Voting Members Present: Jerry McDaniel, Jennifer Hay, Jeanne O’Kon, Peg Griffin, Mark Priddy, Judy Alexander, Mary Jean Yon, David Yon, Allen Blay, Robert McNeal, Herb Wills, Tom Perkins, Beverly Harrell, Robert Skrob. Voting Members Absent: Debbie Peters, Elizabeth Kamerick, Tina Bahmer, Mark Tombrink. Non-Voting Members Present: Lisa Unger, Bill Lott, Charles Kelly.

I.  Opening and Introduction: Jerry McDaniel opened the meeting at 7:01 p.m. A motion was made to approve the minutes of the August 14, 2024 meeting. Motion was seconded and passed.

II.  Announcements from Officers: Jerry spoke to Bill McGuire and confirmed that Bill is retiring from the course certification business. Jerry asked if there was anyone who was interested in taking it over. There are also companies that perform this service. The Tallahassee Marathon course needs re-certification. Herb Wills announced that the GWTC Tannenbaum 6K race will serve as the USATF Florida Cross Country state championship in 2024. In order to compete for a USATF award, the runner must be a USATF member. Jennifer Hay inquired about a possible photographer for Pine Run on October 12 that would not be expensive. An FSU student may be a possibility.

III. Old Business/Race Closeouts:

a.  Summer Trail Series Budget Closeout: Peg reported for Bobby York. Revenue for the series was $13,664.17, and expenses were $10,462.25, for a net profit of $3,201.92. Bobby has asked that $1,000.00 be donated to the Chiles High School tennis program. Motion was made and seconded to approve the closeout. Motion passed.

b.  Breakfast on the Track Budget Closeout: Mary Jean reported for Lauren and Chris Stanley. Revenue was $2,962.76, and expenses were $2,019.39, for a net profit of $943.37. Lauren and Chris asked that the net proceeds be split 50/50 with Maclay School. Mary Jean read a report from the Stanleys thanking the Board and all volunteers for their support of the event and expressed their appreciation for the support given to them as first-time race directors. Motion was made and seconded to approve the closeout. Motion passed.

c.  Miller Landing Madness Budget Closeout: Tom Perkins reported that there were 264 3K runners, with a total of 561 registrants. Runners brought in 1459 cans of food with cash donations to Second Harvest of $896.00. The race had a net loss of $1629.26. All runners ages 18 and under run free. The amount of $150 will be donated to the Chenoweth Fund. Donations were made by Vibrant Orthodontics, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Awards4U, and Hanger 38. Motion was made and seconded to approve the budget closeout. Motion passed.

d.  Training Groups: Jennifer Hay announced that all training groups start in September. Pacers are needed for several of the groups, including the Beginning Running Group, Half-Marathon training group, and others.

e.  Update on Stormwater Engineer and Defibrillator purchases: Jerry spoke to Eric Draper yesterday and there is work underway to help with the flooding issue on the Greenway. The groundwater is high for reasons not fully understood. There is not a contract with GWTC and an engineer at this time. Jerry will speak to the Tri Club, Capital City Cyclists, and TMBA about this, to see if they can provide unified support for tracking down the cause of the Greenway flooding and possible solutions. 

Jerry also reported that the defibrillator purchases are based on a contract with the county, and some of the language in the contract was not appropriate for GWTC. The contract was sent to the county attorney for review and she is asking questions about how they will be used at races. FSU Nursing students may be able to volunteer at races.

IV.  New Business: 

a.  Proposed 2025 Grand Prix race schedule: Lisa Unger reported that about 16% of club members (292) have met the Grand Prix volunteer requirement. Lisa sent an e-mail to remind all club members about the volunteer requirement. She provided the 2025 Grand Prix race schedule and Board members reviewed it. The Grand Prix Committee members considered many distinct aspects, including race distances, trail races, etc. Jerry mentioned that the Duathlon could also be considered in the future. Motion was made and seconded to approve the 2025 Grand Prix schedule. Motion passed.

b.  Election of Officers and Directors for 2025: Mark Priddy asked the Board to talk to other club members about running for Board positions in the upcoming election. If a Board member isn’t going to run again, the member should send Mark an e-mail. The slate will be provided to the Board in the October meeting. Jennifer mentioned this in the recent edition of Running Shorts, but more education of the members is needed. A RunSignUp e-mail would be helpful. The election has been conducted electronically for the past few years. Jennifer also mentioned that having the bios of those running for the Board is very important to include.

