Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
February 21, 2014
Wyndham West, Indianapolis IN
Executive Director Jay Jackson called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:08pm. Those in attendance were: Region 00-Mike Whitesell; Region 01-Wayne Kopec & Bill Kopriva; Region 02-Don ‘Bear’ Hewitt & Brian ‘Beatle’ Bendel; Region 03-Rodney Walker; Region 04-Kay Hurst; Region 05-Troy Striegel; Region 06-Fred Spencer; Region 07-Ken Harris; Region 08-Greg Turner (arrived after commencement); Region 09-Mo Kintner; Region 10-Darla Abel; Region 11-Chuck Powell; Region 12-Dave Hawkins; Region 13-Paul ‘PD3’ Douglas III; AdComm-Gino Johnson, Rod Taylor, Bob Stoner & Dave ‘Frosty’ Frost; LINC-Mike Meyer; DIRT-Roy Garrett & Al Pivonka; Editor/Publisher Marc Falsetti; Operations Director Gary Williams; Secretary/Treasurer Tina McCormack; Registrar Edie Seiler; Membership Committee-Mike Seiler & Tom Finney; Event Security-Mike ‘Mongo’ Pottorff & Mike Clendenen (arrived after commencement); Guests-Rick Toy & Holly Bridgman.
ITEM 1: Jay gave a brief overview of why this event moved to the Wyndham, & asked the group to respect the rules of this facility.
ITEM 2: Gino reviewed the dashboard & highlights for November & December financials. Tina reminded the board that any sales tax collected by the regions is due to the state office along with the event report. She asked that deadlines be followed.
ITEM 3: With no questions regarding September/October financials, Tina requested a motion to approve.
(MOTION 1)
ITEM 4: Rod spoke of potential liability & the importance of & proper use of waivers. ABATE Legal Services recently revised our event waiver, which is their annual practice. Our updated waiver is available on our website; all previous versions of our waiver should be destroyed. Rod encouraged the board to contact him should they have questions regarding the waiver.
ITEM 5: Gary informed the group that the weather has negatively affected bingo attendance this winter; we’ve been closed for 2 nights, & saw miniscule attendance on several nights. However, dollar spent per player has increased.
We have been contacted by a law firm regarding an incident involving a player at Freedom Hall in June, 2013.
ABATE filed an insurance claim to cover building repairs after a sprinkler system pipe burst. Additionally, the roof is leaking in some locations. We plan to address the roof repairs this spring.
ITEM 6: Jay announced that Roy Garrett was recently honored by the American Motorcyclist Association as a “Friend of the AMA”.
Roy enlightened everyone on attendance at the Indianapolis Motorcycle Expo, which was held February 14-16. ABATE received a great deal of exposure there.
Per Jay, we are working on our legislative agenda for the 2015 session regarding off road vehicles (ORVs). One issue of concern is ORVs that do not have the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) registration sticker when riders arrive at recreational facilities. Currently the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) is the only venue to issue the sticker, but we’d like the availability of some sort of temporary registration or pass. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has published through an article in their publication that “hundreds are dying in ATV crashes on public roads”.
ITEM 7: Gary stated that participation at LCRP also has decreased due to the winter weather. Lawrence County Tourism named LCRP the 2014 Attraction of the Year. We are a very well respected member of the community.
There are some trees at LCRP that will need to be dropped before riding season. We have a GNCC race scheduled for the end of April, & the Miracle Trail Ride is the first of June. Rick Thompson & Mike Gibbs will be working to repair the perimeter road & establish a UTV trail.
ITEM 8: Jay has a couple of interactive displays almost completed for ABATE of Indiana’s Children’s Motorcycle Adventure (ACMA), but is still interested in craftsmen or artisans constructing some hands-on displays. One display we unveiled at the Expo is an old training motorcycle that Dennis Tyger painted with chalkboard paint, so it can be drawn on with chalk.
Jay then explained the intent for use of our family friendly logo for events.
ITEM 9: Rodney reviewed the Tiny Tots schedule. He distributed Tiny Tots sponsor forms. Rodney reminded the board that region director approval is needed to reserve Tiny Tots. The trailers require at least a ¾ ton truck to transport, & the trailers must be stored at a secure location.
ITEM 10: Jay announced that this year’s commencement event for Motorcycle Safety & Awareness Month will be held on Monument Circle on May 1st.
Jay reviewed the status of our rider ed training sites. We will not return to the Washington site, & we are looking for sites in Indianapolis & Lafayette.
We expect significant capital expenditures this year, in the form of classroom trailers & generators.
The Board of Directors discussed concerns with the proposed 2014 contract for AltMOST testing through the BMV.
ITEM 11: Marc brought the group up to date on the class registration process through our website. Anyone registering for a class will receive either a new membership or a renewed membership through ABATE of Indiana. Marc asked for volunteers to help us mail the influx of memberships.
Marc is posting legislative alerts on Face Book & Twitter in addition to our website.
ITEM 12: Jay brought to attention a recent story in the Wall Street Journal regarding concerns with scooters in Evansville, IN. He then updated the group on the progress of HB1343 & HB1080. Indiana’s current legislative session ends March 15.
ITEM 13: Jay talked about the recent passing of Donnie Miller & Big Mike Donaldson. Jay announced the live entertainment lineup for Boogie 2014. The group then discussed Boogie parking.
Kay announced this year’s Boogie meeting dinner will be western themed.
ITEM 14: Jay then revealed that tomorrow night’s entertainment will be Uncle Frosty’s biker movies.
Tina requested any corrections/additions to awards be forwarded to her no later than March 21.
ITEM 15: Bob enlightened the assembly on the topics of discussion during tonight’s Advisory Committee (AdComm) meeting, most of which have been addressed in this meeting. Topics were: capital expenditures for our rider ed program, building & equipment repairs at the Bargersville office; roof repairs at Freedom Hall; septic system update at LCRP.
Pursuant to a meeting with both the Indiana & Lawrence County Departments of Health, any free standing shower structures in the woods will need to be permanently removed.
ITEM 16: Mike S distributed updated membership numbers, & announced the results from the 2013 membership drive.
ITEM 17: Wayne revisited his idea to incorporate an MRF membership in our membership drive. Discussion followed. Marc will compose a procedure we would use to track these recruiters, & the group will discuss the idea during a later meeting.
ITEM 18: Bear forwarded to Jay information about an organization named Bikersincinc, which claims to be not for profit, & that they offer classes.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute will be involved with high visibility enforcement (HVE) programs. These are not checkpoints, but rather an attempt to change adverse behavior.
Jay informed the group that ABATE of Indiana will become more involved with off road racing.
ITEM 19: Mike Meyer announced results of our 2013 Tour Program.
ITEM 20: Meeting adjourned, 10:26pm.
(MOTION 2)
Respectfully submitted,
Tina McCormack
Secretary/Treasurer
The next scheduled BOD meeting is April 12 at the Bargersville annex.
MOTIONS
Motion 1: Dave motioned to accept September/October financials; Bear seconded. Region 08 had not yet arrived, all others voted yes. Motion carried.
Motion 2: Ken motioned to adjourn; all in favor, motion carried.
