GULF WINDS TRACK CLUB Minutes

Present: Board members for quorum: Tony Guillen, Emma Spencer, David Yon, Zack Scharlepp, Mark Priddy, Katie Sherron, Annie Bowman, Felton Wright, Eric Godin. Others: Jim and Kristin Halley, Charlie Johnson, Ron Harrison, Tracy Godin, Paula O’Neill, Gary Griffin. 

The President called the meeting to order at 7:29 p.m. Quorum was established.

The Board reviewed the August 2016 minutes, a motion was passed, seconded and minutes were approved.

New Business:

Paula O’Neill – Paula presented to the Board the 2017 Grand Prix race roster.  18 race directors applied for next year and the Grand Prix Committee chose 16 races that were a mix between both GWTC and other community races. They made their decisions by reviewing race the schedule for grand prix races from 2010 to 2016.  The 2017 Grand Prix roster will host a variety of new 5K races that have not been on the roster previously and two that will directly promote the use of the ARP (Trash Dash and Tannenbaum). A motion to approve the schedule was made, seconded and passed unanimously.  

Gary Griffin – Gary presented to the Board the budget for the 2016 Pine Run. Total revenues are estimated to be $3480.00 and total net expenses expected to be $2725.00, with an approximate net income of $755.00, with the proceeds to be split 50/50 between GWTC and Tall Timbers. A motion to approve the budget was made, seconded and passed unanimously.

Felton Wright – Felton wanted to discuss the upcoming GWTC Board Elections for 2017.  There is still no one nominated for the position of education/lecture coordinator and more At Large Board Members are also needed. A discussion took place about those in voting positions being active on the Board and attending regular Board Meetings.  Further discussions about elections and any issues associated with the process will be discussed at a later date.  Nominations are to close on September 17th 2016.

Tracy Godin –  Tracy wanted to discuss with the Board the state of the trails we all run on following the aftermath of Hurricane Hermine.  The Tallahassee Mountain Biking Association (TMBA) facebook page had a lot of activity of people wanting to help clear the trails following the storm. TMBA has an arrangement with the City of Tallahassee and has permission to clean up the trails, unfortunately GWTC does not have these same permissions.  This was concerning as a group of GWTC members went out of their way to clean up the trails.  In order to make sure that GWTC has the same kind of permissions with the City, Tracy suggested that we partner or have a liaison with TMBA to take part in these activities as currently only members of TMBA can clear the trails.  It was suggested that TMBA include GWTC in their bylaws as being a partner in any future clean ups, or GWTC could go to the City and get our own permissions. The City did express their gratitude towards the clean up and said thank you.  Jim and Kristin Halley are members of TMBA and will act as our GWTC liaison between the two clubs as they regularly attend their meetings.  Tracy also asked if it was OK for her to promote other local races, such as those put on by TMBA on her training Facebook page, no one objected to this. 

David Yon – David reported to the Board a youth running idea as a way to promote both youth running and also the Turkey Trot race. He presented a flyer “Be a Turkey Trot Youth Strider,” which laid out the objective of encouraging elementary and middle school participation in the program by having children (and teachers) participate in the race and earning points for each person who completes the race to compete to win a trophy and $300 for the school. David also suggested that training programs were sent to the schools to encourage participation and that they could offer some days where the children could take part in training days and runs put on by GWTC.  The vision of this program is that it would start with Turkey Trot and they could keep participation going all the way from the “fastest” marathon mile to Spring Time.  They are also in talks with the City to have them back this type of program and David will bring it back to the Board at a later date.  Finally, it is expected that the downhill mile that will coincide with the opening of the Cascade Bridge will move forward in October.

Old Business:

Tony Guillen- Tony brought back to the Board the Women’s Distance Festival 5K budget as he did not receive enough votes to pass the budget via email.  A motion was made to approve the budget, it was seconded and passed.

Committee Reports:

Treasurer’s Report – Katie Sherron
As of August 31, 2016, the summary accounts are, $53,296.21 in the Operations account, $2,120.18 for the Events 1 accounts, $4422.25 for the Events 2 account, $8203.53 for the Triathlon account, $85,000 in the Invest and Reserve account and $13,944.72 in the Chenoweth Fund. 

Membership Report – Mark Priddy
No Report.

Race Director Coordinator Report – Charlie Yates 
No report.

Newsletter Report – Fred Deckert 
No report.

Clothing Coordinator Report – Maggie Beshara
No Report.

Equipment Report – Bill Lott & Vicky Droze
The batteries in one of the clocks wouldn’t hold a charge and were replaced for $47.28. Another clock was freezing up and then hard to be cleared after freezing.  Bill talked with a representative of the clock company and performed the suggestions the representative made.  The clock appears to be working fine now even though Bill has not determined what caused the problems.  The low battery indicator came on for one of the Chronomixes so Bill replaced the battery for $3.75. One of the 10-gallon water coolers was leaking around the spigot due to a worn gasket. Bill installed a new spigot, gasket and gasket nut (sold together as a unit) for $7.52. 

