The monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Century Road Club Association was held on Monday, May 5, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the midtown offices of W.P. Carey. Board members Ken Harris, Wendy Nickerson, Ben Harris, Kevin Brubaker, Mike Green, Martha Lees, and Chris Forsyth were present. John Eustice attended the first portion of the meeting to discuss the Harlem Criterium.
1. The next Board meeting will be held on Monday, June 2, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the offices of W.P. Carey.
2. The minutes of the combined March-April Board meeting were approved online in advance of the meeting.
3. John Eustice gave a report to the Board on his preparations for the Harlem Criterium, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 15, 2008 (Father’s Day). He reported that one of his goals is to make Harlem a pro race. To this end, he has arranged for the race to be part of the USA Criterium series and to be broadcast live on WCSN, a primarily internet sports channel, has lined up some substantial sponsors, and has entered into a media partnership with a magazine that will run a post-event spread on the race. Eustice also reported that he would like the race to attract a wide range of racers and spectators, and plans to have community and messenger fields in addition to the typical fields. The Board agreed to contribute 25 marshals for the race, and various Board members suggested outreach efforts Eustice could make to help ensure the desired turnout.
4. After Eustice left the meeting, the Board discussed the profile the Club should maintain with respect to the Harlem Criterium. The Board is pleased that its support of the race in recent years has enabled the race to reach the point that a promoter of Eustice’s stature is interested in running it going forward. The Board’s consensus was that the Club should continue to contribute marshals to the race but not seek a higher profile at this time.
5. In response to a policy change at USA Cycling, the Board voted unanimously to require racers to sign a separate release for each race. In order to ensure that all racers sign in and sign a waiver at every race, the Board agreed to make compliance with the policy part of the members’ Code of Conduct; to require members to check a box indicating commitment to the waiver policy in order to renew their memberships; to place stickers on the race numbers of members at race sign-in once they have signed in and signed waivers, to enable visual confirmation of race-ready status; and to have the requirement of compliance with the policy announced at the start of each race. This new policy will be publicized with a notice in the Club newsletter and on the Club website, and waiver forms will be available on the website.
6. Mike Green, Director of Open Racing, gave a report on the progress of preparations for the Bear Mountain Spring Classic, scheduled for Sunday, May 11, 2008. Mike stated that registration was going well and that just about all the fields were filled.
7. Club President Ken Harris reported that he would circulate to Board members a draft revised Code of Conduct. As discussed, the revised Code will include, among other things, a new item wherein members will commit not to participate in any race without signing in and signing a waiver.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Lees, Secretary