Big Sur International Marathon
Minutes of October 18, 2001 Board Meeting
Junipero Serra School
Chairman of the Board Hugo Ferlito called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Voting Members in Attendance: Dixon, H. Ferlito, Fleurat, S. Gillette, Hambley, Lesniak, Love, Mutty,
Nevins, Polley, Poulos, Radford, and W. Richey
Associates in Attendance: Battig, C. Campbell, Connell, Donnelly, Dove, Greening, Koyak, Laughlin,
Recca, J. Richey, Rolander, Sanders, K. Smith, Tendler-Valencia, Utley, Walter, Weinand, and Wilson
Staff in Attendance: Balog, Cassan, and S. Smith
Chairman’s Report:
Hugo Ferlito
Steve Recca was introduced. The new booth has been to Twin Cities. Two comp entries to the Tucson
marathon on December 9 are available; see Chris. October 10 was the grant distribution dinner at Rocky
Point Restaurant attended by many recipients. Kathleen Kastner has resigned so job openings include
Grant committee, Goody Bags and the Power Walk. Kathleen has a recommendation, but the Board
decides, as has been written in the by-laws. Openings must be put before the board first. Janet Lesniak
has filled Entertainment. Sharon Gillette and Janet Lesniak have agreed to co-chair the Grant committee.
Michael Goldman resigned, but will be around for Marathon day. He has recommended Cathleen Connell,
who lives in Sacramento. We need 5K and Power Walk directors. With Kathleen’s vacancy on the voting
board, Bill Nevins will take her position. M/S/P minutes from the last meeting, taken by Debi Cassan. The
Power Walk sold out Tuesday, the first time it has sold out prior to the Marathon. There are only 198
spots left for the Marathon. Board members get a comp entry to one event. The Board run is free. The
Walk has 650, the Relay 130 teams and the 5K 53 entries. There are 300 spots for Team in Training and
100 for the auction. There will be a special auction form with a cost of $85 plus a minimum donation of
$50. The cut-off date is December 14. The 100 highest bids will be selected and notified by December 20.
A recommendation to donate to the disaster Relief Fund came from Sharon Gillette. This needs board
approval, as the by-laws mandate that money must remain in Monterey County. Money gets matched for
the Peninsula and the Bug Sur community. Our mission statement says we exist for the health and
welfare of the community. Individual donations from board members could be sent collectively. Give to
the local chapter of the Red Cross and earmark it for the Disaster Relief Fund. The disaster has affected
our own community with the loss of jobs. Local hospitality workers have been affected. One of our
sponsors is United Airlines, and they may pull out, due to their losses. How can we use the money to help
our own contributions go to those who help us put on the race?? Whatever amount we give affects how
much we give out next year. When applications are mailed out to groups to request funds, they need to
be reminded that amounts may be smaller. A motion was made to donate to the fund next year when
grant distribution is being decided. M/S/P with 11 ayes, to earmark some funds out of next year’s grant.
Marketing:
The committee includes Brendon and Gael, who are pursuing sponsors. The Adopt-a-Sponsor program
has a few openings, so sign up. We don’t have a water sponsor for our aid stations, although aid stations
do not depend on sponsor water. Charitable contributions of $5,098 have come in with registration forms.
The committee is working on non-medal sponsors also.
Personnel Committee:
The committee includes Jay Z., chair, Wayne, Pete H., Pete R., Bill, Janet and Jay C. They looked at
what marathons across the country are paying race directors, at what non-profits in Monterey County pay,
at CEO salaries, and at what it will cost to replace people if they leave. Are we compensating fairly?? We
don’t have a benefits package or retirement fund. When Wally arrived, his salary was $0, then went to
$18K, then $24K and is currently $30K. Dick and Chris are salaried positions at $27K each. Debi and
Sally have part-time positions, so there are three salary tiers. The race director for the Houston Marathon
earns $48K. Los Angeles has 11 full-time paid people. In Monterey County the range for non-profit salary
is $34K-$76K, with an average of $50K. Our operating budget is <$1,000,000 annually. What is their
workload?? Is Wally’s job full-time?? We need a job description, hours expected on the job, travel
expenses, telephone/cell phone costs. The vehicle is job related. How about insurance, performance
review, timeline for reviews?? We need to quantify and get subjectivity out of the reviews. Wally’s request
was for $45K. It was recommended to pay $40K, then $42.5K, then $45K over three years. He could earn
a $2K bonus for successful work this year. Wally recommends $108K for the rest of the staff, with Debi
and Sally combined to $24K, and Dick and Chris at $27K each to $38K. They work more hours than they
are on the clock. There could be a bonus of $3K collectively. For 2003-2004, Wally’s bonus could be up
to 10% of his salary for that year. The Executive Committee and Personnel Committee base salary on
performance, sponsors, final bottom line, adherence and conduct. There are no criteria on increases,
neither cost of living, nor a percentage of current salary. The vehicle is questionable, as it is donated from
Sam Linder. We pay gas and insurance. We did not have to lease the vehicle. The car agreement is not
to exceed 10K miles annually. Is it a perk or part of compensation?? The money we give in salaries
exceeds the amount of money that we give to charity. The office is open 24 hours weekly. Some board
members challenge that the race director’s job is not full-time. The race director used to be a volunteer.
Are the extra hours spend at the office necessary?? The first paid director was Joe Sweeney, at not more
than $800 per month. Wally was in charge of elites prior to being race director. There are big marathons
with unsalaried race directors. Because we are restricted with entries, we may need to restrict salaries.
We have too many uncertainties in our economy now. Bonuses in the future may be questionable. Should
we be commensurate with our donations?? The percentage that our donations increase should be equal
to our increase in charities. Wally is gone for a month, so is not working full-time. The committee
suggested raising Wally’s salary to $45K over a 3-year period, with the first step at $40K. Wally does not
have a contract, but would like an annual one. M/S/F 4 aye, 8 nay. The committee proposed to raise
salaries to $100K, instead of Wally’s suggestion of $108K, with bonuses not included. Hugo believes that
Chris is almost a full-time employee. Motion to raise staff salary to $100K. M/S/F, 13 unanimously
against. This hinges on Wally’s salary first, which hasn’t been determined. Salary is retroactive to October
1. The Board retreat will handle this issue. A questionnaire will be sent by the committee and it needs to
be considered confidential
Training Clinic:
Mike Dove
The new clinic sessions start Tuesday, November 27 at CHOMP. Details are on the website. The
calendar was distributed. Make 5 copies and distribute to friends to help recruit. Encourage folks to call
the office in advance of attending. People can pay and be entered if they attend 8 clinics. The manual is
120 pages, with coupons for the Treadmill and Turtle Bay, and articles by Jeff Galloway, Catherine
Hambley, Marc Lieberman and Jay Cook. It is also available on the website. At $10, all the money is a
donation to Big Sur charities.
Website:
Tom Rolander
Yesterday the Power Walk closure was posted. On-line registrations are 93% of the entries. Traffic to the
site, each page visited, and frequency are recorded. 13,000 have visited the registration page. Even
photographs and Sally’s virtual tour are recorded. The average of pages viewed per day is 2,000. Traffic
stopped as of 9-11-01, but has since resumed. We should be sold out by next week. Do-It Sports has a
link to the on-line store.
The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. The Board retreat will be Saturday, November 17.
Respectfully submitted,
Cath Tendler-Valencia
Recording Secretary