Meeting Minutes: October 2018

Oct 25, 2018

Meeting was brought to order @ 19:30 by Kristen Poole. Prior minutes approved as posted.

RE Report — Kristen Poole

• Membership Report: No announcements were recorded.
• Announcements: No announcements were recorded.

Monthly Reports:

• Treasures report by Alan Lesher: AX, RX, membership & sponsorship income, distribution, and YTD figures were reviewed.
• Program Reports
  • AX report by Chris Brown:
    • There is an Autocross coming up at the York Fairgrounds this weekend. Registration is closing this evening. The $10 walkup fee is being waived this weekend to increase participation. We also need additional assistance with course setup. Kristen will be safety chief for this event.
    • AX Venue Committee Update (Chair, Chris Brown): Additional research and owner communications continue. We have secured at least 1 venue for next year. More information will be coming.
  • RX report by John Roscinski:
    • RallyCross has ended for the year. The year went well and showed increased participation over the 2017 season. John was able to delegate duties, which has made the events go much smoother. RX is in talks with several locations for additional venues. There are two venues lined up for the 2019 season.
  • Street Survival report by Melissa Mauro:
    • First event scheduled for November 3rd at the Lancaster County Training Center. 26 students have signed up. Currently there are 13 volunteers that have signed up. We need of more coaches to ensure a successful event. A motion was made, seconded, and carried, to credit all volunteers $20 towards a regional SCCA event next year.
  • Road Rally report by Lisa Leathery: The 10/6 event went off well. There were 18 driving participants. Now that one is under our belt we know what to do to correct the scoring issues we had. The organization that approached us to do the event is extremely pleased with the outcome and are looking for us to do the event again next year. Lisa has agreed to chair the Road Rally for next year.
• Club Communication
  • Social Media report by Doug Austin: Things are going well. No noticeable increase/decrease in members.
  • Web report by Jake Limm: Everything is going great. We’re waiting for the end of the season to do some larger behind-the-scenes updates. We are seeing a downtick in the amount of traffic. Bounce rate has gone down. So those visiting the site are sticking around and clicking through the site.
  • Squeal Report by Melissa Mauro: Open rate 22% and click rate 43%.
• Special Committee Reports
  • North Eastern Division Mini Conference (Co-chairs, Kristen Poole & Melissa Mauro): The conference will take place at the Radisson in February 2019. Sessions are around 85% planned and things are shaping up nicely. More information will be available in November.
  • Truck Committee:
    • 2 LED strips have been installed into the truck. Note, the lights are direct wired to the battery instead of being keyed. We need to make sure they are turned off prior to closing the truck post events.
    • We have found someone to purchase the old truck. It is currently sitting with the new owner. Kristen to work with the new owner to complete the sale and transfer ownership through PennDoT.
  • EoY Banquet (Kristen and Doug):
    • Venue: Venue issues continue to plague the committee. The Radisson was originally booked for the banquet, but this contract is now in question. Doug checked with the Sheraton, where we were last year, and the 12th is now available. We do have the option of signing with the Sheraton and booking the same room as last year.Kristen advised the Radisson’s sales representative all options will be proposed to the board. Doug has outstanding questions to the Sheraton pertaining to the existing Radisson contract (both locations are owned by the same parent company). After some discussion the board is putting a vote on hold until Doug hears back from our sales rep at the Sheraton. The board agreed to handle this via email before the November meeting.
    • Trophies (Doug): Trophies have been hammered out. Jackets will be awarded for first place and photo plaques will be handed out for second place and below. Doug asked the board for any proposed changes to the jackets and to vote allocate the necessary funds for the awards. Options were discussed at length. At the board’s request Doug will verify rain repellent/rain jacket options. Having 1st place yearly patches made for exiting jacket winners going forward was proposed. Doug will be looking into this option and will provide an update on both rain jackets and patches at the November meeting. Kristen is working with the plaque company for pricing and will have it available at the November meeting.

Old Business:

1. HillClimb movie: Mike Angus from PHA is putting together a documentary called Chasing Giants about PA Hill Climbs. He has been recording for the past 2-3 years. It is now up on IMDB. It is an ongoing piece. If you can take some time to check it out and send your feedback to Mike. He is looking for suggestions before making the final cut. The movie is officially in post-production and is available for viewing.

1. Board Nominations (Brian Holmes): Brian read the list of nominated individuals and opened the meeting to additional nominees. Doug Austin and Melissa Mauro have accepted nominations for Assistant Regional Executive. Rob Springer and Nick Landis have accepted nominations for Director (3 year). A photo and bio will be posted online for all nominated individuals, so members know who they are voting for. Voting will take place online and at the November meeting, per the Susquehanna SCCA Bylaws.

New Business:

1. National Conference:
   1. Melissa Mauro has been asked to present at the next National Conference. Originally the board voted to send Kristen Poole and Bryan Roper, as both were requested to present. Since Melissa has now been asked to present Kristen requested the board consider having the club pay for her to go as well. A motion was made, seconded, and carried to also cover Melissa’s participation cost for the National Conference.
   2. Kristen also noted national is continuing with the Ascenders Program again this year. Kristen indicated she would be requesting the board to consider sending Chris Brown under the Ascenders Program. This program would cover the cost off him attending the conference. A room was already booked for Bryan and there are 2 beds in the room, so the board would only need to cover airfare. A motion was made, seconded, and carried to send both Chris Brown and Melissa Mauro.
2. Retention Rates: Kristen was looking into the national average for retention and found national is sitting at 75%. Our region comes in below the national average. This is not due to the VW promotion. Kristen proposed to the board that she would be willing to contact all the expired members since the beginning of the year. She made a motion to offer a $20 coupon to expired Susquehanna members (who expired between Jan and July), to be used at one of next year’s events. This would carry the requirement that they renew with national.  The motion was seconded and carried.

Good and welfare:

1. No items were discussed.

Respectfully submitted — Brian Holmes, Secretary