SITE: Brandeis University, Gosman Athletic Center, Waltham, Massachusetts
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Dan Hart, President; Kathy Nary, Vice President; Courtney Bird, Vice President; Betsy Harshbarger, Secretary; James O'Brien, Treasurer; Ken Rubicund, Men's LDR; Rob O'Hara, Masters LDR; Ron Boemker, Youth/Past President; Justin Kuo, RaceWalking; Rich Hart, Track & Field; Dave Dunham, Mountain Running; Joanna Veltri & Tom Petranoff, Athletes Representatives.
ABSENT: Marja Bakker, Vice President/Past President; Mimi Corcoran, Women's LDR; John Finn, Cross Country; Roger Pierce, Masters Track & Field.
UNATTACHED ATHLETES REPRESENTATIVES: Michael Nary, Tom Derderian.
President's Opening Remarks: Dan Hart thanked everyone for running for their individual Board positions and that the make up of the Board was very positive. He hopes to move forward with plans for strengthening the Association, adding, that our positions will be defined by our individual actions and participation. Some long term projects mentioned: Club Involvement; By Law Revision; Membership; Newsletter. Dan himself plans to be more involved with the Clubs and has been invited to attend the annual meetings of Merrimack Valley and GBTC.
Dave Dunham requested introductions from all Board members, which followed.
Secretary's Report: Minutes regarding the annual meeting, prepared by Betsy Harshbarger and proofed by Steve Vaitones, were circulated to all Board members and unanimously approved without reading.
Treasurer's Report: Jim O'Brien stated that as treasurer, his main concerns will focus on cash and in-kind flow on a monthly basis, and will have a report for us at the December meeting.
Office Report: Steve Vaitones, Managing Director, presented a plaque of recognition and appreciation from the Board to outgoing President, Ron Boeniker, and in absentia, outgoing Masters Track & Field Chair, Ed Daniels. Steve read a written reply from Ed, regarding life after USATF-NE. Steve reported the following:
- Outgoing treasurer, Marilynn Bright, finished the last federal filing report and has officially, finished her duties.;
- The Newsletter is in the mail and looks very professional;
- Requested up-to-date information for a new Board Directory, to be included in next mailing.
LDR Report: Ken Rubicund reported on the yesterday's Rojacks 5 Mile/8K Grand Prix Race:
- A record number of finishers = 1003, with excellent Club attendance = front 400 finishers;
- Abundance of food from supermarket sponsor;
- Steve distributed the results;
- Michael O'Brien clinched the single men's title and received good press in New Hampshire;
- Dave Dunham expressed concern regarding the allocation of half the road for a separate women's start based upon the number of women participants; Steve responded that due to the doubleloop course that additional space was needed for the wheelchairs and in case of other types of vehicles being on the course. Discussion followed regarding the need to service women in championship events, with further discussion within the LDR committee to follow.
- Aside from the above comments, everything else went well with the race.
- Courtney Bird, Race Director for the Cape Cod Marathon, gave a brief update on this year's race: numbers are up; 8:00 AM start; no race-day entries or number pick up; with advance notice, will mail numbers to teams; suggested staying in motels/hotels outside Falmouth for better rates.
Cross Country Report; Dan Hart reported that he had been in contact with new Chair, John Finn, regarding the current cross country schedule:
- October 1lth & 18th, the first two meets in the Franklin Park Series;
- October 25th, Mayor's Cup races, presented by the B.A.A. and sponsored by adidas;
- November 15th, Junior Olympics at Bryant College and
New England Championships at Franklin Park.Volunteers are needed at all of the events!!
Track & Field Report: Rich Hart reported that he is working on finalizing the indoor schedule. Based upon previous discussion regarding moving the indoor N.E. championships from Brown University in Providence to Boston in order to increase participation, he noted that the cost of Boston indoor facilities were either prohibitive, unavailable, or inappropriate for both field and running events. In addition, Bob Rothenberg at Brown has been very generous in his continued support of this USATF-NE event and is once again interested in hosting the 1999 Championship Meet in conjunction with the Alden Invitational.
Rich also noted that he has reserved Boston University track on February 21st with the idea of hosting a high performance classic with primarily track events. Further information to follow. A Spring Clinic is scheduled for April 21" at UMass Boston, and the 1999 date for the New England Outdoor Championship Meet will be set at the Track & Field Committee meeting in November.
Mountain Running: Dave Dunham reported on the World Championship Event in France where the USA Team had its best performance to date: Men finished 8th out of 19 teams; and the women finished 12th of 16 teams. The story has been posted on the CoolRunning web page. The 1999 World Championship event will be in Malaysia and win be costly for the participating athletes. Dave is a member of the Mountain Running subcommittee of USATF and reported that the National team selection will consist of the top two New England men and top New England woman.
RaceWalking Report: Justin Kuo reported on the One and Two Hour Championships which were held at MIT this past weekend. There were 56 participants, 27 from outside the New England Association. The Meet itself was very well run, including program, results, and good food. Based upon the positive feedback being received, New England Walkers is once again considering bidding on the 1999 event.
Board Goals and Direction: Board members presented their ideas regarding short and long term goals for the Association and individual areas of interest.
- Dan Hart = Association Visibility
- Ron Boemker = By Law Revision. Steve will mail a copy of the current By Laws with the new Directory to Board members prior to the November meeting, for comments and revisions for the December meeting.
- Courtney Bird = Membership
- Marja Bakker = Newsletter (Mike Nary/38m and Ken Rubicund/digital camera will be the official Photographers)
Additional ideas presented and discussed: Marketing, Awards Banquet, Clinics Program, Bidding for National Events, Officials Database, Office Re-organization.
Joanna Veltri volunteered to take on the set up and management of an Association web page. Tom Petranoff offered creative marketing ideas to apply to a overall marketing strategy for the Association. At the December Board meeting, By Law revisions will begin, and review of the new format for the Newsletter.
Grand Prix Meeting scheduled for Monday, November 2dat Brandeis University. Steve has generated a list of 80 races in New England, and Ken Rubicund and Dave Dunham have offered to call as many as possible to encourage additional bids. Steve and Ken will set the agenda for the meeting.
Annual National USATF Convention: Outlined delegate qualifications and responsibilities and discussed the allocation of reimbursement monies. Everyone planning to attend was encouraged to make hotel and travel arrangements as soon as possible.
Meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Betsy Harshbarger
Secretary
USA Track & Field - New
England
usatfne@ix.netcom.com
P.O. Box 1905
Brookline, MA 02446-1905
United States
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This page was last updated
November 8, 1998.
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