2007-01-07 - Board of Directors
BMWBMW Board of Directors Meeting
January 7, 2007
Secretary’s Report
A regular Board Meeting was held at 1:00 PM at 3412 Queen Anne Drive , Olney , MD.
Corporate Status – The Board discussed getting a PO box or a permanent mail service to ensure timely receipt of corporation documents as Club Treasurers change. Elsie will report further at a future meeting.
BTS Mailing - The Editor will arrange for mailing the paper BTS copies through Franklin Press after next month. Extra copies will be sent to Tina each month for use at upcoming events, with several copies to the Treasurer and one to the Secretary.
Membership – Don has assumed the duties of Membership Chair, and will get a copy of Access to use.
Directory - Don will export a copy of the database to Elsie for use with the Membership Directory, and Mike will update the “Welcome” message.
Committee Chairs – The Board approved Chris Uttenweiler as Webmaster, Tina Fraembs as Events/Meetings Chair, Francis Gunde as Sales, Ed Phelps as Rides, and James Monroe as Safety. They discussed the Tech Chair and Government Affairs positions, and will solicit volunteers for each.
All of the Committee Chair positions have become very time-consuming, and the Board will ask each Chair to enlist volunteers to assist in various ways. Mike will write an article for the BTS outlining his goals for the Committees. A meeting will be held soon with all Committee Chairs to discuss their goals and communication among the Chairs, the Board, and the membership. Chairpersons will be asked to let the Editor and Webmaster know of Committee activities for publication.
Elections Committee – The Board began discussions regarding appointing a Committee.
Club Objectives – Mike asked each Board Member to review the Club Objectives as set out in the Bylaws and comment on whether or not they were being met. It was a consensus of the Board that the Objectives were being met, though “Safe Motorcycle Riding” was mainly by example (wearing proper gear, maintenance, etc.). Board Members discussed ideas for implementation in the coming year.
Communication – One of Mike’s primary objectives for the coming year is to improve communication among Board Members, Committee Chairs and the membership. To that end the Board discussed several ideas for using e-mail more effectively.
Upcoming Meetings - The Board will ask all Committee Chairs to meet on February 10th at 5 PM at the home of Bob Steele. The February General Membership Meeting is scheduled for February 11 during the Timonium Motorcycle Show. Tina will announce the place.
Goals for 2007 – In addition to ensuring assistance for Committee Chairs and improving communication with the membership, Mike discussed his wish to reinvigorate the Government Affairs position, promote a safety training program, facilitate member participation with the Board of Directors, and attempt to have a speaker or other function at each Club meeting.
Charitable Contributions – The Board discussed recent e-mails from Henry Winokur and Bob Henig regarding the Club’s treasury balance and charitable giving. The Board discussed the Club’s objectives as written in the Bylaws, and declined to recommend revising the objectives to provide for donations to charity without consulting the full membership. However, they unanimously endorsed giving individual members time to discuss charitable events and space to advertise such events in the BTS. Jim Bade is intending to organize a 50/50 ride during the Square Route Rally, and the Board will encourage members to participate individually and solicit support from other members for charitable events. A response and explanation of the Board’s discussion will be sent to Henry and Bob.
Board and Committee Chair Position Descriptions – Mike asked each Board Member to review his/her position description and revise it as appropriate. Jim will revise the Tech Chair and Mike the Government Affairs job descriptions, and the Secretary will maintain the revised job descriptions for new officers.
Timeliness – Mike asked each Board Member to notify the Editor well in advance of an event/need for publication in the BTS, bearing in mind the deadline of the 10th of each month.
Square Route Rally – Jim is asking each Committee Chair to handle their events at the SRR, i.e. the Tech Chair will be asked to coordinate the tech sessions. He will set meetings for the various committees. Mike proposed a tech session focusing on the things every rider should know and be able to repair on their own.
Budget – Elsie distributed budget summaries for 2006, and projections for 2007, and explained the new format necessitated by the need to separately report for tax purposes events that do not generate revenue, such as the Holiday Party, Octoberfest and the Spring Picnic. These events are presented for members only and member-funded. Events open to the public, such as the Square Route Rally, sales, and BTS advertising, may generate income that is taxable, and are reported separately. Income above $25,000 received from those activities for several years in a row would require payment of income taxes, and that is unlikely; however, the records will be maintained and income reported as required.
Currently revenues are approximately $6,000 annually. The Board discussed the cyclical nature of the budget, the ebb and flow of revenue, and pending expenses, including upgrades to the Forum format, meeting room expenses, storage costs, equipment replacement costs, and other possible expenses. Elsie will continue to refine the new budget format and report to the Board a future meeting.
The Board discussed on-going revisions to the web site and the BTS, the institution of a regular “lunch” ride, a repeat of a suspension seminar as was presented by Tracy Martin at a previous meeting.
Adjournment – The meeting adjourned at approximately 5 PM.