Voting Members Present: Jerry McDaniel, Jennifer Hay, Jeanne O’Kon, Peg Griffin, Mark Priddy, David Yon, Mary Jean Yon, Allen Blay, Lisa Unger, Jo Lena Pace, Mark Tombrink, Debbie Peters.

Voting Members Absent: Chris O’Kelley, Tom Perkins, Robert Skrob, Judy Alexander, Tina Bahmer, Eric Trombley. Non-Voting Members Present: Bill Hillison, Bill Lott, Carter Hay, Zach DeVeau, Barrett DeVeau.

I. Opening and Introduction: Jerry McDaniel called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.

Motion to adopt the January 11, 2023 minutes was made, seconded, and passed.

II. Old Business: Swamp Forest Trail Closeout: Peg reported for Bobby York revenue of $5,253.39 and expenses of $3,446.43, for a net profit of $1,806.96. The race received $81.00 in donations for the Tallahassee Friends of Our Parks Foundation. Bobby requested that the net proceeds remain with GWTC for credit towards EMS costs for the upcoming trail series. Motion was made to approve this request, seconded, and passed.

GWTC 30K/15K Closeout: Zach DeVeau reported revenue of $4,569.00 and expenses of $4,088.74 for a net profit of $480.26. Donations in the amount of $181.00 to the GWTC Chenoweth Endowment Fund were received. Zach and Jillian have requested that 100% of the net proceeds remain with GWTC.

Bowlegs Run for Scholarship Closeout: Bill Hillison reported revenue of $4,687.00 and expenses of $2,827.99, for a net profit of $1,859.01. Online donations in the amount of $260.00 to the Faculty and Friends Club of FSU were received through RunSignUp. Bill reported that this is a unique race that is co-sponsored by FSU faculty. There were no expenses for police or EMS because the university covers those. A lot of door prizes were also provided. The profit is donated to the Faculty and Friends Club of FSU Scholarship.

Tallahassee Ultradistance Classic: Peg reported for Jack and Laura McDermott revenues of $4,468.09 and expenses of $3,899.24, for a net profit of $568.85. Jack and Laura request that the net proceeds be split evenly between GWTC and the Friends of Wakulla Springs. A motion to share proceeds with the Friends of Wakulla Springs was made, seconded and passed.

III. New Business:

a. Kiersten Lee of Gulf Winds Credit Union: Kiersten is a member of the Foundation Board of Gulf Winds Credit Union. They will donate $2500 to GWTC for the Springtime Tallahassee race. It’s a full-service credit union. She reported they are a 501C3 and
everything goes back to the members. They are developing some swag items for the Springtime race.

b. Timing System—Bill Hillison: There is a new timing software program called RACE DAY for timing through RunSignUp. Bill asked how more timing volunteers can be recruited. Bill is confident that others would be able to learn it easily. The cost for a license for one year is $150.00. It has a demo mode that enables people to try it out. Bill will review the instructional videos and go through it with others who are interested. The MAD DASH race at Thomasville Road Baptist Church will utilize this new system. Bill also spoke to Jacob Smith, a professional timer, and Jacob charges a minimum of $2500 per race and $2.50 per runner. They provide more services, including marking the course. A concern is that it cannot handle the more complicated races like Springtime and Turkey Trot—just basic races. A clinic can be offered to train volunteers in timing. Motion was made and seconded to purchase the license agreement. Motion passed.

c. Youth Grand Prix Schedule: Lisa Unger discussed the schedule approved by the previous Grand Prix Committee. Seven events are on the 2023 schedule. Some have both the 5K and One Mile offered at the same time. Lisa spoke to two race directors about adding their One Mile races to the Youth Grand Prix. She will approach two others. Motion was made to authorize the Grand Prix Committee to contact those race directors to include both 5K and One Mile runs for Springtime, Prefontaine, and Catfish Crawl. Motion was seconded and passed. Lisa also mentioned that there typically has been a two-race minimum for awards but moved it back to a three-race minimum. Motion was made, seconded, and passed.

d. Committee Cleanup: Jerry reviewed committees that exist but have not been active. The first one is the Trail Care Committee created by Paul Guyas in 2019. Since this work is primarily done by the City and County, a motion was made to eliminate that committee. Motion was seconded and passed. The Training Groups coordinator position was also created, but has been vacant. Jo Lena is coordinating the Springtime training group and has 24 people registered, and such groups operate independently. The training groups need to be advertised better. The position will remain for now. The Volunteer Coordinator position is critical, according to some Board members. Building relationships with service organizations in the community would be helpful. Annie Bowman is doing this for the Springtime race and has contacts at local schools. The Youth Coordinator has already been eliminated. The Committee of Diversity and Inclusion will be retained.

