October 4, 2026

Johnston County Chorus Board Meeting

Sunday, October 4, 2026

2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

1001 S. Crescent Drive, Smithfield, NC

Present:  Tess Andrews, Treasurer; Ester Garner, Vice President, Fundraising; Skip Haas, President; Sharon Hamad, At-Large Member; Vernon Harkins, Director; Don Johnston, At-Large Member; Bonnie Langdon, At-Large Member; Ron Sutton, At-Large Member; Holly Valovick, Secretary

I.                    Roll call

II.                  Approval of minutes with no changes

III.                President’s report

a.      Skip talked with a representative at Parkside Café in Pine Level about doing a fundraiser there.  They give back 10% of all sales during the event, which can be held on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

IV.                Treasurer’s report

a.      Main account:  beginning balance 8/1/26 was $2,728.24, and ending balance 8/31/26 was $2,421.28.  Debits of $254.24 for Clayton Harvest Fest insurance, and $100 for storage unit.  Beginning balance 9/1/26 was $2,421.28, and ending balance 9/30/26 was $4,787.00.  Debits of $19.90 for postage to return music, and $100 for storage unit.

b.      Secondary account is used only for food cards.  We have earned $114 total on cards for August and September.

c.       Dues have not been paid by seven members (four are new members).  Tess will follow up.

d.      A meeting has not yet occurred to set the 2026/2027 budget.  Skip suggested holding off until after November 1 (the deadline for sponsors and advertisers for the Christmas concert) so that income is clearer.

e.      We have received a $3,500 grant from the Arts Council; it will be disbursed upon receipt of the form signed at tonight’s meeting.

V.                  Committee reports

a.      Music Committee

                                                              i.      All songs are set for the Christmas concert.  Bonnie will let Vernon know which songs require extra copies so that he can order them.

b.      Fundraising Committee

                                                              i.      Holly has requested a fundraiser at Clayton Culver’s for Wednesday, November 18, and is still awaiting approval.

c.       Sponsorship Committee

                                                              i.      A correction was made to page 7 of the prospectus to align financial amounts with page 8. 

                                                             ii.      Skip generated a list of the top 12 employers in Johnston County, and Sharon and Ron volunteered to call them to secure the email addresses of the individuals responsible for community partnerships.  They will provide these addresses to Skip, who will directly solicit those individuals with a copy of our prospectus.

                                                           iii.      Tess had asked First Citizens Bank to sponsor us, but they declined.

VI.                Old business

a.      Christmas concert

                                                              i.      The ticket link is live and posters and business card ads have been received (and will be distributed at tomorrow’s rehearsal).

                                                             ii.      Ester will begin soliciting silent auction baskets at tomorrow’s rehearsal, with a goal of having 12-15 baskets.

                                                           iii.      Vernon will have song order and soloist and instrumentalist names ready by November 2 for the program.

                                                           iv.      The remainder of our payment to The Clayton Center is due one week prior to our concert.

b.      The picture directory is live on the members-only section of the chorus website.

c.       The Clayton Harvest Festival is on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.  Holly will send out a sign-up email to members to staff our booth.

d.      JNOW Magazine will be interviewing Skip about the chorus’s 50th anniversary, so we need to plan commemorative events to be shared in that interview.

VII.              New business

a.      Holly contacted Make Life Special in Clayton about setting up a web store to sell chorus-branded merchandise.  There is no cost to having the web store and no minimum order requirement.  We could use it as a fundraiser and earn 20% back on all sales, and we could rotate designs for each concert, the 50th anniversary, and a standard chorus design.  We would need to create the graphics ourselves.  We could print some samples and have them available with a QR code that points to the web store at the Harvest Festival, choir rehearsals, and our concerts.

b.      Possible 50th anniversary events discussed:  a dinner, a history presentation (Suzanne and Cynthia), a 50th birthday party

c.       Due to some difficulties with the current rehearsal location, we may need to consider moving to a new location.  Ester and Don will check with their churches about the possibility of using their fellowship halls.

d.      We will get feedback from chorus members about their availability to sing at Kingswood Reserve in November, both as community service and as an opportunity to advertise our Christmas concert.

VIII.            Adjournment

The next meeting will be held on Sunday, November 1, at 2:00 p.m. at First Christian Church (1001 S. Crescent Dr., Smithfield).