Minutes: January 9, 2016
WTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Face to Face January 9, 2016
The 1/9/2016 face to face meeting of the Wisconsin Trapshooting Association Board of Directors was called to order at 9:00 A.M. by Bill Simonar President.Directors present were 1st Vice President Glenn Hamerly, 2nd Vice President Jerry Farnsworth, N/W: Bruce Stiteley, N/E Pat Schuette, S/E: Jerry Kaszynski, ATA Delegate Kevin Doerring, 1st Alt.Delegate Dwight Paulin, 1st alt. Delegate Fritz Thistle, Treasurer Jim Kroeplien and Secretary Theresa Howland. Absent for face to face meeting was S/W: Dan Horkan. Also present at the meeting was John Coniff, Don Mittag, Melinda Mittag, Dick Otto, Arlene Otto, Denny and Ruth Taylor, Kyle Wojicechowski, Gary DeSmidt, John Atkielski, Julie Atkielski, Donald Chrapla, Amy Jenkins, Tate Barwald, Ed Kreul, Phil Kubow, Jay Nigbor, Elizabeth Foellmi, Perry Hintz and Jeff Recob.
Meeting started at 9:00
Reports
S/E Zone Director: Bill started the meeting with a candidate to replace the S/ E Zone Director, Rick Klawitter, who has resigned. Phillip Kubow has volunteered to be on the Board until elections. Jerry gave a little information on Phil. Bill then called to a vote. Phil was voted in 6 yea 0 nay. Welcome Phil. We will enjoy working you.
Elizabeth Foellmi: Elizabeth talked about the new website she has been creating for the WTA. She went through every section, how it will look, and what information will be under what icon.
She asked about what number should be on for a contact, also changing email addresses for the Directors so they would not have to have it going to their private emails.
Next she asked about whether the Directors were interested in keeping the Blog open or closing it since there was going to be a forum open on the new website. The Directors decided to close the blog and start fresh with the new forum. She talked about the information the Directors would like to see in order for shooters to register on the new forum. The shooter will register with email, name and ATA # (optional) in order to participate in the forum. After registering they will get an email back from the moderator so they can start to post. All posts will go through a moderator to make sure the member is following the rules and regulations agreed to.
She asked if they would still need the comments section under the news section. The Directors agreed that it would not have to be there since they now had the forum.
Elizabeth also said that this website will be easier to use with all devices such as cell phones, iPad as well as a computer. The Directors all voted yes to the new website. Elizabeth said she would have it up and running by Feb. 1st.
SCTP Gary and Perry: Gary said that the SCTP was very happy with how successful their state shoot went at the Homegrounds.
Gary explained that out of the 967 shooters only about 67 shot at other registered shoots. The SCTP would like a break from the WTA annual fee since most of their shooters only shoot the one registered shoot. They asked the WTA to waive the annual fee because it would be hard to explain to the parents the extra $10 dollars after having raised the fee last year $12 dollars for the ATA fees. They felt they would lose too many shooters over the ten dollar fee. They received permission to hold a non-registered shoot from the ATA. If the fees could not be waived they would hold a non-registered shoot. They would like to revisit it again in the future. That will give the families and coaches a chance to get used of the idea of paying the fee.
After a long conversation on the subject many opinions of not wanting to waive the fee to maybe we need to give the kids our support for this year and revisit the fee next year. Glenn asked if we would waive the fee would they supply the help for their shoot. Perry said that was something they would have to ask the coaches. Don said that the fee would be to help with the wear and tear on the machines. It was asked if they were willing to give a 5 year commitment to have the WTA host their shoot. When all questions were asked, Bill asked if the WTA would waive the fee, would the SCTP be willing to pay $25 for targets which would include $3 WTA fee and $1 maintenance fee. Along with a 5 year commitment. Perry and Gary said they would be very interested in that offer. After a little more talk and questions being answered. There was a motion made.
