Present:  President Barb Bonansinga, Brent Leach, Chuck Costello, Susan Helm, Emily Klockenga, Mary Rogers, Jim Cinotto, Anne Baker

Absent:  Lori Milkent

Meeting called to order by President Barb Bonansinga at 6:00 p.m.  The November 10, 2008 Board Meeting Minutes were reviewed, updated and approved by the Board.

Brent Leach presented the financial report.  Our cash balance for the operating account is $30,602.61 or $42,948.27, including proceeds from the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon which has its own separate bank account.  Frostbite receipts and expenses are not finalized yet.  The financial report was approved.

Barb announced that the Frostbite Festival was highly successful.  She thought Linda Jones and Nancy Sutzer, co-race directors, did an excellent job.  She also sent get well wishes to Barry House, the #1 Frost Toe.

Emily Klockenga discussed the outcome of the recent socials starting with the Cold Duck Thanksgiving event.  Participants enjoyed the fire, drinks and food.  Scott Leopold is offering another social at his home in Petersburg.  Tim Butler had over 400 people attend his neighbor association’s fundraising event which immediately followed Frostbite.  Monster Mash will be the January Social (the 24^th).  Awards are being ordered soon.  We need to finalize the race calendar soon so it can be approved at Monster Mash and the magnet calendar created.  Congratulations to Bill Davis and all the Memphis Marathoners for finishing.

Anne Baker announced the newsletter is going to the printer tomorrow.  The new SRRC website is under construction and will go live in the next couple of weeks.  Brent suggested we publicize the new website.  This will be done after the new one is up and running.  Our target date is January 1^st.  We are probably going to have another SRRC race directors meeting after the holidays.  Communication with the non-SRRC race directors may occur by e-mail only or through a meeting, either of which will occur following the holiday.

Jim Cinotto presented information on the proposed SRRC Hall of Fame.  It honors excellence in both
running and volunteer contributions to the running community by long-time club members.  A member must have attained master runner status (at least 40 years of age) and have a minimum of ten years as a club member.  Members will be honored for a superior running career which brings recognition to the member and the club, significant club administration, volunteerism, coaching, or race administration.  Hall of Fame members have earned the respect of the club membership.  They serve as positive role models for club members and present a favorable image to the non-running community. The nominating committee consists of the current SRRC president, past SRRC presidents and current Hall of Fame members.  The SRRC past president chairs the nominating committee.  The nominating
committee may select up to two nominees per year. Hall of Fame members are inducted into the Hall of Fame at the annual Monster Mash.  Hall of Fame members receive a plaque honoring their induction and a biography of each member appears in a special Hall of Fame section of the club’s website.

There were three nominations and the final vote was made.  The motion carried.  Barb thanks Jim for his hard work.

The board decided that all SRRC-owned races will be certified or re-certified if necessary for the 2009 race season.  This expense will be covered by the club.

Barb reminded everyone that they are invited to attend a presentation on tag timing this Wednesday at 5:30 at Ray La Hood’s office.

Mary Rogers shared that a nomination was received for “Most Improved Female Runner”.

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Helm

Secretary

Present: Chuck Costello, Jr., Brent Leach, Susan Helm, Barb Bonansinga, Emily Klockenga, Jim Cinotto, Anne Baker

Absent: Lori Milkent and Mary Rogers (Excused)

The October 14, 2008 SRRC board meeting minutes were approved.

Brent Leach distributed the travelling store inventory report created by Barb Manson. It was reviewed and approved. The Treasurer’s report was distributed and approved and we have a current balance of $42,075.47.

Committee reports: Jim Cinotto discussed establishing an SRRC Hall of Fame. He’d like to pursue the idea with a committee of past presidents. Members of the Hall of Fame would have a separate listing on our website, including portrait, bio, records, accomplishments and contributions to the club. Brent and Susan Helm had no committee reports.

Barb Bonansinga discussed the SRRC website and the fact that it continues to be plagued with problems of being “down”. Anne Baker feels we definitely need to have more control over the site and should consider a different server. Chuck is unclear when our cycle begins and ends with the current company/server. We paid our most recent bill about a year ago. The board discussed the need to not have the domain name changed. Barb announced she and Anne are still seeking a replacement newsletter editor.

