IMPBA Minutes 2008

July 24 2008:
International Model Power Boat Association
2008 IMPBA International Regatta Board Meeting
Evansville, Indiana
July 24, 2008
7:00PM Central Time

MINUTES


Present:
President, Bill Zuber
Executive Secretary, John Equi
IMPBA Treasurer, Brian Schymik
District 1, Randall Thomas
District 2, Kevin Sheren
District 3, Herb Stewart (telephonically)
District 4, Garrett Randall
District 5, Doug Dalme
District 7, Buddy Stone
District 12, Don Ferrette (telephonically)
District 13, Jim Ragan (represented by Doug Smock, D13 FE Director)
District 14, Bruce Jacobs
National Fast Electric Director, Randall Thomas
National Gas Director, Kevin Sheren
National Technical Chairman, Mike Schindler
National Technical Hydro, Ron Zaker
National Scale Unlimited Director, Steve Ball

Absent:
District 6, Brian Nelsen (also IMPBA VP)
National Record Director, Glenn Quarles
National O/B Director, Joe Knesek III
National Technical Mono, John Finch
Past President, Dick Jones
Past President, Pat Kelly

NOTE: The off site recording of this BOD meeting had failed. These minutes have been reconstructed from Secretary notes and are known to be incomplete in several DD areas.

President Bill Zuber determined a quorum was present and called the meeting to order at 8:03PM central time after the roll call.

The minutes of the previous meetings were approved as presented by a motion from D3 Herb Stewart, and second by D12 Don Ferrette.

NOTE: The following contains excerpts from documentation that was given to the IMPBA Secretary, Secretarial personal conversations with Greg, as well as what we heard from Greg at the Board Meeting. I personally believe all the following is vital in assisting our IMPBA leadership of the organization to arrive at a decision that may affect the future of IMPBA as it relates to the general membership. However, I will mention that the fees and particulars could change upon further discussions. It is noted that President elect Kevin Sheren has set up a meeting with Greg to further discussions.

Bill introduced Greg Hahn, Technical Director from the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) who presented IMPBA a possible option for insurance for next year. Greg carefully explained that the AMA could NOT sell IMPBA insurance but we would be insured if we all joined AMA as a Special Interest Group (SIG). The AMA is set up as an umbrella organization with 21 of these SIGS. After we joined AMA as a boating only member, then everyone would join IMPBA. Two membership cards would be required, one for each organization. Greg explained that the AMA could provide trophies and banners for IMPBA if we decided to buy them from the AMA.

The AMA would also require that they must receive all monies associated with IMPBA sanctioning (club and races) and handle all the paperwork. IMPBA might receive the paperwork to copy, and then remail it to the AMA office who would prepare the Certificate of Insurance (COI). There is no mention concerning revisions to the COI after it has been issued, which has happened many times with IMPBA. The supplied AMA documentation also provided a 2-part form that requested all AMA affiliates to submit monthly forms listing all club members using their facilities. It is unknown if IMPBA clubs would be required to submit the form.

He told us about a pond they had in Muncie (East Central Indiana) that is currently not useable for IMPBA events but could be with certain improvements. The AMA was not currently using the pond since there was no access road to the pond. They estimate the cost for a road would run between $60,000.00 and $80,000 and there was no mention who would pay for the road if it were built mainly for IMPBA usage. There would also be yearly Herbicide water treatment fees. There was mention of a possible noise issue, but it was deemed minor in their view. There is also the issue of maintenance costs associated with the improved pond facility and no mention who would pay for this.

