Master Action Item List 10-20-09 Soaring Society of America
Soaring Society of America
Minutes of the Executive Committee
Telephone Conference Meeting
October 20, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. EDT by Chairman Umphres.
Attending: Chairman Umphres, Vice Chairman Tyler, Vice Chairman Dezzutti, Treasurer Pixton, CAO Layton and Advisor Black-Nixon.
Absent: Secretary Brickner, SSF Trustee Carlson.
Approval of Minutes:
The first item of business was review and approval of previous ExComm meeting minutes of September 8th, but it was discovered these minutes had not been sent to the ExComm prior to the meeting, so this item was postponed until the next meeting.
The next item of business concerned minutes from the Board of Directors’ meeting held September 12, 2009. Layton agreed to work with Secretary Brickner to have minutes from this meeting complete and circulated to the ExComm before the next scheduled meeting.
Treasurer’s Report:
Pixton advised he had spoken with Duane Eisenbeiss concerning reimbursement for out of pocket expenses he has incurred concerning the World Distance Award. After extensive discussion on this matter, it was agreed the SSA would reimburse Mr. Eisenbeiss for his out of pocket expenses (totaling less than $200), notwithstanding that he did not have receipts. While this is a deviation from SSA policy requiring receipts for reimbursement, the fact that these expenses had been incurred in part during the period of fiscal chaos at SSA prior to 2007 was considered an extenuating circumstance justifying a one time deviation from the policy.. Additionally, because SSA had lost track of the donations to the WDA during the period prior to 2007, but believes the amount of the unexpended donations to be approximately $1,000, SSA will set up $1,000 in a WDA fund (maintained on the balance sheet as a restriction on surplus) which will be used to reimburse Mr. Eisenbeiss for future expenses incurred by him in administering the WDA provided he send proper accounting and receipts to SSA headquarters.
Pixton further reported he had received the September financials and we were within budget, and there were no major concerns. He also advised membership numbers looked good.
Headquarters Repair Issue:
Layton requested approval from the Executive Committee to have windows replaced in the Hobbs office. She had sought bids from several companies, and the best bid was $14,250.41. Chairman Umphres attested to the fact he had himself climbed on the roof at headquarters in 2007 and seen the terrible condition of the windows and frames at that time and that his was a project that definitely needed to be taken care of. Pixton’s motion to approve the $14,250.41 expenditure, seconded by Dezzutti, was passed unanimously.
2012 WGC Update:
Tyler advised planning for the upcoming event was going well. He and Ken Sorenson had attended a meeting in Uvalde and Tyler had drafted an MOU which Sorenson was now reviewing. Tyler advised he hoped to have the MOU signed at the next meeting in Uvalde which will be held in November. Chairman Umphres requested a copy of the MOU be sent to him for review also.
Company Requesting Funds to Publish Book:
Chairman Umphres advised the ExComm he had been contacted by a company which was producing a book on the history of soaring. They were asking for funds to help publish the book. After discussion of this, it was decided SSA was not in a position to help publish the book, but could perhaps purchase some books for the merchandise department to sell, as well as possibly helping promote the book by publishing something in Soaring Magazine. Chairman Umphres will contact the company on this.
SPOT Tracking Site:
Chairman Umphres was pleased to report the SPOT tracker was up and running on the SSA website. He advised something would be published in Soaring Magazine in December or January and perhaps again in the summer to remind people this service is there for them. Umphres thanked the volunteers (Frank Paynter, Mark Hawkins, John Seaborn and Doug Easton) who were responsible for helping get this project going and writing the information for the magazine.
Soaring Magazine Archive Project:
Layton advised she and Titian Scholtemeyer had been in contact concerning this project, and volunteer Micki Minner had been contacted also. Between SSA staff, and Micki Minner, Layton predicted at least ten years worth of back issues would be posted on the site by December 1, and all others would be scanned and uploaded as soon as possible.
Loss of Soaring Locations - is SSA doing all they can:
Chairman Umphres asked the group if they felt SSA was doing enough to help save soaring locations such as Hemet, Tehachapi and Midway (in Dallas). There was considerable discussion, the gist of which was that SSA’s limited size and resources preclude it from getting directly involved in these disputes, but that SSA could and should continue to offer advice and counsel to the local groups affected. It was also noted that past experience indicated interference by outsiders was often counterproductive. Accordingly, the Excom as a group concluded that no change in the manner in which SSA helped deal with these issues as they arose was required or appropriate. Local groups will continue to take the lead on these issues with SSA providing support and counsel behind the scenes.
