AHBA Meeting Minutes
1/23/08
 
Present:
Board: Scott Schaedel (Secretary/Webmaster); Dave Martin (President); Paula Matzek (Membership); Mitch Polonsky (Treasurer); Al Gibbs (Vice President, Rides); Don Ami (Arlington 500)
 
Members: Chris and Dave VanDornick; Jim Maclure, Kris Ami-Sudrovech
 
Meeting started at 6:35 p.m.
 
The Board recognized and thanked Gary Gilbert for his efforts to help publicize AHBA through press releases and liaison with external organizations.
 
Treasurer’s Report: Mitch reported a positive balance in both checking and money market accounts. A conservative budget has been prepared for 2008 which includes typical income sources (Bike Swap, Arlington 500, member dues). Due to the positive balances, Mitch made the motion that 2008 charity contributions be doubled over their 2007 level and said motion was approved unanimously. Donations are made to Adventure Cycling, Chicago Bicycle Federation, League of American Bicyclists, League of Illinois Bicyclists, and Rails to Trails Foundation. Mitch has also budgeted $500 to support one or more group rides this summer, such as a GRAIL or similar ride involving transportation expense to the starting point. Additional monies have also been set aside in the event that the 2008 banquet is moved to a more expensive venue.
 
The Treasurer also reported that he has filed AHBA’s 2007 federal and state tax returns and annual report as required by law. On other financial matters, the club’s liability insurance policy expires on 4/1 and is not expected to be renewed due to changes at the carrier company. Since new insurance must be in place soon, Don and Dave are working with the insurance broker to find a new carrier. Scott suggested that the club have the previous carrier or our broker confirm that any insurance claims due to accidents prior to 4/1 be covered by the carrier policy in effect at the time of those events.
 
Secretary/Webmaster had no report but recommended that the possibility of the club engaging professional services and/or purchased software be considered in 2008. Scott will research options and report back to the Board. The Board also suggested that the Officers on the website be fully updated.
 
Bike Swap: Chris said that she’s received confirmation from the Park District on 4/26/08 availability for Centennial Park, the same location as last year.
 
Arlington 500: Don made a motion that the club finance an LIB mailing insert advertising both the Arlington 500 and the Bike Swap which will be mailed with other club materials to an LIB distribution of about 10,000 recipients in Illinois. The cost of $725 is expected to be recovered by a small (40-50) increase in pre- and onsite registrations plus potential additional Bike Swap sales. The motion was approved unanimously.
 
Rides: GITAP was discussed as one of the weeklong rides including GITAP and the Katy Trail. For Saturday rides, Al introduced a new signup sheet. There was some discussion of encouraging membership by monitoring guest riders on the signup sheet and/or providing new members a safety triangle as an incentive to join. Further, Al is soliciting commitments from ride leaders for specific 2008 dates and has started the task of converting ride cue sheets into spreadsheets, which will be available to ride leaders and club members via the website.
 
Membership: Paula will email a monthly birthday message to AHBA Cyclists. She stated that current active membership is down to 93 (households) in 2007, compared to 190 past memberships. To boost membership, she will mail a flyer to recent members. Additionally, a member option to receive printed newsletters via regular mail has been discontinued and is no longer an option on the membership application. Members who paid to receive a newsletter in 2007 will receive a $12 reduction on their 2008 dues. It was also decided that membership personal information will not be distributed but will remain available from Paula or Mitch via email request. Mitch will be the owner of the official current member list.
 
New Business:
Club Meeting dates for 2008 were set as 2/27, 3/19, 4/23, 5/28, 9/24, and 10/22. The following were mentioned as possible programs: Joe Reichert of Amlings Bike Store, possible presentations from two other new bike stores recently opened in Arlington Heights, Norma and Evie’s trip, and Bally Yoga.
Dave Martin unfortunately resigned as President due to personal reasons. Effective immediately, Al Gibbs assumed this role. Chris and Dave VanDornick will cover the responsibilities vacated by Al until a replacement can be found.
 
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.