Minutes of the April 8, 2016 Arkansas Geocachers Association Board Meeting

[rklmbl]

Minutes of the April 8, 2016 Arkansas Geocachers Association Board Meeting
Queen of Diamonds Inn, Murfreesboro, Arkansas

The Arkansas Geocachers Association April 8, 2016, Board Meeting was called to order by Past President Rich Swanson at 6:30 pm.

Members present were:
Rich Swanson, Past President (acting for current President)
Sue Hayes
Sharon Simmons
Jackie Hefley
Eugene Smith
Susan Smith Dodson
Maribeth Laster
Jason Nuchols, Web Site Manager

Visitors were: Ron Laster, Sandy Fryar, and Linda Treadway
Attending by phone were: Les Williams and Phoebe Sellers

New ArkGeo Board Members Sue Hayes, Susan Smith Dodson, and Eugene Smith were introduced and welcomed.

The Presidents report was presented by Rick Swanson. The Treasurer’s Report was presented by Sharon Simmons. Les Williams made the motion to accept both reports, seconded by Maribeth Laster. Motion passed.

President's Report: prepared by Rich Swanson
April 8, 2016 Board meeting

Goal 1 - Membership -- Increase voting membership as measured by an increase in the number of votes in the annual election in 2016.
Owner: Jason Nuckols
Status: 70 Votes cast in 2016, 58 Votes cast in 2015. Goal Met

Goal 2 - Fund Raising – Implement fund raising initiatives to raise $450.00 by 3/31/16.
Owner: Sharon Simmons
Status – $ 2199 raised since July 1, 2015. Goal Met

Goal 3 – Events – Hold 3 CITO events by 3/31/16.
Owner: Sandy Fryar
Status - 3 CITO events have been held. Goal Met
2015 ArkGeo CITO Raiders Quest, 6/7/15
2015 Cache Bash VI CITO, 9/12/15
CITO of Sandy Beach - GF Lake Cleanup II, 9/12/15

Goal 4 – Events – Each board member host 1 event by 3/31/16:
Owner: Rich Swanson
Status - 9 events have been held or are scheduled. Goal Met
ArkGeo Bubble Flash Mod, 7/25/15
A Geocaching Gathering – Fun Times, 9/11/15
2015 Cache Bash 6.0 Challenge, 9/12/15
S.W.A.G.. Holiday Happenings III joined by Ark Geo, 12/5/15
ArkGeo Eat and Greet: Clarksville, 1/8/16
ArkGeo Eat and Greet: El Dorado, 2/12/16
Aloha Spring Meet and Greet: Heber Springs, 3/22/16
Sugartown Meet & Greet, Stuttgart, 4/4/16
ArkGeo Murfreesboro Meet and Greet: Murfreesboro, 4/8/16

Goal 5 – Teaching Opportunities. Teach Geocaching at 3 locations around the state by 3/31/16.
Owner: Les Williams
Status – 3 Teaching Opportunities have been held. Goal Met
2015 Cache Bash 6.0 Challenge, 9/12/15
S.W.A.G.. Holiday Happenings III joined by Ark Geo, 12/5/15
Geocaching class for high school students in Little Rock, 12/15/15


Treasurer's Report through March 31, 2016

Beginning Balance $2,497.95 INCOME: Merchandise sold Cache Cash Dash Bash Event $620.00 Pathtag Cash deposited $201.50 Merchandise sold Spuds & Nuts Event $59.00 Transferred from PayPal $250.00 TOTAL Income $1,130.50 EXPENSES: Check 1264 to Sew Perfect for Hats $142.56 Check 1283 to Sew Perfect for Polo Shirts 164.16 Check 1265 to USPO for Postage 20.4 TOTAL Expenses $327.12 Closing Balance $3,301.33 Pay Pal Beginning Balance $36.66 8 Polo Shirts Sold (net after shipping & fee) $227.66 Transferred to Checking account $250.00 Pay Pal Ending Balance $14.32 PathTag Cash Beginning Balance $196.50 Jan 4 - Give Back Credit $5.00 Pathtag Cash Withdraw $201.50 Feb 25 - Give Back Credit $5.00 March 16 - Give Back Credit $5.00 PathTag Cash Ending Balance $10.00 Pay Pal Balance $14.32 PathTag Cash Balance $10.00 Checking Balance $3,301.33 Total in Checking, Pay Pal, & PathTag Cash $3,325.65
$20.00 in Money Bag in Store Submitted by Sharon Simmons, Treasurer

Chuck Schwab was elected to the Board but no one has been able to contact him after repeated calls and texts and emails. He has, however, been geocaching during that time. This was discussed and Les suggested we give him one more week to respond then offer the position to Phoebe Sellers, next in line. He also suggested that we clarify the By-Laws to show that any newly elected board member has two weeks to accept the position, then it goes to the next person who was nominated and has the next highest vote count. That person will have two weeks to respond and then it will be offered to the person with the second highest vote count, etc. If there is no one else in line, the position will remain open until the next election, according to the By-Laws.

