Minutes of quarterly meeting

New England Walkers
Minutes of Board Meeting
May 16, 2010

The NEW board agreed not to pursue nonprofit status at this time, and discussed ways to recruit new walkers in its quarterly meeting on Sunday, May 16. The meeting was held in a Portsmouth, NH, coffee shop following the Portsmouth 5K and was attended by Tom Knatt, Brian Savilonis, Charlie Mansbach, and Ann Neuberg.

Tom asked if there was merit in pursuing nonprofit or not-for-profit status rather than remain unregistered. Brian said most running clubs do not file for such status because of the effort involved, and Tom said he has been advised by Justin that we are fine for tax purposes to remain as we are. Tom said we will make clear that contributions to the club are not tax-deductible.

Tom said he wanted to purchase NEW T-shirts and sweatshirts and has asked Larry Epstein for a cost estimate. Charlie asked whether anyone among the members needed more gear, and Tom and Brian explained that the clothing would be useful for recruiting new members. Ann and Tom said a gift of a sweatshirt to a race sponsor would be a nice gesture. We agreed to buy about 25 T-shirts and sweatshirts.

Tom asked how best to recruit young walkers. We talked about consulting with Steve Vaitones, who works extensively with young track athletes, on the possibility of issuing flyers to potential racewalkers and offering coaching. Brian mentioned the Narragansett Blessing of the Fleet 10-miler as the one event we know of that draws lots of people who want to walk fast and could be an event where we could interest people in racewalking.

We agreed to plan a summertime event for current and potential new members, perhaps a 5K workshop in Worcester or a walk on the Groton rail trail followed by a meeting.

Charlie Mansbach Sec’y