|
Present were Executive Committee members Sarah Alger, Don Durant, Bruce Eissner, Louise Gleason, Fred Hagedorn, Tom Hubbell, Jim Muldoon, Dave Rosekrans, John Ross, and Mike Schoettle. Also present was Executive Director Nick Craw, and at the invitation of the President, the available new members of the 2003 Executive Committee. 1.
Minutes.
2. Site Selection. John Ross reported that the site selection committee discussed a number of possible cities, and Diane Walker, consultant, will be getting estimates on costs for various options. 3. Training. Jim Muldoon read the resolution for the establishment of a separate website for the Training Committee. This would involve transferring content of the site www.sailingusa to US SAILING ownership. It would result in a seamless link to the US SAILING website. SailingUSA has consistently outperformed the US SAILING site for interest and usability. The site currently does not offer commerce, and no items would be sold on the site until it is certain the site is secure. Jim Muldoon also briefly described “Brendan in a Box,” a program to help people teach children with learning differences how to sail. There are 2 million children with learning differences in the United States. Sailing with its cause and effect results is a great tool for teaching these children.
4.
Committees
5.
ISAF World Sailor of
the Year.
6.
Roundtable Discussions.
Mike Schoettle reported that a
summary of the roundtable discussions was distributed, and he recommended that
it be considered during the Executive Committee’s strategic planning process.
It was suggested that the roundtable discussions be institutionalized and
conducted every year at the AGM. 7.
Marketing Presentation. Jack Gierhart presented his recommendations on Marketing.
His research confirmed that there is limited awareness of what US SAILING
is and does. He segmented the membership into competitive sailors,
non-competitive sailors and sailing organizations.
He noted that the organization offers multiple benefits to competitive
sailors that are fairly visible. Benefits
for non-competitive sailors and organizations are less evident and need to be
better presented and promoted. Next steps are to develop key messages and images
that describe US SAILING and the benefits of membership, test them with each of
the three audiences, refine them, and then develop tools to apply them
consistently. He is now working to inventory US SAILING’s assets and develop
sponsorship packages. 8.
Enterprise System. Jim Tomlinson, a consultant hired by US SAILING, reviewed his
assessment of the credibility of xxxxx and the feasibility of implementing
xxxxx. He found that
xxxxx
is a credible vendor for US SAILING but recommended that US SAILING conduct a
technical assessment to assess in greater detail the costs that would be
associated with customizing and implementing xxxxx. He noted that while the
original estimate was for $53,000, the actual cost of implementing
xxxxx was
likely to be more than $300,000. He also commented that no matter how much
preparation is done, moving to a new system is always painful, but this is not a
reason to avoid implementing a new system.
Executive Committee discussion focused on the risks and benefits of
moving forward versus waiting until the organization is better positioned to
take on such a significant financial commitment.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Alger Next Executive Committee meeting – November 19, 2002, at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern standard time).
|