Minutes of
the Tennessee Tree Toppers
October 9, 2010
respectfully
submitted by James Anderson
Meeting called to order by president Steve
Lee at 9:30 am CST. James Anderson volunteered to take the
minutes.
Present: board members present
include Steve Lee, James Anderson, Buddy Cutts, Jeff Nibler.
Ollie Gregory, and Michael Bradford. Dan Shell came in later.
Absent were Ricker Goldsborough, Eric
Donaldson, Barry Klein, Kathy Lee, Kenny Sandifer, Miller
Stroud, Jeff Wilson. We do not have a quorum.
Visitors included Richard Amend,
Keith Atkins, Al Atkins, Dean funk, Mike Nash, Freddie Craig,
and Emily Byars.
Old Business:
Whitwell LZ: No
change. $20.00 donation from Erin Rinn to the LZ fund with the
suggestion that we seek funds from the Foundation for Free
Flight. The foundation has been approached by James Anderson
who discovered that the foundation wants to know, among other
things, how much money we want, which we can not supply without
finding a place to buy. Much discussion.
Haying our LZ: Our
efforts to find someone to do the job had been left in the hands
of Kenny Sandifer. Since he was not present, the fruits of his
efforts are unknown. Mr. Woerner took it upon himself to hay
our field on his own right before Team Challenge. Mr. Fletcher
of Fletcher Trucking, Greg Gaston, and Harmon Held were
suggested as possibly being able to do the job for us.
Discussion.
Tandem dues: Jeff Nibler
reported that he found that Clark Harlow did not feel a dues
increase was justified, since much of his efforts should qualify
as good public relations for the club. Clark now has the
student waivers in the green box before the student flies. The
problem of collecting said dues in a timely manner has been
solved by Clark's paying a block of money up front. Discussion.
Team Challenge 2010: TC
recognized as a great success. Exact state of the financial
situation ref TC is unknown at this time. The donation cup
yielded $295.00; donation box $339.50; dinner collections
$337.00 (making us $177,00 thank you Margaret Craig); T-shirt
(thank you Kip Stone for your generous donation of the t-shirts)
sales at $15.00/shirt $185.00. We are reminded to thank our
sponsors for their contributions. Dean Funk made the point that
he had successfully introduced several new pilots to the site
during this time frame; that he is mentoring these pilots. Good
job Dean. Mike Bradford thanked Steve Lee for his efforts.
James Anderson thanked Freddy Craig for his many efforts,
especially Freddy's handling of garbage – which has been a big
problem in the past. Discussion.
Southwest site: No
luck. Discussion.
Refrigerator: Mike
Bradford is donating his almost new frig to the club next
Tuesday. He seems quite certain his old frig will fit into the
same space and states that his old frig is almost new.
Stove: Steve Lee threw
out the old stove while on his pre-TC cleaning spree so that we
were without a stove during TC. Mike Bradford volunteered to
pick up a new stove for us. Mike Nash has spoken to the Florida
crew – due soon – and says they will install the stove for us.
Ollie Gregory feels any money left over from the
stove/refrigerator donations should go toward our physical
plant. Mike Bradford believes the clubhouse plumbing should be
redone in Pex.
Scooter tow: Dr Dale and
Mike Nash both have volunteered storage for Wayne Walker's
scooter tow. Much discussion about where to fly it. Mike will
look into that.
New Business:
Richard Amend: Richard
spoke to us about plans for a para-glider launch just north of
our Whitwell launch site. He is quite certain there is enough
money and labor to clear a good PG launch. Much discussion
about where they plan to land. Dean Funk (chair), Ollie
Gregory, Jeff Nibler and Michael Bradford are our committee to
work with Richard and his group on procedures to safely fly
together. Thank you Richard. Editor's note: conversations
with Rick Jacob place the site some 1,000 foot south of our
launch, not north.
Miami Hang Gliding:
James Tindle is going to run one of his mountain clinics here
October 22 – 25. He is seeking local involvement and input.
He is requested to ensure that all pilots, especially
instructors, be sure to bring documentation/certification as
they, like all pilots, can expect to be carded. He is planning
a BBQ on Sunday, October 25 and all are invited. Ollie Gregory
feels that we need to consider a set of policies/procedures for
non-flying activities.
Officer elections for2011:
Election time again. All present board members agreed to stand
for reelection. Clark Harlow agreed to run, suggesting that he
might take treasurer again. Jeff Nibler is going to set up an
online procedure for volunteering to run. Ollie Gregory will
print ballots. Support your club – run for office.
Suggestion to put back into the
clubhouse the mouse proof box before they eat up any more of the
clubs resources; at least but not limited to t-shirts. Done.
