HMRRC Meeting Minutes from December 9, 2015

Submitted by Lara Stelmaszyk, Secretary


Attendance: Doug Bowden, Frank Broderick, Maureen Cox, Ed Neiles, Ray Newkirk, Brian Northan, Chris Nowak, John Parisella, Jon Rocco, Cathy Sliwinski, Lara Stelmaszyk

Call to Order (John Parisella):

1. Approval of November 11, 2015, minutes. Motion made by Frank Broderick to approve minutes, seconded by Jon Rocco. Motion passed.

2. Reports of Officers

2.1 President (J. Parisella): No report

2.2 Executive Vice President (F. Broderick): No report

2.3 Executive Vice President – Finance (R. Newkirk): Please see under Unfinished Business.

2.4 Secretary (L. Stelmaszyk): No report

2.5 Treasurer (J. Golden): See attached report. Total of accounts: $226.911.53. Net decrease: $21,552,34.

3. Reports of Committees

3.1 Membership (D. Fisher-Golden): See attached report.

Total membership: 2,997

Change in membership: -1

New memberships: 26

Facebook followers: 2,453

Twitter followers: 216

3.2 Volunteers (M. Adams): Not present; no report

3.3 Public Relations (R. Moore): Things are going well. Press releases for all Winter Series races sent to all the newspapers.

HMRRC has again been invited to have a booth at the Adirondack Sports & Fitness Summer Expo in Saratoga. Dates for this event will be available by the next meeting.

As reported in October, the radio station B95.5 had sent an e-mail/left a voice message saying they were interested in having booth at the Workforce Challenge. They have been referred to Mike Warner (forwarded the e-mail on to Mike with the contact info.)

3.4 Race Committee (J. Rocco):

Turkey RaffAL Run: This event was held on November 22. This was Al Maikel’s last time as race director for this event. He has been the director since 1989 (27 years). Randy and Kathleen Goldberg will replace Al in 2016.

Mohawk Hudson River Marathon and Half Marathon: 2016 will be a transition year for getting new directors up to speed, but leads on new directors have not yet been fruitful. Cathy Sliwinski and Maureen Cox have developed a guide, noting tasks and responsibilities required, and dividing them into three roles to be filled by three people: an event director, a race director, and an administrative assistant. Barb Sorrell will fill the AA position for 2016.

Winter Series: All arrangements set with OGS. As of this meeting, 207 participants had preregistered for WS#1. In January, the WS numbers for 2015 will be available, but it looks as though participation surpassed that of 2014 and 2013.

After discussion at WS meeting, it was agreed that there will be no more Kids Craft table at the WS because of potential liability-exposure issues to the club.

WS#2 on January 1, and WS#3 on January 10.

HMRRC trifold race brochure: This has been printed and is available for distribution. New vendor, new photos, new design, and a color PDF will be added to the new website.

Extra Mile and President’s Awards: Will discuss with race directors to identify potential candidates.

Banquet: Grand Prix winners will be getting their letters soon; banquet invitations will be going out; and awards will be picked out.

Budget: Will e-mail the club budget to all race directors so they can plan their individual race budgets.

3.5 Race Committee Treasurer (C. Sliwinski): QuickBooks has been working out very well. Please see attached report.

3.6 Pace Setter (E. Neiles): December Pace Setter hasn’t gone to press yet, though it will shortly. This will be the last print issue.

3.7 Conflicts Committee (R. Newkirk): No report

3.8 Safety Committee (VACANT):

3.9 Grants Committee (R. Newkirk): No grants have been requested.

3.10 Long Range Planning Committee (E. Neiles): Continuing work on new Web page. It will launch in January, though perhaps not by the first of the year. It may not be in its final form when it is launched. Also, training needs to occur so it can be updated by the various people who need to make updates: race directors, the club president, and so forth. Some discussion about who will be conducting the training.

3.11 Just Run program (K. Skinner): Just Run is in hiatus. Work for the spring season will begin in mid-January, and the program itself will begin indoors in the spring. Union College track will not be available this year because Union is redoing their track. Need to find a new track to use. Parking is a big issue, as is the cost of the track.

3.12 STEM program (J. Gish): The STEM program closed out its the fall session with the Girls on the Run 5K. As reported last month, there were a total of 31 STEM participants; this includes volunteers and board members. As indicated in last month’s report, the total number of runners (and 1 walker) completing the fall race was 10.

This spring, STEM will be working with Equinox for the first time. (As reported in November, Equinox has applied for funding for the program from a local bar association, so if it’s secured, that’s where the cost of shoes, bras, and race registrations would come from. That means we’ll be working at four sites in the spring: Troy, Schenectady, Albany, and Columbia/Greene.)

We've appreciated the relationship with HMRRC, which has allowed us to bring the program to an increasing number of women in our community. We've made some true runners. I was so proud to watch one of our ladies cross the Stockadathon finish line, and she's planning for her first half marathon in the spring.

4. Unfinished Business: Ray Newkirk and Cathy Sliwinski expressed the goal of the club having no more than three bank accounts by the end of the year, but they are still working toward this.

5. New Business: Budget discussion:

(1) STEM allocation and status: The issue was again raised about lowering the allocation to the STEM program, given the relatively low enrollment in the program and given that they have never used the entire $10,000; one member present said that she doesn’t think they have ever used more than $5,000. Also, Jennifer Gish had inquired whether they could spend down unused funds for the year, and the consensus was that they could not, and discussion followed about whether the STEM allocation is a club-approved grant or an HMRRC program. Ray Newkirk says he has been treating it as a program rather than a grant but asked whether, if it is a grant, the club simply had to provide the designated amount. As it stands, HMRRC gives them a cap and asks the organizer to submit receipts for HMRRC to pay. After discussion, it was agreed that the amount would be lowered to $5,000. John Parisella will contact them.

(2) Maintenance of HMRRC warehouse/clubhouse: In last month’s meeting, the maintenance of the warehouse/clubhouse was discussed; specifically, whether someone should be paid to maintain it. Ray Newkirk received a proposal from club members for taking on this responsibility on a paid basis. He did question whether HMRRC, which has strictly relied on volunteer labor, should begin paying people who are members (other paid services are only to nonmembers). He suggested that perhaps the club should, because this would be a recurring, weekly task, though the people who have submitted the proposal may need to set themselves up as a business entity so that HMRRC is not put in the position of taking them on as employees.

(3) USATF Grand Prix: The value to HMRRC of this $3,000 annual sponsorship was discussed; the amount goes toward USATF prize money offered for the USATF Adirondack Grand Prix series. Given that HMRRC currently shows a deficit and is working toward balancing its own budget, the consensus was that, going forward, USATF will need to apply for this money annually as a grant.

(4)SEFCU race net income: The exact amount is in question, but it was determined that $1,000 is the more conservative estimate.

(5) Budget vote: Ed Neiles made a motion to accept the 2016 budget with amendment (reduction in dollar amount to STEM; removing USATF line item; and including the money for maintenance of the clubhouse); and Chris Nowak seconded.

6. Announcements: January refreshments: Jon Rocco

7. Adjourn:

Motion to adjourn made by Ray Newkirk. Seconded by Ken Skinner. Meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m.


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