JTC Running BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Location: Zoom Video Conference
President Larry Roberts called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m. Directors present for the meeting were Doug Alred, Jane Alred, Bonnie Brooks, James Bryant, Errol Daniels, Susan Haag, Dennis Harrison, Franz Lerch, Todd O’Donnell, Ty Payne, Larry Roberts, Larry Sassa, Paul Smith, Douglas Tillett, and Jim Van Cleave. Directors Nicole Andress, Christy Astorga, Angela Harris, and Stuart Toomey were absent. Special guest Karissa Moffett from Bike/Ped of COJ and Trish Kapuska of TLK Communications.
Approval of 9/1/20 (September meeting) minutes: On a motion by Todd O’Donnell and seconded by Jane Alred, the September board meeting minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Bonnie Brooks discussed in detail the Balance Sheet through October 4, 2020, and the Profit and Loss Detail Statements for September. She thoroughly reviewed the reports with the board and stated that our interest was down in the money market. Line items discussed included income and expenses pertaining to training class and membership income, JTC racing team race entries, newsletter and printing, and other miscellaneous fees. She also mentioned that she had been in contact with Smoak Davis & Nixon regarding tax preparation.
OLD BUSINESS:
Eco Counter – Larry Roberts displayed pictures of the locations where the Eco Counter will be installed. The installation will be done soon, and he will be in contact with Eric. He also stated that we wanted to make sure Trish is involved as we want to make sure we proper local coverage of the installation and opening.
Water Fountains at Jax Beach – Larry Sassa reported that he had received pictures from Franz showing the damage that they had recently spoke about at the last meeting. He mentioned that we are looking for the appropriate photo opportunity tentatively looking at Friday, October 30th as this would be a good time with other things and events going on.
Half Marathon Training Class – Larry Roberts reported the training class currently has 58 runners signed up.
NEW BUSINESS:
Timucuan Parks at Betz/Pumpkin Hill/Cedar Point – Timucuan Park reached out to us about putting on an event there. Larry said he asked Doug Tillett and Paul Smith to lead and head up event planning and research regarding the possibility of hosting an event out there. He asked if anyone else wanted to assist and join the ad hoc committee, then Franz Lerch and James Bryant said they would help with this project.
Marathon High to run the virtual Breast Cancer Half Marathon – Larry Roberts spoke with Marathon High about helping and sponsoring the timing for their virtual marathon. The event would be set up to allow them to run several mile loops to complete their races. Larry asked Doug Alred if $1,000 for race timing would be enough and help with this event. A motion presented by Todd O’Donnell and seconded by Franz Lerch, to give $1,000 to Marathon High for race timing for their Virtual Breast Cancer Half Marathon was passed by the board.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Bolles Wednesday Workouts and Where to Run in Jax – Paul Smith reported that the Bolles track workouts have been going well and have been successful for the night workouts. Everyone has bought into the safety requirements. Tomorrow will be the 1st morning track session and he currently has several volunteer coaches for the morning since he is not coaching the morning workouts. We currently have 59 signed up for the evening workouts and 32 for the morning workouts. He also reiterated that he is looking for someone to take over the morning workouts and Jane mentioned that he should reach out to Chris McCaffery about coaching duties.
Vystar Emerald Trail 5K – Doug Alred reported that the event has been approved and planning is going well. Trish spoke about whether we were having entertainment or not due to wanting to avoid large lingering crowds as being in accordance with social distancing regulations. Currently thinking of ways to possibly have entertainment on the course. The event has been added to city event calendars and another media press push will go out as we get closer to the event.
Guana Trail Races (Sun 12/6/20) – Franz reported that things are going better than expected. He stated that they were worried about not getting that many signups, so they made some cuts to accommodate. We did away with the hotel and finisher cups, which saved about $600. We have 99 signed up versus last year at this time with 78.
Last Gasp (Sat 12/26/20) – Larry Roberts stated that JU is currently not allowing any events. He spoke with Herb today and they mentioned the possibility of doing the event at or near Blue Cypress. The event would be Saturday, December 26th instead of Sunday, as they have all day soccer on Sunday. A $70 deposit was paid to reserve our spot. We will do the race without a social, but the awards will be handed out.
Green Winter Beach Run 5K – Doug Alred reported that the event is all set with the city of Jacksonville Beach. Between now and the next board meeting registration should be open. The event will probably have to be scaled down in terms of after event planning.
Gate River Run 5K – Doug Alred reported that the event Larry Roberts displayed an image of the new plans for Lot J and Doug Alred spoke about the diagram regarding the image and what it could mean for the race. He stated that he already put the permits in but is not sure what they will allow, but sure they are not going to allow 18,000 people in there. The goal now could be to have a smaller event similar to the wave system implemented at the most recent races. Suggestions we are considering include doing away with the Jr River Run and 5K or perhaps doing the 5K later in the day. We may open it up to 7,000 runners. The bad thing about all the changes is that it would affect our income. We would need to really scale back if we will be losing a large amount of income from entry fees. Other things to consider are the costs of the city for parking lots, using the fairgrounds for the expo, and if there is going to be an expo. Ideas were given about how to handle packet pickup if there is a small expo or no expo at all. Doug stated that he will eventually need to set up a River Run meeting with the city. In the meantime, there will be a zoom meeting next Tuesday, 12/13 at 6pm to discuss plans and ideas for Gate River Run.
Finance – Bonnie Brooks reported she received a request from Kathy Murray regarding race team singlets and uniforms for the JTCR race team. She stated that the team currently consists of 29 members and we have a uniform budget of $1,200 -$1,400. Bonnie presented a motion to pay up to $1,300 for new race team singlets was seconded by Paul Smith and passed by the board. Todd O’Donnell stated that we may need to inform them that going forward the budget will be tight, and we will have to scale back uniform expenses. Susan Haag mentioned that going forward the team could buy some of their own items if they wanted, especially as we proceed to trim our spending.
Community & Public Relations – Larry Sassa stated there was nothing new, however we need to think about River Run, the hospitality tent, and post-race activities. We will talk more in detail about things in the River Run meeting next week.
Classes & Clinics/Awards Banquet – No report.
Membership – Current membership was reported as 1,328, which is 100 less than last year at this time. Given the circumstances with Covid-19 and the lack of events we are holding tight.
Communications: Social Media – Larry Sassa reported that the newsletter submission cutoff date is the 15th. He also stated that Trish is currently working on some things for us. Dennis Harrison thanked everyone for donating to the upcoming Free To Run Race event. The event is the same day as the Vystar 5K but one is in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Todd thanked Paul for helping a fellow JTC member that was in need, which a Go Fund Me/Facebook account had been set up, and Paul thanked those who had donated.
Vision & Planning – No Report. A meeting invite will be sent out for the River Run meeting.
NEXT MEETING – The next board meeting will be Tuesday, November 3, at 6:30 pm via Zoom Video Conference.
The October meeting was adjourned at 7:42 pm. Many members remained online speak to Karissa Moffett.
