Attendees:

Sherry Litasi (President)
Sverre Froyen (Vice-President)
Bob Ellis (Treasurer)
Brooke Mann (Secretary / Webmaster)
Brian Coleman (Scouting Coordinator / Mapping Coordinator)
Michael, Maya & Bradley Rounds
Doug Berling
Claire Kalman & Carol Nugent + 2 (names?)
Troy Bozarth
Plamen Djambazov
Dmitriy, Yelena & Daniel Zamoshchin
Neal Barlow
JP Ingebrigtsen
Bob Ward
Don & Paula Clever
Moon Family of 4

0. Lunch & Videos: We watched three videos:

1. President's Report: Sherry Litasi gave opening remarks and a recap of her term as President.  The full text of Sherry's remarks is enclosed below.

2. Vice-President's Report: Sverre Froyen reported that we currently have a good working relationship with land managers, including the US Forest Service.

- JeffCo does not allow bike races, so our 2009 Schedule should not include a Bike- O at White Ranch.

- Sverre will check on the current status of holding events at Blue Mountain (a National Forest area).

- The US Forest strongly recommends that we discuss our plans with them before we invest time and money in mapping new areas, to confirm access and permit likelihood.

- The US Forest Service plans to open and close specific roads at Manitou Lake, so we need to consult with them about that before our 2009 meet.

- In general, the US Forest Service is wanting to see more specific details about our Start, Finish, and Parking locations before they'll issue a permit.

3. Treasurer's Report: Bob Ellis presented a 2008 Income and Expense summary, including details for each local meet and our two-day A-meet. To obtain a copy of this report, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

- Although we haven't had a yearly budget in the past, Sherry suggested that we discuss a budget for 2009.

4. Secretary's Report: Brooke Mann presented some statistics from the RMOC database --

- In 2008, we had 23 Local Meet days and 2 National A-Meet days. Our 23 Local Meets included 3 Ski/Snowshoe meets, 2 Night-O's, 8 Sprints at 3 different meets, and 2 Long-Distance meets.

- We had 966 starts at our 2008 local meets:

               506 Male (52%)
               186 Female (19%)
               274 Team (28%)
              ---------------------
               966 TOTAL STARTS

- If we assume each Team is comprised of just two people, the numbers are as follows:

	       506 Male (41%)
	       186 Female (15%)
	       548 Team (44%)
	     ---------------------
	     1,240 TOTAL STARTERS

- We currently have 274 active members:

                77 Individual Members
               197 Family Members in 70 Households
	     ---------------------
               274 TOTAL MEMBERS

- Brooke Mann has assumed Membership Coordinator duties, at least for the short term, while Mil Plant recovers from some health issues.

- Brooke has converted the membership database from Access to MySQL online, so that the latest data is available to club officers and Meet Directors at any time (pending new reports that will need to be programmed). Eventually, Brooke hopes to integrate the membership database with the online registration process and allow for online membership renewal.

- Sherry noted that our annual USOF membership report (and associated fees) will be due on 12/15/2008.

5. Elections: Sverre Froyen and Brooke Mann were re-elected to two-year terms as Vice-President and Secretary, respectively.

6. 2008 Volunteer of the Year: Sherry presented the "2008 Volunteer of the Year Award" to Doug Berling. Here is the full text of Sherry's presentation:

It is my pleasure to present the 2008 Volunteer of the Year award to a person who is always willing, ready, and able to lend a hand, a vehicle or a printer to the cause. This person doesn't say "no". In fact, I'm not sure that this person knows this word. This person is not flashy, does not work for notoriety, is reliable, resourceful, solves problems with ease, and yet, is so unassuming that we'd never know all that he's done for RMOC.

Some of the things he's done include the following:

  • Course setting
  • Course vetting
  • Control retrieval
  • Start/Finish/Results
  • Registration
  • Beginner Instruction
  • Prepared courses for other setters even on courses he didn't design
  • Printed maps for meets on his own printer
  • Lent his printer to another course setter so he could print larger size maps
  • Printed 70% of the maps for the 2007 Colorado 5-Day Meet
  • Organized and re-organized controls, equipment, and "stuff" in our storage locker. Made lists of equipment and replacement items, and even shopped for items!
  • Tirelessly hauled equipment for the seven-day 2008 Laramie Daze / US Championships event, setting up and tearing down each day's venue, and again transporting to the next day's venue, ready to do it all again. After Laramie Daze, he hauled everything back to storage and re-organized all the equipment.

