GULF WINDS TRACK CLUB Minutes

Hosted by Katie Sherron

Present: Board members for quorum: Tony Guillen, Emma Spencer, Felton Wright, David Yon, Eric Godin, Judy Alexander, Annie Bowman, Tom Perkins, Herb Wills, Ron Harrison.  Others: Paul Guyas, Bill Lott, Ely Rosario, Jonathon Manry, Jon Brown.

The President called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. Quorum was established.

The Board reviewed the March minutes, minutes had an error for membership numbers (12171 instead of 1271). A motion to approve corrected minutes was made, seconded and passed.

New Business:

Jonathon Manry – Jonathon came to the meeting to apologize to the Board for having to step down from role of Tallahassee Marathon Co-Race Director, and said that he regrets having to leave due to personal reasons. The Board members expressed their sympathies and appreciated the gesture of him coming to the meeting, but the Board completely understands the need for people to take care of themselves and in the end the marathon had a great outcome.

Ely Rosario –Ely presented a revised budget for the Tallahassee Marathon 2017 edition and had succeeded in lowering costs for the cone rental and related items below the 2016 prices due, in part, to a three year commitment contract. Currently, Ely has managed to secure $17,450 of sponsorship from 2016 sponsors.  The half marathon course is going to change so that all half and full participants cross the same finish line. The second half of the marathon is also being revised and David Yon is helping with that. The new course would include f the new pedestrian bridge over Monroe Street, the new FAMU way trail and parts of FAMU’s campus.  Race registration has been open for a few weeks and as of now there are approximately 150 registrants ($5600 in the bank), this is ahead of where the registrations were in July 25th 2015. Mark Priddy did however, ask that GWTC be made more prominent as a sponsor as in a recent article featuring the marathon in Running Journal, it stated that TMH and CCR were the sponsors.   A motion to approve the budget for 2017 was made, seconded and approved.

Mark Priddy – Mark presented the final budget for the Flash 6/12K with net proceeds being $891, an increase from 2015. Half of the proceeds ($446) are to go to GWTC and half of the proceeds are to go to the Chenoweth Fund ($445), with an additional contribution to the Chenoweth Fund of $285 for a total of $730 going to the Chenoweth Fund.

David Yon David visited the GWTC contact Lauren McLendon Helm at CHP. Lauren said that CHP may be interested in providing additional funding for GWTC in the form of that will not only include sponsorship for Turkey Trot and Spring Time but also extra sponsorship to be used by GWTC in other ways. She mentioned that CHP likes to sponsor GWTC because many members of CHP have been involved in the training groups and race events that GWTC puts on, and she would like to see that continue and grow to possibly include those in Wakulla County and beyond. David brought this to the Board to ask for advice on how much and for what GWTC should ask for support for, and if Tony, the Hudson’s and Ely would go with him with a proposal the next time he meets with Lauren.

David Yon – David wanted to discuss a couple of issues GWTC has been having with the EMS. EMS did not show up to the Spring Time race and our contact with EMS is going to find out why this happened as they have a list of races that they are supposed to come and support. David suggested that there be a point of contact with the EMS for each race. Herb asked if they were going to cover the Summer Trail Series and the Summer Track Series as these are also GWTC events. EMS have not been asked to cover these events at present. Ron also brought up the issue about what exactly EMS covers while onsite as at a previous race (not a GWTC race), the EMS at the finish line were not authorized to leave the finish line and to provide medical care for an issue that was occurring elsewhere on the course and they had to call in for back up to attend that issue.  A meeting to know these things is on the agenda and David will report further on these matters soon. 

Jon Brown – Jon came to the Board meeting to talk about the upcoming Sickle Cell 5K race on September 10th, 2016. This year will mark the 35th anniversary of the race and Jon is helping out with proving promotional materials to the race to make it a big event. Jon is approaching the club to ask for GWTC’s help in making this anniversary event a huge event and to increase the races’ exposure and raise awareness about the race. Jon stated that he hopes that the event could even be a GWTC race one day and he definitely wants it to be a grand prix race perhaps next year. His aim is to get GWTC on board so that our members make it over to the South side of town for the race and participate, especially as it is currently the only race on the calendar for that weekend. David Yon expressed his support and said that he really wants the club to do this outreach and have the club work with Jon to make the race a big success. He noted the strong historical connection with the race and the fast course that produces many PR’s for members. Felton suggested that the race have a flyer that could be easily accessed on the website as there wasn’t one at present, and also online registration, GWTC can help with those items. Jon has been invited back to discuss the race further.  

Jon Brown – Jon wanted to let the Board know about the Jazz and Blues Festival that is due to take place on September 24th 2016. The festival will be a weekend long event that will coincide with FAMU’s homecoming game. There will also be a Jazz brunch hosted by the Edison restaurant and other fun activities. There is also a 5K race to be held on the 24th and he would like GWTC to be involved in supporting the race and getting people from the club involved and participating in it, especially as a potential fundraiser for the Chenoweth Fund.  

Old Business:

No old business discussed.

Committee Reports:

Treasurer’s Report –Katie Sherron
As of March 31st, 2016, the summary accounts are, $23,765.58 in the Operations account, $2,209.04 for the Events 1 accounts, $10,482.53 for the Events 2 account, $8,298.05 for the Triathlon account, $60,000 in the Invest and Reserve account and $11,790.44 in the Chenoweth Fund. We still do not have the funds to replace the money moved from the Investment and Reserve and there are still outgoings for Spring Time and Palace so there probably will not be enough money in the short term as we are spending more than we are bringing in. Cash flow is OK though. Katie also requested permission to buy a printer for $150, a motion was made to approve purchase up to $300, seconded and passed. Additionally, Katie would prefer if everything could be sent electronically as it is easier to import into Quickbooks. Also if a voting Board member would like access to Quickbooks, email her and she will add you. Katie is also working on the 990 form and the tax exception that ends in May 31st.

