Board of Directors Meetings

Board Meeting Minutes

April 8, 2003

Otis Atwell & Timberlake, 980 Forrest Ave

Previous BOD Meeting Minutes

Present:   Rod Carr, Steve Atwell, Ned Vadakin, Don McGilvery, Joe Thrift, Sally Sprafka, Linc Avery, and Glenn Hill

Meeting convened 7:00 p.m.

Minutes approved:  There were no minutes from the last meeting which was held in conjunction with the Spring banquet

Membership:  There were 24 transfers from Up'N Maine, only 5 of whom were in our region before Up'N Maine was started.  Only 3 or 4 show as non-renewals.  Glenn fielded a proposal to prepare a Welcome Aboard flier for these new members, and subsequently for all new members.  The flier would be an attractively presented introduction to DER describing who we are, with photos of key members (like Don), and an intro to some of our events.  A single sheet printed on both sides in full color.  That would precede their first issue of the newsletter, so new members could get a bit of a jump start on who we are and what we do.  We talked about pricing and printing...how much each would cost, whether to have them commercially printed or do a desk top publishing thing and print them on a color printer at Kinko's, but came to no conclusions.  We also discussed asking the dealership to give one to each purchaser of a new Porsche. 

Old Business:  

Review of banquet:  We spent about $2300 and deposited $1680, for a loss of just over $600.  We were a little short on the head count, and we ended up spending $120 on unused meals.  Not as bad as last year.  That was offset, however, by the good news that Henry brought not only a check  from Zone 1 for $1000, but another check for $1800 from the liquidation of the Up'N Maine treasury.  There were plusses and minuses.  The food was not as good as what we had last year at the Country Club, and some people's food was cold by the time they got it.  The room was a good size.  There were mixed reactions to speaker and his topic.  Some found it very interesting, others less so.  All in all the event can be considered a success.  Folks who attended seemed to have a good time.  On a related topic - - our treasury is in reasonably good shape at this point.  We don't have to worry about putting on events for which we charge moderate to large entry fees to try to make the bank account healthier.  And we need to understand that driver ed events don't make as much money as some think they do, or as they used to.  Tracks and other services are getting more and more expensive.

Upcoming events:    

Make-A-Wish event at NHIS in the fall:  Ned reported that MAW approved our putting on the event as a charity event for them.  He noted that there seems to be quite a bit of bureaucracy at MAW.  It is almost hard to get their permission for us to give them money.  We will match the gifts, and that will be our charitable event.  We haven't done one in a while.  We agreed on a two-step process.  First we agree to do a match, which we did.  Then, following the event we decide on the actual percentage we will match.  There may be a few kids from Maine who'll want to attend.

Zone 1 Presidents' meeting: Don and Glenn attended.  Henry Hoe gave a great PowerPoint presentation.  The Zone is doing well financially.  In addition to the $1000 rebates issues to all Zone 1 regions this spring (see above) there may be an additional rebate in the fall.  $1000 rebate from Zone will be used for instructor training.

Zone 1 Concours and Rally:   The biggest item for our region was that there is interest in having DER host the Zone 1 Concours and Rally in 2005.  We would need to provide a concours site and lodging, as well as volunteers to do such things as work rally checkpoints.  There is strong interest in using the Fort Williams Park as was done for the 1986 Parade.  There are people who worked on the 1986 Parade available to help with planning.  Rand may have a rally in a file somewhere.  So we do have the resources to do this, and there is time.  We talked about lodging possibilities (Black Point Inn -- may be too pricey, Inn By the Sea -- may be too small) and didn't come to any conclusions.  At the conclusion of the discussion we decided that we did want to host this event.  Don will convey our decision to Henry Hoe. 

Seat Belts: Seat belts for driver ed events was another major topic.  Tech inspections will be taking a closer look at harnesses, and may begin rejecting some that have been accepted in the past.  For instance, belts must be mounted so they go through the back of the seat, rather than going around it.  They must not be frayed at all.  There is a 25% stretch facto to most belts, so they cannot be mounted so far from the driver (e.g. in the rear hatch of a 928) that they would stretch enough in an accident to allow the driver to hit the steering wheel.  Harnesses can't be more than 10 years old.  Recommendation for the time being is that is your harnesses are not in complete compliance, wear your inertia reel over the harness, and you'll satisfy the requirement.

New map: A new map of Zone 1 regions has been drawn up.  DER is all of Maine.

Spring Fling:  Scheduled for Sunday April 27 (the Sunday after Easter).  Glenn has spoken with the dealership about it, and they are happy to host it.  We need to remember to follow up to be sure someone is there to open up.  Don will do that.  We will buy coffee and donuts.  We need to bring our banner (we now have a BIG 30-year banner), some decals, and some welcome handouts. 

Tour to the Balsams: There have been many e-mails back and forth.  Harry "Dutch" Dresser has done a lot of work to set this event up.  We are currently looking at Sunday, July 20.  We discussed further - - mostly housekeeping - - steps we need to take to make the event happen.  We need to promote it.  We need to submit an insurance form.  We need to have people register, and collect the meal fee, so we can give the resort a head count.  We need a blurb about the event from Dutch.  We should plan to collect a $5.00 per car entry fee for the club.  We agreed that we (the club) should do those things, given all of the up-front work Dutch has already done. This event will replace the Mid-Coast Ramble

Fall sports car show at Owl's Head.  This will be good to promote as a northern Maine event.  October 5 is the date

Bonny Eagle car show:  May 18 at Cumberland Fair Grounds

Ice Cream Run:  Same weekend, June 20, 2003

Past Events: 

Trip to tour the Scheherazade: Following the spring banquet one of our members offered to give a few DER'ers a tour of a magnificent sailboat being built at his boatyard in Boothbay Harbor. Several members attended, and there are some great pictures on the website.

Web Page review: Calendar has been updated and appears on web page.  Some need to be fixed.  E.G. Bonny Eagle car show will be at Cumberland Fair Grounds rather than at the school. 

Newsletter update: Ready for next issue.  Need to include Spring Fling, fliers for upcoming events, blurbs, and banquet photos. Newsletter will probably be mailed around April 21.  Still need Don's article (From the Prez)

 Other: 

Need to continue to update e-mail list.  Linc has entered quite a few addresses already.  Some will always bounce back due to SPAM filters.  Not our fault.  Not a lot we can do about that.  Don's article will ask folks to try to use electronic contacts, and to go to the website and update their personal information. 

We have new liability insurance.  Insurance forms need to be submitted 3 weeks in advance of the event.  Need to use a waiver form with red printing on in.  No more copies of copies of copies.  Steve will review the requirements. 

Portland Public Market:  Marketing director approached Glenn regarding his interest in sponsoring an antique car rally.  Glenn will follow up.

Next Meeting:      Tuesday,  May 6, 7:00 p.m., location DBA

Adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Sally Sprafka

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