Maryland Volkssport Association
Minutes of Meeting
Saturday, December 31, 2008
Columbia, Maryland

Officers Present: President, Bob Schmick; Vice-President, Skip Coburn; Treasurer, Kenneth Wilson; Secretary, Steve Arnett; Dennis Lynch (Past President).

Club Delegates: Bob Wolfe (Freestate), Sue Kenyon (BWC), Sandy Lynch (Worldwide Walking Club), Mike Quinlan (CBCW), Joanne Merkel (Piedmont), John Dye (Columbia), Skip Magee (C&O), and Sandi Cahill (WDCAVC).

Guests: Susan Osbourne, Carolyn Petruzzelli, Jone Parr, Carolyn Thurber, Maribeth Evans, Bob Wright, and Clark Shaeffer

The Meeting was called to order at 1:02 PM by President Bob Schmick

Bob opened the meeting with greetings of Happy New Year for all.

Bob then requested all attendees introduce themselves.

REPORTS

• Minutes from the September 20^th, 2008 meeting were approved.
• Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Ken Wilson presented the financial statements for September, October, and November. The previous Regional Director has closed her account, and divided it between the State associations. Each association received $400.
• Future of the Sport: Attendance improved slightly through the first three quarters of 2008, but not really significantly. There is still a lot of work to be done.
• C&O Canal: The C&O Canal walks made $55 this year. One of the segments made Wendy Bumgardner's Top 10 walks in the USA. Skip encouraged clubs to make western Maryland a destination for club trips. There will be an event on the Canal on May 16, 2009. A wedding will occur at this event, and the wedding couple is paying all sanction and walking fees. The event will start at Lock 26, White's Ferry. A special stamp will be used for stamping books.
• Webmeister: No Report

OLD BUSINESS

• Port-a-pots: A motion was passed for the the MVA to pay up to $100 to reimburse clubs for the expense when the rental of port-a-potties is required.
• MVA Sanction Fees for New Events: The MVA will pay the sanction fees for events using new trails/start points. The MVA executive council will arbitrate in the case of questions concerning eligibility of events for this support.
• Replacement for Rediscover Maryland Program: Bob requested suggestions for a replacement for the Rediscover Maryland Program. Phil Wilder will still do certificates for those completing the Rediscover program, but there will be no new books distributed. A history program was suggested, but there were no decisions on a new program.
• Special Programs: Bob requested that POCs identify locations eligible for inclusion in the special programs in their regular and YRE trails.
• Skip Coburn, Atlantic Region Director, requested that clubs holding events, which meet the requirements for many special programs, request two stamps to facilitate speeding the lines at the end of the event.
• Regional Meeting: There was a discussion of possible dates and times for a regional meeting to elect the next regional director. This will be a regional meeting, not a conference. Dennis Lynch, Bob Wright, and Clark Shaeffer will serve as the nominating committee. A meeting is needed, if possible, prior to the AVA Conference in June.
• NEC Meeting: Several items are on the agenda for the next NEC meeting, which will be held February 27/28 in Tucson, AZ. There is testing being conducted, which would allow online registration for YREs. Details are in progress.
• IVV: The minutes from IVV meetings are being translated into English. Curt Myron is not a member of the Arbitration Court of the IVV. AVA clubs may now sanction events in non-IVV countries, but insurance is a major issue. The insurance company for the AVA will not cover events outside the U.S.

CLUB REPORTS

• The Amblers next event will be a 20th club anniversary event in Annapolis starting at the Germantown Elementary School. Future walks being planned include a walk at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation on May 17 in conjunction with the Annapolis Striders, the annual Octoberfest event in Annapolis on the first Sunday in October, and the Boat Parade event the second weekend in December in Eastport.
• Baltimore Walking Club: The next BWC event will be in January in Relay, MD. The following event will be two days at Du Burns Arena in Baltimore in February. The club plans to do an event every month except May, and is interested in doing history themed events. A coal heritage walk in Cumberland, MD is being studied.
• Chesapeake Bay Country Wanderers: The CBCW has merged its newsletter with the Columbia Volksmarch Club, with fine results. The CBCW will hold a 20th club anniversary event at the Navy Dairy Farm, which was the location of the first event. The club will pay all participant fees for this event. An event in the Upper Marlboro area is being planned for early June.
• Columbia Volksmarch Club: As stated above, the club has merged newsletters with the CBCW after the loss of its editor. The newsletter is now named Chessie Pathways. Columbia has dropped a bike YRE due to low participation.
• Great Greenbelt Volksmarchers: No Report
• Freestate Happy Wanderers: Bob Wolfe thank all for attending the club event today. The next club event will have a history theme, will be located at Bowie State University. It will celebrate Black History Month. The following event will be in Laurel, MD on March 21^st, and will feature presentations by representatives of Walking Adventurers. The Ocean City YRE is closed until February 2^nd.
• Piedmont Pacers: The club will hold 3 events in 2009, and possibly another at the Frederick, MD Octoberfest.
• Potomac River Volksmarching Club: The Potomac Club is hoping to hold its Global events on Bolling AFB in 2009 if possible.
• Seneca Valley Sugarloafers: The Sugarloafers are adding a new YRE event at Montgomery Mall with optional inside and outside trails. A new Zoo trail will be added during the year. The next regular event will be at Carderock on the C&O Canal on January 17^th. The usual seasonal event will be held in March and April in Bethesda for the cherry blossoms. The club will be attempting to hold 9 events in 2009.
• Washington DC Area Volksmarch Club: Sandi Cahill thanked all who came to the December event in Alexandria, despite the late change in start location. The club will be holding its normal series of night walks from the library prior to the club meetings April, May, July, August, and September. The club vice president, and MVA alternate, has moved to Hastings, NE. The WDCAVC will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009.
• World Wide Volkssport Tours: Sandy Lynch is working on events in Bermuda during the club cruise there from Baltimore in late May. The problem is the insurance issue mentioned earlier.

MVA: Clubs are reminded that the AVA Publicity contest is coming. Awards and proxies should be submitted as needed. Clubs should make sure their Starting Points order forms are current.

The next MVA meeting will be the Baltimore Walking Club event in Stephensville, MD on April 26^th, 2009 at 1 PM.

The meeting was closed at 2:27 PM.

Respectfully submitted