Letter from the President
As we enter the New Year, it is hard to remember the Madison Art Society without our past president, Jay Folger, as our guiding force. His wit and wisdom guided the Madison Art Society for over a decade. It is for that reason that we are dedicating our 33rd Annual Member Show to Jay. A framed photograph of him and one of his paintings will be on display throughout the month of February. On behalf of the Madison Art Society, a gift certificate from Acer’s Garden Center was sent to B J Folger, Jay’s wife, as a living tribute to his memory.
I hope that all of you take an opportunity to enter the Madison Art Society Member Show this year. The receiving date is Saturday, February 2, 2008 from 9 -12 at the Scranton Library. Our reception is on Friday, February 8th from 5 – 7 P.M. and the Artist Critique will be held with John Massimino, a renowned artist, on Sunday, February 10th from 1 – 4 P.M. at the Scranton Library.
The Board of Directors and I have been very busy developing plans for 2008. There are exciting demonstrations that have been planned, the Winter Studio has over 19 members, a Juried Show is coming up in May and we have just completed re-writing our Bylaws. One of the key items in the Bylaws was the need for our members to volunteer their time throughout the year to provide our membership with continued opportunities to showcase their artwork. Please take the time to fill out the attached Volunteer Form and mail it to us. If each of our over 200 members did their part to volunteer, we can continue to plan in providing new programs and increase our chances to showcase our art. Please help us during the year and take a minute to fill out the form and let us know what new programs you would like us to pursue in the future.
Beverly Schirmeier
Winter Studio
Nineteen Madison Art Society members have been meeting on Mondays at the St. Andrews Church. Two still-life setups are brought in each Monday or artists can bring in their own inspirations. After painting from 9 -2 P.M, the artists gather around for an hour and provide each other with feedback on their paintings. What a great way to spend 10 Mondays in the winter.
Photo Attached – Penny Chittenden and Mike Boyd. Patricia Seakamp in the background.
Madison Art Society Bylaws
It was in 1997 when the last Madison Art Society Constitution changes were adopted by the membership. Many things have changed in the past eleven years; the Board of Directors decided that it was time to rewrite the Bylaws to reflect our current structure and the purpose of the organization. We also wanted to construct them in a way to gain approval under the 501c3 Federal Non-profit status. This will allow us to apply for grants and put us in a better position for potential donor’s gifts and juried money awards. A small taskforce headed by our president, Beverly Schirmeier, spent many hours writing and re-writing the Bylaws. The members of the taskforce are Don Trownsell, Dick Christofferson, Patricia Seakamp, Denise Casey and Maryanne Rupp.
A copy of the new MAS Bylaws is available to any member. Please let Beverly Schirmeier know if you would like a copy or if you have any questions or comments. Electronic copies can be sent to you by sending a note to Bschirmeier@yahoo.com. The Bylaws revisions will be put up for a vote at the Critique session on February 10th at the Scranton Library. A summarization of the major points that were changed is as follows.
- Wording was written to line up with the Federal 501 c3 guidelines. For example, officers do not get paid or receive any financial benefit from serving.
- The officers will serve a two year term. They will be chosen by the Board of Directors from the Board of Directors following the September Annual Meeting. The Board of Directors are chosen by and voted upon by all the members of good standing at the September meeting.
- The Board will consist of four officers and 16 Board of Directors.
- Two new committees were added to the BOD: Membership and Marketing.
- An Artist Members must be accepted at two Juried Shows within five years. If the Artist Member is delinquent in paying their dues after receiving written notice, they will lose their Artist Member status and can re-apply under the Associate Artist Member status until they meet acceptance in the two Juried Show guidelines.
- Associate Artists are entitled to vote and have full privileges such as being elected to the Board of Directors.
- Two new categories of Members: Life and Honorary Members and Friends of the Madison Art Society.
- Annual meetings shall be held in September of each year.
- A quorum for voting on MAS issues is 15% of the membership
- Dues will be paid in January of each year and the membership year is January to December. The Board of Directors will determine the amount of the dues on an annual basis.
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