Van Cortlandt Track Club Meeting Minutes 2022

VCTC General Meeting Minutes

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Meeting unofficially begins at approximately 11:00am with an announcement from Bette.

Unofficial Road Runner Updates by Bette, but more to come. – There’s really nothing. We didn’t vote on the points races yet because there was a mix-up at the last meeting on December 7^th.  The only other thing is that they set up club night for Thursday, February 2^nd.  Also, the other thing is regarding when registration will open up for some of the races.  Otherwise, they have done a good job about announcing some of the bigger races like the NYC Half  and the Brooklyn Half.  It is more about the points races right now. In other words, which races will qualify as points races.  

Official start to meeting is 11:04am.

This is a very important meeting as we will be voting on bylaws modifications.  We will also talk about the election process, the nomination process, and we will be nominating individuals.  Bette will talk about NYRR feedback and updates. David and Sean will talk about the Santa Run that will occur tomorrow. Mandi has announcements about a FunD race with respect to the timing device that the Timing Committee has researched and chosen for us to purchase to help time future races.

The bylaws as presented were created at the end of 2020 with a group of dedicated club members (Mandi, Rigo, and Steve).

Previously, the Board had the sole right to make modifications to bylaws.  That last Board figured it was too much power for one Board to have and created the modifications.  The bylaws were supposed to be voted on at the end of last year, but due to an oversight we never voted, so we are voting on them today. To rectify the situation, Rick has summarized the changes so that we can read them, and if necessary, Mandi and Steve will add to what has been presented.  After going over the changes, there will be one vote.  Either we all approve or not.  We will need a 2/3 majority vote from membership to approve the changes as opposed to having the board vote. If people are not comfortable voting in public, please send your vote to Rhashida in a private chat.

Mandi just wants to add that she had very little to do with the changes, and Rigo and Steve did the heavy lifting.

Below is a summary of the proposed changes to the original bylaws:

• Flexibility with modifying when membership dues can be changed and go into effect
• Flexibility to adjust the date of the annual meeting if deemed appropriate, rather than requiring the second Saturday 
• Flexibility to adjust the date of the monthly meeting if deemed appropriate, rather than requiring the second Saturday
• Remove nonessential wording
• Remove the restriction requiring two years before a former Board member can return to the Board
• Strike the requirement that specifically excepts the August Board from the otherwise monthly schedule.
• Modified text from “no fewer than three affirmative votes” to “no fewer than a majority of the entire Board”
• Strike the sentence “Each member of the Board of Directors shall automatically become an officer of the organization”, which is implied in the surrounding paragraph.
• Addition: If no eligible candidates run for the Board, the current Board may approve an ineligible member.
• Allow the Board to recognize an ad-hoc committee as an Executive Committee. (Important for Board eligibility)
• Addition: Allow Board of Directors the ability to waive the election (by unanimous consent) if there are not more candidates than open seats. (because it becomes unnecessary)
• Addition: If the notice isn’t perfect, a vote by members can maintain that the action or proceeding is still valid.

Question 1: Bette -You have given people plenty of advance notice, and I appreciate that.  If people who cannot attend the meeting want to vote on this, can they still vote?

Response 1: Steve-The way we wrote this is that it is for people who have attended the meeting.  Perhaps next year we will do a proxy vote.

Question 2: The question has to do with how we have to vote.  Right now it is not that difficult because there are 28-29 people on the Zoom. However, moving forward will there be a better way?

Response 2: Steve – Either we all vote anonymously or we all vote out loud. If the majority votes out loud, it would be easy to figure out who is voting anonymously.

Hannah Lipman is volunteering to attempt to create the poll. It is not working, so everyone will send their votes to Rhashida.  In the future, we will consider a poll or an electronic form. With respect to today’s vote, we have over 2/3 votes in favor of the modifications, and the bylaws will be approved as of 11:37am.

Now that we have voted on the bylaws, we will proceed with the nomination process.

The Board of Directors has five members that serve for 2-year terms.  This year three out of 5 of the terms will expires.  The five board roles are President, Vice President, Secretary, Vice Treasurer, and Treasurer. Once the terms are up for the members who are leaving, the Board of Directors decides who will assume which roles.  It is possible that a person can be re-voted into a position, but the Board of Directors decides the roles.  In other words, the positions are decided on as a Board. No one is running for a particular position.

Currently Rick Bloomer is President, the Vice President is Dave King, the Treasurer is Andrea Rafael,  John Lanning is Vice Treasurer, and Rhashida Hilliard is the Secretary.  At the end of this year, Rick’s, Andrea’s, and Rhashida’s terms all end.  They must enter the process again just like anyone else.  They must write a blurb/bio if they plan to run for the board again. 

There are guidelines which allow people to be a part of the Board.  Please refer to the bylaws. 

Pursuant to the current bylaws, those who served on the Timing Committee are eligible to run.

Here is a current list of nominees. You do not have to accept the nomination right now:

• Susan Adiletta
• Jean Marie Andrews
• Bobby Asher
• Rick Bloomer
• Sal Carretta
• Alessandro Casiraghi
• Scott Ceniza-Levine
• Gee Chamorin
• Bette Clark
• José Cooper
• Wendee Corsino
• Stephany Evans
• Rhashida Hilliard
• Kate Lyons
• Rigo Martinez
• Monika Maceszinkas
• Clelia Milan
• James Moloney
• Jennifer Mone
• Sean Moore
• Susan Moore
• Mandi Susman
• Beni Veraz

Nominations

1. Rhashida Hilliard – ACCEPTED
2. Andrea Rafael
3. Mandi Susman
4. José Cooper – DECLINED
5. Stephany Evans- DECLINED
6. Alessandro Casiraghi-
7. Jennifer Mone
8. Bobby Asher
9. Susan Moore – DECLINED
10. Sean Moore – DECLINED
11. Hannah Spratt
12. Bette Clark – NOT DECLINING/NOT ACCEPTING

We are closing the discussion for nominations at this meeting at 11:56am. Keep in mind that this is a list of people who were nominated.  Unless otherwise indicated, the individuals on this list have neither accepted nor declined to run for a position.

The Santa Run, which was organized by Sean Moore and Dave King, will occur at 11:00am- The group is meeting at 11am at the Tortoise and the Hare on Sunday, December 11^th. The distance will probably be about 5.5 miles.  The run will go up by the Aqueduct to the first bar stop and proceed to Yonkers for the second bar. The group run will end at the Tortoise and the Hare, which is the final bar hop stop. There will be cyclists and a driver.  There are roughly 42 people who are signed up and a few people who have not signed up but will run tomorrow.  We will be joined by Pints and Pavements, which is new for us as we have not had non-VCTC members join our group run.  There are 11 additional people from the Pints and Pavements group. Thank you to Sean, Dave, Jean Marie and Susan M for their contributions to organizing, reaching out to, and promoting this event. If anyone else contributed (JoAnn Pate), thank you to you as well.

NYRR updates and marathon feedback with Bette – There was a December Club Council Meeting on December 7^th. Ken, Gee, and Susan Adiletta joined the call.  The meeting was a little disjointed.  Usually, this is when the teams vote for teams points.  Usually a poll is distributed for the vote, but the logistics did not work out.  Therefore, the vote did not occur.  The vote will hopefully occur this upcoming week (December 13^th). Generally, there is a lot that goes into compiling the teams points.  There is a focus on various distances, various times of the year, and other logistics.  This generally happens over a discussion, but the lack of in-person discussions have made it more difficult to hash out these details. 

There will be updates regarding the opening of specific races.

With respect to the marathon, there were some issues with overcrowding, dangerously high temperatures, late buses, and ill-trained/a lack of volunteers. 

With respect to one of the Central Park races, there was interference from horse and carriage traffic.

Membership roster update with Susan A and John L– We are updating the Facebook, NYRR, and Strava accounts with the least amount of emphasis on the Strava account.  It is important that we clean up the NYRR account to avoid duplicate names. With respect to Facebook, we would like to limit the account to current paid members.  The clean-up process of the rolls will begin circa January 31^st to give people a chance to verify if they are a paid member or not. 
Bette would like to thank Steve S for keeping track of people who get unsubscribed from Aesop’s Bench, for example.  Bette and Steve are looking to correct that.

