MINUTES FROM THE HOUSTON AREA ROAD RUNNERS ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING

SEPTEMBER 21, 2009

The following people were in attendance: Ron Morgan, Joe Carey, Mark Fraser, Audrey Christiansen, Erin Foley, Annie Hadow, Keith Willhelm, Roger Boak, Ann Hibbert, Gabriel Rodruigez, Jay Hendrickson, JoAnn Luco, Colin Wolfe, Helen Grant and LaErica Johnson.

Ron called the meeting to order at 6PM.

Fall Series Update: Ron reported for Jen that everything appears to be in order. There were no representatives from the Tornados or the Bay Area Running Club present to discuss their upcoming races. Ron will ask Jen to get proof of the Cross Country Relay and 10 Miler’s preparedness to meet the HARRA race requirements.

Just for Kids Run: Five people responded to Ron’s e-mail recruiting a new Race Director. Erin advised that she is going to combine the names to form a committee. Erin has taken care of the pre-race basics such as permitting, park reservation, etc. The committee will need volunteers for the various packet pickups and also on race day.

Houston Marathon Kids: Keith Willhelm introduced himself and Houston Marathon Kids to the Board. The program involves students from Kindergarten through 6^th grade who will run 26.2 miles over a period of 6 months. Keith is seeking volunteers to help with the program’s kickoff lap on October 10^th from 8 AM until noon. Ron agreed to send out a HARRA wide e-mail to recruit volunteers. Gabriel will put it on the HARRA blog also.

Footprints: Ron reported for Jon that he (Jon) has completed the October issue. He wanted Ron to mention that he is having delays getting club news, so please encourage clubs to submit their articles – on time!

PIM: Ron reported for Lisa that the PIM fall session is underway and going smoothly.

VVIP: Ron and Jay are going to discuss restructuring the prize distribution to reward frequent volunteers more.

ROTS / Tour de Bayou: Roger proposed updating the RoTS prize money distribution. His proposal was to keep the 8% truncated, minimum requirement for a given division. In doing so, he proposed we eliminate the Women 60+ category. If an athlete averages 85% over 3 races, then he / she will get prize money automatically. The 85%+ athlete would get prize money equal to the amount of the lowest place in his or her division if that person’s average would otherwise put him/her outside the money. The Board approved the redistribution.

Roger announced that the Practice for the Tour will occur on the first four Thursdays in October. Proposed sites: week 1: Spotts Park; 2. Dog Park across from AIG; 3. Ho Chi Minh; 4. White Oak. The Board agreed.

Website: Jay raised that it has been brought to his attention that the calendar on the website is not as comprehensive as it could be. He advised that the calendar tool available with Memberize is very cumbersome to use. The Board discussed the situation. The result of the discussion is that Jay will create and post a simpler race calendar with race name and hyperlink to race registration or website.

HARRA clothing: LaErica distributed a sheet showing some HARRA logo clothing selections she is proposing we offer. The Board discussed. In order to streamline the decision, Gabriel, LaErica and Mark will determine coloration and logo placement.

2010 Banquet: Ron announced that he is looking to bring in a speaker who will generate excitement. He encouraged everyone to think of and investigate any ideas they may have.

Texas Championship: Ron advised that he has been in touch with his counterparts in Dallas and Austin regarding having a club competiton among the three cities. Rules and race selection to be determined. Ron recommended forming a committee for this.

Advanced Training Program: Ron announced that he had been approached by Doug Storey about the possibility of HARRA offering an advanced training program, for runners who may be more advanced than PIM participants. Doug offered to coach the fee based program, with any proceeds from the program directed to his son’s school’s track program. The Board discussed the idea, which they liked very much. The Board was not in agreement about the specific direction of the proceeds. Ron will let Doug know there is interest in the program for Spring 2010.

RRCA Convention: Ron brought up the RRCA Convention, which is scheduled for April 2010. He asked if anyone is interested in attending. Ron is interested. Jay expressed interest also. Ron and Jay will go and represent HARRA.

There was no further business to discuss. Ron adjourned the meeting at 7:45.