(These Minutes are pending board approval)

Board Members Present: Zack Scharlepp, Paul Guyas, Mark Priddy, David Yon, Chika Okoro, Judy Alexander, Mike Weyant, Kristin Halley, Kory Skrob, Katie Sherron, Tom Perkins, Herb Wills, Laura McDermott, Rachel Scharlepp

Others Present: Bill Lott

The President called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM, and quorum was established.

The April 2018 minutes were approved unanimously by the board via email prior to this board meeting.

May minutes are pending approval via email after minor corrections are made.

New Business

 Gulf Winds Private Discussion Group/Listserv/Gwind List

Mark Priddy sent the following update to the board prior to the board meeting and answered questions at the meeting:

The Private Discussion Group, aka Listserv/Gwind list remains somewhat of a mystery benefit to most of our members. Rex Cleveland started the Gulf Winds Yahoo Listserv Group in April of 1999. In 2013, Rex and Mae asked me to take over as list moderator. Only dues paying club members were (and still) are admitted to the discussion group. The gwind list was established to inform Club members about local running events and local running news, club race discount codes, etc. Club members rely on the list to keep them informed of news not found elsewhere. Social media did not exist then. All our media platforms benefit the club in different ways, but the Listserv has a more narrow focus to a more limited number to targeted members. When I took over in 2013, it took me months of frustrating communications with Yahoo to allow me to be the moderator.  They never gave me permission because we did not have the passwords that Rex used to set up the account some 14 years earlier.  The Yahoo “customer service” reps repeatedly, over and over, hung up the phone when I tried to communicate with them. Long story short, I had no user name or password, so I was out of luck. It was just too disruptive to dump Yahoo and partner with another provider. I spent many weeks entering combinations of Rex’s User names and Passwords until I hit the jackpot. That’s the background information. Yahoo only supplies me with gwind emails, not names. If that email is not on the current membership list, I purge it annually from the gwind list. This year, in April, the list was purged of 154 emails not on the current membership list. Maybe they did not renew.  Maybe they changed emails and did not inform us. Regardless of the reason, only verified member emails are on the list. As you know, Yahoo has had some major security breaches in the past few years.  The new procedure to join the list now requires multiple steps.  This process has been published on the GWTC website.

If you want to join the list, you email the moderator via the website email address. Moderator verifies that the email is assigned to a current member. Moderator then sends the person a listserv ‘invitation to join.’ Person selects “reply” then “send” to gain admission to the gwind list.

Update on Tri-City Race and Visit Tallahassee

David Yon recapped the June 11 meeting he requested with Amanda Heidecker. In attendance were Amanda Heidecker, Joe Piotrowski, Gary Stogner, Zack Scharlepp and Judy Alexander. David indicated he was not representing GWTC at the meeting. David reported:

It appears that they [Visit Tallahassee] do not intend to do anything in 2018 or 2019, but are perhaps shooting for a half marathon in early January of 2020. Nothing is set yet. Visit Tallahassee believes to make Publix happy, Visit Tallahassee has to run the race. They seem to be counting on Publix as a major sponsor. Tri City idea still in play. Pensacola now more interested than Savannah. They [Visit Tallahassee] still want to support our races.

Judy Alexander reported that Amanda Heidecker would send update via email on behalf of Visit Tallahassee. The update arrived and was distributed via email to the board a couple of days after the board meeting. It read:

We wanted to provide an update since our last meeting with the Gulf Winds Track Club board on the progress of Visit Tallahassee involvement in a Publix sponsored Tri-City Distance Race Series. As it was left, the idea of partnering with an existing Gulf Winds race was on the table for exploration. After hearing concerns from members of Gulf Winds we have decided that teaming with an existing race would not be the best route to pursue. Rather, Visit Tallahassee has decided to embark on creating and directing a brand new race, consisting of a half marathon, 5K, fun run, expo, and other elements to create a multi day distance festival experience for both out of town guests and local runners alike. The goal of this partnership is to maximize the extensive marketing reach of Publix and two other community tourist development organizations to saturate target markets with promotion of Leon Counties multitude of running experiences in hopes of positioning our community as a premier running destination in the Southeast. After further conversation with the other two communities and their established races we will run our race in January 2020 and plan to start promoting the race in the Fall of 2018. At this time Visit Tallahassee is not slated to directly partner with Gulf Winds in the development of the Tri-City race but we are, and always will be, open to discussions of what that relationship can look like in the future. Visit Tallahassee respects the institutional knowledge of Gulf Winds and its members and looks forward to developing the relationship for this race series. Visit Tallahassee will continue to support any and all Gulf Winds races it has in the past, and any and all races Gulf Winds might request assistance with in the future. We look forward to continuing our relationship with your organization and to promoting our running community in order to take it to new heights.

