September 2011

Minutes from Board Meeting on September 1, 2011

Attendees

Sandy Morrison, Ellen Johnston, Jacquie Tumminia, Kathy Santarella, Sylvia von Einem – Ortega, David Blansfield, Martha Corneck, Lisa Krakoff, Karin Keith, Adrienne Johnston, Catherine Cunningham, Adrienne Williams, Chris Gannon, Betsy Auray, Nikki Wisher, Lisa Parrelli Gray.

Adrienne welcomed the new board members and all attendees introduced themselves.

Approval of the Minutes

The minutes form June 2, 2011 July 12, 2011 were reviewed and approved.

USA Swimming Report

Chris Gannon discussed USA Swimming matters and reported that the schedule will be in place by the end of the month or early October. Collecting penalties and owed meet fees was also addressed.

PET-WRAT Report

Kathy Santarella reported that penalty fee collection was slow, and that there were more to collect than in previous years. There was a long discussion concerning registration and how to capture last yearʼs penalty fees. Members of the Board realized that with online registration there was no way to prevent families from registering if they hadnʼt paid their fees. A table will be set up at the Water WRAT Expo to check families in and hopefully capture the remaining penalty fees of those families attending.

Meet Coordinator

The Board discussed the new education training required for non-athlete members of USA Swimming. Ellen mentioned that the training was going to come online next month. More information to follow. Nikki also requested volunteers to be the meet managers for the 8/under meet on October 23rd. Catherine Cunningham and Adrienne Johnston accepted the role as co-managers. Ellen then mentioned that the sanction fees for the 8/under meet, the Freestyle Frenzy and the Pentathlon are due on September 9th to CT Swimming.

Treasurerʼs Report

Martha Corneck echoed Kathy Santarellaʼs message that non-compliance fees were not being turned in. The Board discussed how to collect penalties from families that quit mid-season or did not swim during long course. David Blansfield reminded everyone that the volunteer commitment for each family is clearly stated in all the registration forms parents filled out in the beginning of the Short Course season and that dropping out of the team is not an acceptable excuse.

Martha then related that the Club had an overall surplus from last year as meet entry fees collected from both the visiting and home teams were substantial. Martha is going to put the surplus in the Ann Atkinson fund, though money can be drawn from it for other expenses such as, among other things, updates to the web site.

Coachesʼ Report

Ellen Johnston began the Coaches Report by thanking everyone for the her tribute dinner in June. She mentioned that so much was going on over the summer that this prevented her from sending out notes of thanks. All who attended agreed that it was a lovely evening and were happy to be a part of it.

Jacquie Tumminia informed everyone that short course registration had begun on line and so far it had been going very well. She said the only glitch was that some parents either forgot the password and user id information, or that the computer was not accepting it. But once she guided the parents over the phone, they were able to register successfully. She said all previous participants received e-mails in August explaining the new process. She had received good feedback from parents. Jacquie mentioned what a time saver on-line registration was for both she and her staff. Any questions about registration could be answered by either the front desk or Jacquie.

Jacquie also discussed the number of openings on the team and it was noted the greatest opportunity for new Water Rats was on the 8/under team. We have approximately an 80% retention rate, with only 200 spaces on the team.
Jacquie then moved onto the Strong Kids Triathlon. The date is set for Sunday, September 18th. The groups will be divided by age and each group will be receiving recognition with a medal, and then the 3 top finishers will receive trophies. She encouraged members to both volunteer and have their children and friends participate.

Co-Presidents’ Report

The Presidentʼs Report was provided by Adrienne Williams. She mentioned that Ron would not be in attendance this evening due to the death of his mother. Flowers were sent from the Parents Club in her memory.

Adrienne informed the Board that the Citrus Sale is to begin shortly. Adrienne suggested the idea of asking people to donate a box of fruit to the CT. Food Bank, or through a “Buy to Donate” option, which was well received.

Travel meet coordinator positions were discussed for the Harvard and Florida meets that are hosted in December and over the summer. It was agreed to have such volunteers, but to ask for volunteers closer to the meets.

A new committee is forming for the Cameron Bruce Award. The appointed committee will create the criteria for which the award will be based. This will be discussed at Novemberʼs meeting and searching for the nominees will begin in the new year via the coaches.

Adrienne then talked about WRAT Expo. There will be several tables in place for such items as official recruitment, volunteer signup, citrus sale, payment of non-compliance fees, and apparel. There will also be available for review information regarding the construction of the new Y and how to become involved. There will be a new parents meeting held in advance of the Expo, beginning at 1pm.

Adrienne discussed the need for the Parent Reps to meet with the coaches and she strongly recommended that they take place ahead of the Expo. She also volunteered to attend the meetings.

Adrienne informed everyone that there will be a Parent Social on Friday, October 14th beginning at 7:30 pm at the home of Lisa and Mark Gray. A budget was discussed, the thought of $700.00, or what has been used in the past would be acceptable. All parents would be expected to bring either an appetizer or dessert (assigned by alphabet) to share. Beverages will be provided.

Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Parrelli Gray
Secretary