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Board Minutes 2000
March 2000Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the American Vaulting Association held at the Kings Inn, 1333 Hotel Circle South, San Diego, California
on Saturday, March 4, 2000
Roll Call: The meeting was called to order by President, Charlie Bittenbring at 1:42 PM. Executive Board members present: Charlie Bittenbring, Marge Oakes, Cindy Scott Paul, Stephanie Siemens, Carol Beutler and Jan Weber; Members of the Board of Directors present: Jeannie Beattie, Paul Caskey, Merry Cole, Cher Czyzewski, Emma Drinker, Priscilla Faulkner, Judy Francisco, Sydney Frankel, Jan Garrod, Connie Geisler, Kenny Geisler, Rick Hawthorne, Virginia Hawthorne, Kelley Holly, Yossi Martonovich, Marianne Rose, Vicki Smith, Barbara Thompson, Judy Toothaker. Regional Supervisors present: Teresa Keville, 8 additional guests were present.
Board Member Acknowledgment: Jeannie Beattie presented new Board members with certificates. Board members who are serving their first term were presented with Board pins.
Approval of the Minutes: Marge Oakes moved approval of the minutes of November 6, 1999. Kelley Holly, second. Motion passed by voice vote.
President: Charlie Bittenbring reported committee chair appointments (attachment 1). Jan Garrod moved that the total proceeds of the Annual Banquet 2000 auction be designated for purchase of a new display booth. Stephanie Siemens, second. Vote by a show of hands 13 yea, 8 no and 4 abstentions. Motion passed by simple majority.
Executive Vice President: Proposed new language for election procedures in the Constitution and Bylaws and the Standing Rules was distributed by Charlie Bittenbring(attachment 2). Merry Cole moved approval of the new language presented for Article VII, section 1 (attachment 2) and that this change be in effect for the next election. Priscilla Faulkner, second. Motion passed by voice vote. Marge Oakes moved approval of the new language presented for Article VII, section 3 (attachment 2). Vicki Smith, second. Motion passed by voice vote. Paul Caskey moved approval of the new language presented for Article V, section 4b with rewording that would say "and no two members may be affiliated with the same club" (attachment 2). Priscilla Faulkner, second. Motion passed by voice vote. Marge Oakes moved approval of the new language presented Article VI, section 3 and Article X section 1(attachment 2). Jeannie Beattie, second. Motion passed by voice vote. No Grievance report. Medal Test report in Annual Meeting Packet (Attachment 3). National Office report in Annual Meeting Packet.
Treasurer's Report: Carol Beutler presented the budget with revisions. Barrel class fees at the National Championships will be increased to $20.00. The registration fee will be increased to $75.00. Jan Garrod moved that we approve the treasurer's reports (attachment 4). Charlie Bittenbring, second. Motion passed by voice vote. Jan Garrod on behalf of the grants committee requested direction from the board. Following discussion the consensus of the board was that the committee gives priority first to Regional requests, second to clubs, then individuals when considering grant requests.
Vice President Competitions: Rick Hawthorne moved that National Championships 2001 be held at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Cindy Scott Paul, second. Motion passed by a show of hands; 19 aye, 14 nay, no abstentions. Proposals for National Championships 2002 will be brought to the next meeting on Grass Valley, LA Equestrian Center, Portolla Valley (Menlo Park) and Paso Robles. Paul Caskey moved approval of the National Championship Ad Hoc Committee proposal that a consistent date (even numbered years, late July; odd numbered years, early August) and that Denver be locked in for odd numbered year National Championships to begin in 2003. The rotation to be Denver/CA/Denver/TBD. The motion passed by a show of hands; 17 aye, 2 nay, 6 abstentions. Yossi Martonovich has been directed to secure the National Western Complex for a late July date beginning in 2003 for all odd numbered years. Jan Garrod reported as the AHSA liason that the first Vaulting Vaulter/Coach award was presented to Kerith Lemon and Emma Drinker. Silver and gold vaulters who are current AHSA members received ballots. The new AHSA Representative for Vaulting is Wendy Ware Cook. Lynn Lopez continues at the International Athletic Services desk. There is a new committee for disabled riders. Volunteers are sought for developing an instant scoring procedure. The Technical Delegate program is being developed.
