Minutes from July 28, 2022 Board Meeting

New business

Meneka Mountain 25K and 10K

The Board met to discuss a new 10K and 25K event in the Massanuttens put on by Will to Run and Athletic Equation. Will to Run is owned and operated by VHTRC Board member Will Weidman.

During Board meetings earlier this year, Will had suggested staging a 25K race as a club event, and the rest of the Board supported the idea. Meneka Mountain’s genesis was with the VHTRC and the Board set the date, discussed permitting, the course, and other logistics, and was led to believe that Will was working on behalf of the VHTRC to carry it out as a Club event. Records of these conversations are documented in the February 7, March 14, and May 2 Board minutes, as well as emails to the Board and other club members, in which Will implied he was acting on behalf of the VHTRC.

Unbeknownst to the Board, Will had obtained a land-use permit with the US Forest Service for Athletic Equation, in partnership with Will to Run, to put on the Meneka Mountain Races on October 1 and opened paid entry to the event on July 25.

The Board discussed this development in light of the club’s Conflict of Interest Policy, which states:

The Board members and officers of the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club (VHTRC) owe a duty of loyalty to the VHTRC, which requires that in serving the VHTRC they act, not in their personal interests or in the interests of others, but rather solely in the interests of the VHTRC. Board members and officers must have undivided allegiance to VHTRC’s mission and may not use their positions, information they have about VHTRC, or VHTRC’s property, in a manner that allows them to secure a pecuniary benefit for themselves or their relatives.

This policy and the challenges of Will’s continued service on the Board were discussed.