FunD Race with Mandi – The Timing Committee is here, so Mandi will defer to them to talk about the end result, but the club has decided to purchase a timing system, and we plan to have a FunD Run to help defray the cost of the system.  It will occur on the morning of New Year’s Eve (December 31^st), at about 10am or 11am.  If you are not able to make it to the race, you can still make a donation.  There will be a donation button as well as a sign up button.

An additional note is that the Board agreed to fund up to $3500 for the device, and we have an anonymous donor who has agreed to generously match up to $1500 of what we raise.  The rest of the funding will come from donations, of course.

Committee Updates

Athletic with Ken – We will be staying on the track until the end of the year.  We plan to move to the Fieldston hills during the first week of January until the first week of March, just shy of the Washington Heights 5K.  It has been a terrific year for the team, overall. Refer to Aesop’s for the full update. We have a few potential award nominees for the upcoming NYRR dinner.

Social Committee– We don’t have an official Social Committee. Club members suggest and/or organize social events such as tomorrow’s Santa Run, and people participate.  With respect to the Annual Awards Dinner, we are planning to have one this year but not in the winter.  We are looking to have the event in the spring.  Rhashida is working on securing a venue that will accommodate members comfortably and in a manner that will be conducive to facilitating socializing safely.

Clothing with Beni – No updates on clothing.  There are no requests for singlets. Perhaps we can explore purchasing jackets.  Prices have gone up.

There are no major changes to Squad Locker, but Susan M does check the virtual locker about once a month. Laura is working on Track Smith.  Everything depends on pricing and minimum orders in some cases.

Membership with John L –

Here is the membership report as of 12/9/22.  

New Members

• Domhnall Lynam (Single)
• Naomi Ncazean (Single)
• Cordell Schachter (Family)
• Jackie Kuhls (Family)
• Sara Allen (Family)
• Selma Raven (Family)
• Ess Guernah (Family)
• Adam Elsabahy (Family)

Membership Level

• Single: 111
• Kids Club: 8
• Senior/Veteran: 29
• Senior/Veteran Couple: 13
• Family: 90
• Lifetime: 11
• Lifetime Couple: 3
• Junior: 0

TOTAL:  267

Treasurer’s Report with Andrea- We are doing well financially.  See chart.  We do have expenses such as RCAA insurance, the timing committee, and other incidentals, but we are in a very good place with our financials.

In conclusion, thank you to all of the contributors and attendees.  We appreciate all of you. Happy holidays!

Meeting is adjourned at 12:39pm.

VCTC Leadership Board Minutes

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Meeting begins at 8:27pm

The agenda for tonight will focus mainly on preparation for our meeting. Particularly, bylaws and election. We were talking amongst ourselves about the bylaws vote. If the bylaws pass, there are people who will be eligible to be nominated  Once you leave the board, you have to wait two years before joining the board again.  We would like to remove that restriction.  The two people this would currently affect would be Bette and Jill as their terms just ended at the end of 2021/beginning of 2022.  If the bylaws pass, they would be eligible to be nominated. If they do not pass, they would not be eligible should they want to rejoin the Board. With respect to the Timing Committee, the bylaws say you need to be a part of an established Executive Committee in order to be an eligible nominee .  The Timing Committee not executive, it’s ad hoc.  If the Board approves an ad hoc committee to be treated as an Executive Committee, then the Timing Committee members would be eligible to be nominated.

Is a quorum required to pass a vote?  There is no mention of a quorum.  Thus, if three people are present and two vote for the bylaw change, it passes.

Also, a person must be a paid member in order to vote.  We need to verify if a person is a paid member by checking who is in the room against our list of paid members.

There is also a discussion about how we should conduct the votes.  Should the voting be anonymous or out loud? What will be the protocol? Perhaps a roll call type of vote versus an anonymous message to a particular Board member. We will have a particular time frame, that is a start and stop time when we accept the votes. Though the bylaws have been posted in Aesop’s Bench and on Facebook, we will go over the bylaws so that people know what they are voting on.  Once we have gone over the bylaws, we will proceed with the voting and then close the votes. The original intention was to vote on one proposal that applies to all of the modifications.  Thus, it is an all or nothing vote.

We are considering polling on Zoom or anything that will allow the process to be seamless.

Update on Membership list – Susan A. and John L. are ready to update the membership list. They will do Facebook and NY Road Runners simultaneously. Since Susan is an admin, she will be able to take care of that list.  With NYRR, they can be dropped off and added later. The main concerns are what to do with members who are not paid members as of 2020 versus people who have not paid within the past year or so.  The main idea is to come up with a timeframe regarding how long to give someone to manage their payments so that we can have an up-to-date list of members.  Likewise, we need to streamline the list of admins on Facebook or other platforms, and a central contact or person who is managing specific components of the clubs.

The nomination process is the last business topic – After we hopefully pass the bylaws (or not) at Saturday’s meeting, we will go over the list of current nominees and then take nominations during the meeting.  After we create the list of nominees, the people will be contacted and informed that they were nominated. It is possible to be nominated even if the individual is not present at the annual meeting. Once the nominees accept and create their bios, the link for voting will go out on January 9^th, 2023 and the elections will  close roughly around January 22^nd, 2023. The elections will get certified on January 25^th, 2023.

Housekeeping

Santa Run will take place on Sunday, December 11^th– Sean Moore and Dave King went to various venues today (Rambling House and Whistling Donkey). There are roughly 43 people signed up. We might have a waiver for non-members to protect them and us.

Meeting’s adjourned at 9:52pm

VCTC General Meeting Minutes

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Meeting begins at approximately 11:00am

Membership –  Bette suggests that we find a better way of notifying people of their membership.

There is a Thank you message from Wendee regarding the first-timers marathon party.  She suggests that the first-timers this year should consider donating to the subsequent year. Maybe we can have contributions to particular causes. Perhaps have a Turkey Trot and have people donate to that cause.

NYRR – December 7, 2022- NYRR club council meeting. They will discuss upcoming (points)races. Carolyn wondered why there was no 60K on the calendar. Likewise, it has not been for a while. At this time Timing Committee (Mandi) did a very nice job of identifying a timing device that would be beneficial to the club.  We would like to raise money for the device.  Perhaps it will be a 5K run or so, but the goal is to have a NYE run in the morning to run around the flats without numbers, no times, just to fundraise to cover the cost of the system. Perhaps we can call it a FunD run. The cost of the system is approximately between $6,500 and $7,000. The goal is to have multiple funding sources as we have an anonymous donor who will match up to $1500, if we raise $1,500. The club will then donate around $3,000. How can we have an ongoing donation effort?

Bylaws – Mandi, Rigo, and Steve helped to make changes to the bylaws.  One of those changes has to do with bypassing a whole election process if we only have one opening and one person interested in that opening. Another change, there was an additional clause to the bylaws. If you leave the board, you are not able to come back until 2 years later. This was struck because this does not serve us.  We are also seeking flexibility in our meeting times if necessary.  Currently we meet every second Thursday of the month for Leadership and every second Saturday for the general members.

Nominating and election prep – Our annual meeting is next month (December 10^th).  At that meeting we will start the nomination process.  We will also generate the list for nominating people. We put out a call, but no one is seeking to volunteer.  John and Dave will help to generate the list of possible nominees.  The election committee needs to come after the nomination process. We will need to recruit people.

How to increase volunteerism – How do we get our younger members to volunteer? Perhaps we can suggest that people need to contribute to the club in ways outside of just running though it is a running club J. Running might be their limited me-time. It’s a release. There are so many new clubs.

Committee Reports

• Athletic- Staying on track to EOY; Ronald Yan shout out for bringing lights on Tuesdays; One more points race on December 3^rd,  Ted Corbitt 15K. Standing – opening women = 10^th, B division open men 3^rd.  Abbott’s has a worldwide competition and they are putting together a race in Chicago for top marathon runners. It’s for the top 400. Susan Moore and Adil Filali are in the top 100 in their age-group. 
• Social – Santa/Holiday 5+ mile Run – Dave and Sean are putting on the run again  this year.  It looks to be A okay.  How can we tally the number of runners who will participate this year? Come dressed for the Santa/Holiday Run. CASH ONLY $20 beer/$10 for non-alcoholic beverages (soda). Sunday, December 11, run will start at 11:30am. The venues will include the following:

• Rambling House
• Whistling Donkey
• Tortoise and the Hare – there will be something to eat here.

