NEBRA Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, March 30, 2005

New England Bicycle Racing Association

Meeting Minutes 2005 #3

Date: March 12, 2005

Location: Diane Fortini’s Home, Hanson, MA

Present: Norm Collard (Via Phone)
Diane Fortini
Mark Hagen
Jonathan Lowenstein
Mark McCormack

Secretary’s Report:
1. Jon has received the signed contract from Mark McCormack for his rider diary. He has not received the contract from Anna Milkowski. Diane will contact Anna.

Treasurer’s Report:
1. Norm reported that he has generated a spreadsheet that outlines NEBRA’s budget for 2005. Norm will distribute it to the Board and Bill Black.
2. To date $7,270.00 has been brought in, and $8,663.00 has been spent in 2005.
3. Norm will make sure that bank statements are sent to Jon.
4. Norm will maintain the NEBRA Books and Records.
5. Norm clarified that sponsorship is considered a donation. Therefore, NEBRA does not have to pay taxes on money brought in as sponsorship. Money brought in for goods and services, such as for advertising, can be taxed after $1,000.00.

Grants:
1. Union Velo Club submitted a grant proposal for its Junior program. The Board agreed to give Union Velo Club $500.00 as a grant. Diane will contact Union Velo and send them a check.
2. Mark H. suggested that there should be guidelines for applying for grants. He will write proposed guidelines.

Membership:
1. Mark Hagen led a discussion about how to promote NEBRA membership. Mark H. will contact the state reps, and ask them to promote NEBRA memberships in their states. Mark H. will also update the NEBRA flyer and distribute it to the state reps and at races.

Old Business:
1. Norm submitted a draft version of the ad for a new NEBRA attorney. Norm will revise, and Mark H. will circulate the ad. The Board gave its comments on the ad. The ad should state the following:
A. The attorney will work pro-bono.
B. It is expected that the attorney will need to attend quarterly Board meetings.
C. The Attorney needs to be a MA attorney with corporate/ tax law experience.
2. There was a discussion about the webpage. Steve Roszko no longer has the time to maintain it as his life’s responsibilities have increased. As far as managing the website, Steve said" BikeReg.com would still be willing to donate the webserver space, email, and domain registration if we could find someone to manage it. The Board would like to thank Steve for all he has done. Todd Crisafulli has inquired about redesigning the webpage. Diane will contact him and work out the details.
3. Mike and Mark H. will continue to work on sponsorship for NEBRA.
4. Some final details concerning the Ranking System were worked out. Jon will incorporate them into the final contract with David Connery. Mark M. will incorporate them into an announcement for the Ranking System.
A. Club rankings are not limited to NEBRA member clubs. Any New England Club or rider will be ranked.
B. David Connery should coordinate the electronic format requirements with Pioneer Events for promoters to submit their results for Ranking System Races.
C. Stage races will be scored with each stage and the overall counting as individual events.
D. Cat. 5’s will not be ranked. It was agreed that we should encourage Cat.5’s to move up, and that ranking them would encourage them to stay Cat. 5’s.
E. Juniors will be ranked as follows in both men’s and women’s categories: 10-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18. Juniors results will be broken down into their age categories even when they race together. It will be David Connery’s responsibility to do this.
F. Jon will keep a list of issues to be discussed for implementation into the ’06 NEBRA Ranking System. Issues to date include a deadline for promoters to request inclusion into the Ranking System, and that events have all categories that are ranked.


New Business:
1. It was reported that Cindy Hinds is the new Vermont State NEBRA Rep. Diane will update the website and forward Cindy’s contact info to Jon. Jon will update the NEBRA Contact Sheet.
2. Mark H. will call Kitty Farago about selling ad space on the website. Mark H. would like to be kept up to speed with what is going on with web ads before space is actually sold.
3. There was a discussion about having a New England Regional Road Race, Criterium, and Time Trial. There already is a New England Criterium Championship Race in June, and potentially a Time Trial in May. There is no regional Road Race or Time Trial scheduled for this year. Mark M. thought it would be a good idea to put the request out this year. He thought that NEBRA should at least create the opportunity to have these events. If a promoter really wants to do it this year, amending the permit and changing the race schedule/ categories for their event would be worth the prestige of having their race be the New England Championship event. All agreed. Mark M. will write an announcement stating that there is no Road Race Championship for 2005.
4. Diane’s contract was discussed. All agreed that Diane is due a raise for all her efforts. Jon will contact Bill and Norm to find a way to give Diane a raise. Diane did not take part in this discussion.
5. Mark H. thought it was a good idea to establish a calendar for 2005 that set milestone dates for executing NEBRA activities. Mark will work on the calendar.
6. Mark H. will start to form a Banquet Committee for the 2006 Banquet.
7. The Board would like to give Joel Brown a bonus payment of $100.00 for doing such a fine job hosting the awards banquet. Diane will send Joel a check.
8. Diane will contact Kinnen Payson to remind her that she can request a reimbursement for leading the officials’ seminar.

Action Items:
All
1. Promote NEBRA.
A. Seek out opportunities to speak at cycling relating gathering such as club meetings, or at races.
B. Distribute the NEBRA flyer at races.
C. If you know of a club that is not a NEBRA member, ask someone in the club if they would like to sign up.


Bill Black
1. Review meeting minutes and draft resolutions.
2. Record resolutions.

Norm Collard
1. Distribute budget spreadsheet to the Board and Bill Black.
2. Norm will make sure that bank statements are sent to Jon.
3. Revise job description for new NEBRA attorney.

Diane Fortini
1. Notify Union Velo Club that their grant has been approved and send check.
2. Contact Todd Crisafulli about redesigning the web page.
3. Update the website to show Cindy Hinds as the VT State Rep.
4. Contact Anna Milkowski about the rider diary contract.
5. Send Joel a check for $100.00.
6. Contact Kinnen Payson to remind her that she can request a reimbursement for leading the officials’ seminar.
7. Forward Cindy Hinds’ contact information to Jon.

Mark Hagen
1. Circulate attorney ad.
2. Write guidelines for grant proposals.
3. Contact Kitty about ads on the website.
4. Develop NEBRA calendar for 2005.
5. Start to form a Banquet Committee.
6. Work with Mike to seek out sponsorship for NEBRA.

Jonathan Lowenstein
1. Write meeting minutes.
2. Finalize contract for Ranking System.
3. Contact Bill and Norm concerning Diane’s raise.
4. Keep a list of issues to be discussed for implementation into the ’06 NEBRA Ranking System. Issues to date include a deadline for promoters to request inclusion into the Ranking System, and that events have all categories that are ranked.
5. Update NEBRA Contact Sheet.

Mark McCormack
1. Write announcement for the Ranking System.
2. Write announcement stating the status of a New England Region Road Race.

Mike Norton
1. Work with Mark H. to seek out sponsorship for NEBRA.



Next Meeting:

June 11, 2005 at Jonathan Lowenstein’s house.





Recorded by: Jonathan Lowenstein

Copied to: Attendees
Mike Norton
State Reps.
File

photos by Jonathan McElvery, Jack Milton, and BikeReg.com