Meeting Minutes

Y-Knot Board of Managers Meeting

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Date: December 3, 2005
Location: Camp Chingachgook
Present: Mike Peluso (President), Spencer Raggio (Vice President), Becky Bonn (Secretary), George Painter, Maryellen Rudolph, Rebecca
Stanley, Ron Byrne, Jenny Overeynder, Dave Whalen, Eva Galvin, Don
Greenblatt, BJ Henry, Herm Lintner, Steve Mintz, Dave McComb

Meeting Called to Order at 2:20 pm

Welcome: Mike Peluso

Review Board Terms & Membership: Spencer Raggio
Board members may serve two three-year terms and then must rotate off the board for at least one year.

Board members whose terms expire 12/31/05: Rebecca Stanley, Dave Whalen, Mike Peluso, Dave McComb and Steve Mintz. Dave McComb was unable to regularly attend board meetings and therefore was not nominated for a second term. The other four (Stanley, Whalen, Peluso, Mintz) were nominated to serve a second term.

Mike Peluso nominated Theresa Paeglow and she is planning on attending January 2006 meeting. Theresa is the NYS DOH Disabilities & Health Program Manager and is interested in joining the Board of Managers as well as serving on the Membership/Publicity Committee.

Herm motioned to accept the nominations and Maryellen seconded the motion and all were in favor.

Maryellen has invited Pam Pearlman and Jim Kolohn, current volunteers, as potential board members.

Five additional board members are serving terms that expire 12/31/06: Paul Sheldon, Bob Chodkowski, Burton Aldrich, Becky Bonn, Chuck Thorne.

The Operating Guidelines state "Board members are expected to maintain good standing by attending a minimum of four regular meetings annually and fulfilling duties as assigned. Board members may be removed for good cause by two-thirds vote of the Board of Managers." Need to check with Bob Chodkowski to see if he is still interested to remain on the board. Ron Byrne motioned to remove Burton Aldrich and accept Paul Sheldon's and Chuck Thorne's resignations. Rebecca Stanley seconded the motion and all agreed.

One year until a new president needs to be elected. According to the guidelines, at least one Vice President must be a person with disability. This person should be gearing up for Presidency. The President can appoint as many Vice Presidents as needed. Ron asks if the President has to be disabled? He feels since we don't have a candidate and only one year to find one without experience or provide less than a year of training, could we possibly look at an able-bodied person to fill the position. Mike Peluso states that the President with a disability is an important message to send and is representative of the organization. Mike likes the pressure of being forced to groom the next President and being in this position he feels it speaks to the lack of outreach and to the barriers of transportation. Rebecca Stanley feels that people in management/core leadership, not necessarily Presidency, should have disabilities. Several models to look at, one being the core nature of the organization is created and ran by people with disabilities. Jenny says that this attracts people with disabilities to sailing. Mike would like us to discuss this further at a later date. Ron says we should have a year to decide so we are not painted into a corner.

Brief Committee Reports/Reflections

Finance - Mike Peluso
Proud of the packet compiled with a solicitation letter. This was sent out to 15 people with about 30 more to go. This work needs to be planned out for a year in advance and the groundwork has been laid for 2006. The year 2006 we would like to cover the costs of the clinics, about $1500, in hopes of offering the clinics free to participants. This will take commitment. Rebecca Stanley suggests that we find many small contributors and not just target large ones. We have the continued support from the Corinthians and the Sagamore Chowderfest. Spencer spoke to Tricia Hayes and last year the Trillium was being worked on and was not open to the general public. This year it will be open to the public and should attract more people. Y-Knot will receive a portion of the Regatta as well as the dinner. We need to promote this event early in the year as well as coordinating with the camp on accommodations to attract participants involvement in the Martin 16 Fleet. Possibly host a racing clinic the day before the Chowderfest Regatta. Rebecca had mentioned last year the possibility of luminaries on the lake and maybe this year making it part of the Chowderfest. Mike also mentioned that Sunrise Medical is hopefully going to donate $500 for 2005 and into the coming years.

Program - Maryellen Rudolph
The 2005 year started with a successful Volunteer Training Program. Topics covered were launching, rigging and storing boats, lift operation and disability awareness among other things. Volunteers were raised through local newspapers and several helped with the Ti Race and the Sagamore Chowderfest. A registration system was developed and was a useful tool in determining the volunteers needed for a given event. Boat Maintenance Days were discussed and will hopefully happen in 2006. Y-Knot Start Sailing Day brought in three new sailors. Some new ideas were a hit: Dockside Dining and Canine Service. Increased communication with new sailors and volunteers and participation in the clinics was above last year. 2006 should continue to see positive changes with the hard work put into developing the 2005 program.

Outreach - Rebecca Stanley
Participated in two events: the Miss Wheelchair event and one at Colonie Center. We made it into the Times Union. A presentation was given for program managers at the Center for the Disabled. The local ALS chapter has been contacted as well as presentations at the Schenectady Rotary and the Lions Club in Guilderland. The second annual Pool Party will be planned for February, details will be out soon.

Regatta - Spencer Raggio
Good participation and high winds. Exploring the idea of changing the date to the weekend after Labor Day so as not to conflict with Family Weekend at the Camp as well as a Canadian holiday. The water and air will be warmer and possibly the wind will not be as strong. Overall the safety issues were addressed and with possible waterfront changes the logistical aspect can only be strengthened.

Y-Knot Committee Chairperson Assignments:
Program Committee:
  – On the Dock: Maryellen Rudolph
  – On the Water: Rex Moon
Fundraising Committee: Mike Peluso
Membership/Publicity Committee: Rebecca Stanley

Y-Knot 2005 Budget - George Painter
YMCA Camp's purpose is to serve kids, family and community and can only do as much as we can afford. Reviewed Financial Summary handout. Every dollar in goes through the camp under a specific Y-Knot code and goes out under expenses. This year we took in $20,000 and spent about $20,000.

Next meeting will be 6:00pm, Wednesday, January 4 at the Clifton Park YMCA.

Meeting adjourned 4:10pm
Submitted by Becky Bonn 12/29/05