Executive Committee Meeting

Thursday, March 22, 2001

7:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Adams Mark Hotel, Charlotte, NC

 

1.       Roll Call and Introduction of Guests. Executive Committee members Sarah Alger, Don Durant, Bruce Eissner, Ted Everingham, Louise van Voorhis Gleason, Fred Hagedorn, Stephen Jeffries, Linda Kessler, Dave Rosekrans, John Ross, Mike Schoettle, and Larry White were present. Charley Cook joined the meeting during the discussion of item 11. Also present were Executive Director Terry Harper and, at the invitation of the President, facilitator Larry Ledgerwood, and Budget chair Donna Hobbs.

2.       Approval of Minutes

·         Motion: a motion was seconded and approved to approve the February 20, 2001 minutes, previously distributed and as amended.

3.       Bylaws.  A proposed amendment to the bylaws, written and approved by the Bylaws Committee, was distributed. This fulfills the January 23, 2001 motion of the Executive Committee that appeals of Rule 69 decisions are to be handled by the Article 14 Review board only.

4.       Budget Report. Donna Hobbs distributed a revised budget that reflects the additional cost of the Rulebook and the revised Offshore budget. The revised budget reflects a 3% surplus. Summaries of US SAILING’s year-to-date revenues and expenses were distributed.  

5.       Budget Decisions

5a.   Directory for 2001 – A decision on production of a 2002 Directory was deferred until a recommendation can be made as part of a communications plan.

5b.   Training

·         Motion: A motion was seconded and approved to limit the deficit of the NSPS for 2002 to $15,000.

5c.   Junior Olympics

·         Motion: a motion was seconded and approved that the JOs are to be redesigned to reduce labor costs and increase the number of events and participation, and that this task is assigned to the new Youth Advisory Board, which should report recommendations at the fall meeting.

5d.   Offshore – Bruce Eissner reported that we require that 30% of the crew of category 1 and 0 boats be US SAILING safety certified. At the request of Bruce Eissner, Glenn McCarthy has developed a concept paper for a CD-based electronic US SAILING Safety-at-Sea certification program, which he will be presenting to Safety-at-Sea and Training.  

6.       President’s Remarks.  President Rosekrans asked Fred Hagedorn to review the Vacancies item that will be on Friday’s Board of Directors agenda. Fred Hagedorn noted that he will resign as the Youth Representative to the Board, and then will ask the board to nominate James Appel as the Youth Rep. A Youth Advisory Board will be named by President Rosekrans.

      President Rosekrans noted that Steve Leo disclosed that he will be doing business with US SAILING, providing medals for the US SAILING championships.

      US SAILING has applied for four grants from the US Coast Guard to support grassroots sailing initiatives.

      Mike Schoettle is designated as the spokesperson for electronic news for US SAILING for the month of April.  

7.       Treasurer’s Report.  Stephen Jeffries distributed a Treasurer’s Report that included the Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2000, Balance Sheet Comparison, YTD Revenue and Expenses, a Balance Sheet for January, End of Year Audited Balance Sheet.

8.       Executive Director’s Report.  Terry Harper reported that individual membership renewals are progressing well. President’s Club memberships have increased. Sailing organization memberships, however, have dropped significantly. A letter reminding people that the West Marine coupon was soon to expire resulted in a spike in membership renewals. Also distributed was a chart showing month-by-month Membership Acquisitions and Renewals, FY99-FY2001. In addition, to date $65,000 has been received for years 2002 and 2003 due to multi-year membership renewals. The letter to members asking them to renew was rewritten and signed by two Olympic athletes, and it drew a significantly increased response compared to last year.

9.       NGB Web-site Collaborative.  A report on this project was distributed, and Mike Schoettle noted that this project could prove to be helpful to US SAILING, three individuals are looking at it, but to date, insufficient information is available to make a decision. Further discussion was tabled until Sunday’s meeting. It was noted that US SAILING needs to register domain names, and a report was requested for next month’s meeting.

10.   Census Report.  USOC, through the Ted Stevens Act, must provide a report on women, minorities and disabled athletes in all Olympic sports. Most of this data is not tracked by US SAILING.  Sailing World is doing a survey that will include some questions regarding demographics. However, we may need to begin collecting this information from our members in the future.

11.   Compliance.  The Compliance Questionnaire regarding athlete representation was submitted to USOC and its receipt acknowledged.

      USOC will be meeting in April and may have additional revisions to the athlete representation requirements. Following this USOC meeting, revisions to the US SAILING bylaws will be reviewed by the Bylaws Committee. They then will be distributed to the Board for review and approval by mail.  

12.   Junior Data Base.  The training program intends to collect information on Junior instructors and program directors. The purpose of the database would be to market the National Sailing Program Symposium, instructor training programs. It was noted that any survey of clubs by or for US SAILING must request complete contact information. Funding must come out of the existing budget, unless someone else fully funds the project, US SAILING selects the individuals or firm to do the surveying, and the ownership rights remain with US SAILING.  

13.   ISAF Mid-year Meeting.  Charley Cook noted that a request was submitted by the International Soling Class, among others, to reopen the list of equipment for the Olympics. US SAILING voted not to reopen the list, as a change at this stage would be detrimental to sailors who already are preparing for the Olympics.

14.   Compliance with RRS and ORC Regulations.  Marion-to-Bermuda Race is a biennial race organized by the Marion-Bermuda association. This is a category 1 offshore race. US SAILING was contacted at an earlier date regarding safety training. It was suggested that Safety-at-Sea contact them and offer their assistance in ensuring that they meet US SAILING safety certification requirements.

15.   Sanctioning of Events.  President Rosekrans proposed that a working party be established to explore sanctioning policies.

16.   Athlete’s Rights.  A need was noted to be proactive on this issue and draft a document that describes athlete’s right to compete.

17.   West Marine Contract.  Terry Harper distributed a copy of the draft contract with revisions. Some additional revisions were suggested. Further discussion was deferred until Sunday pending ExCom review. 

18.   Government Relations Liaisons

·         Motion: A motion was made, seconded and approved that the liaisons to government organizations shall report to the Vice President, Government Liaisons. This does not include liaisons to industrial organizations such as Sail America.

18.   Article 14 and RRS 69 Issues. A report was distributed previously.  

19.   Executive Session (Executive Committee members only)

 The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 pm

Next Executive Committee meeting - Sunday, March 25, 2001 at 7:00 am