Subject: Minutes of Montgomery Ancient Mariners Annual Meeting
Date: 29 October 2023
From: Tom Denes
Participants: Dave Harmon, Cathy Gainor, Nanci Sundel, Tom Denes, Pam Blumenthal, Kate Fisken, Kara Permisohn, John Russell, Peter Johnson, Julie Goldberg, Dottie Buchhagen, Alex Lunardi, Carlo Piceno, Chris McFaul , Kate Fisken.

Kara Permisohn hosted the meeting. The meeting was called to order by President Cathy Gainor at 11:25 a.m. Minutes from Prior Meeting

– A motion was made to accept last year’s minutes (held in October 2022). They were approved.

Officer Positions
We nominated officers for the 2023-2024 season. They are:

  • President – Cathy Gainor
  • Vice President – John McCaffrey
  • Treasurer – Pam Blumenthal
  • Secretary – Tom Denes (Pam Blumenthal reminded us to make sure that the Secretary captures any board decisions during the year and amends them to the minutes.)
  • Newsletter Editor – Julie Goldberg
  • Webmaster – Alex Lunardi (new nomination)
  • Registrar – Todd Moses
  • Head Coach – Tom Denes
  • Record Keeper – Jeff Roddin
  • Bulletin Board – Sandy Kweder
  • Social Chair – John Russell
  • At Large Board Members – Nominated to remain as at large board members were Kate Fisken, Nanci Sundel, Peter Johnson, Jeff Dubin, Kara Permisohn, Dave Harmon, Dottie Buchhagen, Jody Gan, Sangeeta Bhargava, Chris McPhaul, Leon Wells, Kathy Kirmayer, and Joe Redmon. Nominated to join the board were Alex Lunardi and Carlo Piceno. Registration Report (Cathy Gainor reported on behalf of Todd Moses)
  • We have 218 registered Montgomery Ancient Mariners (ANCM), the exact same as this time last year.
  • Our average age is 52 with a range of 18 to 88.
  • It was noted that we eliminated the $15 dues last year, so it doesn’t matter financially how many people are registered with ANCM. Financial Report (Pam Blumenthal reported)
  • Our team is fiscally healthy with approx.. $32,000 in assets at the end of fiscal year 2023. Our rounded net income was $7,800 for fiscal year 2023. Our main revenue source is the payment from MCRD of $30,000. Our main expense is $22,000 for coaching. Our net assets are approximately $32,000 approx. vs approx. $24,200 last year.
  • Pam will track revenues to ensure we comply with the requirements of our non profit tax status.
  • Pam will prepare the 2023 1099’s for the coaches making $600+ per year.
  • The Albatross Open expenses were higher this year than budgeted because we bought SWAG, extra awards, new watches, etc. There was also a $300 reimbursement that was made twice and will be corrected.
  • We budgeted $1,200 for two pace clocks last year but only bought one.
  • We discussed posting our net assets online and agreed that whatever is in the minutes can be posted.
  • We also discussed the PayPal account. We need something to collect money electronically. We can use Stripe, which is associated with Club Assistant. We agreed that it is probably best to close out PayPal. Dan Blumenthal will be back soon and can help with this. Coaching Report (Tom Denes reported)
  • We had 130 swimmers in fall 2022, 150 swimmers in winter/spring 2023, 98 swimmers in summer 2023, and 129 swimmers in the current fall session.
  • We started prorating the current session on Oct 15.
  • The coaches are paid $32/hour, can swim for free and have their USMS registration covered. The board feels that this is competitive with the market. Alexandria Masters was seeking coaches for $28/hr. Nanci Sundel reported that her brother, Jon, coaches in NC for $15/hr.
  • CPR and first aid are good for two years so coaches should get updated in summer 2024. KSAC Renovation (Cathy Gainor reported)
  • Based on the capital budget, we believe that the KSAC renovations will begin July 2024 at the earliest.
  • The new pool in Silver Spring will likely open in spring 2024. T Shirts (Cathy Gainor reported)
  • We didn’t make/order any t-shirts this year although it was budgeted.
  • We discussed whether we should do a new logo and if/how much to charge for t-shirts. We decided not to create a new logo. It was noted that ANCMs don’t pay dues and get cap, social, etc.—so Pam recommended that we charge something for shirts, not just distribute for free.
  • We also discussed having a storefront with cool ANCM merchandise (jackets, swim bags, shirts). This would be more expensive for swimmers since the vendor would take a fee.
  • Carlo Piceno and Alex Lunardi noted that younger swimmers don’t necessarily want shirts; they prefer jackets.
  • Since the discussion was inconclusive, we made a motion to create a subcommittee of Kara, Julie, Alex and Carlo to come up with suggestions and bring it back to the board. The motion was approved, (After the meeting Marci Goldberg was added to the committee.) How to Get MLK and Olney Swimmers more Involved (Pam led discussion)
  • MLK and Olney swimmers tend not to participate in socials.
  • We discussed giving money to each pool for social activities. We should hold socials in areas that are more accessible to swimmers at the other pools.
  • We budgeted money for each pool. Albatross Open (Kara reported)
  • Kara is working with KSAC manager Jeremy on possible dates but he is slow to respond.
  • Feb 24, 2024, seems to be the best date. (The date has since been fixed at Mar 16)
  • Our costs should be lower this year. Social Committee (John Russell reported)
  • The winter party will be held in early January. Nanci will host again.
  • We agreed to purchase event insurance and indemnify homeowners. It should cost about $200 per event.
  • We agreed to do the fall picnic at Wheaton Regional Park but we need to reserve it quickly.
  • We discussed holding a low-key post-Albatross Open social at a home or possibly at the Marriott. John suggested we ask Marriott to comp a hospitality suite when we order a set of rooms. Newsletter Report (Julie Goldberg reported)

Julie is sending out the next newsletter soon. (The newsletter was issued the week following our meeting.)

Website (Dottie Buchhagen reported)

Website hosting through HostGator is paid up till 2026. We need to renew it in 2026 at $288 for three years. Our domain name through Network Solutions is paid until 2026; it will be renewed every two years at $30 for domain name and private registration plus private registration to keep it out of the public domain for $10 for a total of $40. We have Code Guard as an automatic back up of the website and data files at $70/yr. for 5 GB CodeGuard will be renewed automatically in 2024. All of this information with user names, passwords, security questions, etc., are in a password-protected document that Dottie has sent to

Cathy and Pam and posted on the website in a secure file. Cathy and Pam have the password to that

document.

  • The new website will be launched in the next few weeks. Alex will be the new webmaster. Yea, Alex! Dottie will host a website committee meeting soon to train Alex on WordPress and will transfer ownership of the HostGator site soon.
  • The total cost of the website, outside people’s personal time, which was extensive, was $86. Thanks, Dottie for saving us a boatload of money!
  • The board thanked Dottie for serving as webmaster for 27 years! That goes back to the last century!! Budget (Cathy and Pam reported)
  • We budgeted two clinics at $700/each ($200 for pool rental and $500 for coaching). We agreed to charge participants some fee.
  • We included socials for each pool at $300 each.
  • We should get directors insurance. Pam will look into it.
  • Quicken on line was included for $60/month.
  • A motion was made to accept the budget and it was approved. Approval of Officers

A motion was made to approve the slate of officers for the 2023-2024 season. (Thanks for volunteering to be an officer!)


A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. It was approved and the meeting adjourned at 1:20 p.m.