Judy advised the board to keep an open mind to change, especially with regard to growing events such as the marathon.

Committee Reports:

Treasurer’s Report –Katie Sherron

Katie reported that as of May 31, 2018, the club’s current assets are as follows:

Full financial information may be found on the website, and the new fiscal year starts on July 1, 2018. Katie indicated the new bill-paying system is working well. The Springtime totals were adjusted, and the board voted unanimously to award fifty percent of net proceeds to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend.

Membership Report –Mark Priddy

Mark reported 85 added members this month, bringing the total number of members to 1318 as of June 13, 2018. A total of 664 households are represented, or 46 more than last month. The Tri Club has 214 members as of June 13, 2018.

Race Director Coordinator Report – David Yon for Mary Jean Yon

David reported the GWTC Race Directors met on May 20, 2018. Robert Skrob reported on the efforts to update the club’s systems for managing membership data. There was also considerable discussion regarding the “greening” of races with guest speaker Jim Davis of Sustainable Tallahassee. Representatives were selected to work with Kat Sack and her committee to explore the “greening” concept in more detail for club races.

Newsletter Report –Fred Deckert

No report.

Clothing Coordinator Report –Rachel Scharlepp

Rachel reported there were items available and sold at the Great Potluck Bash.

Equipment Report – Katie Sack & Bill Lot

Bill Lott reported the PA was broken, and he ordered a new switch. Before he had a chance to install the switch, the PA began operating. It cost just under $50 for a new battery to repair one of the clocks.

Website Committee Report –David Yon

No report.

Chenoweth Fund Report –David Yon

David thanked everyone who supported the Great Potluck Bash. He mentioned the award winners and discussion about local youth runners and coaches ensued.

Triathlete Report –Mike Weyant

The next meeting of the GWTC Tri Club will be a social on Monday, June 18 at Momo’s. The Triathlon Club board has implemented separate memberships for individuals and families. Fees are $15/year and $25/year, respectively. They will discuss voting at their next meeting, and they plan to adopt the track club’s voting method with regard to number of votes per person/family.

Lecture Series Report –Kory Skrob

Twelve club members attended the CPR and First Aid training on June 2, 2018. The event was a success, and all participants received their 2-year certifications. There are no lectures scheduled for July, August and December. Lectures will begin again in September. Kory requested suggestions for interesting lecture material/speakers.

Training Report –Tom Biance

The Sunday intervals at Leon High School track are going well, and the starting time has changed to 7:30 AM. Tom asked about the club’s lightning policy, and the board discussed various plans and ideas. The City of Tallahassee requested Tom Perkins use a lightning-detection app during the Summer Track Series, and Tom Biance said the Accuweather Skyguard app was popular and seemingly reliable. He will check on cost and availability of the latter. Herb Wills suggested the lightning policy issue would be suitable for discussion by the race directors and their coordinator, Mary Jean Yon.

Social Report – Vicky Droze

No report. Laura McDermott reminded everyone of game night, held at MoMo’s from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM on the first Sunday of each month.

Trail Coordinator Report – Kristin Halley for Jim Halley

Kristin reported Trailblazers has ended, and their final group run and cookout were a success. She said the volunteers were of tremendous help. The Trail Series is sold out, and the first race of the Trail Series will be held on June 23.

Other Business:

David Yon reported there is a privately-signed contract with Meb Keflezighi to attend the 2019 Tallahassee Marathon and Tallahassee Half Marathon. Meb will probably run the half marathon at a pace that will allow a good-sized group to run with him. He will spend the Friday and Saturday prior to the race visiting schools and attending other events.

 A motion to adjourn was made, seconded and passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:03 PM.