Montgomery County Road Runners Club

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting

Meeting of March 6, 2008 

Called to order: 7:10  pm 

Present:  Craig Roodenburg (President), Cathy Blessing (Vice President), Chris Richey (Treasurer), Mical Honigfort (Secretary), Jean Arthur (Member at Large), Jim Farkas (Member at Large), Sethiya Renwick (Member at Large) 

Invited guests: Susan Debad (Club Administrator)

Minutes Prepared By:  Mical Honigfort, Secretary 

  1. Review Agenda
    1. Nothing added or changed
  2. Business involving guests
    1. Susan Debad
      1. Susan brought thank you letters to donors for Craig to sign. 
      2. Susan is working with Pat Maloney on updated inserts for the new member packets to include information on Run Aware and other club programs.
      3. Susan suggested options for something small to include in the new member packets.  MOTION:  Cathy moved that we buy 1000 magnets with the club logo at a cost of $300 to include in the new member packets, Jim seconds, unanimous. 
      4. We discussed how to encourage more members to sign up for the Yahoo groups, particularly to mcrrc-alert.  Since Yahoo requires people to create a user- id and password, it is not practical to sign people up (if we had the option to ‘opt in’ to email lists on the membership form).  Therefore, we will do a one-time email blast to encourage members who are not on mcrrc-alert to sign up.  ACTION ITEM:  Susan will get Craig a list of member email addresses and Craig will compare these to addresses on mcrrc-alert (cross reference with a list from Don Libes) and we will send out a mass email to invite club members to sign up for mc-alert.
      5. The board authorized ordering 500 more club logo stickers for including in new member packets.
    2. Joel Carrier, John Sissala, and George Tarrico
      1. Joel went out to San Diego and was told by USATF that we were selected to host the XC Championships.  We will be working primarily through Mike Scott, head of USATF XC Council. 
      2. The tentative date is February 7, 2009.  USATF is in the process of developing an event contract and the board will be review that (the timeframe for receipt of contract is a month to 6 weeks).
      3. Joel mentioned some of the first steps for the race committee to work on:  naming of the event and a logo, talking to the parks service, developing a website, and starting on the sponsorship solicitation letters.
      4. USATF would like us to have an event on the Ag Park course as a ‘practice run’ of event logistics.  This would most likely be a new fall event on the calendar.
      5. The first meeting with key personnel is on March 10 at the Crabbs Branch Maintenance Facility. 
      6. John discussed some of the progress that has been made involving work with the parks and resources that will be needed.  He suggested that the club establish a steering committee for the race, similar to how Pike’s Peek is set up. 
      7. George will act as the treasurer for the race.  George passed out a preliminary budget and has suggested that the race have a separate account and credit cards linked to that account.  MOTION: Chris moved to transfer $10,000 as seed money for the race bank account, Jim seconds, unanimous.
  3. Review MCRRC Calendar
    1. Run Aware 5k- March 9, 8:30am, Wheaton
    2. Piece of Cake 10k- March 22, 9am, Gaithersburg
  4. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
    1.    Cathy moves to accept minutes.  Jean seconds, passed unanimously.
  5. Treasurer’s Report
    1. The total cash in MCRRC accounts, as of February 29, 2008 (not including Parks Half Marathon, Pike’s Peek, and DYR accounts) was the following:
      1. Checking (9223) $33,103.93 
      2. Savings (6828) $16,115.17
      3. Smith Barney $17,088.73
      4. Total Bank Accounts  $66.307.83
      5. Other Assets (CDs)  $85,000.00
    2. Parks Half Marathon Bank Accounts  (as of February 29, 2008)
      1.  Checking   $5,590.03
      2.  Savings   $2,360.06
      3. Total Bank Accounts      $7,950.09
    3. Pike’s Peek Bank Account  (as of February 29, 2008) 
      1. Checking    $3,561.94
      2. Total Bank Accounts $3,561.94
    4. DYR Bank Account (as of February 29, 2008)
      1.  Checking   $18,200.00
      2.        Total Bank Accounts                         $18,200.00
    5. March Financial Information
      1. Significant income was received from:
        • Membership Dues $5,615.00 
    6. Financial Items
      1. Centralized corporate credit cards- complete
      2. Bulk mail account- Chris is researching CAPS electronic funding of account
      3. The clubhouse savings account has been closed.  The CDs at the NASA Federal Credit Union are in the process of being opened (Board officers signed paperwork at the meeting).
    7. Motion to accept Treasurer’s Report:  Jim moves, Jean seconds, passed unanimously.
  6. Unfinished Business (action items from previous meetings)
    1. Review Action Items from prior Board meeting:
