Wilmington Trail Club

Paddler’s Board Meeting

6:00pm

November 16, 2009

Michael Gaul, Chairperson, called the meeting to order.

Board members in attendance were

Sharron Laas, co-chair

Mark Yohe, head instructor

Wendy Kutz, Janice Fiore, Mary D’Tommaso, training coordinator triad

Dave Sibley, safety & insurance coordinator

Chris Stranahan, treasurer

Shannon Lavelle, marketing & P.R. coordinator

Patty Welch, whitewater trip coordinator

Louise Young, touring trip coordinator

Wes Young, member service – touring

Susan Love, member service – whitewater

Also

Ed Rohrbach, outgoing head instructor

Old Business:

Dave Sibley, as Interim Chairperson, reported on the following Old Business:

Club versus Non-Club trips have been reviewed with the WTC Council.  A WTC member must lead club trips.  Non-club trips can be posted on the WTC forum but must be identified as such.   An attorney, at the request of WTC president Bill Hardam, is reviewing written differentiation of club versus non-club trips.  Dave will report on this and post the disclaimer and trip differentiation on the WTC paddling forum.

Regarding CPR certification, Dave reported that WTC would continue to handle independently of PCC.  Chris Stranahan, treasurer, reported that purchase of mannequins by WTC had been investigated and determined not to be cost effective. Chris could provide Red Cross first aid training in conjunction with the CPR training, but probably on a separate day.

Certification requirements for paddling instructors were reviewed:

• CPR instruction is valid for 1 year
• First aid is valid for 3 years
• CPR re-certification does not require repeating the full training program; just a quick review and demonstration of competence will suffice.

New Business:

Chairperson - Mike Gaul reported on the following items:

• Mentor program – board members are reminded that they should identify potential replacements for their position on the board and mentor them prior to resigning a position on the board.
• Equipment – Mike is physically collecting and inventorying via a spreadsheet all paddling equipment owned by WTC.  Eventually a storage shed may be needed to house the equipment.  Right now, it is scattered at numerous member homes.
• Kayak polo – The YMCA is interested in starting a team.  Mike is soliciting assistance from members who would be willing to coach people in learning how to handle a kayak.  Suggestions were made regarding kayak games with rubber ducks and no paddles that might be a good intro into the concept to assess interest without the capital investment of special helmets, life vests, paddles, etc. required to safely play actual polo.  Janice Fiore expressed an interest in attending a kayak polo game in the Washington D.C. area.  Such games are also available for viewing on the web.
• Pool Sessions are 7 am to 9:40 am every Sunday at the Western YMCA on Kirkwood Hwy.  It was suggested that some sessions be specifically designated for touring and sea kayaks, e.g. for basic rescue instruction and advanced rescue techniques.

Training Coordinator Triad – Wendy Kutz reported on the following items on behalf of the triad:

• The whitewater training program has been significantly revamped with a change in venue and consequent change of dates:  all training will be on different sections of the Lehigh and all scheduled for June.
  • Essentials of Kayaking – 2 days on non-release weekend (June 5-6)
    • Glen Onoko pond on day 1
    • Family float section (Dunbar to Bowmanstown) on day 2
  • River Kayaking – 2 days on a Lehigh release weekend (June 12-13)
    • Family float section on day 1
    • Jim Thorpe to Dunbar on day 2 (potential option for fast track paddlers to do Whitehaven to Rockport)
  • Whitewater kayaking – 2 days on a release weekend (June 26-27)
    • Jim Thorpe to Dunbar on day 1
    • Whitehaven to Rockport on day 2
• Recreational program – Quick Start Your Kayak – would still be held at Lum’s Pond (May 15) with optional paddling trip the next day.
• Other options in the program were discussed:
  • Have an open house at Lum’s Pond for the whitewater paddlers (same time as the quick start course?)
  • Possibly eliminate the Ashland open house; instead have an open house, AND pool session at Cab Calloway in March/April so that people could have some hands on experience with the different types of boats (touring and whitewater).
• Go back to a Mandatory Safety & Insurance session where safety, clothing (relative to hypothermia), waivers, etc. could be covered followed by wet exit and swim test preferably at Cab Calloway in the evening (May 3 or May 10).  Makeup sessions for this mandatory schedule would be handled at one or two designated Sunday pool sessions at the Y.
• Janice Fiore distributed a 2010 Kayak training application covering both recreational kayaking and the three whitewater kayaking weekend sessions with a request for written feedback from board members.
• "The Board reviewed potential certified instructors, and leaves it to the Training Coordinator Triad, Head Instructor, and Chairperson to determine which instructors will be needed for the 2010 training season.”Certified instructors were reviewed, and it was agreed that the following instructors for 2010 are Ed Rohrbach, Dave Sibley, Janice Fiore, Mark Yohe, Kelly Yohe, Kevin Frankosky, Wendy Kutz, and Michael Gaul.  Any questions maybe directed to Michael Gaul (WTC Paddling Chairperson) at mikgaul@gmail.com
• There will be a scouting trip of the Lehigh sections for the training on May 22, 2010.

