DRAFT

Los Alamos Mountaineers

May 2, 2012 - Board Meeting Notes

Attendees Melanee Hand President

Rick Light Vice President

Momo Vuyisich Treasurer

Ross Lemons Secretary

Lorrie Bonds-Lopez Publicity

Bill Priedhorsky Trips

Michael Altherr Programs

Daniel Creveling Membership

Zack Baker Past President

Location Bill Priedhorsky's house

Agenda

1.  Trips

  1. Bill Priedhorsky led a discussion of
  2. How to get more energy into trips (i.e. how to get more people interested in leading trips)
  3. How to increase the number of more challenging trips
  4. How to get new people interested in Club trips
  5. To address these issues the Board agreed to
  6. Identify a "deputy trip leader" to help anyone interested in leading a trip but lacking trip leader experience.
  7. Indentify 1 or 2 potential trip leaders per Board member and to encourage them to plan and lead a trip. Preliminary suggestions were
    Momo – Dennis Brandt or Tom Claus
    Melanee – Dave Hand
    Rick - Rich Kelley
    Lorrie - Jean Dewart
    Dan - Brett ?
    Ross - Don Krier
    Zack - Nate Bill or Kathleen Gruetzmacher
    Mike - Jan Studebaker
  8. Identify destinations that would desirable for Club trips. Preliminary suggestions were
    Mount Humphries
    Chama Monastery vicinity
    Grand Canyon
    Embudo area
    Longs Peak – keyhole route
    White Mesa near San Ysidro (mountain biking)
    Cedar Mesa
    Diablo Canyon
    Cruces Basin
    Spanish Peaks
  9. To help attract young people to the Club, Momo will provide the Club "Mission Statement" to Brenda Montoya at the LANL Student Organization, and Bill will send the same to Mary Ann With at the LANL Post Doc Office.
  10. LAM was invited to participate in the LANL Student Picnic. Zack and Dan will represent the Club at this event. Zack will reschedule the "Rubber Duckie" outing until after the picnic so students learning of it at the picnic can participate.
  11. There was significant discussion on enhancing the website so that people unfamiliar with the Club could easily learn what activities the Club does. Momo and Zack will take the lead on including photographs on the site that illustrate Club activities.

2.  Climbing School/Specialty Courses/Other Courses

  1. Rick reported that the Climbing School is going very well with 25 active and enthusiastic students.
  2. Rick reported that there are 5 specialty courses this year.
  3. Introduction to Scrambling – Tom Claus went very well, but with a small class
  4. Snow and Glacier Mountaineering will have an indoor session on May 10 and a practical on May 12
  5. Anchors will be taught in June
  6. Leading will be taught in July
  7. Introduction to Canyoneering will be in August
  8. The LAMC is jointly sponsoring with Bandelier National Monument a 3-part "Introduction to Backpacking" class, beginning with an indoor session on Friday June 16, 2012 that introduces the class to the concepts of backpacking and general outdoor camping in the wild (Momo will teach this) - the 2nd part is a 1.5-hour indoor class on Backpacking Basics on Saturday June 17, 2012 (this is a pretty technical class taught by Rick), and the 3rd part is an outdoor practicum - a "mock backpack" - in which we help them pack their packs, drive to the trailhead, hike in a mile or three, set up camp, cook a meal, relax and enjoy, break down camp, hike back to the cars, and go home.
    The first part should be held at a Los Alamos venue with ample seating (~50). Bandelier wanted the 2nd and 3rd parts to be held in the Monument, but they have not yet confirmed a location.

3.  Trip Leader Awards/Climbing School Recognition Gifts

  1. Bill Priedhorsky showed both the Trip Leader Awards and Climbing School Recognition shirts.
  2. The Board approved the award of a shirt for leading 2 day-trips or 1 overnight trip.

4.  Programs

  1. Michael Altherr reported that the Programs for the remainder of the year are shaping up well. Specifically mentioned were
  2. Melanee will introduce Doug Shepard (sp?), the speaker at the May meeting.
  3. For June the presentation will be on "The Geology of Climbing"
  4. Jed Williamson (sp?), Editor of Mountaineering Accidents in North America, is available to speak in October or perhaps November.

5.  Website

  1. There was discussion of back-up for the new Website. Zack stated that current text is backed up nightly. It was agreed that Momo would take responsibility for backing up the full content of the site annually.
  2. Lorrie Bonds-Lopez will post the monthly Program descriptions on the website. (Zack offered to help if she had any problems with the mechanics of doing so.)
  3. Each member of the Board agreed to write up the Roles and Responsibilities of his/her position within the next month. These would be reviewed by the Board before being posted on the website.
  4. Recognition of Jan Studebaker for his many years of service as the Club Webmaster will take place at the June Meeting.
  5. Lorrie Bonds-Lopez is looking into a recognition gift.

6.  Membership/Finances

  1. Momo reported that the current Club balance is ~$10k
  2. Dan reported that 140-150 people have renewed their memberships

7.  Discussion of issues associated with the Los Alamos YMCA

  1. There has been some changes in personnel at the YMCA which has confused some interactions
  2. Melanee Hand reported that David Hand recommended either "sand blasting" or machining the LAM logo into the climbing wall hold donated by the Club to the YMCA.

8.  Donations of outdoor equipment

  1. Donations to outdoor equipment for disadvantaged children in NEWDAY, (Evone Zander, Life Skills Academy Director) will be solicited in conjunction with the June "Swap Meet".

9.  Discussion of Club liability issues

  1. Momo contacted Lou Santoro – another State Farm agent who recommended Reynolds Insurance in Santa Fe as a broker that could contact underwriters who that might address LAM's needs
  2. Ross Lemons contacted Markel Insurance who issued a policy for the Nature Center. They responded that they could not issue a policy for LAM.
  3. Ross found that Pachner & Associates has insurance programs for mountaineering, cross country skiing or snowshoeing, top roping etc. Ross agreed to contact them to find out what a policy might cost, who it would cover, and what would be required.
  4. Bill Priedhorsky suggested that LAM might look into re-establishing an affiliation with the Colorado Mountain Club who have insurance coverage.
  5. Michael Altherr suggested that affiliation with the American Alpine Club might be another possibility.

10.  LAMC Tax Exempt Status

  1. Ross Lemons reported on preliminary investigation of the requirements for establishing Federal Tax Exempt Status. Designation as Social and Recreation Club under IRC Code 501 (c)(7) would require filling out ~10 pages of forms, and payment of a $400 fee for a "determination". Ross will look into it in more depth and contact Eric Chisolm who has done this for the Los Alamos Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
  2. It was suggested that the Club might also qualify for tax exempt status as an "educational organization" based on the Climbing School. Ross will assess the advantages and disadvantages of these categories.