2014 Fall VSWGA Board Meeting

Transcription

1 VSWGA Board Meeting Minutes Meeting: Fall Board Meeting Date / Time: Tuesday October 14, 2014 / 9:00AM Place: The Quechee Club Attended by: Ellen Sheffer, Chris Johnson, Denise Barnard, Donna Ebbett, Lucille Rogoff, Harriet Parot, Kathy Sikora, Pam Shover, Phyllis Simon, Jill Jenkins, Kathy Allbright and Rhonda Colvard. Absent: Nancy Myers, Cindy Paquet and Trish Wade Recorded by: Kathy Sikora Treasurer Phyllis Simon welcomed the Board to the meeting and called the meeting to order at 9:05AM. Due to the election of new members, the Board introduced themselves. Harriet Parot asked who the 2015 officers are; they were voted on after the Annual meeting. The officers are President, Kathy Allbright, Vice President, Chris Johnson, Treasurer, Phyllis Simon, and Secretary, Kathy Sikora. President, Kathy Allbright continued running the meeting. Handouts: President Kathy Allbright gave all Board members copies of the By-Laws, the Duties of Board Officers and Directors, and the Policy and Procedure Manual of the Vermont State Women s Golf Association. Since all of these documents need to be updated, Kathy asked the Board to read and make a list of recommended updates before the Spring 2015 Board meeting. Approval of Minutes: Phyllis Simon made the motion and Jill Jenkins seconded suspending the reading of both the Spring and Summer minutes. The reading of the Board minutes was waived and approved as written. Financial Report: 2015 Budget: Treasurer Phyllis Simon did not have a prepared 2015 Budget because she had just received the information needed to prepare the 2015 Budget. She will have a Budget for the Board to look at and approve by the end of December.. Rules and Calibration School Expense: Nancy Murphy and Ellen Sheffer attended the Calibration School in Charlotte, NC. The VSWGA paid the expenses for the airline and hotel for those attending; the food expense is paid by the attendees. Harriet Parot stated that we do not need to send anyone to the calibration school until Kathy Allbright said that we should send a couple of people every year to the Rules School. Kathy Sikora suggested that applications be completed so that the attendees can attend the school in Far Hills, NJ to reduce costs was the year that the decisions to the Rules of Golf had changes. Trish Wade, Lucille Rogoff and Denise Barnard would like to attend the Rules 1

2 School in In 2016 there will be changes to the Rules of Golf and it is recommended that at least four to six members attend. Harriet Parot said that there is an option of an abbreviated two day class that may be an option for new attendees to attend. The three day class has an exam at the end; there is the option of an easier 75 question quiz or a harder 100 question quiz. Denise Barnard made the motion to reimburse members for food at $30.00 per day at a maximum, alcohol not to be included. Pam Shover seconded the motion, motion passed. VSWGA members who travel for VSWGA sponsored events and put in for mileage (e.g., course raters) get reimbursed at a rate of $.50 per mile. Chris Johnson asked Donna if there were a generic reimbursement form that is used. There is a form that the VSWGA office can send out to Board Members and Committee Chairs as needed. Tournament Refunds: Giselle LaFleche was unable to play the Seniors due to an injured knee although she did play a practice round and attended the banquet. Kathy Sikora made the motion to reimburse Giselle $60; motion seconded by Chris Johnson and passed by the Board. Donna will send a check to Giselle for $60. Chris Johnson asked if there is a policy for refunds; Kathy Allbright answered that it is on a case by case basis. The player usually knows by the refund deadline and their check is shredded. If a player is unable to play after the refund deadline they need to formally request a refund in writing to the Board; these requests are reviewed at the fall meeting. GHIN User s Meeting: Harriet Parot reported on the meeting sponsored by GHIN. The meeting showcases GHIN programs and products including the Tournament Pairing Program (TPP) and TPP online. The meeting allows members to see improvements to the products, gain knowledge of what GHIN offers, and network with members from other associations. Kathy Allbright thought that it would be valuable for Donna Ebbett to attend. The 2014 meeting will held in Bermuda November 6-8; the deadline is October 15, The Tech meeting, which will be more valuable for Donna to attend, is prior to the regular meeting. Denise Barnard questioned why Harriet attends the meeting every year; as handicap chair she needs to be kept informed. A discussion ensued that requests need to be presented to the Board for a vote for financial support before booking a trip. All expenses greater than $500 need prior approval from the Board. Donna Ebbett stated that all USGA software is outdated. Donna contacts Harriet for Tech support when member clubs have GHIN questions. Kathy Sikora made the motion and Pam Shover seconded to get pricing and information to send Donna to the GHIN user s meeting with a limit of $2000; unanimous yes vote by Board. 2

