BMW CCA, Puget Sound Region
Board Meeting Minutes
September 1, 2005

The meeting was called to order by President Rick Gulstrom at 6:45pm at the Mercer Island Fire Station 91.

Those in attendance were:

Rick Gulstrom, President
David Lightfoot, Vice President
Martin Hovenkotter, Treasurer
Jane Hesselt van Dinter, Secretary
Louis Hesselt van Dinter, Roster Manager
Lynne Eskil, Membership Chair
Alan James, Tour Coordinator
Lucetta Lightfoot, Zündfolge Editor
Mike Ellis, SIG Coordinator
Don Robesch, Member
Jim Millet, Zündfolge Advertising
de Anna Martin, Banquet Chair
Roger Hoffeditz, Member
Louie Lindenmayer, E28 SIG
Tom Cox, Past President
Bill Spornitz, Member and Proxy for Tom Olsson, Driving Events Chair

Presidents Report

• News from National was distributed to all Board Members via email.

Treasurers Report

• Marty stated that we continue to accumulate funds in all our bank accounts. A complete report will be added to the Meeting Minutes Notebook for reference. Discussion was held as to how to handle excess funds. It was decided that no decision should be made about these funds until all prepaids for next year are finalized.
• Bill suggested a meeting dedicated to the discussion of budgetary matters.
• Tom Cox feels that the position of Treasurer should remain a single person Board position with a committee of people to aid with this work. Marty agrees with this. Marty will write up a proposal as to how he feels this committee would function and submit it to the Board next month.

 

General Meeting and Non-track Event Calendar

• October 1, 2005 is the deadline for 2006 Board Member Nominations. Louis discussed open positions on the Board which includes: Secretary, Treasurer and Tour Chair.
• There were no changes made to last months Board Meeting Minutes. Final approval will be sent to Tom Olsson to post on the website.
• There was a general discussion on the Hill brothers participation in the 24 Hour Daytona event. Lynne would like the Board approved donations, via check, as soon as possible and should be made out to each participant. Lynne will also discuss with Ken and Wes doing an article for the Zündfolge magazine to promote this event, even though Ken did place an ad in the magazine.
• General discussion about offering local BMW dealerships spots in our Novice day events or in our regular lapping days. It is still felt that this is a good way to encourage participation in our events with the help of our local dealers.
 

Upcoming Events:
• Martin Rudow will discuss his book at the Mercer Island Library on September 17th.  David encourages every one to attend.

Past Events:
• There was a minor fender bender at the recent 8 series event.  Discussion was held as to the clubs liability related to this.  Dave Clary was thanked for notifying the club about this incident.
• Rick was somewhat disappointed at the turnout for the August 13th Speedware event. He will consider changing the time of year this event is held next year.  He felt, however, that the staff of Speedware was very good at answering questions.

New Event Ideas? 
• There will be a representative from the LeMay Museum at next months Board Meeting to discuss the museums mission, and the benefits of club membership in the Museum itself.
• There will be an audio tech session at Benchmark Motoring on October 22, 2005 from 10:00 - 12:00. Tom Cox will be the contact for this event.
• Marty and Alan reported that the plans for the two day Hill Climb event are getting finalized. It will be October 8 and 9. There has been good interest in this event. The lunch stop is yet to be finalized. They have not been able to coordinate this event with the Oregon Club, however.
• On December 11, 2005 the Arthritis Foundation is holding its annual Jingle Bell Fun Run. This is a 5K run/walk. de Anna will be acting has Team Captain for this event and is encouraging Board members to participate. Deadline for team registration is the end of October. Acting as a team, we could have our club logo on the back of a T-shirt for an extra $10. de Anna is asking the Board to pay this additional fee in order to encourage club participation. A motion was made not to exceed 50 people ( $500) toward this event. Alan seconded the motion and it carried with majority approval.
• The BMW Collectibles Event will be held on December 10, 2005.
• No new information on the Foster Wheel and Tire event.
• No new information on the Dinan Event.
• The Sun River Exotic Car Show will be September 16 - 18. (see August Zündfolge for additional information).
 