Vice President Development: Acknowledge support of board for program and budget consideration and dedication of the auction funds to the purchase of a new booth. Cosequin nominations are due May 1st.
Vice President Education: Education liaisons will be working on clinics. AVA Horsemanship Program (formerly the Little Horseshoe Program) is being reviewed by J. Moore, Technical Advisor and a patch will be sent to Taiwan to be produced.
National Council for Therapeutic Vaulting: Acknowledge a productive committee meeting.
Vice President Membership: Jeannie Beattie moved that life member pins and five year pins be ordered. Emma Drinker, second. Motion passed by voice vote. Jan Garrod moves that a 20 year pin be developed. Rick Hawthorne, second. Motion passed by a show of hands; 17 aye, 4 nay. Stephanie Siemens moved that the November meeting be held near the competition site in Massachusetts. Cher Czeyzewski, second. Motion passed by voice vote. Stephanie Siemens moved that the Annual meeting be held in Albuquerque in March 2001. Jeannie Beattie, second. The motion was defeated by a show of hands; aye 10, nay 11 and 1 abstention. Marianne Rose moved that the Annual Meeting 2001 be held in Northern California. Rick Hawthorne, second. Motion passed by a show of hands; 12 aye, 7 nay.
Jan Garrod moved that the meeting be adjourned at 4:13 PM. Rich Hawthorne, second.
August 2000 MinutesMinutes of a Regular Meeting of the American Vaulting Association Board of Directors
Peppertree Hotel, Santa Barbara, CA
August 23, 2000
Roll Call: AVA President, Charles Bittenbring, called the meeting to order at 7:15PM.
Executive Board members present: Charles Bittenbring, Suzanne Detol, Cindy Scott Paul, Marjorie Oakes, Jan Weber, Carol Beutler, J. Ashton Moore.
Board of Directors members present: Shari Ballenger, Jeannie Beattie, Paul Caskey, Merry Cole, Cher Czyzewski, Emma Drinker (late), Priscilla G. Faulkner, Sydney Frankel, Jan Garrod (late), Connie Geisler, Kenny Geisler, Rick Hawthorne (late), Virginia Hawthorne (late), Kelly Holly (late), Yossi Martonovich (late), Marianne Rose, Vicki Smith.
Regional Supervisors present: Connie Geisler (R I), Teresa Keville (late) (R II), Carol Sabey (R IV).
Guest sign-in: Debbie Baker-Dailey, Isabelle Bibbler, Kim Deaver, Alia Zagyver, Lynne Owen, Joy Coburn, Carole Dwinell.
Approval of the Minutes: Priscilla G. Faulkner moved to accept the minutes from the March 4th, 2000 Board Meeting. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
President:
1. Board Meeting locations: Charlie Bittenbring handed out listing of past Board meeting locations and proposed future locations. Marge Oakes moved to endorse this plan. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
2. Insurance Research: Charlie reported that Wayne Beisecker has volunteered to research issues surrounding liability insurance for AVA registered clubs and coaches. Effective Jan 1, 2000, 4H does not recognize any equistrian activity without a helmet requirement. Therefore, vaulting clubs previously insured as members of 4H must find an alternative. Wayne Beisecker is proposing to research alternative coverage at a reasonable rate. Requested board to approve Wayne's proceeding with this research. A motion to this effect was made, seconded and unanimously approved.
3. Day Membership Proposal: Charlie reported that Marianne Rose has volunteered to research issues surrounding a $25 “day membership” to allow a vaulter to compete in a single one-or-more-day competition. Discussion ensued concerning logistics of competition management and rule changes needed. Issue was tabled until November Board meeting.
4. Technical Advisor: Jeff Moore (AVA Technical Advisor) proposed the formation of a working group to clarify technical details in the Constitution and Bylaws and Standing Rules. This issue was tabled.
