St. Louis Kayak & Canoe Club Meeting Minutes
October 5th, 2023
Prepared by Natalie Johnson
Attending Board Members: Gary Strohmeyer, Eileen Lenkman, Ollie Langhorst
Time: October 5th, 2023, 7:00 PM
Location: Shrewsbury Community Center - 5200 Shrewsbury Ave Saint Louis, MO 63119
The meeting was called to order by Eileen Lenkman at 7:00 PM.
I. Membership Status
a. At the time of skills clinic: approximately 110 members.
b. Current: 138 members.
c. Increase possibly due to increased communication and reminders about voting rights in Board Member election.
II. General Announcements
a. Meetings to be held in Room 2, 2nd floor at Shrewsbury Community Center, with exception to November and March (these meetings to be held downstairs in Council Chambers).
b. Zoom to accompany all live meetings; in-person may move fully to Zoom in the event of bad weather.
III. Show and Tell
a. Kathy Pzonka presented on a couple of her favorite pieces of equipment.
i. Pogies (kayaking mitts): Longer-lasting, better insulation, more economical than kayaking gloves.
ii. Miniwell filter: Affordable alternative to large gravity filters.
IV. Upcoming Meetings:
a. Members present agreed to having a meeting in the future that is focused solely on show and tell of favorite equipment.
b. November meeting to feature Open Space Council/Operation Clean Stream, Team River Runner.
c. December meeting is holiday party.
d. January meeting will feature 2023 recap with account review and another presentation (hopefully).
e. Speaker recommendations always welcome – and needed.
V. Officer Elections
a. Members not present at tonight’s meeting will still have the opportunity to vote (ballot to come via email soon). Those in the room and on Zoom this evening will have their vote prerecorded.
b. Officers are in place for a one-year term.
c. President Nominee: Eileen Lenkman. Voting members present approved.
d. Vice President: Carolyn Knarr Voting members present approved.
e. Secretary: Natalie Johnson (conditionally, as long as an insurance policy is adopted which covers the Board of Directors). Bryan Paschke to remain as Secretary until that happens.Voting members present approved.
f. Outreach Coordinator: Jacob Rohter. Voting members present approved.
g. Treasurer: Gary Strohmeyer. Voting members approved.
h. Non-voting Treasurer Assistant: Ed Bayham. Voting members approved.
i. Non-voting Webmaster and Assistant: Mike Burkhart And Eleanor Pardini. Voting members approved.
VI. Upcoming Trips
a. Eileen is interested in starting a Trip Location Library that has information on trip routes.
b. There is interest in holding more multi-sport trips (one proposed is located at the Cache River – a paddle on Saturday and on Sunday, a bike ride on the nearby trail).
c. Halloween Paddle is scheduled for October 27th and is for families. Will be led by Briana Conley. Costumes are encouraged.
VII. Insurance Discussion Preview
a. ACA insurance has been identified as having limitations, including:
i. Cost dissuades members.
ii. Waivers and fees for Non-ACA members required for each trip
iii. Coverage does not include Board Members.
b. Eileen shared that after much research, she found that most paddling organizations have a hybrid insurance model – both ACA insurance as well as private insurance.
c. It has been proposed that the club considers moving to the hybrid model, having the ACA to cover skills clinics and private insurance to cover pop-up events and Board Member coverage, effectively addressing limitations.
d. Since we have to notify ACA of our intent to stay in the ACA in 2024 by this November, Roger Allison made a motion to do this. Ollie Langhorst seconded. Motion carried.
e. Members will be invited to cast their vote for whether the switch is made to a hybrid model, to remain with the ACA, and/or to move fully to a private insurer. A detailed post featuring the cost/benefit analysis of each and an email will be provided ahead of the vote as well as a meeting.
f. This open discussion session will be scheduled using Zoom in the near future.
g. There is enough money in the organization’s treasury to cover the expenses of a hybrid model for several years; afterwards, there may be a need to reevaluate the cost of membership to ensure coverage beyond that and/or look at fund raising options.
h. The private insurance under consideration is through Paddle Sport Risk Management, LLC (Paddlesport Risk Management. Event Insurance. Club Insurance)Insurance, providing coverage to organizations with similar needs, and also providing coverage to members, guest paddlers, fundraisers, membership meetings, and so forth.
Meeting adjourned at 8:08 PM.