Montgomery County Road Runners Club

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting

Meeting of October 6, 2005

 

Called to order: 7:08 pm

 

Present: Jean Arthur (President), Craig Roodenburg (Vice-President), Gary Resnick (Secretary), Susan Gagnon (Member-at-Large), Cathy Blessing (Member-at-Large), Sethiya Renwick (Member-at-Large), Dave Haaga (Member-at-Large), Janet Newburgh (Member-at-Large)

 

Minutes Prepared By: Gary Resnick, Secretary

 

1.      Review Agenda

a)      No new items

 

2.      Review MCRRC Calendar

a)      Oct 22: Candy Cane City Race

b)      Oct. 30: Marine Corps Marathon

c)      There was discussion about the purpose of the Race Calendar section in the Board meetings.  The Board agreed with a suggestion that the race calendar for the next month should be included in the prior meeting’s agenda, rather than in the same month as the Board meeting (example: rather than October races discussed at the October Board meeting, October races would be discussed at the September Board meeting).

 

3.      Minutes of the Previous Meeting

a)      Motion to accept minutes, Jean moved, Cathy seconded, passed unanimously

 

4.      Treasurer's Report (submitted Oct. 10, post-meeting)

a)      Christina was not able to attend this meeting, and so the Treasurer’s Report was submitted October 10, 2005.

b)      MCRRC Account Detail (September, 2005):

i)           The total cash in MCRRC accounts, as of September 30 (not including Marathon in the Parks, Pike’s Peek, and HYR accounts) was the following:

·         Checking                      $33,956.42       

·         Savings                         $29,350.36

·         Savings – Clubhouse      $5,811.09

·         Legg Mason                  $21,507.78

·         TOTAL Bank Accounts                                    $90,625.65

·         Other Assets (CDs)         $20,000.00

ii)         Marathon in the Parks Bank Accounts (as of August 30, 2005)

·         Checking                      $13,376.88

·         Savings                         $2,869.28

·         TOTAL Bank Accounts                        $16,246.16

iii)        Pikes Peek Bank Accounts (as of September 30, 2005)

·             Checking                  $3,012.02

·             Savings                     $2,024.90

·         TOTAL Bank Accounts                                    $5,036.92

iv)       HYR Bank Account (as of August 30, 2005)

·         Checking                      $8,250.24

·         TOTAL Bank Accounts                                $8,250.24

c)      September Financial Information:

i)           The September financial statements indicate a net operating loss of $4,293.38.  Significant income was received from:

·         XMP                            $4,679.00

·         Membership dues          $2,275.00

·         Smarter Running           $1,534.75

·         RMS                            $1,051.81

ii)         Significant expenses included:

·         Rundown                                  $7,156.50

·         FTM Shirts and expenses           $3,903.81

·         Payroll                                      $1,023.07

iii)        Budget Items:

·         Stride Clinic income - Sign-me-up should be sending a check.

·         We have a large amount of money in our savings account and checking account.  We should consider moving additional funds into higher interest accounts (e.g., purchase additional CDs).  I have additional information from Legg Mason that I will share with the board for discussion at the next meeting. 

d)      Old Financial Action Items:

i)           Determine appropriate budgets for low-key races. – In-process

e)      New Financial Action Items:

i)           2006 Annual Budget: Christina and Jean will present a draft at the next meeting

ii)         August and September budgets will need to be voted for approval at the next meeting

 

5.      Unfinished Business

a)      Review Action Items from September, 2005 board meeting

i)           Web Page Update (originally Membership Renewal, 0507-7b): Sethiya reported on a cost estimate she asked Pam Clark to provide, estimated cost of $3,600, can be done by the end of November, with an estimated labor of 4-5 days, Pam gave a set of options for lower cost,

·         One possible option is for Pam to design the main page and for Sethiya and other volunteers to do the remaining pages

·         Another issue that Sethiya discussed was the prevalence of access to the web site password by various entities (club members and vendors), which often results in new files uploaded that may not integrate with existing content

·         ACTION ITEM: Sethiya will look at the pages and identify the number of key pages, and then she will ask Pam for another estimate, with the idea of reducing the cost

ii)         Chi-Running (0509-8b):

·         Letter received from Danny Dreyer asking if we would be a Chi-Running Affiliate Club

·         One issue is that the club would then be affiliated with a commercial entity that is tied to one training program/philosophy, which would constitute an endorsement of a particular approach

·         It was noted that the club has been approached by other training programs/approaches for affiliate status

·         The issue is not the commercial status of the organization/company but the actual approach, which while valuable, should not tie the club into supporting only one approach or style

·         The Board agreed that the club should maintain a great deal of latitude to encourage its members to train with a variety of approaches.

