GULF WINDS TRACK CLUB Minutes

Present: Mary Jean and David Yon, Gene Opheim, Charlie Yates, Joe and Nadine Dexter, Peg Griffin, Tom Perkins, Lisa Unger, Sheryl Rosen, Fred and Margarete Deckert, Mark Priddy, Keith Rowe, Judy Alexander, Bill Lott, Bob Keller, Terry Massa, John Falls, Mae Cleveland and Reid Vannoy

Mary Jean Yon called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. Quorum was established.

The board reviewed the January minutes. A motion was made, seconded and passed by unanimous vote to accept the minutes as presented.

New Business

Terry Massa and John Falls thanked the board members for their support of the Special Olympics 5K and presented the board with a framed race photo.

David Yon announced he would like to begin a running shoe recycling program. The Shelter would be the likely recipient of the used shoes. David proposed accepting donations at some of the bigger races such as the Turkey Trot. He will post information on Gwinds and the website.

Mae Cleveland, the coordinator for the club’s school running program grants , has contacted the Leon County school board’s coordinator of middle and high school activities about the grants program. Steve Chandler, an exercise physiologist at FAMU, has students who may be interested in helping with the program. Mae would like to gain some publicity. She’ll write a piece for the Fleet Foot and post it to Gwinds. Nadine Dexter suggested creating a flyer as well, and Tom Perkins suggested submitting an article to the Northeast Chronicle.

Bob Keller spoke to the board about the Capital Health Plan Champions youth exercise program. Champions offers before- or after-school workouts with coaches trained by Titus Sports Academy. The program is in all public schools in Leon County and expanding to other counties. Champions is holding a field day April 19 at the Leon High track and would like assistance from GWTC members. Mary Jean suggested asking for volunteers through Gwinds and the Fleet Foot, and perhaps the club could bring a membership table to the event.

Mary Jean shared a letter from the FSU Faculty & Friends Club, which sponsors the Bowlegs 5K. The letter thanked the club for making their race a grand prix event and included a $50 contribution to the Chenoweth Fund.

Mary Jean said Paula Kiger would like to chair the club’s Relay for Life team this year. A motion was made to appoint Paula the Relay for Life captain. It was seconded and passed unanimously.

Race Director Report – Reid Vannoy, Palace Saloon 5K
Reid presented a budget to the board. A motion was made and seconded to accept the budget. The motion passed unanimously.

Race Director Report – Joe and Nadine Dexter, Flash 12K
Joe has received $560 in preregistration, so he expects a good turnout.

Treasurer’s Report – Gene Opheim
The club has $65,953, which is an increase of $2,355. The Chenoweth Fund has $15,950, which is an increase of $859. The GWTC 15K/30K netted $1,409. The Tallahassee Marathon is anticipated to net about $4,000, but the amount has not been finalized.

Newsletter Report – Fred Deckert
Fred is looking for comments and feed-back about the Fleet Foot and requested permission to e-mail a survey using the club’s e-mail database. A motion was made and seconded to approve this limited use of member e-mails. Keith Rowe suggested sending the e-mails using the blind copy field instead of carbon copy. Fred assured the board he will ask members to let him know if they don’t want to be contacted via e-mail. The board approved the used of the database unanimously.

Lecture Series Report –Fred Deckert
Fred will also ask what kind of lectures club members are interested in when he conducts his e-survey.

Clothing Report – Margarete Deckert
Margarete sold 2 caps.

Triathlete Report – Mary Jean for Kathy McDaris
No report.

Race Coordinator Report – Charlie Yates
Charlie distributed the 2008 race calendar to the board. The schedule is in good shape.

Social Coordinator Report – Mary Jean for Kathy Lindsay
No report.

Awards Committee Report – Lisa Unger
The committee was under budget for this year. Lisa has heard only positive comments about the annual awards ceremony. All unclaimed awards have been mailed. Lisa asked the board to be aware that the committee will be addressing the issue of kids potentially competing in the adult Grand Prix competition. The committee may request approval for policy changes to clarify the age requirement for participation in the kid’s Grand Prix and the adult Grand Prix.

Training Report – Nadine Dexter and Keith Rowe
Nadine distributed flyers for the running boot camp. Interest has been high. The camp will begin March 13 and last 8 weeks with a graduation run at the end. Keith Rowe reported the Springtime training group has been doing well. Attendance dipped one week but returned to normal the following week.

Equipment Report – Joe Dexter
Joe gave Gene a check for $750 for equipment rental fees. He reported the small clock isn’t working, so he is having it checked.

Web Report – Peg Griffin
Clark Evans updated the trail descriptions online. Also, online membership registration using Active.com went well.

Chenoweth Report – David Yon
Gary Droze needs $1,500 to get the Kurt Westfall pole vault pit at Maclay into shape for the upcoming track season. The pit is available for use by athletes from all over the city. The FSU Track & Field Officials Association is donating $1000 to the Chenoweth Fund to support this cause in memory of Kurt, so David recommended the remaining $500 be provided from existing Chenoweth Funds. A motion was made and seconded to approve the donation. The motion passed unanimously. David said the club set a record this year for the amount of Chenoweth contributions given along with membership dues.

Membership Report – Peg Griffin
The club has 801 members in 442 households, including about 60 new households this year.

Racing Report – Lisa Unger for Tim Unger
Racing singlets are being printed. Tim is looking forward to having a social racing team at the Gate River Run.

A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The motion passed unanimously at 8:57 p.m.