Minutes
Western Pennsylvania Orienteering Club
13 November 2016

Memberships represented:  Barak, Battista, Freeman, Gibson (2), Gray (2), Hazelton (2), Huffman, Jarvis, Karnavas, Logan, Livingston, Opila, Rzewski (2), Shank (2), Sheaffer, Sleppy (2), Steinbring, Wolfe.

Jim Wolfe called the meeting to order at 2:45 pm.

1. Minutes from 8 November, 2015 were approved.

2. Election of Officers
    The following officers were nominated and seconded and elected by acclamation, as there were  no other nominations - each to a two year term.
•    President- Jim Wolfe
•    Vice President- Joe Logan
•    Secretary- Jennifer Livingston
Joe Logan subsequently submitted his request to be removed from the remainder of his position as a non-officer board member.  The open position will be filled by the board until next year when the position comes up for election again.

3. Report on the Achievements of 2015
•    Nine regular orienteering events plus Raccoongaine and Keystone Training (one other event, ski-o, was canceled due to lack of snow).
•    Nine orienteering workshops in a wide variety of locations around Western PA.  Two others canceled due to lack of advertisement on the part of Keystone State Park.
•    Two formal presentations and one other opportunity to distribute information about orienteering at a Youth and Outdoor Show.
•    New club maps for North Park (southern part), and Laurel Ridge (more than just the ski trails).
•    Displayed the poster that represented WPOC at the North American Championships Event for the 75th anniversary of competitive orienteering in North America

4. Thank You
•    WPOC thanked the Meet directors, Vetters, Workshop Presenters, Volunteer Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, New Event Coordinator, and all Volunteers for their many hours of service to the club.  
•    Those persons who fill the three Coordinator positions all agree to continue their volunteer position.
•    Data shows that most regularly attending club members do volunteer at meets.  New members are encouraged to also try volunteering at the meets in the coming year.

5. Report on Board Actions in 2014
WPOC Board purchased more e-punch equipment including 30 more control boxes, a master box which plugs directly into the computer, a service card and carrying case.  The board also purchased 15 compasses as replacements for those that have worn out and more punch cards.

6. Financial Report
•    A financial report was made for WPOC through November 2016.  It shows the club to be financially stable.  A complete report for 2016 will be sent to the membership in January after the fiscal year is completed.
•    A discussion was had regarding total number of unique individuals participating on courses in the past two years and how many of them haven't returned to orienteer again.  Ideas were discussed for ways in which the club can encourage new participants to attend a second meet.

7. A discussion of goals for 2015
•    The club discussed the goals for next year to include approximately ten meets for 2017 with at least one being a training event and hoping for good snow so the ski-o event can be successful. We will continue to provide promotional and educational events for newcomers to orienteering.

•    Ideas for increasing club membership and volunteerism were discussed.  Suggestions included: slower orienteers volunteer for first shift then go on a course to have a longer time to finish; creating a ride share area on the wpoc website to get more people to club events; idea for free course coupon to be given to first time participants to encourage their return to a second meet.

8. New Business
•    Discussion was had regarding the proper way to fill out the waivers so that every course participant (youth and adult) will be covered under our insurance.  Be sure that the printed name is readable and that the signature is present.  Be sure that the phone number and address are clear (so two people with the same name are differentiated from one another).  Always check to be certain that a parent or legal guardian sign for each minor.  Suggestion was to add a space for the parent or guardian to circle indicating which they are, (ie. Mother, Father, Legal Guardian) since many people do not share the same last names as their children.  Also, please avoid having participants sign a second waiver by thoroughly checking the list first.

•    Thank you to all 2016 meet directors who arranged shorter advanced courses at their meets.  Many volunteers were able to both participate at a level that challenged their skills while also volunteering at the same meet due to the shorter course being available.

Meeting adjourned at 3:35pm.