Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 20, 2017
Freedom Hall, Fort Wayne, IN
Executive Director Jay Jackson opened the meeting at 12:15pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Those in attendance were: Region 00-absent; Region 01-Wayne Kopec; Region 02-Don ‘Bear’ Hewitt & Mike Livengood; Region 03-Scott Bowman; Region 04-; Region 05-Tony Brummett; Region 06-Joey Macke; Region 07- Ernie & Janet Davidson, & Harold & Dolly Davidson; Region 08-absent; Region 09-Mo Kintner; Region 10-Thom ‘Hippy’ Henderson & Ben Henderson; Region 11-Zach Bird; Region 13-absent; AdComm- Bob Stoner; Secretary/Treasurer Tina McCormack; Freedom Hall-Elizabeth ‘Izzy’ Hanes; Gino Johnson, Roy Garrett, Rayce Guthrie & Rick Thompson are working the Miracle Ride & Race at LCRP this weekend; Mike Meyer is out of state. Jan Johns previously notified she would be absent.
ITEM 1: Elizabeth ‘Izzy’ Hanes introduced herself as building manager, & site coordinator & administrator. Jay & Scott Bowman discussed Scott’s findings when he inspected the roof this past spring. The roof is ok for now, but we will obtain quotes on a steel roof replacement. Bingo recently replaced the ice machine, which was experiencing repairs regularly. We have concerns with the fire suppression system & are incurring repair expense too often. We received a quote of $6,000 to have drawings compiled so we can get a quote for replacement of the current system. Without an estimate on the replacement, we’re reluctant to pay for the drawings. Suggestions were made to contact Indiana Homeland Security & the Allen County clerk to attempt to obtain the original drawings.
Jay reviewed bingo revenue & player count numbers. Izzy informed the group of the decrease in staffing as compared to 10 years ago, due to increased efficiencies. Tina added that Izzy monitors expenses regularly, & adjusts where possible.
ITEM 2: Tina asked for a motion to approve March/April financials.
MOTION 1
She reminded the directors to review the reports & event insurance summaries with their region & county officers. She explained the Advance to Regions is comprised of $650 to Region 4 in Feb, & $1115 to Region 0 in May. Gino has suggested that bingo make a charitable contribution to LCRP. Tina then reviewed May/June financials, which were distributed in this meeting.
ITEM 3: Jay relayed that Mo Kintner requested we address the following topic early in today’s meeting; Jay suggested we resurrect the By-Laws Committee. The committee was formed: Mo Kintner is chair, with Don ‘Bear’ Hewitt, Thom ‘Hippy’ Henderson, Bob Stoner & Jay Jackson serving. The committee will review our By-Laws & make recommendations to the board. Mo addressed the matter of the rules for suspending or expelling members. Discussion followed.
MOTION 2
ITEM 4: While the ABATE of Indiana BOD has no direct correlation to LCRP, Jay reviewed rider attendance numbers. The Miracle Trail Ride & Race is taking place there this weekend. Rayce, Roy, Gino & Rick are all working the event.
Roy is working with NOHVCC (National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council), as well as Hilary (ABATE Legal Services) to regain access for motorized recreation in the Hoosier National Forest & our state forests.
ITEM 5: Jay remarked that the Basic Rider Skills (BRS) course is going well, & that the curriculum is exceeding expectations. Jay then reviewed some finances within our rider ed program. Tina stated that we should have more conclusive numbers for our Nov BOD meeting.
Wayne asked about the status of the state of Indiana’s recognition of the BRS; Jay answered that it will be addressed in the Executive Session that will convene after this meeting to discuss contractual issues.
Jay then discussed our rider ed personnel shortage. The MSD Committee is scheduled to meet soon, & will deliberate staffing.
We find that the public still associates rider education with ABATE.
ITEM 6: Mike Meyer is out of state today, so Jay gave the LINC update. On the federal level, the MRF continues to watch &/or seek support for legislation regarding ethanol & anti-profiling. The Indiana General Assembly is not currently in session. ABATE of Indiana will develop our legislative strategy in the next 2-3 months.
We recently made contact with the Indiana Petroleum Council. They plan to attend Motorcycles on Meridian (MOM) to distribute information about ethanol & E15.
The Indiana Driver Education Association (INDEA) worked to revise legislation language, but corresponding Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) was not revised.
2017 motorcycle fatalities are at about 70; last year’s total was 99. Discussion ensued on fatalities & grass clippings in roadways.
ITEM 7: Jay asked Scott Bowman to read the email he recently sent about the changing face of the biker community (copy included with minutes*).
He then asked Tina to review the crew payouts & Boogie memberships.
We had a good event this year, & will review in more detail at a future meeting.
Thom ‘Hippy’ Henderson inquired about an issue at the front gate that was addressed & ended at Boogie.
ITEM 8: Jay began discussion on Motorcycles on Meridian (MOM). He described the t-shirt that we will sell at the event. T-shirts w/introductory membership will sell for $20; renewing or joining members can purchase the shirt for $35, which will include a 1 year membership. The state office will design the forms & instructions for our volunteers to use; electronics will also be supplied for credit card sales. We will provide orientation for traffic control volunteers at 3:30, & 3:00, 4:00 & 5:00 for t-shirt sellers. Our trailer will be parked on Georgia St, & we’ll have a tent at the 125 S Meridian parking lot & on the circle.
ITEM 9: AdComm did not meet this morning. They will analyze Boogie numbers.
ITEM 10: The By-Laws Committee has been revived.
