The new National Executive Council came to San Antonio for training and the first formal meeting. These fourteen dedicated volkssporters -- all former club and/or state officers -- saw the stark reality that the AVA is in decline and that their challenge over the next two years is to turn that decline around and revitalize our sport and our organization. These ordinary volkssporters, selected by the membership to represent them at the national level, cannot achieve this difficult goal without the positive support of the clubs and volkssporters. All must embrace the changes that will be required. All must rally around the AVA banner and bring our sport back to life. As a first step, the Council approved a zero growth budget for this fiscal year. This means that we set our projected income at the income we achieved last year. With the cost of doing business rising on a monthly basis and no income growth projected, the National Headquarters is faced with reducing expenditures to balance the budget. To ensure that services to our clubs are not reduced, the Council decided to not fund the position vacated by Rob Gale and reallocate those funds into the operational accounts. This quick fix will provide the funds needed to continue the majority of the support to our clubs, but will not provide the funds needed for our all important marketing efforts. This change will also mean that the work load for the public relations efforts will have to be redistributed to the remainder of the staff. We can do that and we will continue to do all the things that have been done in the past though there may be a reduction in response time in some cases. Will this fix take care of the problems? It does not appear that it will. The budget approved by the Council shows a net loss for the fiscal year of more than $18,000. As of the end of August -- two months into the fiscal year -- our total operating revenue is almost $6,000 under budget. The majority of this is in the income for Volkssports Associate memberships, event sanction fees and event participation fees. It will take the work and help of every club, state organization and individual volkssporter to turn this around. It must be a team effort. Do not leave this task to the members of the Executive Council or the members of the National Headquarters staff. All of us must work together to renew The Spirit of Walking across the United States. I know your dedication to our sport, and I know you will be an active, positive part of the team who will meet our greatest challenge.
ALONG THE TRAIL
Candace Purcell, the AVA Accountant, is currently out of the office for an indefinite period of time recovering from surgery. We ask for your prayers and patience until she returns.
If you have financial questions, we will do our best to help you. Ask for Kevin or Jackie when you call.
Included with this issue of Checkpoint [via snail mail] are many important items:
- Copy of updated AVA Bylaws
- Financial Summary - last fiscal year
- Executive Council Meeting Notes
- Policy Requirement for Marathons
- Copy of flyer for October Walk-A-Thon (please feel free to make additional copies for your club's use as needed).
Club Insurance: The AVA has arranged for Clubs to be able to purchase insurance to cover their social events and meetings. Information will be sent out with the next issue of Checkpoint.
New email address for the IVV Liaison, Hans Dieter Fuhr: hdf1007571676@aol.com OR hans-d.fuhr@t-online.de
Proof Sheets for the 2002 Starting Point will be coming out shortly. There will be an extremely short turn-around time on these. Please watch for them and get any corrections back to Jackie immediately so she can get them in the book.
Walk-A-Thon, by Kay Hartman, Fund Raising Committee Chair. October is Walk-A-Thon Month. Hopefully, every club either has presented or soon will present this fundraising opportunity to their members. We are very close to having enough money raised to start purchasing some of the items on the office equipment replacement list. Will you please do your part? If we all pull together and do what we can, the project can be completed in the near future.
Awards is currently backlogged about five weeks. Please pass this along to your members so they do not worry about their books.
Catch The Spirit. Don't forget that your club members can qualify for the "Catch The Spirit" Award by simply recruiting five new members. Those new members must join your club and purchase a New Walker Packet. Winners of the award receive a very nice "I Caught The Spirit" patch.
All clubs should have a copy of the form but if you don't, just send the award receipient's name, mailing address and phone number along with a listing of the five new recruits. Have your Club President and Secretary sign and date the paper for verification and send it to Catch The Spirit, Attn: Jacklyn Wilson at AVA, 1001 Pat Booker Rd, Suite 101, Universal City, TX 78148. She'll send out the award.
WHAT DOES THAT POLICY SAY?
Did you know that you cannot have a 5 km distance at a Year Round or Seasonal event? That's right. AVA Policy 5.01, II, 1, a says "A short distance walk must be a minimum of 10 kilometers (km) and a maximum of 19 km in length. Additionally, a "shorter" distance (5 - 9 km) may be offered. ... The "shorter" distance does not apply to Year Round and Seasonal Events."
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR AVA STAFF This is going to be a regular feature with Checkpoint. Each month a different staff member will be featured. We will tell you a little about what they each do. If there is information that you would like to see included in this section, please let us know.
Getting to Know Debi Debi has been with AVA since October, 1999. She has worked in various areas but currently she handles everything to do with your events, including Year Rounds and Seasonals, except for the New Balance things.
She enters all of the data into the computer for the sanctions and after action reports. She assigns the stamp numbers and puts the stamps together and mails them out. When the stamps come back, she logs them in, takes them apart, cleans them and files the pieces until they are needed again.
She deals with the insurance company when you need a certificate with an additional insured and she maintains your club officer information in the computer and the records for the IRS.
Every week she prints reports of everything that she has entered for that week, makes copies for the Executive Council and State Associations and mails them out.
On top of all of that, she answers the incoming phone lines and directs your call to the appropriate person. She pulls the messages off of the answering machine in the mornings and gets those to the person who can best handle them.
Last Updated: 1/17/02
© Copyright 1996 Wendy Bumgardner Clubs may reprint for club use.