Pat made a motion that the SCTP would be charged a $21 target fee along with a $3 WTA fee and a $1 maintenance fee. To be revisited every year for any changes in the price. Also the SCTP would need to make a commitment of 5 years from 2016-2020. Bruce second the motion. Bill asked if there would were any questions. Jerry asked if they will revisit after the 5 years. They will revisit every year. Gary also said that the waiver would only be for the SCTP Saturday shoot. If the kids shoot in any other shoots they will have to pay the WTA annual fee. After all questions were answered Bill called this to a vote, the motion passed 5yea and 1 nay.
Gary also brought up that they would like to hold a registered shoot on Sunday in hopes to get more kids to shoot along with parents. He asked if the WTA would be interested in helping set this up and joining in on the Sunday shoot. The WTA looked at the date and it was the same day as a registered shoot at Heart of Wisconsin and the WTA said they would not because of conflict with the other shoot.
Gary also asked about the pricing for the Kettle Moraine shoot on the 14th and 15th. This would be a non-registered shoot and they supply the help. After the Board talked about this there was a motion made. Glenn made a motion the charge would be $19 target fee and $1 maintenance fee. Jerry F. seconded the motion. Bill asked for questions, there were none. The motion went to vote. Result was 6 yea and 0 nay.
Perry also invited everyone to the coaches meeting on Jan. 30th. It will start at 9AM at the Mead in Wisconsin Rapids. The board let Perry and Gary know that Jerry F. would be a liaison between the SCTP and the WTA.
Hall of Fame: Jay and John brought the Hall of Fame nominees before the Director. There are two nominees this year. Papers were distributed to every Director to read. Jay asked if everyone had a chance to look over the nominees. After reviewing the applicants the HOF committee noticed not all requirements were met. In the past, the HOF committee waived some requirements for the HOF inductees. Jay and John said they had sent all information to the members of the HOF and asked their advice about waiving the requirements and if the inductee should be accepted. They said the response was mostly for the waiving of the requirements and accepting the inductees into the HOF, from all the 25 HOF members that responded. Bill called the HOF nominees to a vote. For Jerry Murphy it was 6 yea and 0 nay. The vote for Glenn Grabski it was 5 yea 1 nay. Both inductees will be members of the HOF. Congratulations to both Jerry and Glenn.
John then brought up the guide lines and rules for the HOF. He would like a change added to number one. The change would be that the WTA President, at his sole discretion, may appoint either a current WTA Board Member or a current member of the WTA HOF to serve in his place on the committee. The motion was made by Bill to accept this change to the rules and guidelines. This motion was seconded by Bruce. It was voted on and pass 6 yea to 0 nay.
Treasures Report: Jim handed out an expense report. The savings did not change but he now opened another savings account for the different ear marked money. It will make it easier to keep the extra money separate for lights and other things we are not quite ready to purchase yet.
Fritz asked about the cost of the accountant. Jim said that most of the cost was built up trying to separate the camping and shooting complex. Jim also let the board know that the contract is up for the accountant and it will need to be updated and signed. It was suggested that we might want to look around to see what other accounting firms are charging. Phil was going to look into writing up a request proposal and get it to the Directors so they can go shopping for prices for an accountant. Jim also let the Board know that the real estate taxes are in and they are up to about $41,000. The Directors knew it was going to go up but were very surprised at the amount.
John Coniff: John has been working with Bill and Denny on looking where we stand on the loan and what can be done with the inheritance. They have visited the River City Bank to talk about a loan and see if they would work with the WTA to lower our interest and loan payment. They are hoping to hear back from the bank within the next few weeks. He went over his business plan and explained how it all works and what would need to be done to implement the plan. They were talking about borrowing against the money market to put up a building for 400,000 and reduce the main loan by 200,000. Jerry asked what happened to the 200,000 cap that was agreed to. We did not need such a big building to start with. It was talked about to go back and look into getting different plans to see what can be done about reducing the cost of a building. He said we need to stop robbing from different funds and start looking for more income.