      1. Centralized photo web site discussion/approvals (0801-7e)- the Board is fine with the current arrangement- completed
      2. Craig to discuss reimbursement with Susan (0802-7c)- completed
      3. Discussion of the club purchasing a chip timing system
        • The board discussed the purchase of a transponder system and will consider possible systems.
        • Jim and Cathy are going to attend a demo for the IPICO timing system.
    2.   Review in-progress items from prior meetings:
      1. Christina will ask Lyman about the “Property of MCRRC” stickers- in progress
      2. Research into club credit cards (0712-6e-i)- completed; Chris will bring signature cards to annual business meeting.
      3. Jim will start club e-newsletter (07177a-iii)- completed; Jim will send out the first installment soon
      4. Criteria for lending club equipment (0711-7e)- draft criteria for lending of club equipment; Christina is working on the guidance for the equipment manager- in progress
      5. Strategic Plan - Club Program Reports (0703-7a)-  Christina and Cathy will put together the requirements for these reports and will provide this information to the program heads- Cathy will obtain any work Christina has done with the reports
  7. New Business
    1. Discussion of incoming board
    2. Agenda for annual meeting
      1. The board discussed items to be presented at the annual meeting and who would present.
    3. First aid/CPR training
      1. Jean reported that her contact can provide CPR/AED/first aid training at the Aspen Hill Club on March 29 for 10 club members.  The club will pick up $50/person and charge members the remaining $10.  The Board will discuss scheduling future classes.
    4. Student rate
      1. The Board discussed creating a lower membership rate for students.  The conclusion was to focus more on programs targeting that demographic instead of changing the fee structure. 
    5. Proposal to provide complimentary awards dinner in place of a yearly membership for ROY nominees
      1. The board agreed to provide complimentary dinners to the ROY nominees in place of providing yearly memberships.  In addition to the ROY nominees, we will also invite winners of the following awards to attend the awards dinner at no cost:  Volunteer Awards, President’s Award, Presidential Citation, Journalism, Lifetime Achievement, RD of the Year, Outstanding HS Students, Most Improved, Coach of the Year.  We will send an email/letter to awardees inviting them to the dinner and indicating they will be honored, without disclosing the award. 
    6. Presentation on running club as part of wellness seminars- Covance Wellness in Gaithersburg is interested in having someone come to talk about the club and its training programs.  Jim is going to do a presentation at this company.
  8. Standing Items
    1. Strategic Plan – Compiling/updating governance policies
    2. Strategic Plan – Increasing participation and volunteerism
  9. Business Between Meetings
    1. Chris moved that MCRRC contribute $100 each to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail, and Meadowbrook Stables to support trails and facilities utilized by MCRRC members and programs. Cathy seconded, unanimous.
    2. The board approved the following by-law change to be voted on at the March Annual Meeting, to improve the process for vendor payments by the Treasurer:  “E. Check Signatures - Checks and/or electronic debits issued for over $200 by the MCRRC shall require the [signatures] written documented approval (e-mail or otherwise) and/or signature of two officers.”
  10. Announcements
    1. The MD RRCA President’s meeting was held after the RRCA Club Challenge.
    2. Cathy may attend the RRCA conference in May in Cincinnati.
    3. Howard County and Annapolis Striders are trying to get a coaching certification class together.  We may try to coordinate with them if possible.
  11. Closure
    1. Action items:
      1. Susan will get Craig a list of member email addresses and Craig will compare these to addresses on mcrrc-alert (cross reference with a list from Don Libes) and we will send out a mass email to invite club members to sign up for mcrrc-alert.
    2. Motions passed:
      1. The Board approved a donation of $100 to each of three groups who maintain trails or facilities used by MCRRC members and programs.
      2. The Board approved language for a by-law change to improve how vendor payments are made by the Treasurer.
      3. The Board approved the purchase of magnets for the new member packets.
      4. The Board approved moving $10,000 in seed money to a new account created for the USATF XC Championships.
    3. Review Plans for Next Meeting
      1. Next meeting is April 3, 2008 at 6:30 pm at the Stella Werner Council Office Bldg, 5th Floor Conference Room, 100 Maryland Ave.  Craig offered to bring food.
 

Meeting adjourned: 10:11  pm 
 

Respectfully submitted,

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Mical Honigfort