I.  Meeting was called to order at 6:30pm by JoBeth Cruz

Board members in attendance: JoBeth Cruz, Lisa Woodruff, Ruth Best, Stephanie Naumoff, Ken Mertens, Mark Ladd, Larry Hinken, Anne Nicholls, Ed Griffith, Karin Albright-Coleman, David Pifko, Amanda Dietrich, Bob Ton and Jeff Casey.

II.  Opening remarks from the President of the Board.

III. Consent Agenda Approval

A motion was made to accept the submitted reports. The following reports were seconded and approved.

a)   Board minutes from 1/13/07 - Motion made to approve the minutes. Motion seconded and approved.

b)   Marketing Committee Report. Motion made to approve this report. Motion seconded and approved.

IV. Non Submitted Reports

 a)      Treasurer's Report - written report distributed

            1. New Board Binders Distributed

            2. Board Contact Information updated

            3. Reports included Summary Balance Sheet and Profit &
                Loss Previous Year Comparison

b)      Play Nominations Secretary's Report  - written report distributed

            1. Web Page Submission Form Down - Viewers are
                 emailing responses

            2.  Viewer Status percentages discussed

c)       Musical Nominations Secretary's Report (oral). Viewer Status percentages discussed.

d)      Outreach Report - Written report distributed and reviewed. Discussion in regards to AACT Festival held for Old Business later in the meeting.

e)      Development Report - Written report distributed and reviewed. Consideration of Grants in Progress; including Target, NIPSCO and Hammond Community Development Corporation. Committee formation is still in progress.

V. Old Business

 a)   Ason Fund: Monies dispersed to Julie Ason. Board discussion in regards to NIETF Tax Exempt status and deductions; Reminder to those involved in Fund: Donations are not tax deductible.

b)   Calendar - Reviewed future dates. Possible Father's Day conflict was decided to be not an issue. Reminder made about Daylight Savings Time.

c)       Bylaws, P&P - Terms of Office and Term Limits discussed.

            1.  Definitions for both and relevance as they applied to
      the Board Positions. Pros and Cons for both sides were
      expressed.

            2.  Relevance as they applied to the Viewer Positions. It
      was decided that only Term Limits; and not Terms of
      Office applied to the Viewer Positions. Pros and Cons for
      both sides were expressed.

            3.  A vote by show of hands was taken to decide whether
      the matter was worth pursuing. Over half the Board was in
      agreement to continue discussion on Terms of Office &
      Term Limits. A committee of Larry Hinken, Ed Griffith
      and Stephanie Naumoff was assembled to explore the
      matter further and report at the March meeting.

d)   Website Problems were identified and discussed. Monetary Rates on Computer Tech Support and New Software Installation were suggested.  For the purpose of alleviating further delays; a motion was made to "pre-authorize an amount not to exceed $100 for the web mistress to consult technical support for the web page issues." Motion seconded and approved.

e)   Appointed Board Position - There is hope that the position will be filled by the March Board Meeting; JoBeth is moving through the potential list.

f)    Family Event - Ed Griffith was asked by the Board to layout plans for the proposed event for the March Board Meeting.

g)   Hosting AACT Festival - Contact made through AACT Chairman John Kerkhoff. Festival to be held this year in Charlotte, NC; some Board members expressed interest in attending. If NIETF were to host the event, it would be in the year of 2011. The AACT Festival Committee would insist on a formed committee within the NIETF Board due to possible member turnover. Ed Griffith will continue research and report at the March Board Meeting.

h)   An article with full color photos about the January Board Retreat appeared in the Post Tribune. Anne Nicholls brought in copies.

g)   The Viewers Invitation List was distributed to the board and all were asked to fill in any unknown contact information for possible viewers and return the form to Stephanie Naumoff as quickly as possible, so that she may distribute the list to the appropriate committee.   

VI. New Business

 a)   Sim Indiana Article distributed by Ken Mertens. The
       website may prove to be a valuable resource for Viewer
       Submissions, Digital Files and Consent Agenda Reports.
       Ken will have a full Projector Demonstration at the
       March Board Meeting; and requests that all board
       members sign up on the site and contact him when they
       have done so.

b)   Theatre Share Program submitted by Donna Blanchard and the Chicago Street Theatre. Anne Nicholls as Marketing Chair was designated to serve as NIETF Board liaison to the share program. She will be contacting Donna to express the board's support. 

c)   Portage Theatre requested NIETF Member Approval. JoBeth requested that Portage verify the requirements via the webpage and send a letter of request to the board.

d)   Viewer concerns have recently come to the board's attention in regards to sending their Play Nominations for "A Lion in Winter" to Mark Ladd as he is the director of the production. The board decided that for the comfort of both the viewers and Mark; the nominations for "A Lion in Winter" would be sent to Ken Mertens who would in turn, send the final counts to Mark.  

e)   Theatre Past Seasons - a suggestion was made to create a master list of all Member Theatre's Past Seasons; a committee to be assembled at the March Board Meeting.

f)    Bruce Bergland has proposed to the board collaboration with the Indiana University Theatre Northwest. The Theatre Department's proposal would most likely be a long term project; and the board has been asked to consider the proposal to be discussed at the March Board Meeting. ~ On a personal note: Myron's health has improved and he is now out of the hospital.

g)   NIETF Logo - It was discussed that the board would like to offer a logo for interested member theatres to post in their programs. It would not be mandatory for theatres to use; but made available for those interested. Anne Nicholls as Marketing Chair will look into a proposal for the March Board Meeting.

VII. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned by the President of the Board, JoBeth Cruz, at 8:42 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie A. Naumoff

NIETF Recording Secretary 2007

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