• Clothing – A few people have been asking about different running gear options.  Laura is doing some behind the scenes work to see if there are any companies who have other gear. As far as inventory is concerned, Rick plans to release the gear he has been storing.
• Communications – Scott joined the Leadership Meeting, and Scott is considering a calendar of events and an update to our website, etc. 
• Membership Report

Here is the membership report as of 11/12/22:

New Members

• Daniel McNally (Senior/Veteran)
• Yana Berenek (Family)
• Mark Lucas (Family)
• Jaleen Rodriguez (Kids Club)
• Edwin Liriano (Single)
• Shanique Clarke (Single)
• Susanne Coghlin (Single)

Membership Level

• Single: 111
• Kids Club: 8
• Senior/Veteran: 30
• Senior/Veteran Couple: 13
• Family: 89
• Lifetime: 11
• Lifetime Couple: 3
• Junior: 0
• TOTAL:  265

Treasury Report

VCTC General Meeting Minutes

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Meeting begins at approximately 11:00am
Update about awards dinner (8:40pm) – On Sunday, September 25^th at 10am, Rhashida met with Althea, the contact person for event planning at the Van Cortlandt Lake House.  After going over some of the logistics of what renting out the space would entail coupled with VCTC’s needs, Althea determined that hosting our Awards Dinner could possibly run anywhere between $9,859 – $15,027, give or take a few hundred dollars.  The lower price is the cost of the venue with our own catering while the higher price is what it would cost if we opted for $55 plates. While some of the costs are negotiable, there are some non-negotiables.  Likewise, we understand that they usually host weddings and would prefer that we either commit at least three months in advance with a $500 deposit, or if we decide close to the date that we want to rent the space and it is available, we would have to put down a 50% deposit. We are still in the process of exploring venues mainly for a spring date but also for January.   We are still considering Dunwoodie and other less costly venues. 

NYC marathon
We need to know ASAP whether you would like a Coach bus to the start so that we can determine if we have enough people and make arrangements. If you have already replied, thank you.  No need to RSVP a second time. If not, please, please send an email to vctconline@gmail.com with subject “Bus to NYC marathon 2022” if you would like to get to the start on a VCTC bus or fill out this survey https://forms.gle/7xSMvYqdgbbFi25H7. Cost TBA but we anticipate $30-40 per person. For those living further north, there are buses  leaving from 3 locations in Westchester (arranged by our founding father Andy Kimerling, Westchester RR in White Plains). If interested, go to: https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/WhitePlains/WRRMarathonBus for details and payment.

Post-Marathon Party
Attention VCTC members and family, it’s almost that time of year! Time to celebrate and congratulate our 2022 first-time marathoners! Whether it’s the NYC Marathon or another marathon during 2022, let’s celebrate!
Date: Monday, November 7, 2022 
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Punch Bowl, at the corner of Broadway & 231st Street 
Everyone is welcome; more members means more high-fives and stories!
Donations towards paying for a drink for all the first-timers and the cake and pizza for all will be appreciated but optional. The main thing is: to show up and participate!

Revive discussion about committee to review our membership lists, such as NYRR, Facebook, etc. (8:54pm) – John L. will send out an email to Susan A. and Jean Marie.  He will send out an email to NYRR and start to clean up the account, especially of the people who have not paid within the past few years.  For Facebook, we will have categories of members such as those who are paid members and those who contribute to the club but are not members. Likewise, John L. will clean the Strava account.

Annual meeting in December – Will we have the meeting in-person or online? Was it at KSC the last time? It seems KSC was adequate to gather everyone who attended. Should we take a chance in having it in-person again? People have gone to events and still contracted COVID.  We would like to decide if Zoom is a better option vs an in-person event. Given the fact that we are still somewhat in a pandemic, we will most likely host the meeting online.

Timing system progress or lack thereof (9:06pm) – Steve sent out an email about getting people to attend a Timing Demo, but not many people have responded to this.  We are looking to see who might be interested before investing in a costly apparatus. Hopefully, we can soon generate interest in timing.  As it stands, we are having a tough time getting people interested in volunteering for events in general and timing in particularly.  Dave K. has a handheld timer that loses capacity when it rains, so a more sophisticated timing system would be beneficial.  The negative points are cost. Is it worth it if we are only going to have 50 people at each race.  These are things to consider.

Here is the membership report as of 10/6/22. 

New Members

• Lisa Kaplan (Family)
• Drew Kaplan (Family)
• Oliver Kaplan (Family)
• Mia Yashin (Single)
• Ivan Farkas (Senior/Veteran)
• Christina Carlson (Family)
• Mario Segura (Family)

Membership Level

• Single: 114
• Kids Club: 9
• Senior/Veteran: 29
• Senior/Veteran Couple: 13
• Family: 88
• Lifetime: 12
• Junior: 0

TOTAL:  265

Treasury Report as of October 6, 2022

VCTC General Meeting Minutes

Saturday, June 11, 2022

• Meeting begins at 10:00am w/Stephanie Ehrlich of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance (VCPA)
  
  
• Stephanie Ehrlich from VCPA (10-10:30am) – Please refer to the notes that were posted on Facebook. TBC/updated as needed.

Philharmonic reminder – On Tuesday, June 14^th at 8am, there will be a NY Philharmonic concert in the park. The event is free, and BYOB and chair.  However, by becoming a member of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance for $100, one VIP seat is included as a benefit.  For more information, refer to https://vancortlandt.org/event/ny-philharmonic-concert-in-vcp/

Presentation of donation to VCP Alliance – On behalf of the Van Cortlandt Track Club (VCTC), Stephany Evans presented a $3000 UEC proceeds donation to Stephanie Ehrlich of the VCP Alliance as a token of our gratitude to the Alliance and the park itself. 

Survey: meeting start time

Queens bus – We currently have approximately nineteen individuals signed up for the Queens bus to the Queens 10K race that is to take place on Saturday, June 18^th.  If you are interested in, please sign up at https://vctc.org/queens-10k-bus-signup/. We will need 25 people to sign up or else it will be canceled.  Please kindly make your decision by Wednesday, June 15^th.

NYRR updates – Bette was able to attend the last NYRR meeting and has a lot of information to share. Firstly, NYRR is in the process working on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.  They are currently working with schools by promoting healthy eating . Also, proxies are allowed to pick up bibs for runners who cannot pick up their own bibs. Just be sure to provide a copy of the person’s ID & proof of vaccination, and their NYRR number. With respect to lockers, the Run Center is beginning to allow people to use the lockers. There might be full use of the lockers by September 2022 pending our COVID rates. In connection with races, please sign up for points races early.  For the Team Champs Race (Sunday, July 31^st), there will be a gender neutral corral.

Masters race reminder – On July 24^th at FDR Park, there will be a 5K race. Coach Ken will be spearheading this mission, so feel free to reach out to him if you are a Master (aged 40 and above) and have interest in running this race.

Series updates – The last two races went well.  There were roughly 50 runners in each race. The next race is on June 16^th. Currently, the battery for the clock used to keep race times is out of commission.  We are hoping to have a clock in place by the next race. In the meantime, feel free to join the race or volunteer.

Bylaws reminder– Previously Rigo and Mandi worked on the bylaws, and one of the bylaw items was with respect to uncontested elections.  In other words, if there are two open spots and two candidates, we do not need to have a full voting process.  We will vote on this in December of 2022.

Cap on club donations – Aside for the UEC proceeds, we would like to consider putting a cap on donations outside of the club and reinvest in the club. For example, we can consider a $1,000 max in donations outside of UEC. This is something we would like to consider further.

Switch to Chase Bank – Previously we used CapOne Bank, but we are planning to switch to Chase Bank so that we can accept Venmo and increase our banking capabilities.  Rick has a follow up meeting with a banking representative.

