Meeting Was Brought to Order at 8:00 Pm

Meeting Was Brought to Order at 8:00 Pm

USATF-LI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGDRAFT 1

Minutes for Board Meeting Held on Monday, January 2, 2017

Meeting was brought to order at 8:00 pm.

Attendees:21

Officers:

President:Alex Cuozzo

Vice President:Robert Lemke

Vice President:Kevin Arloff

Treasurer:Gary Westerfield

Secretary:Pamela Lee

Standing Sport Committees:

Track & Field:Richard Degnan

Track & Field:Dwayne Johnson

Race Walking:Mary Ann Harvey

MUT:Carl Grossbard - Absent

Masters Athletics:Vicki Fox

Youth Athletics:Sheryl Hall

Para Athletics:Fred Benlein

Standing Administrative Committees:

Officials:George Erker

Coaching Education:Michael Frazer

Outreach:Ronald Nardo

PR & Nominating:Lori Mangual

Membership:Sue Polansky

Club Representatives:

Bellmore Striders:Bridget McCann

LIRRC:William Reitz

We Are Athletes:Kathy Benlein

Invited Guests:

Glen Wolther

Donna Rosen

Minutes:Minutes of December 5, 2016 were approved as amended.

Budget & Finance:

Bank Balance at Citibank as of December 31, 2016: $12,469.11; Current book balance: $12,030.11 – Gary Westerfield reported that there are some outstanding checks. Income is being received for recertification of officials; a portion of which will be expensed to National for each official certified.

Bank balance includes a grant of $5,500 for race walking from the Simons Foundation. A donation of $450 has not been deposited yet.

Gary Westerfield presented a copy of the Financial Cash Flow for the period January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016.

Other smaller donations received through USATF memberships, earmarked for either National or Local Associations, can be obtained by logging into the “Associations Management” section of USATF. Currently, these amounts are combined with membership. It was suggested that Cici Hirsch send an email thanks for these donations. A draft of such correspondence will be presented at a future meeting.

Kevin Arloff requested that the Treasurer present an expense report at every Board meeting.

Currently, Alex Cuozzo, Cici Hirsch, and Sue Polansky have access to edit the USATF-LI database. Dennis Boyd, as the Grand Prix scorer, had “read only” capabilities.

Membership:593 Individuals have renewed for 2017 (approximately 2,100 at the end of 2016) and 29 Clubs/Organizations (702 at the end of 2016).

President’s Report:

Alex Cuozzo thanked Sheryl Hall for her years of dedication and service to the Board.

New officers, Vice President - Kevin Arloff and Secretary - Pamela Lee, were welcomed to the Board.

Guests Lori Mangual and Michael Frazier were introduced to the Board.

A USATF-LI Table of Organization that showed the officers and direct reports of committee chairs was distributed. January 31, 2017 is the deadline to set up legacy email accounts under gmail.com. Since there is only one account for Vice President, Rob Lemke will retain the email address for Master Chair and Kevin Arloff will have the address for Vice President. Pamela Lee will take over the address and password from the former Secretary.

The LITF.org web site has been eliminated.

With two junior championships in 2017, there is the opportunity to increase Association membership since 1,100 of the 2,100 members are youth.

Discussion/Business Items:

Old Business:

Harry Pennyhas improved movement in his legs ahead of schedule. He attended the New Year’s Eve clinic at St. Anthony’s.

Grievance Procedures: The grievance complaint has gone through the mediation process and will now proceed to the arbitration phase. Alex Cuozzo has written to the parties involved. There is a deadline of January 28, 2017 to respond.

An arbitration panel of three (at least one attorney and at least one athlete) has to be appointed by the Board and approved by the interested parties. Alex Cuozzo proposed Tracy Epstein, attorney, to preside as the chair. This is a pro bono position. A motion by Sue Polansky and second by Ron Nardo to accept Tracy Epstein was then approved by the Board. A motion by Sue Polansky and second by Kevin Arloff to accept Keith Guilfoyle, attorney, to be a member of the arbitration panel was approved by the Board. Another panel member and alternates are to be determined.

2017 LITF 18th Annual Awards Brunch: The brunch is scheduled for Sunday, February 12, 2017 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at the Hofstra University Club. Ronald Nardo and Robert Lemke will chair the event. A deposit has been sent to the facility. Costs have been maintained the same as last year and the admission fee will stay the same. Chairs should submit award candidates as soon as possible. The flyer and web site need to be updated.

Associations Workshop Reimbursement: Applicable individuals should send hotel and airfare receipts from the National Meeting in Orlando, FL last December to Alex Cuozzo.

Safe Sport Class and Background Checks: These events are required for all Board Members, Officials, and Coaches. A new company is providing the background checks for a two-year period. LITF will reimburse the $16 fee if receipts are sent to Gary Westerfield. It is recommended that background checks are done prior to completing the Safesport course.