3 o After the meeting Donna decided that it was not realistic for her to attend the meeting this year. She will attend next year s GHIN User Meeting. Regional Affairs Meeting: Kathy Allbright reported that Regional Affairs Meeting is a bi-annual affair; the next meeting will be in Texas in Honorary Members: Marilyn Allen, CC of Barre; Peggy Meunier, Enosburg CC, and Grace Jones, West Bolton GC were presented to be Honorary Members for the 2015 season. Jill Jenkins made the motion and Lucille Rogoff seconded to accept all three women as honorary members for 2015; the Board vote was unanimous to accept this motion. Kathy Allbright said that Honorary Members used to be for life but now club representatives need to nominate the women yearly. Becoming an honorary member allows active participating VSWGA members whose handicap has gone above 36.0 to continue playing state days. Office Report and Summary: Office Administrator, Donna Ebbett reported on the state of the VSWGA office. She reported that reducing her hours as of Oct 1 st to 15 hours a week is not realistic. She is going to look at Krissie s hours and what needs to be done after Oct. 1 st and propose a new guide line for office hours. Things that went well this year: Donna felt that major tournaments went well; she was able to trouble shoot problems as golfers were playing. The Chelsea system was up and running as of April 1, She was able to use new features of Chelsea; she was able to print reports from Chelsea rather than copying and pasting. She is writing instructions for VSWGA members to learn how to use the various programs; for example, registration for tournaments and events using TPP on line. What needs to be changed: She is accumulating a most asked question list and plans on producing an instruction section on the web site for members and club reps. The hope is that this would eliminate many phone calls by members to have these questions answered. The Club Rep Responsibility Booklet needs to be rewritten. Club reps need to know what their responsibilities are. Donna feels that managing the volunteers in the VSWGA is almost a full time job. Pam Shover stated that in order for the processing of the results and the tee times for the following week to be done properly, State Day results and paperwork should be in the office by Wednesday morning. State Day documents need be made more streamlined. More training is needed for volunteers. Communication between Cindy Paquet, Web Master and the Office Administrator needs to be improved. 3

4 The Pace of Play sheet needs to be copied and pasted to Excel as it is now formatted. Donna stated that we are not using Chelsea to its full potential. We use Chelsea to generate tee sheets, and then the name and GHIN # of the player are imported to TPP. The next step is to copy and paste the spreadsheet from TPP to Excel for division sheets. TPP generates the pairings, withdrawal, and DQ reports. There is room for error because so much is being typed on the reports. The GHIN revision information page which is updated on the 1 st and the 15 th of every month needs to be more current with its information. Communication needs to be ongoing between the Office Administrator, Donna and Harriet Parot, Handicap Chair. o Rhonda Colvard asked why Donna cannot post directly to the website. o Harriet Parot stated that the Handicap program only has one password. Where does the Office need help: Donna stated that the office could use extra help with updating information, organizing State Day Reps. During the month of September there are 3 state days, the Mid-Ams, the Fall Award Classic banquet and prizes and the Annual and Fall Board meetings to prepare for, along with getting things organized for the beginning on the following season (calendar, contacting all member clubs, etc.) The office receives daily s a lot of which could be answered by the reps if they have the proper training. During a major tournament, Donna is out of the office for between 3 and 4 days and not able to attend to office work. Solutions: President, Kathy Allbright assigned Board members to work with both Donna and State Day Chair Pam Shover. Denise Barnard (North- West), Chris Johnson (North-East) Lucille Rogoff (Central) and Trish Wade (South). They will be responsible for communicating with club reps of the clubs to which they are assigned. More details of their job responsibilities will be outlined. The Board will hold conference calls each month to every other month as needed. Kathy Allbright will schedule these. A committee will be formed to look at using TPP for State Days and posting State Day scores. o Phyllis Simon used TPP successfully at Jay Peak s state day. o Chris Johnson suggested the expanded use of TPP since there is no cost to the VSWGA. o Phyllis suggested points per person and points per club spreadsheet be developed for a double check system to keep points totals up to date. o Kathy Allbright stated that ongoing points should be posted on line. 4