Timing Committee update – The basic update is that the Timing Committee narrowed their options down to two systems: Race Results and Super Race Systems. Race Results has an all-in package for $5,400; Super Race Systems offers a mix of new and used equipment for about $3,000 and $4,300, respectively. The Timing Committee would like to come to a decision within the next couple of weeks.  At the same time, they are considering their priorities as the clock to capture time is not working.  Moreover, it will be necessary to have a dedicated few individuals who are willing to learn how to operate the system, which also means the timing system should be relative easy to operate and maintain.  Another consideration is how worthwhile the investment is, given that it also requires bibs with chips.  These are all considerations as the committee moves forward with a decision.  Lastly, we expect to have club members chime in on the decision-making process.

Athletic committee report – We will be in the back hills every Tuesday until late August according to Coach Ken. People seem to enjoy running back there because it is not as congested as the track.  Saturday training for the 5^th Avenue Mile will begin in late July. 

Roster Update committee report – John L., Jean Marie, and Susan A. have agreed all agreed to clean up our rosters and Facebook pages so that everything will be more streamlined with respect to one person having multiple accounts or non-VCTC members having access to accounts.

Clothing Committee report – We need more singlets and are working to placing those orders.  The issue has to do with getting the proper color and/or the proper design.  For the specific VCTC purple color, we use Sugoi. On the other hand, if we are not particular about the shade of purpose, we can use the Championship system.  There is also Susan M’s squadlocker system.  Overall, we need to take full inventory of what we have and determine what we need.

Social committee report, awards dinner – Rhashida is spearheading the Annual Awards Dinner celebration, which generally occurs in mid-January. With respect to the end of the Summer Series Celebration, we hope to have a pizza party and drinks, similar to last year’s celebration.

Communications committee report – N/A

Membership committee report

Here is the membership report as of 6/10/22. 

New Members

• Chris McGurren (Single)
• John McGurren (Senior/Veteran)
• Sarah Sanders (Single)
• Lacy Shelby (Single)
• Louis Norred (Single)
• Eli Cepeda (Single)

Membership Level

• Single: 126
• Kids Club: 12
• Senior/Veteran: 35
• Senior/Veteran Couple: 14
• Family: 91
• Lifetime: 12
• Junior: 2

TOTAL:  292

Treasurer’s report

Note: Volunteers for VCP. We would like to, perhaps, dedicate a day to volunteerism, and we hope we can gather as many club members as we can to participate.  Our goal is to help the park fulfill whatever they need help fulfilling.  We will put out a poll to determine people’s availability.

Meeting’s adjourned at 11:22am

VCTC General Meeting Minutes

• Saturday, May 14, 2022

Meeting begins at 10:30am

This is just a reminder that our in-person monthly meetings start at 10:30am at the stadium.  We can revisit the idea of starting earlier if necessary, but we have currently agreed to meeting at 10:30am when in-person and at 11:00am on Zoom when circumstances prevent us from congregating comfortably.

The Summer Series will kickoff this Thursday, May 19^th at 7pm.  James Moloney hopes that those who do not participate in the Summer Series will consider volunteering.  With respect to the Timing Committee, we will await their reports after the first two Summer Series races to investigate how to proceed with our discussion about a timing device and to see how the Summer Series has been going.

Marcus Harris, founder and executive director of the Marcus Harris Foundation, a Raleigh based nonprofit, has launched the 2022 Neighborhood Express 5K. The goal of the 5K fundraiser is to raise $100,000 to help eliminate food insecurity in Southeast Raleigh and beyond.  ‘Since the event is entirely virtual, you and your fellow club members can participate simply by walking, running, or jogging the distance in your own neighborhood, local park, or other convenient location. Also, special prizes will be given to the teams with the most participants, fastest times, those who raise the most funds, and more.

To learn more about the 5K, including detailed instructions on setting up your own race team, please visit the event’s official page: https://2022neighborfoodexpress5k.causevox.com’

If anyone is interested, Greg Diamond of the Taconic Road Runners has emailed information about the Queens Distance Masters Race at FDR Park. More information to come.

Wendee Corsino has a  suggestion for a 4X4 relay race for teams of people of mixed running abilities. This idea is to promote interaction between teammates of different running speeds while encouraging healthy competition and camaraderie.  For more information or to express interest in participating or promoting this idea, please reach out to Wendee Corsino at wendeecorsino@gmail.com

Brooklyn Half Bus– Bette has closed the bus reservations for the Brooklyn Half Bus.  As of now, we only have one bus available.  If anyone is interested in reserving a seat, they should email vctconline@gmail.com with Brooklyn Half Bus as the subject.  If there is enough of an interest between now and Tuesday, May 17^th, there could possibly be a second bus.  There is no guarantee that we will have a second bus, however. 

Additional announcements: On June 2, 2022 Time: TBD, the Parks Department and the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance will host a Zoom meeting to discuss park-related concerns.  Please be on the lookout for more information in Aesop’s Bench.

Could we mention who is allowed to participate in the Summer Series races so that there is clarity about whether vaccination status is a prerequisite or not?

Athletics Committee: Coach Ken will continue holding track practice for the next couple of weeks.  On May 31^st, Tuesday track workouts will move to the hills. Also, in preparation for the 5^th Avenue Mile, there will be Saturday track workouts in late June/early July.

Here is the membership report as of 5/13/22.

New Members

• Benjamin Eckhardt (Single)
• Elizabeth Lorch (Family)
• Kristine Ross (Family)
• Wynn Ross (Family)
• Bryant Sayles (Single)
• Sarah McGovern (Single)
• Sebastian Forrest Tinkler (Family)
• Krystle Harris (Single)
• Erick Majano (Family)
• Javier Medrano (Family)
• Sophie-Zacha Lameret (Single)
• Irving Dominguez (Single)
• Briana Guiney (Single)
• Adriane Truex (Single)
• Nancy Cornejo (Single)

Membership

Level

• Single: 128
• Kids Club: 14
• Senior/Veteran: 34
• Senior/Veteran Couple: 13
• Family: 90
• Lifetime: 12
• Junior: 3

TOTAL:  294

Treasury Report

Meeting is adjourned at 10:58am

VCTC Leadership Board Minutes

• Thursday, May 12, 2022

Meeting begins at 8:27pm

Board/Leadership and Monthly meetings:
Recall that I, Rick,  created a Zoom meeting for each. In the case of the monthly meeting, it’s just a backup in case of bad weather. We will need to stay aware of the forecast and be prepared to send the invite if needed.

Timing Committee and Summer Series Update: On June 9^th we will expect to hear updates re: attendance and runners at Summer Series and prospective timing devices. This should be the kicking off point for the end of the series social discussion as well.

Virtual team fundraising race:  If anyone is interested, the President of a Raleigh-based organization has launched a 5K Charity in Raleigh.  To learn more about the 5K, including detailed instructions on setting up your own race team, please visit the event’s official page: https://2022neighborfoodexpress5k.causevox.com’

Queens Distance Masters Race at FDR park: Greg Diamond of the Taconic Runners is promoting the Queens Distance Masters Race. It seems fun. If anyone is interested in promoting the race, please reach out.

Wendee Corsino has a suggestion for a  4X4 relay race. She will mention it at the monthly meeting. 

Meeting’s adjourned at 8:45pm

VCTC General Meeting Minutes

• Saturday, April 9, 2022

Meeting begins at 11:02am

UEC acknowledgements, donation, accounting, updates with Stephany & Andrea – From the runners’ perspectives, the race went well.  Individuals emailed Stephany saying how much they enjoyed the race.  There was a good turnout for a trail race, and 30 no-shows.  One of the main issues was with the timing. Likewise, the raffle did not get distributed though Deirdre and Jared, who were the first finishers from the Bronx, were able to get their prizes.  The remaining prizes will be sent to the recipients.  Overall, the race was a success both socially and financially.  The cost of the race was under $400.  The race made more than $5,000 including donations.  This means we will be able to donate a sizable amount to the parks. The full chart if below.

Brooklyn Half Bus with Bette – The Brooklyn Half bus is being set up right now. The plan is to have two buses leaving at staggered times to account for the different waves.  The departure times will be determined at a later date. In the meantime, Andrea has set up the payment, which is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.  The bus will be roundtrip, so people can leave items behind.

4 spots for Brooklyn Half  – Bette recently got word that VCTC can submit 4 names for Brooklyn Half. So far, 4 people have sent in requests.  Priority goes to needed spaces for club points.

