PSDC FALL BOARD MEETING
OCTOBER 5, 2022, via Zoom
Submitted by Secretary-Carolyn Mckenrick
1. Call to Order: President-Christina Gates called the meeting to order at 7:09 PM.
Members Present: President-Christina Gates, Vice-President-Rich Stanaitis, Secretary-Carolyn McKenrick, Treasurer-Donna Quante, BOD-Laurie Stone, Mary Beth Logue, Insa Robinson, Alice Fitzgerald, & Ron Klepadlo.
2. Secretary’s Report: Secretary-Carolyn McKenrick presented the minutes from our last two Board Meetings. Those minutes were sent out via email to all Board Members & to the Membership.
A. A motion was made by President-Christina Gates to accept the minutes from the July 22, 2022, PSDC Board Meeting held at Twin Streams Campground, in Morris, Pa. as they were presented. Treasurer-Donna Quante seconded the motion. The motion Passed.
B. A motion was made by BOD-Laurie Stone to accept the minutes from the Zoom Board Meeting on September 7, 2022, as presented. The motion was seconded by Treasurer-Donna Quante. The motion passed.
3. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer-Donna Quante presented the Account Balances that were up to date as of this meeting. The Checking Account-$5925.88, the Savings Account-$6160.29, and the PayPal Account-$448.07. A motion was made by BOD-Alice Fitzgerald to accept the Treasurer’s Report as it was presented. The motion was seconded by BOD-Ron Klepadlo. The motion passed.
Treasurer-Donna Quante gave us an update of The PSDC Financial Policy that are written in our by-laws. She asks that all event organizers read and try to follow this policy. This will help her keep the money and club financial information more organized for future audits.
4. Committees:
A. Social Media Coordinator: Treasurer-Donna Quante reported she has been working with the web master to keep the facebook page and web page up to date. A discussion was held on how to improve our process of renewing memberships online. Our insurance requires all members must physically sign a membership renewal form. With no way to electronically sign the form online all members must print out their form, sign it, and mail it to Treasurer-Donna Quante.
B. Club Website: Jessica Kizmann is doing a great job managing the web site and working with Treasurer-Donna Quante.
C. ISDRA Report: President-Christina Gates, our ISDRA Director reported sanctioned races are being added often to the ISDRA web site. The ISDRA stakeholders’ group is meeting regularly (every 2 weeks) to continue their work on developing a new ISDRA website that will be more accessible on mobile devices and offers the user more resources for their membership. This is expected to be up and running in December. Both Margaret Harvey (Executive Director) & Dave Steele (technical director) will be retiring; these positions will need to be filled.
D. USFSS: BOD-Ron Klepadlo our IFSS representative, reported snow race applications for IFSS are due by November 1, 2022. The early deadline is to allow for January races to apply for accreditation and not face late application fees from IFSS.
5. Events:
A. 2022 Summer Camp out, Twin Streams Campground, Morris, Pa. July 22-24. President-Christina Gates reported for Liz Stanaitis that the campout had a good turnout, all the events went well. The guest speakers, Natalie & Andre van der Merwe of Snowdrift Siberians gave a very informative presentation on “From Africa to the Iditarod.” Liz would like to thank all the volunteers who helped at the campout. A fun time was had by all. Liz also reported the registration was very difficult to deal with and needs to be improved. The Board discussed the communication of how we compensate our speakers. This needs to be presented to the Board before presenting it to future guest speakers, so everyone is on the same page.
B. Fall Campout & Training will be held at Steven Davis’s Residents in Richfield Springs, NY, October 7-9, 2022. Co-organizers are Gates/Stanaitis/Robinson/Klepadlo. The event is coming together, meals are planned, and the agenda for the weekend will be coming out very shortly. A a good turnout is expected, and fun to be had by all.
C. Howard Eaton Reservoir Dryland Race- Organizer-BOD-Ron Klepadlo reported he has been working with the local council to iron out the details of this event. This event is planned for November 19 & 20, 2022. Keep checking our Facebook and website for more information. There is a possibility of onsite camping, he is just waiting to get approval for that. As soon as he firms up his race official list the Board will move on approval. Ron will transport the bibs to his race and get them to the Ohio-Lodi race where Meredith Michener will transport them back for her race in NJ. The Bibs are being rented to the Ohio Trailbreakers for $1.00 to be used for their race November 26-27.
D. Jersey Devil Dryland Challenge I- Pine Barrens, N. J., December 3 & 4, 2023. Organizers- Meredith Michener & BOD-Ins Robinson are working very hard to increase their purse money. They will be brining many items to sell and chance off at the Fall Campout this coming weekend. Meredith is working with the park service to waiver the 2-dog limit for camping. Campers must send a copy of your dog’s rabies certificates to the park office prior to camping. Meredith & Insa are making up banners with the sponsors names. They want this to turn into a premiere event. This is event 1 of two events planned for this location. If anyone has ever been to the Pine Barrens, these trails are awesome.