The ABC Committee should be prepared to reconvene, but for this 1st year of the restructured fund, the full board will assume the responsibility. The AdComm will verify & summarize all submissions, then present to the full board for voting. Bob Stoner reviewed the submissions received to date.
Mike Seiler is administering the motorcycle license examination at our Indy rider ed site today; we’ll look for a report from the Marketing Committee at a future meeting.
Tony Brummett asked the status of the regions’ memorial walls. Scott Bowman & Thom ‘Hippy’ Henderson requested the guidelines. Tony plans to build a memorial wall using aluminum rather than wood. Although original intent was such that every wall would match, that hasn’t been the end result. Each region’s memorial wall may vary, which would present similar to an art exhibit.
Bob Stoner reminded the regions to review their election procedures.
ITEM 11: Short discussion on the donated benches at the Motorcycle Safety Memorial in Springville ensued; Jay expressed thanks.
Don ‘Bear’ Hewitt updated the group on the status of Region 2’s shelter house by the Boogie front gate. They should be able to begin construction in the spring. Bear will coordinate with Rayce at LCRP.
ITEM 12: Jay displayed an informational letter & FAQ from American Income Life (AIL) regarding their no cost AD&D benefit to our members. We will have the letter & FAQ to distribute to our officers when we renew our contract with them in Feb.
Monument Circle has new parking restrictions that some have construed as discriminatory to motorcyclists. Jay has requested clarification from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), Indianapolis city government & Indy Downtown Inc (IDI).
Jay then spoke of region “fragmenting”, & asked the directors to review their region events that replicate state events. Discussion followed.
Jay asked that anyone interested in attending the Meeting of the Minds (MOTM) contact us, then register online at MRF.org. ABATE will reimburse the early member registration cost & either lodging or transportation. Consensus is to donate $1/member to MRF this year.
Tina asked the regions to ensure they use the current Officer Acceptance Forms, that they are complete including the witness signature, & verify officer’s membership is current.
Tina set the deadline for worker’s party invitations as Sept 15. The sanction dates are due at the Oct 21 BOD meeting.
Jay announced that the Governor’s office confirmed Friday, Oct 13 as the date for our Ride with the Governor (RWTG).
ITEM 13: Meeting adjourned, 3:10pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Tina McCormack
Secretary/Treasurer
The next scheduled Board of Directors meeting will be October 21 at Lawrence County Recreational Park in conjunction with our Workers’ Party.
MOTIONS
Motion 1: Don ‘Bear’ Hewitt motioned to approve March/April financials, Scott Bowman seconded. All regions present voted yes; motion carried.
Motion 2: Don ‘Bear’ Hewitt made the motion to ban Harry Kuehl from all ABATE of Indiana events statewide, Tony Brummett seconded. Regions 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9. & 10 voted in favor; regions 3, 11 & 12 abstained. Motion carried
Motion 3: Ernie Davidson motioned to adjourn to Executive Session, Joey Macke seconded. All regions present in favor; motion carried.
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*I recently attended the 2017 Sturgis bike rally in Sturgis South Dakota, the granddaddy or Super Bowl of all bike rallies in the world. This was my 12th rally since 2004. I would like to express my observation of the changes in those years of the face of the biker community. These changes definitely affects the challenges of trying to increase the attendance at our own Boogie! First off I would like to say the old school biker traveling cross-country with a sleep role, tarp and tent to attend the rally is dead!!! The new age biker or rally goer and sometimes I call "Snowflake biker" travels in their RV or trucks pulling their motorcycles in a trailer, they stay in RVs, cabin, motels or homes they have rented for the week. My guess is 80 - 85% of rally goers go in that style. (stay the hell off the big roads)... interstates if you're riding on two wheels!
Downtown Sturgis is filled with big-name sponsors and has really commercialized over the years. 80 to 90% of the bikes parked along the streets were clean and not ridden much, definitely show ponies with very little work horses present! Long lines were present at the patch sewing tents to sew the newly acquired patches on their fresh new leather vest ( too much Sons of Anarchy is being watched ) Many flock to over rated places like the Full Throttle to drink their $6 beers just to be seen there. My purpose of attendance of the rally every year is to enjoy the beautiful country around the Black Hills. Riding the hills is not without caution, not the hills themselves but the inexperienced riders that flood them
For the last 10 years I have stayed at the Buffalo Chip Campground. Camping concerts ...kinda in comparison with our own Boogie. The buffalo Chip started around 1981 or 82 to escape the tight restrictions of downtown rules and police that still exist today. The chip has minimal rules and minimum-security (less then our Boogie) everyone just gets along and has a good time. I have seen one fight in my ten years there, I thought they were two chicks going at it but ended up being brother and sister. The chip has approximately 600 acres and is represented from all 50 states and 24 countries. During the concerts attendance can swell over 50,000 or more. 10 years at the chip, my first year there I took over 400 pictures of naked ladies (Woo hoo!) A total of Zero (0) was spotted this year in 2017 (Boo hoo)
Golf carts, Atv's and Razors is the main mode of transportation. The tractor pulling the People Movers are no longer used. Yes! People pay up to $500 to rent a golf cart for a few days. The day of laundry service and personal Porta pots (for rent) is here! Let's not forget the $8 (per) pay showers! showering in the same shower house with other chipsters would be unthinkable. (most shower in their RVs)
Many concert-goers buy one day passes to see their favorite artist (Then leave)
One thing is for sure I hear all the time.... no matter who is playing..the band's always suck... it's always muddy Dusty dirty and hot... complaining is a new normal! Get used to it.
My reasoning case in point for this email! If we want to attract new members and new Boogie attendees we must change with the tide, study the new trend and not be afraid to make changes!