Summer Series with James – The Summer Series is up and ready on RunSignUp.  Registrations are coming in.  Volunteers will be needed. Bette has been helpful in getting things going.

Mosaic 5K – On April 24^th at 2pm after the RBC 4-mile Race for Kids, Dick Conley will be hosting the 13^th Annual Mosaic 5K in Van Cortlandt Park. The race course entails running a loop of the flats and  a loop of the back hills. In the past Bette and Jill have been instrumental in helping things to run smoothly. There will be approximately 100-125 runners, and the proceeds from the race will go to Mosaic Mental Health.  Just to give a little background, Mosaic Mental Health is an organization that offers a range of affordable mental health programs to people of varying needs spanning infancy to old age.  More information about the organization can be found on its website.  If you would like information about the race, the link is here: https://mosaicmh.org/5k-2022/ 

Volunteer Form – In the next and subsequent editions of Aesop’s, there will be a link to a for volunteers: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejCDBMVV9LkV66HNNTSdf6eASo_2d9ni173TNjYvrziNcMlQ/viewform?usp=sf_link.  The form features each committee and allows you to select the committees you might be able to assist. Some committees might need assistance on an ongoing basis while others might need assistance for a one-off event.  Please be on the lookout for the link in Aesop’s.  Keep in mind that Dick Conley will need volunteers for the upcoming race on April 24^th while James Moloney will need volunteers for the duration of the Summer Series every other Thursday between May 19^th and August 11^th, 2022.

Awards Dinner – We plan to move forward with the Annual Awards Dinner and will solicit volunteers in due time.  We are looking to change venues.

Golf House Lockers with Bette & Andrea – The locker situation has been resolved.  The bill was paid off.  The main issue is that people need to make sure to keep the things in order.  One thing we might want to do is inform Beni when anything is removed from the lockers or moved around.

Committee reports

Athletic with Coach Ken – We will be on the track through April and May.  The Tuesday after Memorial Day, we will hit the hills until mid-August. Currently, we are on the track and have been lucky enough not to get “kicked off “by other groups though that might change soon.  With respect to the workouts, the next two track workouts will be geared towards the April 24^th 4-miler and the Brooklyn Half Marathon.

Timing with Stephany– For the last two meetings, Stephany had not been present.  However, during the meetings in which she was present, the committee had been in the process of talking to various entities to find out the pros and cons of their timing systems.  Though we will most likely not have a systems in place by the start of the Summer Series, the Timing Committee will continue to do its due diligence.

Clothing with Beni – The Clothing Committee intends on having a sales promotion as people have not been purchasing clothing.  Most likely there will be a clearance sale at one of our in-person meetings.

Social – Nothing  at present.

Membership with John in absentia and Jean Marie – Firstly, welcome to all of our new members. Below this message are the numbers and names of new members as they pertain to each membership type.  Something that Jean Marie has been doing is Ccing age group captains when a new member of a particular age group joins the club.  Also, there will be a Monthly Welcome Letter posted in Aesop’s.

Membership Level

• Donato Villalba (Single)
• Rachael Davis (Single)
• Debbie Richman (Family)
• Johanna Klausz (Family)
• Jesse Klausz (Family)
• Daniel Alhadeff (Single)
• Luke Mateo Haring (Family)
• Marsha Corchado (Family)

• Single: 116

• Kids Club: 16

• Senior/Veteran: 33

• Senior/Veteran Couple: 12

• Family: 80

• Lifetime: 12

• Junior: 3

• TOTAL:  272

Treasury

Meeting is adjourned at 10:58am

Last minute comments [11:41am]- Dick Conley would like to know about a place to donate old sneakers.  One place might be the Bronxville Running Company, which is now owned by Jack Rabbit.  We can consider asking people to bring their old shoes to the Summer Series or to practice. 

Meeting’s adjourned at 11:45am

VCTC Leadership Board Minutes

• Thursday, April 7, 2022

Meeting begins at 8:20pm

1. Buses for the Brooklyn Half [8:21pm] –  We will start with the buses.  It is a little over $1400, so we will probably want to give each driver about $100 in tips.  If we charge $25 per person, we will get $24.  We will need about 68 people to break even.  We can also charge members one price of $25 and non-members another price of $30.  We will need upward of 72 people to break even if we give the drivers $150 each for tip.  Also, if people use cash or a check, we do not get charged by PayPal. 
2. UEC Course Issues and Update [8:28pm] – Stephany organized a low cost race.  The expenses came up to approximately $380.  Below is a breakdown of the total expenses and net gain. We intend to donate $3,000 to the Parks and keep the remaining money for the club.

There will be a lessons learned share out on Saturday, April 9^th , but one lesson we can discuss now is that it would be nice to have an authority like the VCPA or the Parks Department give a walkthrough of the race and inform us of what we can and cannot do in terms of clearing trails, putting down flags, etc. before race day.  

3. Capital One – We will need new signatories, so that we can write and sign checks if other members are not present.  We will look into getting this done by April 14^th.

4. Awards Dinner [8:47pm] – We should find out who is willing to do it.  Are we going to have one? Will we subsidize it? Everything will depend on location. All depends on what we want to spend.  The Club will have to pay for awards, tip, and DJ.  Some ideas to consider are parking, a venue that can host up to 100 people, and a place that is in a fairly decent area.  Judging from previous Awards dinners, it is safe to say that this celebration is one of the club’s more costly events, costing upwards of $10,000 or slightly less, while the club subsidizes a little less than half or roughly 50%, at times.  We will keep previous Awards dinners in mind moving forward. The full details are TBD, but it seems we are going to proceed with having an Awards dinner in January of 2023, and we will subsidize it to some extent.

5. Volunteer Form – In order to solicit volunteers for various committees, a Volunteer Form was created: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejCDBMVV9LkV66HNNTSdf6eASo_2d9ni173TNjYvrziNcMlQ/viewform?usp=sf_link  Each committee is listed with contact people for those committees.  The contact people might also include people who do not lead the committee but who are involved and can answer particular questions if asked what volunteering for said committee might entail.  The plan is to make the form go live, possibly in the next edition Aesop’s Bench. Ultimately, we would like to generate interest having various members get involved in the club as they see fit.

6. Timing and Summer Series [9:10pm] – Previously, the club voted on having the late owners of Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, Betty Campbell-Adams and Lloyd Adams honored at our first Summer Series Race in June, but they were not mentioned in the description on RunSignUp. We will need to follow up with James and Bette regarding naming the first race after the Betty and Lloyd. With respect to a timing system, we will need to know the price, when we want to obtain this system, and how many dedicated people will be willing to assist with the timing.  For example, if we invest in an expensive system, we will need to have people who are willing to commit to learning the system. The system needs to be easy to use.  What are some of the other area clubs using? Also, if we are going to invest in an expensive system, we might want to consider increasing the race price. Perhaps we can solicit volunteers for the timing committee ASAP.

No other agenda items. Question: Was there a flag check on the second loop of the UEC?

Meeting’s adjourned at 9:33pm

VCTC General Meeting Minutes

• Saturday, March 12, 2022

Meeting begins at 11:06am

General housekeeping: Rick contacted Steve informing him that every issue of Aesop’s will have an announcement about the subsequent meeting so that people know when the meeting is.  There was also a request that the meeting notice should have a separate announcement. That will happen a week prior to the meeting. If anyone has a better option, you can always contact Rick or a member of the Board.

