Annual
Meeting, July 13, 2011
We convened at the Aspen Elementary School Garden, which is built and maintained
by Slow Food, at 6 p.m. Upcoming events were the first topic:
Our Eighth Annual Summer Harvest Social benefit dinner will take place on Monday,
August 29, at Six89 in Carbondale. Reservations are now available. Leslie Johnson
is once again overseeing our Silent Auction, which this year will include at
least one naming opportunity for part of our under-construction community bread
oven. Silent auction ideas and donations from all members are most welcome!
Contact Leslie Johnson at pandljohn@sopris.net
September 17 is a Slow Food USA national day of action. The national office
is asking every chapter to consider inviting the public to a dinner that costs
no more than $5. Several ideas for partnering with other local groups were discussed,
but no consensus was reached. For more information, go to slowfoodusa.org.
Our treasurer, Lari Good, reports that we currently have around $17,000 in our
checking account.
The wood-fired bread oven being built at Carbondale's Third Street Center was
the next subject. The oven is being built with contributions to the bread oven
committee, with Slow Food loaning the group the additional funds to complete
the projectÑall of which we hope to recoup with various fund-raising programs.
We anticipate finishing the oven by mid-September. All members are invited to
help with the construction on Saturday mornings, or just stop by and check it
out.
David Bedford reported that he will once again be organizing a one-day fall
farmer's market at the end of September or early October at the Aspen Elementary
School garden. He hopes to expand the scope of the events this year to include
a benefit dinner using food from local farms. More detailed plans should be
available shortly.
Astrid Lizotte and Meghan Perry reported that the WIC project at the Glenwood
and Carbondale farmer's markets is under way. Slow Food Roaring Fork has pledged
up to $1,500 to double the value of these food coupons distributed to low-income
families. Our hope is to expand the program benefits to other farmer's markets
in the valley next year. As of early August, we had allocated about $250 of
this fund.
Joyce Falcone asked if it would be possible to put the Slow Food logo on the
doubled coupons, and expressed the feeling, shared by everyone at the table,
that we need to do more to be recognized for the programs we sponsor. This would
involve having logos or signage on our projects, including the Aspen school
garden, getting more press attention for the work we do, and generally raising
local awareness of what we are doing.
Tanya Stevens reported on her efforts to bring more food-related films to the
valley. She is looking to partner with other local groups to arrange showings
of The Greenhorns, among other new documentaries. We also discussed the possibility
of using a screening as a fund-raiser, perhaps at Carbondale's new Pac3 music
venue.
We have once again been offered a booth at CarbondaleÕs annual Potato Days celebration.
Katie Leonaitis is checking on available supplies this year from Buddy Black,
Paul Noto and others, since we only got 1,000 pounds of Red McClure seed potatoes
this spring, half of what was available last year.
Leslie Johnson has put Slow Food Roaring Fork on Facebook. She is working to
post photos from Slow Food events and also news and announcements.
Officers were elected: Tom Passavant and Joyce Falcone are again co-presidents;
Paul Noto continues as vice president; Lari Goode as treasurer, Meggie Perry
is our secretary, and Astrid Lizotte has taken over the membership coordinator
duties. Leslie Johnson is managing our internet efforts, and Katie Leonaitis
is our gardening programs coordinator.
Another board meeting will be held in mid-October. The purpose will be to discuss
winter and spring projects and to consider ideas for using the money that is
accumulating in our treasury. Some anticipated expenditures this year did not
materialize, and others came in under budget. We need to come up with a few
high-profile initiatives to present to members for their approval before the
end of the year.
Finally, major thanks go to David Bedford, not only for maintaining the school
garden every summer, but also for providing the superb Spanish wines, prosciutto,
and cheeses we feasted on. DavidÕs associate, Katie Yturri, is also making a
valuable contribution to the garden this year.
The meeting was adjourned after all the wine was consumed.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Passavant Co-President
passavant@aol.com
