VARLEY-McKAY
ART FOUNDATION OF
TOWN OF
Ontario Room
MINUTES
Attendance:
|
Members |
Staff |
|
Howard
Back, Vice Chair |
John
Ryerson, Director |
|
Karen Chadwick |
Judi
Kosch, Committee Secretary |
|
Lana Champion |
Barb Roth, Director |
|
Anna Gauci |
Guests |
|
Donald Hindson |
Stewart Coxford |
|
Patti Loveland |
Bill Withrow |
|
Bob McCulloch |
Regrets |
|
Bill Pickering, Chair |
Heather Sifton |
|
Brian Roman |
Councillor Erin Shapero |
|
Michael
Rothe |
Brent Mazelow |
|
Beverly Schaeffer |
Stan Neal |
|
|
Regional Councillor Jim
Jones |
The first meeting of The Frederick Horsman Varley Art Gallery Board
convened at the hour of
1. ADOPTION
OF THE MINUTES OF THE
MEETING
HELD ON
Moved by Patti Loveland
Seconded by Donald Hindson
THAT THE MINUTES OF THE
CARRIED
2. CHAIRMAN’S OPENING
REMARKS – The Chair welcomed everyone to this ‘transitional’ meeting following
Council’s endorsement of the amalgamation of the Frederick Varley Art Galley of
Markham Board and the Varley Art Foundation into the Varley-McKay Art
Foundation of Markham; he acknowledged the two new members, Beverly Schaeffer -
former member of the Art Foundation’s vacancy; and Heather Sifton, who is
replacing Jennifer Deacon’s vacancy. The
Chair went on to explain that he and Howard Back, along with the 2 Council
members, are hoping to interview more candidates on February 17th
and will keep the Foundation advised on the outcome.
The Chair recognized the three
departing members: Bill Withrow, a founding member of the Foundation, who has
expressed willingness to serve on any sub-committees as needed; Stewart
Coxford, who has been on the Board for over 11 years, and has indicated an
interest in staying involved but in a smaller capacity; and Brent Mazelow who
has decided to pursue other endeavours.
The Chair went on to explain that due to unforeseen circumstances framed
photos of the
3. NEW BUSINESS
a) Election
of Foundation Officers: The Chair stated that with the formation of the
new Art Foundation the election of new officers was necessary. Following discussions, approval was given to
the appointments as listed below:
On a motion by Howard
Back, seconded by Donald Hindson and unanimously carried, it was agreed that
Bill Pickering be appointed Chair of the Varley-McKay Art Foundation of
On a motion by Bill
Pickering, seconded by Bob McCulloch and unanimously carried, it was agreed
that Howard Back be appointed Vice Chair of the Varley-McKay Art Foundation of
On a motion by Bill
Pickering, seconded by Howard Back and unanimously carried, it was agreed that
Donald Hindson be appointed Secretary of the Varley-McKay Art Foundation of
On a motion by Bill
Pickering, seconded by Beverly Schaeffer and unanimously carried, it was agreed
that John Ryerson be appointed in a non-voting, non-paying capacity as
Executive Director of the Varley-McKay Art Foundation of
The Chair went on to
explain that appointments to the various Committees were also necessary and
agreement was reached as follows:
On a motion by Bill
Pickering, seconded by Lana Champion and unanimously carried, the Chair of the
Art Committee will be Stan Neal.
On a motion by Bill
Pickering, seconded by Patti Loveland and unanimously carried, the Chair of the
Volunteer Committee will be Bob McCulloch.
On a motion by Bill
Pickering, seconded by Anna Gauci and unanimously carried, the Chair of the
Program/Operations Committee will be Howard Back.
There followed
general discussion on the importance of a sponsorship/development committee and
it was agreed there is a critical need for such a committee. Howard Back agreed to put together a formal
proposal and present it at the February meeting.
