Club Meeting Minutes
Sun, Jan 5, 2020

(Approved Feb 9, 2020)

4:30 pm, Lawrence Public Library

Present:  Becky McClure, Doug Hewitt, Karen Hyde, Molly Wood, Bill Reetz, Judy Reetz, Darby Harris, Matt O'Reilly, Lori Cackler, Don Cackler, Elizabeth Burger, Gene Wee, Dee Boeck

Meeting was called to order by Vice President Becky McClure in President Brenda Groskinsky's absence.

The November, 2019 minutes were reviewed and, upon Molly's motion and Karen's 2nd, unanimously approved.

Acting Treasurer Gene announced the club balance as of the end of December was $31,173.86.  Molly moved to accept the treasurer's report; Don 2nd and it was unanimously approved.

Details of the Thanksgiving Day 5K were discussed with a few suggestions for improvements.  It was noted that we should assign a few more kitchen/food workers to assure the proper distribution of food items to the runners.  We should order more of the ever-popular turkey cookies and also more coffee.

Suggestions for course improvement included a thought that the first turn was too close to the start line, although that may have been more of an issue this year due to some road work being done at the intersection.  We also need to have a louder speaker system to make announcements at the start that all can hear.  Dogs are not permitted in the race per the entry form; however, several were brought to the race and did run.  Strollers did not necessarily stay to the back as requested.  Again, a better speaker system to reinforce these messages at the start would be helpful.

It was also noted that apparently the fun run started earlier than the announced time and this led to confusion for those showing up at the announced time.  The PTO will be informed not to start the fun run early.

Gene presented a very detailed accounting of the expenses and income from the T-Day 5K.  The bottom line is that the run cleared $19,595.42.  He also provided comparisons of several interesting statistics for the run over the past 5 years.  These indicated a remarkable consistency.

Elizabeth reported on the funding applications and we're missing only 3 schools that should get them in in a few days.  She and Denise asked the board to consider two possible changes in allocation of funds.

1) STRIDE TRACKS. Currently, each Marathon Club in USD497 pays their own individual annual subscription for the Stride Track software that is used to track the students’ progress and accountability/safety for marathon club assistants. Denise will explore the cost savings of purchasing one Stride Track subscription for all USD497 schools. Ideally, runLawrence could provide one check to the overall Marathon Club account to pay for Stride Track, rather than the usual practice of individual allocations for each club. This new method would free up the clubs to spend more funds on student incentives and other items necessary for club success. The board agreed to move forward with this process. Denise will get the information and then a smaller group of Denise, Elizabeth and interested board members will meet to finalize the process and discuss the best way to share the new process with the schools. A final voting decision on funds will take place online with the board.

It should be noted that if the process goes forward, the USD497 schools using Stride Track will receive less overall funds then other programs, but they won't have to worry about Stride Track payments. In order to maintain equivalency, non-USD497 programs will receive a higher dollar amount in their award.

2) EQUITY AMONG CLUBS. Elizabeth asked the board to consider the different issues around marathon clubs: the size of the club (30 students to 300+), the strength of the school's PTO, the capacity of the school's parents to volunteer and seek other forms of community supports, etc. It is challenging to know the most equitable way to structure the funding, and in the past, runLawrence has given each school or program the same amount. While no decisions were reached, the board agreed that as the final funding allocations are determined for 2020, these factors might be considered. 

NEXT STEPS: Elizabeth, Denise, Gene and any board member interested will meet to determine final funding allocations and the communications strategy. A final recommendation will be presented to the board for a vote via email. 

Gene announced he has renewed the club's membership in RRCA for 2020.  There was a short discussion on attendance at the annual RRCA convention in March in Portland.  President and State RRCA Rep Brenda Groskinsky will be going.  It was noted that the club could and would like to send at least one more representative and it was announced that anyone interested should contact Brenda and she will provide them with the guidelines and application for consideration.

There was also discussion regarding changes being considered by the City's right-of-way permit committee and how these could affect especially the T-Day 5K.  Gene and Dee are keeping abreast of these developments and will be attending an informational meeting on January 28.  If and when it is appropriate for all interested persons to get involved in expressing support for having the T-Day 5K continue in the same location and fashion as in the past, they will be sure to send out notification.

Of course, it as always appropriate to contact the city commissioners at any time expressing support for the run.

The last item of business was a plea for members to volunteer for a club officer position.  All positions are open and as candidates emerge, we will have a vote at the next meeting.

Submitted by,

Dee Boeck (Acting Secretary) with additional notes by
Elizabeth Burger