GCWG Board Meeting Minutes 10/1/06

Location: The Board met at the Stahl's house. The meeting was followed by a chili and soup supper.

Attendance: Board members in attendance were: Marshall Haith, Joan Shaw, Jerry Stahl, Carolyn Manly, Jim Moat, Al Rothenbach, Joyce Clair, and Toni Wujek. Also in attendance were: Roger Shaw, Jeri Moat, Carolyn Stahl, Jim Clair, Sue Haith, and Donn Manly. Board member Mary Bernard was absent.

Opening: Jerry Stahl called the meeting to order at 4:40PM.

Treasurer's Report: Carolyn M. gave the board a written financial report. A copy is included with these minutes. Currently, the balance on hand is $829.61. We also have 15 ANRA passes from Junco cabin, 3 maps, and an assortment of T-shirts in inventory. Jim M. motioned to accept the report; he was seconded by Marshall H.

Public Lands Day: Joan S., Carolyn S., and Jeri M. reported on their involvement with Public Lands Day. It was noted that no one spearheaded an effort to get GCWG members out to work this year. Jim M. will ask Mary England if she will do this next year. Mary is a member who also volunteered at Public Lands Day this year. Jim M. asked if the group had donated anything to Public Lands Day, since our name was mentioned as a sponsor. We had not. Joan S. presented our president with a plaque noting the accomplishments of GCWG members who participated in Public Lands Day in 2002, a year where the group fielded a large number of volunteers. We will hang the plaque in Junco cabin.

Tracking Seminar: Jerry S. announced that Don Jay (spelling?) will be giving a tracking seminar next Wednesday. Meet at 9:00AM in the SolVista Basin parking lot. Jeri M. described last year's seminar. Al R. will send another e-mail to remind members about the seminar.

ANRA Passes: Jerry S. has talked to the Forest Service about getting the ANRA passes that we sell at Junco and Monarch cabins on credit. Currently, we pay for them up-front. The Forest Service is unable to extend credit to us. Carolyn M. noted that the problem with passes is mainly at Junco cabin; only 3 or 4 passes were sold at Monarch all season. Donn M. and Carolyn M. volunteered to coordinate Junco cabin next season and will monitor the number of passes available closely. They will buy a one-month supply of passes at a time. They will also put a sign outside the cabin mentioning that “ANRA parking passes are available here”.

Fall Members' Meeting:

• - The board discussed a date for the meeting, noting that the turnout for the meeting is lower when the Broncos have a game. We decided that we will try to get the YMCA Summit Building at Adams Camp for 5:00PM Saturday, November 4th. The next day will be our backup, although it conflicts with the Broncos. Jerry S. will contact the Y to reserve one of these dates.
• - We are looking for an alternative to the Sam's Club entrees that we have served in the past. Sue H. will call Smokin' Moe's to get catering prices for the main course.
• - Marshall H. has a table layout for the meeting to give to the Y for setup.
• - Al R. will e-mail members with the date as soon as it is set.
  
• - We usually have a speaker for a short program. Toni W. mentioned that she has a 24 minute DVD entitled “American Values: American Wilderness” that is very inspirational and could be appropriate in place of a speaker. Jerry S. will find out what audiovisual equipment is available at the meeting room. Marshall H. noted that this is an election year and there is an interest in what the various candidates support. Carolyn M. noted that we have discouraged candidate speeches in the past, in an attempt to remain apolitical.
• - We discussed the program at length. It was noted that there may be new people at the fall meeting, so we need to cover our activities. This is also a good time to thank everyone who participated in the season's activities. To avoid a program of dry committee reports, we will encourage members to share stories from the summer season with the group, and will consider re-instating the bell to limit the amount of time each speaker takes. Reports will include: treasurer's report, a trail hosting summary, Junco and Monarch cabin coordinators' reports, a trailhead signage report, a trailhead registration box report, a trail maintenance day report, a Daisy Days report, a member report (how many), and a T-shirt pitch. Based on time and at the president's discretion, we may also have reports on the Milk Can Picnic, the Art Fair, the encampments, and the spring Arches trip.

Al R. mentioned that several Colorado volunteer groups have hosted the Volunteers Workshop, which is an annual event, in the past. He asked if GCWG was interested in doing it next year. The board decided to mention this at the members meeting and ask if anyone is interested. Louise Powers, a member, was mentioned as someone who might have an interest. We will talk to her. Jeri M. also noted that we should get Sulphur district input before we commit.

Miscellaneous:

• - Joan S. solicited contributions to the newsletter.
• - Judy Shetler, a member, had asked us to put information on skin cancer awareness on our website. The board decided not to do this. Roger S. will talk to Judy and offer the use of our e-mail list.
• - Based on feedback from volunteers who worked at our booth at the Art Fair, Joyce C. observed that some people join GCWG because they are looking for other people to do things with. A discussion about the purpose of our organization followed. Donn M. gave a bit of group history. The board agreed that we are not a hiking club, we are a service group focusing on helping the Forest Service. However, we did think that organized hikes next season, to acquaint members with the 8 trails that we sponsor, were a good idea. Carolyn M. volunteered to write an article promoting these hikes for the newsletter.
• - Joan S. recommended a book, The Beast In The Garden.
• - Al R. announced that he has redesigned the registration box section of the website to make it more useful. He is also planning to redo the cabin and trail hosting sections. We discussed the possibility of interactive cabin and trail sections and decided that there was no value added. Al asked if we wanted the current membership list on the website. The board agreed that paper copy was enough; it can also be distributed as an attachment to every e-mail we send.
• - It was generally observed that the cabin hosting signup conducted at last spring's members' meeting went very well and should be done the same way next year.
• - Carolyn M. and Donn M. are planning to have an “apprentice” program next year while they are coordinating the hosting of Junco cabin. This will allow other members to find out about the cabin coordinators' duties.
• - Al R. reminded the board that we had previously expressed interest in having GCWG business cards to hand out while cabin and trail hosting. He volunteered to come up with a prototype for our next board meeting.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 7:01PM.

Toni Wujek, Secretary

Return to list of Minutes