NEWS ITEM: A Closet Full of Gowns.   Feiga Pia Gemach is an orthodox Jewish organization named in honor of a Holocaust survivor who was a seamstress.  A “gemach” is a free loan which can include money or services, but in this case refers to the loaning of gowns for weddings–brides, bridesmaids, mothers-of-the-bride. An orthodox Jewish family may borrow as many gowns as needed, with no rental fee.  Just where does VP fit into this you ask.Well, Feiga Pia Gemach recently donated a number of their gowns to us. They needed to make room for new inventory and decided that Village Players would be the beneficiary of their donation.  Now, it’s our turn to pass along the mitzvah!

New Board Takes the Lead

Your new Board of Directors held their first full meeting this past Sunday.  We have a wonderful team at the helm including returning members (Gary Mach, Sofia Malynowskyj, Michael Gravame, Pam Dundas, Helen Moltrup), a couple veterans from past leadership stints (Susie Gardiner, Kevin Branshaw), and a couple brand new faces (Tom Shilakes, Laura Bradshaw-Tucker).

At the start of our meeting, everyone was asked to share their “view” of Village Players. Who are we?  Where do we want to go?  What do we need to do?  While everyone had their own take, a few common themes came out:

• We are a comfortable group of people with a shared interest.
• We all want to do “great shows” at a high artistic level.
• We all see opportunities for improvement, growth, and change.

President Mach gave a few key observations to help us plan for the year:

• Membership is around 150
• Season ticket sales total just over 300
• Annual ticket sale revenue provides just 45% of the annual operating budget

Further, like almost all organizations 80% of the work is done by about 20% of the members.  In setting the agenda for next month’s meeting, each Board member was asked to think about the organization and our goals, and to define a project to undertake to help move us forward “on our way to 100.”  What can we do to build membership, get more members more involved, drive production values and artistic efforts upward, sell more season tickets, sell more advertising, engage the Birmingham community more fully, and have more fun?

What are your ideas?  Do you have the time to help us carry them out?  Call or write! –Gary Mach