Barb also announced the results of the pre-race director’s meeting. The actual race director’s meeting will be held November 19th and all SRRC owned race directors and board members are invited to attend. Area race directors (affiliate races) will have a separate training most likely in December. Fees, budget, etc. will all be discussed at this meeting. The SRRC race standards document is currently posted on “google docs” to be reviewed by all race directors. Brent Leach brought up the issue of raising money for other causes during our races, which, according to him, hurts our tax-exempt status. We are not a fundraising arm for other organizations. A tag timing presentation/demo has been offered to SRRC. It might be in conjunction with the Frost Bite race on December 7th. Barb announced if the date works out, she would like to see board members attend the demonstration. Brent requested information on the cost. The company is currently available to run the Lincoln Half, Abe’s Amble and Parade Race next year in case we don’t purchase the equipment from them yet.

Holly Dahlquist made a proposal through Barb on the Triple Crown winners for special recognition and awards. She would like to provide an SRRC membership, one reserved table at Monster Mash, reduced fee in Lincoln Memorial Half and ??. The board suggested instead considering ordering trophies or medals.

Jim Cinotto created a letter to the members that reminds them about their volunteer obligations, particularly if they are “in the hunt” for winning the points races. It will be posted on our website and sent to the nominees. Emily and Barb met to discuss ordering awards for Monster Mash and also the cost of a DJ. Emily has a friend who is in the floral business and wants permission to have some centerpieces as well. There will be tables for the Travelling store, Lincoln Memorial Half and other races as well as the opportunity to review your SRRC membership online. Emily announced she will present a PowerPoint presentation on Springfield area high school running and lead up to our featured speaker, Anne Gaffigan. It was announced that Katie Mac will have her end of the year Wednesday night track part at Dublin Pub on November 22nd. Emily would like to have Springfield Scene magazine cover the Monster Mash. The bar will open from 5 to 6. Brent gave Emily a breakdown of last year’s expenses.

The meeting was adjourned at ?

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Helm
Secretary

Present: Chuck Costello, Jr., Brent Leach, Susan Helm, Barb Bonansinga, Emily Klockenga, Jim Cinotto
Absent: Lori Myers, Mary Rogers and Anne Baker (Excused)
The September 8, 2008 SRRC board meeting minutes were approved.

The Treasurer’s report was distributed and approved and we have a current balance of $32,522.11.  There is $10,190.45 in the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon Fund.  There is a total fund balance of $44,712.56 ($2,000 reimbursement check still with Tim Butler and hasn’t been placed in his race account yet.)  There were lots of Abe’s Amble transactions in this time period and not many expenses.  We made a $1,000 donation to Big Brother/Big Sister from the Abe’s Amble race profits.  We’ve already paid the biggest expense for the Frost Bite race which is the wind shirts and have not seem much in the way of income yet (still early).

Committee reports:  Per Chuck Costello, the website issues we’ve been having lately are unrelated to each other.  Right now it’s been corrected but we’re still getting 200-250 spam e-mail each day.  Emily Klockenga talked about a November social – a possible cross country meet at Lincoln Park.  She was looking at November 8th or November 16th.  Several members already involved in cross country have offered to help.  It would follow the regular c.c. season so student athletes could participate.  We would probably need to look into additional insurance.  Emily was going to confirm which date was best so Barb could file for additional insurance. There is the Cold Duck race on Thanksgiving Day.  Kelly Fox wants to know if her race at Mt. Zion could be posted on our website.  Emily wants to create a race calendar for 2009 and include club member photos as a possible club fundraiser.  She is going to check into it.  Brent asked her obtain an estimate on the cost of producing such a calendar.  She also enquired about hiring a DJ for Monster Mash.

Susan Helm revealed the final accounting of the Women’s Distance Festival which made over $5,000.  She asked the board to make a donation to Girl’s on the Run of $2,000 which includes a $255 donation already made by individual participants in a check-off on their race form.  The motion was approved.  The board decided in the future donations like this will be included in a race’s budget and approved ahead of time.

Barb Bonansinga needs to order safety pins for our races, including for this year’s Frost Bite.  Tim Butler has agreed to chair the pre-meeting for the race director’s meeting already scheduled for November 19th.  Derrick has volunteered to host the race director’s meeting at the Running Center on November 19th.  Board members are also encouraged to attend.  This first one will only include SRRC owned race directors.  Barb announced we need to vote on next year’s race schedule prior to the end of this year so another race magnet can be produced.  She also announced that certain area races in their second year are requesting consideration to become a points race.  Finally, Derrick wants to become more involved with sponsorship of all SRRC owned races, possibly with in-kind merchandise.  He will be making a proposal.

