Board Meeting Minutes; The Daytona, Daytona Beach, FL 1/10/2022

Chairman updates (Arthur Kowitz)

Arthur shared with the board the types of initiatives he has been responsible for or involved in:

• Rules & Eligibility Committees. The Committee membership is mostly good but needs tuning up occasionally.  The Superbike committee is knowledgeable committee, but the chair is not computer tech savvy.  Arthur solved the problem by assigning a committee member the tech/computer duties.
• Membership.  Luke Sayer took responsibility over the initiative to grow membership
• Dick Mann Team Challenge.  Arthur conceptualized the DMTC and got the inaugural year underway and nurtured through the 2021.  Tim Terrell agreed to take over management, class selection, team identification, etc.
• Roadrace National / Regional / Daytona Event Awards.  Jim and Terri Korn took responsibility for ensuring these awards be created in time for the Daytona event for the National Awards Banquet and the Daytona MotoFest Awards.
• Attending meetings, branding, DT, RR, etc.
• Rules Proposal process improvement
• Dirt Track – revitalized, we had 97 competitors at the Daytona Flat Track
• Hiring recruiter
• Daytona – Arthur was able to rely on a small team to execute this event.
  • Rob asked about a better date, to which Arthur explained the process and the fact that we were essentially auditioning and that AHRMA would know more regarding the financial viability of the event once the accounting is done. The concept of “date equity” was discussed with DIS and we are encouraged that a better date will become available in the future.
  • Rob questioned about moving motocross to infield – Arthur responded that there is no chance that would ever happen.

Secretary Reports (Kelly Shane)

• At the request of the EC and based on previous member comment, drafted the rule proposal which instituted change to eliminate helmet mounted cameras in off-road.
• The Policy and Procedure manual which was to be compiled by volunteer member Stan Miller still needs to be created.  Cindy will email Kelly what she has, and Kelly will compile what is provided.  Arthur pointed out that the table of contents for the Policy and Procedure manual should be the same as the AHRMA Handbook.

Member Comment Period

Tony Paul, Off-road Race Director, Alabama.  The weekend was fantastic.  While stressful and busy – no complaints on the off-road side.  We should do this again.  Luke asked how the response was from Daytona, and Tony said Daytona did anything he asked them for.  David Rutherford said the off-road program was very impressive.  Arthur pointed out to track management that their reputation was that they were difficult to get along with and wanted to have a collaborative relationship.  Our experience was very positive, and Brian agreed.  Mike Dixon said that everyone he dealt with was great to work with.

Ralph Wessell, Florida.  Self-described caveman, talked about ensuring that we have paper forms continued availability.  Many racers don’t have computers or must have family members do their pre-entries.  Brian clarified what Ralph was looking for, and Arthur said that he has made a point of making sure that paper copies are available at every event.  Al Anderberg pointed out that he couldn’t renew without assistance.  Jennifer Thornton confirmed that we have still a substantial number of members that need assistance and that paper forms remain available.  Arthur proposed that the paper versions of the membership and race registration be put back into the AHRMA MAG.  Kelly suggested that we do the forms once a year in the AHRMA MAG so as not to take up so much space in every issue and that Luke work with Jennifer to redo the forms.  Discussion took place regarding the problem with duplicate membership profiles.  Arthur suggested that we charge an administrative fee for duplicate profiles. Al Anderberg volunteered to assist Cindy and the membership coordinators to help streamline the membership registration/renewal process.

Cindy asked the trustees their position on scanning and faxing the paper member registrations to the membership coordinators to significantly reduce the time between when members join or renew and the time they are updated in MSR.   Kelly pointed out that after a recent regional event, he and Maggie scanned all the registration forms into a password protected DropBox to which Dan and Jennifer were given access.  Kelly suggested that we establish a password protected storage service for ALL regions for paper registrations with credit card information so that Membership could get access more quickly.

Terri Korn, Florida.  Terri asked where are we with getting a Road Race director? Brian shared that we will be advertising for that position, and we are working towards that.  Arthur added that this recruiting for this position is the Executive Director’s (Craig Grantham) responsibility.  Jim Korn wanted to know if we were ready to support our next RR event (Roebling Road) given that we don’t have an established RR director, and Brian said that we are.

