My Track Record

[Many thanks to club secretary Julie Cassata for providing this summary!]

12/7/2010 Seattle Running Club board meeting minutes

In attendance:
Greg Crowther (president), Blair Williams, Eric Sach, Francis Agboton, Glen Mangiantini, Julie Cassata (secretary), Leslie McCoubrey, Marlene Farrell, Mary Hanna, Michelle Kline, Peter Kline, Eric Kline, Win Van Pelt (vice president), Uli Steidl, Trisha Steidl.

Location:
The Rock restaurant in Renton (830 N 10th Street Suite A), near Balanced Athlete store. Optional run from the store at 6pm, meeting at restaurant at 7pm.

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS:

• Approved 11/9/2010 meeting notes.

• Phil Kochik was not able to attend, but many of his ideas were shared through Greg.

• Discussed proposed club discount night at Fleet Feet Seattle on December 28, after the Tuesday run, from 7-9pm. This has since been confirmed with store owner Dustin Shinholser.
- Members would receive 20% off purchases, and have the ability to purchase or renew membership in the store (not usually available in store) and get the discount.
- Board members to provide snacks for event - Francis, Glen (maybe), Greg (plates, napkins), Uli and Trisha.
- Robert Brewer, DJ, may be asked to spin.
- Interest was expressed in having these member nights at Fleet Feet and Balanced Athlete every few months.

• At the end of February, PO Box and web host contracts will expire. New PO Box and web host will be determined by that time.

• A new webmaster is needed. Glen is considering the position. Are any other members interested in this position? Francis also has some experience; may be available to back up webmaster. Greg and Francis to discuss.

• Website - Considering a blog format for main page to be more dynamic and allow multiple people to contribute (password controlled).

• Emails - provide a link in the footer to unsubscribe.

• Sunday run carpooling calendar - discussed embedding a calendar on the website so people that are driving out to Cougar Mountain can post offers to drive others. Drivers would state how many people they can drive and pick up outside of Fleet Feet. Google Calendar will be looked into to serve that purpose.

• Interest was expressed in changing the Sunday trail run times from 7:30 to 8am for the winter. Change has not gone into effect.

• Brooks sponsorship - subcommittee (Greg, Eric, Marlene, Mary, Phil, Mark Davies, Julie, Trisha) to determine selection process. Will allow members to apply for sponsorship. Subcommittee to make final selections based on a variety of criteria. Number of sponsored members yet to be determined.

• Discussed working with Brooks to potentially offer discounts to all club members (separate from sponsorships).

• Mission Statement - continuing to refine mission statement through discussion and online google document. Current version: Puget Sound-based running group that celebrates the beauty of our region and our personal potential with trail running, competition, and community. Need to emphasize the club's strength in trail running, which makes it unique, without making non-trail people feel unwelcome.

• Slogan - Offer to all club members to come up with a slogan for the club. Board members to select three of these member-submitted slogans for club-wide vote. Author of winning slogan will receive prize such as free membership or renewal. Details to be determined.

• Treasurer position - Leslie and Michelle to work together for now.

• Upcoming meetings - we will try a pattern of meeting on the second Thursday of the month while continuing to alternate between locations near Fleet Feet (Seattle) and Balanced Athlete (Renton). Thus, the next meeting will be on Thursday, January 13th at 7 PM near Fleet Feet, following the group run.

REGARDING MEMBERSHIPS:

• Bridle Trails Winter Trail Running Festival is 1/8/2011. Idea was expressed to give runners opportunity to purchase membership at this and other events.

• Leslie is working with John Wallace on the hand-over of the membership processing that he was previously handling. She, Michelle, and Julie will divide up membership tasks, with Francis as backup. Julie will send membership expiration reminder emails; Glen has knowledge on how to set up an automated system for sending reminder emails; to be discussed further at a later time.

• There are currently 95 paying members. 6 new memberships were recently processed.

• Moving forward, there will be no free (compensated or "comped") memberships. Previously comped members will be asked to continue membership as paying members.

• Once membership changes go into effect, new members will pay full membership fee ($40) and receive a technical t-shirt. Renewing members will be charged a reduced membership fee ($30) with the option of purchasing a technical t-shirt or singlet at a discounted price. Changes have not gone into effect.

• Discussed proposing to Dustin (Fleet Feet) and Eric (Balanced Athlete) that membership t-shirts are picked up from their store to save on shipping costs, rather than the club mailing shirts to individuals. This would require some coordination with the store owners, including the stores having access to the most up-to-date membership lists. Eric expressed interest.

• Discussed proposing to Dustin (Fleet Feet) and Eric (Balanced Athlete) selling memberships at their stores, cash or check only. This system is very similar to offering race registration through their stores, which occurs frequently. Eric expressed interest.

• SRC membership brochures should be available in local running stores and at events.