Report

Report Item

Detail

Action Needed

Assigned to:

President’s Report

John Benton

MCA Recognition Award

This year’s award will include statewide nominations.  Bring nominations to the Sept/Nov. meeting. 

John Benton creating new nomination form to be posted on MCA Website 

Post Nomination Form on MCA Website

Benton
Osbakken
O’Leary

 New Logo

New logo is on the website. Looking to have XP Apparel present MCA Apparel.

Position Ascention

This is the last year of 2 year officer terms. We will be looking for candidates to fill the 2^nd VP position. Elections will be held in the spring of 2008.

Submit Candidates

All

Tax Audit Update

St. Paul and Duluth have been audited for taxes on bonspiel entry fees and had to pay substantial amounts for back taxes on entry fees. It is unclear whether the State of MN will be approaching all of the clubs in the state. Please let your club boards know that moving forward all bonspiel entry fees are subject to state tax and it should be accounted for. 

501c3 Status may affect your tax liability for this purpose. Please contact your club accountant to be sure. 

Bring information back to club boards.

All

Treasurer’s Report

Jay Osbakken

Report Attached:
Transaction Report

Balance: 3374.54

None

Clubs needing to pay dues.

Mankato, Detroit Lakes.

Follow Up

Osbakken

Putnam Fund Update

Balance: $31,026.80 

Proposal for Putnam Fund uses to come from John. Discuss at November meeting. Plan to enact for the 2008-2009 season.

Present proposal at next meeting

Benton

1^st Vice President

Norma O’Leary

Playdown Updates

Juniors - Two Harbors – December 27^th – 30^th 

Men’s and Women’s - Curl Mesabi - According to the website they have scheduled January 25 -27 which conflicts with the Nationals Challenge Round. It appears they have a private booking for the original weekend of January 13 -16. Norma will work with them to find a date that does not conflict. Kent Beadle suggested the weekend of the 18-20 which conflicts with State Seniors. Kent Beadle also wanted to make sure that we continue to use a poster for this event. It was noted that last year’s Club National teams were both offered a trip to Kurizawa Japan. 

State Seniors - Detroit Lakes – January 18^th-20^th - Linda C. mentioned that the date is in conflict with Senior Nationals. They were aware of the issue and  

Mixed – Itasca Curling Club – February 8 -10 

Follow up with Curl Mesabi to clear up conflict.

O’Leary

 New Event Idea: Arena Club Championship?

Ken Beadle suggested that we run a State Arena Championship at the same time and same location as the Men’s and Women’s State Championship. Response was favorable.

Beadle proposed it as a motion. Motion seconded by O’Leary. Osbakken pointed out that we may have a scheduling issue of we have too many teams. Plan is to move forward and determine details as we go. Called to vote by Benton. Motion passed with one abstention. 

Details of the event are to be worked out by the MCA Execs.

Work out details of new event.

MCA Execs

Pins and Patches

Pins:

M/W 130
Junior 96
In an average year 60 Juniors and 80 for M/W.
No contact from Mike Liapis on new pins. 

Through a new vendor we could get pins 1.30 each at a quantity of 500.  Pins would still need to be engraved with the year. 

Pins are good through:

Women’s Champ – 2014
M/W Runner-Up – 2021
Mixed Participation – 2015
Seniors – 2014 

Merriam Medal Issue – Some previous winners of the Medal do not have them. SPCC Member Jon Angst sent an e-mail to suggest that we re-instate the Merriam medal tradition. After Beadle updated him on the financial issue of the medal and the pins, Angst stated that he may have some financial backing to create an endowment to be able to fund the updating and continued use of the medal and pins. Beadle will bring the actual Merriam medal to the next meeting. O’Leary stated that it would cost $1250 to order Merriam Medal pins. Not sure when the last team(s) to get Merriam medals was. Beadle also noted that one of the original problems was the cost discrepancy between the Merriam medal for the men and a plain pin for the women. Beadle will get the Meal and bars appraised and bring it to the next meeting. Discussion on the topic was tabled until November 

Motion by Beadle to purchase 500 state participation pins (250 M/W and 250 Juniors). 2^nd by Christiansen. Motion passed. 

Patches – Everything is all set. 

Christiansen has old picture book from State. She would recommend updating the book and website with all team photos, etc. Plan to scan them in and update the website. 

Officer Handbooks – No Activity

Complete by Spring 2007

 MCA Execs

2^nd Vice President’s Report

Mike Floerchinger

New Club Development

Brainerd Lakes CC

They had 20 teams last year with 150 people who tried curling.  They are targeting 16 teams this year.  They will continue with the same approach as last year allowing up to 8 members per team rotating nights they curler.  This allows new curlers to try it out without too great an expense. Some very good junior interest. 

Vikingland CC

They had 75 members last year and expect to have 20 more new members this year.  They are expanding to 2 leagues both on Wednesday night and now have 4 sheets of ice.  They purchased new reconditioned rocks from Steve’s Curling Supply. 

Events:

·         Open House on Sep. 22 with 30 people attending.