Bus & additional announcements [Bette] – 11:11am – Beni and Andrea are helping to capture everyone who has requested spots for the NYC Half Bus on March 20^th.  We are trying to avoid having people pay cash.  Currently there are 24 people signed up.  Also, Tomorrow, March 13^th, 2022 is Celebrate Life.  There are a few free entries. Hopefully the roads will be cleaned up to go. If anyone is interested, Bette will be driving and taking Beni, who will be volunteering.
RunSignUp {RSU} issues [Steve]- Bette sent an email to people re: their RSU memberships. Club members can send an email to membership@vctc.org or communications@vctc.org to receive Aesop’s if they have not been added to the list of people who receive VCTC correspondence.
Timing update [Steve] 11:15am- The Timing Committee is a group of VCTC members [Steve, Kate Lyons, Dave Cinto {spelling}, Rick, and Stephany] who meet weekly to decide how to time our races. Currently it is mainly done by hand, and the goal is to move to something much more electronic. If anyone has any helpful information or insight regarding timing devices or helpful suggestions, send an email to  racetiming@vctc.org
Member list or Roster committee [Rick] 11:19am – We will need someone or an ad hoc committee to clean up our Members list. We are planning to clean up our Facebook page, our NYRR list has duplicate names, and the Strava list that do not accurately reflect our membership. We would like to streamline all of the lists and keep things up-to-date. So far, Bette has offered to help with NYRR list which is largely a clean up of repeats, email corrections, etc. Anyone else who would like to help can reach out to John Lanning.  Moreover, Jean Marie obtained a list of about 50 members from John who did not make it to RunSignUp. Jean Marie contacted those people about renewing membership, and about 10% have thus far.  

UEC [Stephany] 11:26am – It is filling up. Stephany would still like to see more people signed up, and she has fliers to help spread the word.  There is still a need for more volunteers such as course marshals. Prizes for the top 3 male and top 3 female race participants. We currently have about 60 runners, and we are looking to reach 100 participants.
Summer Series update– There was a decision made by the Board to honor Bette and Lloyd at the first race. James Moloney can decide on the verbiage when promoting the Summer Series.

Any other subjects: Monique regarding clearing an invoice. It has been resolved
Committee reports

Clothing  [Beni or Bette] 11:36am – Beni has an idea to promote more sales. It has been a while since the last club picture.  There will be an announcement about a new club picture with the singlet. If people want to be in the picture, they can buy the singlet. Jean Marie has a bag of singlets and they all will be added to the inventory. Also, we can possibly have a jacket sale for the fall.  The sales can be announced in Aesop’s Bench.

Membership [John and Jean Marie] 11:41am-

Membership Level

• Single: 124
• Kids Club: 18
• Senior/Veteran: 33
• Senior/Veteran Couple: 12
• Family: 71
• Lifetime: 12
• Junior: 3

TOTAL:  273

The Social Committee seems to have dissolved into people promoting events that people who are interested in promoting particular events.  If there is anyone who has an idea, they can step forward.

Athletic [Ken or Bette]- 11:44am– Bette will speak on behalf of the Athletic Committee since Ken is not present. Continue to register for the various races as put up by NYRR.  With respect to picking up bibs for other teammates, it seems that you are able to do so as long as it is not a major race like the NYC Half. There are no proxies for big races.  NYRR is pretty clear on what the protocol is. What are the vaccine requirements moving forward? Have those changed? Currently, you must be vaccinated. Also, there is a question about senior pricing and awards.  Currently, for the award they are only listing the first two award winners and not the first three.  Overall, when NYRR makes changes they do not necessarily make an announcement about the changes beforehand. As far as Tuesday workouts, the track is still dark, so Bette will inquire about lights.  The Armory Races are coming upon us on March 18-20, 2022.

Treasury Report

Additional comments: RRCA, Zoom payment, and the Post Office Box have all been paid up. We are trying to decide on donating to our club and members as opposed to donating proceeds to outside events and activities. RunSignUp is easy for renewal and sign up, but it seems to be doing a good job.

Meeting’s adjourned at 11:58am

VCTC Leadership Board Minutes

• Thursday, March 10, 2022

Meeting begins at 8:20pm

1. The naming of the Summer Series moving forward – We previously voted on the race. James would like for us to name the race after Betty Adams.  Dave suggested that we consider naming a race after Lloyd because of his relationship to the club and even suggested we reach out to Dennis Burns. Dennis was enthusiastic about honoring Lloyd.  Bette Clark has expressed that the last 15 years of our relationship with Lloyd’s was with Betty Adams.  No one had proposed naming anything after Lloyd upon his passing.  The naming of the race preference is for May; the children voted on that as well. Lloyd’s Carrot Cake Summer Series. Connection to Lloyd’s was with Wanda. We will have to decide on the exact naming. This naming was after Betty’s death and not after Lloyd’s.  Not sure what it can hurt.  Accepting the children’s request to have the first race named after the mother. When we make decisions like this, we should announce them to the club.  
2. Protocol for buses for future races [now that things are opening up] – The buses seem to be working.  Who is collecting cash? Susan Adiletta has agreed to have the cash on the bus. Rick and John will be there.  Non-member vs member price.  A suggestion is to have non-members make a contribution to the club or the park.
3. The UEC Race and what is needed moving forward – vaccine situation; we were optimistically thinking with the changes with NYC we thought the decision would be easy.  At current we will keep the vaccine requirement.

Agenda

• Clothing, singlets in particular – John has noticed that our singlet is not a high quality singlet.  They do not fit well, and it has been said that that they do not fit well on people’s bodies.  It seems to take a while for the singlets to reach people’s hands once they become members.  Perhaps, in the interim we can consider a better quality singlet even if it costs a little more. We need to decide on something that makes economical sense.  Perhaps we can consider having the singlet on squad locker for members only.  Perhaps we can work with Bette and Beni to get a move on the obtaining more singlets. Another suggestion is to recruit someone to assist.  Overall, the issue is duofold: getting a better quality singlet and recruiting someone to assist with the clothing.

• Facebook members only group – This came up when Rick was Membership Director.  It was suggested that the Facebook members only group be for members.  However, it has been a bit of an issue with those who have experienced various life changes but have not reclaimed their membership. Give people a month to renew.  If you do not become a paid up member, we will discontinue the Facebook privileges. Our Facebook page, Strava Running Club, and NYRR pages need to be cleaned up. We might need to recruit someone/create a committee to assist with the cleanup. We can put out a call at the monthly meeting for an ad hoc committee.  

• RRCA account, insurance, races – The instructions in handling this were not as straightforward and clear, so a description would be nice. Andrea was able to get some things done, nonetheless.  What needs to happen is the uploading of the races.  RRCA provides our blanket insurance.  We have to inform them of our workouts. With races, we have to inform them of the races or they are not covered by our insurance.  A discussion in the near future would be who handles the uploading of the information. Race directors? Captains? Secretary? We will have to decide, but in the meantime, Rick will upload the information once he receives the login information from Andrea.

• Board discussion process preferences – Email chat then decision? Live discussions? When? Short meetings as needed?  How can we make the communications more effective? Rick prefers to have more regular meetings.  John does not really have a preference.  If it is not a Board email, it will be a Membership email.  Andrea: if it is a topic that requires an urgent response, put that in the subject. If not, then let it be until people have a chance to respond.

• UEC vaccination requirement reconsideration (or not)- Rick considered contacting Adrian but rethought it. At present, we have decided to keep the requirement.  No one has said anything.  We will see what people say. We can possibly say that we reserve the right to update the situation as needed. Runners and volunteers must be vaccinated.  People at registration shall be there to ask for proof of vaccination. We will need to decide on having an organized effort to make sure that we are checking everyone and everything.

Meeting’s adjourned at 9:58pm

VCTC General Meeting Minutes

• Saturday, February 12, 2022

Meeting begins at 11:07am

AGENDA

NYRR– Bette: Just a reminder that the open period for the Brooklyn Half is open until February 16^th. We probably will get team spots, but it’s not guaranteed.  Team Captains received the message.  Not much to report. There was a change to date of the Harlem 5K in August.  The first clubs points race is the Washington Heights 5K. Team Captains can be talked to.  Vaccine card for bibs. They did ask me [Rhashida] if I was picking up others’ numbers, but I was not.  It seems that it is allowed though according to James Moloney.  Steve’s understanding is that you need to show other people’s ID as well. Also, remember that lines can be very long for the bag check, so it is important for people to get there on time. They say 90 minutes for the bag check. We did get a few more spots for the NYC Half, but we don’t know if they got in.  NYRR and policy for extra spots- it seems the new policy is first-come, first serve. Do we plan to maintain that policy? It seems we will need to look it over because more recently we did not have too many points races to focus on, but we will need to consider age-groups and club points. A couple of the weeks after a points race opens up, we ask the Captains to check if their members have signed up.  It seems that this warrants a separate call with the Captains. 

Volunteer opportunity- Achilles International is looking for guides and coaches on Saturdays for their faster runners. They are looking for people who run 7 minutes a mile or faster. Bette will put the information in Aesop’s.

