MINUTES of NCASRA BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING April 4, 2006

I.          The NCASRA Board was called to order by the President at 7:35 PM, April 4, 2006 in the cafeteria of Thomas Jefferson HSST.  Thirty-eight voting members were present as follows:

II.         Secretary Report.

            The Minutes of the March 7, 2006 Board meeting were read and approved.  South County and Woodbridge have not yet provided an OLOC Representative.  Holton Arms Liability Waiver Certification is still outstanding (have a faxed copy in hand).

III.       President’s Report.

            A.  Reply from Clete Graham (Stotesbury Regatta Director) to the NCASRA letter of concern about lastt year’s Stotesbury Regatta.  John Brownell read the reply.  Steve Mutty and other members said it was dismissive in nature, totally inadequate, and did not answer our expressed concerns.  It is apparent they are not going to change and it should be our responsibility to work with our coaches to prepare the kids for this regatta.  McLean said they had two cases of hypothermia on the river where they were not under a coach’s supervision.  Treatment is not the answer, prevention is.  The problem is limited recovery dock space is available, but it is a key element, and Bryan Tylander said another access point is the answer.  Harry Heim said West Springfield was preparing to ensure dry clothing is available (because nothing is going to be done to change the physical set-up).  Teams will have to make best preparations.  Tracy Hollingsworth wrote the NCASRA Secretary that three steps seem key to her:  (1) add a recovery dock,  (2) avoid sending kids to the marshalling area any earlier than necessary if the weather is cold/wet, and (3) allow buses to park along Kelly Drive - they provide ready shelter.  John Brownell said he will contact Clete Graham and report back to the Board on what they intend to do.

            B.  Mr. Gerry Connolly, Chairman of the Fairfax county Board of Supervisors, will visit the Regional Park Regatta on the morning of April 29^th.  This is in response to the efforts of Lisa Feibelman, our new publicity person, who has been doing a great job of increasing crew publicity.

IV.       Vice President’s Report.  NTR

V.        Treasurer’s Report.  The March financial statement was reviewed by Lee West.  One school, Walter Johnson, has not paid entry fees.  Lee discussed programs for the regatta season - the central problem being that no advertising, save one by Gar-Field, was sold so we suffered a hit on costs (about $4000 printing, with expectation of getting half that from sales).  The Volunteer Committee worked to get team biographies/pictures but few schools submitted an input.  We need to reconsider doing  programs at all.  Several suggestions were made from the Board membership during a long discussion of the issue: Charge the schools a fee (not really a good idea in that some schools struggle financially); Push adds more (this was cited by several as the best way to go); Raise the price (from $3 to $5); Have the parking attendants sell the programs (not feasible since they are hired by NCASRA for parking only and are not part of our volunteer base); Do a championships program only.  It was stated that the programs were valuable to new parents since the information in the program was really good.  The discussion ended with a request for all to think about it and either email Lee West and/or bring ideas to the next meeting.

VI.       Representative’s Reports.

            A.   Crew Council.  Kerry Donley:  Reported the weight program was up and running well.

            B.   Anacostia Community Boathouse Association.  Vaughan Olbrys:  NTR

            C.   Coaches Association.  Bryan Tylander:  NTR

            D.   USRA Referees.  Ryz Obuchowicz:  Reported we still need referees … we have 12 candidates, however, we have lost 13 so far this year due to moves and resignations.  He said he intended to write the booster presidents explaining the situation and the threat posed to continued adequate regatta staffing.  Bryan Tylander said to go to the national governing body, USRowing, for assistance.  Long discussion.  A motion was made to assess teams that don’t provide candidates.  There was no second.  A response was rather we need to be more aggressive in recruiting.  Another motion was made: Ryz Obuchowicz take on a subcommittee with a couple of volunteers, examine the problem, and report back to the Board at its June meeting.  Passed with a unanimous voice vote.  Pam Hull (Mount Vernon), Denise Benoit (Bishop Ireton), and Chuck Pizer (J E B Stuart) volunteered for the subcommittee.

            E.   Sandy Run Park.  James Short:  Stated we have had two regattas and both have been good.

            F.   Thompson Boat Center.  NTR

VII.      Coordinator Reports.

            A.   Communications/Programs.  Steve Lee:  NTR

            B.   DLOC.  Michael Mutter:  Related that at the first Potomac regatta six of ten launches had trouble (mechanical, availability, licensing).  He asked the boosters help in solving the issue.  Pass this information to the coaches.  Mike said the regatta was quite small and he was looking into what would constitute a minimum size to justify the expenditure of resources and volunteers. 

            C.    OLOC.  Lee West:  NTR

            D.   Personnel.  Mark Lindon:  Said that if a team decides not to row, volunteers are still required to show up.  Also, he was NOT the authority to approve a change in team location – it is the Crew Council.

            E.    Training.  TJ Kozikowski:  Said he had compiled lessons learned for next Spring.

            F.   Trophies.  Four schools did not turn in any trophies tonight, one school did not turn in all it held.

            G.   Web Master.  NTR

VIII.     Committee Reports.

            A.   Bylaws.  John White:  A summary of proposed changes was distributed.  Changes would: Reduce BOD meetings from 10 to 6 during the year;  Impose sanctions for missing meetings;  Make the September meeting an orientation and information forum for team booster presidents and representatives; Numerous other changes to adjust to the proposed meeting frequency.  To be discussed at the next meeting and voted in June.  If you want to look at the actual wordings, a few copies are available here tonight.  If you want it sent by email, let him know after the meeting.

            B.   Coaches Development.  Ryz Obuchowicz:  NTR

            C.   Concessions.  NTR

            D.   Corporate Sponsorship.  TJ Kozikowski:  Kaiser Permanente interest in sponsorship has fallen off.  Making slow progress, things are not working out, but we will keep trying.

            E.   Coxswain Certification.  Ryz Obuchowicz:  NTR

            F.    Historian.  NTR

IX.       Reading and Consideration of Communications.  None

X.        Old Business.  None

XI.       New Business.  The President appointed Ryz Obuchowicz, Joseph Creed and Harry Heim to the Nominating Committee.  A motion to approve the appointments was passed by unanimous voice vote.

XII.      Announcements.

            A. April 4 - All trophies turned in to Trophy Coordinator, Mike Stilwell, due tonight.

            B. April 4 - Championship Program team rosters due tonight.

            C. May 2 -  Bylaws changes discussed (handed out tonight, to be voted at the June meeting.

            D. May 2 - Nominating Committee report 2006-2007 Executive Board slate of candidates.

XIII.     Adjournment.  The meeting adjourned at 8:35 PM.

            A.   The next meeting is Tuesday, May 2, 2006 at 7:30 PM, TJHSST Cafeteria.

       //S//

John D. White

Secretary