Present: Monica Geraths, Phil Hodapp, Jeannette Hodapp, Corianne Good, Robert Heinke, Laura Hicks, Lani Hoyer, Von Kam, Renee Schaefer

Absent: None

Meeting called to order 4:35 PM

Old Business

Prior Minutes: Monica moved to approve the minutes from 9/10/5. Phil seconded; unanimously approved.

Financial: Lani handed out balance sheet as of December 11. No major questions, comments or concerns.

Old Homecoming Business

On the field (pregame) performance feedback: No negative feedback received on this from any OAB members. General indication was that it was nice to be seen and recognized.

OAB windbreakers: A huge thank you to Corianne and Robert on cleaning, organizing and returning the coats! We are missing two coats that are due back to the OMB. Renee to send out e-mail to everyone requesting they check their closet & contact OAB if they still have a windbreaker. Windbreakers will need to be returned to the OAB post office box so we can clean and return them to the OMB.

Percussion: Tracy Ross at Sheldon has been very helpful year after year in providing percussion instruments on game day. Monica moved to send Tracy a $50 gift certificate (Olive Garden). Phil seconded; unanimously approved. Laura will purchase the gift certificate and will mail to Tracy c/o Sheldon High School.

Laura Arthur: Laura did a fantastic job conducting and lifting spirits in the rain! In fact, she has requested to direct again next year, which Laura approved (of course). Phil moved to purchase a $25 Red Robin gift card for Laura. Seconded by Jeannette; unanimously approved. Laura Hicks will purchase the gift card and will mail to (the other) Laura.

Name tag buttons: We liked the button name tags; much easier to manage than stickers and a lot kinder to the coats (no sticky mess). Laura will bring materials again next year for buttons. Laura will be submitting materials cost to Lani for consumables used in this year's buttons.

Facility: We only have the Armory through 2007. There are a number of other possibilities, such as the Masonic Temple, recreation centers at nearby mega-apartment complexes, even the Moshofsky Center or the Cassanova Center may be able to provide space. The Athletic Department should be able to assist us in finding a location. We will need to start asking around early next year, but we will all keep an eye on this and will keep brainstorming.

Shuttle: The game day shuttle ended up running with zero passengers this year. Rather than offer the shuttle up-front next year, we will still provide transportation from the SOM to the Armory next year if needed but will do so on an individual basis instead of advertising an official shuttle.

Changes for next year: We will look into a better/cheaper way to launder the coats. Corianne noted that the cleaning service was exceptionally careful and thorough with the handling of the coats: they even dried them carefully to avoid damaging the logos. However, the University may offer laundry service that we can use at a better rate.

New Business

Pape Jam: This year there was a much better sound, thanks to the participation by the YGB and GGB. There were better relations between the current students and the alums. Pizza again was a bit of a funny issue: we actually ran out of vegetarian pizzas! Laura suggested that we make an announcement next year that anyone who needs a vegetarian or cheese pizza (due to dietary requirements, etc.) should proceed to the front of the line. There is now a new marketing campaign in effect called "WE ARE THE GAME." This means that every member of the audience is jointly responsible for the success or failure of the overall event. Translation: no more band heckling of any players! Also, no profanity (not that band members ever swear...)

Big Green Benefit: Laura's primary mission next year is to get back in good graces with the BGB. (We are overlooking the fact that the priority of this mission appears to supercede her 2006 wedding and appreciate her dedicated efforts to the BGB.) The biggest problem that the BGB organizers have with the OAB performance is that they cannot talk over the noise of the band. A few considerations for 2006: We can suggest a smaller group (perhaps a chamber group, Dixieland, etc. with no percussion). Per Lani, all the crowd feedback she got was that they want to hear Louie Louie; we just may need to play it quieter for them.

Scrimmage: As the date has not yet been set, it may be difficult to get the word out in time to our membership base. Lani suggested sending out a bulk e-mail as we did with Homecoming, but this time sending it from a named OAB address (instead of the info@homecoming address we used, which got kicked out by her spam filter). Renee will send out a bulk e-mail on the scrimmage when a date is set. Also, Renee will be researching & purchasing a bulk e-mail tool (estimated cost is $30) because our current ISP requires you to manually input all the e-mail addresses.

OAB Watch Party: Jeannette asked whether we should offer an OAB Watch Party for this year's Bowl Game. Ex: we could meet up at the Old Market Pub, Billygans, etc. to hang out and watch the game together. As most of the Board members will not be available during this year's Bowl Game, Jeannette will send this out to Phil (who had to leave the meeting a few minutes early) to see if he wants to organize anything.

OAB recruiting opportunities: We need to take better advantage of recruiting opportunities to inform current OMB members of our organization. Suggestions were: advertisements in the Duck Call, presence at check-in during the Band Banquet (like handing out post cards, offering OAB pens for signups, etc.) Jeannette will check into pricing on pens to see if it's reasonable & can be done quickly, and if needed, Robert and Corianne can see about setting up a booth at the Band Banquet.

Meeting adjourned 5:35 PM.