WWSCC Meeting Minutes
03/16/04
Called to Order: 7:36 p.m.
In Attendance: UW-Denny Trimble, SCCA-Jerry Lamb, Treasurer-Kelley Picasso, Vice President and BEAC-Enrique Garcia, CSCC-Ed Dahl and Steve Perret, ACE-Ron Bauer, PSMC-Dieter Beldi, TS-Keith Brown, NWDE-Chris Schlosser, BSCC-Karl Coleman, Tom LeCoque, Kevin Dietz, Alan Dahl, Karen Babb, Secretary-John Henderschedt
February Minutes: Karl Coleman moved to approve. Second by Dieter Beldi. Passed without objection.
Treasurer’s Report: Kelley presented the report for February. Report included the review of monthly cash flow and expenses by category. Expenses include the season-long honeybucket rentals. Kelley provided final breakdown of a budget-to-actual comparison of income and expenses for the January 2004 Coneheads banquet. General opinion was that WWSCC had good financial results with the banquet considering the improvement in venue and menu. Treasurer’s report concluded with review of accounts receivable.
Old Business:
Honybuckets- WWSCC is set for the season. In regard to the location of a key, it should have been under the right-hand skid of the first bucket. From now on they will be checking to confirm that the key is in its place on the Friday prior to an event.
WWSCC Generator- Looking for suggestions as to where the generator can be stored. It is currently with Denny at UW. He will hold on to it for now as UW is hosting the first championship event. Members stressed that whoever has it should notify the chairman of the subsequent event that they have the generator. Event chairs shouldn’t have to spend time tracking down the generator. If someone has the generator, they should notify the WWSCC board. Whoever needs the generator can inquire with the board.
Laptop Computer- WWSCC has been discussing the purchase of a laptop computer and printer. It looks as if an adequate machine will cost about $1200. Enrique also suggested the purchase a Canon printer, but it is not a laser printer, which club members believe is needed. Ron Bauer moved to authorize the purchase a laptop for an amount not to exceed $1200. Second by Jerry Lamb. Passed without objection. The purchase of a printer will be postponed pending the identification of a suitable laser printer. As well, the club will investigate the use of a wireless network setup.
Event Dates- A current list of dates is available in the February minutes. NWDE would like to reserve June 6. This date appears to be open on all autocross calendars.
Slush #3 Review- Denny reported that the weather was great. There was a large turnout, and everyone got three runs. There were no complaints regarding the course design. Alan Dahl noted that there were many class changes that required a lot of data entry in the timing van. They should have probably switched to three run groups. Discussion of the need to have experienced co-chiefs followed. There should be more input in the specialty areas. Karl recommended a “buddy system” so that each UW specialty chief was paired with an experienced co-chief. These arrangements should be made prior to the day of the event. Denny will send out a call for co-chiefs.
Jerry stated that the Slush #3 event was discussed extensively at the SCCA meeting. People were “up in arms” regarding the event chiefs and their unwillingness to accept assistance at the event. Alan pointed out that auditing is a big job and when there are so many event participants, it may justify a separate work assignment. Ron noted that the UW events seem to be the only ones where they don’t ask for workers ahead of time. Assigning all of the jobs as people show up may not be the best way to do it. Kelley stressed that orderly events are to the benefit of both the sponsoring club and WWSCC itself. If an event is
poorly run, it could be protested, and the event would not be counted as a championship event. This could affect UW’s standing at WWSCC.
Jerry had an additional question regarding the status of the Slush #3 event. It was billed as a championship event. Karen explained that BEAC has to recognize the event as a single-event championship or it receives half of the event proceeds, so it was billed as such to avoid the higher fees. Also, the event info did not make it onto the hotline. There was some discussion of trying to get an accurate measure of how frequently the hotline is used.