Treasurer
1.Year-to-Date Fiscal Year 2000 Report: Carol Beutler distributed the budget YTD as of July 31, 2000. Vaulter membership still lags behind targets, but is improving. Marianne Rose moved to accept the budget. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
2. Proposed Budget Fiscal for Year 2001: Nationals had decreased registrants because it was held after school started, therefore we lost money on Nationals. Many new clubs, especially on east coast, are registering with the AVA. Emma Drinker moved to accept this budget, with some further changes to be approved at the November board meeting. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
3. Authorization to Audit Books: Charlie Bittenbring requested board authorization to budget funds for an audit review of our accounts. Rationale is that we need an audit in order to attract sponsorship. We may need up to $2000 for this review (not a full audit). Jeannie Beattie moved that this expense be added to the budget changes to be presented at the November meeting. This motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
Vice President - Competitions
1.National Championships 2001: Bob Weber has visited the Mt. Holyoke site and considers it suitable from a facilities standpoint.
2.National Championships 2002 Location Proposals (West Coast): potential locations were discussed. Marianne Rose reported that Region II has offered its Grass Valley date (3rd weekend in July) for Nationals. Marge Oakes reminded the board of its previous decision that it was preferable to hold our Nationals in the 3rd week of July in odd years, and the 2nd week in August in even years (in order to avoid conflict with the World Championships at the end of July. It was decided to investigate the Watsonville location, keeping Grass Valley in mind as a fallback option, and welcome further proposals on other locations.
3. National Championships 2003: We are planning on Denver. We are negotiating with the Denver facility to see if it would be possible to go there every 3 years.
4. National Championships 2004: Paso Robles facility? (Jan Weber)
5. International Committee:
CVI 2001: Jan Garrod informed the board that Garrod Farms will be the location of a CVI in June 2001. Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards will be the sponsor of this event. Sue Detol moved to give Board support to this plan. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved
European Championships 2001: Kelley Holly moved that we maintain our current practice of funding neither the Chef d'Equipe nor warm-up suits for the competitors. The motion was seconded and approved, with one dissenting vote.
Additional Agenda Item: Shari Ballenger moved to approve the following volunteers for the Ballot Committee: JoAnna Morisoli, Carole Dwinell, Shauna Pomeranz; Pam Douglas and Susan Caskey to be alternates. This committee to meet at Nationals to count the ballots from our recent election. This motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
Executive Vice President:
Suzanne Detol gave the Technical Committee Report:
109 Medal tests this year: Jan--July 2000:
16 novice, 36 bronze, 28 trot, 8 trot right, 1 bronze right, 18 silver, 2 silver right. Several more are scheduled. We need more medals (supplies), and are looking for nicer silver medals.
Vice President - Development:
Jan Weber distributed a revision of the budget - proposed budget for 2001 to be approved at November meeting. She has a collection of vaulting-related press releases, and welcomes feedback on those. A new booth is underway. Sponsorship is moving very slowly
Vice President - Education:
Isabelle Bibbler handed out a preliminary release of the Coaches Training Manual that she and Emma have produced. It is very close to completion and she is looking for volunteers and help implementing the details of publication / distribution. This will be revisited at the November meeting.
Vice President - Membership:
Marianne Rose reported that the Annual Meeting in March, 2001 will be held at the Villa Hotel in San Mateo (in the Bay Area). Thu/Fri/Sat meetings, Sun educational day
Naomi Takemoto reported on the continuing effort to upgrade National Championship trophies. We have three new trophies; Bronze Men, Bronze Women, and Osierlea trophies. All the trophies were donated. We have a new B team plaque, and are replacing lost A and C team plaques.
Vaulting World: Marianne Rose reported that she'd like to see much more material sent in by clubs.
Adjournment: Shari Ballenger moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded and the Board voted to adjourn at 9:55 PM.