E. Frost Mountain Snow Race-Brownfield, Maine, January 21 & 22, 2023. Organizer- BOD-Alice Fitzgerald presented to the Board the Race Proposal & Officials List. Classes offered are Pro, Registered Breed, & Sportsman - 6-dog class-6.2 miles, 4-dog class - 4.2 miles, 2-dog class - 1.9 miles, Fat Bike class-2-dog - 1.9 miles, Canicross 1 & 2-dog adult male & female - 4.2 miles, novice 2-dog - 1.9 miles, & Junior 2 or 3-dog sled - 1.9 miles. This event will be hosted by PSDC & the Maine Highlands Sled Dog Club. The event will not be ISDRA sanctioned but will follow ISDRA race rules. It will be run as a fun event with pay outs for classes. BOD-Alice Fitzgerald also presented her Official’s List. Treasurer-Donna Quante made a motion to accept the above Race Proposal & Officials List as it was presented. BOD-Mary Beth Logue seconded the motion. The motion passed.
F. Tug Hill Challenge Sled Dog Race-February 18 & 19, 2023. Race Organizer-BOD-Ron Klepadlo reported to the Board he is working on raising purse money and he is also working with local people on the upcoming trail updates.
1. For the time being we tabled the motion to approve his Official’s list.
2. Barb (WFRA Musher Liaison) will be attending the Fall Campout.
3. Discussions regarding new trails at Tug Hill and usage based upon completion of these trails may determine which trails will be used for the race.
4. Bibs will be sorted and taken to the Spring Event.
G. Spring Jersey Devil Dryland Challenge II- March 11 & 12, 2023. Organizers- Meredith Michener & Insa Robinson are working very hard to make this great event as well. Fund raising efforts will be for both events.
H. 2023 Spring Meeting & Awards-Organizer-Treasurer-Donna Quante reported she is working to get a date for this event. She has not heard back from the motel at this time. She will pass along any info as soon as she secures a date.
I. 2023 Summer Campout-Twin Streams Campground in Morris, Pa. July 21-23, 2023. Organizer-Liz Stanaitis reported she will co organize, BOD-Ron Klepadlo said he would handle the registration for this event.
6. New Business:
A. Proposal from Amy Cochrane-Fallbrook Farms- a proposal was emailed to the Board. Until the Board has time to look at the proposal and discuss it, no decision has been made. It looks like it has great potential for future events.
B. A discussion was held on PayPal fees. PayPal takes fees out of all monetary transactions and the Board held a discussion on whether we want to continue to use PayPal.
C. Updates to Sled Dog Central: Treasurer-Donna Quante ask if someone could take over listing our events on Sled Dog Central due to very slow internet service at her home. BOD - Mary Beth Logue said she would take over this task. Thanks to both for your work on this.
D. Refunding for non-race events- A discussion was held on updates that are needed to our Policy & Procedures to put in place a clause for persons requesting to cancel before registration closes. We would refund camping & meal fees for the non-race event, but not membership fees or Byte fees. If the person request to cancel after the registration close date and we are in a similar venue such as a non-race event the non-refundable fee would include pre-paid meals as the food is purchased (or finalized for purchase), membership fees & Byte fees.
E. Sponsorship-The PSDC would like to Thank Rob & Mary Downey/Annamaet Pet Foods for their continued support of PSDC races & events. A motion was made by President-Christina Gates to divide the donation evenly between all race events. Vice-President-Rich Stanaitis seconded the motion. The motion Passed.
7. Old Business:
A. SHCA Sponsorship Agreement: President-Christina Gates reported that she still has some questions to work out with this agreement until then the Board has not signed the agreement.
B. Event Registration process using Byte: The Board reviewed and discussed how Byte works. The Board also discussed procedures for using Byte. BOD-Ron Klepadlo seems to be the most knowledgeable about the process. Everyone felt this is what they will use for their events.
8. PSDC Officials Pay Schedule- The Pay Schedule was presented and discussed. The Board felt that at this time no changes were needed. A motion was made by Vice-President-Rich Stanaitis to accept the PSDC Officials Pay Schedule as it was presented with no changes being made. BOD-Mary Beth Logue seconded the motion. The motion Passed.
9. For the Good of the Club:
A. Thank you so much to Ron Klepadlo for your work setting up Byte registration and explaining how it works.
B. “Rookie of the Year”- BOD-Insa Robinson made a motion for “Rookie of the Year” to be presented to Wendy Tarlow for her help with the two N.J. race events. Presenting this year’s Award will be Melissa Armstrong. This is Melissa’s way of paying it forward.
10. Adjournment: A motion was made by Treasurer-Donna Quante to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by BOD-Ron Klepadlo. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.