Dear PAA Members,
Hello! We have just completed a month-long run of Virtual Art in the Park! I want to thank the members who served on the Art in the Park Committee and helped make this event possible: Bridgit, Jeff, Linda, Marti, Connie, Marilyn, Jan, Hedda, and myself. Over 1,600 volunteer hours were put into this event. Bridgit, Jeff and I worked tirelessly to make this the event that it was.
I’d also like to thank all of our members who participated and made this event shine! I hope all of you were able to explore what the exhibit had to offer. All told, the website had approximately 26,000 page views over the course of August.
This year we have up for election the offices of:
President
Secretary
plus the office of Vice President being vacated mid-term by Maria Lewis.
I, Yvonne Glasscoe, will not be slating myself for President this election.
Bridgit Lee will remain as Treasurer until the office renews in 2021.
Connie Heizer and Marti Sanders are slating themselves as candidates for co-sharing the Secretary position. Others can slate themselves as well for Secretary.
Normally in September we would be slating candidates for these offices. However, due to the current situation with the pandemic restrictions, the PAA Board decided it would be best to move slating to conclude by the end of November and voting to take place in January at our Planning Meeting which is open to all members to attend. At that juncture, members can discuss revisions to our bylaws and make decisions about PAA’s future events. This delay also gives us time to think about and discuss what we’d like to see in PAA between now and our January meeting.
On a personal level, I have decided to pursue a different path. After being inspired by the artists who participated in Virtual Art in the Park I realized that I want to spend more time on my own creative process. In looking at how I might make this possibility become a reality, and because I work full time in the Petaluma School District, I became cognizant of the fact that I would need to stop volunteering my time as President of PAA in order to focus on my artwork.
I also noticed that I was no longer willing to be one of the few PAA members that always put in the volunteer hours to make The Spring Show at the Library and Art in the Park events run every year.
The PAA Board members have been doing all the work along with a handful of members to make these events happen each year. These same members and occasionally a few others attend PAA General Meetings and respond to emails. Our mission statement in our by-laws that states PAA ”will provide a supportive fellowship that motivates and encourages its members to develop and expand their skills and appreciation in the field of visual arts.” and I feel that this is not being fully recognized and experienced by members of PAA.
Art in the Park has been a wonderful tradition for both PAA and Petaluma for decades. We’ve all enjoyed the event, and many of us have participated in it. But as I see it, there is not enough interest and active involvement from PAA members to sustain Art in the Park next year and into the future.
We as an organization are not coming together and supporting each other as I had imagined when I took on this position as President 31 months ago. I take responsibility for my part in the lack of achieving this goal and I apologize for any disappointment I may have caused you to experience.
Moving Forward to 2021
I know many of you have a different vision than mine of the possible future of PAA, and I know you will be able to take this organization to new places and growth. Whatever vision we choose to pursue as an organization, I think we can each appreciate that PAA has been important to us in many different and wonderful ways.
The January General Planning Meeting is when voting in the new officers will occur. This meeting may need to be held remotely possibly via Zoom or some other platform that all members can access. This will need to be figured out. Since we will be voting in January and planning our future, dues will not need to be paid until after the January meeting but by January 31st.
If no one slates themselves by the end of November and we do not have enough members to fill the positions that are open then we will have to address the continuation of PAA at the January meeting.
Here are possible scenarios of what I think could happen with PAA:
to allocate the remaining funds. The four continuing and newly-elected board members would remain in office.
I think discussion is important, and knowing that everyone isn’t able to use Zoom, I am suggesting going to this link on our PAA webpage to comment. https://www.petalumaartsassociation.org/discussion/the-future-of-paa
Slating Yourself for Offices and Office Responsibilities:
In order to have PAA be what you want, you or other members will need to step up and take on these commitments and responsibilities. No one from our board or active members has yet offered to run for president or vice president. If members want PAA to continue as an organization we need to do this.
Ask yourself, what value would I like to get from being a member and am I willing to take an active part in the decision making process that it will take to continue PAA?
Those members who would like to slate themselves for these offices should submit their platform in writing and they will be sent out in the Newsletter in December to the membership.
