Minutes – PVS Excom Conference Call – January 15, 2008

The meeting was held by conference call. Those participating were Mary Beale, Dick Comerford, Bob Knopes, David Lerner, Bob and Jan Marx, Carolyn Maurer, Ruth Powers, Mike Strand, and David Warthen. (Dick was calling from Vail, Ruth from Snowmass.) The minutes of the November 27^th meeting were approved as corrected.

Dick Laeser had submitted the Treasurer’s Report electronically. He was unable to participate in the conference call. The current treasury balance is $13473.29 ($1793.62 in the checking account, $11,679.67 in the savings account).

David Warthen had distributed the “PVS Membership Records Report, 1-15-08” on-line. As he explained, there are currently 174 members including 13 Applicants and 4 Associates. There are 23 Absentee members. Twenty-seven individuals did not renew for the ’07-’09 dues period. There are 9 potential Applicants. David asked if we could provide any feedback about the current Applicants. Carolyn and Dave DeVilbiss will review the names and see who may need to increase their involvement to qualify for full membership in April. Bob and Jan will include the potential Applicants in TOOT mailings for the next three months.

David will be sending out an updated electronic PVS Roster to the membership on 2/1/08.

Instructions for Sign-in Packet: Carolyn asked for clarification on reimbursement practices for meeting expenses. “We were never told what the budget for meetings is supposed to be.” Ray reiterated that the budget is supposed to be $3 per person. Carolyn added, “I think it’s important to give people a clear idea of this”. Ray provided some background. Five years ago the club was running into problems with people having $600-$700 meetings. The club was going broke. So Excom set the budget to be the cost that people put in which was originally $2 and then increased to $3 – to cover the food. To that end Ray favors having the Instructions say, “The money collected is supposed to cover the costs of the meeting” rather than “The money collected is often sufficient to cover the meeting’s expenses”. Carolyn said that she had learned from Dick Laeser that “$3 a person is what you collect and anything over that up to $150 is okay”. It was pointed out that the number of people attending a meeting varied from month to month. Hosts need some latitude in budgeting with the knowledge that they will be reimbursed up to a certain amount. It was suggested that the Instructions include a reference to attendance figures. Carolyn felt that the number shouldn’t be so obscure to hosts. The information has been largely word of mouth. That said, it would still be difficult to provide anything more than a range in attendance.

It was suggested that the reference to the particulars of the December meeting be omitted from the Instructions. The information could be added at a later time.

David Warthen thanked Carolyn for taking responsibility for the Instruction /Meeting aspects of the Membership Committee.

Events and Meetings: Wisp Demo Day (January 24) is being organized by Patty Vagonis. The January 27^th monthly meeting has had a change in venue, host, and time. It will start at 1 pm rather that 2 pm at the home of Melissa Fitzgerald (rather that Dorian Janney) with Dottie Villers and Sally Finan as hosts (rather than Dorian Janney). The February 24^th meeting will indeed be held at Dorian Janney’s home and at 1 pm. These will be the club’s first weekend daytime monthly meetings. Ray will wait for feedback from the January meeting before deciding on the date and time for the March meeting. Ray has talked with Marilyn Clark about another Williamsburg event. Marilyn is checking with the others who have been involved. Also possible is a Segway Tour in Annapolis led by Barbara Leonhardt in April.

Ski Trip Status: There have been a couple of cancellations for the Snowmass trip (January 17-24). There are now 38 who are going, including the leaders. The Sun Valley trip (February 9-16) has 29 people signed up. The Balkans trip (March 2-13) has twelve.

Trip Evaluations: Mike has suggested that the ski trip evaluation forms this year carry the following paragraph “Excom is considering proposing an amendment to the By-Laws that would include Winter Sports’ applicants. Winter sports definition and qualifications will be determined by Excom on a case-by-case basis. Your Thoughts (circle one): Agree Neutral Disagree

Comments welcome on the reverse of this evaluation.”

He asked for feedback on this approach. A suggestion followed to make the wording more specific than “winter sports”. Ray pointed out that the club is already open to skiers and cross-country skiers. Carolyn wondered if the evaluation forms were the best way to solicit opinions. Mike explained that it was similar to conducting a straw poll. Mike said that he didn’t receive any feedback when he first introduced the concept in his President’s Letter in TOOT. Similarly when he presented the idea at a monthly meeting. Bob Marx pointed out that any measure that spreads the information is helpful. A query could also be run in TOOT. It was agreed that the more publicity about the proposal the better. It was suggested that the words “Snow Sports” be substituted for “Winter Sports” and that it be made clear that the term encompasses both snowboarding and snowshoeing.

PVS Helmet Stickers: The PVS decals have arrived. Although 250 were ordered, 500 were received (at no additional cost). The decals will be sold for $1 a piece. Ski trip leaders are encouraged to take some for their groups.

The next Excom meeting will be on February 26^th and will again be by conference call.

Minutes submitted by Mary Beale, Secretary

Meeting attendance figures provided by Carolyn subsequent to the conference call:

9/07 John and Dorie Waddick 24M, 1G, $72 collected

10/07 Cara and Robert Jablon 31M, 3G $114 collected

11/07 Ski Center 33M, 2A, 1G $111 collected

12/07 Sherri & Tom McKenna 46M, 2A, 3G $144 collected

1/08 Dottie Villers 21M, 1G $76 collected

(M=Member, A=Applicant, G=Guest)