JTC RUNNING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Location: Zoom Video Conference
President Larry Roberts called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. Directors present for the meeting were Doug Alred, Jane Alred, Nicole Andress, Bonnie Brooks, James Bryant, Errol Daniels, Susan Haag, Angela Harris, Franz Lerch, Larry Roberts, Larry Sassa, Douglas Tillett, Stuart Toomey, and Jim Van Cleave. Directors Christy Astorga, Dennis Harrison, Todd O’Donnell, Ty Payne, and Paul Smith were absent.
Approval of 6/1/21 (June meeting) minutes: On a motion by Douglas Tillett and seconded by Doug Alred, the June board meeting minutes were approved by the board.
Treasurer’s Report: Bonnie Brooks stated that the fiscal year is coming to an end and if anyone still needed any reimbursements, they need to have them submitted by August 10th. She recently met with Carolyn as she does this time of year and we had over $3,000 of cash to invest and she also mentioned that Carolyn goes over our accounts every six months. She reported and detailed our financials for June and July. She reported the club’s financials and discussed in detail the Balance Sheet through August 2, 2021, and the Profit and Loss Detail Statement for July. The main line items discussed in detail included income and expenses for Global Running Day, memberships, race team entries for Memorial Day, Run For The Pies, and Celebration races, expenses for Mile Festival and track meets.
OLD BUSINESS:
Study of Stopping the Print Version of the Newsletter – Larry Sassa reported that the survey has been updated and tweaked several times and has been sent out to the board members. The response rate from the board was about 50%. The results were shown from the responses received from the board members. He mentioned that the focus is to gauge members feedback to see what they place the highest value on and what adds value to them and their membership. The survey will be sent out via email to the club tomorrow and hopefully members will have a topic they feel strongly enough about to comment and elaborate on.
NEW BUSINESS:
Process for JTC Running Budget and Major Expenditures Approval – Bonnie Brooks discussed the new process for the yearly budget and the approval of large dollar donations. The treasurer and the finance committee will meet to prepare the budget to be presented during the August board meeting for review and discussion, however no vote will be taken. This will allow all board members to thoroughly review the proposed budget. The following board meeting in September is when the board will vote on the budget for approval. Similarly, all donation and expenditure requests for $5,000 or more will be presented to the finance committee by the treasurer, if recommended by the finance committee, the treasurer will introduce the proposal at the board meeting for discussion. The proposal will not be voted on in the same meeting it is introduced, but in the following meeting the proposal will be brought up for further discussion and subsequent vote on approval. Bonnie presented a motion that was seconded by Doug Alred to implement the new process for the budget and major expenditure approval was passed by the board.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Bolles Wednesday Workouts – Larry Roberts reported on behalf of Paul Smith who was away on vacation in Colorado. He stated that both the morning and evening sessions are growing and have been averaging more than 20 people each. He also wanted to thank Sean McCormick for coaching and working with the groups.
Cross Country Summer Camp Scholarships – Doug Alred stated that all those who applied on time and didn’t have covid were sent. We did not send as many this year due to what’s been going on; however, we did send 22 kids. We continue to concentrate on Brevard since it works well, however a lot of schools are now having their own team camps. Douglas Tillett also mentioned it worked out well as we had added one runner and had to subtract one due to covid. He also said that he thinks we will probably have twice as many next year.
Global Running Day for Marathon High (June 2nd) – Larry Roberts reported that the event was held a day after our last meeting, and we were able to raise $6,230 for Marathon High. We had a check presentation photo opportunity as many of you have seen on our website. He thanked everyone who was in attendance and those who volunteered. He also mentioned that this was a success and a great event in which we were able to get members together.
Run, Jump, Throw @ Bolles (June 19th @ 8:30am) – Larry Roberts said this was another successful event with a good turnout of kids. We had many volunteers participate. Errol Daniels said that he worked a throw station with Paul Smith, and they had fun. Larry Sassa mentioned it was a fun event and he worked the relay station. Bonnie said it was a great event and many parents said they hope this is something we continue to do.
