June 5, 2002
President Bob Hamblin called the meeting to order at 2:30 PM.
Board members attending: Bob Hamblin, President; Ken Calderwood, President Elect; Jim Smith, Vice President; Fred Royce, Secretary; Carter Wind, Treasurer; Dick Roberts, Immediate Past President; R. J. “Lance” Landseadel, Director, Eastern Zone; Lloyd Hendry and Byron Maxwell, Directors, Central Zone; Don Billings, Director, Mountain Zone; Jack Spencer and George Mannschreck, Directors, Pacific Zone; Jerry Haley, Membership Chairman/ Director; and Gene Wright, Caravanner Editor.
Other members attending: Bob Coles, Past President; Gordon Lipp, Past President; and Al Ficker, Safety Project Chairman.
Special guest: Gordon Harris of the RVF of Australia.
Moved by Roberts and seconded by Spencer to approve Board Meeting minutes chaired by Dick Roberts on June 20, 2001. Motion carried.
Moved by Roberts and seconded by Landseadel to approve Board Meeting minutes chaired by Bob Hamblin. Motion carried.
Bob Scott, Wagonmaster, reported 68 rigs and 129 persons attending the rally this year. He expressed satisfaction with the good working relationship he had with campground personnel. Revenue and expenses are expected to be in balance. A more detailed report will be submitted after the rally.
Carter Wind reported on the Financial Status as of May 25. Cash on hand is $30,230 with $7007 in the Highway Safety Fund. Projected available cash after payment of all bills for this year’s annual rally including purchase of defibrillator is over $15,000.
Carter Wind also presented an Income/Expense Report for the period from 5/1/01 through 4/30/2002. When one-time expense items are removed, income and expenses are nearly in balance. An estimate of expenses for next year totaling $6700 was also included. The reports and estimate Carter presented indicate the Fellowship is in a good financial position.
Moved by Roberts and seconded by Haley that the Treasurer’s report is accepted. Motion carried.
Jerry Haley presented the Membership Report. As of May 10, the Fellowship has 468 members with 64 joining during the past year. Overall, membership appears to be showing signs of a possible slight decline. 205 memberships will be expiring on 6/30/2002. It was noted that nearly one-half of the new member applications came from use of the form on the Fellowship website. Jerry and other Members presented the following comments and recommendations:
1. Recruitment of non-member Rotarians, who attended the San Antonio International Convention and RVF rally was not as effective as hoped.
2. The Membership Application should include a “referred by” line to indicate who recruited the individual. That Member making the referral should have their dues paid for one year.
3. A Membership Application should be in included in the Caravanner at least once a year.
4. An application for the purchase of badges should be published in the Caravanner so Members know how to obtain badges.
5. New Members should be given badges at the time they join.
Moved by Calderwood and seconded by Smith that New Members and their partners are provided the standard name badges. An amendment was offered by Maxwell and seconded by Roberts that there be an initiation fee of $20 in addition to the normal annual dues for first time Members to cover the cost of badges. Amendment approved. Motion as amended passed.
Membership growth was discussed. The information indicates membership has not increased. There is a need to prepare for the future. What should be done? More effort should be made to recruit more Canadian and Mexican citizens. We need to figure out how to make Rotarians more aware of the RVF and other fellowships. We can also promote the Fellowship by making sure we are providing good service to our existing Members.
Gene Wright discussed the Caravanner. He asked if the format warrants changes. The consensus was the present format is excellent and the group gave a loud vote of applause for Gene’s continued contribution to the RVF. An Application Form could be included in the newsletter. Gene expressed appreciation for the assistance Ken and Laura Calderwood are providing in printing and mailing the Caravanner. He reported that he is unable to transmit information to the website because of software incompatibility. He is working on the matter. Bob Hamblin stated he would work with Kirk Greiner, Webmaster, to see what further steps can be taken to improve communication.
Motion offered by Calderwood and seconded by Mannschreck that Gene Wright, Caravanner Editor and Jerry Haley, Membership Chairman be given Lifetime Memberships in the RVF. Motion carried.
Laura Calderwood reported on plans for future mailing of the Caravanner. She recommended going to a bulk mailing with a Return Request option. A bulk rate permit can be obtained for a non-profit organization for $125. This change should reduce mailing costs substantially. The group expressed their appreciation for Laura’s efforts on behalf of the RVF.
The caravans led by Dick Roberts and Don Billings to Colorado Springs worked out very well.
The board reaffirmed support for the Highway Safety Project per presentations made at previous annual rallies.
Kirk Greiner needs to have material sent to him in order to keep the website current. As noted previously there is software issue which Bob Hamblin will discuss with Kirk.
Al Ficker plans to attend the Barcelona International Convention this year and will represent the RVF in a Fellowship Booth.
RRVF pins. Bob Hamblin, Jerry Haley and others developed a design and arranged to have produced. Jerry gave pins to attendees. Pin cost is $1.47 and will be sold to Members at rallies for $1.50.
Future rallies were briefly reviewed. These included: Watkins Glenn in New York 9/10-14; the Albuquerque Balloon Festival rally October 9-13 wagon mastered by Dick Nevins; a joint rally with the yachting and fishing fellowships and the RVF Texas Rolling Rotarians with Byron Maxwell serving as wagonmaster; a rally in November in Fredericksburg, TX with Sam and Nancy Goldman as wagonmasters; and a Rock Rollers Rally in September 2003 with Dave Stomps again serving as wagonmaster.
Brisbane 2003 RI Convention. Gordon Harris of the Australian RVF passed out a brochure promoting the Convention to be held June 1-3,2003. He also reviewed the history and development of their fellowship and the current status of the organization. Gordon also indicated the importance of continuing to emphasize the international connection between our Fellowship and other organizations within Rotary.
There has also been some effort to promote a caravan RV tour of Australia following the Convention.
Bob Hamblin stated that our Fellowship will publicize so Members can act if interested. So far three members have expressed interest.
RVF Representation on RI Recreational and Vocational Committee. Bob Hamblin reappointed Dick Roberts.
2003 Annual RVF Rally. The rally will be held in Plymouth, California May 6-11, 2003 at the 49’er RV Resort located 40 miles east of Sacramento.
Registered Agent of the RVF Corporation. Moved by Haley and seconded by Spencer that Robert De La Hunt is appointed the Registered Agent of our organization that is incorporated in the State of New Mexico. Motion carried. De La Hunt replaces Jack Page.
Nominating Committee. Bob Hamblin announced the appointment of Dick Roberts, Mike Reed and Jim Hall.
The consensus is that the Highway Safety Project deserves continued support. We also need to strive to have activities that promote fun and fellowship and in the process raise a few dollars when that is needed. Concern was expressed over the planned auction at this rally.
We presently have more than adequate funds to support the Safety Project. This may give us some opportunities in the near term without worrying about funding. Longer term, we need to be cognizant of money needs, and when required that it be done in manner consistent with the mission of the Fellowship. Because of the favorable financial condition, there was a general discussion regarding the possibility of contributing to the Polio Plus Fund. No decision was made.
Bob Hamblin is planning to further discuss the topic with the Membership.
Australian RVF. Gordon Harris wants us to consider having a more defined relationship between our Fellowship and the one in Australia. Bob Hamblin will address this issue.
Meeting adjourned at 5:30 PM.