Summary of Minutes

of the

Tango Group Meeting

February 8, 2008

Coconut Grove

Present

Pauline Peters (Chair), Kathi Thompson, Patricia Gonzales Rivero, MJ Sakurai,

Ken Belfountain, Peter Schwenger, Margaret Spore, Katy Sweet


1. Registration as a Society

It was agreed at the meeting that we would move toward registration as a Society. In order to incorporate as a society, certain documentation must be filed with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies: name reservation, list of directors, Memorandum of Association, and By-laws. There is a registration fee of $37.38. A financial statement must be filed annually as well as a list of the directors appointed at the annual general meeting. Amendments to the objects and purposes of the society, its name and its By-laws can be effected through special resolution.

A. Name

It was agreed to register under the name ‘East Coast Tango Society’ for the purposes of submitting the registration for the Society. A working group was created to establish a process for selecting a name for the Society through a contest.

B. Directors

Five directors are required to incorporate. Pauline Peters, Peter Schwenger, MJ Sakurai, Kathi Thompson, Hung-yeh Peisinger and Katy Sweet have agreed to put their names forward as Directors. The first directors would essentially be ‘interim’ directors until the society’s members gather to elect the first directors.
The duties of the directors—both first directors and all subsequent directors—are administrative in nature. The directors will be responsible for taking care of finances, submitting annual financial reports, taking minutes of society meetings, and communicating with society members. All substantive decisions will be made by members at general meetings. Every member gets one vote.
A nominations working group was created to devise and administer an open election process involving the whole tango community for the next Directors and Officers positions.

C. Purpose

It was agreed that the objects and purposes would be as previously formulated, i.e. “to promote high-quality Argentine tango through dance, music, and social and cultural activities in Halifax and Nova Scotia.”

D. Officers

In order to be incorporated the following four offices must be filled from the Directors: chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer. Pauline Peters agreed to be Chair; MJ Sakurai, Vice-Chair; Peter Schwenger, Secretary; and Kathi Thompson, Treasurer. The first officers would essentially be ‘interim’ officers until the society’s members gather to elect the first directors.


(2) Functioning of Society

A. Working Groups

It was agreed that the working groups that had been envisioned in the November 8, 2007 meeting were good and should be actualized once the society was in existence. These include Events (989 Milonga, Coconut Grove, Workshops); Music; Promotion/Publicity; and Outreach Ideas. Two new working groups were added including the ad hoc 'society name' working group, and an ad hoc nominations working group.

B. Membership Fee

There was some discussion about whether to charge a nominal annual membership fee for members to join the Society. Suggestions ranged from $2.00 to $10.00 per member.

• Kathi will submit paperwork and officially bring the East Coast Tango Society into existence
• An ad hoc working group was created to establish a process for selecting a name for the Society through a contest. Patricia agreed to be part of this working group. Any others are welcome to join the working group.
• An ad hoc nominating working group was created to devise and administer an open election process involving the whole tango community for the next Directors and Officers positions. Ken and Patricia agreed to be part of this working group. Any others are welcome to join the working group.
• Organize the working groups as per the above
• Finish the discussion on 'roles and functioning of the Society'