GULF WINDS TRACK CLUB Minutes

Present: Zack Scharlepp, Paul Guyas, David Yon, Kory Skrob, Mike Savage, Mark Priddy, Tom Perkins, Mary Jean Yon, Emma Spencer, Herb Wills, Charlie Johnson and Tony Guillen. Others; Bill Lott, Laura McDermott, Chika Okoro, Joseph Petty, Johanna Petty, Robert Skrob, Michael Weyant, Thomas Biance.

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

The Board reviewed the November 2017 minutes, a comment was made that the October and November minutes that were in the Fleet Foot were not previously approved. A motion to approve both the October and the November minutes was made, seconded and passed without opposition. Emma also asked if someone would volunteer for secretary duties at the January 2018 Board meeting and Mary Jean graciously volunteered.

New Business

Bowlegs 5K Budget 2018 – Bill Hillison gave an overview of the history of the race, including that it was initiated in 1984 by Leitch Wright and has provided over 200 scholarships to date. He presented the budget for the 2018 Bowlegs 5K for approval. The budget included an estimated total revenue of $2,850 and expenses of $1,725 with net proceeds of $1,125.  A motion was made to approve the budget, seconded and passed unanimously. Bowlegs is the first Grand Prix event of 2018.

GWTC Trailer Use for non-GWTC Races – Bill Lott requested Board approval for the use of the GWTC trailer by 6 non-GWTC races. The 6 races include Run for the Cookies 5K, Shamrock Scurry 5K, Red Hills Triathlon, Tails and Trails races, St. Peters Anglican Church 10k, and the Paul Hoover Freedom Run 5K. A motion was made to approve the use of the GWTC trailer for these 6 races, seconded and passed unanimously.

Grand Prix Committee Update – Zack Scharlepp let the Board know that Eric Godin has stepped down from the Grand Prix committee.  Per the club’s bylaws, Zack can appoint someone with approval from the Board.  If anyone is interested, please contact Zack. He hopes to have a nominee by the next meeting.  Additionally, Zack reminded the Board that Eric Anderson was now the Grand Prix committee chair. 

Turkey Trot Recap – David Yon shared that he is still reconciling all the data to provide a detailed recap of the 2017 Turkey Trot.    He hopes to have a concise accounting by next meeting. 

Holiday Party – Joseph Petty, the social coordinator for the Holiday Party taking over from Kathy Lindsay, provided an update on the venue and plans for this year’s party.  The party will still be at Shiloh Farms on December 15, 2017, 7-11p.m.  He has ordered food and drinks for 300 people, currently 190 have responded with an RSVP.  He has also coordinated with Sustainable Tallahassee to pick up any recycled items after the party.  The party will need two law enforcement officers for security this year, $40 per hour for 5 hours.  He asked for suggestions for next year’s venue, after a discussion it was determined that he should reserve the Shiloh Farms venue for 2018 for either the December 8, 2018 or December 15, 2018, and Joseph can look for a new venue for 2019 should he wish to do so. 

New Board Member Introductions – Zack Scharlepp welcomed the new Board members for 2018. He welcomed Chika Okoro and Laura McDermott as the new Directors at Large, Michael Weyant as the new Tri Club President and introduced Vicky Droze as the new social coordinator, and Thomas Biance as the new training group coordinator.

Committee Reports:

Treasurer’s Report –Katie Sherron
Katie Sherron provided the Board with account information via email showing that as of November 30, 2017, the balance in each account is, $109,933.59 in the Operations account, $2,770.84 for the Events 1 accounts, $14,287.70 for the Events 2 account, $10,796.48 for the Triathlon account, $85,500.00 in the Invest and Reserve account and $13,338.95 in the Chenoweth Fund.  Bill Lott is now authorized to sign checks for all accounts. 

Membership Report –Mark Priddy
There are 1481 members in the club as of December 13, 2017, an increase of 52 from last month’s meeting. We also have 759 household memberships, 25 more than last month. The Tri Club has 255 members.  Membership renewals for 2018 currently stand at 510 (out of 1481) for GWTC and 82 renewals for the Tri Club.  A discussion ensued regarding removing non-paying GWTC members from the Facebook page, this idea was vetoed as the page provides free advertising for the club, it’s races and the promotion of running.  The Tri Club has a private and public page and will purge the private page which often includes race discount codes for non-paying members.

