by Rick Russell, Chair
The renovation of the building was completed by January 1, 2015, and it looks beautiful! It has new carpet, new windows, new flooring in the dance studio, new paint where needed, the neighbor’s drainage has been piped underground (at no cost to us), and the mold is gone! Our $45,000 loan from Regional was well spent (and much appreciated!), and we are very thankful to Farah and Lucas Hess for all of their hard work on the project. We requested a visit from the Sebastopol Fire and Building Inspectors, and have been installing new exit lights with emergency lighting, new fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, and other more minor handicap access repairs per their checklist. Soon we will be adding a wheelchair platform outside the main room side exit.
Our new lessee, TerriAnne Gutierrez, dance teacher and entrepreneur, has been having classes in the building since early January. We have also hired her to be our Rental Coordinator, and she has completed a rental website for us, Sebastopol-hall-rental.com, which looks very professional (take a look). Already we have some rentals lined up, and will soon be on Google search. Margarite Charney, of Sonoma Subud, has been hired to be our Facilities Coordinator, and is in charge of the building and dealing with the renters. The hall is lively! As we rent out the hall and office spaces, we intend to increase our contributions to Subud Regional substantially.
Jim Corbett (aka Mr. Music) has most generously contributed an excellent sound system to our hall, for use by renters at concerts and other events. Michael Myers, our Treasurer, has signed us up for Comcast Wifi at the hall, to aid us in the rental of our office spaces. (The wireless connection is labeled “Subud”, and the password is “subud2015”; you will be able to use it when you visit!) Our Sonoma Subud website is in progress, thanks to Margarite Charney, and the last bit is being completed by the SubudCalifornia.org webmaster. It should be up soon.
The Regional Helpers visited us on 1/10/15, and we really appreciated the opportunity to do testing and latihan with them! We had a celebration of the refurbished hall with them, a general meeting, and a very nice potluck lunch. We unanimously approved a new name for the hall: Sebastopol Subud Hall, selected from a list of 10 we generated at the meeting.
Hosanna Bauer, longtime Subud member, has joined our Committee! She brings a lot of life and Subud experience to us, and is working on a fundraising performance. We are also in the process of developing new Subud handouts and descriptions of Subud for the visitors to the hall.
All in all, it has been a very exciting time for us. It is little short of a miracle that we have gotten the hall renovated. I have no doubt that we will be drawing in many renters and that the hall will become a most viable enterprise. Thank you, Thank you, Regional, for making this possible!
- Latihan Days and Times: Tuesday, Thursdays, 6:30 pm; Saturdays 10:00 am
- Helper Latihan: We plan to have it on the 4th Saturday of the month.
- MEMBERSHIP: Total = 18 members, Men – 8, Women- 10, Inactive Members – 9
- Women Center Helpers: 3 active, 2 inactive ; Men Center Helpers: 2 active, 2 inactive.
Committee Names/Phone & Email Contact:
Chairperson: Rick Russell, 707-529-5513, rick-russell@sbcglobal.net
Vice Chairperson: None
Treasurer: Michael Myers, 707-548-7258, easymikem1@yahoo.com
Secretary: None
Regional Councilor: Michael Myers, 707-548-7258, easymikem1@yahoo.com
Facilities Manager: Margarete Charney (Non committee position)
Rental Coordinator: TerrAnne Guiterriez (Non Subud member/Non Committee Position)