Voting Members Present: Jerry McDaniel, Allen Blay, Peg Griffin, Debbie Peters, Mary Jean Yon, David Yon, Tom Perkins, Mark Priddy, Jennifer Hay, Tina Bahmer, Emily Webster. Voting Members Absent: Jeanne O’Kon, Hawthorne Hay, Matt Vermeer, Herb Wills. Non-Voting Members Present: Geoffrey Adams, Bill Lott, Zach DeVeau.

I.  Opening and Introduction:
Jerry McDaniel opened the meeting at 7:07 p.m. A motion was made to approve the minutes of the August 13, 2025 meeting, after incorporating a minor change regarding the approval of the GWTC podcast. The motion was seconded and passed.

II.  Announcements from Officers:
Jerry McDaniel has a call scheduled for next week with Tallahassee Airport officials to discuss their plans for a 5K race to be run on one of the runways at the airport.

Jerry also mentioned that GWTC has been invited to participate in the Halloween Symphony Spooktacular event at Cascades Park on October 25, 2025. Anyone interested in manning a GWTC table for trick-or-treating should contact Jerry.

III.  Old Business/Race Closeouts:

a.  Board Election Update: Mark Priddy provided an update on the upcoming Board election. He has been joined by Peg Griffin and Tsige Tadesse on the elections committee. He has 10 people interested in running for the Director-at-Large positions and is still working on many of the Officer positions. The ballot will be finalized at the October board meeting. Interested candidates should contact Mark, Peg, or Tsige.

b.  Marathon/Half Marathon Course Update: Jerry reported for Robert Skrob that the proposed changes to the course for the marathon and half-marathon are being discussed with the Tallahassee Police Department. Anyone wanting more details about the proposed changes should contact Robert. Robert also sent word that Leon County will vote soon on the Visit Tallahassee grants. The grant for the marathon is among those being considered.

c.  Breakfast on the Track Budget Closeout: Peg presented the budget closeout. Revenue for the event was $3,849.78 and expenditures were $2,064.36, yielding a net profit of $1,785.42. Race proceeds will be shared with Maclay School resulting in $892.71 for both the school and GWTC. A motion was made and seconded to approve the closeout. Motion passed.

d.  Miller Landing Madness Budget Closeout: Bill Lott presented the budget closeout. Revenue for the event was $9,655.46 and expenditures were $10,843.10, resulting in a loss of $1,187.64. Direct donations, totaling $180, were received for the Chenoweth Fund Chenoweth and $1,016.92 was received for Second Harvest. Additionally,1,517 pounds of canned goods were received for Second Harvest. A motion was made and seconded to approve the closeout. Motion passed.

e.  Summer Trail Series Budget Closeout: Peg presented the budget closeout, which included all four of the summer trail races. Revenues were $12,565.27 and expenditures were $9,566.92, yielding a net profit of $2,998.35. A motion to approve the closeout was made and seconded. Motion passed. Peg also noted that Bobby York, the director of the Summer Trail Series and the Swamp Forest races, will be moving next year and is looking for someone to take over these races. Interested parties should contact Bobby.

f.  GWTC Group Runs – Insurance/Waivers: Allen Blay initiated a discussion regarding the various group runs that GWTC forms and supervises and what waivers are necessary to best meet liability concerns. The board members present discussed the various types of organized group runs. It was recommended that we make sure our insurance policy through RRCA does cover group runs organized by GWTC or its members acting on behalf of GWTC. It was agreed that enforcing a waiver requirement is not something that is easy or practical. David Yon was asked if a general provision could be added to the club’s existing waiver for members to sign when joining the club or renewing membership. Absent an immediate answer, David agreed to look into this matter and report back to the board. Jerry asked that Allen, Jennifer Hay, and Emily Webster assist in that effort. Note: Here are the RRCA guidelines for safe group runs: http://www.rrca.org/education/for-club-leaders/safe-group-run-guidelines/.

g.  Podcast Update: Allen Blay presented an update on the new We Run This Town podcast. He and Mickey Moore have been working hard on the first two episodes and are hoping for a debut in mid-late October. The first episode, titled Bring on the World, will focus on the upcoming World Cross Country Championships scheduled for January 10, 2026 at Apalachee Regional Park. The guests for this show will be Amanda Heidecker and Taylor Wheaton with Leon County Parks & Recreation. The second podcast will be titled Oh the Places You’ll Go and will highlight all the fun and interesting places to run in Tallahassee and the surrounding area.

h.  Run TLH Trademark: Jerry updated the group on his efforts to find out if the club needs to secure a trademark for the “Run TLH” design that is used on shirts, stickers, and other items. He consulted local attorneys and is now in discussion with Rob McNeeley, who specializes in trademark law. To move forward, it needs to be determined how long this slogan has been in use, who designed it, and what class of use (clothing, promotional, stickers, etc.) will be trademarked. The approximate cost to pursue this would be $1,500-$2,000. A motion to proceed with obtaining this trademark was made, seconded, and approved.

