Club Meeting Minutes
Sun, June 11, 2017

(approved July 2, 2017)

4:30 pm, Lawrence Public Library

Present:  Brenda Groskinsky, Gene Wee, Dee Boeck, Becky McClure, Don and Lori Cackler, Molly Wood, Celeste Leonardi, and Karen Hyde.

Brenda called the meeting to order.

We reviewed the minutes from the May meeting.  Dee moved to accept the minutes; Don seconded, and all approved.

Gene gave the treasurer’s report.  As of June 9th, the club had a balance of $14,481.45.  Checks were processed by four T-Day run beneficiaries for $550.00 each, and the club reimbursed Brenda $1,392.05 for travel and registration expenses for her trip to the RRCA convention.  The club received $56.25 from equipment rental fees.  So far in June, two checks have been written totaling $110.00 for T-Day expenses.  A full treasurer’s report can be seen on the runLawrence website in the “About us” section.

Brenda gave an update on the ongoing Strategic Plan process.  She reminded us of how we began the process with the collaborative session last August and of the steps we’ve taken so far.  She shared the latest draft of the written document for the Strategic Plan which is designed to be in place for five years unless the club decides to change direction within that time span.  We made some changes to the wording in the paragraph about the club’s history.  We decided to include the names of the clubs founders: Dee Boeck, Ed Payne and Greg Burger.  Brenda stated that one benefit of having the strategic plan document is that outsiders can see it and identify our objectives.

The new draft of the strategic plan can be found on the runLawrence website in the section “About us”.  All club members are encouraged to read it and provide feedback if desired.  We intend to ratify the plan at the July 2nd meeting.
Brenda next talked about the road map of objectives that we’ll establish in order to reach our goals once our strategic plan is in place.  A draft copy of the road map is also available on the runLawrence website in the “About us” section.  Ultimately, we will also establish an annual budget to ensure that we can meet our objectives each year.

We talked about ways to recruit new club members. Brenda mentioned that we might “sell” the idea of club involvement as a good way to get experience of running a non-profit, and Dee added that members can get experience in how to put on a race.  Dee mentioned that Liz Dobbins is a good connection to recruit KU students.

Gene talked about the upcoming Junior Olympic track event which will take place in Lawrence.  Volunteers are need for various jobs beginning July 24 through July 30.  Gene has sent out an e-mail to club members with a link to the schedule of volunteer jobs and contact information for the event’s organizer, Bob Sanner.  There are three different shifts each day for both indoor jobs (such as packet pick-up and ticket sales) and numerous outdoor jobs.  Please let Bob Sanner know that you are a runLawrence volunteer!

Dee and Gene gave the T-Day report.  City permits have been purchased, and RaceDay Timing Company has been contracted and paid.  They have arranged to have Gary Henry do the photography and Charlie Upton to be the announcer.  The local company, Happy Shirt, will supply the long sleeved, polyester blend shirts which will feature the same design as last year’s volunteer shirt.  If you are interested in giving input about the shirts’ color, please go on-line and search for “Gildan shirts, model name- performance” and contact Dee.

Dee will begin contacting sponsors soon.  If anyone knows of other potential sponsors, please notify Dee.

Dee and Gene have researched the issue of whether or not to allow strollers in the race.  They are working on the exact wording to put in the race waver that will ask runners with strollers to start the race at the back of the pack.

In other business, Gene mentioned that Independence Inc. is looking for a runner to accompany a blind runner.  For details, or if interested, please contact Independence Inc.

The next runLawrence meeting will be Sunday, July 2nd at 4:30 pm in the Lawrence Public Library.

Submitted by Karen Hyde