Onondaga Ski Club

Board Meeting Minutes

August 12, 2008

Present: Mark Bidwell, Dave Devendorf, Bob Dewey, Christa Foster, Scott Foster, Jack Lancette, Marian LaPierre, Leo Naylor, Allan Smith, John Sonne, John Tuttle, Marilyn Woyciesjes

Excused: Tom Button, Mary Clay, Lloyd Howse, Kay Kotwas, Marvin Patnode, Neville Sachs, Bob Wiley

Vice president Jack Lancette called the meeting to order at 7:15 pm.

Secretary’s Report: The July board minutes were submitted to members electronically and posted on the OSC web site. John T. made a motion to accept the minutes, John S. seconded. Motion passed.

Vice President’s Report: Bob Wiley was asked to fill the board position vacated by Jack. Scott moved to accept Bob as a board member until the end of the fiscal year, John S. seconded. Motion passed.

Communications: Incoming mail was distributed. No other report.

Committee Reports

Finance: The treasurer’s report was received and filed. John reported that he is still waiting to obtain tax rates for the lodge based on the new assessment.

Membership: As of August 1, total active membership was 584, up from 568 in July. Included are 30 junior members and 75 out of state members. Jack asked for approval to send a Boomer with renewal applications to all members again as was done last year. John S. made motion that membership solicitation be done as last year by sending one issue of the October Boomer to each member. Scott seconded motion. Discussion followed and the motion passed. Jack ran a membership query that indicated that 98 of the 584 members are from area codes outside the 315 code.

Lodge: Allan had no new items to report. Two families were scheduled to rent the lodge in August. The lodge reservation spreadsheet will be updated sometime this week.

Marketing: No report from the chairman. Jack referred to e-mails that were circulating about ads in the Syracuse NewTimes. All marketing information will be passed on to the marketing committee.

Trips: The trip to Lake Tahoe is filling up fast with about 21 people signed up. Marilyn will coordinate the Garnet Hill trip in January. Christa reported that the Stowe trip is scheduled for Feb. 22-25. She is waiting for the group lift rates. Dave Devendorf mentioned that last season with the ski club membership card he was able to obtain a Stowe card that would give 20% discount. No other trips are currently planned, however, Leo hopes to schedule some day trips in the coming months.

Old Business: Board members had been asked to email their thoughts to Marv regarding two questions: (1) Who are we and how do we view ourselves as the Onondaga Ski Club? (2) How can we close the income/expense gap? Marv had compiled board members’ responses. There was lively discussion on the various submissions, especially relating to question #2 that refers to the gap between income and expenses. Various options were discussed, such as raising dues; raising lodge rates; increasing lodge rates only during peak season (December through March); planning more events at the lodge to increase occupancy; holding a swap sale; turning the lodge into a separate, self-supporting entity; making a concerted effort to increase membership; etc. Jack said he’d recommend to the marketing committee that initially they meet twice a month the get the ball rolling more quickly.

Regarding question #1, Jack indicated that, based on the various responses of the board members, we basically agree on what the club is all about. Mark volunteered to compose a draft of our club’s mission statement for presentation at the next board meeting.

New Business: There was no new business to discuss.

John T. moved to adjourn, seconded by Mark. The meeting was adjourned at 8:34 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Christa Foster

Recording Secretary