IV.  New Business:

a.  Swamp Forest Trail Races Budget Proposal: Peg presented the budget proposal for Bobby York. The total revenue is anticipated to be $6,075, and the total expenses are anticipated to be $4,850, resulting in a net profit of $1,225. A motion to approve the proposed budget was made, seconded, and approved. Registration for the race will open October 1, 2025.

b.  Springtime 10K/5K/1m Budget Proposal: Jerry presented the proposed budget and noted a few administrative changes from the 2025 race. There will be no change in race entry fees. Sponsorship contributions and participation numbers are anticipated to be similar to the 2025 race. In terms of the budget proposal for 2026, the total revenue is anticipated to be $76,185 and the total expenses are anticipated to be $42,304, resulting in a net profit of $33,881. Proceeds will be shared with beneficiaries, to be named later. Jerry added that meetings with key committee people have already begun, including Bill & Kelli Dillon who will be shadowing Jerry & Jackie in 2026. A motion to approve the proposed budget was made, seconded, and approved.

c.  GWTC 30K/15K Budget Proposal: Zach DeVeau presented the budget proposal for this race. The total revenue is anticipated to be $4,150, and the total expenses are anticipated to be $3,800, resulting in a net profit of $350. A motion to approve the proposed budget was made, seconded, and approved.

d.  School Grant Requests: Jennifer Hay reported for Amy O’Kelley that two schools, the School for Arts & Sciences, and Florida High School have requested grants in the amount of $300 each. A motion to approve both requests was made, seconded, and approved.

e.  Lifetime Club Membership: Geoffrey Adams followed up on an earlier discussion about the possibility of creating a Lifetime Membership fee for GWTC members. Geoffrey recommended $500 for an Individual membership. This amount is based on a formula of multiplying the current dues by 25, with an understanding that this price would increase if the standard club membership fees were increased in the future. There will not be any provisions to apply this to Family memberships. A motion to approve a $500 Individual membership fee for GWTC members was made, seconded, and approved.

V. Reports:

a. Treasurer’s Report: Peg reported that the current assets are $299,152.70. The operating account currently has $197,465.38 and the net loss to date is $17,045.60. In addition, Peg presented a draft copy of the club’s 990 form and requested approval to send the form to the Internal Revenue Service, as required. A motion to approve the 990 form was made, seconded, and approved.

b. Triathlete Club: Matt Vermeer reported, via email, that the Tri-Club is working to find volunteers to run for next year’s board. They are also looking for a race director for the Duathlon and are considering moving the race from spring to fall. The Tri-Club board is also looking for an affordable, or donated, venue for a Holiday party. An open water swim practice was held at Wade Wehunt pool using buoys.

c. Director of Race Directors: Mary Jean Yon reported that the next GWTC Race Directors meeting will take place on October 12, 2025. She added that Bill and Kelli Dillon will be “interning” with Jerry and Jackie McDaniel for the 2026 Springtime races and will possibly step in as race directors for that event in 2027.

d. Director of Communications: Jennifer Hay reported that work is underway on updating and redesigning the GWTC website. She is also working with Matt Hohmeister to get a club texting service up and running using services offered by Twilio. To receive these informational texts, club members will sign up and can opt out at any time. Instructions for how to sign up will be shared using a variety of platforms. Jennifer, Allen Blay, and Jerry McDaniel will be the administrators for the service. Jennifer will report back to the board next month regarding costs for this service. The current membership numbers were reported by Geoffrey Adams as follows: 1,321 current members (1,300 last year at this time) and 823 current family members (826 last year at this time).

e. Director of Education and Socials: Tina Bahmer reported that the date for the annual Holiday party will be December 6, 2025 at Shiloh Farms. She is looking for recommendations on live bands as the Groove Merchants will not be available this year. There was some discussion about using a DJ instead of a live band but no final decisions were made. For the Lecture Series, it was reported that the last event, featuring Abigail Crowe, was well attended. Suggestions were made for future lectures including the possibility of touring FSU’s athletic training lab.

f. RACER Committee: No report.

g Chenoweth Fund: Nothing new to report.

h. Merchandise: No report.

i. Equipment: Bill Lott reported that four, 6-foot, fold-in-half tables have been donated to the Club.

j. Chip Timing: In August, one non-Club race (Tallahassee Beer Festival Beer Mile) and three Club races (Breakfast on the Track 1 Mile; Miller Landing Madness 8K/5K/3K; and the Summer Trail Series #4 – Maclay Gardens) were chip timed. For September, one non-Club race (Bluebird Run for Brookie B 5K) and three Club races (5K for Sickle Cell Anemia/Tim Simpkins 1 Mile; Women’s Distance Festival 5K; and Salute to Prefontaine 5K/1Mile Forest Run) will be chip timed. Scheduled to be chip timed in October are one non-Club race (Boston Half Marathon/5K) and one Club race (Pine Run 20K/Ruck 14K at Tall Timbers).  The chip timing revenue total for the fiscal year to date (July-August) is $2,015.00.

k. Grand Prix: No report.

l. School Grants Coordinator: Covered under New Business.

m. Training Groups Coordinator: Nothing new to report.

Meeting adjourned at 8:47 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Mary Jean Yon. Secretary Pro Tem