ABATE of Indiana - Board Meeting Minutes 2016-08

Executive Director Jay Jackson opened the meeting at 12:11pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Those in attendance were: Region 00-Teresa & Ray Bodle, & Pam McCoy; Region 01-Wayne Kopec; Region 02-Don ‘Bear’ & Jude Hewitt; Region 03-Scott Bowman; Region 04-Jan Johns; Region 05-Tony Brummett; Region 06 previously notified he would be absent; Region 07-Kenny Harris, Ernie & Janet Davidson, & Andru Harris; Region 08-Mike Jeffers; Region 09-Mo Kintner; Region 10-Darla Abel; Region 11- Ken ‘KFC’ Casey & Zach Bird; Region 12-Dave Hawkins; Region 13-Paul ‘PD3’ Douglas & Aaron Meyer; AdComm- Gino Johnson & Bob Stoner; LINC-Mike Meyer; MRF State Rep-Roberta Meyer; Tiny Tots-Rodney Walker; Marketing-Mike Seiler; Operations Director LCRP-Rayce Guthrie; Secretary/Treasurer Tina McCormack; Administrative Assistant Dana Surd; Guest-Jim Surd.

ITEM 1: With no questions or discussion regarding March/April financials, Tina requested a motion to approve.

MOTION1

Tina & Gino then reviewed financials for May/June. Tina referred the directors to the Financial Highlights provided each month for any out of the ordinary income/expense. She updated the group on the status of payments received from the BMV. She also explained that the number of active members appear to contradict the trend in membership income on the dashboard because of churn, or the number of members not renewing. Marc & Tina will continue to monitor membership churn and the feasibility of reporting those numbers.

Tina reminded regions to submit treasurer reports & bank statements, & to make sure they use our mailing address & not our physical address for the state office.

ITEM 2: Jay welcomed the directors to Freedom Hall, & introduced the Building Manager, Elizabeth ‘Izzy’ Hanes. Izzy is also the Site Administrator & Coordinator of our Fort Wayne rider ed site.

Jay explained the issues we have with the roof. Izzy obtained quotes for a metal roof, which should be longer lasting than our current shingle roof. Estimates range from $56,000 - $86,000. More recommendations and quotes will be forthcoming in the near future.

ITEM 3: Rayce invited the group to give him input on the condition of LCRP, & any recommended improvements. The recent heavy rainfall has some roads washed out & debris strewn about the property.

While DNR does not require users of UTVs or side-by-sides with roll cages & seat belts to wear helmets, all of LCRP’s signs state helmet use is required for all riders. LCRP doesn’t have designated trails for UTVs & doesn’t see many UTV patrons, but that group of riders is growing. Suggestion is to maintain the current policy, & evaluate it periodically.

DNR currently offers an annual riding pass for $75 at Interlake & Redbird State Recreation Areas. Rayce would like to offer the same at LCRP for adult riders, & offered his opposition to a family pass. The LCRP Committee will be making those decisions. The committee will also create a gift card, or day pass. Rayce invites dealers to visit the property.

Rayce intends to post no hunting signage & more directional signage depicting the entrance gate.

Wayne inquired about state required registration of off road vehicles. LCRP will distribute the registration forms & encourage registration but is not enforcement. Mo asked if waivers are required to visit the Memorial; they are not.

ITEM 4: Rayce updated everyone of our DBS schedule. We are seeing increased interest in Dirt Bike School.

The Indiana Trails Advisory Board (ITAB) will visit LCRP on 9/1. They will tour the property & take part in a shortened version of the DBS.

ITEM 5: Mike Meyer reminded the group that Indiana’s Republican gubernatorial candidate has changed from current Governor & Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence, to current Lt Governor Eric Holcomb. John Gregg is the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

Mike spoke on our currently held Ride with the Governor, in which Governor Pence participated. It was interesting to have the Secret Service involved. Mike added that our November elections will be historical. Jay followed up on our relationships with each of the gubernatorial candidates, & having the Secret Service attend our event. Our Ride with the Governor gained national media attention this year. ABATE of Indiana cannot & will not endorse any candidate, but we can publicize our relationship with motorcycle friendly legislators.

We are working with off highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts & legislators to develop legislation pertaining to OHV use. We can expect to see a helmet bill this year for OHV users that are minors. Jay will share the language of the bill with the board when he receives it.

ITEM 6: Jay expressed appreciation for the board’s support in him being elected to the Executive Committee of the State Motorcycle Safety Administrators (SMSA).

Additional discussion regarding MSD will follow during the Executive Session after this meeting.

ITEM 7: Marc Falsetti briefly addressed the board while present to troubleshoot internet problems. He spoke on how negative comments on social media can affect the public’s & members’ perception of the organization. Marc asked the directors to review any social media sites they administer & respond appropriately to comments & questions. He added that we have received many positive comments about Boogie from new attendees.

ITEM 8: Jay explained that this year’s Boogie financials are not finalized yet, & have not been reviewed by Gino. He agreed with Marc’s comments that the Boogie is a great event & fantastic value for the cost to attend. We are not alone in declining volunteer & member involvement in events & meetings.