Jeff Recob talked about seeing the camping grow and that he is hoping to see it grow every year. He thinks the building will help get other organizations to come and enjoy the area and camping. Moving forward to get more amenities will only expand the use of the Homegrounds for more than just shooters. Most agreed a building is needed but maybe not as elaborate of one.
Bruce said the plan is to get moving on this plan but one person cannot do it all. It will take the effort of many. Bill needs to start to delegate the plan and who would need to start where.
Denny Taylor: Denny talked about the taxes and why the assessor came up with such a big number. He valued the buildings and the campgrounds according to what he thought they should be. Dennis said he would look into what other camp sites are paying per site to see if we can get it lowered.
He gave a list of shoots scheduled at the Homegrounds as of today.
April 2 Opening for shooting Wednesday- Sunday from 12:30- 5:00 the public can call for other times as well.715-310-0380
April 15 Homegrounds RV Park opens
May 6,7 &8th Registered 16 yard, Handicap and doubles ( needs approval)
May 14-15th Kettle Morraine Youth Championship
June 11 Wisconsin State High School Clay Target League Championship
June 25-26th Scholastic Clay Target Program State Championship
July 1-4th Registered shoot (needs approval)
July 12-17th 117th Annual Wisconsin State Shoot
August19-21st Five Person Team Shoot Weekend (needs Approval)
September 9-11th 2nd Annual Fall Classic (needs approval)
Glenn made a motion to accept the dates Dennis has presented as is. It was seconded by Phil. It went to vote passed 6yea 0nay.
Bruce: Bruce quickly talked about what he and Glenn have been thinking about for the five man shoot. They figure it would be a 3 day shoot. The cost would be per team. They were thinking on making Saturday a non-registered shoot. This way any shooters can participate. Then Sunday would be a 5 man registered shoot. These are a few things they are kicking around for now. They have not set up any set plans other than the dates.
Wisconsin State Program: A few changes were made to the programs. Under classification they are adding chair shooter.
Under the WTA committees and assignments there were several changes, removing last year’s Directors and adding in the new Directors.
Changing the Registered Shoot Coordinator from Melinda to Amy Jenkins.
They talked about the fish fry, Paul will be handling the fish fry and the raffle but asks that all the Directors look for donations for the Raffle.
The ATA refund will be 8383.00.
Kyle was asked to update the AIM Program, he told John he would get him something soon.
The Annual Meeting will be moved to Sunday at 8:00AM. Also the State Tam will be honored between events on Friday.
Event 1 will be a memorial for Ray and Wy Moser.
John asked the Directors to look for and ask the sponsors who are now doing it if they are going to continue.
Bruce said that Ho Chunk Gaming will be a sponsor and also will have an item for the auction for the banquet. He also said that they will be doing bus runs again this year, 1 bus pick up Wednesday at noon and on Thursday-Friday and Saturday they will do 2 pick- ups at noon and 4 o’clock. They will again offer the $10 dollar reward.
John asked the Directors to contact past sponsors for their continued support and to look for any new event sponsors.
State Team: Kevin started with how he read and understood the rules and regulations for shooters making the All-State Team. And how you decide the number of gun clubs a person shoots at. Kevin made a motion to change the All-State Team qualification requirements to:
- You must shoot the three Championship events at the Wisconsin State Tournament in the year under consideration.
- You must shoot a Championship Singles, a Championship Handicap and a Championship Doubles at any of the Wisconsin Zone Shoots in the year under consideration.
- You must shoot registered targets at a total of three different Wisconsin clubs. Under this rule, if you shoot the Wisconsin State Shoot and any other registered shoot at the WTA Homegrounds, it would count as two clubs. If you shoot at a Wisconsin Zone Shoot site and any other registered shoot at this site it would count as two clubs. If you shoot the ATA Central Zone Shoot at the Wisconsin site and any other registered shoot at this site it would count as two clubs.
- All other residency, category and target requirements would remain in effect.