New Business:
WWSCC Event #1- Denny provided an event plan. BEAC hasn’t yet confirmed the site, but no problems expected. Some discussion regarding course design followed. How long is the course? The black lines on the map represent cone walls – a lot of cones. Their purpose is to separate two close paths. Looks as if the second car may have a fairly late start. A spin at the finish looks like a possibility – there’s a turn through the finish. Looks as if things may need to be moved further apart. The main recommendation is to have an experienced course designer help with setup. Denny needs stewards for an event. There should be a WWSCC steward available for setup as well. There is some question as to the best location of the timing van relative to the course design.
Enrique will be the afternoon rules steward. No BEAC focal yet. Perhaps Dick Willy – could he also be the morning rules steward? It was also recommended that a novice chief be recruited and a novice course walk be conducted. Fast Mike may be interested in doing this.
Slush Banquet- Kelley has agreed to chair the event. The budget is $400. The preferred venue is Bison Creek Pizza. Many possible dates discussed and eliminated due to conflicts with autocross schedule. Best date seems to be Saturday, April 17, to start around 6 p.m. Kelley will check on availability at Bison Creek. If April 17th not available, April 16th is good second choice. If folks have ideas for games and/or door prizes, please let Kelley know.
Coneheads Banquet- This report was included with the Treasurer’s report.
BEAC Issues- A WWSCC rules steward should be available to oversee administration of events such as registration and worker assignment. Should WWSCC assign someone to events as administrative contact? Ron described that a few years ago WWSCC was going to assign each club with a specialty area. Historically the rules steward is a compliance officer – course layout, safety, car overlap – basically to insure that the event is run by the book. The rules steward shouldn’t be distracted by registration, worker assignment, etc. Kelley stated that if there are legitimate concerns regarding a club’s ability to hold a championship event, then that should be addressed at the prior meeting. If we want to return to earlier practice, then each specialty chief would have to check with a specific club. Clubs would be the specialty experts.
Karen explained that Boeing has “subject matter experts” (SMEs) and that maybe this approach would work for WWSCC. These people are “consultable” on certain topics and there would be more than one per area so the responsibility wouldn’t fall on the shoulders of one person. Jerry clarified that the intent is not to establish the SME as worker assignment positions or that the SME would have to be present at all times. Karen suggests that the SMEs be included in the checklists. Enrique will collate the checklist info – please contact him if you are willing to be a SME.
There was a suggestion that guidelines be established for having either two or three run groups. This would be based on the number of cars that show up for an event. Jerry suggested that run group size be capped at 30 cars. This guideline should be in the checklist. The last event should have had three rather than two run groups.
Karen asked how we know which numbers are reserved from last year. Enrique will consult with Brett. This should be printed out from the scorekeeper database prior to each event, and is presently included in the registration checklist.
Miscellaneous:
Alan found printed event results from the early nineties. Does the WWSCC want to make these data available on the website. Consensus that the time required for data input couldn’t be justified. Perhaps if someone is interested in creating PDF or OCS files of these data, the webmaster could post the files.
Kevin Dietz would like to be the sponsor of the 2004 Championship series, and would like to have the updated Jim’s Detail Shop logo on the timing sheets, course map, and web links, and this should be included in the checklists. Kevin will forward the new logo to the webmaster.
Karen needs to know the color of the 2004 rule book cover. Kevin says green. She needs ads by the end of the month. They should be PDF files in black and white. Please send ads to Karen.Babb@comcast.net. Make sure the aspect ratio is correct – scaled for a half sheet of paper. Jerry moved to keep ad fee at $20. Second by Keith Brown. Passed without objection.
Karen needs roster information from all of the clubs but PSMC, TS, and SCCA. This is for the K&K insurance.
There is a BSCC event on Sunday, March 21. Karl and Scott Miller are event co-chairs.
Next Meeting: Monday, April 19
Adjourn: Chris moved to adjourn. Second by Jerry. Passed without objection at 8:50 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
John Henderschedt
Secretary
Attachments