All About Focus



	Mission Statement: The mission of Focus is to bring folk and acoustic music to a growing audience through performance, education and participation in the musical folk arts. FOCUS ACCOMPLISHES ITS MISSION BY: Presenting regularly scheduled performances of folk and acoustic music. Providing a virtual center for folk and acoustic music performance and education, involving our members and audience in the creation, performance, preservation and evolution of this music. Encouraging the career growth of new and emerging folk and acoustic music artists while maintaining opportunities for performance and preservation of the traditional folk and acoustic forms. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR 2007 · Focus will continue to operate as a non-profit organization under the Folk Alliance 501(c)3 umbrella. · Focus employs a broad definition of folk and acoustic music that includes music commonly referred to as singer-songwriter, blues, Americana, bluegrass, world, Celtic and swing, among others. · Focus concerts are open to all ages and are currently presented in intimate and comfortable spaces in order to foster a link between the musicians and the audience. In the future, performances of this nature may be augmented by events in larger venues, outdoor festival settings, and selected community facilities. · Focus will actively seek to present performances and other Focus activities on a regular basis, serving an ever-widening audience throughout the Washington metropolitan area and suburbs. · Focus will continue to maintain and seek out dedicated locations for concerts, educational events and other activities. Focus also will work toward presenting a full-time schedule of events. · In order to build membership and audience, Focus will emphasize the presentation of high-level touring musicians and developing talents from the United States and other countries. In addition, Focus will maintain its commitment to developing and nurturing the local musical arts community, presenting deserving local talent on Focus stages, hosting events such as open mics and educational workshops and providing support for member performers at national and regional conferences. · Focus will seek to increase media exposure for folk and acoustic music, and in accomplishing this, will investigate the feasibility of various broadcast technologies as well as exploring recording performances for the benefit of its performers. These broadcast technologies may include targeted pod-casting, micro-power radio, community cable television, and other similar mass media formats. · Focus will seek grant funding to help accomplish goals such as sponsoring educational workshops, special events, etc.

	Board Members:
	Cindy Broome President Scott Moore Vice President, Booking Committee Chair Jerry Bresee Treasurer Jay Votel Performing Member Liaison Kay Coyte Publicity Herb Cooper-Levy Alexandria Venue Manager, Secretary, and Booking Committee Member	Millie Zackowitz Membership Chair David Spitzer Rockville Venue Manager, Booking Committee Member Karen Tupek Website Chair and Promotion Emeritus: Tom Cardarella Founding Vice President Liz Dulaney Founding Treasurer
	To contact a board member, click on their name to generate an e-mail. Board Business: Annual Report, Minutes, Accomplishments and Announcements


	President's Corner January 1, 2008 Dear Focus friends, It's hard to believe that 2007 is over We had another wonderful year of highly successful concerts, and we're looking forward to many more in 2008! The Focus Annual Meeting is set for Sunday, Jan. 6, from noon to 4 p.m. at Karen Tupek's home in Bethesda. This will be a great opportunity to hear about Focus accomplishments this past year as well as goals for 2008. This is also a good time to share your thoughts and ideas as well. Not a Focus member? Guests are welcome! If you've been meaning to join, this is a great opportunity. If you're a musician, bring your instrument for a song circle after the meeting. And please bring a dish to share as well. We look forward to seeing you there! For more details and directions, please go to http://www.focusmusic.org/news.html In other news, we finally have PayPal set up on the Focus Web site. Click on the link for the show you want and you may purchase your admission there. Many thanks to David Spitzer, Jerry Bresee, and Karen Tupek for setting this up! It has been my pleasure to serve as Focus president for the past two years, and I thank the current Board of Directors for their time and energy in making Focus concerts happen. They are wonderfully dedicated people who are committed to presenting quality concerts. The 2007 board members were Soren Bakken, Jerry Bresee, Herb Cooper-Levy, Kay Coyte, Scott Moore, Fran Sadoff-LeBow, David Spitzer, and Karen Tupek. Fran is leaving the board, and we thank her for her time and dedication with work on Membership for the past two years. We will miss her diligence and greatly appreciate her keeping the database updated. Meanwhile, Focus member Millie Zackowitz will take over the membership database, and we welcome her expertise and energy regarding this task. We regret that Soren will be unable to remain on the Focus board, with his increased job responsibilities, and we thank him for his involvement last year. But we look forward to his help in continuing to seek a third venue, in western Virginia. We welcome a new board member, Jay Votel. Jay was recently nominated and voted in on the board. We look forward to his participation. Jay spent his college summers working as a solo folksinger on Virginia’s Skyline Drive. He relocated to Maryland’s Eastern Shore in the 1980s through the ’90s, where he took up mandolin and was a founding member of the bluegrass band Hit ’n Miss. Jay wrote a third of the songs and co-produced the group’s 1998 debut CD, "Ice on the River." He performed with the band in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia for more than five years before returning to his Virginia roots in 2000, settling in Sterling Park. More recently, Jay performs with Allegheny Uprising. He is active in the World Folk Music Association. I plan to remain on the board, as Communications Director, handling tasks such as the concert e-mail alerts, quarterly messages, and any other news items that arise. Focus concerts could not take place without the dedication of our volunteers. Many thanks to Alison and Peter Lattu, Tom Cardarella, Gail Meyer, Lou Ordonez, Gail Meaker and Greg Pedersen, Janice Cooper-Levy, and Vickie Hughes in Alexandria, and to Eric Horowitz and Alba Schofield in Rockville, and especially to our sound tech, Jay Kohn, who covers both venues. We are grateful for your time and support. Many thanks, too, to all of YOU. Thank you for your continued support of Focus and helping us keep folk music alive on area stages. Looking forward to seeing you at Karen's on Sunday, Jan. 6 and helping us get Focus off to a great start for 2008. Best wishes for the new year! Warm regards, Cindy Broome Previous Messages from the President - stay informed December 21, 2007 September 25, 2007 June 13, 2007 January 15, 2007 December 17, 2006 October 1, 2006 September 1, 2006 July 24, 2006 April 25, 2006 Click here for previous Concerts - performers, information, photos