HTC EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING MINUTES

April 23, 2013

Board Members Present: Eric Fritz (President), Harold Tinsley (VP – Communications),Karen Gelmis (VP – Programs), Dink Taylor (VP – Races & Equipment), Kathy Youngren (Treasurer), Jim Oaks (Appointed Member – Past Board Member) and Suzanne Taylor (Appointed Member – Co- Rocket City Marathon Director).

Board Members Absent: Joey Butler (Secretary)

Guest: Gregg Gelmis

Dink indicated that we need some new tables as the current ones are falling apart. He is going to look into purchasing some.

The board voted on whether we can give a Scholarship or not this year. After some discussion it was determined that the club has not made sufficient interest in the Scholarship bank accounts over the past few years to cover both the 4 scholarships that we are currently supporting as well as another scholarship.

Discussed the recent Cookie Dash race. Agreed that new race director Regena Moore should not be required to pay for any expenses out of her own pocket. The club will reimburse those additional funds required from the general fund. There were also some concerns discussed over the Cookie Dash course. It was agreed that we should probably have a post race meeting with the RD and race committee as this is both the first year at a new location and first year for a new RD. Eric will work with Regena to schedule something.

It was proposed that we provide some money for expenses and time spent by Coaches Jeff Jenkins from Troy and Coach David Cain from UAH who spoke at the recent Ins and Outs of College Running event. The vote was approved.

Had a lengthy discussion about Facebook and We Run Huntsville with Gregg Gelmis who was in attendance. It was agreed that both groups can work together but no formal plan was agreed to. We will continue the discussion in the future.

Discussed safety issues after the recent bombing at the Boston Marathon and how we may need to adjust our events. Suzanne is working with Chris Hlusak(sp?) from the HPD Swat Team to set up a meeting with both HPD and the Cotton Row Committee to discuss how we can best address any concerns.

Potential changes to the upcoming Rocket City Marathon were discussed. As construction is proposed to start this August for the new road to downtown Huntsville, the course will have to be re-routed. Due to the age of the certification it will require a complete re-certification of the course. With this in mind we feel it is potentially a good time to rethink the course. Harold expressed concerns over the push back from residents along a new course and many other headaches he had when the course has been changed in the past. We are also under a significant tight timeline as the new course will have to be announced as soon as Cotton Row is over. Harold is to send a summary document of his experience he has that may help us. We also discussed how we would like to get the City of Huntsville more involved and showcase the city with the new course. We will continue to discuss this over the coming weeks.

It was agreed that the Cotton Row Memorial Walk is no longer applicable as the memorial has been built. Everyone agreed that the walk will just be part of the current 1 mile Fun Run/Walk but we will market it and showcase our First Responders (HEMSI, Police and Fire) and find a suitable fund(s) to donate to for them.

The use of headphones at our races was discussed briefly. Jim has not yet spoken with any Race Directors as his focus has been on the new timing system lately. It was requested that he have this discussion prior to the next meeting. Eric also indicated that he would have a discussion on this at the upcoming RRCA convention.