Artistas del Lago de Chapala
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ALC Monthly Board Meeting via Zoom
November 28th, 2025
Opened at 4:00 PM via Zoom
Secretary Kat O’Sullivan
President/Bylaws: Anne McFarland ( a.m.studio0528@gmail.com)
Vice President/Website manager: Vonn New (vonn.new@gmail.com)
Membership Coordinator: Barbara Logan (barbara.logan6@gmail.com)
Treasurer: Gretchen Johnston, tx898(j.gretchen@gmail.com)
Publicity: Claudia Essenburg (ce.@gmail.com)
Art market: Elena Valdivia (helenvalpri@yahoo.com)
Secretary - Kat O’Sullivan (kat@katosullivan.com)
Social Media: Shelley Edson (socialmedia.artistslakechapala@gmail.com)
Minutes of all membership meetings and board meetings are posted on our website: https://www.artistsoflakechapala.org/minutes
Quorum: Yes (Anne, Vonn, Gretchen, Elena, Kat, Shelley)
Also present was Jeff.
Old Business:
Online membership registration with payment option - In progress.
Lago Alianza, a nonprofit collaborative, is collecting data related to Association Civil and other resources, specific to Jalisco, that we can use for guidance for ALC needs.
Social Media Coordinator: The board voted Shelley Edson in as Social Media Coordinator
Survey
A survey will be sent to members to gain updated insights about members interests. Vonn will share the previous google survey from March 2024 so the ALC BoD can make updates focused on membership wants. Targeted community sharing is February 2026.
Business Cards
Gretchen suggested using the Avery label approach for business cards. Jeff will create a template designed and then they can be printed as needed.
Include ALC’s name in English & Spanish & feature a QR Code to ALC’s website.
Babara & Elena do not need any at this time
Artful Codgers
Artful Codgers (Over 60 to participate). ALC will host the reception, register artists, hang the event, and decide on how funds will be disbursed. We have last year's outline and administrative forms to work from. Expenses will include food for reception and any donation to the children's program.
Gretchen agreed to assist with the budget planning.
Artists registration fees have to be verified. Anne believes last year was 150 pesos for each entry with a 3 piece limit.
There needs to be a committee and a lead to get it started. Anne and Gretchen have volunteered however more volunteers are required.
We need to start advertising it as soon as possible.
Volunteers - Elena has volunteered as a greeter.
Codgers has a logo and we need to include that as well as ours.
Important dates: January 15, 2026 - Take in January 17, 2026 - Opening Night
Reception February 02, 2026 - Show closes February 03, 2026 - Take out
NEW BUSINESS:
New volunteers:
BJ has volunteered for the Art Market volunteer coordinator. This is a big commitment and we are excited to have BJ in the official position though she has filled this spot unofficially many times. She will be letting us know what she needs and will create a budget for board approval.
Stephanie Byers volunteered to be ALC’s photographer. Working on a way to put photos on a shared platform that can be accessed as needed. Up until now, we have used Facebook but need more information about photos. Vonn will share her Dropbox link to be used for that purpose.
Art Connection: Eric is offering ALC members a 10% discount. How to verify membership? Previously he had a monthly membership list but don’t want to do that going forward. Alternative? Send members an email that could be used to verify membership. Barbara will formalize that. Eric will be speaker for Membership Meeting. He has offered ALC a 15% discount for events.
Election Update:
Social Media position was in volunteer status until this board of director meeting. Voted on Shelley’s position per the bylaw’s protocol. This was only needed because we were not able to get Shelley on the ballot by the deadline.
Financial Report: Gretchen Johnston. Less income and less expenses. Only 3,300 pesos for membership this month. Need to project for remainder of the year. Will have more data at membership meeting. Gretchen and Anne will reexamine functioning budgets.
NOVEMBER 2025
INITIAL $77,687p
INCOME $12,300p
EXPENSES $ 6,238p
BALANCE $83,749p
Publicity: Claudia Essenburg. Not present.
