NWACC Board of Directors Meeting
President Ron Waller called the meeting to order at 7:00 AM. at Russ Chevrolet, Tigard, OR. Officers present were Ron Waller, George Schwartz, Lona Hyatt and Dave Kaiser.
Roll Call
Clubs present were:
Corvettes de Olympia
Classical Glass Corvette Club
Mt Hood Corvettes
Rose City Corvettes
Clubs not present were:
Capital City Corvettes
Columbia River Corvettes
Northwest Corvette Association
Marque Club of Seattle
R-Vettes Northwest
Willamette Valley Corvette Association
A quorum was established.
Minutes:
Ron reported that minutes from the August 17th, 2003 and July 26, 2003 meetings had been distributed to board members via email or hard copy. There being no corrections, a motion was made, seconded and passed to approve the August 17th minutes as written.
Treasurer’s Report:
Dave Kaiser, NWACC treasurer, presented the Treasurer’s Report for the period ending September 12, 2003, provided copies to all members in attendance and reviewed the documents in the report. Reports will be mailed to those member clubs unable to attend.
All clubs have been billed the 2003-2004 dues and all have paid with the exception of Corvette’s de Olympia. George Schwartz noted that Olympia’s check will be available at their event on September 27th.
Dave asked the Board for direction as to the club’s annual contribution towards the year-end banquet raffle. The Board unanimously agreed that each club would be asked to contribute $50 towards the raffle as they have in past years. Although each club will be billed, contributions are voluntary. Dave noted that a few of the clubs contribute more than the requested $50 and that helps fill in for those clubs that choose not to participate.
Dave presented a report on the association’s 2004 projected financial position. He noted that if we are able to incorporate income from people’s choice events at $5 per registrant, along with the $75 per club dues, we should be able to cover our insurance costs as long as event participation remains the same or increases and insurance costs do not escalate. .. However, if insurance costs come in higher than expected, it will be necessary to raise the per unit membership fees by $1.00 to $11.00 per member unit. A decision on the increase will be made when insurance renewal information is received. Dave will advise the board as soon as confirmation of the rates is received.
Old Business:
Jon Cox reported on the use of the Shelton Airport facility for autocross. George Schwartz added that The Corvette’s de Olympia’s use of the site in September is being treated as a “beta test” by the Port of Shelton. If it is a good event with no problems that the Port can see, especially in the area of safety and how we treat the area, the Port will be open to making the airport available to NWACC for future events. Because the site is an inactive runway, there are some cleanup issues that will be dealt with prior to the event. It was suggested that NWACC may want to look at hosting a few autocross events as an organization in addition to those hosted by member clubs. George reported that he would look into securing several dates in 2004.
New Business:
Dave Kaiser reported that he has received a credit card account application from our bank. He queried the board as to their thoughts on applying for an Association credit card for use in paying web hosting fees. Dave is currently paying these fees via his personal credit card because the web hosts only accept credit card payments. The board authorized Dave to complete the application on the Association’s behalf. If an account is approved, statements will be sent to the same address as the bank statements.
Ron reported that he needed a few people to assist with year-end banquet preparation. He would like to have some of the newer people participant. Club reps will ask for volunteers at their next meetings.
A discussion ensued as to the reasons why more club members do not take an interest in NWACC. Lona noted that the newer members are unaware of what NWACC is and what it does for member clubs. Roger Tooker mentioned that active participation has been an on going problem because of a decline in the number members who wish to take part in events such as autocross. Ron noted that many people seemed to believe that they would damage their cars or were concerned about the speed. Jim Duschel reported that Canadian’s receive a discount on their auto insurance if they participate in autocross because the Canadian insurance industry considers it to be drivers training. He has mentioned this to his insurance company and they were not receptive to the idea. George reported that Allstate Insurance specifically excludes coverage for any race or autocross events.
George asked if peoples’ choice was something that NWACC should look at as an official NWACC event. Ron noted that to do so would mean regulations or guidelines would have to be enacted. This was not something that any board members or cub representatives favored. NWACC will however, encourage the use of a people’s choice category as a way of encouraging people to participate. It was suggested that judging sheets be available to all registered participants and attendees, not just those competing in the people’s choice category. This will encourage fair voting and lessen the chances for vote loading by a specific club.
George asked the board whether there should be limits to the non-NWACC events that are advertised on the NWACC web site. A discussion of this topic resulted in a decision to limit advertising of non-NWACC events to a single line listing on a non-NWACC events page. John noted that events listed will be in the form of a link to the host club’s web site. No details will be provided at the NWACC site level and NWACC will take no responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the listing.
Ron noted that there were some difficulties with the layout of the judging sheets. A number of judges are having trouble accurately completing the forms. One of the problems is the lack of information provided by the participants. This matter will be reviewed by the competition committee.
Roger Tooker suggested that we ask clubs to provide raffle baskets or individual items for the year-end banquet in addition to their contribution. Dave will include the suggestion in the $50 billing going to the clubs. Additionally, anyone wanting to donate a raffle item may contact Ron or Barbara Waller to arrange for pickup.
The next meeting will be held, Saturday, September 27, 2003 at the Olympia, WA. event.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 AM.
Submitted by,
Lona R. Hyatt, NWACC Secretary