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Evergreen Soaring BOD Meeting January 11, 2012
Called to order at 7:02 PM in the Red Barn Classroom at
the Museum of Flight.
Attendance
Brian Hood, Chris Murray, Movses Babayan, Mark Nyberg,
Chris Carpenter, Steve Fribley, Mason Killebrew, Heinz Gehlhaar, Winfried
Feifel, Fred Hermanspann, Paul Adriance, Noel Wade, Tony Puglisi, Dan Teifke,
Martin Gibbins, John Gilbert, Jennifer Hunt
Minutes
November Annual Meeting minutes were reviewed and approved
by email and posted to the website.
Officer Reports
President Report
No report.
President-Elect Report
No report.
Treasurer Report
Noel Wade reported
that annual fees were paid for the hangar, and in February $20,000 in insurance
premiums are coming due. The board
reviewed the current statement of club finances looking at cash flow,
maintenance expenses, and reserves.
The estate of Lynn
Weller will be contacted by Noel regarding the account balance.
Evergreen Soaring will
pay the full Grob 102 repair bill to Robert Mudd [approximately $7,600], and
the club will get reimbursement for half of it due to shared expenses with
non-club related glider work which reduced the repair bill and associated
travel costs for Robert. Thanks to
Noel for providing housing for Robert while he was in town.
No
Fly List
Victor Andrucson,
Casey Cowan, Tristan Slezak, Paul Sjoberg, Randy Solak, Chad Cooper, Sergei
Ivanov, Dean Cook, Chris Coder, Aaron Balog
Secretary Report
No Report.
Chief Flight Instructor Report
Paul Adriance was voted in as Chief CFIG. It was moved, seconded, and passed
unanimously.
Paul and Kevin Finke both flew the club's new DG-300
today, and she is a joy to fly.
Paul reported that he is working with Keith Turner on the pilot checkout
procedure for the DG-300.
Bob Breidenthal is planning to take the CFIG checkride
within the next month.
Operations Director Report
John Gilbert taught a Field Manager (FM) training class on
12/31/11 and three students were trained as Field Managers, and several FMs
attended for refresher training.
Future FM training is planned.
John reported that sailplane demo rides are the #1 call
received by Arlington Airport.
The domain names evergreensoaring.com and
evergreensoaring.info were renewed, and the hosting fee was paid for the year.
The first flight breakfast at the Arlington clubhouse on
1/7/12 was a success and members had the opportunity to socialize. Several training flights occurred
before weather interfered. The breakfast
was fully funded by those who attended.
No shows at the Annual Board Meeting that signed up for
dinner resulted in the club absorbing $35.
Tim Mensonides of Arlington Airport wants to clean out old
trailers from airport property.
Tony Puglisi reported that all club trailers are out of this "abandoned
trailer" location.
Equipment Director Report
Tony reported that towplane 74D [King the Cub] received
her annual inspection.
Fuselage seals will be installed on the Astir Grob
102. The Astir will be for sale at
$16,000 firm unless the board decides otherwise. There is no longer an ad in Wings and Wheels.
The equipment report was submitted and will be available
on the web.
Old Business
Non-Participation Fee
It was acknowledged that the non-participation fee was a
mistake, and this topic invoked a strong response from club membership. It was moved, seconded, and passed
unanimously to repeal the non-participation fee.
Demo Ride Fee
The demo ride fee was increased from $100 to $175 at the
November BOD Meeting, with $100 of the fee applicable towards club
membership. The rationale that led
to the increase was the loss of Lynn's business which handled many demo
flights, and concern that there could be overwhelming demand from the general
public that viewed a glider ride as a "bucket list" item rather than interest
in becoming a glider pilot, and that demos take up club resources.
On 12/20/11 the BOD voted unanimously to put the demo fee
increase on hold to allow Chris Murray to continue demos at the $100 rate and
further discussion to take place at the January 2012 BOD meeting. Several club members shared their input
prior to the meeting. It was
moved, seconded, and passed unanimously to repeal the demo ride fee increase
and for demo rides to remain at $100.
New Business
Clubhouse Wi-Fi
Noel Wade generously offered to pay for one year of Clear
wireless internet for the clubhouse at his own expense [$500] in order to
facilitate flight planning, operations, and safety. Paul Adriance offered to donate a modem. Membership will be surveyed regarding
their use of the Wi-Fi, and if it is deemed beneficial the club will consider
purchasing it for 2013. It was
moved, seconded, and passed unanimously to accept Noel's gracious offer to pay
for the Wi-Fi trial.
