Minutes – PVS Excom meeting – September 27. 2011

The meeting was held at the home of Bob and Cara Jablon. Present were Mary Beale, Melissa Fitzgerald, Cara Jablon, Dick Laeser, Jan Marx, Ray McKinley, Dick and Rosemary Schwartzbard, and Dave Warthen.

The minutes from the June 28^th meeting were accepted as modified (where it had read “Excom agreed “, it now reads “Excom discussed” the possibility that the deadline for TOOT….fall at least 2 days after the last Excom meeting.)

Dick submitted a corrected June Treasurer’s Report. (The ending balance was $11,887.28, instead of $12,013.28.) The September Treasurer’s Report reflects the influx of membership dues ($4430), reimbursement for repair of Betty Lawrence’s garage door opener that malfunctioned during Summerfest ($108), the Club’s annual registration fee to the Virginia Corporation Commission ($25), and various other expenditures. The ending balance was $15,556.07. Dick also filed an IRS 990-N form electronically on behalf of the Club (an e-return for tax exempt organizations earning less than $25,000).

Dave Warthen gave the Membership Report. The Club presently has 148 members. He has not heard from 12 individuals. If they choose not to renew, club membership will fall into the 130’s. Dave expressed concern that people might be discouraged from joining because of a perceived secrecy about the Club. Some of the content on the PVS website is not available to non members. TOOT for example is password protected. “I wonder how many people have joined the Club because of TOOT,” said Dick Schwartzbard. “I’m not sure it’s necessary to draw people into the Club by putting personal information on the website.” Rosemary noted that “one of the biggest complaints of Capital Golden Skiers (CGS) is that they can’t get into our TOOT”. “Maybe we should move the boundary,” said Dick Laeser. Dave Warthen suggested that PVS give CGS a User Name and password to use to access information on the PVS website. Cara proposed that PVS send CGS (specifically Don and Inga) the TOOT electronically. They or the CGS “distributor” could send it on to their membership. Excom concurred.

Events & Meetings:

October 1 – CGS lunch November 15 – monthly meeting (Ski Center)

October 2 – BRSC meeting December 13 – Excom (Jan Marx)

October 18 – monthly meeting (McKenna’s) December 20 – Holiday Party (TBD)

October 25 – Excom (Schwartzbard)

Ray reported that 3 people who had signed up for Oktoberfest did not attend. Hosts Louann and Bob Eadie ended up shy $20 as a result. They will be reimbursed. “We really need to make it clear to hosts that they can be reimbursed,” said Cara.

We’re having difficulty getting people to write up meetings,” said Cara. For a long period it was up to the TOOT editor to designate people to cover PVS events/meetings. However, two years ago Ellie (Thayer) took on the responsibility as one of her roles as Club vice president. Ray suggested that the responsibility continue to fall with the vice president (currently Jan Marx). No one was assigned to write up Oktoberfest but Nancy McKinley kindly volunteered when she learned that it had been overlooked.

At the June Excom meeting, Excom had discussed the possibility of making the deadline for getting material to Ellie (proof/content editor) fall at least 2 days after the Excom meeting. This was particularly sought by Ray who often learns information suitable for his “Knee” column while attending Excom meetings. Ellie’s deadline has customarily fallen 2 days before the deadline for submissions to the layout editor (currently Dave Warthen, Jan Marx, or Marvin Hass). Traditionally TOOT is sent out to the membership on the first of the month. Both Ellie and Dave Warthen would prefer to continue with the current time line. Ray made it clear that it was often a crunch for him and that he might not get his “Knee” column in without more flexibility.

Excom discussed making a Club donation in honor of long-time member Kirk Burns who passed away in August. Jan offered to contact Kirk’s wife to chat with her and ascertain whether the family had identified a charity for contributions.

Cara asked if the Club should encourage members to contribute food/drink/assistance to hosts of PVS meetings and events. Ray thought that people might pick their own helpers if they needed to. “It hasn’t been a problem,” Ray said. Historically individual PVS members have provided assistance on specific occasions (the annual meeting, All trips Party, and Summerfest to name a few).

There is room for improvement in combining events with CGS. Melissa mentioned that she had expressed interest in joining the regular bridge games organized by CGS. She has never heard back. Dave Warthen offered to put a notice in TOOT “Interested in playing bridge” to see if there are other enthusiasts in the PVS membership.

Submitted by Mary Beale, secretary