Minutes from August 29, 2013 Board Meeting

New business

Up Coming Elections

• Anstr, Ed will not be running in upcoming board elections, Joe undecided, Alan and Alisa will run
• Anstr will be commissioner of elections
• Candidates will be previewed by commissioner and will not be public until list is complete
• Anstr will produce a draft of the election process

Low Key Runs

• Kerry Owens will move Potomac Heritage 50k to March
• Andiamo Run – Carolyn Gernand has moved to Louisiana. Participation maxed out at 15 or 16, Anstr will investigate putting on the event Columbus Day weekend next year.
• Do we want to exercise more control? Anstr thinks there should be a more formal or explicit entry process. First come first serve is messy. Joe states that any member who will not endanger runners with a solid plan should be supported financially by the club. Alan says a starting point would be to advertise for members to bring ideas forward. Joe will vet those who step forward. Scott wonders if there is a checklist of expectations that Fat Ass organizers should receive. Anstr states there is a policy given to those who ask for club support. Alan notes this should be updated. Joe will work on a draft checklist for potential run organizers.
• Tracy Dahl will now need to get permits for the Women’s Half Marathon training runs.

Facebook and Member Involvement

• Anstr, Alan and Sophie have discussed the VHTRC Facebook page. Many people see this as our website and source of information about the club. Some mistake being a part of the Facebook group for being a club member. This makes membership worth less. We have a list of benefits of membership. But, if members are involved, their membership is worth more. Members need more ways to be involved. Do we need committees or other ways to get people involved? Scott’s position as a non-member: what if members go out on a run and they want to immediately post pictures of the fun – that generates enthusiasm. Anstr – we should have some sense of responsibility with membership. Scott – many of the members are happy to be there in name only and donate their funds to a group that represents their roots. Anstr – create several committees to generate responsibility in areas that people are passionate about – timing, trail maintenance, property management. Alan – we had many different iterations of the swag committee. WVMTR has a director that orders all shirts for all races. Alan mentioned this idea to Toni (who was in favor) and Tracy (who was in favor). WVMTR has enough printed to cover the race and the rest
  come with a club logo and become club shirts. Anstr suggests that the committee should walk before it runs – it should begin by ordering just club shirts then seeing if we can implement the process with the RDs. Scott knows the Patagonia rep who is in charge of team sales. A brochure is available that would allow RDs to choose shirts from a wide selection. Alan – WVMTR orders $20,000 worth of Patagonia product and as a result receives additional bonus product for door prizes, etc. Alan – has asked Quatro about being the swag coordinator but that never materialized into something formal. He will ask Quatro about being the swag point person before anything is implemented. Alan’s proposal to order from Patagonia at team discounts with catalog is supported by the members of the board.

Awards and Awards Party

• Sophie has agreed to continue to assist with awards, specifically with nominations. She has spoken with Alan at length about how to streamline the process with some suggestions.
• Should Runner of the Year and Performance of the Year be exclusive categories? Anstr supports this motion. Board supports the motion.
• We need to publicize performances that are nomination worthy more often throughout the year. Sophie should feel free to nominate people for the award and be involved in the process throughout the year. Sophie should be asked to recommend a date for the party very soon.

Finances

• Reimbursement checks have been slow to arrive. Alan will speak to treasurer about timeframe expectations.
• Kevin Bligan had car trouble MMT weekend and had to rent a car to make it to VA to mark the MMT course. His invoice was sent to Alan. Board agrees we should cover the expense Kevin incurred in helping us to make MMT possible

Discussion of MMT 2013

• Excessive Profit
  • Entry fee was raised by $20, but less money was spent.
  • A budget is created by the board, but it means little to the RD. Scott calculates a per runner cost for swag, permits, aid stations, etc w/ 15% premium. Alan – this is how our budget was created but money is not tracked through the process. Joe – RD needs to hit the bottom line of the budget, but line item agreement is not as essential. Profit margin is set ahead of time.
  • Scott suggests perhaps gifts for key volunteers as a thank you would be a good way to spend our excess.
  • Joe – Notes excess shirts are put forward as future revenue ($540) and should not be accounted for in this way. It should be taken out or booked on next year’s event if that is where they are sold. Alan will make note of this to Brian.
• Financial Control
  • Anstr – should entry fee go down in light of profit Scott – SD100 entry fee is $220 resulting in $5000 profit that was invested in goodwill.
  • Ed – we should get a budget as early as possible from Kevin. Scott suggests budgeting on a per runner basis because it is a much easier calculation.
  • Anstr – what should we say to Kevin about the excess profit? Is it a mistake or not? We need to propose alternatives. Joe—we need to emphasize that Kevin should do what it takes to produce a quality run. Alan – we need to have the RD keep track of expenses more precisely. Alisa – Kevin should be encouraged to spend extra money on runners if the entry fee is to remain the same. Alan—we need a partner who will assist with tracking expenses and budget. Joe – will speak with Kevin and ask him for a budget by September and will use his experience with budgeting to guide the conversation.
• Registration Date
  • Anstr – registration has opened on December 1st, but Anstr may be gone on that date, making any mishap hard to correct. Maybe January 1st is a better date. After discussion, because the December 1st date gives runners an additional month to prepare for 100 miles, we will keep the date.
  • Alan—How long should the windows for the entry system be open?
  • Anstr – wait list should be done by PayPal rather than the current mail in system.

Club finances

• Equipment Management
  • We need a centralized location for gear.
  • Purchase a storage shed at Hemlock, store sufficient supplies for BRR and WHM here
  • Advertise on list serve for someone around the beltway who would be willing to have a VHTRC purchased shed on their property for storage.
• John DeWalt Memorial Ideas
  • Race award for tenacity
  • Contributing to a memorial on the Hardrock Course
  • Physical improvements to a VHTRC course that John enjoyed
• Improvements at Hemlock
  • Industrial coffee maker

MGM Run

• December 14th approved as race date