JTC Running BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Location: Zoom Video Conference
President Douglas Tillett called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Directors present for the meeting were Doug Alred, Jane Alred, Nicole Andress, Christy Astorga, Bonnie Brooks, James Bryant, Amiee Cords, Errol Daniels, Will Dunlap, David Farraday, Dennis Harrison, Robert Jones, Amy Kisz, Franz Lerch, Todd O’Donnell, Jeff Palmer, Larry Roberts, Larry Sassa, Jeremy Smith, Stuart Toomey, Douglas Tillett, and Jim Van Cleave. Paul Smith and Marilyn Young were absent.
Approval of January (1/10/2023) meeting minutes: Douglas mentioned that January’s meeting minutes were currently unavailable and would be emailed out once completed for review and approval.
Treasurer’s Report: Amiee Cords reported the club’s financials and discussed in detail the Balance Sheet through January 31, 2023, and the Profit and Loss Detail Statement for January. She reported the club’s current bank balances in our accounts. She discussed in detail various line items including income earned and expenses.
OLD BUSINESS:
2023 Track Series – Douglas Tillett reported details from the January 28th meet that was at Bartram Trail. He mentioned there were several board members volunteering and passing out awards. He said the timer did not show up, but the coaches were able to hire a starter to help with timing, which costs about $100. There will be a track meet committee meeting soon and we hope to have track meets in April, May, and June. Robert Jones spoke highly about the track meet and the attendance.
Committee 2023 Assignments – Douglas Tillett mentioned that we are still working on the committee lists and still have some openings available. He also mentioned that we need to update some of the distribution lists in wild apricot for emails.
NEW BUSINESS:
Board Polo Shirts ($50 x 24 each) – Douglas mention that Nicole Andress was requesting shirt sizes so that we could order new JTC polo shirts. Jane researched the pricing and was able to get a price of $50 per shirt for Nike polos. A discussion and vote were had to order new shirts. On a motion presented by Todd for the club to order and purchase new polo shirts for the board members, seconded by Bonnie, was passed by the board. Members were instructed to sent shirt sizes to Nicole if they hadn’t already done so, as Jane mentioned the order needed to be placed asap.
Intellectual Property Case – Larry Roberts reported we received mail notification regarding using a copywritten photo in the newsletter without proper permission. The picture was used in a 2016 Starting Line newsletter, in which it was a picture of the president and other political officials obtained from the internet and a copywritten image. We had to contact our attorneys to see what should be done and how to handle this going forward. Our attorneys sent them a letter today inquiring if they have the rights to sue or ask for compensation. Amy Kisz spoke indicating that this is a legitimate thing that companies do to get money.
SORBA Sunbeam Trail Project – Skipped as more information needed to be gathered and processed by the Finance Committee regarding the Sunbeam Trail Project.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Counter (Fuller Warren) – Larry Roberts reported information about the eco counters we’ve had installed. He mentioned that the city and FDOT are interested in adding another bicycle and pedestrian eco counter to the Fuller Warren overpass and shared use path.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Bolles Wednesday Workouts – James Bryant reported that attendance at the morning sessions is averaging 14-16 runners where the evening is averaging about 25 runners. He said the coaches are doing a great job with the stretching and coordinating the workouts. He said Christy is doing a great job of promoting the workouts via social media. Amiee asked about the recent string of track blackouts, of which we seem to be back on the track now. It was mentioned that we may need to consider other locations as the blackouts occur and the street workouts can be dangerous. It was also stated that it is a long process to obtain approval due to Duval County School regulations and restrictions with their school tracks. Franz said he would reach out to Fletcher for some information.