All board members are expected to attend all monthly board meetings and general meetings. The board meetings run from 60 minutes to 90 minutes each month. General Meetings are currently quarterly and last for about 90 minutes plus set up and tear down for the meeting usually taking about 30 minutes. In the current shelter in place procedures, we have been meeting through Zoom and will continue to do so until it’s safe to meet in person.
The President/Vice President are responsible for writing emails, newsletters, maintaining membership rosters, and maintaining all PAA documents in our Google Drive. They also need to serve on at least one event committee each year. Hours can range from 5 to over 15 hours to fulfill these duties each month.
Secretaries are to attend each board and general meeting and take the minutes of said meeting and type them up for approval. Hours would be one and up to three hours a month to fulfil these duties.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me during my term of office. It has been a pleasure to meet with those of you who came to meetings, participated in Art in the Park, and The Spring Show at the Library between 2018-2020. A big shout out to our board and committee members who were contributors in many ways in keeping PAA alive. And I thank every PAA member for joining our organization. I hope you still find value in being a member and would like PAA to live on into the future.
Remember that discussion is important and I invite you to be part of this conversation whether or not you are slating yourself for an office. Please go to our webpage and comment. You may write your platform for slating yourself as a candidate for any of the open offices and post it there. https://www.petalumaartsassociation.org/discussion/the-future-of-paa
Best Regards,
Yvonne Glasscoe
President of PAA
petalumaartasscociation@gmail.com
Hello! We have just completed a month-long run of Virtual Art in the Park! I want to thank the members who served on the Art in the Park Committee and helped make this event possible: Bridgit, Jeff, Linda, Marti, Connie, Marilyn, Jan, Hedda, and myself. Over 1,600 volunteer hours were put into this event. Bridgit, Jeff and I worked tirelessly to make this the event that it was.
I’d also like to thank all of our members who participated and made this event shine! I hope all of you were able to explore what the exhibit had to offer. All told, the website had approximately 26,000 page views over the course of August.
This year we have up for election the offices of:
President
Secretary
plus the office of Vice President being vacated mid-term by Maria Lewis.
I, Yvonne Glasscoe, will not be slating myself for President this election.
Bridgit Lee will remain as Treasurer until the office renews in 2021.
Connie Heizer and Marti Sanders are slating themselves as candidates for co-sharing the Secretary position. Others can slate themselves as well for Secretary.
Normally in September we would be slating candidates for these offices. However, due to the current situation with the pandemic restrictions, the PAA Board decided it would be best to move slating to conclude by the end of November and voting to take place in January at our Planning Meeting which is open to all members to attend. At that juncture, members can discuss revisions to our bylaws and make decisions about PAA’s future events. This delay also gives us time to think about and discuss what we’d like to see in PAA between now and our January meeting.
On a personal level, I have decided to pursue a different path. After being inspired by the artists who participated in Virtual Art in the Park I realized that I want to spend more time on my own creative process. In looking at how I might make this possibility become a reality, and because I work full time in the Petaluma School District, I became cognizant of the fact that I would need to stop volunteering my time as President of PAA in order to focus on my artwork.
I also noticed that I was no longer willing to be one of the few PAA members that always put in the volunteer hours to make The Spring Show at the Library and Art in the Park events run every year.
The PAA Board members have been doing all the work along with a handful of members to make these events happen each year. These same members and occasionally a few others attend PAA General Meetings and respond to emails. Our mission statement in our by-laws that states PAA ”will provide a supportive fellowship that motivates and encourages its members to develop and expand their skills and appreciation in the field of visual arts.” and I feel that this is not being fully recognized and experienced by members of PAA.
Art in the Park has been a wonderful tradition for both PAA and Petaluma for decades. We’ve all enjoyed the event, and many of us have participated in it. But as I see it, there is not enough interest and active involvement from PAA members to sustain Art in the Park next year and into the future.
We as an organization are not coming together and supporting each other as I had imagined when I took on this position as President 31 months ago. I take responsibility for my part in the lack of achieving this goal and I apologize for any disappointment I may have caused you to experience.
Moving Forward to 2021
I know many of you have a different vision than mine of the possible future of PAA, and I know you will be able to take this organization to new places and growth. Whatever vision we choose to pursue as an organization, I think we can each appreciate that PAA has been important to us in many different and wonderful ways.
