he is able to advice the next person.
All members present were sworn in as volunteers of the Barnstead Old Home Day Committee by Town Clerk Cindy Treadwell.
There was general discussion pertaining to insurance coverage for the Town for Old Home Day activities, co-chair G. Sargent reported that she had spoken with an insurance agent who is preparing quotes, which can be presented to the Selectman.
The following suggestions were given for this years theme:

Old Steam Engines

Country Fair

Arts & Crafts

Exhibit from the Wright Museum / WW II

Antiques Fire Engines

Farm Animals

Custom cars

It was noted that next year is the 100th anniversary of the Barnstead Fire Company and that next year may be a more appropriate time for the fire engine theme

A motion was made by Eileen Murley to have the theme of this year’s Old Home Day to be Old Country Fair, the motion was seconded by Ron Fitzpatrick, and the motion was passed unanimously.
It was recommended that Sandy Burt be this year’s Theme Coordinator, if she will accept, and Bruce Gray volunteered to work with her.
Discussion was had with Andy Houle concerning ad sales.  He is working with Cathy Apfel and they are currently splitting-up the list of contacts.  It was recommended that ad sales occur during March to avoid competition from other Towns.
Jill Jacques reported that she had contacted Wayne from Maine for this year’s entertainment at a fee of $650.00.  Jill also contacted the Wildlife Zoo Encounters for a second program.  It was suggested that the Zoo Encounters show could run from 1:00pm to 1:45pm and that Wayne from Maine run from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.  Other suggestions for entertainment included the Hampstead Players, upland bird dog demonstration, and the Barnstead Elementary and Prospect Mt. High School bands.  It was decide that Jill would explore other entertainment options and report back to the Committee in March.
Jill Jacques reported that she has contacted Taylor Rental in Farmington and has reserved the bounce house, tables and chairs.  Cost for all rentals is $1,010.00 plus a $200.00 refundable deposit.
Andy Houle agreed to speak at the Town meeting on March 15th, Paula, Eileen and Bruce volunteered to help pass out and collect volunteer cards.
Mark Sargent will speak at the School meeting on March 22th and Eileen and Paula volunteered to help with cards.

Sub-Committee Reports

Logistics – No report

Raffle/Merchandise – Planning on two raffle items; kayak in corporation with Suncook River Canoe & Kayak, suggestions for a second item included premier meats certificate from Danis Supermarket in the range of $125.00 to $150.00, a chord of wood or a chord of composite wood.  Bruce Gray suggested a 50/50 raffle.  Chris Ruggieri asked the committee about the possibility of selling baseball caps, at the committee’s recommendation she will check into the cost and any minimum order requirements.  Cindy Treadwell asked that shirts, booklets and raffle tickets be available for sale at Town Hall.

Auction – George Twigg will serve as auctioneer at no cost to the Town, letters will go out in June requesting auction items.

Road Race – Yankee Timer has been contacted for time keeping, Ron is looking for assistance and added that this will be his last year as head of the sub –committee.  A new category will be added to this year’s race; Clydesdales and Fillies.

Booklet- No report

Youth Music-Committee decided that the talent show would be open to all and not just to Barnstead residents.  A sign-up drop box will be made available at the Town Hall and Library.  A karate demonstration and karaoke were discussed as possible additional activities for later in the day.

Kids Games - The following categories  and games were discussed;

                            Toddlers – ring toss, beanbag toss, balloon crush

                            Older than Toddlers – egg walk, toys in shavings

                            Older Kids- rock climbing wall, jailhouse

Helium balloons, face painting and the fire truck with water hose will be provided as well as age appropriate prizes.  The rock-climbing wall is available for Old Home Day at a cost of $550.00 from 10:00am to 1:00pm.  The committee agreed to commit to the rock wall and to charge a minimal cost to climb.

Entertainment  Rentals – Dumpster for grounds will be to be rented.

Check lists for sub-committees were provided to sub-committee heads.
Meeting dates for the remainder of year are tentatively set as follows:

March 12

April 9

May 14

June 11

July 9

August 13

Meeting adjourned at 8:15pm

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Barnstead Old Home Day 2008
Meeting Minutes for January 30, 2008 Meeting

Meeting was convened at 6:35 p.m. by last year's Co-Chair, Eileen Murley.

Attendees:  Jennifer Beck, Jerissa Brown, Sandy Burt, Jim Duchaney, Andy Houle, Jill Jacques, Amy Jennings, Tony Juric, Barbara LeGrow, Ken LeGrow, Dana McCausland, Eileen Murley, Chris Ruggieri, Gina Ruggieri, Ginger Sargent, Mark Sargent, Paula Vardaro.