Anne Baker and Lori Milkint again have expressed the desire to enhance the website since it’s becoming the club’s main communication tool.  It would include some changing and updating and a format more like the Hardy Breed website (Word Press – free and customizable).  It will be discussed more at the next meting.  Our domain name expires at the end off the year.  There was discussion of hiring a web designer.  Following web site change comments, it was determined that a vote on potential changes would occur at the next meeting.

The board briefly discussed tag timing and reserving dates for renting it but the company wants us to just purchase the equipment.  Barb will try to get the company to come to a board meeting and make a proposal.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Helm
Secretary

Present: Mary Rogers, Chuck Costello, Jr., Brent Leach, Susan Helm, Barb Bonansinga, Emily Klockenga, Jim Cinotto

Absent: Lori Milkint and Anne Baker (Excused)

The August 11, 2008 SRRC board meeting minutes were approved with revisions.

The Treasurer’s report was distributed and we have a current balance of $43,101.33. WE received more fees from Women’s Distance Festival, Parade Run and Abe’s Amble. Year to date, we still have a positive income of $2,600. The Abe’s Amble race directors think all expenses and receipts will be reconciled by the next meeting. The majority of their expenses have been paid. The Treasurer’s report was approved.

Committee reports: Emily Klockenga has the contract from Pam for the Monster Mash annual meeting to be held Saturday, January 29th. There was talk of charging a fee for the bar and/or meal. The might mean having an early business meeting that would not require a charge. Emily moved the annual picnic to Tom Madonia Park because Lincoln Park wouldn’t let us start any earlier than 4:30. The date is September 27th. Emily asked permission to rent an inflatable game for the children. It was suggested we have a donation of $5/person or $10/family for the picnic. Ann Gaffigan will be the keynote speaker for Monster Mash and we will pay her travel expenses.

Chuck Costello stated our web mail has been updated. Our spam has been reduced. Barb, Anne and Lori are interested in changing the look of the website and making it more user friendly. The current template does not allow for this.

Mary Rogers brought up a proposal to use getmeregistered vs. ACCESS to main membership records. This would make it much easier for the membership chair – much cleaner, accurate information. She would like another volunteer (board member or non-board member) to be trained as her back-up. This person would need to be IT savvy. Chuck agreed to be the back-up person. She talked to Derrick about the 10% discount card that is offered to members at the Springfield Running Center. Derrick said he’ll honor the 10% discount based on a person’s word. WE will still allow people to register with paper through the mail. Mary would like to incentivize people to register online at no extra cost – possibly consider a drawing for one $50 gift certificate to the SRRC Traveling Store. In the next year we would analyze the cost of being a member and consider changing the fee. We will continue to wait the online registration fee itself. The motion passed. Mary will create a membership brochure.

Susan Helm would like to make a presentation for a donation to Girls on the Run from Women’s Distance Festival at the next board meeting. Brent Leach and Jim Cinotto had no reports.

Barb asked all board members to consider their future and whether or not they want to stay on the board. The nominating committee will start to meet soon.

There was much discussion about the fee structure for supporting other races – equipment rental, website, newsletter, insurance, etc. Susan will check on what other clubs are doing in regards to equipment rental outside of their own races.

Mary brought up the Halloween Hustle (formerly sponsored by the Springfield Trail Blazers) race/fun run. The organizers want to borrow some SRRC equipment and would like $300 returned to them from the monies they ran through our treasury last year. It’s more of a social than a race. Mary is on the planning committee. They have a lot of sponsors already and don’t necessary need money. Mary proposed we refund their $300 profit from last year, have them no longer run their account through us, make another donation of $200 and have it not be an SRRC event. We will not be a sponsor. We will loan them equipment.

Barb wants to choose a date for the annual race director’s meeting. She’s asking for board members to attend as well. Race budgets will be required prior to spending. Online registration will be strongly encouraged. There will be an ongoing lunch meeting for past, present and future race directors. Tag timing will still be in discussion.