Leona Dixon, Illinois.  Leona requested that something be posted on the website regarding the national awards and where they will next be available for pick up.  They will be delivered to Roebling Road.  Jim Korn mentioned that several members said they would pay to ship.  Ralph volunteered to carry these awards across the country.Craig expressed the opinion that we shouldn’t be carting awards around the country.  We should have a better plan.David Rutherford volunteered to take on streamlining the trophy delivery process.  For national and regional awards, we will come up with a system to get the awards to the winners.

Bill Doran, Former Road Race Referee, Ohio.  Bill has spent 28 years as a racing AHRMA Member, 5 years as a Tech Inspector, and 3 years as Referee.  He will be going back to tech and Jim Korn will be taking over the position of Referee.  Bill thanked the board for all the work that they have done and are doing.

Executive Director Report (Craig Grantham) – presentation

Goals & Commitments to AHRMA

Immediately:

Balance our P&L into the “black” and keep it there.  As a member owned organization, we owe it to the members to be sustainable.  Metrics by which we can assess our financial health will be put into place.

• Understand our opportunity areas – both in finance and racing then act on it.
• Scrub all our numbers, processes, systems, tools with team input.  Remove redundancies in our processes which will allow us to speak the same language (i.e., Google Workplace instead of a combination of other tools while paying for all)
• Create actionable change where needed to improve our bottom line and increase our value to our partners (sponsors, vendors, advertisers), and owners (members).
• Define our brand, its worth and how we will sell that and grow it.  AHRMA’s brand is valuable

Mid-Range: 2022-2023. Membership, Sponsorship, Partnership

• Maintain quality member experience and enlist them as owners.
  • Share true value of this club and focus on long range sustainability
• Develop our brand into highly valuable, tangible investment for sponsors.
• Build our partnerships with venues, vendors, organizations, and press.  The Ducati World Superbike team was here this weekend!
• Create a true “Annual Operating Plan” that will provide a clear roadmap forward with expectations, deliverables, metrics and timelines.

Long Range: 2023-2025.

• “Top of Mind” as premier racing organization in the US
  • AHRMA has the best events, at the best venues, with the best membership experience.  This past weekend, our diversity really shined, from the CB160 LeMans start race to professional rider Josh Herrin participating in our event.
• Profitable across all disciplines and minimum 80% of events in each.
• True to our heritage’ while building appeal for sustained growth.
• Frequent, consistent, measures/metrics in all operational areas.

Financial Reports (Craig Grantham/Brian Larrabure) FY 2021 and YTD 2022

Fiscal Year 2021 Results (12/1/20-11/30/21)

Craig reported on the current financial state of AHRMA.

Profit & Loss

• $1.6m Gross Income
• $1.7m Expenses
• Net Loss $119.5k

Our contracted 2022 sponsorship income as of 11/30/2021 was $37.2k.  Since that date, Jim Doyle has been able to secure $59.5k in additional sponsorships.  There are ongoing discussions which are expected to result in a significant increase in final 2022 sponsorship dollars.

Our reserve fund is at $72k, the Benevolent Fund $171k.

Planned Action:

• We will find and execute other savings as available.
• We will search for operational efficiencies (redundant systems, etc.).
• Important: We know we can’t cut our way to profitability.
• REVENUE is the answer, and this will be our focus as we pursue the areas mentioned earlier (Membership, Sponsorship, Partnership).

Fiscal Year 2022 Adjustments

Corrective Actions:

• Systems efficiency (reduce redundancy)
• Dirt Track Program – redirected.  The Dirt Track at the Daytona MotoFest was energetic and very well attended.
• All Fields Sports – new agreement
• Sales/Marketing – Jim Doyle
  • Sponsorships, AHRMA Mag Advertising, Handbook.  Jim has done an amazing job!
• MotoFests picking up momentum – weather is a factor that will always affect the level of success for these events.
• Tighter control over RR Program, we need a Road Race director for stability and will find the “right” person.
• Membership growth
• Increasing participation on DT, Trials & VMX

2021 Membership Performance

• We grew significantly in 2021, adding 485 members, or +17.3%
• What if each member brought in one new member in 2022? If even half were successful, AHRMA would be a ~5,000-member club.
• We will focus on ALL ways to build our membership.