Greg personally told me that the AMA is currently 157,000 members, but is also losing 15,000 members yearly to old age death. He also told me that the average age of AMA members was 50 years, IMPBA was 40 years, and that the car guys were 30 years. Their plan was to first get the IMPBA 1300 members, then go after the car guys 15,000 members. The paperwork I received from Greg claimed that the AMA insurance was better than our IMPBA coverage but it is not as claimed. After reading their provided paperwork I found that the AMA provides only 2.5 Million SECONDARY insurance, but in contrast, I further read that AMA has a 1 Million General policy plus a 4 Million Excess policy. Additional explanation is needed. IMPBA provides 1 Million PRIMARY, and a 4 Million umbrella, which results in the same 5 Million package as AMA. Greg also mentioned that the AMA insurance could be increased as needed (for an expected fee). AMA documentation mentions that the AMA membership only covers the modeler. If the land owner requires insurance (All pond owners require this), then an additionally insured policy would be required for a fee of $60.00 to $80.00 per pond, depending on complexity of the wording. He also mentioned that the AMA is contemplating a possible name change to something like “Radio Control Association” if the IMPBA and the car guys buy in. Full AMA membership is $58, Family members are $30, Youth under 19 years of age is $15 and Seniors over 65 years of age is $48. Greg voiced an initial cost of $25 to $30 a head for IMPBA to become a boat only member of AMA and would submit a formal quote in a few weeks. (Simple calculations arrive at $32,500 to $39,000 for AMA involvement). The IMPBA Secretary will start a list of questions for presentation to Greg a future meeting.

Bill then called for District Reports.

Financial/Treasurer: Treasurer Brian Schymik related our financial status and had the Secretary fill in several areas of detail about the office expenses. John explained that the major office expense increases are the insurance, postage and Rule Books being sent to new members. We have used up all the existing Rule Books found in the Store & Lock down in Louisiana. As of 7-15-08 we have an income increase of $2,225.00 compared to the same date in 2007, and have 907 paid Seniors, 279 paid Family and Juveniles for a total of 1186 members. Adding in the paid life and life we have 1223. This number will easily increase. There are roughly 60 clubs using 81 sites, almost the same as 2007. We had 87 lost members returning for 2008. In Brians opinion the IMPBA and office is being run efficiently with no problems. Secretary provided copies of the latest IMPBA logos that have been revised. Matt Gunn revised the “flag” logo with a shadow on the IMPBA letters and also provided a blue colorization to the letters. Wesley Ellet completely redrew the “globe” logo, colorized it but retained the basic design we had since 1949. A suggestion concerning the logos was received; John will contact Matt for slight changes.

D1 – Randall Thomas

D2 – Kevin reported that they have 16 races planned.

D3 – Herb told us that several D3 Fast Electric racers have attended events in District 13 with good results.

D4 – The district is strong with several races planned.

D5 – Racing is in full swing, but participation is down a little. Tennessee had to cancel their race because of low pre-registration numbers. The Gas Nationals preparation is in full swing. The race site is being prepped as we speak. The parking is almost doubled in size and the pond is in great shape.

D7 – Buddy reports that a Dallas & Fort Worth race is in the works for 2009.

D12 – Don reports that the District of Columbia club has a new pond.

D13 – Doug elaborated that District 13, at the present time, has to work thru some problems. Membership is still about the same as it was, but we are wrestling with some internal problems. We lost the Savannah Club last year, even though all the members are still active. They just are not there any longer to hold events in Savannah. We are looking at a couple of possibilities that may bring us another club in that area. The Charleston club has decided that they no longer wish to participate in either of our race series. They will continue to hold 2 races each year, but will not participate in either series. They will call the races “Specialty Races”, which means they will not contribute any money to our District 13 treasury. We will continue to try to work on the problems that led to their decision.
Meanwhile, we will continue with our Grand Prix Series, which is drawing, at present, a few more boats at each race that it was previously. The Grand Prix series has evolved into primarily a gas boat series. We did not plan it that way. We just have a hard time getting nitro boats to enter. Thankfully, we now have Fast Electric running in this series. They have been a great addition for us. We are looking forward to Herb Stewart in District 3 bringing a good group up from Florida to this series.

D14 – The district is looking good with no problems.

Technical Review – Mike Schindler

National Scale Director – Steve Ball is concerned when Scale boats lose parts on the racecourse doring a race. He will prepare a proposal to address this problem.