Mile Festival @ Bolles (June 30th @ 6:30pm) – Doug Tillett said he received a report from Jay Birmingham detailing the event. This used to be an annual event before SBR and GRR. They had 180 runners preregistered with 129 runners complete the mile. They had 9 races from elementary kids up to senior runners. Everyone enjoyed the event and hope to do it again.
Track Series for 2021 (July 10th meet) – Douglas Tillett reported that we were able to do one track event on July 10th, which was in conjunction with Jacksonville Athletic Club. The event pretty went with some issues that came up. We had several volunteers help with the event.
USATF Junior Olympics (July 26 – August 1) – Larry Sassa attended the event and reported that it was a cool event and stated that it was hot, which was reported on the news. There were about 7,000 kids as there were a lot of out-of-town participants. It was a nice event to have here in Jacksonville. There were some challenges presented by the size of the event due to the heat and issues with covid testing as well as with dealing with a national organization, but Angela and her staff were able to make the best of it. As a sponsor we were able to coordinate with Trish to have the opportunity to be featured on the news and connect with Visit Jacksonville. There were regular announcements on the PA system that mentioned JTC Running, which we had provided 5 scripts to be used. Our name was on the banners and the volunteer shirts. He stated that he was glad we brought Trish on because of the impact and professionalism of the advertising and the contacts that we were able to make as a result. Angela Harris reported on the event and details on the timing and covid testing issues. She mentioned that the kids enjoyed the event. There were some disgruntle parents due to the weather delays and last minute covid testing and results. She mentioned that there were some issues due to USATF national office and UNF officials not being on the same page. Overall, the event ran well, but could have been better due to covid and testing being implemented on day 2. She mentioned that she has some volunteer shirts available if anyone wanted one.
Tijuana Flats Summer Beach Run (August 28th) – Larry Roberts Doug Alred stated that we’re all set with Jacksonville Beach and Tijuana Flats. We will coordinate with Tijuana Flats in terms of the amount of food that will be needed. Our volunteers are set, but we need to get more runners to come out. We are going to reinstate our covid protocols again with wave starts and masks. We are close to 300 runners so far, but it is hard to get people to commit far in advance due to covid concerns. We will also be having the kickoff event on August 23rd at the Lakewood Tijuana Flats. We are still having he post-race celebration, but there will be a lot of masks out there for those who want to wear masks. He asked if we were going to have a booth and/or tent at the race.
Vystar Emerald Trail 5K (October 23rd) – Doug Alred reported the that a lot of the leg work has been done as permits are in and the medals have been ordered. stated that he would follow up with Doug Alred and all parties involved. He also mentioned we are in good shape but to keep your fingers crossed.
Finance – Bonnie Brooks presented the proposed 2021-2022 budget and shared her screen so everyone could view. As implemented earlier, the budget was presented tonight and will be voted on for approval at our next meeting.
Website Revamp – Errol Daniels reported the status of the JTC Running website revamp in which he stated he has been working with Gifted Owl since late June on the project. He said the project is moving along nicely and a sample should be ready to view within the next month to present to the board. He said he has been working with Kelli Biler from Gifted Owl regarding the website design and layout with the goal of an updated look to gain more view and member engagement.
Community & Public Relations
Communications: Social Media/Newsletter – Larry Sassa stated that we had already covered most of it. He thanked Christy for posting the information and pictures he had submitted during the USATF Junior Olympics. Douglas Tillett said the newsletter is at the printer ready to be mailed and that it had been completed early. The email version has just been emailed.
Membership – Stuart Toomey reported that membership is at 869, an increase of 23 from last month, which some are from the Distance Project. Larry Roberts also mentioned that the current numbers are close to the numbers we had this time last year. We had regained some members that we had lost due to covid-19 and not having any events.
Classes & Clinics – Jane Alred reported she is hoping the next social will be at Christmas time.
Vision & Planning – Doug Alred reported that he has not heard anything back yet from the city regarding Friends of the Park.
NEXT MEETING – The next board meeting will be Tuesday, September 7th, at 6:30 pm via Zoom Video Conference.
The August meeting was adjourned at 7:51 pm.
