[RRC] RRC Board Meeting minutes - February

[Dorothy Schafer]

RRC Board Meeting Minutes
February 6, 2008

In attendance: Gary Sloan, Mary Maher, Stacie Reid, Scott Stroney, 
Merrick Murray, Dorothy Schafer, Jack Brown, Kate Mora, Joe 
Vanischak, member Diana Bower

Club Matters by Members in Attendance
	Diana Bower, a long time club member, sweep rower and sculler 
addressed the Board to encourage establishing a competitive racing 
program as a part of the summer Sweep Program.  She stressed the need 
to continue to maintain a strong Advanced Sweep program and indicated 
that experienced coaches recommend that an effective racing program 
must stand alone and run differently from a sweep program without a 
race focus.  She urged the Board to establish solid programs for both 
competitive racing rowers and for other sweep rowers, both advanced 
and novice.  Recent history of racing and sweep programs with RRC 
groups was discussed.

Sweep Program - Mary
Proposal for Summer 2008 programs: The Sweep Committee proposed 
running Advanced Sweep and Novice Sweep programs that would maintain 
the high quality of last year's programs.  Two LTR sessions will be 
run as in previous years. In addition, a new Racing program will be 
established for rowers interested in competitive racing. Racing 
program rowers will pay additional fees and will commit to regular 
attendance at practices and to participating in a specific number of 
regattas.
Approved action:  Establish a new program, called the Racing Program 
and continue to run high quality Advanced Sweep, LTR and Novice Sweep 
programs. The Board endorsed building the Racing Program over a 
3-year period.  The specific details (scheduling, personnel, 
equipment needs and logistics, launch use, etc.) for running the 
different programs for Summer 2008 will be worked out by the Sweep 
Committee. The Board acknowledges that there are benefits and costs 
to developing a racing program, but it believes that the benefits 
outweigh the costs.
Coxswain Coordinator: Amelia is considering the position as coxswain 
coordinator but will confirm in mid-March. 
	Junior sweep program:  Instituting a sweep program for high 
school students was discussed.  This has been tried previously with 
mixed success.  However, such a program would be a worthwhile 
investment for building the club and its relationship with the 
community.  No specific endorsement to build a junior sweep program 
was approved at this time; more information about scheduling with RRC 
programs, UVA programs and to gauge interest from the local high 
school rowing club and coach will be obtained.

Financial Report - Stacie
	Cash on hand is $21,837.56; work on the 2008 budget is 
nearing completion.  Budget should include cost of 4 RRC-used racks 
for club singles (which are likely to increase to $400/rack (as per 
VRA)) and launch fees (~$3000/year).  Upcoming rent increases from 
VRA are uncertain at this time.

Equipment report - Joe V.
	- New Peinert25 2X is expected in mid-April.
	- Speed coach wiring harness for Wintech 2X is missing. The 
cost for a new one is minimal ($60), so a new harness will be 
purchased and installed in the near future if the old harness is not 
found. 
	- Conversion of the Passing Wind to a pair is deferred 
pending decisions about summer program needs
		- RRC will offer club members a chance to purchase 
their very own set of Macon oars for a great price.

Web Site Update - Mike
  	Updating and archiving is ongoing, however, access to the 
website server is limited and has hindered efficient management of 
the site, particularly as it relates to new features, such as a 
calendar.  Thanks to Colin Learmonth, RRC has offered free website 
hosting for many years, but we may have outgrown that arrangement. 
Specifically, RRC may need to purchase server time to make the 
website as useful as possible for marketing and informational 
purposes.

Communications/Marketing - Scott
       Upcoming events:
	- Friday's after 5 begin April 18th. Jack Brown will 
coordinate the RRC presence at these events; he will be asking 
members to volunteer to help.
	- April 20th is spring members meeting
	- LTR day is May 10th from 11-3; may schedule a boat 
maintenance day that morning
Kate and Jack (Friday's after 5) will assist with marketing; ads will 
be updated to include information on new summer programs as they 
developed.  Plans to have T-shirts and stickers ready for the spring 
meeting.  Scott demo'd samples of RRC jackets that could be ordered 
by individuals, but would not be sold as a club activity.

Boathouse Captain Report - Jack
	- New rack assignments are complete; two longtime members 
have volunteered to move into the higher racks.
	- RRC singles are grouped together.
	- Jack reported on discussions with Tom Jones, Kevin Sauer, 
and Tom McIntosh of VRA about providing additional rack spaces for 
private single sculls.  The RRC board endorsed the idea, assuming the 
details could be worked out.

March RRC Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday Mar 5th, 6:30 at Gary Sloan's.

Addendum to Minutes - Approved action:  The proposed equipment use 
fee ($40/year) will apply to individuals using any club equipment 
(either sweep or sculling equipment) outside of scheduled RRC 
programs.
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