Little Rock Roadrunners Club, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting January 23, 2023 A meeting of the board of directors (“Board”) of Little Rock Roadrunners Club, Inc. (“LRRC” or the “Club”) was held on Monday, January 23, 2023, at 2300 S State Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72206. Board members present were President Brent Corbitt, Vice President Brian Sites, Treasurer Nicole Hobbs, Secretary Jenny Wilkes, Capital City Classic 10k Race Director Bill Torrey, Communications Chair Leah Thorvilson, Community Outreach Director Bill Simpson, Membership Co-Chair Ted Holder, Membership Co-Chair Joe van den Heuvel, At Large Member Linda House, and At Large Member Zach Lewis. Also present was Ryan O. Miller, LRRC member. Board members Kristen Lippencott and Evan Carr were unable to attend. The meeting was called to order by President Brent Corbitt. First item on the agenda was a discussion of club membership, led by President Brent Corbitt. Current membership numbers show that membership is up by 63 people as compared to this time next year. President Corbitt suggested making a membership push after the conclusion of the Capital City Classic 10k (“CCC”) in April. President Corbitt also mentioned the need to recruit non-standard runners. Treasurer Nicole Hobbs, At Large Member Linda House, CCC Race Director Bill Torey, and Vice President Brian Sites all discussed a number of recruitment ideas, including running clinics, posting QR codes on signs at the River Trail and on flyers, and reaching out to walkers. The next item on the agenda was the Grand Prix (“GP”) recruitment update. President Brent Corbitt introduced Ryan Miller to discuss current GP registration numbers. Mr. Miller provided all Board members with a spreadsheet showing current GP registrants of the Club, past registrants, and Club members who have registered for GP races through February. There followed a general discussion on how to recruit more members to run for the Club as part of the GP, including the positive feedback of team pictures from GP races. The next item on the agenda was a gear update. President Brent Corbitt stated that the Club has hoodies, beanies, and hats in the online store, and an order has been placed for singlets. President Corbitt also stated that there is a plan to potentially order jackets. (At Large Member Zach Lewis later stated that he would figure out a jackets order by the February Board meeting.) The next item on the agenda was a discussion of Club events. President Brent Corbitt began the discussion by reviewing the various events held in December, including the Christmas party and the Last Chance Run. President Brent Corbitt then began a discussion of upcoming events, beginning with the Little Rock Marathon expo booth. Vice President Brian Sites discussed finding volunteers for the booth, and ideally trying to find some overlap between Board members, experienced runners, and younger runners. There was a general discussion on items that would be available at the booth, including promotional materials. The next upcoming event discussed by President Brent Corbitt was the Little Rock Marathon cheer station. Community Outreach Director Bill Simpson stated that this cheer station would combine a number of separate unofficial aid stations along the same location into one bigger cheer station. There was a general discussion about what types of items the cheer station would offer to runners, as well as the possibility of having music playing during the race. The next upcoming event discussed by President Brent Corbitt was the idea for a River Trail pop-up aid station. President Corbitt stated that they would wait for the weather to get better before planning anything, but that the Club planned to do this at some point. The final upcoming event discussed by President Brent Corbitt was the possibility of having another CCC preview run. President Corbitt stated that he is working with Michelle Rupp on promotional items for the race, and tabled the idea of another preview run for now. Before moving on to the next matter, President Corbitt suggested the possibility of having a Club event or group run at least once a month, and invited the Board members to present him with ideas. Vice President Brian Sites proposed the idea of meeting at a restaurant or coffee shop, for example, and giving the members who participate a discount code. The next item on the agenda was a discussion concerning revising the Club bylaws. President Brent Corbitt stated that he would be working on the revisions along with Secretary Jenny Wilkes and Membership Co-Chair Ted Holder. Community Outreach Director Bill Simpson suggested using the Road Runners Club of America model bylaws as a basis for revising the Club bylaws. The next and final item on the agenda was a discussion of the CCC race to be held on April 1. President Brent Corbitt began the discussion by reviewing the promotional efforts the Club has been working on with the assistance of Michelle Rupp. At Large Member Linda House then questioned the idea of why prize money was being offered to top runners, suggesting that slower runners need incentive as well, and a general discussion was held on the benefits of offering prize money, such as making the race attractive to both local and non-local runners, encouraging young and semi-elite runners to participate in a fast race, and creating buzz for future races. President Brent Corbitt then led a discussion on sponsors for the CCC, and listed a number of sponsors that have already committed. President Corbitt suggested forming a committee specifically for the CCC beginning after the 2023 race, because the race planning is generally a year-round effort, and the need to reach out to additional sponsors, both of cash and in-kind donations. A general discussion was then held on ideas of how to get in-kind donations, such as food. President Brent Corbitt then led a discussion of cheer and aid stations at the CCC. There was then a general discussion about the goal to grow the CCC to over a thousand or two thousand runners. President Brent Corbitt expressed his opinion that there was no reason we could not grow the race to this size. Community Outreach Director Bill Simpson asked CCC Race Director Bill Torrey to discuss what kind of logistical issues might exist for a race that holds over two thousand runners. This led into a general discussion of the potential issues for the race itself, such as date/timing of the race and competition with other local races. Vice President Brian Sites then discussed the possibility of cross-marketing at other various local races. Other items discussed were vendor and running club tents, and the potential for bike escorts for lead runners. CCC Race Director Bill Torrey then led a discussion on the need for volunteers at various portions of the race. CCC Race Director Torrey also discussed the possibility of hiring a security group to stand at various intersections rather than having barricades, and also the benefits of having a security individual over a barricade. CCC Race Director Torrey then led a discussion on the kids race, the start and finish line (as well as the potential of having a banner or inflatable arch), and the need for various items like chairs, tables, cones, water, and Gatorade, among others. President Brent Corbitt stated that if Bill Torrey could be in charge of handling the water stations, President Corbitt and Vice President Brian Sites would work on cheer stations. There was then a general discussion on the need to have someone announcing runners at the finish line, and the need for a PA system for such announcements. Membership Co-Chair Ted Holder suggested that a better PA system would be needed for the announcement of awards this year. CCC Race Director Bill Torrey then discussed the need to obtain sufficient water for the race, details on the overall finisher awards, contacting the police, and contacting local hotels. President Brent Corbitt stated that Past President Kristen Lippencott had planned to contact the AC Hotel regarding coning off a valet lane for the safety of runners, as well as getting a hotel block for out of town runners and elites. CCC Race Director Bill Torrey then started a discussion on the need to reach out to those runners who run slower than a 10 minute pace, as that is where a large number of CCC runners generally come from. Secretary Jenny Wilkes then suggested that the Club could highlight individual runners across all demographics on social media, both elites and slower runners. President Brent Corbitt stated that he could contact runners who are already registered through runsignup, and also add a field to future registrants to indicate if this would be their first 10k. Ryan Miller suggested that the Club could feature runners from different counties or states. A general discussion was then held on various ideas regarding highlighting individual runners. CCC 10k Race Director Bill Torrey then made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Vice President Brian Sites. At approximately 7:55pm, the meeting was adjourned.
