Michiana Runners Association Membership Board Meeting Minutes

July 14, 2010, 6:30 p.m. Between the Buns, Osceola, Indiana

Present: Ann Amico Moran (Co-Founder and Marketing/Secretary), Don Wisniewski (Co-Founder and President), Paula Turk, Father John Patrick Riley and his sister Kate, Maureen Feehly-Miller, Doug Deram, Bruce Watson and Pam, Andy McGrail, Steve Gorsuch, April Leonard, Ryan Friesen, Dan Wort, Jenn Schindler, Craig and Renee Miller, Dave Bergevin
Meeting was called to order by Don Wisniewski at 6:48 p.m.
I. Old Business
a. ID cards have been ordered and will be available soon. Each member will be assigned a number and issued an ID card. Discounts at local restaurants and stores will be available and easily obtained by showing your MRA ID card. Stores and restaurants will be announced soon. Cards will be available to paid MRA members either at a race or membership meeting. More information will be coming soon.
b. New committee has been created and Gwen Purcell has agreed to spearhead this group. It is called “Special Events” and will include social events as well as events like the IE/MRA Run with a Purpose run to clean up downtown South Bend last October.
II. New Business
a. Committee Reports
i. Membership:
1. We have 146 paid members!
2. April will work on a welcome/confirmation letter for new MRA members that sign up.
3. All members membership fee is renewable on January 1st not the month you joined
ii. Marketing
1. The Marketing Committee met and discussed many wonderful new ideas and ways to get the word out about the MRA. Stay tuned for more about our marketing plan!
2. Jen Schindler will spearhead our Facebook and other Social Media outlets
3. Fr. John Patrick Riley has agreed to coordinate all information that needs to be sent to the local newspapers. Please contact him if you would like to see some MRA news in the press. His email address is runningrev2@yahoo.com
4. The Marketing Committee proposes a change to the current MRA website. We will get our ideas together and give them to our current webmaster. It was decided to veto using an outside consultant to revamp our website; instead we will work on text and other changes to make the website look more current and user friendly.
5. Race Circuit posters were printed and Ryan has them. Please let us know if you would like a poster to hang in a business or other community organization to get the word out about MRA.
6. Stay tuned new tech shirts are coming!
7. The Marketing committee will meet again in August.
iii. Race Circuit
1. Race Circuit results can be found on our website.
2. Words of praise were given to Bruce Watson for placing in the top 10! Congratulations Bruce!
3. A reminder: you can receive points for the Circuit by volunteering at Races!
4. Discounts for Races usually require a code word. Be sure to use them!
iv. Group Runs
1. Attendance at the Tuesday evening run seems to be a bit higher than the Thursday evening run. Reasons why were discussed (i.e. downtown South Bend location versus Mishawaka).
2. We would like to expand the group runs! We need more folks to consistently show up so that more pace groups can be formed. All abilities are encouraged to attend. Give a shout out to fellow runners that you are attending a group run on Facebook.
v. Kids Program
1. The kids program for this year was cancelled. A student from ND agreed to start the program the end of June however we learned that he did not have a car and would be running in excess of over 16 miles a day to lead this program! There fore we looked to others to lead the program. Unfortunately we could not get others to commit. We hope to be able to offer this next year. It was such a successful program the past two years.
vi. Social
1. It was suggested by Steve Gorsuch to do a run in St.Pat’s park and then stay for a pot luck/pic nic afterwards. If you are interested in helping to organize this event please let us know!
2. Doug mentioned that it would be great to have an event after a Race. Ann mentioned that last year we had a tailgater after the Salmon Chase. Perhaps we will do this again this year on September 11 the day of the Salmon Chase.
b. Girls on the Run
i. A new and exciting program is coming to Michiana, Girls on the Run! If you are interested in learning more about this please contact Ann Amico Moran at amicomoran@yahoo.com and she will put you in contact with the coordinator, Amy Collier.
ii. The organization is in the development phase and raising funds.
c. Beginner’s Program
i. We are in need of an individual or a few individuals to be willing to spearhead a beginner’s group. We have several new runners to our organization and it would be wonderful to be able to share new ideas and start together as a group for moral support. If you are interested in helping start this group contact us at information@michianarunners.org
III. Announcements
a. Race Director’s Summit will be held on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at Hot Box Pizza in Eddy Street Commons across from the University of Notre Dame. All Race Directors in the Michiana area are strongly encouraged to attend. Ideas will be shared, information gained and we can make sure all of our races are not scheduled for the same day! A guest speaker from Classic Race Management will also be there.
b. Our next meeting will be held in Mishawaka, location to be determined.
c. Andy McGrail, Race Director of the Granger Paths: Andy mentioned that the Granger Paths organization needs to raise $150,000 to help connect the path from Mary Frank and North Point Schools to Elm Road and the Harris Township Library. The organization was awarded a grant however $150,000 more are needed to complete this project. If you have ideas of how to raise the money or are interested in supporting the cause contact Andy McGrail at macruns26@sbcglobal.net
Meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Ann Amico Moran
Happy Running!