The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Helm

Secretary

Present: Barb Bonansinga, Susan Helm, Brent Leach, Jim Cinotto, Chuck Costello, Jr., Anne Baker

Absent: Jan Wilson, Emily Klockenga, Lori Milkint and Mary Rogers (excused)

Barb Bonansinga announced that Jan Wilson is retiring from the SRRC board effective immediately. Barb thanked her for her hard work and dedication with Abe’s Army and as race director liaison on the board. She will remain an SRRC member. Barb is responsible for replacing her.

The June board minutes were approved. The minutes of the July board meeting were approved once the ending treasury balance was added.

The Treasurer’s report was distributed by Brent Leach. We have a current balance of $46,461, including the Lincoln Half Marathon account. Year-to-date net income is approximately $6,000. We still have major expenses for Abe’s Amble and the SRRC Picnic that are not included in this amount. Brent reminded everybody that if race directors are accepting scholarship donations for not-for-profit organizations, they need to notify the treasurer so that race proceeds are properly allocated. Brent reminded the Board that race directors need to present budgets so they can be approved by the Board prior to spending.

Committee Reports: Anne Baker had no report. She’s working on the September newsletter issue. It will include lots of photos. Chuck had no report. He’s going to clean up the club’s e-mails. They discussed the website support company and possibly redesigning our website. Jim Cinotto had no report. Brent had no additional report. Susan Helm had no report and will present the final WDF report at the next meeting. Mary Rogers has additional cash and checks to give to Brent from the Parade Run. Chip timing went well at the Parade Run. Great job to Mary and Marcia for co-directing the Parade Run. Emily sent an e-mail regarding upcoming socials and the picnic. Anne Gaffigan has offered to be the keynote speaker for the Monster Mash. The picnic is tentatively scheduled for September 13^th…..waiting word from Lincoln Park and the Park District. We will be charging this year. Emily continues to use “constant contact” to update members on socials and races and it works well.

Barb offered to have a second finance committee meeting. She would like to attend it as well. She will offer some dates. Jim offered to have Mike Boyd, former treasurer, participate as well. Barb needs the laptop for Abe’s Amble.

Susan offered to coordinate a race operations committee. She will send out an e-mail to the board and past and present race directors.

Meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Helm

Secretary

Location: YMCA Board room

Present: Jan Wilson, Anne Baker, Chuck Costello, Jr., Mary Rogers, Susan Helm, Jim Cinotto, Emily Klockenga

Absent (excused): Brent Leach, Lori Milkint

The minutes of the June meeting were reviewed but not approved. Barb Bonansinga wanted to wait until she was certain Brent Leach had a chance to review them. Lori Milkint has resumed website responsibility. Brent Leach is out of town on work assignment. Some questions were raised about deposits and handling of check writing in his absence.

The treasurer’s report was presented and approved. The ending balance was $46,461, including the Lincoln Half Marathon.

Jim Cinotto had no report. Susan Helm had no report but thanked everyone on the board for their support of the Women’s Distance Festival. Chuck Costello had no report. Mary Rogers announced that there were 1,219 members as of today, July 14, 2008. She also presented SRRC notecards to the board which anybody could use when corresponding when others outside the organization. She presented a written proposal to eliminate our Access database and just handle everything online. She’s recommending discontinuing use of the Access database to manage SRRC membership data and utilize the online registration program offered by Get Me Registered. She’s suggesting making it official January 1, 2009. To our members, there will be no difference. We’ll just be pushing online application more but still accepting paper applications. She suggested we accept new applications or renewals at Monster Mash. Barb suggested this idea be discussed at the next SRRC Finance Committee meeting. Barb wants Mary to determine who else has access to the data and what if there’s a server failure. The issue will be discussed again at the August board meeting.

Anne Baker said the next newsletter went to the printer today. She’s hoping to get more on schedule in the future. Some race results have been difficult to manage. Susan raised the idea of discontinuing publishing race results, particularly when they are months later and have already been posted on our website. Consideration was given to creating a survey to get our member’s feelings on the subject both via the newsletter and website.