·         Level I Instructor Clinic on Sep. 29 lead by John Meilke with 16 trainees.

·         Novice Clinic started on Oct. 3 and will be held for 3 Wednesday nights.

·         Intermediate Clinic scheduled for Oct. 17

·         Curling starts on Nov. 7.

·         Open Bonspiel on Mar. 7 – 9. 

Willmar CC

They had 17 teams and 80 members last year.  They are targeting 25 teams for this year.  They are expanding their leagues to have both a Wednesday night and a Saturday night league.  They plan on having an Open House on Oct. 27 and expect a good turnout because that is the same day that the ice arena is having an open house for their new facility. 

Events:

·         4 weeks of open curling in November.

·         Leagues start on Dec. 1.

·         Plan to have a bonspiel again the 1^st week in Jan.

·         May schedule 2 additional bon spiels. 

Edina CC

Edina had 212 curlers last year and will be able to accommodate 240 curlers this year.  They had to cut back from 3 nights of curling to 2 nights due to an increase in the ice rental rates.  They will be paying $220/hr this year.  They will not be able to host a bonspiel this year due to the high cost of ice rental. Edina wishes to thank the USCA for the Rock purchase program. Edina is also wondering if the USCA might consider reducing or deferring dues for new clubs? 

Events:

·         Open house on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov 13, 14.

·         League starts on Nov. 20 and will go through mid-March

Walker CC

Walker will kick off their season with an open house on Saturday Nov. 10 with leagues starting the following week.  They will be sharing a new ice facility with hockey.  Leagues will be 3 draws on Saturdays and 3 draws during the day on Mondays.  They are purchasing rocks from St. Paul CC. 

Events:

·         Open house on Nov. 10

·         Leagues start Nov. 12

·         Open bonspiels on Dec. 29–31 and Feb. 29 – Mar. 1 

St. Cloud

Last spring, Mark Wilmert and I met with a representative for the owner of a sports facility in St. Cloud.  He was considering having curling and 3-person summer hockey share the ice facilities – curling in the winter and hockey in the summer.  There are 2 problems with the proposal: 1) no one has come forward in St. Cloud to form a club and 2) the facility will most likely be too expensive for a startup club. 

Received information on bonspiels from the following:

·        Duluth
Vikingland
Walker
Itasca
Two Harbors 

Expect to get bonspiel information from the following:

·         Willmar
St. Paul
Caledonian
Thief River Falls
Chisholm
Curl Mesabi
Bemidji
Owatonna
Hibbing
International Falls
Heather Mapleton
Cook County 

Junior Report

New Chairperson Needed

High School Bonspiel

 College Bonspiel

Potential to have the High School Bonspiel in Willmar. Gorans will see if Willmar is interested. 3^rd Week in March. 

Still investigating how this is run and by who. 

Need a Chair person for this function.

Benton

USCA Directors Report

Tim Solie

Kent Beadle

New Director – First impressions were good and Solie has a better understanding of how the organization  works and was impressed by the people and their dedication. 

New USCA Website – Please check it out 

Finance – USCA Budgeted for a loss even after the dues increase, but due to a number of unexpected windfalls ended up with a positive variance. Please see the USCA DOD minutes for detail. 

Expect a “dues increase” schedule to be published moving forward. 

Membership up by 1000. New clubs in many states. 

Membership Conference ’08 – Bismarck ,ND 

Updating Instruction Program 

Junior Camps 

Background Checks for all people working with Juniors are recommended to have a Criminal Background Check done through the USCA website.  There is a nominal fee associated with the process. 

Stick Rule – IS NOT in effect this year. The USCA has decided to “study” the rule for one year before adopting a new rule. Stick curlers are being asked to look at “other” release points and send feedback to the USCA. 

Mixed and Junior women will fill to 10 teams. 

Draw shot will determine hammer before each game. 

Registration for ALL USCA events will be done online through the USCA website and Compete-At.com.  The system will be made available to clubs as well. 

Dates and Locations for all championships can be found on the USCA website. 

Andy Anderson resigned as treasurer. His position was filled by Jack Bernauer. 

Athlete funding from the USOC went up. 

Coaching Development Director was hired. 

New Assistant ADD being sought.

Hibbing – hosting Men’s and Women’s Nationals

Mankato – hosting Men’s and Women’s Club Nationals

Gopher State

 Gopher State will be held at Curl Mesabi - March 14-16.

OLD BUSINESS

 MCA Dues Increase – Osbakken withdrew the motion. Benton asked to discuss a long term plan at the November meeting. 

Putnam Fund proposal will be presented at November meeting.

NEW BUSINESS

 TCCA Grant and Scholarship Program – Nick Myers made a presentation of two handouts that will be posted on the MCA website.

Next Meeting

 Saturday, November 3^rd by Conference Call – Details to follow.

Report

Report Item

Detail

Action Needed

Assigned to:

President’s Report

John Benton

MCA Census Data

Report Attached as Exhibit 1

A document including club membership data (historical) was presented.  We should use this information to see where we are seeing increases and where there are struggles. 