Safety Issues:
Since SSF Chairman Carlson was absent from the meeting, there was no discussion on any safety-related issues.
Other Competent Business:
No other competent business came before the committee. It was decided the next meeting of the ExComm would be November 10th.
At this time, Tyler moved and Pixton seconded the meeting be adjourned.
Submitted,
Denise Layton
CAO
Review of Action Items:
Master Action Item List 10-20-09 Soaring Society of America
Executive Committee and Board of Directors Meetings
Action items arising from meeting of September 8, 2009
Pixton/Blalack/Penn Smith to resolve recording of the closeout of the internal revolving line of credit. 10-20-09 Pixton advised he would be in touch with Penn Smith and Judy Blalack to finalize this.
Costello to advise ExComm of effective date of towing for hire between clubs in policies.
Not assigned – subsequent publication of change to benefits in magazine, E-News, internal renewal communications to clubs, Club/Chapter Committee. 10-20-09 Umphres advised he would contact Costello on this.
Action items arising from meeting of August 18, 2009
Tyler to have a report at Dallas Board meeting to update on WGC 2012 preparations. 10-21-09 reported on above.
Layton to begin writing efforts on Eagle Fund Campaign for 2010 as directed. Brickner assists.
Delayed to follow Dallas meeting. 10-21-09 Action Item completed.
Brickner to work with FAI Committee in resolution of application processes, promotion of programs. 10-21-09 ongoing. Brickner absent from meeting.
Action items arising from meeting of July 21, 2009
Tyler to work with the WGC committee to have an MOU in place by the September 12th Board of Directors’ Meeting. Changed to reporting after Nov. Team Uvalde meeting. 10-21-09 reported on above.
ExComm - Oversight of Soaring Magazine. Umphres asked the ExComm to send him any names of people interested in working on an oversight committee.
Action Items Arising from the June 26, 2009 ExComm Meeting
Layton to write mission statement for Enews. 7-21-09 Brickner to help close by next meeting. 10-20-09 Layton asked exactly what the ExComm was looking for in this, and advised she would take care of it by next meeting.
Pixton – World Distance Award resolved with Eisenbeiss. Pixton reported Eisenbeiss on extended vacation, won’t be resolved until fall. Reminder item. 10-20-09 Pixton advised he had been in contact with Eisenbeiss, and asked for ExComm approval to pay $152.18 for out of pocket expenses, plus $900.00 to Eisenbeiss to defray previous costs. After extensive discussion it was agreed SSA would reimburse Mr. Eisenbeiss for these previous expenses and going forward SSA would place $1,000 into a WDA fund to be used for expenses. However, all future reimbursement requests must be accompanied by proper documentation.
Umphres –is in contact with Doug Easton as to a course of action to get Sailplane Directory project done now. 10-20-09 Chairman Umphres advised this project was at a stand still until a new volunteer could be found to help work on it.
Action Items Arising from the April 14, 2009 ExComm Meeting
Brickner to report on FAI Badge processing automation for Silver level. Committtee considering process. Continuing.
Action Items Arising from the January 6, 2009 ExComm Meeting
Layton to begin Policies Manual compilation on ssa.org . underway pending. 4/14 Pulling
together from web site various places into a central location? Badges policy – on FAI page, Magazine policy under TOC for Admin procedures manual on that page, and can link out. 10-20-09 Layton reported she had posted some policies and procedures to the website and this could be considered complete, although it will be an ongoing project she will keep up with.
Action Items Arising from the September 9, 2008 Meeting
Reminder item on disposition of GlidingMagazine.com, our other site. 10-20-09 Layton was to find out exactly when this expired so we would not miss renewing it (Dezzutti checked during the meeting and advised it did not expire until November 2012).
Action Items Arising from the December 18, 2007 Meeting
Umphres to take appropriate action before year-end on combined donation received for the Eagle Fund and the 1-26 Association and report the outcome at the next Excomm meeting.
Reminder item while tax status application resubmits. 10-20-09 Umphres reported the 1-26 Association still has not received tax exempt status.