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DCRRC Members:

Welcome to our "new year." I have been in close contact with members of the 2006-2007 Board and we have some exciting plans underway. A few brief announcements to get things started.

First and Foremost: It appears that we may not have the Washington and Lee track available to us on Wedneasday night. The W&L schedule shows a home soccer match, but also states that location is "TBD." While I cannot think of where else they would play the games, I guess this means there is some small chance. But be prepared to work out on the trail.

As I was writing this, a light bulb went off regarding why, in addition to the construction at Yorktown, the Washington & Lee track is so "busy" this year. In the interests of "gender equity," Virginia State high school officials decided to move boys' soccer from the fall, when it has traditionally been played, to the spring, which is when girls' soccer takes place. In addition to taking more male athletes away from high school track & field, this also doubles the number of soccer games that need to be scheduled, and hence means more conflicts for us.

This will likely be a long-term problem, not easily solved, as all public high schools are affected. I am trying to schedule a meeting with the facilities managers at Washington and Lee to discuss this, with a view to long-term planning. I will re-double those efforts in the coming weeks; anyone who has any insight into Arlington politics/recreation/athletics is welcome to contact me with ideas.

Now, onto the "standard" Club business:

1. Thanks to Bill Bondurant, the webpage now include a "Forum" for members to discuss issues of their choosing. Please check it out and see if you want to add to any current discussions, or start a new one. While there is no designated "editor" for the discussion groups, we ask that all contributions be as courteous and constructive as possible. I have seen one local running page which has permitted personal attacks (made anonymously, of course). That will not be tolerated on our website. Also, watch out for the "President's Blog," which will open this week.

2. The next Board Meeting, open to all Club members, is set for Monday, May 8, 2006, at 7:00. Tentative meeting place is the Silver Diner in Clarendon. We are in search of a larger, Metro-accessible site more conducive to such meetings. If you know of one, please let me know. (Arlington County Library is not an option for this purpose.)

3. Thanks to our more interactive website, the structure of our meetings will change. Prior to the meeting, a President's report, consisting of a summation of the various reports previously given orally at our meetings, will be posted. We will dispense with the oral presentations, and simply have a limited amount of question time for any issues, such as races, workouts, membership, treasury, etc. Also posted will be an agenda with items that the Board anticipates will require formal Board action at the meeting. This will give all an opportunity, either at the meeting, or by email or in the discussion forum beforehand, to have their voices heard. Our meeting time is limited, so the more we can discuss things beforehand and focus the issues, the more productivde our meetings will be.

4. Tops on the agenda for May 8 will be a raise in the Club's dues. They currently stand at $12.00/year for an adult individual, an amount which has not changed since the late 1980s. Proposals to raise the dues were seriously considered as far back as 1998, under President Paul Thompson, but have not been acted upon.

Besides the fact that the dues are quite low for the value provided to Members, raising them will provide the Club with a more reliable revenue stream that does not rely upon a very few Club Members to go out and operate finish lines. The burden will be shared. This does not mean we will stop doing finish lines, but it will allow us to balance those opportunities against other activities that serve the members of the Club as well as the running community at large.

The proposed raise will be to $20 for individuals, $25 for a family, and $12 for youth and senior citizens.

Should the dues increase pass, immediately upon enactment, the Board will consider a proposal to eliminate the $1.00 entry fee for Club members for our "low-key" races. Henceforth, those races will be free for all Club Members. This will provide a substantial benefit to members, add to the already considerable incentives for runners to join the Club, and have no negative impact on revenue when considered in conjunction with the dues increase.

5. The second key agenda item will be establishment of Committees to support our three "signature" races: 20-Miler, Turkey Trot, and Marathon. These events, central to the Club's identity and also a strong source of revenue, simply require more broad-based support from within the Club. The Committees will be a linchpin in providing that support on a continuing basis.

6. On Sunday April 30, we conducted a highly-successful Stride Clinic for our 10K training program members at the Sport & Health Club in Skyline Center. This will be the first of a series of joint ventures with Sport & Health. Discussions are underway for membership discounts for Club members, and possibilities of recruiting current S&H members for DCRRC membership, and to join our training programs. Thanks for Kristin Blanchette and the other 10K coaches for helping out with this event, as well as to Ian Clement.

I expect there will be some discussion of item 4 on this list. I will gladly read your emails and comments through the week. I know some will ask why we need a dues increase when we have money in the bank. The short answer is that we should all be sharing the costs of the Club, and by doing so, we can unleash more of the huge potential this Club has, obtain and provide more benefits to the Membership, and truly fulfill our mission of "Running the DC Area Since 1961."

Thanks for all the expressions of support you have given in the last few weeks. They mean a lot to me.

Ed Grant