My Track Record

The College Club
Downtown Seattle

President Bill Roe was busy recruiting members for Club Northwest’s New Zealand chapter, Club Northwest Southeast, so Vice President Saul Kinderis rose to the occasion and called the meeting to order. Board members Sally Bergesen, Greg Crowther (secretary), Mark Davies, Thornton “T.P.” Perry, Liz Stahl (treasurer), and Clay Stenberg were in attendance. Others present were Tom Cotner (masters liaison), Steve “Hatz” Hatzenbeler (team manager), Dan Hayes (membership committee), Brian Oster (events manager), Erik Probstfield (hammer thrower), and Martin Rudow (Northwest Runner editor).

To open the meeting, Clay boldly made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. The motion was approved.

FINANCIAL REPORT

As per Liz’s handout, our checking account balance has dwindled to $1787,88 as of December 29. We also have a $5252 CD which matures February 18.

At Brian Oster’s suggestion, a motion was made to deduct his monthly events manager stipend of $1250 from the income he owes us (~$1900) for the 1998 Resolution Run. The motion was approved, as was Liz’s financial report as a whole. A lengthy discussion then ensued concerning Club’s expected expenditures over the next couple months. It was informally agreed that Club should delay paying members entry fees for the winter national cross country meet to Pacific Northwest Track & Field (PNTF) until our CD has matured. In addition, Brian Oster noted that Club could earn money by volunteering at the St. Patrick’s Day Dash.

TEAM

Tom Cotner read a draft of his letter to USA Track & Field (USATF) concerning Disney’s sub-par staging of the fall national cross country meet. He received comments and suggestions on the letter and will presumably incorporate some of them into the final draft.

Mark Davies presented the Board with Seattle Sports Physical Therapy’s proposal for sponsorship in 1999. The current proposal represents something of a reduction in the services SSPT has offered to Club in the past. The Board decided to table the proposal until next month while Mark looks into alternative sponsorships.

NORTHWEST RUNNER

Martin, back from The Running Network’s annual meeting in Orlando, said that he could wait until March to collect the $1000 Club has guaranteed toward the cost of producing a meet program for the winter cross country nationals.

Martin said that he would like the track and cross country preview issues of _Northwest Runner_ (April and September, respectively) to contain thumbnail sketches of Club athletes. He envisions a two-page spread featuring photos and mini-biographies of A- and B-team athletes, with some additional space devoted to C-team people. Martin will send out bio forms for athletes to fill out and return. Erik Probstfield volunteered to help Martin with this project, and Tom, Hatz, and Sally promised to help determine who is an A- or B-team member.

Additionally, Martin reported that he could use some help with Northwest Runner -related clerical tasks, explaining that he would like to free himself up to do more revenue-generating work for the magazine. The Board agreed that Club members could assist Martin in exchange for volunteer points, and Martin agreed to send the Board a list of volunteer opportunities and the approximate time commitment each would entail.

MEMBERSHIP

Dan Hayes reported that FootZone will now offer a 15% discount on all of its products to Club Northwest members. He also has given a list of membership benefits to Rob Cook for inclusion on our web page, http://www.cnw.org.

Apropos of nothing in particular, somebody pointed out that Northwest Cascade, a local distributor of port-a-potties, has a logo very similar to that of Club and raised the question of whether we should sue. No formal action was taken on this issue.

EVENTS

Resolution Run: Brian’s quick stats on the race: 473 entries, 440+ finishers, and a profit of roughly $1900 to Club. He also distributed a sampling of complimentary feedback on the race posted to ontherun.com and praised Club’s volunteer turnout at the race. And, speaking of Brian, an eleventh-hour motion was passed to keep him on as Club’s events manager through the end of March.

LifeCenter Northwest: we will be helping them with their race on April 10.

Seattle International Track Classic: Club needs to elect three representatives to the board governing this meet. Discussion of this topic consisted of the following:
Hatz: “Why does Bill want to [be involved in this event]?”
Clay: “Because it relates to running.”

NEXT MEETING — BOARD ELECTIONS!

Clubs Annual Meeting will take place on Monday, February 8 at 7 p.m. at the College Club in downtown Seattle. The Club membership will elect three people to fill the board positions currently held by Mark Davies, Saul, and Bill, respectively. Saul has already tossed his hat into the proverbial ring once again, while Mark is leaning _against_ running for reelection. Bill is presumed to want to hold onto his seat. The elections will be overseen by the nominating committee of Sally, T.P., and Erik. Please consider attending this meeting whether or not you wish to run for a Board position; the odds that you will be drafted onto the Board against your will are relatively low.

HANDOUTS

1. summary of Club checking account activity (Liz Stahl)

2. 1999 sponsorship proposal from Seattle Sports Physical Therapy (Mark Davies)

3. Resolution Run feedback from ontherun.com (Brian Oster)

Respectfully submitted,
Greg Crowther
Secretary
Club Northwest