Billing – Survey
Brian Hood reported on member survey input regarding
billing. Autopay of bills was not
an option that club members liked.
The response was overwhelmingly positive for emailed invoices.
Billing – Email Invoices
Evergreen Soaring will switch to email invoices, and
reminders to pay bills will be sent via email. Member requests to receive bills via the Postal
Service will be accommodated.
Billing - Monthly
Billing will change from bimonthly to monthly for tow
fees, glider rental, and dues.
This will reduce accounts receivable, and will spread out expenses for
members more evenly throughout the year.
Billing – Payment Address
The address for payment of bills to Evergreen Soaring will
be switched from the club address, to the secure address at the home office of
Mary Bussiere-Watts, the accountant for Evergreen Soaring. This will reduce the lag time in
accounts receivable by up to 12 days.
A billing webpage will be created, as a reference for club
members with the updated address.
Email invoices, monthly billing, checks sent to Mary, and
creation of a billing page were moved, seconded, and passed unanimously.
Billing – Check Approval
The Treasurer has delegated Brian Hood to scan checks and
Noel Wade, Dan Teifke, or Marty Gibbins will grant approval. This arrangement was proposed due to
convenience as Brian works with Mary the ES accountant.
Billing – Test of Push Electronic Transfer
System
A "Push Electronic Transfer System" will be tested with a
group of Evergreen Soaring volunteers.
This system would allow a member to receive an invoice via email, with
the capability to be able to click on a button contained in the email to
transfer funds from their bank account to Evergreen Soaring.
Museum of Flight, Soaring Expo 2012
The Soaring Expo will be held March 17-18 at the Museum of
Flight, with display and glider setup planned for March 16th. This is an opportunity for clubs and
other groups affiliated with soaring to introduce museum visitors to
gliders. The club is planning to
have gliders on display, along with the Condor Flight Simulator. Brian Hood offered to bring his
DG-303. Heinz Gehlhaar is the
point of contact for the Seattle Glider Council (SGC).
Volunteer Committee
A committee was formed to facilitate volunteer
opportunities for Evergreen Soaring members. The Volunteer Committee is comprised of Fred Hermanspann,
Tony Puglisi, Mark Nyberg, Marty Gibbins, and Brian Hood.
New Member – Hugh Poling
Hugh Poling was proposed as a new member [student pilot],
and submitted payment to ES for initiation and dues. It was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously for Hugh
to join Evergreen Soaring.
Welcome Hugh!
Policy of Accepting New Student Members
The club has recently lost several CFIGs. The question of instructor to student
ratio and workload, and the ability of the club to continue accepting new students
was brought up. Students
completing licenses will help to alleviate instructor workload. This will be discussed further at a
future meeting.
ES Commercial Instruction Clarification
An individual wanted to "buy" instructional flights in
gliders for a CFI that did not want to become a member of Evergreen
Soaring. This will not be allowed
since Evergreen Soaring is a club, not a commercial operation.
Seattle Glider Council (SGC)
Fred reported that the SGC received a $2,000-$3,000 grant
from the Seattle Glider Council Soaring Foundation to eliminate facilities fees
at Ephrata this year, and encourage glider operations.
The 2012 Dustup will take place in Ephrata, and will be a
badge / record camp. Details will
follow.
Operational Rules Approval
There was discussion at the board meeting regarding
operational rules. The requirement
for a Field Manager (FM) for glider operations is mandated by Arlington
Airport, thus Evergreen Soaring must comply with it. If a Field Manager is not signed up for a given day, one
needs to be appointed at the field and this person still can participate in
glider flying activities and transfer the responsibility to another
member. It was moved, seconded,
and passed unanimously to accept the revised Operational Rules. Please
reference the updated Operational Rules online
[http://www.evergreensoaring.com/operations/Operations_policy.pdf].
Status of Carl Niedermeyer's Membership
Keith Turner proposed Life Membership for Carl
Niedermeyer, and many club members echoed Keith's comments regarding Carl's
outstanding dedication and contributions to the club. Carl has expressed interest in becoming involved with
Evergreen Soaring again as a towpilot, and would qualify to be a Special
Member. Dan Teifke will get in
contact with Carl to discuss.
Review and Approval Special Membership List
The annual review and approval of the Special Membership
list was postponed due to lack of time at the January meeting.
Next BOD Meeting
The next regularly scheduled
Board Meeting will be at the Museum of Flight Red Barn Classroom on Wednesday,
February 15, 2012.
The
BOD meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.