GULF WINDS TRACK CLUB Minutes

Board Members Present: Paul Hoover, Cynthia Christen, Bob Prentiss, Rex Cleveland, Mae Cleveland, David Yon, Gary Kenney, Lynn Powell, Will Walker, Joe Dexter, Judy Alexander, Brian Corbin, Tom Perkins

Board Members Absent: Paul Hiers, Julie Clark

Others Present: Sarah D. Williams, Nadine Dexter, Phillip Yon, Ann Draper, Dave Rogers,Cynthia Christen, Vice President, called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. Minutes from the April meeting were distributed and read by Cynthia Christen. Minutes were accepted with minor corrections.

Guest Presentations and New Business

Relay to Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act – Phillip Yon

Phillip requested GWTC sponsorship of the Torch Run. The recommendation was for a GOLD sponsorship ($1000). The relay is being coordinated by Phillip. The Course is 10 miles long divided into 1/8-mile segments. There will be ceremonies at various locations on the course. Tallahassee is the only city in Florida that will have the torch go through. There will be 75 persons running the relay. They are going to try to recruit most of the runners from the community of persons with disabilities. The event takes place on July 25th and 26th. Vote on issue was delayed until after treasurer report.

Dave Rodgers presented the Summer Track Series request from the City for $1000 sponsorship. This begins on June 1st for 8 weeks. This item was already budgeted for this year so does not require board approval.

Tom Perkins discussed that participation in the summer track series will be extremely important to the kids this year because Tallahassee is hosting several track events this summer. Included on this list is the State AAU meet. Since Tallahassee is hosting the event, 8 kids from each division will be eligible for nationals. This is a tremendous opportunity for our young athletes.

Mae Cleveland and Ann Draper presented a request from the Big Bend Track Club for uniforms. They need approximately $2000. The kids are very poor and do not have the basics such as running shoes or running clothing. They also can use equipment to practice with. They could use a couple of hurdles and a shot put. The vote was delayed until after the treasurer report.

Tom Perkins presented a request for as many volunteers as possible for the AAU track meet on June 23rd-25th. GWTC and the other track clubs will make some proceeds from the vending at this meet.

Money for Team Competition for Gate-to-Gate – presented by Gary Kenney. It was approved for Team entry only (individual entries will not be funded). There was much discussion about how the club should handle funding for team representation. There was a consensus that GWTC would not fund individual entries unless it was presented and approved by the board and is inclusive to all club members (such as local qualifying events).

Springtime Budget was discussed. About $8000 was made. The final budget will be presented at the next meeting. Bob Prentiss presented the issue of a lot of cash being handled in these events and that there is a potential risk of loss associated.

Who will be our next newsletter editor? Gary Kenney suggested that Mike LaBossiere may be interested. It was proposed that we should have a Newsletter staff instead of one person doing all of the work. The discussion was tabled for a later date.

Committees:

Chenoweth Committee – Mae Cleveland

The 3rd Annual Great Potluck 4 Mile Bash and Open Mike Party and Social is scheduled for June 3. The high school athlete’s awards also will be presented. It was discussed if money from the Chenoweth could be directed to Big Bend Track Club and Christian Cruisers. Currently it cannot. However, the committee is working on changing the bylaws for this so that it can be used to assist these track clubs. Mae and David presented a flyer of the Kent Vann event. Also a letter to coaches advertising the Chenoweth awards was presented.

Reports:

Treasurer’s Report. Bob Prentiss Report was presented and explained and approved.

Lecture Series – Mary Jean Yon

Coach Benson is ready to come here on May 21 to be part of a social and Lecture (of sorts); with Polar heart monitors to use that day. It will begin at 8 a.m. at Maclay Gardens State Park.

Triatheletes. Kathy McDaris

The Gulf Coast Triatholon is this weekend. Tallahassee will have a large representation at this event.

Clothing Coordinator. Margarete Deckert Sub-4’s will be delivered to Big Bend Track Club soon.

Social Director. Sarah Docter-Williams

Sarah presented results of the auction. Over $4000 was made. She would like to do this again next year with the help of a volunteer staff. Several ideas for summer socials were presented and discussed. One possibility is a float down the Ichnetuckee River.

Membership Report. Brian Corbin presented the membership report. 785 members, representing 483 memberships. Bob Campbell wrote a check to GWTC for $1000 at the silent auction. He would like for the money to be designated specifically for memberships. There was discussion of how we could give away memberships. Ideas presented were as follows: Completion of Beginning Running Class, Raffle in races (non-GWTC entrants only), Summer Track Series Kids, Send to Springtime participants who are not currently members.

Race Director Coordinator. Will Walker presented the Palace Saloon final Budget. Proceeds were $906. The budget was approved. The next events include Humanatee and Temple Israel.

Newsletter. Rex Cleveland reported July/August issue deadline is June 5th .

Equipment Report. Joe Dexter reported the double-sided 6 inch clock has arrived and was used at the Blue Crab Festival. It worked great. It will next be used at Relay For Life. We haven’t received the big clock (under repair).

Loose Ends:

Motion was made for $1000 (Gold) sponsorship of Torch run. Motion passed.
Motion was made for $2000 for Big Bend Track Club uniforms. Motion passed.
Motion was made to pay for Gate-to-Gate Team membership. Motion passed.
Motion was made to give away one membership at each summer track meet.Motion passed.
The meeting was adjourned and all had cake to celebrate Sarah’s birthday.

Julie D. Clark