The January General Planning Meeting is when voting in the new officers will occur. This meeting may need to be held remotely possibly via Zoom or some other platform that all members can access. This will need to be figured out. Since we will be voting in January and planning our future, dues will not need to be paid until after the January meeting but by January 31st.
If no one slates themselves by the end of November and we do not have enough members to fill the positions that are open then we will have to address the continuation of PAA at the January meeting.
Here are possible scenarios of what I think could happen with PAA:
- Members run for offices and are elected at the General Planning Meeting in January and they re-invent PAA, review/edit By-Laws, creating a new beginning for the organization and our members.
- Members run for offices and are elected at the General Meeting in January and carry on with the two signature events in 2021 and keep/revise the By-Laws at that meeting and continue to collect dues. Keeping the four continuing and newly-elected board members in office. In order for this to happen, several people will need to step up and take on the responsibility of making the events happen.
- Members run for offices and are elected at the General Planning Meeting in January and keep/revise the By-Laws and future of PAA events and put Art in the Park and/or The Spring Show at the Library on hiatus until the membership is ready to participate in making the events happen as a membership or the Board is willing to take on running these events. We keep supporting our members through ways listed in the next paragraph. Collecting Dues could be optional if Art in the Park is put on hiatus since we have a reserve in the bank. The four continuing and newly-elected board members would remain in office.
- Members run for offices and are elected at the General Planning Meeting in January and keep/revise the By-Laws, end Art in the Park, and become a network of artists supporting each other in ways such as;
- Having membership meetings either via Zoom or in person, whichever circumstance dictate, to do the following:
- Critiques of artwork in progress
- Sharing information about techniques, art shows, gallery show applications, members shows, art classes, art supply sales, etc.
- Have demonstrations and guest speakers
- Have models for drawing/painting sessions
- Group visits to Museum Exhibitions
- Financing other events for members as the membership sees fit
- Keeping the Spring Show at the Library, giving members a place to showcase their work and letting Art in the Park end.
to allocate the remaining funds. The four continuing and newly-elected board members would remain in office.
I think discussion is important, and knowing that everyone isn’t able to use Zoom, I am suggesting going to this link on our PAA webpage to comment. https://www.petalumaartsassociation.org/discussion/the-future-of-paa
Slating Yourself for Offices and Office Responsibilities:
In order to have PAA be what you want, you or other members will need to step up and take on these commitments and responsibilities. No one from our board or active members has yet offered to run for president or vice president. If members want PAA to continue as an organization we need to do this.
Ask yourself, what value would I like to get from being a member and am I willing to take an active part in the decision making process that it will take to continue PAA?
Those members who would like to slate themselves for these offices should submit their platform in writing and they will be sent out in the Newsletter in December to the membership.
All board members are expected to attend all monthly board meetings and general meetings. The board meetings run from 60 minutes to 90 minutes each month. General Meetings are currently quarterly and last for about 90 minutes plus set up and tear down for the meeting usually taking about 30 minutes. In the current shelter in place procedures, we have been meeting through Zoom and will continue to do so until it’s safe to meet in person.
The President/Vice President are responsible for writing emails, newsletters, maintaining membership rosters, and maintaining all PAA documents in our Google Drive. They also need to serve on at least one event committee each year. Hours can range from 5 to over 15 hours to fulfill these duties each month.
Secretaries are to attend each board and general meeting and take the minutes of said meeting and type them up for approval. Hours would be one and up to three hours a month to fulfil these duties.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me during my term of office. It has been a pleasure to meet with those of you who came to meetings, participated in Art in the Park, and The Spring Show at the Library between 2018-2020. A big shout out to our board and committee members who were contributors in many ways in keeping PAA alive. And I thank every PAA member for joining our organization. I hope you still find value in being a member and would like PAA to live on into the future.
Remember that discussion is important and I invite you to be part of this conversation whether or not you are slating yourself for an office. Please go to our webpage and comment. You may write your platform for slating yourself as a candidate for any of the open offices and post it there. https://www.petalumaartsassociation.org/discussion/the-future-of-paa
Best Regards,
Yvonne Glasscoe
President of PAA
petalumaartasscociation@gmail.com