·         MOTION BY ACCLAMATION: It was the opinion of the Board that the club should not be associated with any particular training philosophy or approach, and thus it will respectfully decline the invitation to become a Chi-Running affiliate club, but coaches and members are encouraged to try this training philosophy and approach.

iii)        Club members making purchases without board permission (0508-7a): Jean talked with the member involved and will send a written note. Completed.

iv)       Safety issues (0509-8c): Gary will talk with Richard Stukey about helping coordinate a public service campaign. Gary did not have an opportunity to talk to Richard, in process.

v)         Safety issues (0509-8c): Susan will work on developing a symbol that might be appropriate for an ad campaign on not running with headphones, and will report back at the next meeting

·         There was a symbol in the latest Rundown about not wearing headphones, but there was agreement that Susan's was slightly better

·         Discussion about alternative designs, but ultimately the Board agreed with the simplicity of the symbol with just the headphones

·         Further discussion of the broader campaign to education runners about not using headphones while running

·         Possible slogan was suggested: "Run Aware" across the top of the symbol

·         ACTION ITEM: Susan will look into round stickers of different sizes

vi)       Christina will prepare a spreadsheet of expenditures for club low key races (0508-7a): on hold as Christina is out of town

 

6.      New Business

a)      Runner Exchange Page: there is a note about no commercial vendors unless they wish to sponsor the page, Sethiya received a call and someone wants to sponsor the page, a club member Jet Defensor. The Board had questions about having a commercial entity. Decision: not to have a sponsor for this page and the note will be removed from the page

b)      MCM Hospitality Room: Janet was asked about the hospitality room for the upcoming marathon

i)           Linda McDermott is in charge of the hospitality room

ii)         There is a notice in the Rundown about the room but no place to actually sign up online

iii)        There will be an ad in the Intervals, and it will be sent to Sethiya, Jean will send a message to MCRUN about the link to sign up

iv)       Concern that many people are not yet aware of the room and the race is coming up at the end of the month

v)         Another issue is whether volunteers have been recruited to staff the room

vi)       ACTION ITEM: Janet will talk with Linda about recruiting volunteers

c)      Awards Party

i)           We need to pick a date for the Party, potential dates are Feb. 12 or 19

ii)         ACTION ITEM: Cathy will ask Michal if she would be willing to do it

d)      Course Marshal handouts to motorists

i)           Cathy was contacted by club member Angelo Whitten about whether motorists are given information on race day about the race, a small handout that describes the race, who is the race director and the club putting on the race, how many people are running the race, how long they will be inconvenienced, what steps were taken to notify the public and possibly a number and/or name of whom to contact to complain

ii)         The Board thought this was a good idea to fit on a card that is easy to hand out, targeted generically for the low key races

iii)        ACTION ITEM: Cathy will ask Angelo Whitten to develop a handout

 

7.      Announcements

a)      Gary said that the Stride Clinic is looking for a new coach to assist in the clinic on a regular basis

b)      ACTION ITEM: Janet will post a request for potential coaching candidates for the Stride Clinic on the Breaking News page of the club web site

 

8.      Closure

a)      Review Action Items

i)           Membership Renewal on Club Website and Website Redesign: Sethiya will look at the pages and identify the number of key pages, and then she will ask Pam for another estimate, with the idea of reducing the cost

ii)         Financial: Christina will prepare a spreadsheet of expenditures for club low key races (0508-7a)

iii)        Anti-Headphone While Running (Run Aware) Campaign: Susan will look into round stickers of different sizes and will develop a logo with the slogan “Run Aware”

iv)       Run Aware Campaign: Gary will talk with Richard Stukey about PR strategy

v)         MCM Hospitality Room: Janet will talk with Linda about recruiting volunteers

vi)       Awards Party: Cathy will ask Michal if she would be willing to be in charge again

vii)      Course Marshall Handouts for Motorists at Races: Cathy will ask Angelo Whitten to develop a handout

viii)    Stride Clinic coaches: Janet will post a request for potential coaching candidates for the Stride Clinic on the Breaking News section of the club web site

b)      Motions Passed (including motions by acclamation)

i)           Chi-Running Request for Club Affiliate Status: The Board declined the request from Chi-Running to become an affiliate club but coaches and members are encouraged to try this training philosophy and approach. (by acclamation)

c)      Review Plans for November Meeting

i)           Next meeting is November 3, 2005, 6:30 pm, at 100 Maryland Ave, 5th Floor conference room.

ii)         Janet offered to bring food

 

Meeting Adjourned: 9:27  pm

 

 

 

Gary Resnick Secretary, Montgomery County Road Runners Club