The monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Century Road Club Association was held on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Board member Sonny Bindra’s office at ASI on West 37th Street in Manhattan. Board members Greg Ventresca, Chris Forsyth, Sonny Bindra, Mike Green, Martha Lees, and Alex Bremer were present. In addition, Board member Ken Harris attended the entire meeting via conference phone.

1. The February minutes were unanimously approved.

2. Club President Mike Green and Vice President of Rider Development Ken Harris provided the Board with an update on the marshal injured by a recreational rider during the Saturday, April 4 race. Mike noted that he had visited the marshal and his family in the hospital after the accident, and described various administrative steps he has taken with respect to reporting the accident. Ken reported that he had spoken to the marshal’s father since Saturday and that the marshal is expected to make a full recovery.

3. Mike Green reiterated the Club’s interest in having marshals be proactive and in encouraging in them an attitude of responsibility and control. Vice President of Racing Alex Bremer and Public Relations Director Greg Ventresca suggested that the Board could ask the race director to make an announcement before each race with a message such as “Next time you marshal, it’s important to take active responsibility to ensure that the area around you is safe for racing.”

4. Mike Green gave an informal report on the Club’s financial position. Mike stated that the Club appears to be in good fiscal shape for this year. The Club currently has approximately $97,000 in the bank, which includes approximately $46,000 in membership dues to date. After the payment of this year’s expenses, which will include the remaining half of the race ambulance payment ($5,500) and the Club’s expected donation to the Central Park Conservancy ($7,000), the Club should have approximately $75,000 in the bank at the end of the year, which is in line with the Club’s year-end position for prior years.

5. Mike Green gave an update on racing with a focus on time trial matters. He first noted that the Club lost the June 7 Club race date but that June 6 should be a good alternate date. He then observed that it would be good for the Club to put on a time trial in June and have the Club championship time trial in August, and that putting on time trials at Floyd Bennett Field would be easier and cheaper than doing so at Bear Mountain. As an alternative, Mike noted that Westwood Velo and another club are each putting on a time trial in August near Harriman State Park, and raised the idea of possibly combining our Club championship with one of their events. Mike also introduced the idea of the Club sponsoring an informal, open, training time trial series at Floyd Bennett Field on Thursday evenings in June and July. The Board expressed interest, and Greg Ventresca suggested polling Club members via the website about their interest in such a series. Mike agreed to arrange the poll.

6. Alex Bremer reported that on May 30, the Club will be holding a women’s clinic instead of a women’s race.

7. Mike Green confirmed that the Club will soon be issuing leader’s jerseys for the cumulative Club racing leader in the A, B, and women’s fields. Since there will be a limited number of jerseys that will be handed from leader to leader as the standings change, the Board discussed the logistics of distributing, collecting, and washing the jerseys between users.

8. Mike Green noted his interest in fostering a closer relationship between subteams and the Club, and to that end suggested that the Club website feature a “Team News” item about a different subteam each week, and include a link to the subteam’s website. The Board was receptive to the idea.

9. Mike Green noted that the Harlem Criterium is scheduled for June 21 and that John Eustice is still interested in running the race, as he did last year. Mike noted that none of the race’s major sponsors from last year – Rock Racing, Saab, and HSBC Bank – are likely to return this year. Mike raised the possibility of subteams or their sponsors contributing to the race in labor or sponsorship, and also of the Club sponsoring the race to some degree, perhaps with a grant in the neighborhood of $1,000. The Board discussed the matter but took no action in the absence of a formal request.

10. In connection with the Club’s interest in issuing an open racing award, Mike Green noted that the USCF maintains a great deal of data on racers, awards points, and ranks racers in each category. Mike suggested that the Club use USCF points as the basis for our open racing award for A, B, and women riders.

11. Greg Ventresca gave an update on plans to permit bike stores to offer discounts to Club members via the Club website. The present plan is to have a “Benefits” page accessible from the Membership section of the website, on which we could post small ads provided by the bike stores regarding discounts or sales for Club members. Greg circulated to Board members a draft letter to bike shops describing the program.

12. Mike Green raised the issue of whether the Board should order historic replica CRCA medals and if so, how many. The Board discussed the matter and it was noted that a down economic year might not be the best time to incur this expense. The Board agreed to see how well the Club does financially with the spring Bear Mountain race before deciding whether to go forward with the medals.

13. The next meeting was set for Monday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Sonny Bindra’s office.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Martha Lees, Secretary