*It seems that the Zoom link was difficult for some people to find, so the suggestion is that an email with the link go out a day before the meeting in addition to having it be put front and center in Aesop’s Bench.

Race with Coach Ken– February 27^th 2-mile race loop at Tibbett’s Brook Park followed by Awards Ceremony.  A group met and voted on some awards to give out. There will be about 6-7 awards.  We plan to get the word out. Some people might be more familiar or comfortable with Van Cortlandt Park, but we would like to showcase other areas.  People plan to convene at the parking lot or gather by the swimming pool.

USATF– is sponsoring a Masters Race at the Armory March 18-20, 2022.  Louis Csak and Bobby Asher have looked into getting our club signed up for the race, but each individual will have to sign up themselves. There are multiple races, and we can decide how we would like to proceed.  The sign up might be considered expensive but it would be a nice way to get involved in these events.

UEC [11:32am] update with Stephany– The main update is that registration is open. We would like to encourage people to register and volunteer. If anyone has contact with other clubs or other groups, it might be a good idea to get the word out. We will also get Susan Moore to use her social media connections. Also JoAnn Pate might be able to get the word out. Stephany picked up some trash along McLean and will most likely clean up more before the race. We can reach out to people using flyers, etc. A note to our sponsors: Adrian, Lloyd’s, and possibly Ana Guerrero, and maybe someone else. We are not able to put a lot on the bibs.

Summer Series with James [11:41am]- It is on the website and the prices need to be determined.  We will probably stick with the prices that are similar to the non-COVID year. Jill will put in for the permits. The first race will be dedicated to Betty Adams and we will need to have someone to remind Betty Adams’s family about this opening race and dedication.  Also, Bobby reminded us about dedicating the last race to Fernando. 

NEW MEMBERS

• Jennifer Tyliszczak (Single)
• Kbhi Mitter (Single)
• Shellie Fizer (Single)
• Jennifer De Los Santos (Single)
• Brianna-Moom Edwards (Kids Club)
• Angelie Robles (Kids Club)

	Total
Single	117
Junior	3
Senior/Veteran	32
senior/veteran couple	12
Family	61
Lifetime	11
Kids Club	18
Total	255

REFER TO LEADERSHIP BOARD MINUTES FOR FURTHER UPDATES.
Secretary had to depart at 11:45am

VCTC Leadership Board Minutes

• Thursday, February 10, 2022

Meeting begins at 8:20pm

AGENDA

1. Certificates for Community Service Award [8:19 am start] We’re going to kick it off with Bette.  She has received copies of the Irving Ladimer Community Service Award to disperse to those individuals who have been integral to the cleaning of Van Cortlandt Park.
2. Call for Volunteers for Achilles Kids as guides for fast runners – Bette received an email from another club, and they are looking for guides who run 7 minute miles or faster since their younger runners are getting faster. It is a good opportunity for those individuals who would like to participate and be of service.
3. End of month race at Tibbett’s and Awards Ceremony [8:22pm with Ken]– In lieu of the annual dinner, last year we held an impromptu ceremony at Tibbett’s Brook Park.  We’re looking to do something similar at around 10am on February 27^th, which will involve a 2-mile loop run, an Awards Ceremony, and hot chocolate.  We will probably meet in the parking lot and take it from there. Previously, we did a 4-mile race.  The second planned race got iced out, so we only did one race at Tibbett’s Brook.  With respect to assistance, this race doesn’t need much in the way of volunteers, but we might need a couple of people to help out.  We plan to start by the gate and end by the swimming pool. 
4. USATF membership plus upcoming races in March [8:30pm] – This first came to Coach Ken’s attention via Caroline Cobb.  With the help of Louis Csak and Bobby Asher, Coach Ken was able to confirm our status as a member of USATF. We were able to get registered for the March event as a team.  There are several categories and the prices of the races vary depending on how many races you sign up for.  To participate, you must become a USATF member.
   Bobby– with respect to our USATF team membership, there are a couple of housekeeping items that are in the process of being cleaned up. These include but are not limited to updating the contact information and taking courses and seminars related to sports science and the safe sport training [protection of children, etc.]. These requirements are important for the administrators of the site.  Bobby is certified but it requires that at least one other individual get certified. Here’s a link to the SafeSport site: https://safesport.org/. Bobby recommends that all Board Members, Kids Club coaches and Captains go through this. It’s free and takes about 90 minutes. In addition to the March activities, there are various activities that we can become a part of in various states. Meanwhile, Coach Ken thought we could take advantage of the local event to see what it is like to participate. We’ll possibly do a blast on Aesop’s to generate interest.  Keep in mind that while the club is a member of USATF, people will have to become members individually if they want to participate in the events. The main point is to get exposure to other activities outside of what we might normally do [e.g., local races both big and small]. 

5. UEC progress, next steps, bibs order, etc – [8:46pm] Stephany: Thanks to Bette the RSU page is live, Jill has a design picked out for the bibs, and we will wait to see if Adrian will be a sponsor. Before Jill orders bibs, she needs to know the timing device we plan to use.  She is awaiting a call back from Marathon Printing.  A lot is taking place on the sidelines such as reaching out to particular volunteers from previous UEC races.  At this stage, what more should be done? Stephany has been on Twitter and the announcement has gone in Aesop’s. Susan Moore would like to know if we have a logo for the race before she puts anything on social media. Susan Adiletta will be helping as well.  Right now we just need to get the word out. With respect to the carrot cakes, we need to figure out if we will be purchasing muffins in addition to what is donated.  With respect to the course, Coach Ken and Dave King did not double up on the last loop. Lastly, the main focus is to get people registered. 
6. Next steps with timing committee [9:00pm] Steve Shernicoff, Kate Lyons, James Moloney, Renee Clementine [Rene Flores], and Stephany Evans – these are the individuals who have volunteered to be a part of the committee for timing.  Rick will reach out to them and perhaps they can convene as early as next week.
7. Summer Series [9:03pm] – Questions- Bobby would like to know if the final SS race being dedicated to Fernando. The  The first race is dedicated to Betty Adams. It is especially nice because the kickoff is close to her birthday.
8. Support for Mosaic 5K race April 24 [9:06pm] Dick Conley is going to be organizing the Mosaic 5K and would like to know if VCTC would be willing to sponsor. Likewise are there any individuals would be willing to volunteer? Currently we anticipate there being a NYRR points race on this day though Gee has noticed that NYRR’s site needs to be updated with other races.
9. Implementation of membership fee increase [9:10pm]– We plan to implement the fee increase that we had spoken about in previous meetings. John Lanning can make the fee increase change in RSU without any problems. We will give people a couple of weeks notice.
10. Proposal for CPR class [9:13pm] Wendee proposed getting people certified for CPR. Stephany had been asking about this and would be interested.  Bette said the Red Cross does something virtually.  Everything depends on the purpose of the course.
11. To-do list for transition to new Board [9:14pm]- This can be done online.

Last minute information- Call for volunteers from Rhashida.  Bette anticipates receiving spots for the Washington Heights 5K as it is sold out.  We will need to figure out how we will choose people who request spots.

Question for John L. related to team spots and captains.  It seems simple to generate a list of 20 year olds.  Is there a way to generate the members of each age group? John will possibly have to reach out to RSU to figure things out.

Meeting’s adjourned at 9:25pm

General Meetings

Saturday, January 8^th, 2022

Happy New Year!

Meeting begins at 11:07am

Rick begins the first General Meeting.  Let’s get started with Elections and Bylaws.

Election process {Mandi} – We will have a pro forma {carried out as a formality} election to welcome John Lanning and Dave King, our two nominees for the two open positions that Bette and Jill will be vacating.  We didn’t get the bylaws voted on last year as per the change made at the end of 2020, in which the members were to vote on the rest of the changes to the bylaws.  We’ll need to vote on the bylaws [Go to www.vctc.org Members section to read in detail] to negate the need for a formal election if there are two open positions with two candidates or three open positions and three candidates. Since we did not vote at the end of 2020, we will have a regular election and vote on the bylaws at the end of 2022.  Per the bylaws, the election will be open for two weeks, and the Board will change over in February 2022. The election will be posted on RunSignUp and people will be able to vote then.
Bylaws changes- According to the current bylaws, the elections will have to be open for two weeks.