November 2000 MinutesMinutes of a Regular Meeting of the American Vaulting Association Board of Directors
DoubleTree Hotel, Bradley International Airport, Connecticut
November 5, 2000
Roll Call: AVA President, Charles Bittenbring, called the meeting to order at 9:45AM.
Executive Board members present: Charles Bittenbring, Suzanne Detol, Carol Beutler, Marjorie Oakes, Stephanie Siemens (late), Jan Weber (late), Jen Williams.
Board of Directors members present: Jeannie Beattie, Isabelle Bibbler, Paul Caskey, Kim Deaver, Emma Drinker (late), Judy Francisco (late), Sydney Frankel (late), Jan Garrod (late), Connie Geisler, Virginia Hawthorne, Rick Hawthorne, Devon Maitozo, Yossi Martonovich, Marianne Rose, Vicki Sherraden.
Regional Supervisors present: Connie Geisler (I), Jen Williams (IX).
Guest sign-in: Rachel Markels Webber, Karen Golub
Approval of the Minutes: Rick Hawthorne moved to accept the minutes from the August 23rd, 2000 Board Meeting (Att. 1). The motion was seconded by Marjorie Oakes and unanimously approved.
President:
Approval of Committee Chairs: Charlie Bittenbring presented a list of Committee membership for 2001 (Attachment 2). Jeannie Beattie moved to approve the list, Marianne Rose seconded, and approval was unanimous.
Eric Jewett's letter to the Board concerning preferential contracting with AVA members for services: (Attachment 3). Marianne Rose moved that "the Board directs Fest Management to attempt to seek services from AVA members first" - motion died for lack of a second. Board members informally agreed to direct Fest Committee to publicize in Vaulting World the services needed for National Championships, so that AVA members may apply to fulfill these contracts.
Insurance research - nothing new to report.
Executive Vice-President:
Technical committee: a new technical committee was appointed in March and approved by the Executive Board. Technical is working on criteria for promotions, and for selection of judges for the National Championships.
Rule Changes proposed to the Board:
Change section 603.4 to read, "In individual competition, if a horse is excused for misbehavior, and a vaulter has touched the horse or grips to begin his performance, that vaulter is eliminated from that class section." Move to accept: Marge Oakes. Second: Isabel Bibbler. Accepted unanimously.
Change section 107.2: remove "which is lame or in bad condition", add "for irregularity". Charlie Bittenbring moves to table. Second: Kim Deaver. Tabling accepted unanimously.
Medal Exams: the Board recommended the formation of an ad-hoc Medals Committee to re-design the medal testing process.
National Office:
The National Office Manager recommends we close the Educational Video collection until the tapes can be reviewed, due to bad condition and antiquity of some of the tapes. Devon Maitozo moved to "close the Educational Video collection until review by the Technical Committee Chair." Second: Paul Caskey. Unanimous approval.
The National Office Manager recommends that the AVA stop sending the outdated "Camps and Clubs Manual" to new Affiliate Members, substituting the Ulrike Rieder book (of which we have many). Jen Williams moves "to send the Ulrike Rieder book to new Affiliate Members until the AVA determines that an excerpt of the Bibbler/Drinker manual is more appropriate material." Second: Devon Maitozo. Motion carried.
National Office Manager Contract: Suzanne Detol moved to "authorize a $50/month wage increase for the National Office Manager, effective January 1. We recognize that this is below the cost-of-living changes, but we are constrained by the AVA's current financial situation." Second: Devon Maitozo. Vote by show of hands: aye - 13. Nay - 4. Abstain - 3.
Treasurer:
Treasurer Carole Beutler distributed a Fiscal Year 2000 wrap-up report (Attachment 4) and a Fiscal Year 2001 budget (Attachment 5). As approved at the last Board meeting, an audit of the AVA's books should happen within a month. This is necessary to help us attract sponsorships. We are about $800 in the red due to unexpected expenses and shortfalls at Nationals. Carole recommended asking the National Office Manager about the best means of maximizing the amount of money in our investment funds while keeping enough money in our checking account to cover expenses. We will need to exercise care in managing our finances this year.