This was seconded by Jerry. Bill called to vote passing unanimously.
Kevin said that the ATA has come to an agreement with the State of Illinois that if the DNR will not get the Grand American grounds ready they would do it. The announcement will come soon that the Grand American will be held in Illinois.
Glenn: Glenn asked the Directors if they wanted to change how we charge the food vendors. Last year we charged 15% of what their intake was. This didn’t seem to go over very well with the vendors. He was wondering if they should go back to a set rate. This was talked about and the Directors decided to do a set rate. Pat made a motion to charge vendors $250 a week for the State Shoot. This was seconded by Jerry. Bill called to vote it was 6 yea 0 nay motion passed.
Around the Table
Pat: Pat asked if we should get back to the Business plan and start to set up committees for this. We should really start getting things started such as fundraisers, find ways to increase camping, increase shooting and increase donors. Bill will look into forming committees as soon as we finish with the bank.
There was a question about the stone slabs that were delivered and how are they going to get set. Bill said that Glenn is working with the Wagner’s to help it set up to be installed.
Don Chrapla: Don asked about playground equipment. What the Directors would like to see, what kind of equipment would be good for the Homegrounds. He said he would get a brochure from the company he has been talking to and get it to Bill so he can look it over and decide.
Jerry K.: Jerry said at last meeting he was going to look into light poles that Cudahy was selling. He said they were not good ones. They were just telephone poles. He said he did have poles but they would have to have the lights mounted.
Denny: Denny said he was at the Governor’s Holiday Party. He was able to have a little one on one time and gave him an invitation to come out and tour the Homegrounds and try trapshooting. Not sure if he will ever take him up on it but it was a good chance to advertise the Homegrounds.
Fritz: Fritz said the plaques for the fields are getting ready. He was going to bring one to the next meeting so the Directors can see what they will look like. He also will be working with John on looking for donations.
Jerry: Jerry said he has talked to Tom Hoppe. He has ATM machines that he would be willing to bring to the State shoot. He said you do not need a land line because it can be done off the cell towers. He is willing to either fill the machines and the WTA would make $2 of every transaction or if we wanted to fill the machines the WTA would make $2.50 per transaction. The Directors said if he wants to bring them and fill them himself that would be fine.
He also said Mike Thomas has asked who the police talked to at the Trails End. He wanted names of who gave statements. Bill and Jerry said they talked to the police but they were told they were not needed, so they did not give a statement.
Jim: Jim originally thought that the Fall Classic made $15,000 but after deducting $3000 for the shells that were given out, we really only made $12,000.
He did some figuring and if they would pay off $200,000 of the loan the payments would go down $2000 a month.
He also said if we don’t get any income coming in we will be low on money in March or April.
His son came up with a sign he could make for the road. He brought a proposal if the Directors are interested. They were interested but Denny was going to look into the townships rules for road signs.
Taxes will be done soon He was going have to meet with Jen the accountant to get them all squared away as far as the campgrounds being leased.
He also brought up how we do the donation for the football team and if the kids are insured or not. Bill said he would talk to the insurance agent to see what they would need for that.
Theresa: I am working on the newsletter for the calendar. I asked Denny and Bruce to write something for the new letter. I also asked if the directors want me to send out the letters for the 2016 State Team.
Bill: Bill aid he has talked to Bill Martin. While Bill Martin supports the future of the WTA, he is unable to make any financial commitment at this time.
He also brought up the 5 Stand and that Mec said they would accept $2000 dollars down and $500 dollars a month till it is paid for. He said any money made in the five stand would go to make the payments.
He also brought up a truck had been found. A ¾ ton Chev. For $6000. Yz said they would take it to the shop and look it over and fix what needs to be. They also said they would store it in winter and fix anything and bring it back in spring.
Motion to adjourn the meeting by Glenn seconded by Pat. Meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM.
Next meeting: The next meeting will be a face to face on March 5, 2016 at 9:00 AM. It will be held at Lake Sherwood Lodge