The following committee reports were presented:
Rich Swanson made a motion to accept them and Sharon Simmons seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Membership Relations Committee: Presented by Jason Nuckols:
The following ArkGeo members were showcased on the forums:
January – ABJCM
February – Doc Firewoman
March – Zeke and George
April – w00dduck


Fund Raising Committee: Presented by Board Liaison Maribeth Laster
Fund Raising Committee Report for June 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016:

Committee Members:
Maribeth Laster – rklmbl (Board Liaison)
Sharon Simmons - Flyfishingcachers (Chair)
Rich Swanson - Clark~Griswold
Deanna O'Malley - Hogwildfamilyof6
Linda Tredway - Angel06
Susan Smith Dodson & Mike Dodson - St. Rock
Ron Laster - rklmbl
Sandy Fryar – likestocanoe
Judy Vaughn - MathSeeker

Sales: Goal of $450 in sales for this past year was met and surpassed.
$ 381.75 – June 6, 2015 – Arkansas Geocachers Association Annual Event - Paris
$ 182.00 – August 15, 2015 - FIRED UP FOR GEOCACHING 2015 – El Dorado
$ 353.00 – September 12, 2015 – 2015 Cache Bash 6.0 Challenge – Lake Ouachita State Park
$ 44.00 – Miscellaneous Sales
$ 17.82 – Miscellaneous Sales
$ 620.00 – January 9, 2016 Paris Event
$ 59.00 – February 13, 2016 El Dorado Spudnuts Event
$ 227.66 – Polo Shirt Sales
$ 201.50 – Pathtags
$ 36.66 – Coin Sales on Paypal
$ 76.00 – Donations
$ 2199.39 – Total Sales - June 1, 2015 thru March 31, 2016

We are in contact with The GeoCoin Store to start another production of our new ArkGeo Pathtag for another fund raiser. These should go into production next week.

We bought 22 more t-shirts and will be selling those at the Annual Event.

We had a very good year for the store with total sales of $2199.39. Thank you to everyone for buying merchandise and raffle tickets.


Events Committee: Presented by Sandy Fryar:
Quarterly Report
2016 March 30 Update - Committee Volunteers

jclaudii jclaudii@yahoo.com
southerngirl rena31@hotmail.com
Jffok franklin-judy@cox.net
likestocanoe likestocanoe@yahoo.com (Sandy Fryar Board Liaison)
Nukeworker nukemator@gmail.com (Co-Committee Chair)
racketballgirl saphirear@yahoo.com. (Co-Committee Chair)
flyfishingcachers – flyfishingcachers@gmail.com Sharon Simmons

Planning for the upcoming annual event are almost complete. The fun will start on Friday night with an ArkGeo meet and greet and conclude Saturday night with the hot dog roast. The committee has a word of thanks for all those cachers that have given their time, funds and hard work to make this a great event. The “Keep Arkansas Beautiful” group and Geowoodstock have, also, donated prizes and CITO bags. The events committee has a number of contests and games planned for the day's activities as well as a fun outside trip to the mine itself if members who wish to participate.

Respectfully submitted
Sandy Fryar, Board Liaison
Committee Chair - Ken and Sue Hayes


Election Committee: Presented by Linda Treadway:
The top 4 candidates from the election held March 1 - 31, 2016 were: St Rock, Racquetball Girl, Butch46, and Floaten.



Community Relations Committee: Prepared by Les Williams:
No activity to report.
Recommendation from the last board meeting still stands
1 request via WoodWalker by the Public Library to be followed up by Les


UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
1. The possibility of having Youth Ambassadors was discussed and the Community Relations Committee is to investigate and report to the Board.
2. The possibility of selling a parking tag to hang on your dash when geocaching was discussed and the Fund Raising Committee is to investigate and report to the Board.
3. The 2017 Annual event will be held on April 8, 2017. The Events committee is going to ask attendees of the annual event on April 9, 2016 to vote on the area of the State where they wish to hold the event. The Events committee will then find a location in that area and let everyone know where as soon as possible.

NEW BUSINESS:
1. Election of officers for missing positions. Susan Smith Dodson was elected as Vice President to replace Karen Peters, who resigned. Sharon Simmons made the nomination and Maribeth Laster seconded. Motion carried.
2. Committee Board Liaisons:
Election Committee – Susan Smith Dodson
Fund Raising Committee – Maribeth Laster
Membership Committee – Eugene Smith
Community Relations Committee – Jackie Hefley
Events Committee – Sharon Simmons
3. 2016-17 Goals were discussed:
We dropped the membership goal.
Goal 1: Fund Raising – Implement fund raising initiatives to raise $500.00 by 3/31/2017.
Owner: Maribeth Laster
Goal 2 – Events – Hold 4 CITO events by 3/31/2017.
Owner: Sharon Simmons
Goal 3 – Events – Each board member host 1 event by 3/31/2017.
Owner: Les Williams
Goal 4 – Teaching Opportunities – Teach Geocaching at 4 locations around the state by 3/31/2017.
Owner: Jackie Hefley

There was some discussion about allowing board members to take inventory to local events to sell. Susan Smith Dodson made the motion to allow this and Eugene Smith seconded. Motion passed.

The next ArkGeo Board Meeting will be at 6:30 pm on July 15, 2016 at the Burdick Building, University of Conway, Conway, Arkansas Room 218 N 35 04.848 W 092 27.350

The Board Meeting was adjourned at 7:38 pm.
Respectfully Submitted:
Maribeth Laster, Secretary
April 11, 2016

[arkfiremedic]

Great job to all involved for meeting the goals. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to hear where it's going to be. I know it would be very hard to do but I really like how Geowoodstock ends and announces where the next event would be. Instead of having the vote at the annual meeting could we vote on it when we vote for board members at the same time? That way it would be approximately one year out and those of us who will be camping can not as much ensure we have a place to camp, but be like this last event where we were all able to get spots all together. I know it worked out and we seemed to have a better time than having to go a long distance to each other's camp site. Just a suggestion. I really look forward to the announcement at GWS just so I know where I may have a chance of going next year. Congratulations to the new board members.

[Cloak.n.Dagger]

Instead of having the vote at the annual meeting could we vote on it when we vote for board members at the same time? That way it would be approximately one year out

I really like this idea.