Gate River Run Training Class – Nicole Andress reported that the group would be doing a practice Hart Bridge run soon. Jeff Palmer, who is a group leader, also mentioned that things are going well, and they haven’t had any group member drop-offs as the runners are continually attending the weekly group runs. there are 17 people currently enrolled in the class and more information for the class will be emailed out within the upcoming email blast
Guana Trail Races – Franz Lerch reported the financial from the race. He stated that the shirts cost an extra $200. He mentioned the standard $1,000 donation to Friends of Guana. He stated there was an issue with the cart as it broke down during the pickup and cleaning portion of the race. He said the Guana president wanted the club’s insurance information as to pay for the repairs and/or replacement of the cart. It was stated that our insurance does not cover the costs of damages and repairs in this instance. Larry Roberts asked if we should do a letter of understanding. Also, it was mentioned that we should ask and confirm race date in December as we settle the cart issue. On a motion presented by Franz and seconded by Nicole, to donate $1,000 to Friends of Guana was passed by the board. Bonnie posed a question regarding the continued $200 increase in timing, which was answered as they stated it’s worth it.
Winter Beach Run (Jan 21, 2023) – Doug Alred reported there was an increase in runners for the 10-mile race. He also stated that it was a good event, and he believes we took in about $3,000 but he didn’t have the exact figures on hand.
Gate River Run – Doug Alred reported that registration crossed 12,000 entries today and entries are up about 1,000 compared to last year at this time. Currently on bad side is with the starting line issues as we are struggling with the actual starting line due to construction, but he said he’s been assured they won’t be working down there those 3 days. Also, we are currently having issues with getting volunteers to fill the water stations as there is a high school track meet that day and they are usually a good source of our volunteers. Everything is going well, and sponsorships are good this year.
Elite Field: Jim Van Cleave reported that there are about 66 elite athletes listed currently. We have had some scratches including Kiera D’Amato, however Emily Sisson will be back. Also 4 or 5 of the top 10 men from last year will be returning. We will have new elites coming that have not raced a 15K as well. He mentioned that he would send an updated list via email to the board. He stated that the volunteers are a big reason for the success of the elite fields in terms of transportation and he thanked those who had usually been involved including Douglas Tillett, Todd O’Donnell, Christy Astorga, and others. He mentioned that the host hotel had been struggling to keep up with the room demand. It was also mentioned that USATF magazine had recently came out and gave a shoutout to Jim and Gate River Run.
Expo Volunteers: Nicole Andress reported that we still need volunteers for the Gate booth and hospitality tent. She mentioned that she sent out an email to the board and the race team with available booth shifts and some members have already signed up. Jane Alred also mentioned that she sent invites to the after party.
Emerald Trail 5k/10k (Sept 30, 2023) – Doug Alred stated that he would wait to report as the event has been moved back to the fall.
Finance – Amiee Cords reported the budget had been updated. She stated that 1099s have been issued. She also reported that there are currently 5 signups for the Good Form Running clinic.
Community & Public Relations
Communications: Social Media/Newsletter – Christy Astorga reported that information for the Good Form Running clinic had been added to social media. She spoke about marketing, social media posts, and communicating events, in which she wanted to create a master calendar or template to ensure we coordinate and effectively get the word out for our events. Nicole mentioned a tool to use would be Google Sheets. She also mentioned that we would need someone to talk to our GRR group as a speaker and she requested contact information for suggested speakers. Larry Sassa spoke about the hospitality tent stating that we would have the wrist bands in which he will pick them up along with hand sanitizer, tablecloths, and other JTC items. He stated that the JTC video needed a refresh, and he reached out to Trish (TLK) about video and assistance from the tv station. Errol Daniels mentioned that there were several items including Race Team results and list of board members, that needed to be updated and posted to the website. Douglas Tillett mentioned that the newsletter has been sent to the printer and should be going in the mail soon.
Membership – Nicole Andress reported that membership is currently at 955 households, which was a slight drop from last month. She also mentioned that we should see an increase with the Gate River Run expo coming up.
Classes & Clinics – Jane Alred reported there is nothing new for classes and clinics but would be more to report after Gate River Run.
Vision & Planning – Doug Alred stated there would be more to report after Gate River Run. Larry Roberts reported that there has been interest from the Jacksonville Beaches for installing ECO counters at the beach.
NEXT MEETING – The next board meeting will be Tuesday, March 7th, via Zoom meeting.
The February meeting was adjourned at 8:03 pm.
Minutes submitted by Errol Daniels, Secretary
