Hey Guys,

I wanted to have a discussion with you all about the direction that our group is taking...

First, I will be removing the $10.00 donation that I requested in order to RSVP for the Halloween Jazz event on the 31st with the Jim Ferris Group.

I want to also clear up any confusion about the charge...

I put the charge in place because Todd and I had discussed promoting a couple of FREE outdoor concerts next year, ( i had attempted to do it this year.. but college tuition & fees got in the way ).
the costs to set-up an event are between 2-4 thousand dollars..., and any donations would be applied towards events that the Group would sponsor.

I would hope that the members would understand that we are serious about wanting to support Jazz in this area, and from my discussions with Todd and others, our members have failed to even contribute the $2.00/mth that is requested to keep the board up.

My hope is that all of the persons that are members of our group will support our efforts.

I am working on discounts for our members when meetup's are scheduled at restaurants and bars. so far 2 clubs have agreed on discounting for our group... based on a minimum of 10-15 participants.

I am working on discounted downloads for Jazz music purchases online.

I am working on discounted tickets for Jazz events.

These venues and businesses want to see the volume, see 10-20 persons seated during the meet-ups for the discounting at Restaurants and clubs.

They also want to see a history of high participation in order to book artists that we may want to see,.

If you really want it... I will go after it... but I get really disappointed when we have over 500 members, and less than 1% show up at any event, EVEN WHEN THE EVENT IS FREE !!!

I have tried surveys, and face to face discussions to gauge these concerns... hopefully, this message will generate conversation at some level so that we can go forward with our mission, or go in a different direction.

I need your responses... pro or con,

Thanks...


Jazz on....

Donald