IV. Announcements from Officers:

Jerry thanked everyone who participated in and helped with the Marathon.

Jennifer Hay spoke about the partnership with REI and Bicycle House. The Springtime race packet pickup will be at REI. The Bicycle House repairs bikes and gives them away. Anyone who brings a bicycle to donate at packet pickup will be entered into a drawing five times. The date is March 30.

V. Reports:

Treasurer: Peg Griffin reported that the club’s net assets are $249,264.70. and the net revenue is $26,150.19.

Tri Club: Jeanne reported for Kory Skrob and Eric Trombley. The board met on January 16th for its first meeting of the new year. New board members were introduced and plans for the year were discussed. The Tri Club is hosting a transition clinic on February 12th at 2:00 pm at The Hub at Feather Oaks. All are welcome. Participants need to bring helmet, bike shoes, socks, run shoes, race belt, sunglasses, hat, towel, nutrition, and anything else they might need in transition during a race. For more information, please contact gulfwindstriathletes@gmail.com. The St. Marks Duathlon is scheduled for Sunday, March 5, 2023. The last day to register and be guaranteed a shirt is February 12th. There will be a price increase at midnight on February 12th to $80.

Race Director Coordinator: Mary Jean reported on the Tallahassee Marathon. The Half-Marathon had 587 finishers last year, and had 823 finishers this year. Almost 1,000 registered for the Half-Marathon. A re-order was placed for the finisher medals and will be mailed to out-of-town people. The committee structure worked well and Felton and Bonnie worked very hard. There were many volunteers helping and even more are needed.

Newsletter: No report.

Membership: Jo Lena reported that currently there are 1149 members in the club, with 1187 in the club last year at this time. The number of households is now 664, compared to 645 last year. There are 80 members in the Google group.

Diversity/IRC: Jeanne reported for Gabrielle Gabrielli. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is now listed on the GWTC web site. Chika Okoro has joined the committee. They are working with the Soul of the Southside Festival committee regarding their 5K, to be scheduled in May. They had excellent participation from Black Girls Run at the Tallahassee Marathon, including having a large group of volunteers and a DJ at a water stop at the 16 mile and again at about the 20 mile point.

Education/Lecture: Mark Tombrink reported that Katie DeBeck will do a presentation on Feb. 26 at her yoga studio. She will do stretches and post-run stretches that can help with recovery. This information will be posted on the web site.

Website: Nothing to report. Board Members should send their profiles to Peg for posting on the web site.

Chenoweth: Nothing to report.

Merchandise: Laura McDermott sent an e-mail report saying they sold $375 worth of merchandise at the Marathon Expo.

Equipment: Bill Lott reported that the two batteries in the small, one-sided clock were replaced at a cost of $47.28. Consideration is being given the purchase of a trailer dolly to help get the trailer in and out of the storage unit, especially by one person. There are no other equipment issues to report at this time.

Chip Timing Report: During January, three Club races were chip timed. That included the Swamp Forest Trail Quarter/Half/20 Mile, GWTC 30K/15K, and Bowlegs 5K Run for Scholarship. Scheduled to be timed in February are two Club races, the Tallahassee Marathon/Half Marathon/Marathon Relay; and Flash 12K/6K. In March, one Club race, the St. Mark’s Duathlon, and one non-Club race, the Shamrock Scurry 5K/1 Mile, will be chip timed. As an update to repairing the broken mat antennas, Bill is having difficulty finding anyone locally to fix the cables on the antennas. The one good lead that he had has indicated that they do not want to attempt the repairs.

Social: Tina Bahmer: No report.

Grand Prix: Lisa Unger reported that the Grand Prix Committee met and will be in touch with Tina Bahmer to make sure a venue is secured for the Annual Awards meeting. The committee is preparing for what is coming up this year.

Jo Lena announced that the Springtime Training group will start on Monday. Cadence Running helps with the group. They are technically an in-kind sponsor for Springtime.

Meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,
Jeanne O’Kon