MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

RANDONNEURS USA, INC.

Held OCTOBER 18, 2017

A regular meeting of the RUSA Board of Directors was convened by telephone conference and called to order at 2008 EDT by the President. The meeting had been rescheduled from the originally scheduled date of October 11, 2017, to accommodate a scheduling conflict.

The following Directors were in attendance:

• Debra Banks
• John Lee Ellis
• Nigel Greene
• Susan Otcenas
• Paul Rozelle
• Lois Springsteen
• Dave Thompson

No others were in attendance. 

The minutes from the regular meeting of September 14, 2017 were approved, as amended.

Following approval of the minutes, a report was received from the Treasurer. The status of RUSA’s annual tax return, due to be filed by November 15, 2017, was discussed. Membership was noted as continuing to be approximately 7% down, year-to-year. Store inventory was discussed as well as the continued draw-down of old inventory and stock at reduced prices to eliminate it from inventory and make room for new, fresher offerings.

Further discussion was had concerning the regional event statistics that Rob Hawks had prepared and submitted prior to the October 4, 2017 Special Meeting. It was recommended that this data be published to the RBAs so that they could use that data to analyze ridership and participation in their regions.

Next, the 2018 celebration of RUSA’s 20th Anniversary was discussed, including publicizing the anniversary and associated events, apparel, medals, potential publication of related content in American Randonneur, and various logistics issues related to each of these items. Rozelle accepted appointment from the President to coordinate 20th Anniversary activities. 

Following discussion of anniversary activities, the Board next discussed questions that had arisen from a permanent owner regarding the form and content of the waiver required by RUSA for participation on permanents. Discussion included the insurer’s requirement that we have a valid waiver from participants prior to their participation, the multiplicity of jurisdictions potentially in play, whether annual waivers would satisfy the requirement, and whether (and what form) of an electronically executed document could satisfy the valid-waiver requirement. After discussion, it was decided to communicate to the individual who raised to question, and to reemphasize to all permanent owners through various fora, that it is ultimately the permanent owners’ responsibility to ensure, based on the laws applicable to their jurisdiction, that they have obtained a valid, executed waiver from each participant prior to the start of the ride. Further discussion was held concerning that collection of emergency contact information and health-related concerns from participants on permanents and it was agreed that nothing required the collection of this information, nor were permanent owners precluded from collecting it, either. Additional discussion took place regarding clarifying the language on the website about the sample permanent registration form to communicate that collecting this information is not mandatory.

Next, the Board discussed the proposals it received for new awards. Following discussion of all submittals, a motion to approve the Ultra Cup was made, seconded, discussed, and passed. Details on the award would be published to the membership. Furthermore, the Board would give feedback from the collective discussion to those who made proposals that did not succeed this year.

A report was received from the President on the on-going Board election, which concludes November 15, 2017.

Finally, a report was received on the implementation of electronic proof of passage for permanents and it was noted that there had been few questions received about the rule change.

The meeting was adjourned at 2229 EST.

Next meeting: November 1, 2017, at 2000 EST