Doug Berling was my rock this year! When I desperately needed a vetter for Bear Creek on National Orienteering Day, I called upon Doug and he said he'd help. He vetted my courses, put out controls, ran the Starts/Finish all day, then picked up controls.

Please help me thank Doug Berling -- our 2008 Volunteer of the Year!

(Presented by RMOC President Sherry Litasi)

Photo.

7. Mapping Update: Brian Coleman gave an update on our current mapping projects --

- We selected three areas to map based on the ability to capture them all in one aerial photo flight (to conserve costs). The three areas are (a) Camp Alexander / Sledgehammer (in the Lake George area near Eleven-Mile Reservoir), (b) an expansion of Saylor Park (north of Woodland Park), and (c) an expansion of Manitou Lake (north of Woodland Park).

- These areas have been flown for aerial photos, diapositives have been created, and all the data has been sent to Ivar Helgesen (our base mapper in Norway). Once Ivar's base mapping work is completed, the next step will be field work.

- In 2010, we'll work on mapping a portion of Buffalo Creek. We need a team of interested people to visit the areas and determine the best location(s) to map.

- Sherry reported that we still have a large area of Buena Vista base map available. Steve Willman has been preoccupied with building his home for the last year or so, but he does plan to do the field work to finalize additional portions of this map.

- Mapping toys on Brian's wish list include a laser range finder with GPS capability, and a used ATV.

- Brian has LIDAR data and detailed aerial photos for several Colorado State Parks -- Eldorado, Cherry Creek, Chatfield, and Golden Gate. This is the type of data Plamen used for his recent map of Chatfield South. Contact Brian if you're interested in mapping one of these areas.

- Many of our maps are in the online RMOC document repository. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you need access to the repository, or if you have updated OCAD files to put in the repository.

- Brian will try to find out if any data is available for the Homestead Park area (administered by El Paso County). Neal Barlow and Plamen Djambazov have both visited Homestead Park; although it's small, they both agree it's a nice area that would be good for local meets.

8. A-Meet Update: We won't be hosting a multi-day National A-Meet in 2009; we're experiencing some volunteer burn-out and we don't want to rush our mapping projects. Dates for 2010 are 7/17 - 7/25. Sherry has informed Mikell Platt (LROC) about this; he may do some Laramie Daze-style training events in conjunction with our 2010 dates.

9. Volunteer Discussion:

a - We need a Volunteer Coordinator for 2009. Contact Sherry Litasi if you're interested: 303-234-2305 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

b - Michael Rounds agreed to be our Girl Scout Coordinator (similar to what Brian Coleman does for Boy Scouts). YAY!

c - We discussed various options and approaches for a volunteer incentive / reward plan.

- We have a core of volunteers that fills most roles at most meets. Our goal is to broaden our pool of reliable, experienced, willing volunteers.

- Neal Barlow pointed out the need to balance volunteer motivation against financial concerns (i.e., impacts to meet fees if we give away too many free entries).

- Although we didn't settle on a final plan for volunteer incentives, we generally agree that the Course Setter does the most work for each meet. The Course Vetter and Meet Director would be the next most demanding roles. Volunteers on the day of the meet have the least significant time commitment (although those roles are still critical) -- Registration, Beginner Instruction, Start/Finish Timing (or E-Punch Crew), Results Tabulation, Control Retrieval, etc.

- Brooke will put together some incentive plan proposals to review at our December or January monthly meetings.

10. E-Punch Discussion: Doug Berling presented a proposal that was prepared by John Crowther. (John is out of town.)

- Some of us are still concerned about the additional burden e-punch equipment places on Course Setters. This is of particular concern at events (such as 2008 Saylor Park) where one person is the Course Setter AND Meet Director AND Registrar AND Starter, etc.

- There is concern about costs due to lost or stolen equipment. We need to be much more disciplined about collecting participant details at registration if we're renting out $39 e-punch sticks. The current standard of accepting illegible and incomplete registration forms won't cut it. (Should we ask for a $10 deposit for e-punch rentals?)

- To secure the $132 e-punch units at controls in heavily-travelled areas (like Cherry Creek or Chatfield), we could use zip-ties. This would be much cheaper and lighter than using locked cables.

- We're being left behind in the orienteering world, technology-wise.