Track Events

Tom Olsson emailed his report and it is as follows:
• I've told the nominating committee I'd like to serve as the DEC again next year if the current arrangement works with everyone.
• The August school went very well. The weather was good, everyone had fun, and there were no major offs. The one thing we did need to overcome was that we were very short on instructors. There was a race in Portland, and many people had work or personal commitments, so it was tough getting instructors into every car, and several had to take on 3 students. Everyone seemed to take it in stride though.
• Money - please find attached a financial report for the Driving Committee. The first sheet is August only, and second is year-to-date. As you can see, we're doing well.
• The Vlasics - I've talked to them multiple times since the last meeting, and everything is smoothed out. This is truly an instance of miscommunication, and I encourage anyone that has an issue to pick up the phone and call me. I really didn't realize there was a problem until you guys got the letter. In any case, everything's fixed (we came to an agreement that does not involve money), and Louise has even volunteered to help out next year!
• Bremerton - We have written confirmation that BRP will run as usual for 2006, so I will go get our usual dates.
• 2006 schedule - We are thinking pretty much the same dates, plus an off-campus trip, probably Laguna or Infineon. We will probably not get as good dates with PR as we did this year, as many other Clubs didn't get a weekend at all. Walt and I are already beginning to talk with the Porsche folks about combining our Instructor Clinics into one. I have no dates yet.
• Chief Instructor Meeting - Robyn McNutt, our regional DEC, has started a discussion about safety at our schools. The discussion has progressed into a flood of emails, so she may call a meeting of all the CI's. If this happens, Walt will go, and we'll need to help him out plane fare, etc.
• Not much news on the Bremerton Novice school Nov. 19th. The first promotion will be in the next Zündfolge, and registration will open in early October (i.e., when I get my Zündfolge in the mail)

 

Tours/Rally

• No new events planned.
 

SIG Groups /Events

• The E30 picnic at the XXX Drive Inn had a good turnout. There were 105 cars. The Club made a $200 donation to Life Enrichment Options.
• Martin discussed options for an E36 Event.
• Lance was not able to attend the meeting but his report, emailed to me, is as follows:
105 or more E30s in attendance, new location worked well. We'll probably use the same location next year. The previous agreement with the board was a $200 donation to a designated Issaquah charity to help the E30 SIG secure the site.  The check should be made out to "Life Enrichment Options" for $200. LEO is a non-profit which provide services to disabled people in the Issaquah community.  Also - Rick G. and I made an executive decision to buy two 24"x60" folding tables for the club. They fold up nice and can be transported in any BMW to an event.  They are stored in the storage locker in Factoria.

 

2005-2006 Banquet

• Date will be January 21, 2006. de Anna will sign the contract and has deposit for this date.
• David is still attempting to contact Bill Auberlen but has not heard back from him. He discussed using Joey Hand, a winning BMW racer, or Burt Levy, an author as possible speakers for the Banquet.
• Most members of the Board would still like to pursue the "Topless in January" theme.

Concours

Nothing new to report.

Zündfolge

• The deadline for the October issue was Tuesday, August 30th. The deadline for the Nov/Dec issue is October 11th.
• Jim mentioned that there was a cancellation notification for the Auto Hound/Exeter ad. He has, however, several other businesses that should be able to fill this ad space.

 

Roster/Membership

• Louis reports that membership continues to fluctuate monthly.
• Lynne reports that membership is up by 98 members.
 

The next Board Meeting will be held on October 6th, 2005 at the Mercer Island Fire Station 91.  This meeting will start at 6:45 p.m.  de-Anna Martin volunteered to bring food for this meeting.

Roundabout

• Jim mentions that all his relatives in the New Orleans area have been reported safe.
• Marty sold his E39. Is looking for an M coupe or an E36.
• Bill had 9 races down with three to go with no major car damage. He states the championship will come down to the last race.
• David is still working on getting a time for our club to visit Jon Shirley's private car collection. He also discussed the SWERVE driving schools driving training at Emerald Downs. This is an event for teenage drivers and is similar to our street survival skills events.
• de Anna is doing her third running event. She has done 2- 5Ks and her next event is 4.2 miles.
• There was mention that volunteers are still needed for the Italian Concours d' Elegance this weekend.