Board of Directors Meeting 4.10.20

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By: Mary Williams | APBA Secretary | Apr 14, 2020

APBA

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 10, 2020

1. The APBA Board of Directors teleconference was called to order by the President, Chris Fairchild at 7:35 PM.

2. Roll call was taken. In attendance were: Chris Fairchild, Mary Williams, Kyle Bahl, Fred Hauenstein, Jean Mackay-Schwartz, Abby Pond, Jan Shaw, Robert WiIson, Matt Yarno, Aaron Stephens, Mark Wheeler, Bob Wartinger, Jack Meyer, Patrick Gleason, Richard Fuchslin, Sheri Greaves, Rich Luhrs, Dutch Squires, Jeff Brewster, Robin Shane, Jeff Williams, John Krebs, Pete Nichols, Jeff Titus, Tom Johnston, David Hale, Chas Dodge and Becca Nichols. Adam Allen and Rachel Warnock joined the call after roll call was completed.

3. Minutes from previous meetings were presented for approval.

a. Jean Mackay-Schwartz made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 22, 2020, Board of Directors meeting, seconded by Mark Wheeler. Jan Shaw requested that a typo in Item 1 be corrected. The correct name of the Mr. Hill she introduced is Fuzz Hill. Secretary agreed to make the change. Motion to approve the minutes passed unanimously.

b. Motion by Jean Mackay-Schwartz to approve the minutes from the January 25, 2020, Board of Directors meeting, seconded by Jan Shaw. Motion passed unanimously.

c. Motion by Jan Shaw, seconded by Jean Mackay-Schwartz to approve the minutes from the Annual Meeting held January 25,2020. Motion passed unanimously.

4. Committee additions were presented for approval.

a. Motion by Jan Shaw, seconded by Matt Yarno to approve the Vintage Committee as presented. Jean Mackay-Schwartz questioned if the chairman was still working on adding a representative from Region 9. Chairman John Krebs responded that he is working on that and will have any committee additions submitted to the Board for approval. Motion to approve the committee list passed unanimously.

b. Motion by Kyle Bahl, seconded by Jan Shaw to approve the Safety Committee as presented. Becca Nichols requested that Chris Fairchild’s title be corrected on the list. Secretary will correct. Motion to approve the committee list passed unanimously.

c. Motion by Mark Wheeler, seconded by Jan Shaw to add Valerie Collins to the Digital Age Committee. Motion passed unanimously.

5. The Offshore Rule Book was presented for approval. Jan Shaw pointed out that the light on page 85 was eliminated from the Unlimited Rule Book because it was white and needed to be changed to a color. Offshore Chairman Rich Luhrs will take this up with the Offshore Racing Committee. Motion by Jan Shaw, seconded by Jean Mackay-Schwartz to approve the rule book as presented. Motion passed unanimously.

6. Motion by Abby Pond, seconded by Mark Wheeler to approve a change to the J rule book: “In Mercury J/AX engines, any decal that says Mercury or Mariner and matches the OEM size and style is legal.” Motion passed unanimously.

7. Region bylaws were presented for approval:

a. Motion by Mark Wheeler, seconded by Abby Pond to approve the Region 6 bylaws. Motion passed unanimously.

b. Motion by Jean Mackay-Schwartz, seconded by Fred Hauenstein to approve the Region 9 bylaws. Motion passed unanimously.

c. President Fairchild stated that at the Region chairs’ meeting in Seattle, the Region Chairmen expressed a desire to simplify the APBA ballot for regions down to a minimum number of officers: Region Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Category Commissioners. A brief discussion was held on this. The Board will vote on any necessary bylaw changes by email.

8. A race season date change approval request was presented by Jeff Brewster, Stock Chairman, to allow a race starting on October 31st and ending on November 1st to be considered in the 2020 racing season. Motion by Jan Shaw, seconded by Kyle Bahl to approve this for all categories. Motion passed unanimously.

9. A bylaw change for the Disciplinary Committee was presented for approval. Motion by Mark Wheeler, seconded by Jan Shaw to approve. After discussion, motion by Jean Mackay-Schwartz, seconded by Jan Shaw to table the change. Motion to table passed 8 in favor, 2 against. President Fairchild will send this to Legal Counsel for review. After review, the Board will vote on this by email.

10. Thundercat rule changes were presented for approval. Motion by Mark Wheeler to approve, seconded by Jan Shaw. Motion passed unanimously.

11. Vintage Bylaw changes were presented for approval. Motion by Matt Yarno to approve, seconded by Aaron Stephens. Jean Mackay-Schwartz requested that a typo on Page 11, Rule 8-C-a be corrected: “ther” course. The “r” should be deleted. Fred Hauenstein questioned the meaning of Rule 3-B-2. After discussion, this rule was changed to read “All outboard engines must be restricted such that the engine may not tilt out of the water while decelerating. This may be done in any way suitable for the engine hull combination.” Both Matt Yarno and Aaron Stephens agreed to these amendments. A brief discussion was held on capsule boats requiring drivers to have completed the capsule training. Consensus was that since this is covered in the APBA General Safety Rules, it was not required to be in the Vintage rules. Motion to approve passed unanimously.

12. Safety Committee Rule Changes were presented for approval. Motion by Bob Wilson, seconded by Jan Shaw to table. Discussion was held on the concerns about the timing of these rule proposals. Concern was that with the pandemic challenges APBA is facing this year, these changes could be an additional detriment to drivers coming back to race. Concerns were also expressed about taking rules which have always been under category control in the category rules and placing them in the General Rules under Board of Director control. Motion to table the rules passed unanimously. It was suggested that perhaps some of these could be passed individually. President Fairchild asked that any suggestions for changes be sent to Headquarters. The Board will vote on any changes by email.

13. President Fairchild stated that at the last category awards there were some hurt feelings over things that had been missed. He and Executive Director, Becca Nichols, will compile a set of running show standards which will be sent to each chairman approximately 30 days prior to the annual meeting.

14. President Fairchild asked if there were any other matters:

a. Jean Mackay-Schwartz stated that the article written by Chris Fairchild on March 31 to update APBA members on the pandemic was very good. She suggested that it be sent to all members in an email since it contained information on a grace period for capsule training. Director of Operations Becca Nichols said she would send it out in the next HQ Happenings. The information on grace periods will also be sent in each scorer’s packet once racing resumes.

b. Dutch Squires asked if APBA had any plans for the financial future given the number of races that are being cancelled due to the pandemic. President Fairchild explained that Mark Wheeler was working on applying on APBA’s behalf for a government forgivable loan to cover staff salaries during this period. APBA is going to economize while still keeping our employees who are working from home. It is hoped that we will be racing by June, but that will have to be determined. A question was asked on what happens to the racing insurance already paid if we do not race at all this season. President Fairchild said he would contact Rick Felson and ask about this.

c. Bob Wartinger stated that he has been working with the modelers on their modelling statistics during this pandemic and they have also been inputting data on a return to discretionary sports. The information will change as time goes on. He is willing to provide anyone with this information.

d. Sheri Greaves asked if anyone has considered that even if a race can be held, how many people will feel secure enough to attend. Region 10 has had a teleconference on this and will do a survey of their members 30-45 days prior to their race. President Fairchild said that HQ will be glad to do a survey of members for any club/region that requests it.

15. There being no further business, motion by Fred Hauenstein to adjourn, seconded by Jan Shaw. The meeting was adjourned at 8:56 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Williams

APBA Secretary