Vice President Competitions:
Nationals: Marge Oakes, VP Competitions, distributed a report on Nationals 2000 and on the Grass Valley site for Nationals 2002 (Attachment 6). Rachel Markels Webber and Karen Golub are co-chairs for Nationals 2001 at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. As so many people will need to borrow horses, Region 9 has offered to use its savings to help defray the cost of transporting horses out East. If clubs loan their horses for others to use, they can expect to receive approximately $10/vaulter/"go".
Fest 2002: Grass Valley is the only available site so far. We are looking at late July or early August.
Fest 2003: We would like to have Nationals in Denver, but the National Western Complex will not agree to hold a desirable date for us to use only every two or three years.
International: Report by Gail Ostendorf (Attachment 7). CVI 2001: Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards will be sponsoring a CVI at Garrod Farms, June 29-July 1, 2001. Team, pas-de-deux, and individuals will be offered. They hope that no passports will be required for horses.
AHSA committee report: Jan Garrod encouraged AVA members to join the AHSA. Jan reported that many organizations are making donations toward the FEI General Assembly. Emma Drinker moved to "donate $100 from some AVA fund to go toward the FEI General Assembly". Second: Yossi Martonovich. Motion passed. Jan Garrod moved to take the money out of the International Fund. Carole Beutler seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
National Council for Therapeutic Vaulting:
Rick Hawthorne reported that Rachel Webber is working with NAHRA on the helmet issue. Originally NAHRA required helmets always - they no longer require helmet in every case. Rick described this as "a huge step".
Rick is working on a procedure for dispersal of monies from the Marcia Sullivan Fund.
Rick is working on AVA brochure and website revisions to address the therapeutic component of vaulting.
Vice President Education:
There have been or will be Coaches' Clinics in KY, CA, MI, NY. J.A.Moore will present a seminar on The Horse at Annual Meeting.
The Compulsories part of the Bibbler/Drinker Coaches Manual should be done by the end of the year. Jan Garrod moved that the authors of the manual negotiate with the Executive Board over the terms of AVA endorsement of the manual and that the issue need not come before the Board again. Second: Jeannie Beattie. Motion passed unanimously. Jan Weber moved that the income from the auction at Annual Meeting be dedicated to development of an educational video to accompany the Bibbler/Drinker manual. Second: Sydney Frankel. Motion passed unanimously.
Vice President Development:
Written report distributed (Attachment 8).
Sponsorships: Jan Weber distributed materials exemplifying her efforts in arranging sponsorships with organizations such as eStable, Inc and HorseSportsOnline (Attachment 9).
Olympics: Devon Maitozo, who is a USET Committee Athlete Representative, mentioned the urgency of working toward getting vaulting into the Olympics. Emma Drinker moved that "an 'Olympic Pursuit Ad-Hoc Committee' be organized under Development and Devon Maitozo chair this committee". Jeannie Beattie seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Vice President Membership:
Day membership proposal: Marianne Rose distributed a report detailing the "Day" membership and Alumni membership proposals (Attachment 10). Concerns were raised about insurance and tracking vaulters and money. The National Office should be involved in working out the procedures for managing this. It must be made easy for Competition Managements. Several Directors expressed support for the idea, pending resolution of logistics.
Annual Meeting 2001: March 1-4, 2001, in the Bay area.
Membership report: In 2000 we had 1 new life member, 5 contributing, 16 families, 3 subscribing, 282 sustaining and 701 vaulting members.
Vaulting World: Marianne Rose would like more articles and photos from clubs.
New business:
Membership pins (5-year, 10-year, 20-year pins): a proposal to award pins based on membership in any category of membership, not just sustaining membership, was proposed and tabled pending research on costs.
eGroups: Paul Caskey had developed an eGroups site for the AVA Board; it offers the advantage of a central copy of the Board address list and polling capability, and a repository for uploaded files. It can be found at http://www.egroups.com/group/avaboard
Jan Garrod moved to adjourn. Marge Oakes seconded. Motion passed unanimously, and meeting adjourned at 3:40PM.