Waivers – Ideally we would want participants to sign the waiver that is included in the weekly Aesop’s Bench before each practice that they attend to ensure for better contact tracing if the need arises.  At the very least, participants should sign up at least once in the week that they participate in the group practices/runs. When signing the waiver, it is important for participants to please include their name, email address, and phone number.

UEC/call for volunteers – Rhashida is working on a form to call on volunteers for various committees in general, but the Urban Environmental Challenge [UEC] will be included in that call. Stephany has a list of the previous volunteers that Kate D. will send. Stephany and James M. think it would be best to keep the positions vague for now and assign people on the day of the event because it is not always certain how many people will be needed for particular duties.  

Race Timing Committee [11:26am] – We are going to try to form a race timing committee. We will either use our own system similar to what we had already been using in the past, purchase a more sophisticated system, or hire a timing system.  Rick is anticipating the need for approximately 3-5 people for this committee. We understand that the UEC is the most immediate event, coming up in April, so what we do for the UEC might be different from what we will need for the Summer Series. With respect to the UEC, Stephany will be sending out a note to the Board to get some information related to pricing and the actual course distances before it goes on RunSignUp.  The information about the race cannot go up until these simple yet important details are determined. Stephany will be writing a blurb about the UEC using information that has been used in the past. James would like to put up information related to the Summer Series on RunSignUp as well.

NYRR updates – Today was the first race of the season, and now NYRR requires that everyone be vaccinated before running.  When you go to pick up your bib, you must show proof of vaccination along with a photo ID. There were no age group awards last year, but they did include them as of today.  It looks like things are going back to normal. With respect to VCTC, we have not required that people be vaccinated, but we are asking that people sign waivers before practices and most definitely before major events like the UEC and the Summer Series. 

Question from James: Who is responsible for updating our website? According to Bette, Steve was usually in charge of that, and Bette helped with the calendar.  Mandi: There’s a page on VCTC.org, and the page can get updated with the dates for upcoming events.
Committee reports – The Membership report is at the end of the minutes. John will be going through each member to make sure that everyone receives notification to claim their RunSignUp membership. On February 1^st the membership fees are going to go up by $5 per membership aside from the Lifetime membership.  Thus, the single will go up to $30/year, family will go up to $40/year, and the Kids’ Club will be $15/year.

The Treasury report is below.  We have been doing okay financially since people are signing up on RunSignUp, and the club isn’t absorbing the fee.  We will most likely invest in a VCTC Zoom account for approximately $150/year. Also the PO Box will be another $162/year.  Otherwise, we have not incurred any fees since we have not had our usual celebrations in the same way as we have had in the past.

Clothing– There is nothing to report about clothing. There are new members, but they have not contacted Beni just yet.  He is just awaiting requests for clothing from new members.  Rick does occasionally hear from people regarding singlets.  Perhaps people aren’t contacting Beni because they might be going to the website that Susan M. has set up

Communications: Bette has agreed to volunteer with Steve, but he said to hold off for now. 

There are no more agenda items. 

Welcome to our NEW MEMBERS as of January 8^th

• Vanessa Diez (Single)
• Deena Novick (Single)
• Dennis Yi Tenen (Family)
• Yoora Yi Tenen (Family)
• Daniel Hnatt (Single)

	Total
Single	116
Junior	3
Senior/Veteran	28
senior/veteran couple	24
Family	57
Lifetime	11
Kids Club	16
Total	255

Treasury Report

Meeting’s adjourned at 11:53am

VCTC Leadership Board Minutes

• Thursday, January 6, 2022

Meeting begins at 8:20pm

AGENDA

Tonight’s agenda will begin with Election progress with Mandi and Rigo. 

Election progress [Mandi]- I wanted Rigo to be a part of this because he raised his hand to be on the Election Committee, but he was also one of the main drivers for the changes to the bylaws. In the past it was that four Board members had to vote to make a particular amendment. The 2020 Board voted to change the previous bylaws.The way the bylaws are listed on the website, it mentions the proposed changes for 2020 and the rest of the bylaws. You can read the rest at www.vctc.org. Rigo’s version- If we cannot document that we want members to vote on the bylaws, we can vote on this with the new Board. In the meantime, we need to have an election.  We will set up a poll, and it will be open for two slots, and the vote will be open for two weeks. It will most likely go out before* Saturday’s meeting. *After at this time.

UEC and timing it [8:35pm]- Rick will relay Stephany’s message.  The trail seems to be in good shape at press time. It will need trash pick up near McLin. We will need to get the UEC up on RunSignUp. Jill can put in for a permit but will we need [more] bibs and a timing system. It seems RoadID doesn’t do freebies anymore. Who will help get the RunSignUp registration going? Bette was the main person, but she can help Stephany if necessary.  Regarding a timing system, Rick has something that will be similar to what was used previously. The worst case scenario, Rick will use the system he has used in the past before. In the near future, we will need to gather a committee to decide on the best timing system for our needs moving forward. We will send out a request for volunteers once we get a full description of what the responsibilities entail.

2022 meeting calendar – This will have to be discussed offline, but in the past we have met on the second Saturday of the month for the general meetings while the Leadership met that previous Thursday.

Email accounts access [8:43pm] – Talk to Steve about getting people the access that they need.

Interest (or not) by Jill or Bette with continuing outside of Board in 2022 (NYRR liaison, money collection, permits, etc)- [8:44pm] Bette: As I have already mentioned, I would like to continue as NYRR liaison and team “Ambassador.” I’d like to propose that as part of that role, that I act as Volunteer Coordinator, a position we once established, which involves communicating about and recruiting volunteers for races (helping RDs for our own races, communications about and recruiting volunteers for outside races, including NYRR but also other community races), and also volunteer opportunities for the Parks Department. I’ll also be joining the Communications Committee to assist with the newsletter. I’m happy to continue to assist Beni with clothing but I think it best if the new Board make a concerted effort to recruit new people to join Beni on the Clothing Committee. Jill: I will be helping with registration if needed; would like to be Andrea’s assistant and would be willing to volunteer wherever I can [e.g., put in for permits, assist with registration, and assist James with the Cross Country Series, etc.]

Creation of an Advisory Council [8:49pm] – Rick’s experience with this is when he was the President in the past, there were people who were not on the Board but wanted to contribute. There might be people who have institutional knowledge of the club and can be of assistance.  Adrian Hunt proposed the idea of the Advisory Council in the past. What does this look like? How many people? How do we select people? The possibilities are endless.

Other–

• Does VCTC want to set up a Zoom account? The least amount is $150.  We will need to set up an account using our one of the VCTC email addresses.  The account will be accessible to Board members with the password. Andrea will set up the account.
• With respect to our PO Box payment renewal, it can possibly be done online though Rick has agreed to take over from Steve.
• Some things that will come up are the RRCA memberships and updating the Board Members. Also the form for filling up the postcard for taxes is due soon. 

Membership– An email went out with a bad link. It was corrected and Rick renewed but later received an email that his membership expired.  The two systems [www.vctc.org and RunSignUp] are not in sync, but once the vctc.org account is disabled, hopefully things will be clear. John will reach out to RunSignUp. Related to membership, the 2021 Board agreed to raise the fees by $5 per membership minus the Lifetime Membership.  This is scheduled to go into effect in on February 1^st.  

Waivers have been enabled for weekly workouts. Ideally, participants will just need to sign up before each practice.  

Coach Ken’s update with the running [9:17pm]- Fieldston Hills started on Tuesday, January 4^th and will continue for about 8 weeks.  It’s supposed to be 17 degrees next Tuesday, January 11^th. Louis Csak and Bobby Asher have been working in conjunction with Coach Ken for the possibility of getting us involved in USATF events.  There are a few cool events to get involved in such as the Masters Races between March 18-20^th, 2022 at the Armory.  

Question: Do we want to do anything with Awarding for 2021?

Possibilities could include:

• Runner of the Year
• Best Race
• Most Improved

Question: Is there any way to get Sal Carreta’s email? Sal, be on the lookout for an email from a fellow Vannie.

Meeting’s adjourned at 9:33pm