Website Committee Report – David Yon
No Report.

Chenoweth Fund Report – David Yon
No Report.

Triathlete Report – Ron Harrison 
Race Recaps: Hammerhead Triathlon (Grand Prix Event) (Sunday, August 28, 2016). Beach Blast II (Grand Prix Event) (Saturday, September 10, 2016).Club tent with refreshments/snacks, manned by Keith Rowe, there was a good turnout and support for club members. The 2016 Grand Prix Results updated through Hammerhead Triathlon.
The 2017 Board of Directors Nominees are as follows; Vice President: Mike Weyant, Treasurer: Jon Nash, Secretary: Karen Jeter, Director At Large: Michelle Butler, Robby Turner, James Harrison, JoAnne Maltese, Kathy McDaris, and Bill Garvin. The Gulf Winds Triathletes bylaws have been changed to better align with track club on elections (dates for opening, closing nominations, voting, etc.).  Ron is to send Felton the list of the nominations. 
Newsletter going out to our 258 members on Wednesday, September 14, 2016. Articles included are;
Thanks to our Sponsors.
Sunday, September 18, 2016 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm for a “Pre-IRONMAN Chattanooga and IRONMAN Augusta 70.3 Bike Cleaning, Lubrication, and Social!” at The Southern Public House.
This month’s speaker(s): 2017 Board of Directors Nominees introductions and “speeches”.
Triathlon Training and Contact Information.
Grand Prix updated through Hammerhead Triathlon.
Meet Your Board of Directors: Kathy McDaris.
Triathlete spotlight: JoAnne Maltese and Bill Garvin.
Next Meeting: Monday, September 19, 2016 at Momo’s Pizza in Killearn, on Market St. Social at 6:30 pm and Speaker at 7:00 pm. Speakers: 2017 Board of Directors Nominees.
Ron and Charlie also brought up the possibility of sending a shorter Gulf Winds Triathletes Newsletter to Track Club Membership in 2017.  No-one objected to this and Ron is going to work out with possibly Eric Godin on how this can occur. 
Furthermore, Ron and Charlie Johnson wanted to discuss the potential resurrection of the “Saint Marks Duathlon” in 2017 as a Gulf Winds Triathletes “club race”, which would help business in the area and also that liabilities would be reduced as there is no swim portion to this race which makes it easier to put together.  The Board mentioned that he should review the 2017 race calendar that is up online to make sure that the date they pick does not conflict with any other major GWTC races.  Charlie and Ron have already been in contact with the Sheriff’s office who stated that police for the race would likely be free if they contacted them after elections in November.  Ron and Charlie wanted to know what would be the support, equipment, etc. available from the Track Club. Would they be able to get any discounts on timing equipment use?  The GWTC Board asked that they make sure when they choose a date that the equipment is not going to be rented out already and that they should use their own Tri budget first and come to the Board with a budget to review.  Katie suggested that they look at the Race Directors handbook online for information and contact the previous race director for information.  Charlie stated that they had already contacted the previous race director and that they may already have signage to use.  A one day insurance policy may also be needed for this race and so they are going to investigate this also.

Lecture Series Report – Paul Guyas 
Nothing new to report, but Paul is working on future leads.

Training Report –Tracy Godin 
The beginning long run and turkey trot training groups are in progress.  The long runs started up and have Pine Run 20K as the targeted race for training. Tracy met with the contact from Capital Health Plan to negotiate them sponsoring the beginning running training group, CHP wants to see how the partnership with GWTC goes before they sponsor and reimburse memberships but for now they will provide us with free stuff and logos for CHP and GWTC have been exchanged so they can put us in their newsletter.  Tracy is going to try and organize a Halloween fun run, Monday 31st October.

Social Report – Zack Scharlepp 
The last social was at the Wright household to watch the Men’s Olympic marathon. Currently in the works is trying to do a 1 mile race once the City opens the Cascades Bridge and to have a social after at Proof.

Trail Coordinator Report –Jim Halley
Jim told the Board how the trails were hit hard by Hurricane Hermine and echoed what Tracy had previously told the Board about how TMBA and a group of GWTC members went out and cleared them voluntarily.  Jim also told the Board about the upcoming “BrewTallaty” trail duathlon that is coming up in November. He said that they hope to hold a meet and greet for runners and bikers who may want to pair up for the race. A Swamp Forest Marathon training group is coming soon, as is a potential night time trail running lecture series, of which Paul Guyas said he may be able to contact vendors to try out night time gadgets.

Other Business:

It was announced that sadly Rex Cleveland passed away on 9.14.16. The Board expressed their deep condolences to his wife Mae Cleveland.

At 8:15 p.m. a motion to adjourn was made, seconded and approved.