5 o Donna said that points can be calculated by TTP, with data being exported to a spreadsheet. TTP can also handle both points won and participation points. o Kathy Allbright stated that the Chelsea System that we use has not been updated in 5-6 years. The cost to do so would be in the $6,000 to $8,000 range. More familiarity is needed with what TPP on line can do before spending any money on Chelsea as TPP is a free program. Pam Shover suggested that Pace of Play information be included on the Tee Sheets. Priority of Placement for State Days: Kathy Allbright spoke of the changes that need to be made in the placement of players during State Days. It is felt that many players become disillusioned because they cannot get their priority placement. Kathy feels that if you are bumped once in the season you should not get bumped again and others should be bumped before repeating it to the same members. Donna stated that as the Chelsea system works now participation points are carried back from 730 days of play. Points can be zeroed out at the beginning of each year so that placement becomes a true lottery system. In April every player profile needs to be updated in the Chelsea System. When cancellations and additions occur the participation points need to be added manually. Comments: Rhonda Colvard stated that part of the VSWGA s goal is to encourage golf for women. She said that by women not getting in to the course of their choice they are getting discouraged. Kathy Allbright said that if you pay your dues you should get into the course of your choice and priority tee times should not be given to the same groups every week; she would like the system reset to zero. TPP will not produce tee times requests; it will produce a tee sheet that players would need to enter and choose a timeframe and manually tee times would be set by the office. More investigation on this will need to be reviewed before changing to TPP system. Donna opposes getting rid of the Chelsea System at this time. Kathy Allbright suggested that a folder/spreadsheet be kept of those players who get bumped and an effort be made to get previously bumped players into the courses they want to play. Pam Shover made a Motion to reset the Chelsea points to zero for the 2015 season and have a 30 day point rollover. Chris Johnson seconded the motion; motion was passed unanimously. State Day and State Day Book: Calendar: Donna Ebbett had prepared and passed out preliminary copies of the 2015 State Day and Major Tournament Calendar. The dates for the State Day pairings were based on 5

6 the 2014 calendar. The golf courses involved have not been contacted to see if those dates would work. Letters and or s will be sent for approval of those dates before a final calendar is produced. Some changes due to conflicts were made to the preliminary calendar. Donna will work with Pam Shover on setting and confirming next year s schedule. Prize and Flight Structure: A proposal was made by Kathy Allbright to change the structure of the flights for State Days. The present structure is for five flights determined by the player s handicap; the proposed structure would be for flights determined by the number of golfers. Each group would have players and the prize structure would be 3 gross and 3 net prizes. Comments: Phyllis Simon stated that you would not know what flight you are in until the State Day is posted. Kathy Allbright said that flights would be known before the state day started. The only time there would be five flights is when there are over 100 players. Rhonda suggested keeping the Chelsea System open until Sunday so that the flights would best represent the number of players. Chris Johnson questioned why this is proposed. Kathy A. responded that only four State Days operated at a profit. Donna asked why reps need the information so far in advance. A Motion was made by Jill Jenkins to change the flight structure for state days to an even field size based on the number of players; final processing will still be done on Friday. The motion was seconded by Pam Shover; all Board members voted for the motion except for Kathy Sikora. A Motion was made by Jill Jenkins to take the field on Friday and divide by 20, this will determine the number of flights; number to be rounded up or down. The motion was seconded by Pam Shover; all Board members voted for the motion except for Kathy Sikora. A Motion was made by Pam Shover to pay three places gross and net per flight when there are 20 or more in a flight, if there are between 11 and 19 pay two places and 0 to 10 in a flight there will be one gross and one net. Motion was seconded by Jill Jenkins; it was passed unanimously. Honor the tie: Kathy Allbright brought up the suggestion to honor the tie. The only places that there would be payment for ties would be last place. If there was a tie for 1 st place then there would not be a second place winner and so on down the line. Kathy Sikora thought that there were too many changes being made to State Day structure and tradition beginning with the 2015 season and one more could cause problems. The Board decided to revisit this issue for the 2016 season. Motion was made to pay all ties for the first then all ties at second and all ties for third for gross and net players. Motion passed unanimously. 6