Consider putting paper goods in there too. (Editor's note:
hidden in the box below some defunct electronics was the “HOOK
IN” marker that was to have been installed at Whitwell before TC.
James Anderson and Buddy Cutts have since installed the marker.
At least it will be there for the next TC.)
Favorite neighbor gifts:
Ollie Gregory volunteered to assemble the soap baskets that were
so well received last year (thanks Jackie) again this year.
List: First Baptist church in Whitwell, Mrs. Basham, Dr. Dale,
Mr. Castle, Mrs. Hudson, Mr. Standifer in Pikeville, the rescue
squads in Dunlap and Whitwell, Mr. Galloway, and a tandem for
Carol Galloway. Delivery by Steve and Kathy Lee and Dan Shell.
School donation: The
Cloudbase Foundation donation of 2 projectors to the local
school system got us some good positive public relations.
John Freitas is on the
centerfold of the current HG & PG Mag. Nice to see TTT members
appreciated.
Jeff Nibler spoke to the idea of
gathering thoughts on the topic of RV placement. It seems that
the placement of the RV right in front of the pavilion created a
lot of negative comment, especially during TC, the greatly
appreciated works of Margaret and Freddy Craig to the contrary
not withstanding. Perhaps assigned placement and/or no parking
areas might work. Perhaps a tiered system geared to how long an
RV had been parked on TTT property might also be in order.
First 30 days free, next week a nominal fee, later a less
nominal fee, etc.. Dan Shell noted that some usage was made by
RVs parking in the corner of the LZ. Some discussion about
putting a toilet down there. Much discussion. Gather up your
ideas and bring them to the next meeting.
Dean Funk is working on his
instructor certification, soon to be granted. He is very
excited. He is looking to revisit Mat Tabor's proposals so that
we can fly with more (thus recruit more) pilots. It looks like
he will be a great help in matters affecting both TTT and LMFP.
Scooter tow qualified
operators: We need a bunch of scooter tow qualified
operators (not (necessarily) instructors) for Wayne's scooter
tow. Clinics may be offered at Blue Sky and/or Quest. Michael
Bradford suggested the possibility of getting an instructor to
come here and teach us here. If you plan to be able to ride it,
you should consider learning to drive it. We are going to need
a set of policies and procedures regarding the operation of the
scooter tow under the flag of the TTT. Gather up your thoughts
and bring them to the next board meeting.
Treasurer's report.
Treasurer was not present. Jeff Nibler reported a current
balance of $8,580.80 in the checking account plus $282.24 in
Paypal. We owe $245.44. $1,151 are dedicated to the stove and
fridge fund. $150 dedicated to our DSL, which should be used to
pay the telephone bills. $700 for TC scholarships. Which
leaves some $6,616.60. There is $57,167.00 in the CD LZ fund.
Website: Buddy Cutts has
the website in its' typical excellent shape. Thanks Buddy.
Bylaws: Dan Shell has no
business for us.
Newsletter: Keith Atkins
continues to do a great job for us. Thank you Keith Atkins.
There is a need for articles – if you haven't written an article
lately, please do so.
Safety committee: Chair
Kathy Lee was not present. Buddy Cutts mentioned that one of
the safety harnesses is missing a carabiner. Steve Lee said he
would look into it.
IT: Michael Bradford
pointed out that we still need to be mindful of the potential
for lightening strikes. Much discussion on whether we should
have a computer, how much computer to get, various forms of
protection (starting with what we had before – which was nothing
– and going on from there).
Membership committee:
Jeff Nibler reports 131 current members.
Awards:
Eric
Donaldson was not present. Various suggestions for awards
include Trevor Childress – flex wing 50.9 miles; Dave Hopkins -
rigid 70 miles and Ollie Gregory's 86 mile triangle his rigid
wing. It was noted that Jeff Nibler flew a similarly difficult
flight from Whitwell to Sandifers to Henson and back to
Whitwell. Ollie flew Whitwell to Sandifers to Marion County
Airport and back to Whiwell. Much discussion.
Competition committee:
Ollie Gregory reported ideas for a year long
self
scored series similar to the weekend series and
some other great competition ideas. Save up your competition
ideas for Ollie. Much discussion.
Social Committee: Barry
Klein was off racing sail boats, but he sent his ideas. He is
suggesting that we do the Blue Orchid this year, even though it
might cost members slightly more than last year. The idea of
using the same date as the December board meeting was well
received – Second Saturday in December.
Maintenance Committee:
Steve Lee has taken up the mantle of this committee since Jeff
Wilson left us. Most things seem to be in good shape (thanks
Steve) with the exception of the water heater situation in the
bathhouse. Please bring your water heater ideas to the next
meeting.
Next meeting: general consensus
that a meeting in November is badly needed. Please come and
bring your ideas.
