MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING TUESDAY 4/19/2023 7:30 PM VIA ZOOM.
The club can open soon, but not today. The water temperature is fine (about 52F), but
the flow is too great for rowing club boats (about 30,000 cubic feet/sec). Recall that
club boats may be rowed only when the flow is 20,000 cfs or less.
This is the end of Leslie Smith's great run as treasurer. He's done a calm, diligent job
of dealing with details so the rest of us can row. Thank you, Leslie. We'd be happy to
have him continue, but he's leaving the area, heading to Maine (retiring?).
Jenn Ferree is again organizing the spring clubhouse cleanup: May 6 (May 7 rain date)
9-11 AM. She will provide coffee and bagels. Come & clean & socialize.
Boathouse/marina update. Although our lease has not been renewed (Gary may be planning
to use the boathouse area for another purpose), Gary has assured us that our use of the
boathouse for the season is assured. Cold water & hose are on, hot water awaiting a repair.
Reservation system. Will start out using the same system as last year and see how it goes.
You can access it at
We have a new mailing address: PO Box 1451, Northampton, MA 01061. The membership application
form on our website will be updated with the new address and the 2023 season fees after
they are set by the Board.
Proposed fees: same as 2022 season, not yet approved by Board:
Membership: $475/year ($335 after July 16, $225 after Sept. 1)
Rack Space Inside: $375/year ($35/month)
Rack Space Outside: $100/season
Full-year membership term is January to December
Officers and Board were elected without dissent by those present on the Zoom call
(about 16 people).
Officers (effective immediately): proposed slate:
President/Vice President: co-held by Jaime Caron and Anita Fábos (see below)
Treasurer: Carol MacColl
Secretary: Bob Sproull
Board (effective immediately):
Ernie Alleva ealleva@...
Jaime Caron jaimemsw@...
Nancy Diessner nwdiessner@...
Anita Fábos anita.fabos@...
Jenn Ferree ferreejennifer@...
Halley Glier halley.glier@...
Carol MacColl carol@...
Craig Schiff ZZooey@...
Bob Sproull rfsproull@...
Moi Wurgaft moiwurgaft@...
Sharing the presidency: Jaime and Anita will work together to perform president
duties. If you have an issue for the president or the board, you can go to them or
to any board member. Since there are occasional transactions that require a single
president (e.g., opening a bank account), the plan is to elect them to the following
terms:
now-July 2023 inclusive: Jaime president, Anita vice-president
Aug 2023-Jan 2024 inclusive: Anita president, Jaime vice-president
Equipment committee: Ernie Alleva, Craig Schiff
Web site: Moi Wurgaft
Email: To send a message to the entire club, send it to
[email protected]To send a message to the entire board, copy this (very long) line of text and paste
in into the To: field of your email system:
Ernie Alleva <ealleva@...>, Jaime Caron <jaimemsw@...>, Nancy Diessner <nwdiessner@...>, Anita Fábos <anita.fabos@...>, Jenn Ferree <ferreejennifer@...>, Halley Glier <halley.glier@...>, Carol MacColl <carol@...>, Craig Schiff <Zzooey@...>, Bob Sproull <rfsproull@...>, Moi Wurgaft <moiwurgaft@...>
DISCUSSION. The notes below summarize some of the discussion during the meeting
Jaime spoke briefly about a few prospects for the new season. Generally pursue the
status quo. Having a social event sometime mid-season is a good idea. We should do
some thinking about how to acquire new members, including learn-to-row-day. Anne
suggested we revisit the idea of scholarships for suitable new members. YRC and
NCR (Northampton Community Rowing; Sally Linowski is the current president) can work
together to offer homes for sweepers who scull and scullers who sweep. YRC can
be flexible in accommodating new members with special circumstances.
The Board will remain alert to our boathouse occupancy. We should explore the
old Smith boathouse option more carefully, including a floor plan. This should
be a low-key effort to avoid implying that we are eager to move. Carol suggested
we might not need to rent the full space to meet our needs.
New officers will huddle with Leslie to assure a smooth transition, both financial
and administrative.
USRowing is requiring all its member clubs to adopt its SafeSport policies. See
Adults who do not have regular
contact with minors are not required to complete any form of SafeSport training.
HOWEVER, BOARD MEMBERS, COACHES, OR ADMINISTRATORS OF ITS MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS MUST
COMPLETE THE TRAINING, EVEN IF THE CLUB HAS NO MINOR ATHLETES. Sally Linowski
reports that the 90 minute training is finite but tedious. Anne Teschner remarked
that "we don't want to fight with US Rowing." Jaime agreed to keep track of
SafeSport compliance for the Board. Sproull's view is that SafeSport for us is
unnecessary parentalism. Leslie pointed out that our (limited) insurance policy
enjoys a group rate from USRowing.
Jaime Caron