January 2004 Board Meeting Minutes

by Tom Blinn January 7, 2004


The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by Phil Brown. In attendance were Phil Brown, Mike Lussier, Tom Blinn, George Bixby, Melanie Brown, Paul Michali, Rob Greer, Alvin Legerlotz, Bruce Smith, Ron Fredette, and Terri Foye. Rich Davis was unable to attend due to prior business travel obligations.

Minutes from the December 2003 meeting are available on the website. Printed copies were distributed at the meeting. The minutes were approved as posted.

Mike Lussier presented the treasurer's report. Our balance is down about $1.5K since 2002. The difference appears to be due to slightly lower driving events attendance and a more active social program. The treasurer's report was approved as presented.

It was noted that certain fiscal year 2003 reports are due to the National office by the end of March 2004.

The driving events committee reported that their next scheduled meeting will be at the Common Man restaurant in Concord, NH on January 26th. See http://www.wmc-bmwcca.org/event/185 for details. All the scheduled driving events for 2004 are posted on the chapter web site www.wmc-bmwcca.org . The Cabin Fever event will be on Monday, April 19th, with the Advanced Skills School the previous Saturday, April 17th. Track rent has increased by $200 a day since last year. Insurance rates will be set in February. We anticipate an increase from last year but will not know the amount until after the January DEC meeting. With the increased track costs and likely increased insurance costs, the tuition rate for driving events is likely to increase. The DEC will consider sources of funding to offset the increased costs and allow us to continue to offer the same tuition rates as in 2003.

Contingent on the rally master's availability, there is interest in doing a fun rally in the southwest part of New Hampshire during the summer months. The past rallies have been well received by the membership.

Paul Michali reported that the web site's calendar features have been updated so that any deadlines for event registration are shown along with the opening dates. The classified ad entry forms are being protected using security features to encrypt personal data while it is being transmitted on the Internet. The general sense of members present is that the recent web site updates have had a positive effect on the ease of use and access to data and information.

George Bixby reported on the holiday party in Patty Bixby's absence, with information provided by Susan Dugdale, the event registrar. The White Mountain Chapter's world famous Holiday Party will be held Saturday, January 17, 2003 at The Event Center at CR Sparks. CR Sparks is just minutes from the intersection of routes 3, 293, and 101. There will be a cash bar, door prizes, a DJ, and a wonderful dinner. The cost is $20 per person. Registration closes January 11th. At the time of the board meeting, there were over 40 registrants and more are anticipated. The registrar has used the Bulletin mailing list to inform the membership and on-line registrations have worked well.

There was some discussion about the use of PayPal for social event registration. Bruce Smith explained and Mike Lussier confirmed that the web interface already available for accepting PayPal payments generates a mail notification that is tagged with the event data so that we should be able to use the existing PayPal account to accept both driving event and social event registrations. This information had not been available earlier in the year but should allow us to implement PayPal as a payment option for social events without the need to establish a separate account.

Bruce Smith reported in his new role as club racing chairperson that no events have yet been scheduled. He expects things to start becoming more active soon. As information becomes available, it will be added to the 2004 driving events schedule posted on the web at www.wmc-bmwcca.org/event/calendar .

Members noted they have received the latest Profile issue. Since no one from the staff was available to provide status, we do not know whether Jesse Mertz has succeeded in acquiring the approved publishing software for use for the next edition.

Rob Greer reported on the state of wearables. Some t-shirts from the 2003 events will be available as door prizes at the holiday party. Rob is working to get an embroidered logo for the planned polo shirts, which will also feature the �M� colors. There was discussion about whether the polo shirts should bear a driving events slogan or be plainer and thus of broader interest as a general Club wearable. Rob plans to provide a status update at the next board meeting.

Melanie Brown reported on social committee activities. The next meeting of the social committee will be January 29th. See http://www.wmc-bmwcca.org/event/172 for more details. Melanie has been investigating the Weber Foundation of Helping Hands in Melrose, MA http://www.theweberfoundation.com/ as a possible beneficiary of a chapter charitable giving campaign. More information will be forthcoming. There were also ideas floated for club joint attendance at such venues as a hockey game or concert. Interest has been expressed in organizing a family day at Castle Springs similar to what as done several years ago. No update on the possible Nova Scotia trip was available.

The club agreed to purchase printed business cards for the president, vice president, and social director at a cost not expected to exceed $150 for an initial supply for each person. The social director will provide a suitably designed template with the club logo for use by the selected supplier. None of the other chapter officers present felt they needed business cards to facilitate the performance of their role.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.