National Gas Director – Kevin explained that there was a possibility of the 2009 GAS Nationals to be held in Snellville Georgia, but no site was selected for the 2010 GAS Nationals. He mentioned that Matt Waldron was an excellent Pit Boss at a recent event he attended.

National Fast Electric – Randall told the Board that he was working with clubs to hopefully have a Fast Electric Nationals in 2009. Bill Zuber asked Randall to push for the use of a “shorting clip or plug” as a safety devise to remove power from the FE hull motor circuit. Retrieve boat operators could pull the plug to render the hull safe for pickup and transport. Without this clip, the boat could still have it’s motor suddenly switch on and injure someone.

2009 International Regatta Bid – The Elmira Club is expected to submit a bid to host the International Regatta. Pete Forcier will be the Contest Director, using the traditional long format where all boats run the timed events. The club is receiving full co-operation from the city. It was mentioned that the club is planning to utilize 2 ponds for concurrent running of the Trophy Trials. Further discussions revealed that the 2 ponds are not in close proximity. Mike Schindler made an amendment that requests the club only use a single pond for the Trophy Trials. If this was acceptable to the club, then there was unanimous approval from the Board.

2 Year Moratorium on Recent Changes – This item was tabled from a prior meeting. A prepared document from past District 2 Director Tony Jacuzzi was included in each Directors meeting folder to refresh their memory. After a brief discussion Don Ferrette, D12 offered a motion to accept the change and Bruce Jacobs, D14 seconds. Changes were accepted by unanimous approval. The changes will be placed in the upcoming September Roostertail for a 1-year 2009 trial period.

Fast Electric Trial Rules – Randall Thomas had received a request to change the designation for the new FE classes (FE-1 thru FE-4) back to the old designations (N, P, Q, S, and T). It was mentioned that NAMBA had recently changed their Fast Electric classes to the designations we were using (N, P, Q, S, and T). Their change would bring both organizations together concerning the FE classes and was thought to be a good move. IMPBA should not change to the FE-1 thru FE-4 designation. Randall will submit the revised FE data to the Secretary for a noted change in the September Roostertail for the FE people to read. This item is technically tabled.

Technical Discussion Pertaining to M&D Designs – The Board recognized Matt Waldron of M&D Designs and invited him to present his case that he should be considered an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Background data: Tech Review sent a Technical Correspondence letter to Matt requesting that he obtain a letter from his parts supplier (Zenoah America), written on their letterhead paper, granting permission to M&D to remove the name “Zenoah” from the engine parts they ship to M&D. These parts would be utilized to build a new product called an “M&D Designs Cast 254 Engine”. M&D complied with the request with a letter from Zenoah with the permission to remove their name. It was then noted by several Board Members that the letterhead name was “Redmax”, not “Zenoah” as specified by the Tech Review document. M&D then obtained another letter from Zenoah America with the specified letterhead. A very long discussion followed, almost an hour, with all directors voicing their views concerning the OEM status. Matt explained that all engine manufacturers sub-contract their components to various builders; an example is that Picco does not manufacture the ball bearings they use in their engines. They buy them and use them to produce a product. He mentioned that Andy Brown did not build all the parts to build a MAC engine; he merely contracted to have someone else build the engine components and then add his name to the water jacket and case. Towards the end of the session, several members still had questions and it looked like there was no easy solution so the board ultimately decided to continue discussion in Executive Session.

Submitted Proposal by Mark Bullard - This concerns the wording used for the US-1 awards. Mark would like the Plaque to have the wording “International Champion” instead of “National Champion”. He would also like to have the wording “Fall Nationals” awarded to the Charleston Club since that particular race has been around for 20 plus years. Bruce Jacobs, D14 made a motion to table the change and Don Ferrette, D12 seconds. Item is Tabled.