Thank you to Claudia and Jeff for the posters featuring pictures and details from events. What did everyone think about them? Thanked Jeff for the Dec. tile that has already been posted to Facebook. Requesting a banner that we could add 8 ½ x 11 paper to it. In addition to paying for ads, we can include our information on various other calendars. Need to maximize exposure for art market to ensure we support artists who participate. Keep advertising strong. Anne will set a meeting for December to focus on publicity to meet current needs.
$2300 Guad Reporter
$2440 Laguna Seminario/Lakeside News
$600 Ojo.
**Is there an update on posting to Lakeside News?
Membership: Barbara Logan. Not in attendance but reported data in advance.
148 Total paid members (new members coming in; previous members not renewing as expected)
7 Renewal notices sent out to people who were due to renew in November
11 Renewal notices sent out to people who were due to renew in December
11 Total memberships in November (new and renewed)
0 Membership related expenses.
Art Market: Elena Valdivia. Anne expressed thank you feedback. We need a table for beverages so we can focus on a more professional experience. Reaching out to vendors to clarity needs.
Aftermarket debriefing was held via Zoom on Friday November 21st.
Elena Updates: Next week.
Website: Vonn New
There are currently 13 artist profiles on the website. Vonn is ready to process more. Another option for Art Connection 10% discount is showing your profile. vonn.new@gmail.com.
Volunteers: Vonn New
Future: Volunteer appreciation event. Important to keeping volunteers. Gretchen suggested a special event after the art market season is over (last one is in April) so we can include all volunteers. Until then, BJ cis working on ideas to acknowledge appreciation. Could be tacos, voucher for food up to a specific amount, or a raffle ticket. BJ will submit a budget to the BoD for review.
Migration Project: Vonn New
The past migration project meeting was cancelled due to illness.
A new meeting will be set up.
There have been some migration events in the community that we can evaluate.
The Social Media: Shelley Edson
Purpose: Membership retention, new members, highlight activities. Not a lot of people in the area use Facebook. Include FB information on our next survey. Shelley prefers that people connect with her via email (see below). FB posts should highlight volunteer appreciation, however, ask for permission before it gets posted.
Facebook Posting Protocol - Be aware that this is public. We need to make sure info is accurate, complete and appropriate.
If someone wants to post an event, please email Shelley (socialmedia.artistslakechapala@gmail.com) the text and pictures you want to include in a post.
Please include contact info you want published in the facebook post (ex. email, phone numbers, websites) - and when appropriate the names of the people in the picture.
Shelley will update the post to improve readability as needed and make the decision on what photos to include.
She will contact members to request event information as needed to include approval for (email addresses, unwanted public info. or artwork credits) ensuring she has the needed permissions.
If you want to make changes to a post, just let Shelley know so she can continue to post what best fits ALC intentions
Shelley and others can share community posts of interest to ALC's page.
Upcoming ALC Events:
Stephanie will highlight an event at the membership meeting.
November 29th 11:00am - Oma Habitat Chapala Past and Present painting event. Open to
the public to watch the competition. Hidalgo 296, Lourdes, 45900
Chapala
December 1st 11:00 am - membership meeting at LCS in the South Sala. 16 de
Septiembre 16-a: South Sala
December 6th 11:00 am- Oma Habitat Chapala Past and Present painting event
exhibition, Open to the publicHidalgo 296, Lourdes, 45900 Chapala
December 16th 4:00 - 6:00 -ALC Christmas Posada Sampler event in a private home.
Cover charge is 300 pesos to cover the host’s refreshments costs. Email tiastephanie@gmail.com for reservation and payment. The address will be included in their Registration and Confirmation email sent out by Barbara.
December 18th 4:00pm - Third Thursday at Monster Coffee, Carretera Pte. 523, Alceseca,
52 33 1696 6494, West Ajijic Mountain side
December 20th 8:00 am set up begins - 10:00 am - 3:00pm to the public- Art Market;
December 28th 4:00pm - Board of Directors' meeting via Zoom
Meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.