- Neal wondered if we could hire-out an experienced e-punch crew for our A-Meets, as an alternative to buying all the hardware and software ourselves. Valerie Meyer and Sandy Fillebrown are really the only super-experienced e-punch experts in the US willing to travel to meets to run an e-punch system. But, they're not always available (as was the case at our 2008 US Championships).

- We agreed to move forward with an e-punch investment BUT with scaled-back numbers of e-punch sticks and e-punch units. John Crowther and Doug Berling will compile an updated estimate. [Updated Cost Estimate]

- Volunteers to be our e-punch hardware / software team are: John Crowther, Christoph Zurcher, Bob Ellis, and Doug Berling.

- Michael Rounds suggested that we buy a power inverter (i.e., something that plugs into a car's cigarette lighter) as a backup for the e-punch laptop's battery. We agreed this was a good idea, to avoid a big snafu due to power-loss during a meet.

11. 2009 Schedule: We reviewed and revised the 2009 event schedule.

12. Adjourn.


 President's Report (Sherry Litasi)

Just before I started to write my report, I went back to the 2002 meeting notes. It was noted that Sherry Litasi was elected president for 2002-2003 (there being no one else who was willing to volunteer). According to my math (counting on my fingers) we are about to conclude my 6th year as President. Next year, 2009, will be my final year – lucky 7!

While reflecting upon year 6 (2008), I feel a bit numb, thinking that I’ve done perhaps too much for the club, leading people to think that a President’s work is never done, or that I’ve become indispensable. If so, I apologize for making it seem harder than it is. Being President, itself, isn’t so hard. And, most of the time, I really have enjoyed the job.

All the new members don’t know my health history going back to 2004, that kept me from competing. But this year, my health improved enough so I’ve been out a few times and my goal for 2009 is to get out there more often. Brooke and others handled Laramie Daze so well this summer that I showed up, had fun, and no assigned tasks. I was confused at first, but so pleased to know that yes, you will do just fine without me! It’s a good feeling to know that there are people who will pitch in and make things happen!

This year I wanted to get a jump on the 2009 schedule. You’ve seen version 1 already and Version 2 is on the table. Thanks to a flurry of emails and volunteers for setting & vetting, we’ve got a firmer plan and we’ll discuss this later in the meeting. And, we’ll try to pass a Volunteer Rewards Program because we need to reward those who keep the wheels turning.

I want to recognize the RMOC officers who have worked so hard on your behalf: Sverre Froyen, Vice President, who negotiates permits and brings rational input to our meetings; Bob Ellis, Treasurer, who files our taxes, pays our bills, and keeps the money safe; and Brooke Mann, Secretary & Web Master, who keeps communication lines open and clear, and does an amazing job maintaining our web site!

I want to thank the following people:

  • Retiring Membership Director, Mil Plant, who is facing a serious illness so please send her your prayers for a full recovery.  Brooke is covering for her until we find a replacement. If you are interested, please see Brooke.
  • Brian Coleman, as Scout Liaison, “shamelessly” promotes orienteering to hundreds of Boy and Girl Scouts every year, setting courses for scouts and teaching scout leaders to set their own courses and the O badge process.
  • As Mapping Coordinator, Brian Coleman, arranged for aerial photos, base maps, bought a tablet computer so RMOC could rent it for mapping, and worked closely with Plamen Djambazov on rapid development of Peaceful Valley, developing data sets for PV and Chatfield, and continues to live/breath/play with maps.
  • 2008 Meet Directors, Course setters and Vetters: JP Ingebrigtsen, Doug Berling, Sharon Crawford, Steve Willman, Jason Poole, Brooke Mann, John Crowther, Bill Campbell, Bob Ward, Don Clever, Bryan Caylor, Christoph Zurcher, Brendan White, Donna Fluegel, Mikell Platt, Bob & Virginia Lehman, Craig Murray, Sheryl Lehman, Steve Levin, Neal Barlow, Maiya Anderson, Rich Kelly, Plamen Djambazov, and Gordon McCurry. If I forgot you, please remind me and we’ll update this report.
  • Everyone who helped at registration, start/finish, instruction, control retrieval, and any little thing that made our local meets run smoothly.

Thank you for allowing me to have a full life, in service to my favorite activity. Join me in making this last year as President, the best ever!

Sincerely,

Sherry Litasi

 

 

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