ASO Guild Board Meeting Minutes

February 10, 2026

Symphony Boardroom

Present:  Cliff Albertson, Judy Van Horne, Pam Prosser, Barbara Hume, Honey Solomon, Betty Fox, William Scarborough, Daniel Crupi

Excused: Clair Griffith, Kyle Parks, Anne Jarema, Sharon Sandel

President Cliff Albertson called the meeting to order at 10:02 AM.

Cliff asked for the approval of the minutes and a discussion ensued. The minutes are being sent to the Board almost two months after the meetings took place.  Everyone agreed that they need to be sent as soon as possible after the conclusion of the meeting.

William suggested that, when we receive the minutes, we print them out and make our corrections. We then bring them to the meeting to discuss the amendments. That will facilitate the acceptance of the minutes, either as they were written or amended after the discussion.

Cliff made copies of the minutes from the August 14, October 15 and December 9 meetings, giving everyone a chance to comment. Betty made the motion to accept the minutes of those meetings as amended. Barbara seconded. All agreed.

Cliff will make the official changes to those minutes. Judy clarified that Cliff will then send them to her and she will post them on the website.

Treasurer’s Report: 

William reported that the Guild has raised $23,000 this year so far. He asked if Pass the Hat will still be a fundraiser this year. Sue clarified that the Symphony received a major donation this year from an estate in which the person who passed away wanted the money designated for music education. Whether or not the donation will be repeated is uncertain. If not, Pass the Hat will be reinstituted.

A discussion was held regarding investing in a CD with $30,000 of the Guild’s holdings. Betty was concerned that an unexpected expense might arise and the CD investment might not be wise.

Cliff stated that Daniel would be expecting about $35,000 – $40,000 this year, since Pass the Hat has been taken care of. Pam made a motion to give the Symphony $20,000 now. Judy seconded. The  motion was passed. Cliff instructed William to write the check; Cliff will let Daniel know.

Membership Report: 

Anne Jarema reported through email prior to the meeting that:

Spring will bring the busy time.

1. In March, we will again send an email to all season subscribers to sell them on joining the Guild.
2. In April, we will send renewal notices. In response to renewals, we will send a letter thanking them.  We will also send a 2^nd renewal notice in May for those who have not yet responded.

Last year, we were able to get help from board members in these two time-consuming projects.

Help again will be greatly, and I mean greatly, appreciated!!!

Musical Feast Report: 

In Kyle and Clair’s absence, Judy Van Horne reported that we have had quite a few Feasts this year with more in the works. She mentioned the upcoming Scottish-themed Feast on February 12, but only 13 tickets have been sold. She said the view from Sydney and David Atkinson’s home on Sunset Mountain, the location of the Feast has a spectacular view.

The next Feast is in March and will have a pickleball theme. Julie Willard from Baird (financial planners) is hosting. In April Kyle will be hosting one at his home to meet the soloists. In May a Feast will be centered around Awadigin Pratt at the new home of Jill Vargo and Tony Sciara.

Sue reported that she, Bowling Farmer, Olivia Zahler and Mary Kirby will be hosting a Feast featuring Brian Allen, the concertmaster, at the home of Kathryn Long and Axel Graumann, also in May.

Judy continued, mentioning that Kyle had a good idea for a Feast – a Sinatra evening. He’s working with the Biltmore, which should turn out to be a big one. He’d have to rent the space, with the company donating the wine.

A discussion was held regarding the handling of waiting lists for Feasts, with many options offered. We do not have waitlists now, but should set up a procedure for that. Honey suggested that Nancy Stewart, once designated the registrar, could handle wait lists. She is the one who used to notify Honey when ticket holders were not able to attend and made their ticket payments a donation. A suggestion was made that Ryan modify the Feast description to indicate that if a Feast is sold out, a person could choose to be put on a waitlist. The system would then maintain the date that the person wanted to sign up and the registrar would notify the people of availability in FIFO (first-in-first out) order. Judy offered a suggestion that someone could notify the host to see if additional people, such as some or all of those on the waitlist, could attend. However, it was agreed that Judy will speak with Ryan regarding adding the waitlist option to the website.

As an aside, Judy and Sue talked about a state-of-the-art lightshow at the Biltmore that the ASO will be part of. The Biltmore will be producing an event called Luminaire, where photos will be projected on the house and in the gardens, with recorded music by the Symphony. Video clips may be on the Biltmore website. The production will start in March and will be held in the evenings.

Music in the Schools Report: 

Sue reported the Mika and Tyson are the staff members of the ASO coordinating the Music in the Schools program. They are trying something new to address the difficulties of contracting musicians to go to the schools because of rehearsal and performance schedules. We used to get musicians to go to the schools the week of the Masterworks performances. Now, with an extra rehearsal and an extra performance, there is limited time for string and percussion musicians to go to schools. This year the schedule coordination will happen around the Young People’s Concerts. These concerts are for all 5^th graders in Asheville and Buncombe County where the Symphony, with Darko, perform a skit-like child-engaging program. It will be at Mars Hill University. This provide a good opportunity to send musicians to the schools, since they will be here for only one day of performances. The date is probably April 2. The downside is that in the spring the schools are focusing on preparing for testing. The plan is an experiment with unknown results.

William queried about the processing of donations that are made for the Guild but go through the Symphony and the costs of the Music in the Schools program. Sue clarified that the Guild usually raised about $13,000 from the Pass the Hat fundraiser. The Music in the Schools program usually cost more than that; the Symphony paid the difference. If we ever raise more than the cost, the extra money stays in that fund to be used for the following year.

Executive Director Report:

Daniel stopped by, but did not have pertinent information to report.

Vice-President Report: 

Barbara presented details of the upcoming Annual meeting, which will be a dinner at the Country Club of Asheville on May 21 at 5:30. She encouraged people to bring their significant others. The evening will start with socializing on the veranda. Cliff will have a few things to say. In addition, Barbara suggested that everyone say what they do and what they’ve accomplished.

Old Business: 

The Guild Operating Procedures were reviewed. William was concerned about a statement that the Treasurer is responsible for membership data, such contact information that accompanies payments from new and renewing members that comes through the Symphony office, and forwards it to the database manager. The Membership chair is responsible for that. The only notification that William makes is when a check goes directly to him. William clarified that he does not work with the database manager. Membership money that goes to the Symphony, perhaps when someone joins or renews when purchasing tickets, goes to the Symphony Comptroller, who then transfers the funds to the Guild treasurer. Honey made a motion to accept William’s changes to the Operating Procedures. Barbara seconded. The procedures were approved as amended.

New Business:

Betty suggested that one of the Guild meeting programs could be a tribute to Charlotte Berry who initiated this Guild. Sue suggested that we could have a PowerPoint presentation run as a loop. Statements could be made from Betty, who will read Charlotte’s lengthy obituary, and hopefully from her children. Barbara, Sue, Nancy, Judy and Betty volunteered to organize the meeting, which will be held April 7.

The next Guild Board meeting will be on April 14, from 10:00 – 11:30 AM.

Betty made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Barbara seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30.

Respectfully submitted,

Honey Solomon

Filling in for the Recording Secretary