First of all, the registration fee you pay to attend TheatreFest or SummerFest is meant to cover all convention costs, including whatever minimum the host hotel requires from TETA for food, beverage, event spaces, technical setup and other operational requirements, security, and room night minimums. Registration fees also underwrite expenses associated with PlayFest, DesignFest, Auditions, and the Awards Reception because the income received from these events does not completely pay for the events. This year, for the first time, no convention registration is required of the DesignFest and Auditions participants, although it is encouraged. PlayFest participants pay nothing to submit a play. Winning participants are required to register for convention at the $120.00 rate. ALL participants in these events are required to pay TETA adult or student membership dues.
Add to this all travel, room and honorariums paid for Special Guests, plus receptions and other food and beverage expenses for TETA’s special interest groups, and I can tell you that in the two years I’ve been involved with TETA finances the income from TheatreFest, including registration fees, has covered all convention expenses and has provided a net surplus. This is in large part due to the excellent negotiations and management of TF operations by Jerry Ivins, Convention Director of Operations, as well as those of Missey Head, Convention Director of Programming, and her outstanding crew.
Second, when there is a surplus it can certainly be applied to the following year’s convention fees and activities. For example, the 2015 convention’s net income was in the positive, which is why the Board of Directors was able to reduce the 2016 TF Registration fee by $10.00. It is also why the BoD has significantly increased the budget for TheatreFest 16. By increasing the overall budget for the 2016 convention we are able to increase the number of Special Guests who are invited to present workshops for you, and pay for their honorariums and travel/lodging expenses. We are also able to offer you an improved Awards Reception to honor TETA’s Founders, Emeriti and other award winners in a more appropriate fashion than in some recent years past.
We have also increased the budget for the College/University Section’s convention and yearly activities in order to improve benefits to this segment of our membership. The annual budget for the Institutional Member/CAPs Committee has also been increased, and it too includes activities that will occur at convention.
TETA has also added an Advisory Board and these persons will be our guests at TF 16 to meet the members and see how TETA operates. We also host the IM breakfast, and Exhibitors’ Reception, and a K-12 Reception to name a few more activities that registration fees and other TF income covers.
You will discover that there are more and varied workshops and activities which should be more than enough to appeal to every aspect of TETA’s membership at TheatreFest 16.
Income from membership dues, as well as from surplus convention income is used for TETA’s yearly operating expenses, which include Liability Insurance, Directors and Officers Insurance, facilities rental, office supplies, software, computer programs and other media and technological resources needed for daily operations, Contract labor, occasional legal expenses, and much more.
Finally, the TETA Board of Directors is committed to increasing the number of scholarships and amount of the scholarship monies available to our members. At the last meeting of the Board it was agreed that TETA should reinstate our contribution to the TILF Scholarship Fund and we will do so during this school year.
We have also used monies from the general fund (membership plus convention surpluses) to add to the Lynn Murray Scholarship Fund. Because we have been unable to determine how many of these scholarships have been awarded to members since the scholarship was first established in 2008, and since we therefore do not know how much money this fund should have accrued from the $1000 given by K-12 and the $2000 added by TETA each year, we decided to start over by putting $24,000 in a separate account for the LM Scholarship. ($3000 per year X 8 years {2008-2015} = $24,000). We are pleased to announce that there is at least one application for this scholarship for the year 2015-16.
The Board welcomes your recommendations for additional scholarships and programs to offer the membership of TETA.
In summary, I hope you now have a greater understanding of how TETA pays for its various yearly activities and programs as well as some of the sources of our income. You now know that when we have a surplus, from any source, our intent is to apply it to the following year’s programs and activities including convention, scholarships, yearly operations, and even to build up a reserve fund for unexpected expenses. As we have done for the year 2016, we will continue to consider lowering registration, entry and other fees, while at the same time keeping a keen eye on the bottom line of the balance sheet. Doing all this, we will continue to look for ways to increase membership benefits, and we welcome your suggestions.
Your investments of time, talent, money and confidence in Texas Educational Theatre Association continue to be the reason for our success. I encourage you to take advantage of all TETA has to offer, especially the educational workshops, exchange of ideas, and opportunities to renew friendships within the TETA family that will occur at TF 16 in Dallas. See you there!
With respect and admiration for all,
Rachel Mattox, Treasurer
TETA Board of Directors
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