The March 26, 2002 meeting of the Western Reserve Rowing Foundation was called to order at approximately 6:00 p.m. The following people were in attendance:

Peter Gozar/WRRF
Brenda Soukup/WRRF
Tom Kimball/CSRA
Robert Walton/WRRA
Dave Werner/St. Ignatius
Eric Schmidt/WRRF Boathouse
Doug Carlson/WRRA Treasurer
Lis Kroepel
Cathy Petryshyn/WRRA
Jim Mack/WRRA
Evan Halprin/CWRU
David Tardini/WRRA/WRRF
Don Saer/BOD
Mark Silverstein/WRRF

The minutes from the February 26, 2002 general meeting were approved pending the addition of the names of the people involved in working on the Advisory Board definition and role (Kelly Blazek and Kathy Whitford), the Delegate definition and role (Jim Mack and Harold Mazzarins) and the formal boathouse blessing (Cathy Petryshyn).

We have no income as of yet this year. The expenses are fairly usual. We have $21,663.99 in the bank.

There was a discussion on developing a cash flow statement, which the Foundation has never done due to the volunteer nature of the job.

There was also a discussion about putting the HOTC and City Crew accounts under the umbrella of the Foundation and having the same person responsible for all three accounts.

David Werner – HOTC

We owe WRRA some money for expenses for the Head of the Cuyahoga because a sponsor still hasn’t paid. Also, we didn’t have as many sponsors this year, but we did increase our fees. Dave will call the sponsor and ask them to fulfill their pledge.

Eric Schmidt handed out a draft WRRF Boathouse Development Business Plan for review and revisions. We need to work towards refining this Plan. The intention is that this Plan will be used to recruit additional participation from our member organizations to help perform some of these tasks.

We were reminded that the delegates would like to have a boathouse person make presentations to the groups to solicit cooperation and help.

There was a suggestion and discussion on having a tent set up at the HOTC with information and pictures on the boathouse plans.

Lis Kroepel reported on research she’s doing regarding an interim solution to the question of whether we should hire an executive director or whether we should partner with one or more non-profit management organizations. The benefits could include:

• expertise in many different areas
• less expensive, you can pay as you go
• each group seems to have particular expertise levels
• you can draw up a proposal with them so you know exactly what to expect
• WRRF would have the final word
• could help get us from here to the point of hiring an Executive Director

Jim Mack handed out a draft of the Boathouse Standard Operating Procedures for 2002. If there are any major issues that need to be dealt with, we need to get them out in the open as soon as possible. All of the changes made are basically clarifications. A section on commands was added. Please take the time to read it carefully and give Jim your comments by the next meeting or call Tim Marcovy. Peter Gozar will e-mail the draft to the delegates and it will also be posted on the web as a draft.

Don Saer reported that they’re working on the boats and the launches are being welded.

7. Boathouse Operations Report

Don Saer reported that the work parties are doing a great job and a lot of work is getting done. Please contact Sheila Nowacki to schedule a work date. These work parties will probably become a standard procedure. Also the boathouse is getting a more permanent water arrangement.

Matthew J. Previts has volunteered to head up the HOTC. Matthew used to be a St. Ignatius rower/coxswain. He is now an assistant coach at St. Ignatius and a student at Case Weatherhead School. He is using this as a project for his studies. You can contact Matthew at:

Matthew Previts
home: 440/333-5109
cell: 216/789-2139
mjp2@po.cwru.edu

David Tardini recently attended a Flats Oxbow meeting. The Mayor was there and he had the chance to speak with her about WRRF. He made a lot of positive contacts from the event and did a lot of networking. The whole idea was to let people know what we’re doing.

Brenda Soukup attended the Cuyahoga County Commissioner’s meeting and spoke about the history and the future of rowing in Cleveland and our commitment to build a boathouse in conjunction with and enhancement to their towpath project. The towpath resolution was unanimously passed.

Cathy Petryshyn is organizing a formal "Blessing of the Boats" event and will announce the date at a later time. She asked if anyone would be offended if a priest blessed the boats. There were no objections.

Fred Widen passed out a draft Endowment and Supporting Funds document and asked that we all review the draft and make our comments at the next meeting. He would like to see this document finalized in two months. This document is intended to spell out how funds that are collected will be used. Besides the boathouse fund, we may want to add a scholarship fund, an equipment fund and so forth.

Cleveland State needs an 8 this year. Don Saer said the Hardy was rowable but there are other options too.

WRRA is moving forward with implementing new programs: Summer Rowing; Recreational Rowing; and Competitive Rowing, in order to strengthen their service to rowers.

Shaker is rowing in three races: Hoover; Governors Cup; and Midwest Scholastic.

Ignatius is going to 6 regattas this year and the National Scholastic Championship in Tennessee.

Peter Gozar said he received a suggestion that we "beef up" our web site. We discussed the possibility of registering a domain name of wrrf.org and it was agreed that we should spend the money and register the name.

There is a public relations promotional opportunity through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Neighborhood Walks in April and May on Saturdays. We need someone, or several people to be "point" people on these walks.

Mark Silverstein is working on two new programs: a six week learn to row for the visually impaired. Dan DiAngelo has agreed to train to coach this program. Mark is also working on a "Row for the Cure" event.

The next WRRF meeting is April 30, 2002 at the Carnegie Fulton Library.

The next Boathouse meeting is Sunday, April 7^th at Dan DiAngelo’s house.

River Sweep is May 11^th.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:45 p.m.