c.  Swamp Forest Trail Races 2025 Budget Proposal: Peg presented Bobby York’s proposed budget for the 2025 Swamp Forest trail races. Bobby anticipates revenue of $6,600 and expenses of $4,880, for a net profit of $1,720. A motion was made and seconded to approve the 2025 budget . Motion passed.

d.  Springtime 10K/5K/1m 2025 Budget Proposal: Jerry reported that more funds will be going into advertising in the new budget. Motion was made and seconded to approve the budget proposal. Motion passed.

e.  Marathon 2025 Update Proposed Budget and Marketing Plan: Robert Skrob reported that Bank of America will be the primary sponsor, and they are promoting the race throughout Florida. Bank of America also sponsors the Chicago Marathon and Boston Marathon. On Sept. 24 at 4:00, a press conference will take place with this announcement at the Kerry Forest branch of Bank of America. The PR team will help Robert develop the announcement. The goal is to have 2025 runners for the race, and the expenses have been adjusted in the proposed budget. There are already 226 registrants. Motion was made and seconded to approve the budget proposal. Motion passed. The name of the marathon will be the Bank of America Tallahassee Marathon, and Robert is working on the logo, and it is already a national event. Bank of America will underwrite the fee for any of their employees who wish to participate in the race, and volunteers will also be provided. Jennifer will reach out to the Seminole Striders group, and Robert may reach out to the Panhellenic and IFC groups at FSU.

f.  Bylaws Review: Jerry met with a small group to review the club Bylaws. Any changes need to be presented to Board members for review for 30 days. It will be discussed at the October Board meeting. There are currently 18 voting members on the Board, and it will be dropped to 15 if the changes pass. A few other changes are being proposed, including a new Communications and Recruitment Director position. The Education and Lecture Coordinator and Social Coordinator positions would be merged. The non-voting member position will be modified. An appointed Volunteer Coordinator and a Technology Coordinator position will be added. Some Board members felt that too much change in the Board structure should not be rushed through.

V.  Reports:

a.  Treasurer: Peg Griffin reported that as of August 31, 2024, net assets are $243,071.48, and net loss as of the same date is $14,229.92.

b.  Triathlete Club: Beverly reported that the Tri Club recently undated their Bylaws, and there are ten members on their Board. The terms are three years for their Board, and that is being modified. Their election is held in October and the members have been informed. There has been discussion about resuming the Red Hills Triathlon, but the permitting is difficult.

c.  Race Director Coordinator: Nothing to report.

d.  Newsletter: Sept. 20 is the deadline for the next edition of the Fleet Foot.

e.  Membership: Robert McNeal reported that for September 2024, there are currently 1321 members (1217 last year at this time), and 831 households (688 last year at this time).

f.  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Nothing to report.

g.  Education and Lecture: No report.

h.  Website: Nothing to report.

i.  Chenoweth Fund: David has a request from Lincoln High School that will be reviewed.

j.  Merchandise: No report.

k.  Equipment: Nothing to report.

l. Chip Timing: During August, all three races chip timed were Club races (Breakfast on the Track 1-Mile; Miller Landing Madness 8K/5K/3K; and Summer Trail Series Race #4 – Maclay Gardens). In September, one non-Club race (Bluebird Run for Brookie B. 5K) and three Club races (5K for Sickle Cell Anemia/Tim Simpkins 1M; Women’s Distance Festival 5K/1M; and Salute to Prefontaine Forest Run 5K/1M) will be chip timed. Originally, GWTC was to time the FSU Pre-Regional Cross Country Meet on September 27th, but due to various concerns FSU has decided to go with their regular timer. Scheduled to be timed in October are one Club race (Pine Run 20K at Tall Timbers) and one non-Club race (Boston Half Marathon/5K). For the fiscal year to-date (July-August), chip timing revenue totals $1,462.00 and all was from the Firecracker 5K held on July 4th.

m.  Grand Prix: See previous report by Lisa Unger.

n.  Social: No report.

Meeting adjourned at 8:26 p.m.

Jeanne O’Kon, Secretary