7 Chits and Points: Payment: A Motion was made by Denise Barnard to have the value of State Day chits be determined by dividing the money received for State Day play ($5.00 per golfer per week) divided by the number of the total points received. The motion was seconded by Pam Shover and unanimously passed by the Board. The chit value will be rounded up to the nearest $.25. Keeping track of points: Donna and Phyllis will be keeping track of points and ties on a monthly basis. Reps will be encouraged to track the points for their players and clubs. Reps are encouraged to attend either of the State Day Forums held in the Spring. The Board representative liaisons will encourage rep attendance at these forums. Fall Awards Classic: Jill Jenkins with help from Kathy Allbright, Trish Wade and Lucille Rogoff will be in charge of getting the courses, Quechee / Woodstock, the food and the golf tournament. The format for the tournament will be a 6, 6, 6 (Scramble, Shamble and 2 person best ball) with four person teams. The teams will either be made randomly or the golfers can form their own team. Donna will be in charge of doing the scoring. The Genevieve Babbit Smith Trophy for given to the golfer who has lowered her handicap the most will still be based on the A, B, C, D and E handicaps divisions. State Day Book: Chris Johnson, Cindy Paquet, Rhonda Colvard, and Lucille Rogoff will proof read the State Day Book. Donna will organize this process. Rain dates and scheduling: The timeline needs to be protected to allow time to prepare for the Final State Day so it doesn t fall right after Mid Am weekend. Club Reps: There are a few clubs that do not have Reps; there are also a few clubs whose Reps are not familiar with the computer. It was decided that Donna and Board members will fill in and help where needed. Major Tournaments: Pace of Play at Championships: Pace of Play has become an issue at Major Tournaments. Kathy Allbright suggested instituting a timekeeper / gatekeeper policy. With this when a group goes by the timekeeper by more than 15 minutes they will be given a red card warning after 9 holes. If they are still behind after 18 holes a one stroke penalty will be assessed. Rhonda Colvard said that the person needs to be an independent person. Kathy Allbright is going to see if a member of the VGA could help with Pace of Play. Pam Shover asked if spotters could be used. Finances: Rhonda Colvard reported that the costs of the Major Tournaments are increasing, the largest expense is food. The Amateurs have been having smaller fields. It was decided to reduce the food costs by eliminating breakfast; players can either get breakfast at home or place of lodging. It was also decided to eliminate the welcoming envelopes and material and instead have an attachment to the sent from the office. It was also decided to adjust the payout amounts to correspond to the number of players. A Motion was 7

8 made by Denise Barnard to increase the Major Tournament fee by $5.00 per tournament. Motion was seconded by Pam Shover and passed unanimously by the Board. Schedule and Helpers: Board members were asked to help at the Major Tournaments. The Seniors will be July 15 th and 16 th at Green Mountain National; Lucille Rogoff and Harriet Parot have volunteered to help. The Amateurs at Brattleboro CC August still needs volunteers. The Mid Am will be at Burlington CC on Sept 19 th and 20 th is also in need on volunteers. NEWGA: The NEWGA tournament for 2015 will be July 7-9 at the Ledgemont GC in Mass., Rhode Island is hosting the tournament. Donna will attend the tournament to get prepped for the 2016 tournament that is hosted by Vermont. Rhonda Colvard, Lucille Rogoff, and Donna Ebbett will attend the NEWGA meeting as Vermont representatives on November 18, 2015 in Nashua, N H. Questions about Junior Golfers: A Junior (female golfer under the age of 18) does not need to belong to a member club but must be a resident of Vermont. Caddies for Juniors may not be a parent or guardian. While the entourages that follow the Junior golfers may be distracting to other golfers, they are allowed. Course Rating Report: Harriet Parot had problems this summer with courses responding as to when they were available for course rating. There are a couple of courses, Stratton and Lake St Catherine, that are in desperate need to be rated. She hopes that next year the course raters can get back on track. After the Annual Meeting she had ten women approach her about becoming course raters. Annual Dues: Kathy Sikora made the Motion and Lucille Rogoff seconded to increase the Annual Dues from $25 per year to $30 per year. The late payment will change from $35 to $40. The Board voted, Denise Barnard voted against the motion. The motion passed. Miscellaneous Items: Job Descriptions for the Board and Committee Chairs need to be updated. Kathy A. asked for suggestions. In the future, discuss term limits for Committee Chairs; Board members have a 3 year term with the possibility of serving two terms. On Saturday November 15, 2014 at the Doubletree Hotel in Burlington, the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame will be honoring Vermont golf legend Mae Murray Jones. Cindy Paquet, Ellen Sheffer, Denise Barnard and Kathy Sikora will attend as representatives of the VSWGA. Phyllis Simon made the motion and the Board passed to spend $ for the four women to attend. Burlington CC s Matt Havers has asked the VSWGA for $ to help the Junior Golf Program he has started for the boys and girls of the greater Burlington area. He has 74 golfers in his program. This money comes out of the closest to the pin 8

9 money that is used to support Junior Golf Programs. Phyllis made the motion and Jill Jenkins seconded; the Board passed unanimously. Chris Johnson asked if there was a cap on the requests. Each request will be evaluated on merit by the Board when received. Phyllis Simon had the appropriate signers sign the forms for the checking and savings accounts. President Kathy Allbright adjourned the meeting at 3:00PM Minutes Recorded by Kathy Sikora Minutes Completed November 10, 2014 Next Meeting April 21 or 29, 2015 TBA 9