HARRA BOARD MEETING MINUTES – JULY 19, 2004
Meeting called to order at 6:08 pm.
Attendees:
Tom McBrayer, Audrey Christiansen, Pamela Willmon, Randy Carlson, Gregg Felts, Lisa Ruthven, Pam Paling, Steve Shepard, Roger Boak, Doug Spence, John Phillips and Barbara Shepard.
A motion was made via email to accept the June minutes – Seconded and Accepted.
Power in Motion – Lisa Ruthven and Pam Paling
Lisa presented the history and the current status of the PIM program to the HARRA board. The Power in Motion Fall 2004 program is set to start on September 8th.
Cross Country Relay Fall 2004 Race Review – Randy Carlson and Gregg Felts
Randy spoke on the HARRA Race Requirements Form. The only notable change was to the current amount of insurance coverage - $2M down to $1M. The handout also contained a description of Runners’ Tax. Randy briefly spoke on the collection of the Runners’ Tax from the HARRA races. It was pointed out that the Tax is based on race signups and not on race finishers.
Gregg spoke on how these Race requirements affect the Cross Country Relay. The CCR does not pay a Runners’ Tax as they usually get less than 500 participants. Gregg asked if it was possible to get some PIM participants in CCR. Course does not have to be certified. Steve asked Gregg about CCR race insurance coverage. Steve will check with the RRCA to see if all HARRA clubs which put on races can be covered under the HARRA insurance umbrella. Steve reminded Gregg to have the HARRA logo on form so that it shows it’s a HARRA race (also for insurance purposes). Steve will get back to Gregg on insurance for CCR. Date for race is September 18, 2004 not September 25th. Gregg stated that the CCR has a challenge to get volunteers to help with race and with finding sponsors. Steve suggested having a descriptive box about race on the HARRA website for the next 6 weeks for publicity and to help solicit volunteers. Steve went through the list of the criteria the CCR must have to be a HARRA race. Some followup areas:
· Ensure EMT coverage is provided
· Have complete and quick race results including all team members for each team (Steve offered to help with distributing the race results)
· Get registration forms distributed to HARRA clubs (can use the club contact information on www.harra.org for this) and the Memorial Park Tennis Center
· Course needs to be clearly marked (Roger suggested using caution tape to mark the entire course - Tom said HARRA has a lot of tape in the equipment shed).
Budget – Audrey Christiansen
Audrey reviewed actual expenses and income for June. Audrey and Steve then reviewed the HARRA budget for 2004-2005.
Steve spoke about how he and Audrey worked on a yearly budget for HARRA.
Steve spoke about collecting HARRA Club Dues ($30 per club) and Runners’ Tax for HARRA. Audrey will be sending out the HARRA Club Dues invoices for July 2004 – June 2005.
Steve spoke about the HARRA Race Discount versus Runners’ Tax. Steve proposed that it might be better to have races give the HARRA Discounts than try to get money from them for Runners’ Tax. A board discussion ensued.
Randy made a motion that we accept the budget with the Runners’ Tax – Audrey seconded. The motion was voted on by the board and passed. Randy and Audrey will have the responsibility of collecting the Runners’ Tax from the races.
Roger spoke about amount of cash in checking account and the need to set a limit on the balance. Audrey to follow up.
Membership – Barbara Shepard
616 members signed up in July 2004 as compared to 492 members at this time in 2003.
Everything is on an Excel spreadsheet and everyone gets personalized email confirmation with their HARRA # and a description of HARRA benefits. Email lists are being sent to: Jerry (HARRA email), Lance (Inside Texas Running), Geoff (HARRA website) and Camille (VVIP).
HARRA Website – Steve Shepard for Geoff Guenther
Phase 1 of the HARRA website update campaign – which entailed getting the existing info on the HARRA website current – is complete. Steve then read a list of the areas on the website that have been updated: Runner of Season, Iron Foot winners, Club contact information, Benefits of Membership, 2004-2005 form for members, Leadership contact info and photos, HARRA Calendar, Running links, 9 VVIP spotlights, Board meeting minutes, CPR & AED page from Bob Hoekman, Members list, Team and Club competition results, Tour de Bayou results, Running links update, Improved look.
VVIP – Pamela Willmon for Camille Yarbrough
VVIP will continue to track points and give awards similar to what is has been done in the past.
Noah was approached about getting the HARRA tent to each of the races – Noah said yes but he needs assistance. John Phillips said that he will get with Noah and will physically bring the tent out to the HARRA races. John is officially on the VVIP team.
Articles in Inside Texas Running – VVIP will collect bios.
Party in Park – Sept 4th – submitted permit to city. The set-up is at 7am and the party is from 9 – 11 am. VVIP is trying to get running clubs more involved in the event. Camille has approached BCRR to host the party. It was pointed out that Sept 4th is Labor Day weekend – Pamela will advise Camille that late August was then suggested as a possible alternate date. HARRA will continue to reimburse party expenses up to $250.
Steve will look for someone to monitor the HARRA hotline. After the meeting Doug Spence agreed to take on this responsibility.
Students Run Houston – Steve Shepard
Annie Hadow was going to talk with Shawn Smith and John Shepherd to see if they were interested in helping with the program. Sean Smith declined and Annie has not heard back from John. Steve stated that if we cannot find a volunteer to take over the running of the program we will no longer have Students Run Houston.
Steve distributed new HARRA info and membership flyers to HARRA board members. Steve pointed out that another HARRA member benefit not reflected on the flyer is the Inside Texas Running $10 Gift Certificate good at participating Houston running stores.
Inside Texas Running has a list of participating vendors who are part of the HARRA discount program – need someone to manage this program. Steve to follow up.
Tom McBrayer announced that Doug Earle has a new job – assistant to the new HP&R director.
Houston Harriers are considering putting on a Spring Cross Country race – Brian Smythe might be the race director. The Harriers would like the race to be a part of the HARRA Spring Series.
Meeting adjourned at 7:45 pm.
Submitted by Barbara Shepard for Rachel Guenther.