Submitted Proposal by Don Ferrette, D12 - Don submitted this on Steve Speas’ behalf. This proposal specifically identifies how engine parts are to be manufactured for the LS class of GAS engines. It essentially outlaws any major engine component from IMPBA competition unless it was “Highly Mass Produced”. The proposal was very complicated and mentioned almost all parts of the engine. From the way it was worded, it appears that only engines like Zenoah, Kawasaki, Homelite and other major manufacturers would be useable for the LS class. All other custom built engines would fall under the XLS GAS class. A few changes were offered during the discussion session, but it was decided that it would be better to table the change rather than approve something that needed further investigation. Bruce Jacobs, D14 made the motion to table and Buddy Stone, D7 seconds. Item is Tabled.

Executive Session

Meeting Adjourn at 12:10 AM

February 05 2008:
International Model Power Boat Association
2008 IMPBA Telephonic Board Meeting
February 5, 2008
7:00PM Central Time

MINUTES
Present:
President, Bill Zuber
Executive Secretary, John Equi
IMPBA Treasurer, Brian Schymik
District 1, Randall Thomas
District 2, Kevin Sheren
District 3, Herb Stewart
District 4, Garrett Randall
District 5, Doug Dalme
District 7, Lyndon (Buddy) Stone
District 12, Don Ferrette
District 13, Represented by Jim Ragan
District 14, Bruce Jacobs
National Fast Electric Director, Randall Thomas
National Gas Director, Kevin Sheren
National Technical Chairman, Mike Schindler
National O/B Director, Joe Knesek
Past President, Dick Jones

Absent:
District 6, Brian Nelsen (also IMPBA VP)
National Scale Unlimited Director, Steve Ball
National Record Director, Glenn Quarles
Past President, Pat Kelly

President Bill Zuber determined a quorum was present after the roll call and called the meeting to order at 7:01PM central time.

Bill proceeded to appoint several Directors and gave a short explanation for each vacancy. Selected individuals are Doug Dalme for District 5, and Jim Ragan for District 13. There were no comments voiced for D5, but several directors inquired about the D13 position. Bill gave a short historical review concerning D13 and previous problems encountered. All inquiries were satisfied after a discussion period with no objections voiced. Doug and Jim will take over for the districts.

Ballot 07 – 005, Scale Unlimited Change. Bill called for the voting results for the recent ballot. This was a one-year trial and was recently placed in the Roostertail for a membership vote. This was a Brian Schymik and Don Ferrette requested change. Garrett Randall pointed out that the vote suspense date was February 29th, which differed from another ballot, which appeared in the Roostertail. Several Directors concurred and it was agreed to communicate by email to tally the votes after the 29th. Fast Electric Randall Thomas mentioned that FE would vote with the majority of what the membership wants on this change when the tally is obtained at a later date.

Ballot 07 – 006, IMPBA Amateur Status. Bill calls for the vote tally, which follows:

District Vote Power
Yes No
D1 - 10 yes 0 no D1 votes yes 2 votes
D2 - 7 yes 2 no D2 votes yes 3 votes
D3 - no ballots D3 votes yes 1 vote
D4 - 3 yes 4 no D4 votes no 2 votes
D5 - 2 yes 0 no D5 votes yes 2 votes
D6 - 11 yes 3 no D6 votes yes 1 vote
D7 - 3 yes 0 no D7 votes yes 2 votes
D12 - 13 yes 2 no D12 votes yes 2 votes
D13 - 1 yes 0 no D13 votes yes 1 vote
D14 - 5 yes 0 no D14 votes yes 2 votes
Fast Electric FE votes yes 1 vote
Gas Director Gas votes yes 1 vote
President Pres votes yes 1 vote
Total 19 votes 2 votes
Amateur Status Change Passes

There was a question concerning which voting power chart would be used, is it the one sent in 2007 or the recent one sent in 2008? Secretary explained that the recent one was the corrected one as of 10-31-2007, which included the late arriving vote. The vote outcome is unanimous either way.

