HTC Executive Board Meeting
25 April 2012
Board Members Present: Eric Fritz (President), Harold Tinsley (VP – Communications), Brandi Hough (VP – Programs), Dink Taylor (VP – Races & Equipment), Joey Butler (Secretary), Kathy Youngren (Treasurer), Jim Oaks (Appointed Member – Past Board Member) and Suzanne Taylor (Appointed Member – Co- Rocket City Marathon Director).
The Huntsville Track Club held an executive board meeting on Wednesday April 24, 2012 at Casa Blanca on Bailey Cove. Eric opened the meeting at 7:15 pm.
The meeting opened a discussion about the Alabama A&M race. Race director James Falcon had asked to change the race to a cross-country event. After reviewing different course options, Jim made a motion to change the race to a 5K cross-country race. The thought was a shorter race would encourage more participation but we will still run the “big hill” to try and maintain the difficulty this race is known for. The motion passed unanimously.
Next topic was the Rocket City Marathon fee structure. Suzanne made a proposal to make a slight increase to the race fees for the 2012 marathon. The new fee structure would be as follows: May 31 – August 31 is $60, September 1 – September 30 is $75, October 1 – October 31 is $90, November 1 – Close is $100. Suzanne shared race fees from similar size races in the region and even with a slight increase, Rocket City still is among the cheapest races to enter. The marathon basically broke even in 2011 and this increase should ensure that the club does not lose money on this event in 2012. Jim made a motion to accept Suzanne’s proposal for a new fee structure. Joey seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
The board discussed different options for the next HTC General Meeting. Brandi shared several fun ideas. She will finalize plans including a date and location and will work with Harold to get this information out to the membership.
Eric stated that he wanted to set up a Race Directors’ meeting. Eric wants to talk about standardizing certain things such as flyers, registration forms, and online signup providers. He also will discuss timing, using our pizza contract with Dominos, and how to interact with our sponsors. Eric will set a date and location for the meeting.
Harold brought up a new road planned for downtown that could affect the marathon course. It appears the construction will affect the course near the finish line. Eric will contact Huntsville City for more info.
Lastly we discussed the high number of races and how/if we support them all. The club rents out equipment to most of the local races. Some weekends there are as many as 5-7 races. Obviously we can’t support them all. No decision was made about how to prioritize which races to support.
With no other business, the meeting adjourned at 8:45.
The following topic was voted on via email. UAH 10K Race Director Conrad Meyer made a request to donate $500 each to Alzheimer’s Association – Mid South Chapter, Huntsville Dialysis Center, Alabama-Mississippi Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and American Heart Association – North Alabama Chapter. This would be $2000 total. Eric made a motion to accept Conrad’s proposal and the motion passed unanimously.
In an earlier board meeting, a motion was made and passed to award an HTC Scholarship to Katelyn Clarke pending review of her application letter. The board has now reviewed her application and has awarded her with a scholarship to UAH where she will run cross-country. Katelyn is the daughter of Marty and Tina Clarke. The family has been active in the HTC for many years and the board is happy to award her this scholarship.