Minutes 5/12/10
Simeri’s, South Bend

I. Meeting was called to order by Don Wisniewski at 6:15 p.m.
II. Ann Amico Moran, Ryan Fenstemaker, Gwen Purcell and Don Wisniewski were present. Steve Gorsuch was a late arrival.
III. Old Business
a. If anyone would like to receive a copy of the Bylaws please contact Don.
b. Membership focus – if you participate in group runs you MUST be a paid member. If you participate in any MRA sponsored events you must also be a paid member. You may join online at www.michianarunners.org or mail in your registration.
c. Membership confidentiality was discussed. Sharing of membership lists with other organizations and races is not acceptable.
d. RRCA Liability was discussed. We need to contact Race Directors and make sure that they carry their own insurance and are not counting on MRA to cover them. They are NOT covered under MRA’s RRCA insurance policy.
e. Mary Harding and Tom Barton volunteered to run with the blind runner that had contacted MRA about a running partner.
f. New Committee: a new committee called “special events” was suggested and accepted. Special Events will help coordinate Run with a Purpose, the Kickoff event, etc.
IV. New Business
a. Committee Reports
i. Membership: ID cards have been paid for and will be ordered by Ryan soon. April will email the information to Ryan so that he may order them.
ii. Fundraising: It was suggested that we add a silent auction of running paraphernalia to our Kickoff event.
iii. Marketing: Race posters are ordered. Ann will look into a new vendor for T-shirts/tech shirts; Hopefully a meeting of the committee will happen soon so that duties can be divided (i.e. Facebook page, Sunday paper postings, articles, calendar etc.)
iv. Race Circuit: The first race was very successful! We had over 27 MRA participants. We had many age group award winners and Greg Howard, MRA member came in second overall. Posters coming very soon.
v. Group Runs: Inclusivity was discussed. We need to be respectful of different paces and abilities. Please bring a friend and encourage others to meet you there. The more people that attend the more pace groups we can have! Again, you must be a paid member to participate in these runs.
vi. Kid’s Program: Right now we do not have someone to lead this program however Ryan will email a few more potential people.
vii. Social: Silverhawks game was voted down.
V. Other
a. We still need volunteers for the Sunburst water stop!!!! If you are interested please contact Ann Amico Moran at sunburstvolunteers.@yahoo.com
b. Next meeting will be on July 14, 2010 at Between the Buns in Osceola

Between the Buns 7:00 pm Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I. Meeting Called to Order by Don Wisniewski at 7:13 p.m.
II. Katie Fenstemaker, Ryan Fenstemaker, Zack Foley, Robert Overton, Ryan Friesen, Doug Deram, Ann Amico Moran, Greg Howard and Don Wisniewski were present.
III. Old Business:
a. New Thursday Evening Group Run - this is going well! Discussion took place about accommodating different pace groups. It was decided that as the group grows more pace groups can be accommodated. Please encourage your friends to continue to show up on Thursday so that the numbers grow and the variety of pace groups will grow as well.
b. Committees - Don sent out an email to all of those individuals that mentioned they were interested in serving on committees. He had a few replies. Christine Brown is not going to be able to commit to helping with the committees at this time.
c. Bylaws will be updated to reflect that officers, Board members and committee heads must pay dues. Dues cover the cost of insurance for the group.
d. The MRA will once again be hosting a water stop at the Sunburst. If you are interested in volunteering at the water stop contact Ann Amico Moran at amicomoran@yahoo.com to sign up. It is an early morning shift at a very busy water stop. We need experienced runners to help!!! Family members are also encouraged.
e. Is anyone interested in volunteering as a group for Bike the Bend?
IV. New Business:
a. MRA Committee Reports:
i. Membership - ID cards are ordered. We currently have 94 paid members which is ahead of the numbers from last year at this same time. We usually see an influx of members after the Sunburst.
ii. Fundraising - Anne Shell will be the head and Greg Howard offered some great ideas and agreed to help with this area.
iii. Marketing - Over 100 friends on Facebook; Ann is working with Ryan and Heidi to update the Race Circuit poster. Hopefully it will be ready by our first race if not for sure by the second one. Jenn Schindler and Ann will work together to come up with a marketing plan.
iv. Race Circuit - Discounts will be offered for almost all of the races on the circuit. Ryan is working to get 100% of the races to offer a discount to MRA members. He will be coordinating staffing of tables at each race as well as codes and sign ins.
v. Kid's Program - we need a male and female volunteer to spearhead this free children's Run and Fun program this summer. Don is working on a few leads and Ann will check in with Jackie Bauters.
vi. Social - Robert Overton researched some possible social opportunities including one at St.Pat's Park and with the Silverhawks. A discussion took place about what we would all like to see in an MRA social gathering. Ryan summed it up, "it should be convenient and non-commital". Other ideas included post race gatherings, pasta dinner pre-race, tailgates and meeting for happy hour. Tentative social at 7:00 pm Wed. May 12 at Simeris with an MRA Open Board Mtg. at 6:00 pm.
b. Other New Business
i. A blind runner in town emailed MRA asking for a running partner. Don will forward additional information onto us if we are interested in running with her.
ii. Family & Children Center will be organizing a new race this fall.
V. Meeting was adjourned at 8:07 p.m.