New Business:

USATF President-elect, Vin Lananna, is planning a USATF Presidential Listening Tour and will be inNew York on Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 7:00 pm. Possible location is The Armory. David Watkins is the contact for this event which is to be co-hosted by USATF Long Island and New York Associations.

Committee Reports:

Standing Sport Committees:

Track & Field: Richard Degnan reported that indoor track meets are scheduled for January 15 in the evening at Suffolk Community College (SCC), February 4 Youth Championships and Open/Masters at SCC, and February 25 Open/Masters Championships at St. Anthony’s. The last meet will include a pole vault event and spikes will be allowed at this facility only. Youth relays are by invitation only. Interested parties should contact Sheryl Hall for the youth relays. Entry fees are $10/event for USATF-LI, $12 for USATF other than LI, $15 for others.

Richard Degnan reported that Governor Andrew Cuomo, under the Regional Economic Development Council initiative, has proposed opening an indoor facility in every region in New York State. Such a facility has been proposed in Westchester. We should encourage the USATF President to enlist in promoting this initiative on Long Island. Sue Polansky reported that the Town of Oyster Bay has been given 57 acres for community use and we would need only three acres for an indoor facility. A favorable parcel is located along Old Country Road in Plainview.

Richard Degnan reported that the New Year’s Eve clinic was attended by 38 youth of which 9 were state champions.

Richard Degnan proposed that the Junior Olympic Regional Meet scheduled for this summer be postponed until next summer when a suitable venue can be obtained. As an alternative, Long Island can switch with New York which is scheduled to host the event next year. Details can be worked out with Lauren Primerano, President of USATF New York, who desires a return of the former Empire Games to Randall’s Island.

LDR: Alex Cuozzo reported on the Grand Prix road schedule determined from applications submitted in December. There are some races that have not submitted applications. Sue Polansky reported that she had spoken to Massapequa race directors and the Park Mile and the Firecracker are scheduled for 2017.

Alex Cuozzo reported that Brendan Degan has completed the results of the Cross Country Grand Prix. In spite of prize money awarded for championships, open classes were not well-attended; masters categories were well-attended.

The next LDR meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 9.

Race Walking: Maryann Harvey and Gary Westerfield reported that the 30k Championship is scheduled for Sunday, October 22 at the Dennison Building in Hauppauge. There will be a one mile race walk during one of the indoor meets.

Mountain Ultra & Trail: No report.

Masters Athletics: Robert Lemke reported that he and Vicki Fox have posted event schedules on our web site and on Masters News. The regional representative for all eastern regions wants to know if there is any interest in weight throws events.

Youth Athletics: Sheryl Hall reported that three nominations have been received for Youth Athlete of the Year. Records have been received and updated by Cici Hirsch.

Para-Athletics: Fred Benlein reported that he had tried to contact the individual recommended by Vicky Fox. The goal is to get more para-athletes involved in more of our main stream track meets. There will not be any awards to para-athletes at the upcoming brunch.

Standing Administrative Committees:

Officials: George Erker reported that officials were contacted in December for the upcoming indoor meets. Attendance is favorable for the third meet. He has been fielding questions regarding Safesport and background checks.

Coaching Education: Michael Frazer will assume the responsibility for bridging the gap between high school coaches and USATF-LI. He plans to set up a page on the web site with links as to how to obtain a temporary NYS public coaching license if one is not currently a teacher. His plan is to encourage high school coaches to obtain a USATF Level 1 Coaching license and become more involved in USATF-LI.

Records: Alex Cuozzo reported that records for outside meets must be researched. Criteria must include that the meet be sanctioned, road races be certified, and age-group must be specific.

Outreach: Ronald Nardo will assume the responsibility for reviving the Outreach program. Elementary schools are interested in programs for April; CYO teams are looking for programs in May and June. Lori Mangual works with special needs students at Nassau BOCES in Wantagh which is interested in a track and field day in the spring. Sheryl Hall reported that there are intramural programs under “Kids Run LI.”

Public Relations & Nominating: Lori Mangual will assume the responsibility for this committee.

Budget & Finance: Report already provided earlier by Gary Westerfield.

Law & Legislation: Sue Polansky proposed that Kevin Arloff review the by-laws of USATF-LI. Any changes need to be brought to the Board’s attention for discussion by the June meeting in order to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting in September.

Membership: Sue Polansky chairs this committee. It was proposed that a club travel team, CYO-LI, be composed of individuals who participate at any Catholic school and run together for USATF events.

Sports Medicine: No report.

Next meeting: Monday, February 6, 2017.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:58 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Pamela Lee, Secretary, USATF-Long Island

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