Emily Klockenga reported the Slider’s game (SRRC July social) is this Friday. The Sizzling Mile is July 24^th which will be followed by a social at the Corner Pub. A golf outing is scheduled for August 2^nd at Long Bridge at 3 p.m. She’s starting to work on the annual picnic in September to be combined with a softball game. Barb suggested we look at charging for the meal – single and family price. It was suggested we look at charging for the main meat and then look at a potluck. Emily is looking for venues. She is using “constant contact” to remind people about SRRC events and races. It costs $15/month. Currently she’s been using it as a trial. It allows communication to our membership between newsletter issues as e-mail blasts. The board agreed to approve this expenditure until we will bridge to Get Me Registered in January.

Jan Wilson presented the results of the RRCA insurance quiz. This information will be shared with our SRRC owned race directors. We have three printers. Tim Butler prefers the one that Mary Rogers normally uses. We need to look at recycling the poor one. The question is whether or not we need a back-up printer. It is just used for our races only. The clock that was damaged at the Magnificent Mile cost $153.80 to ship to California. It is going to cost $205 to repair and $50-$75 to return it. This will include the cost of a new battery. Jan got a request from a woman in Athens who is going to have a race and wants to be listed on our website. Discussion begun on marketing our races on other area club’s websites.

Barb said issues were raised between Abe’s Army and Abe’s Amble regarding walkers vs. runners. It was suggested to survey the current Abe’s Army walkers to get their input about walking a separates vs. same course. If they kept the same course, they would probably start after the runners.

Barb presented the SRRC’s “bike to work” efforts.

The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Helm

Secretary

]]> http://srrc.net/?feed=rss2&p=642 0 http://srrc.net/?p=639 http://srrc.net/?p=639#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:41:46 +0000 admin http://srrc.net/?p=639 SRRC Board Meeting – Monday, June 9, 2008

Location: YMCA Board room

Present: Jan Wilson, Anne Baker, Chuck Costello, Jr., Mary Rogers, Susan Helm, Brent Leach, Jim Cinotto, Emily Klockenga

Guests: Alex Taft, Kelly Urbas and Tim Butler

Kelly Urbas presented the final financial report for the Springfield Magnificent Mile. He felt everything went well for a first-time race. The club’s race clock used for the event was accidentally broken and is currently in the process of being shipped off to be repaired. Kelly felt he would consider repeating the race again but possibly moving it to the end of May when track season is completed.

Alex Taft, representing the Women’s Distance Festival and the Children’s Fun Run, proposed the club purchase participation trophies for 100 children from Crown Trophies of Peoria at a cost of $325. He asked that the money come from the general fund vs. the race fund and the SRRC name be engraved on the plaque portion of the trophy.

Tim Butler presented his final report for the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon. He praised his committee and their hard work. They met monthly and weekly as the race drew closer. In particular he felt St. John’s, the Prairie Heart Institute and AthletiCare provided untold amounts of resources towards the race. New Balance was a new sponsor for the race this year. The city of Springfield and the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau provided lots of help. The race introduced a new website this year which was well received. The race has been officially endorsed by the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Their total profit was $10,837. As agreed with last year’s board, half of the profit for this year goes back to the club and the rest stays with the race treasury. $11,000 remains in the account to be used towards next year’s race. Next year’s race date is April 4, 2009 and the bicentennial theme will be pushed hard. There are plans to step up the advertising including promoting in area races and Expos. Tim is planning to apply for a cost shared tourism grant. The application period has already opened.

Chuck Costello, presiding President in Barb Bonansinga’s absence, presented the minutes of the May 12, 2008 board meeting. They were approved.

Brent Leach presented the treasurer’s report. The balance as of today is $24,405.70. Revenues for the month were about $16,036.40 – mostly from Abe’s Army. Larger expenses were the purchase of Frost Bite shirts (always purchased ahead to get group discount), design for Women’s Distance Festival website, brochure, and logo and apparel for Ann Gaffigan, SRRC member who is competing in the Olympic Trials July 3^rd in the Steeplechase event and some expenses for the SRRC traveling store.

Brent has created a draft budget for 2008 and has requested submission of individual event budgets from each club race and event director to finalize it. Jan Wilson suggested we create a standard rental fee for equipment use and a contract. Brent asked that everybody review the draft budget and identify anything missing. He feels the budget needs to balance and currently it does not. The state income tax return is being prepared and is due soon (form 990). The financial statement was accepted.

Board member reports –

Anne Baker reported the newsletter went to the printers this week. She’s also currently handling the website in Lori’s absence due to the new baby.

