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This is a report developed to highlight the purpose and accomplishments of the Directors' Retreat. After the 1998 FDF, Spiro Preovolos and I developed a feedback sheet for directors. We sent them out and hoped for a reply. The feedback we received was excellent. After this year's festival, we felt that we could take the concept one step further. We planned a Directors' Retreat. Out of 127 directors on our database we heard back from about 30. Of these 30 we got a total of 15 people to participate in the retreat. We had 5 Board members and 10 directors. The following people attended the retreat.

On Friday night, everyone hung out and socialized. On Saturday, the schedule consisted of the following:

Breakfast
Ice Breaker/Paradigm Games
Part 1 - Individual Time
Lunch
Part 2 - The Boards' Perspective
Visit to the Convent
Part 3 - Group Problem Solving
Dinner
Monastery
Part 4 - Final Discussion
Campfire
All-night Glendi
On Sunday, we had lunch in Fresno, said our good-byes, and went home.

Part 1 consisted of time to individually reflect on important FDF issues. Everyone wrote down their concerns, complaints, and compliments (During lunch Spiro and I, compiled all these comments into a list)

Part 2 gave the Board a chance to give their perspective on the issues addressed. It was mostly a time for clarification, and explanation of why and how FDF has developed the way it has.

For Part 3 we broke into three groups of five. Each group was given different topics to discuss and offer solutions.

During Part 4, all the groups met as one and presented each of their findings. Discussion was held on each topic, and the results were documented.

Everyone said they got a lot more than they expected from the experience. The weekend was very productive, and we had a great time. Oh yes, contrary to popular belief, I don't have future plans of becoming a professional dancer.

Following is a list of all the topics:
Director Communication
Financial Issues/Sponsorships
Opening Ceremonies
Workshops
Fellowship
Choral Competition
Judging
Resources
Entertainment
Registration
Timeliness
Banquet Seating
Competition
Sweepstakes
Site Location
Parent Recognition
Clergy Involvement
Symposium
Director's Briefing
Non-Participants
Meals
Help-Line/Online
Multicultural Expansion

Director Communication
The Board should open its doors, listen to directors, and take consideration of their issues. The Directors' Retreat is an ideal setting for making suggestions and gives directors the opportunity to help solve problems. The idea of a Directors' Council was developed. This organization would be like a general assembly of all directors. Two of the directors would be chosen to represent the Directors' Council on the Board of Trustees. This year, Stacia Barbas from Seattle, and Spiro Stamos from Modesto have been chosen as the directors' representatives on the Board. Meetings could be held at the Symposiums, Directors' Retreat, and at FDF. The purpose of the Directors' Council is to:

• Unite the directors
• Build communication between the Board and directors
• Build fellowship between all directors
• Share information and resources between communities

Financial Issues/Sponsorships
In order for the Board to operate, FDF must make a profit. The Board budget includes items such as scholarships, seed money for FDF and Symposiums, Help-Line expenses, Internet expenses, mailing expenses, etc. If the FDF budget is cut you sacrifice quality. One solution for increasing revenues for FDF without increasing package prices is implementing a sponsorship program. Currently the Marketing Director on the Board is working on obtaining corporate sponsorships. The next step would be to make sponsorship packages available to all participants at FDF, so they could use their contacts to build sponsorship. Another option is for dance and choral groups to get sponsored by local businesses, just like little league teams do. This would help ease the burden of cost to participants. It is important for everyone to be educated on how much value they are getting for their dollar, and to emphasize where the money is being spent. One idea discussed was placing pie charts at each event, showing what percentage of the package price is going to that event.

Opening Ceremonies
Ideas for Opening Ceremonies were voiced and they will be implemented. The Presentation of Flags will be reinstated, communities will sit together, the speeches will be short and sweet, and the closing will lead straight into a glendi.

Workshops
The general consensus was that the focus of the workshops should be fellowship. This can be achieved through ice breakers, interactive activities, and providing a forum where participants will meet one another. Workshops do not have to be religious in nature but should reflect our Orthodox Christian principles. Discussion was held on breaking up the times of Workshops throughout the day. This was perceived as counterproductive since it would create conflict for participants who wanted to cheer on their other groups. Parent workshop could focus on financial issues.