Purpose:  The purpose of the meeting was to organize an Old Home Day Committee 2008.  It was delightful to see such a large number of new attendees at the meeting.  To test the effectiveness of the outreach efforts to draw in new volunteers, the new attendees were asked what prompted them to attend the meeting.  The following were the reasons provided:
Editorial in Baysider
Notices and letter to editor in the Suncook Valley Sun and the Baysider
Notice in Bear Facts
Personal contact with Committee members

It was decided that the number of volunteers who have expressed an interest in joining the group was adequate to form the 2008 Old Home Day Committee.

Review of Organization Table:  A document was distributed to the group that was a table of the individual positions that needed to be filled by Committee members, with descriptions of the responsibilities that each position entailed.  Descriptions were provided of additional documents (Old Home Day Timeline, Position Checklists) that would be resources for the members who agreed to fill the individual positions.  It was decided that it would be best to elect the Chair/Co-Chairs for the 2008 Committee prior to members indicating which positions they would be interested in filling.

Election of Chair:  Mark Sargent and Ginger Sargent were elected Co-Chairs of Barnstead Old Home Day Committee 2008

Selection of Positions:  The position assignments were agreed upon:
Logistics -- Tony Juric
Auction -- Eileen Murley, Sandy Burt
Road Race/Fun Run -- Ron Fitzpatrick
Raffle and Merchandise -- Chris Ruggieri
Booklet Content and Layout -- Cate Kowalski
Youth Music -- Jerissa Brown, Amy Jennings
Photo/Art Contest -- Amy Jennings, Jerissa Brown
Ad Sales -- Andy Houle
Kids Games -- Jen Beck, Dana McCausland
Fireworks -- Dana McCausland
Kids Entertainment and Rentals -- Jill Jacques
Vendor/Exhibitor Registration -- Andy Houle
Dinner -- Eileen Murley
Bounce House -- Andy Houle
Baking Events -- Paula Vardaro
Volunteer Coordinator -- Sandy Burt

It was noted that Ron Fitzpatrick will not be coordinating the Canoe/Kayak Race this year.  Jen Beck agreed to contact Ron to understand the level of effort and the timing of coordinating that event.

It was decided to postpone the selection of the Theme Coordinator until the theme has been selected.

There are other Committee members who were not present who will be requested to give assistance to the team leads.  Possible pairings that were discussed include Jan Aversa to help Chris Ruggieri with Raffle and Merchandise, Cathy Apfel to help Andy Houle with Ad Sales, Lisa Prizio to help Jen Beck and Dana McCausland with Kids Games.

As the work of the various teams progresses, the teams are asked to update the Committee at each monthly meeting regarding the team's activities and to ask for help from the group when needed.

Dana McCausland offered to ask her brother to provide us with a T-shirt design again this year.

Theme:  Co-Chair Mark Sargent asked each person to come to the February meeting with a suggestion for a theme for this year's event.

Next Meeting:  It was decided to keep the meetings on the second Wednesday of each month.  The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 6:30 p.m at Town Hall.

Adjourn:  The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.

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Barnstead Old Home Day 2008
Meeting Minutes January 16, 2008

Meeting convened at 6:35 p.m. by last year's Co-Chair, Eileen Murley

Attendees:  Jerissa Brown, Andy Houle, Catherine Kowalski, Eileen Murley, Chris Ruggieri, Gina Ruggieri, Cindy Treadwell, Paula Vardaro

The purpose of the meeting was to organize the 2008 Old Home Day Committee.  The group decided that more Committee members were needed before we could proceed with planning this year's event.  We spent the rest of the meeting brainstorming methods to communicate that we need more Committee members.  The following is a list of actions we agreed to do to communicate the need for members, along with the person who agreed to make the action happen.

Paid advertisement in Baysider and Suncook Valley Sun stating that if we don't get more Committee members, Old Home Day will be canceled  -- Eileen Murley

Letter to editor in Baysider and Suncook Valley Sun asking for more people to join the Committee and inviting folks to join us at our next meeting  --  Eileen Murley

Create posters for posting at a variety of locations including town hall, post offices, police station, fire stations, library, schools, area stores, area businesses, Lock Lake Colony Lodge  --  Cate Kowalski

Email any volunteers who have helped at past Old Home Days asking for more Committee members  --  Eileen Murley

Put notice in Barnstead Elementary newsletter Bear Facts  --  Chris Ruggieri

Post notice on town website -- Cate Kowalski

Post notices at town churches  -- Andy Houle

Contact Locke Lake Colony office -- Paula Vardaro

Contact Swiftwater Council to contact senior girl scout troops  -- Chris Ruggieri

Contact Suncook Valley Sno Riders --  Andy Houle

Contact Prospect Mountain High School to see if students have community service requirements  -- Eileen Murley

Contact Nighthawk Hollow Seniors  -- Eileen Murley

The group decided to defer the election of a Chair until it is known if we will have enough members to form a Committee.

Next meeting:   Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at Barnstead Town Hall

Meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.