Mach Tenn Running Club meeting minutes: 7/23/08
Attendees: Brian Bacon, Joe Babilon, Denny Elston, Joanne Elston, Les Marsh, Melissa Miller, Mike Niederhauser, Lana Sain, Christine Sliger, David Sliger
Meeting Agenda:
Officer Elections
Upcoming Races
Group Activities
Officer Elections
President – Mike Niederhauser
Vice President – Lana Sain
Treasurer – Denny Elston
Secretary – Joanne Elston
Melissa Miller will continue to function as the club’s Webmaster. We discussed recruiting Holly Matthews to function as the club’s Public Relations person with respect to doing write-ups on races, specifically noting participants and award winners from the Coffee county area and from the running club.
Upcoming Races
Staggerwing Duathlon – Saturday, August 2, 7:30 am
4K run, 30K bike, 4K run. Information on the event can be found at www.staggerwingdu.org. All organization activities for the event are proceeding according to plan. We still need volunteers to work in Registration and Finish Line areas. Registration activities include: Handling check-in of pre-registered participants; Handling registration paperwork and payment for race-day registrants; Handing out t-shirts to race-day registrants; Handing out timing chips; Body marking. Finish Line activities include: Calling out race numbers as participants approach the finish line; Handing out cold, wet towels to participants as they cross the finish line; Retrieving timing chips once competitors cross the finish line. Any one available to help should contact Joanne at 455-6553.
Star Triathlon ( Manchester) – Saturday, August 30, 8:00 am
200 yard swim, 14 mile bike, 5K run. The club will be providing equipment for this event. Information on the event can be found at www.startriathlon.com.
Greenway 5K (McMinnville) – Saturday, September 27, 8:20 am
A flyer for this event was attached to the club meeting notification email sent out by Melissa.
Group Activities
Over the past several years, the club has evolved into primarily an event organization club. We wish to continue in this capacity because 1) we’re very good at it, and 2) these events, most especially the Mach Tenn Triathlon, bring monies into the club. However, there is a huge interest in reinvigorating the club by focusing more on promoting running. It was agreed that the club has the potential to provide group training opportunities for competitive runners, provide contacts to similar experience/pace levels for those who run for exercise, and provide potential runners with access to individuals interested in guiding/teaching on all aspects of running. By focusing on these areas we feel that we would have not only more people interested in joining the club, but also more active participation from everyone who belongs to the club. With these being our goals we agreed to hold club meetings every other month, and schedule monthly running and multi-sport activities. The bimonthly meeting location will switch back and forth between Manchester and Tullahoma. Minutes will be taken at each meeting and will be published to the club’s mailing list. Lana will coordinate with other members on scheduling the monthly running and multi-sport activities for the next 3 to 4 months, and will send out email notification of the schedule.
There was also discussion on other possible race events with which the club could possibly be involved in the organization and/or support. Two potential events were discussed. Joe mentioned that the Manchester and Tullahoma police are interested in putting on an event they’re calling “The Blue Light Special.” This event would be a night-time run surrounded by patrol cars with the blue lights flashing. No specifics are known as yet. Joe will provide Mike with contact information and Mike will investigate further. The second potential event is what we have called “The Whiskey Run.” Mike informed us that both Jack Daniels and George Dickel are interested in becoming involved in local events. We feel that both organizations would be receptive to an event that starts at distillery and finishes at the other. We would propose that each year the start location and finish location would be the reverse of the prior year. That way, each distillery would get equal benefit from participants and spectators visiting their facilities. Mike and David will take the lead on pursuing this with the distilleries. No other specifics are known as yet.
Other Business
On behalf of the Marine Corp League, David presented to the club (Melissa) a certificate and letter of appreciation for all of the support the club has provided over the past few years to the annual Marine Corp League race.
The next club meeting will be held in mid to late September. A notification email will be sent one week prior to the meeting.