What is in a brand…?  EVERYTHING!

• We are the most important racing club in North America.
• We are the largest historic racing club in the world.
• We offer value that NO other racing club can:  Venues, classes, experiences

Questions:

David Rutherford questioned whether the benevolent fund and the safety fund should be true “income” items.  Craig acknowledged that we must account for all financial items and that the benevolent fund was not truly “income,” whereas the safety fund is.  When discussing benevolent fund versus safety fund contributions, it is important to note that benevolent fund monies are not available for uses other than the benevolent fund whereas safety fund monies are available for varied uses by AHRMA.

Jim Korn asked what Craig meant by the “right” person as Road Race Director.  Fiscally knowledgeable, familiar with RR operations, etc.  Jim expressed concern over staffing at Daytona, how few staff members there were, how long it took for people to get through tech.

Discuss goals, objectives, and incentives for Executive Director

• Arthur stated CEO is the Chairman of the Board, and the COO is the Executive Director. AHRMA should be more organized on the inside and look the same on the outside. Brian Larrabure agreed, saying that we have had an abundance of special projects and we need to avoid taking on anything new.
• Arthur would like to see books with real allocations, i.e., off-road membership income should be allocated to off-road events.  Needs to show on paper reality in off-road income.  If Trials needs paper, then office supplies need to be allocated etc.  We want to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.  Luke pointed out that we are poised for growth, and that we should execute more efficiently. (Formalizing systems and minimizing workarounds)
• Brian stated that we have gathered a lot of Road Race data and are able to do better planning as we move forward.  David Rutherford added that it would be helpful to have meaningful, real, timely P&L/financials by discipline and by event.
• Albert was requesting financial data per event so that they can circumvent issues that may cost AHRMA or result in lost profits.
• Jim Korn suggested that we need a current gauge as to the financial health of AHRMA.
• Brian would like to see an annual budget for a look ahead at the start of each year.
• Kelly wanted to know what the timeline for reviewing what’s happening and adjust as necessary.  Brian said in his business they do it on a monthly basis, and Craig agreed that we would get a monthly progress report.  Arthur clarified that it’s a monthly progress report not financial report although financials may be included.
• Arthur asked colleagues for permission to have input on the building of the financial reports and statements. Arthur made motion that the treasurer coordinate with the ED and his team on the reformatting of our books/chart of accounts with any conflicts or final decisions to be resolved by the EC. Kelly seconded. The vote was unanimous in favor.

MotoFests Plans

Heartland Park

Arthur announced that Jim Doyle will be heading up the 2022 AHRMA Classic MotoFest™ in the Heartland event.  We are adding a short track paved flat track (on a skid pad) adding another discipline.

Drag Racing.  Jim Korn asked that we recognize what Luke Conner did to develop this program.  Brian said this will be discussed later in this agenda. Doing the Drag Racing on Saturday night was problematic in 2021 and it’s believed that Friday night would be better suited.  The goal is to make this exhibition event cost neutral.  Jim is in the process of working up pricing.  A Grand Marshal (Russell Hendron) was hired last year, and AHRMA would like to have him back.  The format will be somewhat different, rather than head-to-head by cc displacement, we will use a handicap racing by time. The practice will be round robin to establish handicap times, and then proceed to racing.  We will have 4 bracketing classes and offer a head-to-head competition between the grand champion and the Grand Marshal.

Laguna Seca

Swap Meet.  Rob Poole pointed out that the swap meet at Barber is a huge draw.  Arthur offered free swap meet space at Daytona, but they had to buy their own passes.  Maurice Turgeau has been responsible for swap meet management at the last 3 events, and it’s improving with each event.  Kelly asked if local vintage motorcycle clubs had been approached.

Flat Track.  Brian has been contacted by a regional flat track organization proposing to put together a DT event and talked about Swap Meet.  Swap meet and bike show are critical components to a MotoFest

Marketing.  Rob – did we advertise Daytona on radio?  Arthur responded that we advertised for 4 weeks on the local radio station.  Brian said that Laguna will be responsible for marketing (per contract).