Safety & Insurance Coordinator – Dave Sibley reported that he would be handling the insurance for the pool sessions and the scheduled training.  If individual club members want to have ACA insurance for various other events or training, they would need to make these arrangements themselves.  He had no safety issues to report.

Treasurer – Chris Stranahan distributed the Treasurer’s report for the 2009 season.  The paddling group balance decrease by approx. $1500 relative to 2008.  The River II training lost about $450; River I made about $200.  The paddling group made some equipment acquisitions (kayak & PFD’s) and had assorted expenses for ACA instructor training/renewals.  The balance reported on Nov. 16 was $6921.92 and is detailed in the treasurer’s report.

Marketing & P.R. Coordinator – Shannon Lavelle

As a new incoming member, Shannon had nothing to report; however, various board members gave her information related to past activities in this arena:

• Kevin Foley printed posters for the training in the past and we hope he will continue to do so.  There is a list of places for putting up the posters, and last year the posters were divided and people were assigned specific places to put them up.
• Other suggestions included
  • Getting word out at University outing clubs
  • Advertise the kayak training in the WTC Bulletin
  • Have an information table with video and WTC training applications at the EMS stores on club day.
  • Contact senior Boy Scout / Girl Scout troops about the training.
• It was agreed to give Kevin Foley a gift card in gratitude for his contribution to the WTC training publicity.  Chris Stranahan will follow up.

Whitewater Trip Coordinator – Patty Welch

Discussion including scheduling a meeting in January 2010 for whitewater paddling schedule. The objective is to schedule all the release dates and to obtain as many trip coordinator volunteers at this meeting as possible.  Also, put the preliminary schedule as well as the monthly write up into the WTC Bulletin.  The whitewater paddling activities are the only WTC activities that are not included in the club bulletin.

Member Service - Whitewater – Susan Love

There was some discussion of the roles and responsibilities of this position.  Susan volunteered to help coordinate the equipment list and facilitate finding equipment for the new students rather than just giving them a list of names and telling them to find their own equipment.

Other ideas around equipment for new paddlers were discussed, including holding a paddling gear yard sale.  This was considered a good idea to hold right after the training, possibly at Lum’s pond, or better at a member home.

Touring Trip Coordinator – Louise Young

Louise distributed a summary report of the 2009-paddling season.  There were 48 trips scheduled; 5 trips cancelled, mainly due to low water.  A total of 500 paddlers participated (112 different individuals).  The touring group will be holding a scheduling meeting in January to put together the preliminary schedule for 2010.

The touring boat acquired by the club has been well used this season in the touring program.

Member Service-Touring Touring – Wes Young

Nothing to report

Co-Chair – Sharron Laas

Nothing to report

Some discussion ensued regarding when to hold the next paddler’s board meeting (January versus February).  The Chairman will take this under advisement and determine the next meeting date.

Draft minutes respectfully submitted by Co-Chair, Sharron Laas.

Please advise of any omissions, corrections, etc.

Sharron Laas