Emily Klockenga is going to be sending e-mail blasts to promote her socials. We’re going to have a track & field social event on June 25^th with adult and children’s events. Emily is arranging for members to watch Ann Gaffigan in the Olympic Trials on TV at Sammy’s on July 3^rd. She also mentioned a golf outing at Long Bridge on August 2^nd. More details are to follow.

Jan Wilson reiterated that one of the club’s clocks was broken and being shipped for repairs. The board approved a motion to pay $300 for insurance coverage for the Scholastic Challenge Race due to this year’s revised interpretation of RRCA insurance coverage requirements. Jan reported on other races and is now suggesting first time races consider a “fun run” vs. a timed race, particularly if they are for a cause. She also announced she is asking the “fun runs” that have occurred so far to make a donation to the club vs. pay the standard $1.50/runner fee.

Susan Helm, race director of the Women’s Distance Festival, excused herself from the meeting and the board discussed Alex Taft’s motion to purchase 100 trophies for the Children’s Fun Run as part of the Women’s Distance Festival. The motion passed.

Brent announced that the financial committee of himself, Jan Wilson and Susan Helm has had a meeting and will continue to meet. They recommended finalizing a balanced club budget in part by following up on the submission of projected race and event director budgets prior to expenses being incurred in the future and creating more standardization regarding race fees and equipment use for all races.

The meeting adjourned at 7:09 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Helm

Secretary

]]> http://srrc.net/?feed=rss2&p=639 0 http://srrc.net/?p=633 http://srrc.net/?p=633#comments Mon, 12 May 2008 22:38:40 +0000 admin http://srrc.net/?p=633 SRRC Board Meeting – Monday, May 12, 2008

SRRC Board Meeting – Monday, May 12, 2008

Location: YMCA Board room

Present: Jan Wilson, Anne Baker, Chuck Costello, Jr., Mary Rogers, Barb Bonansinga, Susan Helm, Brent Leach, Jim Cinotto

Barb Bonansinga presented minutes of April 14, 2008 minutes. Minutes were reviewed and approved by the Board.

Brent Leach presented the treasurer’s report for period from beginning of year to current balance. The starting balance for 2008 was $29,605 and currently is around $19,000. This does not include the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon’s account. Tim Butler was suppose to deliver a final financial report at this meeting but got called away to work and will report out next month or via e-mail to the board. Over $4,500 was collected in Abe’s Army registrations in the period from April 15 through May 12, 2008. We are on pace financially where we’ve been this time last year. Barb asked that Brent consider having the finance committee start to meet now that tax season is over. Brent said he’d be available 2-3 weeks from now. Jim Cinotto suggested the committee include past and future (potential) treasurers.

Board reports – Barb said she wanted to explore having the greatest emphasis on SRRC points races on the web and in the news letter while allowing information on area races as well.

Jim Cinotto reported the college scholarship application deadline is this week and so far he’d received only one but normally they arrive last minute. We have money to present three. Jim would like to establish a Springfield Road Runners Club Hall of Fame that would include outstanding runners, club volunteers, etc. and he’d like to get a group of former Presidents together to start working on it. Some minimum criteria might include a minimum of 10 years participation in SRRC, board participation, race director, etc. Eventually the Hall of Famers would be announced at our annual meeting and be posted on our website. The idea was well supported by the board.

Susan Helm tabled her request for requesting awards for the Children’s Fun Run to the June meeting. She also brought up a request to have the club purchase indoor/outdoor folding tables that would collapse to be used at club sponsored races. The board voted to purchase 8. Jan and Susan will make the purchase.

Mary Rogers reported that membership has been busy. SRRC has 1,228 members as of May 11, 2008. Mary proposed that we need to look into automating our membership database. Chuck Costello is going to attempt to assist Mary with this project. She proposed giving four SRRC memberships as door prizes for both the Parade Run and the Women’s Distance Festival. The board approved the idea.

Chuck Costello has erased over 1,000 junk e-mails from the SRRC e-mail box. He is going to check and see if there is any way to reduce this problem.

Anne Baker said the May newsletter would be hitting homes this week. We have two new advertisers.

Barb said more businesses are interested in advertising on our website and newsletter. She feels the board needs to address the business side of it, the issue of “endorsing” a business. Brent is going to check into this. Barb brought up fundraising and charity work and requests to promote them. Lori and Anne get requests as well.