Boogie will be discussed in more detail at our October meeting. Some topics to be discussed will include: a one day pass; public vs private event; golf carts; expenses; internet promotions. Additional discussion today included handicap VIP section, walkways, vendors, & replacement of the current will call/credit card trailer, field for events.

Tony Brummett recognized Rayce Guthrie & Rick Thompson for their work during Boogie; the directors voiced their appreciation for both Rayce & Rick.

ITEM 9: Rodney Walker reviewed Tiny Tots & procedures for returning the trailers organized & supplies replenished. We need to keep the kids’ safety our priority. Nothing less than a ¾ helmet is allowed for children. Rodney requested that if a region needs to cancel Tiny Tots, please give him at least 2-3 days’ notice so he can redirect the trailer to a county/region that may want to utilize it. A region gave less than a 1 day notice to cancel this past weekend & 3 other counties could’ve taken it if he’d had enough notice.

ITEM 10: Bob Stoner initiated discussion regarding revisions to our by-laws. After discussion, the board read the 1^st & 2^nd reading of revised by-laws:

ARTICLE 7

Duties of the Advisory Committee

Review the financial statements monthly and report on these to the Board.
Review the projected budget for the year, and report on this to the Board.
Review and recommend changes to the Board concerning ABATE properties, goals, and programs; research new programs.
Review and recommend salary and benefits for: Executive Director, Safety Director, Operations Director, and Editor.
Review and recommend applicants for positions of Executive Director, Safety Director and Editor.
Perform the duties of the Operations Director in the absence of the Operations Director at the direction of the Executive Director and/or the Executive Board.

ARTICLE 8

Election Procedures

A General Guidelines:

All Regional and County elections are to be completed by October 31^st.
Each region is to have their election procedure on file at the state office and is to follow said procedure in accordance with ABATE of Indiana state policy.
No voting by absentee ballot will be allowed.
Individuals signing up as members at the election meeting, or holding ‘guest’ cards cannot accept nomination, nor do they have voting or nominating privileges.

B Terms of Office:

Term of all offices is January 1 through December 31.
All ABATE property and membership material will be turned over to new officers by January 15; this includes treasurer reports and necessary documents for transfer of region checking account.

C Eligibility for Nomination and Voting:

An individual may vote, or accept an officer candidate nomination, only in the region and/or county listed on their current active membership.

D Officer Candidate Requirements:

Must be present to accept nomination; should be present at election meeting.
Must be a registered voter, and show appropriate proof at time of nomination.
Before a candidate for Region Director can assume the office, he/she must have a minimum of one (1) year experience as an ABATE of Indiana officer.

E Officer Requirements:

All officers are required to attend their scheduled region/county officer training; attendance at the Fall Seminar is expected.
All elected or appointed officers must sign an agreement form; failure to do so restricts them from holding the office regardless of election results.
All newly elected officers are expected to read and understand the ABATE of Indiana Constitution and Bylaws (available at abateonline.org) before signing agreement and taking office.

Tina asked that the regions date & sign their election procedures that are to be filed at the state office.

Bob disclosed that the topics of discussion at the earlier AdComm meeting have already been discussed in this meeting. Among those topics was signage at LCRP & membership numbers.

ITEM 11: Mike Seiler distributed the current active membership count.

ITEM 12: Jay requested a motion to formalize the intended purchase of radios that was discussed electronically with the board.

MOTION 2

Jay reviewed the schedule for Motorcycles on Meridian (MOM) 8/27.

Pam McCoy asked for regions & counties to work in partnership while recruiting members.

Jay added that we need to be able to identify members geographically rather than only where their membership is listed, & he will work with Marc on this.

ITEM 13: Tina set mid-September as the deadline for submission of ABC State Charity reports & funds (Region 0’s event is 9/17, so she asked Teresa to submit their reports & funds the week following the event).

Tina then asked that Workers’ Party invitation lists be submitted no later than 9/9. Procedure is that the state office will print invitations & forward those to the directors for distribution. If any region wishes the state office to mail the invitations, the director needs to supply that request with their list.

Jay reminded the board that their sanctioned events lists are due no later than the October BOD meeting.

Jay then asked the board to make a motion for this year’s donation to MRF.

MOTION 3

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors adjourned, & the board went into Executive Session at 3:17pm.

MOTION 4

Respectfully submitted,

Tina McCormack

Secretary/Treasurer

The next scheduled Board of Directors meeting is October 8 at LCRP.

MOTIONS

Motion 1: Jan Johns motioned to approve March/April financials, Don Hewitt seconded. All regions present voted yes; motion carried.

Motion 2: Teresa made the motion to purchase the radios per the $6,174.55 quote from ERS, Ken Harris seconded. All regions present voted yes; motion carried.

Motion 3: Don Hewitt motioned to contribute $1 per active member, based on the number Marc Falsetti reports, to the MRF for 2016, Dave Hawkins seconded. All regions present voted yes; motion carried.

Motion 4: Mo motioned to adjourn, seconded by Ken Casey. All regions present voted in favor; motion carried.