Minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting

September 7, 2011

Charlene Bohl called the executive committee to order at 7:05 p.m. at the Jordan's home in Montpelier.

Officers present: Charlene Bohl (president), Bob Lorenz (treasurer), Kevin Ryan (publicity coordinator), Nancy Jordan (Trail Talk editor), Ken Hertz (membership coordinator), Cynthia Martin (director), John Buddington (past president), Eric Seidel (trails and shelters coordinator), Priscilla Daggett (alternate director), and Kathryn Gohl (secretary)

Section members present: Fred Jordan

OLD BUSINESS

1. Minutes of the June 8, 2011, meeting. It was moved and seconded that the minutes of the June 8, 2011, meeting be accepted as corrected and submitted earlier by email. The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote.

2. Bob submitted a detailed treasurer's report for the second quarter.

3. Eric reported that our section of the Long Trail is in good shape up to Sterling Pond but unknown beyond that. At Duxbury window there is a big tree down, and a few others are down at lower elevation. The trail is passable but he hopes to recruit three people to work on the problem in the next couple of weeks. Road access is fine. On August 15 some work was done on puncheons that were floating. Further, Eric suggested that the section invest in a special backpack for carrying a chainsaw at a cost of about $150; the expenditure would be part of the Trails and Shelters budget. The committee agreed.

4. Ken said he had sent out his report by email. He has learned that trip leaders must have paid-up dues in order for GMC insurance to apply.

5. Nancy reported that the 100th issue of Trail Talk was about to come out. She herself had begun working on the publication in 1999 and has published about 46.

6. Kevin reported that he has started monthly submission of events to Vermont Sports. The publication has been helpful.

7. Cynthia was unable to attend the GMC annual, but Priscilla, as alternate, did attend and wrote it up for Trail Talk. Will Wiquist was welcomed as new director of the GMC, and he spoke. Cynthia said that the upcoming board meeting will likely talk abut the condition of the trail.

8. John reported on the website. He found that people who go to the website primarily access the calendar; it receives about 800 requests a month, although 50 are from he and Ken verifying things on the site. Most of the visitors are local, most subscribe to Fair Point, and most run Microsoft Explorer. Also, Ken has been putting photos on Facebook. Nothing much has happened regarding the website committee. YAC has submitted schedule, and it is now on the website.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Taylor series. It was decided to have the Taylor series lecture in Montpelier this year; Capital City Grange is available for Friday, January 20. John has agreed to work on the series. The Grange needs to be reserved after discussing the date with Pete Antos-Ketchum; the cost is $100, and they would like the check as soon as possible.

2. State of trails. Eric reported that Dave Hardy says there are probably things the section can do to help repair trails visited by Irene; he’ll be in touch next week.

3. Fred reported that the club is making good progress on the Winooski River crossing and LT rerouting. Among other things, there is now an agreement with the railroad for a right of way, which is a huge step.

4. Charlene reminded everyone of the meeting at the Nuquists next Tuesday; events can now be submitted for December, January, and February by e-mail.

5. The next meeting was set for Wednesday, December 7, at the Hertz residence in Montpelier.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:11.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathryn Gohl, Secretary

Drafted December 5, 2011