Highpointers Board of Directors Minutes – August 5, 2006

MINUTES OF THE HIGHPOINTERS CLUB
BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNUAL MEETING -2006
TAYLOR RANCH, ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

Chairman, Roger Rowlett, called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 5, 2006, at an open-air picnic structure in the wooded grounds next to a fishing lake at Taylor Ranch.

Directors attending were:
1. Kevin Baker
2. Stony Burk
3. Lillian Elliott
4. Nikki Hemphill
5. Fred Lobdell
6. John Mitchler
7. Will Mokszycki
8. Craig Noland
9. Jack Parsell
10. Roger Rowlett
11. Jim Sutton
12. Steve Urbanski
13. Tim Webb

Directors not attending were:
14. Chuck Bickes
15. Ken Akerman

Note: Ken participated via John’s cell phone which laid on the table.

Other members attending were:
1. Gene Elliott
2. Jerry Lee Cobleig
3. Dave Covill

Prior to the start of the Agenda, while waiting for several tardy Directors, Roger requested Stony Burk to discuss the first item of New Business. Stony provided an update of the status of Rhode Island, using maps and photos.

OLD BUSINESS

Board Email Sessions – Copies were not available of the Minutes of the Highpointers Email Sessions for September 2005 through May 2006, and for May 2006 through early August 2006. These minutes were tacitly approved.

Highpoint Foundation – Dave Covill provided an update of the HPF. The paperwork for C3 registration is being prepared. Dave has led an effort to prepare Bylaws and a Mission statement which had been distributed to the Board earlier this year.
Dave had requested $125 from the Good Guys and Gals Fund (GGGF) to pay the registration fee for the new Highpointers Foundation. Prior to the Board Meeting, John Mitchler made this motion and Fred Lobdell seconded. All present voted in favor, and the motion passed.
Dave also requested at least $500 from the GGGF to pay the IRS application fee for the C3 registration. Dave said this evaluation may take up to a year to process. Questions were asked of Dave of what the HPF will do and how the HPF with C3 status will relate to the HP Club. The motion for additional funds passed.

Jack Longacre Memorial – Tim Webb provided a status of the acquisition of property in Missouri for the Jack Longacre Memorial.

NEW BUSINESS

Rhode Island Status – discussed prior to Old Business

Highpoint Names – John Mitchler requested advice from the Board regarding the official names of the state highpoints, which appear in a list in the Annual Directory. To clarify his request, John distributed a list of highpoint names and possible errors. The Board declined to make specific decisions and agreed that the Records Chair should distribute to the Board a list to approve, prior to publication in the Annual Directory.

Voting Methods – Because of the relatively high expense to create ballots and the low voter turnout, John Mitchler asked the Board if other methods of voting should be considered for the election of Directors. Alternatives to the mail-in ballot could be phone voting and email voting. The Board believes the current response rate is acceptable and there is no need to try alternatives to increase voter turnout.

Highpoint Postage Stamps – Stony Burk debriefed the Board regarding his investigation of the possibility of creating a set of 50 postage stamps showing the state highpoints. Besides going through the normal channels at the USPS to create a 50-stamp sheet, Stony researched the “Print Your Own” option which costs $18 per 20 stamps (90 cent per stamp). The Board approved continued research on the subject.

Honorary Members – For the required annual approval of the Honorary Members, Craig Noland distributed the current list of 84 Honorary Members. The Directors performed a very scholarly study of the list which resulted in the deletion of two (Brasey in MD, Carter in WV) and the modification of 3 (Brown in MS, Gosselini in RI, Head Ranger in WV). It was requested that spelling be confirmed of Prchal in ND. Tim Webb moved that we approve the list as revised. Will Mokszycki seconded. The motion passed.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Newsletter – John Mitchler repeated the cost analysis (that was distributed earlier in the year) for the Club’s quarterly newsletter. The content of the newsletter meets the Board’s approval. It was requested that we attempt to make the mailing labels darker. Tim Webb moved to accept John’s report and Will Mokszycki seconded and the motion passed.

Liaison – Charlie Winger will submit a report.

Website – Roger Rowlett noted that the web cost $6/month and something else cost $20/month. Will Mokszycki moved to accept Roger’s report and Nikki Hemphill seconded and the motion passed.

Membership – Craig Noland provided a brief report of his Membership operations. Jim Sutton moved to approve Craig’s report and Tim Webb seconded and the motion passed.

Mercantile – Jean Trousdale reported that the Merc is “in the black.” Will Mokszycki moved to accept this and Nikki Hemphill seconded and the motion passed.

ITEMS FROM THE FLOOR

Illinois – John Mitchler read a letter from the Illinois HP owner, Jean Wuebbels, in which she lamented the angry people who disliked her policy of restricted access. However, she and Wayne greatly enjoyed the open access weekends and the happy people who attended them.

Private Highpoints – Steve Urbanski believes the Club needs a better program to convert the private highpoints into government highpoints, or at least ensure public access. Steve noted there does not seem to be a coordinated nationwide effort, rather there are just individual efforts putting out fires. John Mitchler agreed that the Club does not have a formal program, and that several access issues are being addressed individually (MD, KY). However, we are applying what we are learning at RI to IL.

Demonstration Booths – Stony Burk believes that our conventions would benefit with the inclusion of booths that demonstrate various topics that members are curious about, such as high altitude clothing and knot tying. Directors agreed to encourage this and that nobody was stopping anyone from hosting such booths.

Conventions Donations – John Mitchler noted that in past conventions, the Club would donate $100 to a local hiking club, in appreciation of our use of the trails during the convention. It was noted that we had not done this recently and that there was no need to donate every year. No action was taken.

AHS Membership – Lillian Elliott asked if our membership in the American Hiking Society was maintained. It is not.

Club Brochures – Craig Noland discussed the reprinting of Club brochures. These brochures are distributed at various locations and events to alert people to the existence of the HP Club. It was decided that revision of the brochure would wait until the HP List was distributed to the Board and approved.

Club Memberships – Jack Parsell asked a question about the roster that appears in the Annual Directory. The roster is a list of dues-paying members. There are about 1,400 Memberships, 2,900 Members, and 6,000 former members which do not belong to the Club anymore.

CLOSING

There being no further new business, Chairman Rowlett reminded the Board that immediately following the meeting a group photo of the Board would be taken on the dock at the nearby lake.

Chairman Rowlett asked if there was any other business or reports. There being none, Fred Lobdell moved to adjourn the meeting and Lillian Elliott seconded and the motion carried and the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
John Mitchler
Highpointers Club Secretary

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