Jim Newman commented that Deb Saderaun is surveying past and current members of their club to determine what drove their decision to stay or to leave.  Curl Mesabi has lost an equal number of members to what they gained.  Mark Willmert believes that  the survey  would be of interest to others and be beneficial if they could share the results 

The census project can be referenced with regard to USCA/MCA dues.  What do clubs want/need from the two organizational bodies.  What do they feel they are missing?  The MCA needs quality answers to these questions in order to adequately address and answer club concerns regarding dues.

Ongoing Discussion

John Benton

 Junior Chair

The junior chair remains vacant.  Sherry Halloway had expressed interest, but is pursuing another position with the USCA. 

A request was made that all in attendance go back to their clubs and inform them of the need for a Junior Chair.  Solicit interested parties.

Find a person to fill this position.

All!

MCA Recognition Award

 The Northwest Region Clubs did not nominate anyone from their region for the award.  Next year’s award will include statewide nominations.  Bring nominations to the Sept/Nov. meeting. 

Nomination form to be posted on MCA Website 

Post Nomination Form on MCA Website

Jay Osbakken

Norma O’Leary

Conference Calling

Still researching this option.   Have had discussions with the USCA to see if there can be some kind of joint agreement with them to utilize their conference calling resources. 

If we were able to utilize conference calling, it would still be important that as many people as possibly attended the January meeting and the Spring meeting.

Continue discussions with the USCA regarding teleconferencing options

John

 MCA Event Representation 

 It is important to attend MCA/USCA sanctioned events as a show of support for the host club and the participants.  All officers and representatives are encouraged to attend events if possible.

 All

 MCA Officer’s Handbook 

Norma is preparing an MCA Officer’s handbook to be used as a reference for incoming representatives and officers.

Project is in process

 Norma

Treasurer’s Report

Jay Osbakken

Dues Paid

Report Attached

Exhibit 2

Jay presented the itemized listing of membership dues paid for 2007.  There are several clubs with membership dues outstanding:  Dakota, Detroit Lakes, Hallock, Stephen, and Mankato have not paid dues. 

Dues to MCA should be sent separately and should not be included with USCA dues. 

Follow up with Mankato. 

Follow up re: dues

Jay

Putnam Fund

Balance was $29,753.80 in 12/2006.  Still working to get access to this account.

Jay

1^st Vice President

Norma O’Leary

Report Attached
Exhibit 3

John Benton presented Norma’s report.

Pins

 Norma still in contact with Mike Liapis regarding other pin options.

Follow up on pin proposals. 

Norma

USCA Directors Report

Kent Beadle

Bob Fenson

Art Jytyla

USCA Directors

 Reports Attached Exhibit 4

Kent Beadle presented the report on behalf of the directors.

 New WCF Representative

Mark Swanby is the new WCF Representative

2^nd Vice President’s Report

Mike Floerchinger

Club Development

St. Cloud has recently expressed interest in a curling facility.  They have a facility in mind, but need people to run it. 

Buffalo and Ramsey have also expressed interest.

 New Club Development

Edina Curling Club – Mark Willmert

• Currently playing on six sheets of ice; M,T,W, dedicated ice.
• 9 draws each nite.
• Currently 230 members – 75% new curlers

Vikingland Curling Club – Nancy Haggenmiller

• 2^nd year playing on W night, 3 sheets of ice.  75 members.
• They would need another set of rocks to add an additional sheet of ice.
• Looking for a dedicated facility.
• Hosted first bonspiel in 06/07 season – 13 teams.

Willmar Curling Club – Kevin Madsen

• Curling on 4 sheets of ice currently at 80 members
• No opportunity for additional ice time.
• Planned upgrades to the facility should benefit the CC
• Started a Junior Program that serves 9 kids.
• Host Open Curling for $2 (supported by Community Education and Recreation) this helps keep their costs low ($30/hr for ice time) as the membership provides the instruction for community events.
• Willmar also hosted its first bonspiel this year.

Brainerd/Crosby Curling Club – John Raboin

• John acknowledged both Nancy and Kevin for their help in getting things going with their new organization.
• Ice quality this year wasn’t great, but they are working on it.
• Nancy, Kevin, and Mike all helped with the Open House.
• Curling is Saturday night with 3 draws, 6 end games.  82 members and 53 guest curlers.
• They set up rosters of 8 for a team fee of $600.
• Currently using 4 sets of rocks from USCA.
• Suggested reduced membership rate for the first 3 years for new clubs.

Walker – Tanis & Don Beadle

• Walker will be discussing “rock” needs at their meeting on 4/30.
• Will be curling in the new Community Center scheduled to open in October.
• Fall instruction and Open Houses are being scheduled.
• Hoping to attract 100 members to curl on 4 sheets of ice 1 or 2 nights a week.
• 35 people have already deposited toward membership.
• Hoping to begin leagues in January.

Junior Report

New Chairperson Needed

High School Bonspiel

College Bonspiel

Larry Barrott ran the High School bonspiel in Mapleton this year.  There was no college event this year.

Need a Chair person for this function.

Gopher