GULF WINDS TRACK CLUB Minutes

Present: Mary Jean and David Yon, Sheryl Rosen, Peg Griffin, Bill Lott, Judy Alexander, Joe Dexter, Mark Priddy, Charlie Yates, Fred Deckert, Keith Rowe, Gene Opheim, and Jay Wallace

Mary Jean called the meeting to order at 7:47 p.m. Quorum was established.

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

New Business

Mary Jean appointed Jay Wallace to fill the vacancy on the board created by Nadine Dexter’s departure. A motion was made to approve Jay as a new board member. The motion was seconded and approved by a unanimous vote.

Sheryl raised the question of whether the club should preserve or dispose of minutes and other board meeting documents in her possession dating back to 1995. The board discussed whether the club should keep documents for a certain number of years and throw the rest away or scan them all. David and Peg volunteered to review this material and scan all the minutes and other documents worth preserving. The board agreed the agendas and other miscellaneous documents can be thrown away.

School Grants Report – Mary Jean for Mae Cleveland

Mae sent in a report that grant activity is slowing down as the school year winds down.

Treasurer’s Report – Gene Opheim

Gene reported the club has $73,173 which is an increase of $7,312 for the month. The Chenoweth Fund has $15,750, which is an increase of $22. The Palace Saloon 5K netted $4,693 – $1,900 more than expected – due to the large turnout.

Newsletter Report – Fred Deckert

Fred distributed the final newsletter survey results to the board. The item with the biggest reader interest is the race calendar. The most common complaint is that the minutes are old by the time they go to print. Fred suggested we try to approve minutes between board meetings to permit more timely publication . The board discussed the feasibility of this given the timeframe between board meetings and the newsletter publication deadline. The board agreed to attempt to approve the minutes in time for the newsletter deadline, which would mean minutes would be published one month earlier than what is presently being published. Judy also suggested placing a notice in the Fleet Foot that the minutes are available online sooner than in print.

Lecture Series Report – Fred Deckert

Fred secured May 29th for the upcoming movie night featuring a Steve Prefontaine film titled “Fire On The Track.” After that, a short Tim Simpkins film that was locally made will be shown. The event will be held at Premier Fitness Center.

Clothing Report – Fred Deckert for Margarete Deckert

Margarete sold one Gulf Winds hat this month.

Race Coordinator Report – Charlie Yates

Charlie informed the board that Lee’s Place would like to revive their 5K. It is tentatively scheduled for March 21, 2009. He also noted the Melon Run has been rescheduled from June 14 to June 21, which conflicts with the Run for One, Run for All. The Hot to Trot and SGI Sizzler are also sharing June 28.

Equipment Report – Joe Dexter

Joe will be moving to Orlando in 3 weeks. Mary Jean is trying to find a new equipment director. Until she finds someone to take over, she suggested Bill keep the electronics and the club rent a storage unit for the rest of the equipment. She found a unit at U.S. Storage Center for $89 a month. The number of non-club events the equipment is used for may have to be decreased until a new equipment director takes over. Mary Jean also asked Joe to let her know who has already contacted him about using the items and who he uses for repairs. She will follow up with him. A motion was made to approve rental of the storage unit until the club can find an alternate location. The motion was seconded. It passed unanimously.

Training Report – Joe Dexter for Nadine Dexter

Joe reported a total of 72 people joined the running boot camp, and 68 completed the graduation 5K. He also mentioned T.J. Cutchins e-mailed all boot camp participants to invite them to the Gulf Winds member appreciation social May 15.

Website Committee Report – Peg Griffin

Peg reported Andy Roberts has improved the search field for the race results.

Chenoweth Fund Report – David Yon

The Chenoweth Committee received 4 funding requests. Joe Franklin’s father requested $650 to help with travel expenses for two post-season meets; Bob Thomas requested $500 to help cover travel costs for the Raa Middle School running club’s trip to the middle school state championship; the Tallahassee Trailblazers asked for $1,000 to help at-risk youth travel to meets; and Bonnie Wright requested $500 to help pay for the Red Hills Kids Triathlon. A motion was made to fund all of the requests. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. David also reported plans are on track for the June 7 Potluck Bash, which benefits the Chenoweth Fund.

Membership Report – Peg Griffin

The club has 903 members in 497 households.

Before the meeting concluded, Mary Jean told the board of an e-mail she received from Lieutenant Judi Davison of the Tallahassee Fire Department. Judi is establishing a fire department memorial foundation and asked if Gulf Winds would donate or sell the wooden sculpture in front of Forest Meadows to the fire department. Terry Ryan was the Gulf Winds member who acquired the sculpture, which commemorates the firefighters who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Gene motioned that if Terry is okay with it, the club would donate the sculpture to the Tallahassee Fire Department. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Judy Alexander volunteered to follow up with Terry.

A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The motion passed unanimously at 8:53 p.m.