ATTENDEES (b=board member)

Mike Dayton (b), John Lee Ellis, Robert Fry, Susan Fry (b), Don Hamilton (b), Lois Springsteen (b), Tim Sullivan, Mark Thomas (b), Eric Vigoren (b), Jennifer Wise (b) .

Approve minutes of 11/15 meeting

Action: Ratified

Ratify e-mail votes (Mark)

  • Approve Santa Rosa brevets
  • Approve RBA reimbursement program for 2007
  • Approve Dallas brevet
  • Allow Bobbi Fisher's choice of club name
  • Approve change to Article 2 of Rules for Riders to delete "amateur"
  • Adopt Randonneurs USA privacy policy
  • Approve design and order for RUSA populaire pins
  • Approve BRM medal order for 2008-2011 medals and price to RBAs
  • Approve DC RUSA brevet and OR/WA joint Dart
  • Approve having JVB represent RUSA at ACP PBP awards ceremony
  • Approve Dallas populaires
  • Approve result submission process changes to enforce waiver requirement
  • Approve San Diego Populaires

Jennifer Wise moved to RATIFY all votes; Don Hamilton seconded. Unanimous in favor.

New Officers Named

These board members were nominated for these officer positions:

  • Mark Thomas: President;
  • Lois Springsteen, Vice-President;
  • Eric Vigoren, Treasurer;
  • Mike Dayton Secretary.

Other Volunteer Positions

These volunteers agreed to serve in these capacities:

  • Lois Springsteen will continue processing brevet results
  • Don Hamilton will continue as Membership Coordinator
  • Mike Dayton will continue as Newsletter Editor
  • Edward Robinson is taking over as Permanents Coordinator
  • Scott Brittle for the Route Committee

Liability Insurance Increase

Former RUSA treasurer Tim Sullivan said RUSA's liability policy was up for renewal and noted it included a $.10 increase per rider day. The renewal was approved by unanimous vote.

Online Medal Orders

Mark Thomas noted there was a new procedure for ordering medals online, and said four regions had ordered medals using it. Thomas said the new program would be announced online and in the newsletter.

Medal /Award Committee

John Lee Ellis was asked to take a look at an online inventory of medals and awards. Mr. Ellis said he thought coordination and consolidation was good to help us get a handle on Mark Thomas noted discussions were under way to for members to be able to order by having the online form show what medals or awards they were eligible for.

RUSA Store

Ongoing work for an online ordering/shopping system was discussed, and Jennifer Wise noted an inventory had just been completed.

10th Anniversary Celebration

Discussing upcoming anniversary celebrations, Jennifer Wise said the volunteer list appeared to favor the oval design for a commemorative medal, and recommended that become the official design. She indicated 9 RBAs are hosting 10th anniversary brevets on the Aug. 16, 2008 weekend. About 10 riders per event are expected. Discussion turned to pre-ordering medals to have them for distribution on ride day. The Board agreed to go ahead with the medal purchase.

Photo Site Discussion

Nate Armbrust, who has volunteered to handle RUSA photos, offered 3 ideas for collecting/displaying ride photos. The board opted for an option that used a commercial site such as Flickr, but moving highlighted photos to RUSA's Web site.

PBP Survey

Mark Thomas noted that RUSA's PBP survey drew more than 400 responses from the 600 participants. The board agreed to ask two members about doing a statistical analysis.

Return Service Requested Account

The board agreed to let Mike Dayton set up an account to pay return service requested bills. Under the plan, Mike Dayton will pay upfront to a USPS account and get reimbursement from Eric Vigoren.

Time Critical List / Newsletter Items

A request was made to distribute the time-critical items that must go into each issue of American Randonneur.

Treasurer Report

Mark Thomas noted RUSA was about $12,000 in the black for the year, with reserves of $75,000 to $80,000. The ACP bill had not yet been received at that time and was anticipated to be around $15,000.

Shortage of SR medals not handed out at PBP

Mark noted that 56 riders who went to PBP did not get Super Randonneur in their packets. He said he recently shipped out medals, and also ordered a few extras for other names that might surface.

New Award Category

There was discussion about creating a new type of service award to honor more volunteers. No action was taken, pending further discussion.