Fellowship
The main focus of FDF should be fellowship. Fellowships should be incorporated into every aspect of the festival: Registration, Opening Ceremonies, Glendia etc. Participants should be welcomed with Greek hospitality. Board members should join the Management Team in welcoming participants in registration. For FDF2000 buses should have entertainers and /or a welcoming committee. A fresh idea was presented to change the whole structure of FDF. All competition would be completed on Saturday, so that awards could be presented either Saturday night or Sunday after church. The rest of Sunday would be a Panagyri. Another option would be to hold church on Saturday night. The goal of all these changes would be to take pressure off Sunday and allow more time for fellowship.

Choral Competition
It should not be mandatory. Priests should be encouraged to have a Youth Choir Day to sing in church. Awards need more development (maybe Choral Sweepstakes). The group agreed that by the end of the retreat they were all much more positive towards choral competition. This shows that educating directors and priests on the benefits of this program will over time build support. A few directors discussed how it took them back to the old days of FDF where everyone was closer and it felt more personal. There was praise of Bill Bobolis.

Judging
It was felt that judging is inconsistent. Judges should give better suggestions. Directors should use more than one resource for dances and costumes to reinforce their work. Symposiums should be used to interact with judges. There needs to be more effort in making judges more visible at FDF.

Resources
Scholarships to Greece should be used to research new info for FDF, and this info should be made available to all.

Entertainment
A long list of fresh ideas for entertainment was developed. It is important not to overwhelm participants with too many events in one night. Events should cater to all ages.

Registration
Should be opened earlier. Should have a hospitality area within the room, with music, refreshments, and Board members present.

Timeliness
More effort should be made to start on time.

Banquet Seating
Several suggestions were made on possible back-up systems in case the computers go down. It was suggested that each parish should provide how they want to be seated. Overall the consensus was that as long as parishes are seated together, any small adjustments in seating can be handled by the participants. There needs to be more educating on this process.

Competition
Division I & II should be equal in regards to stage, microphones, lighting, etc. Announcers and directors should communicate to verify correct pronunciation and info.

Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes becomes a burden to hosting communities that have won it more than once. The focus of the performance was redefined to provide the winners a chance to showcase the dances that won their award with. The show should be no longer than 30 minutes each. The suggestion was made to rotate the sets so that Division II would perform their semi-final set, then Division I would immediately follow with their semi-final set. Music scholarship winners would play for 15 minutes. There could be a 15-minute choral presentation. Division II would come back up and present its final set, to be followed by Division I's final set. Management should take more of a role in coordinating with each winner.

Site Location
Everyone wanted to go back to a one-hotel location. There is interest in new locations. There was discussion on the possibility of giving incentives to parishes who find new locations. We should develop a convention profile that details our room and facility needs. This could be distributed to potential sites so that they could bid on our convention. The sites should rotate north/south. We should stick to hotel chains to get better deals. The pros and cons of FDF in Las Vegas were discussed.

Parent Recognition
A Hall of Fame Banquet will be developed to honor people from various communities. Seven categories exist. A community will host the banquet and money raised will be split 50/50 between the community and FDF.

Clergy Involvement
It is difficult to influence older priests that have a negative opinion of FDF. We must work closely with younger priests. We must try to increase awareness and interest in the program. Choral competition has potential for more priest involvement. It was felt by some that his Eminence was not present enough at competition. Fr. Michael of Redondo Beach, and Fr. John of Modesto were recognized for their effort in presenting their groups to their parish and showcasing them.

Symposium
Location and dates should be decided far in advance so that they can be promoted at FDF. Workshops should be taught in levels, beginner, intermediate, advanced etc.There needs to be better documentation/ video taping. The Board should be present for PR and feedback. Symposiums should be online.

Director's Briefing
This is not a meeting; it is a briefing. Information is given to directors, tapes are turned in, and everyone goes to the glendi. Questions from newer directors will be answered at the end of the briefing.

Non-Participants
People that sneak in cause trouble and latch on to our kids. Security will be increased. Outer doors to buildings will be controlled. In order to be in the building, you must have some kind of bracelet. Inner doors need better security. Pricing of packages and tickets was discussed.

Meals
Meals should offer more variety and choices. The banquet was discussed whether the awards should be split from dinner.

Help-Line/Online
Help-Line will continue to be maintained. Online registration will be developed for individual registration and possibly team registration. The online resource center will be expanded to include the ability to purchase material directly from the web.

Multicultural Expansion

For questions concerning FDF events, please contact the FDF Webmaster ChKyriacou@aol.com

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