VERMONT STATE WOMEN’S GOLF ASSOCIATION
MINI MEETINGS  

Meeting: Board of Directors / Committee Chairs
Date: October, November, and December 2008 
Place: Via e-mail, no physical location

Participants: Tracy Sloan, Sue Ginnett, Mary Corey, Suzanne Neville, Jeanne DiBattisto, Nancy Myers, Kathy Allbright, Cindy Paquet, Sarah Lee, Judy Manley, Ellen Sheffer, Jeanne Morrissey, Shari Pfannenstein, Harriet Parot, Phyllis Simon, Deb Warner, Mary Ann Levins.

Recorded by: Mary Corey

President’s Report: Tracy Sloan e-mailed the Agenda:  

1.  Motion for refund 10/16/08:  Lisa Patton was unable to attend the Fall Meeting Luncheon and Scramble due to a family funeral.  She is asking for a refund of her $50.  
 

Decision:  The request from Lisa Patton asking to be refunded due to a funeral was granted.  There will be a clear policy set for refunds prior to the 2009 Season. 

2.  Motion for State Day 10/17/08:  Quechee offered to host a State Day in addition to the Final State Day Best Ball Tournament, with the condition that the VSWGA would have to pay $5,000 regardless of how many show up.
 

Vote to add a regular State Day and try to negotiate for a better deal. (Don’t think we will get very far).

Vote No thank you for the additional State Day.

Vote to keep the Final State Day at Quechee and Woodstock.

Decision:  The Board voted against adding a regular State Day with a flat fee price of $5,000 but agreed to keep the Final State Day at Quechee and Woodstock. Tracy Sloan contacted the State Day Reps by email and will wait for a response prior to having Suzanne Neville notify the clubs of our decision.

Quechee has agreed to hold a State Day charging the standard $20 fee but they have reserved the right to set the cart price.   To eliminate any surprises - it might be a good idea to check what the cart fee will be prior to booking a Quechee State Day tee time.  

3. Motion for First Tee Program Allocation 12/02/08:  As part of the VSWGA's commitment to Jr. Golf we support the First Tee.  The program was a great success in its first year and is expanding this year.  We have ten new schools bringing the total to 29 schools participating (number could increase as the application deadline is 12/15).  The cost of the program is $2,650 per school.  The Vermont PGA, VGA, Vermont Seniors Golf Association, and the Vermont Golf Course Superintendents are the other state golf associations that contribute to the First Tee. 
 

The VSWGA budget has allocated $3000 for the First Tee Program.  We need to confirm that the board still supports this expenditure as budgeted.  This money comes out of the restricted funds for Jr. Golf.

Decision:  The Board agreed we should support the First Tee Program allocation of $3,000 to be paid from the Junior Golf Restricted Funds. 

4. Final State Day Results:  Phyllis Simon brought it to the Board’s attention that the Final State Day flights were split incorrectly with several players being placed in the wrong divisions.  The flights were recalculated using the TPP program with new winners being awarded prizes.  Again Phyllis checked the results finding the flights were still incorrect.  Cindy Paquet reviewed the data and found a blank record mixed in with the players causing TPP to malfunction.  Phyllis brought Shari Pfannenstein into the loop to make sure the VSWGA would be complying with the USGA Rules if a third analysis of the Final State Day results was done to determine the actual winners.  Shari agreed it was the correct procedure because the flights were not split according to the tournament format.  Phyllis spent many hours working on this project with help from Cindy and Shari, the blank record was removed, flights were split according to the planned format, scorecards were checked for accuracy and new winners were determined.  

Motion to pay winners for the Final State Day 12/07/08:  Originally, there were 26 teams that won.  With the second revision, there were 25 teams, but many of them had been winners the first time.  With the third revision, there would be 23 winning teams, and again many of them were winners either the first and/or second time.

If we pay everyone from the first, second, and final results, there would be 37 teams to pay, which would cost an additional $624 at most (13 teams X 16 points X $3).   It seems there were two prevailing schools of thought.

Pay all winners under all scenarios.

Pay only the winners after the results and flights were completely recalculated.

Decision:  The Board voted to pay winners under all scenarios for the Final State Day.  

5.  Mileage 12/4/08:  The mileage rate set for 2009 by the IRS is .55 - looking at historic fuel costs - 2005 saw gas prices around 2.25 (not a scientific number) and the IRS reimbursement rate was .405 per mile.  This rate is designed to cover fuel costs as well as repairs, maintenance and depreciation.  There seemed to be a lot of support for lowering the reimbursement rate in light of the decline in gas prices.  
 

Motion to lower the reimbursement rate to .405/mile for everyone.

Decision:  Motion passed. 

6.  Pace of Play Committee Recommendation 12/09/08:  Pace of play has become an issue that the consensus of members agrees needs to be addressed.  Accordingly, both your starting time and finishing time will be recorded each week.  Your scorecard must be turned in to the scoring table immediately after the finish of play.  If you go to your car, change your shoes, etc., your scorecard will reflect an incorrect finish time and could subject you to a "slow play" penalty.  The players who finish more than 15 minutes behind the group in front of them will receive a warning after the first occurrence; a second occurrence will result in a penalty.  (Your position in the field will be taken into account.  For example if you finish 20 minutes behind a twosome, but played in 4½ hours, you would not be subject to a warning or a penalty.)  EVERY golfer in the group will receive the warning or penalty.  The first infraction for slow play will receive a warning, the second will receive a “turtle” designation for 4 weeks, then a third penalty will result in 8 weeks.  A turtle designation will prevent you and any golfer in your group from receiving a tee time before 12:00.  In the case of a smaller field where tee times don’t extend that late, you will receive one of the last tee times.

Motion:  Vote in favor of the Pace of Play Committees’ recommendation that all participants record their starting time and finishing time each week with penalties being applied to slow players.

Decision:  Motion Passed.

Meeting adjourned: December 12, 2008

Revised December 24, 2008