Race Director Coordinator Report – Mary Jean Yon
Mary Jean announced that the Race Directors’ resources list found on the GWTC website has been updated and encouraged everyone to let her know if any additions should be made for vendors of t-shirts, awards, race supplies, etc. The list can be found under the Races tab.   The GWTC Race Directors will be working on updating the Race Director’s handbook in the new year.

Newsletter Report –Fred Deckert 
No report.

Clothing Coordinator Report –Zack Scharlepp for Rachael Scharlepp 
Zack informed the Board that Rachael had set up her booth at the Turkey Trot packet pickup at Cascades Park and sold approximately $400 in GWTC merchandise. 

Equipment Report – Katie Sack & Bill Lott
Bill reported that he purchased the signs and stands that were approved at the November 2017 GWTC Board meeting. He purchased 78 signs and stands for $1233.56.  Mary Jean mentioned that Kat Sack had reached out to suggest that the equipment rental form become paperless.  Kat has created a document online that Race Directors can access, Bill is reviewing the document before going live.

Website Committee Report –David Yon
David Yon said there was nothing new to report regarding the website.

Chenoweth Fund Report –David Yon

David Yon said there was nothing new to report regarding the Chenoweth Fund.

Triathlete Report –Charlie Johnson 
Charlie welcomed Michael Weyant as the incoming Tri Club president and he will be attending GWTC Board meetings in 2018.  Charlie also mentioned that the Tri Club had its Holiday party Monday December 4, 2017 on the deck at Midtown Caboose, approximately 80 people attended.  Monday January 15, 2018 will be the next Tri Club Meeting at Momos, this will include the awards ceremony.  The date has been set and approved for March 25, 2018 for the St. Marks Duathlon Port-o-johns and toilet paper will be available in 2018.

Lecture Series Report – Kory Skrob 
The next lecture will be at 6p at Momo’s January 29, 2018, where Leigh Davis of Leon County Parks and Recreation will give a lecture on the trails in Tallahassee.  Kory plans to advertise the event starting at 6pm so people can order food, with the lecture starting at 6:15p.  Kory has also planned another lecture for Tuesday February 13, 2018 at Premier Health and Fitness, where Dr. George Merritt, a podiatrist, will give a lecture on common foot injuries.  Kory also plans to ask Gary Droze to give a lecture on training, pending his availability in 2018.

Zack mentioned that Leigh Davis was having a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new park on the northeast side of the city (Proctor Road and Thomasville Road), January 18, 2018, the time is to be determined.  This park has enough trails for foot traffic but not mountain biking.  Zack had also send out a survey from Leigh about the usage of the J.R. Alford Greenway, the link can be found on the Facebook page and the GWTC website.  

Training Report –Thomas Biance 
Thomas started the marathon training group on Sunday December 10, 2018 where he had five people participate, and plans on using the Run to Posey’s on Christmas Eve as one of the training runs.  There will not be a training group run on New Year’s Eve, but the following four weeks leading up to the marathon will be held on the course, with 8, 12, and 16 mile options, with three water bag drops.  Thomas has spent some time cleaning up the Training Group page which includes links and information to both GWTC training groups and non-GWTC training groups.  He suggested that a disclaimer be added to the page regarding the need for liability participation waiver completion for all GWTC training groups, and that GWTC is not liable for participation in any non-GTWC training events or groups.  David and Peg Griffin will review and complete.  Thomas also picked up the marathon training group supplies from Tracy Godin and will contact Bill Lott to store them in the storage units. 

Social Report – Kristin Halley
No report from Kristin. The new social coordinator for 2018 will be Vicky Droze.

Trail Coordinator Report –Jim Halley
No report from Jim, although it was mentioned that there would be a Swamp Forest preview run Sunday December 17, 2018, and likely one every weekend until the race. 

Other Items:

A signup sheet for hosting the 2018 Board Meetings was passed around.  Meeting locations will be posted on the GWTC website and in the Fleet Foot.

Joseph Petty is interested in reducing waste from bottled water at the Holiday Party and other events hosted by GWTC. He is considering alternative solutions and was asked to bring any proposals to the Board for approval.

Congratulations to Bill Hillison for completing for the 27th time, the Tallahassee Ultra Distance Classic 50K. Bill is 73 years old, well done Bill, “start and don’t stop.”

A motion to adjourn was made, seconded and passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:23 pm.