Jan Wilson discussed attending the RRCA convention and how helpful it was for networking. She distributed an RRCA insurance quiz and asked that everyone complete them prior to next month’s meeting. She said we’re not the only club experiencing problems with insurance. Jan distributed the Women’s Distance Festival budget. The travel store made $131 at the Fat Ass 5K. We currently have around 400 corporals and privates and 100 sergeants registered for Abe’s Army 2008. Jan got a request from Bruce Bennett from the Shoreline Classic race (Decatur) that we consider creating an informal training for his race, similar to Frost Toes. Jan is seeking someone to lead it. The next points series race is at Havana. Jan proposed to accept the Women’s’ Distance Festival budget as offered. It was accepted and approved.

Barb expressed concern about getting race results from out of town races to be forwarded to Jim Ruppert (SJR). She reminded everybody about the SRRC bowling social. She announced that Ann Gaffigan made the Olympic trials and is an SRRC lifetime member. She is sponsored by New Balance. Barb is checking on her availability to run the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon next year. She also asked the board if SRRC would be willing to be one of her sponsors with a possible donation of $1,000. The motion was approved and will be explored with her. Barb reported that tag timing went well at the Lincoln Half. It will be used for Abe’s Amble and the Parade Run. She and Jan attended a workshop on the subject at the convention. She thinks it’s time to consider it for our local points races, particularly with ones having 300 or more runners. This technology opens the door for our race directors no longer having to be data entry people. One way is to purchase the computers (2), mats and enough chips based on the races you wanted to cover. You recover the costs in your entry fees. You charge more for the people who prefer paper applications vs. online ones. It was also suggested we rent this equipment to other clubs as a way to make money. Training is minimal. The technology will continue to change and we will have to plan for it. We will need to get some specific costs. It was determined that we’d like a presentation and written proposal from the company.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Helm

Secretary

Location: YMCA Board room

Present: Emily Klockenga, Jan Wilson, Anne Baker, Lori Milkint, Chuck Costello, Jr., Mary Rogers, Barb Bonansinga, Susan Helm, Brent Leach, Jim Cinotto

Absent: None

Guest: Kelly Urbas

Barb Bonansinga presented minutes of March 10, 2008 minutes. Minutes were reviewed and approved by the Board. Brent Leach presented the treasurer’s report, including $1,800 in revenue for the reporting period (March 11^th to April 14^th). The general fund ending balance (4/14/08) was $16,794. The financial report for the Lincoln Half Marathon will be presented at the May meeting.

Kelly Urbas, director of the Springfield’s Magnificent Mile race, talked to the board about his concerns about insurance coverage since he was promised this along with the $1.50/runner race fee he was being charged. In recent months, SRRC’s insurance company (through RRCA) is in the process of enforcing their coverage policies and no longer covering races that aren’t managed by the club including having all expenses go through our treasury. After much discussion it was decided to explore seeking outside private insurance coverage for this race and the Premier race at the club’s expense to meet our original promise to these two races. The $1.50/runner race fee should cover some of this cost. Jan Wilson will explore the expense and report via e-mail to board members.

Mary Rogers reported that database management is going much better and Rhonda has been very helpful. Online club membership registration has gone well. She processed 300 applications (online and paper) in the last month. The club has 975 members as of today, including Abe’s Army members with more applications to be filed for a total of 1,025 members total. Refunds were discussed and the club does not offer them.

Chuck Costello reported about repair of some club equipment including two timing machines and a bar code reader.

Anne Baker reported that the club’s newsletter went to the printer on April 1^st so she’s not sure about the delay. She is extending the May issue deadline to April 20^th.

Emily Klockenga confirmed a post-Boston Marathon party on April 23^rd at Sammy’s downtown and announced a social at Strike ‘n Spare West on May 17^th from 6 until 9 p.m. with Karaoke to follow. She also announced that the next Monster Mash will be January 24^th, 2009 at North Field Center.

Jan Wilson announced training opportunities that will be offered through Abe’s Army.

Barb Bonansinga announced that the club purchased another banner and hopes it is used at all club “owned” races and activities. She tabled a couple of items for the May meeting – tag timing and RRCA age brackets. She is going to recommend that the club adopt the RRCA age brackets with regards to awards. RRCA uses 5-year divisions up to age 80. She thanked everyone for their support of the Lincoln Half Marathon.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:08 p.m.

