SLAGA Board Meeting

February 2, 2017

6:00 PM, Chemical Interchange Building

Attendees –Tony Colter, Bill Lange, Patricia Hutchison, Dave DeWitt

                The meeting was called to order at 6:15 pm, with Tony motioning and Bill seconding.

                Motion to approve the January minutes was made by Bill, seconded by Tony.  Attending board members unanimously approved the minutes.

                Treasurer’s report was not available as it is pending final numbers from January expenses, per Kathy, via phone.  Treasurer’s report is tabled until March.

Old Business

• Brochures – Issue briefly discussed and though tabled from previous month, attending board decided the issue was settled last time by accepting the brochures presented.
• E-mail blast was distributed on 2/2/17.
• Event Recap

¨       Winter Potluck

• About 150 people attended and had a great time.
• The raffle brought in over $300.
• Ray loved his milestone jacket.  Several other geocachers received their milestone awards as well.
• Two geocoins that were never claimed, despite repeated attempts to contact the achievers, were activated and released in random caches nearby.
• Upcoming Events: 

¨       Spring Picnic – 5/6/17 – Nan-D1955 will host.  The Kirkwood pavilions have been secured and paid for.  Dave spoke with Nan and confirmed there was nothing new to add.

¨       Summer Picnic – 7/15/17 –Michael Rogers of Arthur & Trillian is hosting at Rock Bridge just outside of Columbia, Missouri.  The facilities have been secured and paid for.  Attendees will provide their own food.  There is nothing new to add at this time.

¨       Eclipse – August 21, 2017, 1:15-1:19 pm – Jefferson Barracks Park.  Laura will be hosting a St. Louis County Parks event here for the eclipse.  There is no geocaching event set up as yet, however, someone may consider posting a flash mob.

¨       Fall Picnic – The Confluence at Hartford, Illinois, September 16, 2017.  Team_State will host, per David DeWitt.  The location has been reserved, fee-free.  There are no barbecue grills there; Food will need to be brought in, possibly fried chicken.

¨       Grave Hop – The board has not heard from The Grif.  L Frank may volunteer to host.  The topic is tabled.  No updates from last month.

¨       Halloweenie Roast – Larson Park is already paid for; we just need a date and a host.  Kathy is reaching out to Michael Maryan to see if he will host, but Laura MacLeod will be backup.  No updates from last month.

¨       Holiday Party – This event is too far in the future to plan at this time.  The topic is tabled.  No updates from last month.

¨       Spring Picnic, 2018 – (From previous discussion) Queeny Park has been suggested with the further recommendation that caches currently in play be replaced with new ones, excepting the oldest ones, for those players who need ‘dated’ caches.  This picnic is currently tabled.  No updates from last month.

• Classes

¨       Canoe – Tabled.

¨       GSAK – Tabled.

¨       Cache Publication & Placement –May 13, 2017, 9:00 am-2:00 pm.  Tony Colter is hosting the event and teaching the class at the South Grand location of the St. Louis City Public Library.

¨       Queeny Park – The facility manager has declined to respond to Bill’s calls and e-mails.

¨       Scouts/Public training – For the class on 2/4/17, volunteers are scheduled to arrive at 9:00 am while the students are to arrive at 9:50 am at the Grand Glaize Library.  Classroom activity will go until 11:00, then participants will go to Queeny Park for geocaching in the field.  Training is scheduled to end about 1:30.

• SLAGA Geocoin

¨       Geocoin – The obverse needs to be redesigned as the coin is no longer coming out for the 15th Anniversary.  David offered to assist.

¨       Pathtags – Like the coin, this is in an ongoing process with a new design.  It was noted that the Pathtag is a general profitable item.

• BLR – Some attendees at the Winter Potluck who have completed the trail picked up their BLR coins at that event.  Bill moved for the item to be removed from future agendas.  Patricia seconded.  Motion passed unanimously. 

• PayPal – Dave DeWitt is still working on this issue with PayPal.  See Mission Statement section of the minutes for more information. 

• Website Training for New Officers

¨       David trained Patricia on MailChimp prior to the board meeting.

• Liability discussion

¨       There is still no movement on a liability waiver at this time.  Sylvia Titgemeyer agreed to review and ask other colleagues to possibly review on a pro bono basis.

• Scouts/Other Requests for Classes

¨       Cub Scout Pack 499 class on 2/4/17.

¨       Homeschool Group

• Request received for a possible class for 5-11 year olds, around the end of February, but there has been no further movement on this request.

¨       American Heritage Girls

• Request received for a father-daughter event in Dardenne Prairie on March 25 for approximately 90 girls (and their fathers).  Due to logistics, it may be recommended (or required) that participants download the app to their smartphones prior to the event.

¨       Patricia inquired whether there should be a published set of class guidelines on the SLAGA website, outlining expectations for the participants (ie., parents attend with and be responsible for their children, for example).  Some discussion resulted, but Bill recommended seeing how the 2/4/17 training session went before writing up any guidelines.

¨       Recommendation for the setup of a scheduled 101 class for geocaching, with about three events per year, with one or two unscheduled (‘by request’) classes.

¨       Smartphone classes also need to be developed for geocaching, as most new participants are more apt to start out with technology they already own (smartphone) rather than run out a purchase an expensive GPS unit.

• Bill recommended Groundspeak’s app because it is free and is official.
• Classes would be enhanced by PowerPoint presentation of screen shots for both Apple and Android devices, as there are differences in the platform apps.

New Business

v  Mission Statement

• In order to work with PayPal on our account, they require a mission statement that shows an educational aspect of our organization.  David requested Patricia write up a mission statement, which follows.
  • The St. Louis Area Geocachers Association exists to promote and improve the family-oriented activity of geocaching.  It serves as a resource for those interested in the activity, through educational means such as leading classes and workshops, while encouraging responsible stewardship of public lands in cooperation with land managers.
• The attending board members agreed to review the statement and table for further discussion at the next meeting.

v  Milestone awards

• Bill requested that a feature be added to the website showing qualifying members awarded milestones have actually received their pins/coins/chairs/etc. 

v  Trailer inventory

• Patricia provided an updated spreadsheet detailing the trailer inventory as noted at the Winter Potluck on 1/28/17.  This included recommendations on items that needed to be replaced.  (See inventory list.)
• The canopy tent in the trailer may need to be replaced but as it was not taken out and checked at the last event, it is to be pulled out at the next event and reviewed.  At that time, it will be determined whether funds should be spent to replace it. 

v  Purchases

• Patricia donated several items, including napkins, plastic wrap, aluminum foil and trash bags, to be placed in the trailer for use at future SLAGA events.
• Bill motioned that Patricia be reimbursed $30 for the donated items and Tony seconded.  Motion passed unanimously. 

v  Next meeting will be 6:00 pm, March 2, 2017 at Chemical Interchange.

v  Adjournment

• Tony motioned for the meeting to be adjourned and it was seconded by Bill.  Motion passed unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 7:37 pm.