November 2009

Minutes from Board Meeting on November 5, 2009

Attendees

Mary Cooperman, Sydney Hunter, Andy McNab, Kathy Santarella, Jill Nadel, Adrienne Williams, Sheila Stolarksi, Martha Corneck, Chuck Katter, Ellen Johnston, Jacquie Tumminia, Ronald Wimer, David Blansfield, Lisa Krakoff, Jeanne Bowles.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the October 1 meeting were approved.

Freestyle Frenzy

Jill gave a report on the Freestyle Frenzy. Everything is all set. The computer system and scoreboard have been tested and are working. Concessions are under control, heat awards have been delivered and there should be a sufficient number of timers. (Ellen will ask other teams for timing volunteers if necessary.) Barbara Wiederecht is still working on getting enough officials.

PET-WRAT

There are currently 145 families are listed on SuperMeets. Fifteen of these have not signed into the system. Kathy will contact them and help them register. Everything else is running smoothly.

Meet Coordinator’s Report

Adrienne has completed the Meet Manager Guide and it will soon be online. Gretchen Stacey has volunteered to be the meet manager for the Pentathlon. All other meets are covered.

Treasurer’s Report

There was very little activity this month and very few bills. We are in excellent shape in terms of budget v. actual expenditures. Per our discussion last month, the team made a charitable contribution to the Y for the TV/DVD player and cart. Martha will finish closing out the year and will get the 990 done. She will also reconcile the incoming apparel bills and record grocery coupon activity in the coming month.

Coaches’ Report

The Parent meetings went well but they were not as well attended, as the coaches would have liked.

Jacquie and the coaches are taking advantage of all the new communication tools—mailchimp, email blasts, twitter, the online calendars, etc.

The first two meets of the year went very well and the FF is in great shape. The seniors will help set up on Friday night.

Jacquie reviewed the status of the assistant coaches and the groups they cover. She hopes to hire an additional 8/Under assistant coach.

Jacquie thanked the board for the new computer she now has for the office, and the TV/DVD setup is a big hit.

Fundraising Leader’s Report

There was not as much demand for apparel at Expo. We may do another push for Long Course. Likewise, the Citrus Sale was not as successful as in the past. We will evaluate whether we should continue it next year. Board members suggested that the economy as well as fundraisers by other organizations might have contributed to the lack of interest. Jennifer Pressman may look into other fundraising opportunities in the winter or spring.

USA Swimming Excellence and Recognition Programs

Chuck explained both programs:

• The recognition program sets good standards and objectives for a club. There are different categories and areas for improvement. It is process driven and clubs remain in a particular level for four years (or until the next Olympics). We should start working on the requirements for Level Two. Jacquie and Chuck will work together and in conjunction with USA Swimming over the next few months. They hope to be done by the end of Long Course.
• The Excellence program is results driven—how well our swimmers do. We apply each year with the swimmers’ times and meets. Ellen, Jacquie and Chuck will pull all this data together. Ellen was confident we’d qualify for the Silver level this year.

Co-Presidents’ Report

USA Swimming/Non-compliance: Ron gave the USA Swimming report because Chris could not attend the meeting. He has sent emails to families who still owe PC dues and USA Swimming fees and is waiting for their replies. There were some errors during the fund collection this year and we need to make sure the process runs smoothly and is more organized next September. David and Ron will continue to follow up with non-compliant families and the Board decided that until parents pay their PC fees, their children will not be allowed to swim. There are insurance issues.

The Board then discussed whether we could spread expenses out over a longer period next year or put more into Y fees (which can be paid in installments). Other ideas included a reduced rate if families pay early (in June). We also need to communicate very clearly at tryouts what the costs will be.

Meet Manager Guide: Everything you always wanted to know about running a meet is in our wonderful new Meet Manager Guide—thank you, Adrienne!

Website: Daron has updated the website with new group-specific home pages. Mailchimp is working well, too. The Board agreed that we would upgrade our Mailchimp account so we can send out more emails.

Fundraising: Has not been as successful as we’d hoped this year. Next year we could raise the dues $50 and not do any fundraisers at all. We will continue to discuss this option in coming months. (The National Team will continue to fundraise for their Florida trip, however.)

The Board and coaches then discussed logo wear and whether we should change this year’s shirt due to poor quality and use MetroSwim as our supplier instead. Because the coaches want everyone to be “in uniform”, one standardized style which would not be altered much year to year was proposed. After much discussion the Board agreed the kids will wear their “wrat-wear” this year (whatever shirt they have) and the coaches will come up with a simpler design for the future. We will use Metro and we will not use clothing sales for fundraising. Families will only need to purchase their required uniform items.

The next meeting will be Thursday, December 3, 2009.

Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Cooperman
Secretary