Membership Report –Mark Priddy
GWTC now has 1401 members, an increase of 130 from last month, and household memberships were 729, up 76 from last month.  The large increase in members may be due to opening up the second quarter membership two weeks early so that people could get the membership at a cheaper rate. After opening up the second quarter early, 47 households signed up between March 18th and April 1st, as compared to 27 households that signed up at the same time last year. Many people may have also signed up to get the limited edition GWTC member only Palace Saloon t-shirt.  

Race Director Coordinator Report – Charlie Yates 
No report.

Newsletter Report –Fred Deckert 
No report.

Clothing Coordinator Report –Emma Spencer for Maggie Beshara
Nothing new to report.

Equipment Report – Bill Lott & Vicky Droze
The equipment was used in six races this past weekend (4/9 and 4/10).  Everything is working and OK. A new camcorder and tripod were purchased for timing system backup for Spring Time.

Website Committee Report – David Yon
The committee is exploring getting assistance to revive the front page of the website and a report on that will be forthcoming next month.

Chenoweth Fund Report – David Yon
The Chenoweth committee have decided that things are getting a little stale and that they want to revamp a few things, including having a better communications network with the coaches in the area. On May 15th there will be a workshop inviting as many coaches as possible from high school down to possibly elementary level, to promote the Chenoweth Fund. The committee wants to improve and do more fund raising. Two possible future options would be (1) the Blues and Jazz Festival that Jon Brown discussed, where proceeds from the 5K would be split, additional details are to be worked out, and (2) the USATF cross country event in the fall, where proceeds from the “peoples” race would go to the Chenoweth Fund. David Altmaier is helping out with the revitalizing. Also at some point the mission statement and policies of the Fund will need to be revised.

Triathlete Report – Ron Harrison 
Requested changes to the “Triathlete Training and Contacts” section of the Fleet Foot. Changes were requested to update information to better serve our members (Email with changes send to Fred, Tony, and Charlie 3/28).
Newsletter to go out to our ~240 members by Wednesday, April 13, 2016. Proposed articles are: Reminder of our April Meeting Speakers. Next Meeting: Monday, April 18, 2016 at Momo’s Pizza in Killearn, on Market St. Social at 6:30 pm and Speaker at 7:00 pm. Speaker: Brady Irwin, Founder and Head Coach, Science of Speed. Topic: “Recovery: Often Forgotten, Never Replaced. Other topics to be discussed at the meeting are, the DRC Sports Race Registration Giveaways.

Two recent Gulf Winds Triathletes Clinics: Open Water Swim Clinic, 3/26/2016, 46 swimmers, 8 “swim angels”, 4 kayakers, and 2 certified lifeguards. Participants swam the Red Hills Triathlon course at Lake Hall (Maclay Gardens) and practiced swim starts. There was a potluck after. Transition Clinic, 4/3/2016, “Transition: Sport Four of the Triathlon (a.k.a. – Free Time)”, ~25 participants and coaches. Held at the J.R. Alford Greenway. Participants received a great talk on rules, tips for more effective/efficient transitions, and were able to practice the entire race transition process. Thank you to the track club members who always support/volunteer at our biggest, local, season-opening, Red Hills Triathlon.

A meeting with Leon County District 3 Commissioner John Dailey was conducted regarding a Trailahassee Endurance Challenge, featuring paddling, mountain biking, and hiking/trail running. Initial planning stages, but really exciting potential to bring visitors to Tallahassee and allow teams to compete for money for local charity and prizes.

At the March Tri Club Meeting, the Board of Directors voted to make Jon Nash (currently Secretary on the BoD) our backup Treasurer. We want to see if there is anything we need to do, formally, for the Track Club?  Katie stated that he would need to have GWTC Board approval before the banks would let Jon have access to the accounts and he should also contact her via email. A motion was made to approve Jon Nash as co-treasurer of the Triathlon club so he can access files and accounts as needed, was seconded and approved.

Lecture Series Report – Paul Guyas 
The lecture on how to use your Garmin with Rodger Schmidt was a success and is likely going to be part 1 of a 2 to 4 part series. The next event is at Smash Burger, Village Square where the movie “Spirit of the Marathon” will be played in the party room on 4/14.  Two other lectures are forthcoming including one on kinesio taping and another on the importance of sleep.

Training Report – Eric Godin for Tracy Godin 
The Tails and Trails half marathon training group started two weeks ago and has about 20-30 people going to the training runs. Tracy is in talks with the treasurer about training group budget items, but other than that, everything is good.

Social Report –Zach Scharlepp 
No report.

Trail Coordinator Report –Emma Spencer for Bobby York
Bobby talked with the Executive Director of the Killearn Homes Association last week about working with them to mark the approximate 7 miles of bridle trails that run through Killearn Estates at some point in the future (for example, park maps, signs and arrows etc.).  Bobby had been working with the past director on this project and it was something that he wanted to do. The new director would also like to see this done also. The Housing Association has just finished looking at all of the trails to see if any repairs need to be done. They reported the trails were recently mowed and are in great shape except for a few eroded spots. 

Other items: 
The President let the Board know about two thank you cards he had received from The Southern Scholarship Fund.  Tony also let the Board know that the Marzuq 5K race had been removed from the Grand Prix schedule and that the new committee has already met and will be revising the grand prix application form including making sure that chip timing is “required” rather than “preferred”. Paula O’Neill is the committee chair for the next year as it is her last year.

At 8:57 p.m. a motion to adjourn was made, seconded and approved.