Multi-Discipline Crossover at MotoFest events

Luke shared that it’s difficult the way it’s currently structured to cross-over.  It’s too hard to schedule so there aren’t conflicts between disciplines.  David agreed but what maybe we could do is publish the proposed schedules for motocross and road race in advance so that individuals can make their own decisions regarding possibly entering multiple disciplines. Kelly stated because of scheduling that the reality of cross-pollination will be insignificant.  The real cross-pollination would be within the off-road disciplines, and not with off-road and Road Race.

Arthur suggested that Dirt Track at night on Saturday is compatible with Road Race so long as awards don’t run too long.

Brian – the Road Race schedules are structured on pre-entries to accommodate as many racers as possible.

Tim agreed with Rob regarding off-road cross-pollination.  But having extra days of practice for road race could allow road racers to participate in certain off-road events.

Beno brought up the Steamboat Springs event and that each discipline was run on one day which allowed for a good amount of crossover.   Kelly agreed but said that Steamboat is a destination, unlike Heartland Park. Our last year at Steamboat was in 1998.  $8M spent in Steamboat between spectators and competitors.

Brian pointed out that having 2 days of Road Race practice would allow road racers to do Friday’s Off-road events.

Some tracks lend themselves better to cross pollination, for example at Heartland, off-road and road race were virtually right next to each-other.  Laguna Seca required registered bikes to travel between disciplines, and Daytona off-road was a couple of miles on the street away from the Speedway.

2022 Rules Proposal Strategy/Schedules (Kevin Burns)

2023 Rules Proposal Schedule (subject to change) 

Cindy presented the Rule Change Proposal proposed schedule.  The goal would be to have the digital version of the handbook published shortly after Barber, with the print version to be published once sponsorships and advertisers are secured (around Thanksgiving).  Arthur motioned that we announce the rules submission period as 4/15-4/30.  Jim seconded.  The motion was passed unanimously.

April 15-30 Rule Change Proposal submission period (Rules & Eligibility Committees begin review of “vetted” submissions immediately)
May 15 Conclusion of R&E Committees review and recommendations
June 5 Trustee review period
June 6 Preliminary vote via Zoom (optional 6/7, if necessary)
June 12 – July 25 Member comment period
July 28 or August 1 Final vote via Zoom (optional 7/28, 8/2, if necessary)

Dick Mann Team Challenge

DMTC team challenge motivations. Tim Terrell has taken responsibility for the Dick Mann Team Challenge.  Tim has asked Debbie Poole to help.  Debbie does not want to oversee points.  Arthur committed to forward Tim all  his DMTC paperwork.  Kelly would like to see team formatting changed because hard to have a team when teammates don’t participate.  Luke suggested that the schedule of events be put out before people apply for the team blind draw.  Arthur pointed out that the format is a moving target so it’s difficult to make the format fixed.  Allow inactive team members to be replaced by active racers.  Debbie – object is to build this thing – focus on what a versatile racer Dick Mann was.  Classes that are not premier shouldn’t be discounted.

Policy & Procedure Manual

We currently do not have anyone compiling our existing policies and procedures into a manual for us.  Kelly volunteered to take this on, and Cindy will forward all policies that she has and is aware of to Kelly.

Policy for Naming/Memorializing Events/Awards, Etc.

Kelly said that we need to have a written policy that qualifies how something will be named after somebody (e.g. the Bushey Memorial).  Debbie suggested that we use the same guidelines that are used for the perpetual awards.  Kelly suggested we stick with the perpetual awards and not name events.   Kelly will write the policy for this, and memorializing people will only be tied to the perpetual trophies.  Events will not be permanently named; they could be named on a year by year basis as part of a sponsorship; we will only be memorializing people through perpetual awards using the perpetual award guidelines.

