AMC Narragansett Chapter Board Meeting
February 11, 2014
155 South Main St. Providence, RI
In Attendance: Debbie Mitchell, Robin Kuznitz, Linda Pease, Dav Cranmer, Bob Tessitore, Tom Eagan, Mike Krabach, Ed Poyer, Chris Shafer and Ann Piascik
Faith Salter – AMC Director of Volunteer Relations
Minutes from the November 2013 meeting were approved as written by Chris and seconded.
Treasurers Report – The treasurers report for January 2014 was presented by Tom Eagan. There was a motion to approve the minutes and seconded. Tom also presented the report from December 2013. There was also a motion to approve the report by Dave and seconded by Ed
Budget - The budget from 2013 was reviewed and discussed by Tom Eagan. He also previewed the budget for 2014. The budget is based on numbers submitted by committee chairs. The budget was reviewed and approved. Ed motioned and Linda seconded.
Chapter Reserves – Tom Eagan discussed that there is $37,400 in reserves. He explained that there should be money kept in reserves to cover budget changes or unexpected events. He suggested that the club may not need to carry this much in reserve. There was discussion to have additional leadership appreciation events with the funds.
Chapter Chair report - Debbie presented a request from the North Kingstown to have a booth at their environmental fair. She updated the board on the date of the fall fling, 10/17-19. The Young Leader group is looking for leaders. Two people who are interested may be request scholarships for leader training.
Vice-Chair report - Bob presented a card from Aram Deradoorian with a $25 donation in honor of the birthday of Sid Wax, long-time member. The secretary will send a thank you note to Aram.
Bob also gave a recap of the REI winter backpacking workshop. The event was well-attended. There was discussion as to whether we could /should send an e-mail to the people who signed the attendance list the night of the event. It was decided to give the list to Robin who will send an e-mail to the list thanking them for their participation.
Spring Fling - April 26th Kettle Pond Visitors Center . There was a question whether we would combine it with a membership event. Mike asked about having other membership events, potluck or new member potluck. It was put on hold until the next meeting.
There was a discussion that other chapters have monthly events for new members and existing members. The types of events are lectures, potluck, etc. These are well-attended and are good ways to promote the club and share the activities of the club. There was a concern that the chapter would not have enough manpower to put on this many events.
Volunteer badges – Debbie said that she has volunteer badges and is looking to distribute them to volunteers who have not received them. Badges are a way to recognize volunteers. It was decided to distribute them at the next awards events.
Regional Directors - Faith Salter discussed the role of regional director. This is a high level position within the AMC and part of the executive team. The regional director serves on the Board of Directors for the AMC. It is a very time consuming and important role. Mike Barry, current regional director for the eastern region is in his last term. Faith is asking the chapters to nominate candidates. Anyone can nominate someone to be a regional director. She explained that there has been one nomination to date and that nominations are due at the end of March. They are looking for individuals who have the expertise to lead the AMC into the future with vision 2020.
Volunteer Award – Tom proposed having a volunteer leadership event. His idea of the event is either a social or a town hall type meeting. There was a discussion to combine the event ideas. There was additional discussion on who would be invited. Tom’s vision is that it would be for leaders; to recognize them, have an enjoyable evening, formal presentation, drinks and food. There was a question as to whether it should be opened up to membership. There was concern that it would be a ‘talking head’ event. It was reiterated that the bulk of event would be social. The goal is to show appreciation for the leaders and to provide the leaders with an enjoyable evening. Denise Poyer will be given her volunteer award by John Judge, AMC President, at the event.
There was a consensus that it should happened. Tom will organize the event, Debbie will send out the invitations. Tom will get the leader list.
There was a motion by Linda and seconded by Robin to have the event. It was approved unanimously. The expected date of the event is Tues or Weds evening in the 3rd or 4th week in March.
Treasurer applicant - Janet Huntley is a candidate for treasurer. She is interested and qualified for the position. Tom would remain on the board for the remainder of the year. There was a motion to offer Janet the treasurer’s position. Tom made the motion – Dave seconded the motion.
Annual meeting recap – Bob discussed some of the highlights of the annual meeting including the ‘dashboard’ which is a software application that once implemented can be used by chapters to monitor their progress towards chapter goals. Bob and Debbie met with Cheryl Lathrop from the SE Mass chapter who has begun having virtual chapter meetings. They use GotoMeeting or dial-in audio and a document holding software. Bob will attend a meeting tomorrow and learn more about it. He will report about it next month.
Online trip registration – online trip registration may be an option in the near future
AMC rebranding – At the annual meeting there were discussions about rebranding AMC. The AMC is looking for ideas, tag lines, icons to help revitalize and update the brand to ensure that it properly represents the AMC.
Webmaster succession planning – Mike emailed Brian Stapleton who is a potential candidate to work on the new website. The current website is cumbersome. The new website will be more streamlined and easier to navigate. Mike has the software and is starting to learn it. Mike also discussed the new content management system – Concrete 5 CMS ‘content made simple’.
One of the features is that each group leader would have a password and be responsible for updating their own sections. Ie. Northern hikes would create and update their own information.
Speaker’s project – There was a discussion on the AMC speaker project the goal of which is to provide chapters a resource where they can find speakers for their annual meetings or other events. A volunteer has been compiling information on speakers and putting the information into a database. Once complete the chapter can use the database to learn about speakers and select one that fits their needs.
T-shirts and technical t-shirts - Robin discussed that getting t-shirts from AMC headquarters involves a long lead time. She is also looking into getting another t-shirt provider. Bob brought up the point of getting hats versus t-shirts because hats would eliminate color or sizing issues. There was a motion by Bob to scrape the shirts and go for hats. Dave seconded it. It was voted on unanimously. Chris requested that the hats be orange in color, as a safety feature for outdoor use, especially during the hunting season.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:36