IMPBA Insurance – John Equi explained the insurance situation in fine detail concerning the apparent Canadian omission. The problem arose with the insurance underwriter in Birmingham Alabama. The local agency (Kilgro) we are using, was very surprised that the underwriter had dropped the ball and called a day or so after we paid the premiums to advise him that IMPBA had no Canadian coverage. John elaborated that we were told that the Canadian was included, but now we had no coverage. He also explained that the checks were not cashed. Joe Knesek, who works in the insurance industry, explained that the coverage begins when the paperwork is signed, so we did have coverage (for the USA only) at this time. John mentioned that Kilgro went to Birmingham to hopefully find out what happened and attempt to rectify the problem somehow.
There were further discussions with many questions from many Board members including Joe, Bill, Doug, Buddy, Dick and Kevin. Doug mentioned that he would like to personally check for a better insurance deal. Joe told the Board that he would take over the insurance matters for IMPBA since he and his wife are fully knowledgeable about the business. An extensive question and answer period followed concerning costs involved, coverage and possible options. Canadian coverage would not be required for the next several months due to iced over ponds, so there was more time to find something. Kevin Sheren mentioned that he knows an insurance man he has worked with that may be interested in giving us a better quote that includes Canada.
Dick Jones requested details concerning the extra coverage that was required for the International Regatta, and mentioned a possible raffle to help pay for it. Several Directors had comments about the raffle and Randall told us the raffle amounts collected at the first Jackson Tennessee Regatta. Dick would also like john to run the numbers comparing the insurance costs to the covered membership to see how we stand for next year. Bill Zuber offered a suggestion to possibly raise the club registration and sanctions to a higher rate. Comments were voiced by several Directors on this option.

The meeting continued as Bill asked all of the Directors to find a 2009 Nitro Regatta location, to see if any club in their district would like to host the event. Buddy Stone and Doug Dalme requested a rundown concerning the format options for the Regatta. A discussion followed by Randall, Don and several others with time constraints, pros and cons plus other factors concerning the 3 options mentioned in the guidebook authored by John Equi and Bill Schafer in the early 1990’s. Kevin explained the details about how the Gas Nats was run which names the victors “National Champion” and does not employ the running of the Time Trials (Trophy Trials).

Bill instructed all Directors to check their club’s race contestant list before their event against the actual paid members list they receive from the IMPBA office or to call John with names. He then gave a typical example of how the office catches club errors when members call the office wanting their cards. In these instances he has not received anything from the club, which requires phone calls and emails to obtain the missing money and applications. Much time is spent tracking down the problems. Another option is to send John the race entrant list and he will do a check against the latest listing he has.

Doug Dalme asked a short question, one final time, do we have insurance? Yes we do. Buddy asks if the office has received his D7 flyer for one of his events. John will check on it. Bill has received an unusual number of Contest Directors tests. There were other questions from Buddy about on line voting, going straight to the Office instead of going thru the DD. Joe had good information and provided technical answers. Kevin Sheren had questions if the office would be swamped and also the extra cost for the service. Comments by Bill about this and also that the emails constantly change and that their name and number would be required. Joe recently built a voting site for his church at very low cost.

Bill had one additional proposal that he would like to mention and get out in the Roostertail. The board does not need to act on it at present. He sent it out real late in the day and asked if the Directors had seen it. It is from Tony Jacuzzi concerning manufacturers. Randall wishes it tabled and commented that Brian Schymik did a complete re-write of a related area mentioned in the Jacuzzi memo Article VIII. We will hold off since several directors have not received it.

Brian and John went over several aspects of the financial sheet and where we currently stand for 2008. We saved for a rainy day and run a very tight ship. Monies were pulled from the checking account late last summer and placed in a Money Market to have the money work for us, so the amounts shown on the financial dropped substantially on that line item. Due to the insurance cost for 2008 we will not be able to build up the reserves as previous.

Bill called for any additional comments, Randall Thomas and Kevin discussed a few items. Bill asked Randall if Pete Forcier had submitted anything for the Regatta in Elmira in 2008, nothing yet. Buddy asked if there was any leeway in the Regatta timeframe. Several members answered his question and the selected timeframe explained.

Bill called for a motion to adjourn, Schymik responded and Buddy seconded.

Meeting adjourned at 8:50PM CST