Election demographics and results by region (not individual numbers) (Kelly Shane)

Kelly asked that we have Association Voting provide us with demographic data.  Kelly had people calling asking who to vote for in the East, so he was wondering if East voted predominantly East or West voted predominantly West.  Arthur said that most of his calls were “who” to vote for, not East vs. West because his judgment was valued.  David suggested that we should have the results shown as # from east and # from west.  Kelly would like to have the national vote eliminated and return to West votes for West and East votes for East.  David pointed out we are a national organization, and we should keep focused on growing in that regard in all respects.

Kelly moved that we get the voting by state data from AV. David seconded. 11 yes 1 no.  Cindy will request that data from Association Voting.

Albert will work with Cindy to get the % of membership east and west of the Mississippi.

Membership price

AHRMA hasn’t increased membership fees in several years. AMA charges $1500 for a lifetime membership. Brian would like to increase the price and criteria of new lifetime memberships. Brian was not in favor of raising base member pricing without further study. Discussion went to the free 70+ classes – which is per round, currently a new member 70+ can join and is riding free, not fair to the club. Arthur proposed that a committee of 3 take on this issue and come up with a proposal that will define a policy for pricing and review the weekend membership policy. Committee will be composed of Albert Newmann, Tim Terrell, and Mike Dixon. Tony asked if it could be implemented this year, his answer was no, it will be a rules proposal. Brian suggested that new lifetime members stop getting magazines, digital only due to the current price structure AHRMA loses money on lifetime memberships, i.e., a new member could join and pay a lifetime membership, club would be out of pocket in a few years

Dan Thornton pointed out that the weekend memberships are coming in more frequently than 13 months. Discussion – eliminate the 13-month requirement, let them buy weekend as often as they want.

Brian asked that the committee work with the Thorntons on this issue.

Goals and future of Next Gen MX program

Albert shared that we are in year 4 of this program, and the participation levels are low, not building as we had originally expected. He will present 2 new proposals this year, to restructure national NG program. NGMX was supposed to be its own special entity, but we currently have only around 18% participation at best. Brian requested that Albert submit a rule change proposal. Kelly outlined the original pitch made by Fred Guidi (a former trustee). It was meant to make the promoters keep PVMX separate from VMX since they tended to run them on the same day. He suggested they stay for regional races, but not national. VMX numbers are going up because we are going back to natural terrain tracks.

Formation of Roadrace Planning Committee (RRPC) in line with Off Road Planning Committee (ORPC)

The purpose of the Road Race Planning Committee is to ensure the RR director is not operating unilaterally.  Kelly said that the ORPC has been very successful.  ED is final arbitrator if the race director is at odds with the committee.  Curt has written a policy for the RRPC, Craig will obtain it and it will be finalized at the EC level.  ED appoints committee members.

ORPC is comprised of Tony Paul (Chairman), Kelly Shane (VMX), Jason Colon (PVMX), Jerry Grakauskas (Cross Country), and Debbie Poole (Trials).  Committee members are appointed by the ED

Jim asked about the mission of the RRPC.  The RRPC will discuss what needs to be changed, planning for future venues, schedules, operations etc.   Kelly added that it should be 3-4 people in addition to the ED and the RR director.

Jim offered up his time/services for this committee. Brian stated that the group should continue to consist of 2 trustees, 1 West and 1 East. The standing committee has been Brian (West), Arthur (East), ED and RR directors. To avoid becoming top heavy, Brian suggested that Jim or any pertinent person can easily be invited to meetings where the role of referee or other RR official is required.

Items NOT on the agenda brought up at the conclusion of the meeting:

Tony Paul asked that an additional agenda item be added.  Pricing changes – Tony has been charging the additional amount to which he and Curt had agreed.  This is specific to post-entry.  Cindy asked Tony to mark up the existing paper copies to show how he wanted the forms updated and send them to her to make those updates.

Beno gave the opinion that double points should not be given at any event.  Kelly said that Henryetta is double points so that the off-road competitors race other members from across the country to win national championships.  Arthur said that there are any number of reasons to give double points.

2022 Trustee Meeting Schedule

The next in-person trustee meeting is at Laguna Seca (July 18, 2022), and final meeting is at Barber (October 10, 2022).  The preliminary and final Rule Change Proposal vote meetings will be held via video conference, dates to be announced.