Narragansett Chapter Board Meeting
April 8, 2014, Tuesday, 6:00pm

155 South Main St. Providence, RI

Call to Order

Attendance: Debbie Mitchell, Bob Tessitore, Tom Eagan, Robin Kuznitz, Chris Shafer, Mike Krabach, Ed Poyer, Dav Cranmer, Debra Huntington

Business Meeting

Review and Approval of March 2014 Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report – Tom reported that the new treasurer is no longer able to take the position. Tom was voted in as treasurer retroactively starting as of January 1. Tom reported that the investment returns have been good for the past month. The treasurer’s report was reviewed and accepted.

Chapter Chair Report

Debbie reported that she received an e-mail from Mike Barry who is passing along a correspondence from the Clive W Lacey Trust looking to discuss projects. She will contact them to get more details. She also said that Compass Hardware e-mailed her looking to help with projects. Debbie will forward the e-mail to Mike. She will also let them know about spring fling.

Chapter Vice-Chair – no report

Old Business

Volunteers Recognition Event – There are currently 53 RSVPs. Tom reviewed the agenda for the evening. He will be the master of ceremony at the event. The agenda includes cocktails, dinner and a presentation by AMC President, John Judge. Debbie will present the hats, John will present the patches and Denise Poyer’s award. The goal is to finish by 8:30. The event will cost approximately $2,300 - $3,000. There was a question as to whether there would be trifold , table cloth, and banner. Tom will bring all that is needed.

May 2-4 Chapter Retreat – Cardigan Lodge – some of the topics will be the dashboard and how to attract new members. The dashboard will become a statistical representation of chapter activities.

Spring Fling –There was a concern about the how to register for the spring fling. There was a discussion on how to streamline the registration process. Currently, there are very few registrations. Tom asked whether the event should be cancelled. There was discussion on the advertisement for the event. Robin asked whether an e-mail blast went out. It was confirmed that one went out. Once it gets on Meetup it will go to approximately 850 people.

Debbie and Bob will coordinate on April 19^th to determine the status of the event. The threshold for attendance will be approximately 35-40 people, not including the leaders. It was also pointed out that there were a number of late signups in previous years. There was a discussion regarding how much to donate to the Kettle Pond for the use of their facility.

Virtual Meeting – there will be a presentation at the June meeting.

New Business

Budget Reserves – This discussion was tabled until the June meeting.

Web site succession – AMC is looking for chapters to have a website succession plan aka backup plan in case the webmaster is unable to manage the website. There was a question regarding the passwords to the website and databases. Chris has the permissions to be an ‘approver’ which means he can approve trips that go on the website. Mike will send a list of passwords, support form, and an information sheet to Debbie , Chris Shafer and Debra Huntington.

Mike explained that Hoster 910 is the website service provider. They have registered the website and provide some support. Tom asked if they also provide website design and if needed could provide website design backup.

There was a brief discussion regarding whether we should invest in an outside company to develop a website and we would maintain it. Tom pointed out that since we are no longer sending out the newsletter there is a savings in this area and funds could be redirected to the website.

Mike commented that the online calendar and gazette is very labor-intensive and time-consuming to maintain. Mike explained how to view the webpage statistics.

Committee Reports

Activities - no report

Communication – see above

Conservation – no report

Family – no report

Leadership – WFA ended up having excellent attendance. Ed pointed out that the outreach

made the difference. He also said that mountain leadership school is full.

Northern Hikes – there are a number of activities planned

Membership – Robin reported that she is getting inquiries from new members asking about new activities. There was a question regarding the sources of these inquiries. She said they are coming from different places.

Skiing – no report

Trails – Dav reported that he is having a meeting on Friday to discuss the future plans. There are a few construction projects in the works. Mike commented that there could be more information on the website regarding trails and construction projects.

Young Members – no report although the Presidential traverse coming up.

Webmaster – see above

Other Business

Debbie will send a request to the committee chairs asking for information that she can send to the Joy St. to be included in executive update.

Meeting adjourned – Next meeting – May 13