Respectively submitted,

Susan Helm

Secretary

]]> http://srrc.net/?feed=rss2&p=636 0 http://srrc.net/?p=344 http://srrc.net/?p=344#comments Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:36:48 +0000 admin http://srrc.net/?p=344 March 10, 2008

Location: YMCA Board room

Present: Emily Klockenga, Jan Wilson, Anne Baker, Lori Milkint, Chuck Costello, Jr., Mary Rogers, Barb Bonansinga, Susan Helm, Brent Leach, Jim Cinotto

Guests: Kelly Vaughan

Barb Bonansinga presented minutes of February 25, 2008 minutes. Minutes were reviewed and approved by the Board.

Treasurer’s report for period from February 26 – March 10, 2008 was presented. Brent Leach noted that the normal reporting period is one month or 30 days. Barb asked for Brent’s thoughts on creating an operating and equipment budget for the club outside of the budget for individual SRRC events to plan for things like new equipment and maintenance, repair and/or replacement of existing equipment. The board approved the financial report.

Per previous board discussion, website ads were discussed. Brent reminded the board that any advertising income is subject to unrelated business tax. Several people suggested creating a sponsorship page on the website so all race sponsors could be featured. This led to a discussion about newsletter advertisers and needing to invoice them. Brent was asked to create invoices for all future fees like ads for the newsletter and/or website. Anne Baker will contact advertisers and let them know from this point on we are charging.

A discussion then continued about race sponsorship guidelines. Barb asked for volunteers to create a Finance Committee or Audit Committee to address these and other club financial issues and Jan Wilson and Susan Helm offered to join Brent. This committee will start after April 15th, per Brent’s work schedule.

Barb said letterhead logos were available electronically. Jan asked that SRRC notecards be made available as well so thank you notes, letters of condolences, etc. could be sent to members. Mary offered to help create them.

Jan presented a draft outlining race guidelines on three levels – point series, affiliated races and Springfield area races. Her biggest concern was related to insurance coverage. She had been in discussion with our insurance company who claimed we have to “own” the race (be the sponsoring organization) in order for our insurance to apply. After more discussion, it was decided to get more clarification on the subject and let all races know as soon as possible.

The RCCA convention plans were discussed. Several members are interested in attending and travel plans will be finalized soon.

Barb requested everyone’s completed conflict of interest form. Brent said there were some other policies that the board should consider adopting as well including “whistle blower”, etc. He will look into them for us.

Barb said plans call for tag timing and scoring for three club races this year – Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon, the Parade Run and Abe’s Amble. They will help move the club towards it goal to streamline and automate processes, freeing up race directors for volunteer recruitment and other critical functions. “End Result” submitted proposals for all three races. Details are under discussion with other race directors.

Based on discussions with End Result, an interface for SRRC for online membership registration through “get-me-registered” was provided to member director Mary Rogers. Mary talked to them about compatibility issues with SRRC’s membership applications and was pleased with their support. The membership application would be on the website so it was recommended Technical Programs Director Lori Milkint and Derek Dexheimer, who will tally points for the points series this year, be kept in the loop on developments.

Jim Cinotto said we’ve been giving away two $500 scholarships to area high school runners in recent years. They’ve solicited for applications in different ways but currently now place an application on the website and in the newsletter. He’s hoping to present at least two $500 scholarships and possibly three, depending on funds. Last year’s deadline was May 15th. Jim agreed to oversee this process again this year and update the website and newsletter. Anne Baker and Lori Milkint still include the application on the website and in future newsletters.

Emily Klockenga received an e-mail from Bob Thompson regarding a possible social event involving runners donating new or shoes in good shape to oneworldrunning.com. Everyone thought it was a good idea and Emily will pursue it.

Race magnets listing all the races this year and their dates were distributed and are available at the Springfield Running Center.

Mary said membership renewal is going onto the Abe’s Amble blog to remind people to renew. There was discussion about purchase of a new printer for her that she wouldn’t have to share with race directors. After much discussion, Emily offered to donate a new one she has never used.

Lori has continued to make some changes to the website with more current information at the top. It was noted the goal is to have the next points series race, club social and group run event as priority web postings at the top of the front page. Lori asked about removing some of the older information like old race results. Barb discussed the ability to archive it.

The next meeting will be April 14th at 5:30, YMCA.