Michigan Association of Professional Santas Board of Directors Meeting June 8, 2025 Time: 7:00 PM EDT
Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Association of Professional Santas was called to order at 7:00 p.m.by President Michael Beurer. Roll Call: In attendance were: Melissa Rickard, Michael Beurer, Shawn White, Roger Minton, Lisa Heileman, Michael Howe, Ted J. Flynn, Chris Terry. Board members absent were: Kathy Norrad, Jim Jordan, Billy J, Horwarth Kathy Norrad was excused. Ted Flynn arrived at 7:15 p.m.
Minutes: Melissa Rickard read and summarized the minutes from the previous meeting, June 10, 2025. The minutes in entirety are available upon the MAPS website. There being no corrections, the minutes were approved.
Committee Reports: Membership Report: Roger Minton informed the Board that of new membership submissions; there are only 19 members remaining to be contacted. Currently, there are over 500 approved members. Regarding the Red Suit Conclave, 81 have registered, and between 110 and 110 are expected to register. An email will be sent to members. Due to the growing number of members, and the volume of posts on our website (90,000), Roger is researching upsizing the server or seeking a community platform that can serve our growing membership. The issue is cost for alternatives. Under Word Press, the next size server will cost $42 versus $30 a month currently. Chris Terry pondered if we need to move past Word Press to a higher step as we continue to grow. Roger will work on increasing the Word Press server to the next step after Red Suit Conclave, as it can be easily returned if that change does not address the server speed issues. Mike Beurer directed that we address this increase after Conclave and in September since the last Board Meeting of 2025 will be October. Tickets for the Christmas wrap up will be booked on an outside system, Red Fox, as we did last year. Roger is evaluating pricing options for a faster service due to the website’s growing limitations
Financial Report: In place of Kathy Norrad, Mike Beurer reported that the June Beginning balance was 18,056.05, Deposits were $190.97, withdrawals were $7,839.48, Remaining Balance of $10,070.54 will be confirmed due to typo.
Jingle Joy: Expenditures were $8,286 and Revenue was $8,467.26. This included a vinyl banner used for Jingle Joy and to be used for School for Santas. 1 Minutes of the MAPS Board meeting: July 8, 2025
Events Committee: Red Suit Conclave has 81 registered, and all instructors are locked in. Chris Terry will send school schedule out next week. Spangles will have 45 minutes for promotion and times to visit his trailer for products. Ted Flynn will wrap up. There will be a 50/50 raffle. Kathy Norrad is researching its license requirement, so that MAPS will not have to piggy back on Great Lakes Santas. Reindeer antlers will be auctioned and had raised $400 previously. Ted Flynn suggested a bag of goodies be provided at registration to participants. Donations are welcomed. Other auction items will be collected. Members offered things to raffle or auction. Lisa Heileman offered Thomas Nast reproduction covers with 1880s stamps as an example of donation. Mel asked about coffee, cups and pots, which MAPS will provide. The only thing the facility provides is ice. Chris Terry was reminded to submit his expenses. The new banner will be available for the School for Santas event. Jim Jordan will assist with the Conclave. Mike Beurer thanked members of the Events Committee members for staffing the Conclave preparations. Wrap Up Dinner will be held January 17th at the same location as last year. The theme will be Dickensian. Additional details will follow.
Old Business: Lisa Heileman was welcomed as Recording Secretary,
New Business: There was no new business or general comments.
Adjournment:
Cheerfully submitted, There being no other business, a motion to adjourn was made by Michael Howe and seconded by Shawn White.
Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 7:23 p.m.
The next board meeting will be held on August 12, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Zoom link will be provided in the agenda. Lisa Heileman, Recording Secretary Michigan Association of Professional Santas 2 Minutes of the MAPS Board meeting: July 8, 2025