Mad River Glen
Cooperative
Board of Trustee’s
Meeting
Saturday November 11,
2006
After due notice, a
meeting of the board of trustees of the Mad River Glen Cooperative was convened
at 8:01 a.m. on November 11, 2006 on the 3rd floor of the Base box
at Mad River Glen Ski Area in Fayston, Vermont.
Trustees, Paul
Finnerty, Jed Kaulkstein, Mary Schramke, Steve Mackenzie, Geordie Hall, Bill
Reynolds, and Rick Moulton were present. Trustees Jay Appleton and Eric
Schoenholz were absent. Also present was President Jamey Wimble, Sharon
Crawford, Eric Friedman and several shareholders.
CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chairman Paul
Finnerty called the meeting to order at 8:01 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Upon motion duly made
by Mary Schramke and seconded by Rick Moulton it was unanimously
Voted: To approve
the minutes of the September 9, 2006 board of trustees’ meeting.
SHAREHOLDER COMMENTS
Bill Reynolds
commended MRG management for providing free passes for veterans who have
recently returned from active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bill Heinzerling
questioned whether tower 2 on the single chair, which is currently a tube
tower, will be replaced with a lattice tower. Jamey Wimble responded that he
believed that tower 2 would be replaced.
Bill Heinzerling also
advised that he had received an estimate for a bronzed single chair replica for
use as an incentive gift. Mary Schramke supported this idea. Penny Parsons
advised that she would be looking for gifts for the Stark Mountain Foundation
fundraiser that is scheduled for February and requested that anyone with ideas
contact her.
MANAGEMENT REPORT
& SINGLE CHAIR REBUILD UPDATE
Jamey Wimble reported
that Cooperative has hired Mike Witsol (sp?) to head up the Food and Beverage
Department and that Mike Jengo (sp?) will be in charge of Rental and Repair.
Jamey recently met
with Jan Leonard, President of Dopplemeyer CTEC and several of their engineers
who inspected the lift in preparation for the rebuild project. The meeting
was productive and everything appears to be on line for construction to begin
in spring of 2007.
The Coop is exploring
the use of “green” power in an effort to and carbon free skiing.
The management report
is attached for reference.
FINANCIAL REPORT
& PRE-SEASON SALES REPORT
The financial and
pre-season sales reports are attached for reference.
SHARE PRICE
DISCUSSION
The Board discussed
whether it was advisable to increase the price of the Coop’s shares and, if so,
how much of an increase was warranted. A straw poll on whether the share price
should be increased was taken. Trustee’s Jed Kaulkstein, Mary Schramke, Steve
Mackenzie, Rick Moulton and Bill Reynolds voted in favor of an increase.
Trustee’s Geordie Hall, and Paul Finnerty voted against raising the share
price.
Vice-Chair Finnerty
requested that the finance committee study this issue and come back to the
Board with a recommendation on the share price increase.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
The Facility
Committee – Rick Moulton reported that he had received a letter from Bill
Heinzerling, which contained a number of proposals for improvements to the base
box. It was agreed that management should review these proposals.
The Single Chair
Campaign Committee – Bill Reynolds reported that the Single Chair Campaign
Committee had reviewed a number of proposals regarding incentive gifts for
donors who have given significant amounts short of the $25K level. The
committee recommended that 5 and 10 K donors should be permitted to name chairs
as long at the plaques were small and unobtrusive and that any other gifts
should be left to the discretion of management. Geordie Hall urged the
participation of the Board and advised that a solicitation training would be
held on December 8, 2005 at 4:00 p.m. at the Base box.
Upon motion duly made
by Bill Reynolds and seconded by Geordie Hall it was unanimously
Voted: To
Authorize the campaign to allow chair naming as an incentive for donors who
contribute $5,000.00 or more.
STRATEGIC PLAN
The Board discussed
the strategic plan. Geordie Hall stated that the Board needed more information
regarding the status of the various strategic initiatives before changes can be
made to the plan. Rick Moulton recommended that the Board focus on the Single
Chair Campaign, as this was the most important issue facing the Cooperative right
now. The Board concurred with Moulton’s recommendation. Geordie Hall
commented that the Coop needs to have a financial plan in order to be able to
assess the strength of the cooperative’s financial situation. Paul Finnerty
advised that the APR may need to be adjusted to keep pace with the coop’s
increased expenses.
Upon motion duly made
by Jed Kaulkstein and seconded by Rick Moulton it was unanimously
Voted: The Board
believes the strategic plan is reasonably up to date and that the Board will
review the strategic plan and strategic initiatives in the fall of 2007,
including financial planning.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was
adjourned at 11:40 a.m.