Michiana Runners Association Board Meeting Minutes 3/23/10 Buffalo Wild Wings, South Bend, IN

I. Meeting was called to order by Don Wisniewski at 7:07 p.m.
II. Ann Amico Moran, Doug Deram, Ryan Fensermaker, Don Wisniewski, April Leonard, Robert Overton, Ryan Friesen, and Dave Bergevin were in attendance. Introductions were made and the agenda was reviewed.
III. Old Business
a. We had a very successful first Board meeting February 17th at Legends of Notre Dame.
b. We have several people interested in volunteering their help on various MRA committees however we are in need of folks to come forward and chair some of the committees. Please see New Business for this discussion.
IV. New Business
a. MRA Committee Updates
i. Membership will be chaired by April Leonard and a few others had expressed interest in this area but nothing official
ii. Fund Raising
iii. Race Circuit will be headed by Ryan Fenstemaker and he has a committee already formed. The first Race in the Circuit will be Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on May 1, 2010.
iv. Group Runs – A group run is currently meeting downtown South Bend on Tuesday evenings at 5:30 just outside the SB Chocolate Café and Half of Fame. Doug Deram mentioned he would help with this area.
v. Kids Program – Christine Cummings mentioned that she may be interested in leading this group again this summer. Ann will email her to follow up. We would like to have a male and female co-lead this year. Don will follow up with Don Lemire who led the group summer of 2009.
vi. Social- Robert Overton has agreed to spearhead this group. He will put together some sort of spring/early summer social gathering that may or may not include a run. Ryan suggested something on trails.
vii. Marketing – Ann Amico Moran is willing to spearhead these efforts once the Komen Race is over in May. There are a few others that are interested in working on this committee and Ann will contact them to see if they will commit to this committee.
b. Other New Business
i. We will continue to ask members to serve on committees. We need help from everyone to truly making this “your” running organization.
ii. Don made a motion that Board Members will be required to pay membership dues. Ann seconded the motion. A vote was taken and it was agreed that Board Members will be required to pay membership dues annually.
iii. The Next Board meeting will be held April 21, 2010 at 7:00 pm at Between the Buns on S.R. 23 in South Bend.
V. Announcements:
a. Ann asked everyone if they would be interested in volunteering as a team or riding as a team in Bike the Bend which is a new Bike event coming to Michiana on Sunday May 23rd. Ann will get more details and a blast email will be sent out to members.
b. Ann also asked if the MRA is willing to do a water stop at the Sunburst again this year. Ryan suggested that Judy Lee lead these efforts because she was so good at what she did last year.
c. The First Race Circuit Race will be at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday, May 1, 2010. A $2 discount is offered to MRA members. Ann will be sure to set aside a table and make announcement at the Race about members etc.
d. The Holy Half is on Sunday, April 11th on the Campus of Notre Dame.
e. Lisa is running through 50 states and will be through our area May 24th. If anyone is interested in running with her, developing the route or more details contact April Leonard : ninkomenpr@ymail.com
VI. Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.



Michiana Runners Association Board Meeting Minutes 2/17/10 at Legends of Notre Dame

I. Meeting Called to Order by Don Wisniewski at 7:21 p.m.
II. The following people were in attendance: Don Wisniewski, Ann Amico Moran, Ryan Fenstemaker, Robert Overton, Zach Foley, Fr. John Patrick Riley and Andy McGrail
III. Old Business
a. Kickoff – Approximately 44 people attended the second annual MRA kick-off event held at Metro Run and Walk. All who attended had positive comments about the year.
b. Membership – Over 400 are on our e-mail distribution list and 65 members are currently paid and “officially members”
c. Financials – Sponsorship is our main source of income. Dues cover our insurance through RRCA.
IV. New Business
a. MRA committee descriptions and organization chart were discussed. A call to action was given for folks to sign up to chair committees or serve on committees.
i. Fr. John Patrick Riley shared his experiences with other running clubs in Colorado and Buffalo.
ii. Andy McGrail mentioned that he may be interested in working with Steve Gorsuch on the Race Circuit.
iii. Fr. John Patrick Riley mentioned that he may be interested in marketing since he is a writer.
b. Robert Overton talked about Running Hoosier magazine which will now be a quarterly magazine. He needs advertisers for the magazine to continue.
V. Annoucements
a. Sign up today for the second annual Susan G. Komen Northern Indiana Race for the Cure 5k to be held on May 1, 2010 in downtown Mishawaka
b. The next MRA meeting will be March 23rd for a run at 5:30 p.m. from Memorial Health and Lifestyle Center in downtown South Bend followed by meeting at BW3’s in downtown South Bend at 7:00 p.m.
VI. Meeting Adjourned at 8:09 p.m.