The Chair asked for
confirmation of the need for any change in the signing authority with the
formation of the new Foundation; Don Hindson agreed to speak with Andy Taylor,
Commissioner of Corporate Services to obtain clarification and will report back
at the next meeting.
b) Director’s
report - John Ryerson expressed sincere thanks to the McKay campaign organizers
– Bill Pickering, Karen Chadwick and Patti Loveland; he went on to update that
the Council approved acquisition process for a painting was continuing. He
encouraged members to visit the Gallery to see the Florence Carlyle exhibit; he
stated there were a number of art acquisitions that were possible and will
follow-up with Stan Neal. John Ryerson
indicated that Katerina Atanassova would be attending the next meeting to
discuss the plans for 2006; he discussed the ongoing meetings with the Kidney
Foundation, who have agreed to sponsor the show on Casson in 2006, which is
intended to show a more humanist approach to the artist and recognize his
efforts with other organizations.
c) Meeting Dates – The Chair reviewed the proposed meeting dates for 2005 and called on the members for suggestions for alternate dates for the March and May meetings due to holidays. It was agreed that the March meeting would be held on Wednesday, March 30th and the May meeting would be on Wednesday, May 25th; meeting rooms to be confirmed.
c) Restoration of McKay House – John Ryerson
reported on the extensive activities in relation to the restoration and spoke
of the $75,000 cheque presented to the Town at a recent Council meeting which
was raised at the recent Unionville Gala and was earmarked to go towards the
restoration. He went on to state that
the tenders were in and signed off on today and the lowest bid was
approved. There is a meeting being
arranged to review the figures; the landscape architect is doing a tremendous
job, contributing more than his fee to project effort, a building permit is yet
to be obtained. Karen Chadwick advised that packages have been prepared to go
out to businesses throughout the Town for sponsors and/or donations of
services/products. Michael Rothe will
meet with Karen to discuss a possible contact for the lawn project component.
e)
Homes for the Holidays Report – Karen Chadwick
advised that while the tour day was a great success, ticket sales were
disappointing; plans are in motion for this year’s event slated for November 19th
and it was felt that getting an earlier start along with a new marketing plan
would help towards a more successful event.
Karen went on to state that it is the Committee’s intent to try and sell
1000 tickets ($30.00 each) as well as get the houses signed up and committed by
February; she went on to thank the committee and the volunteers for their
tremendous efforts for this event.
On a separate issue,
there was a question regarding funds raised by the Mayor’s Dinner for the
Arts. Barb Roth advised that $8200 was
to be given to each venue; she will meet with Brian Roman to provide further
details. These funds make up a significant proportion of the Gallery
fundraising goal of $14,000.
f)
Understanding how the Foundation works
The Chair called on
Howard Back to give a presentation on how the Foundation works and how monies
are spent in light of the recent amalgamation of the Board and the
Foundation. Howard Back provided a
handout along with a Powerpoint presentation on how the Foundation handles the
estate. There was considerable discussion on how to deal with the surplus –
roll over on an annual basis or amortize – it was agreed to defer this
important issue to another meeting.
There was discussion on the favourable variance of $18,00 in the Gallery
operating budget in 2004. It was agreed
that Howard Back and Bill Pickering would speak with Andy Taylor on
options. There was also discussion on
the need to look at increased revenues.
On a motion by Howard
Back, seconded by Donald Hindson, it was approved, with 2 abstentions, that the
Town be requested to refund to the Foundation the amount of $15,000 in light of
the $18,000 favourable variance.
4. COMMITTEE REPORTS
a) Program/Operations Committee – Howard Back gave a brief overview of the
draft operating statement for 2004, which indicated a successful financial
result.
b) Art Committee – Bill Pickering read an e-mail received from
the organizer of the International Stone Sculpture Symposium which states that
the Symposium will be held at the Exhibition grounds in conjunction with the
Canadian National Exhibition from August 14 to
c) Volunteer Committee – Bob McCulloch spoke of renewal
of the Volunteer Co-ordinator contract.
It was agreed that a meeting be arranged with Bob McCulloch, Karen
Chadwick and John Ryerson to try to make a recommendation on the contract for
the February meeting. Bob McCulloch went on to say that there are many new
volunteers who are very enthusiastic; they have done a great job in fixing up
the volunteer area in the McKay House and he called on members for any surplus
furniture to help furnish the House; he asked everyone to mark Wednesday, May
11th on their calendars as the date for the next Art Auction –
tickets are $40.00 – plans are underway for wine and dessert sponsors and will
keep members apprised.
5. OTHER BUSINESS
The
Chair advised that new Terms of Reference will have to be prepared for the
newly formed Varley-McKay Art Foundation of
The Director encouraged Board members to bring
guests to the gallery to introduce them to us.
6. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next regular meeting of the Varley McKay
Art Foundation of
7. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further
business, it was agreed to adjourn.
On a motion by Brian Roman and seconded by Bill
Pickering, the meeting adjourned at
CARRIED
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