Month: February 2023

Newsletter editor

The pattern library shows what text looks like in each of the general styles
The style sheet is posted here

In addition to preparing the newsletter for publication, here’s how to get the addreses in the right places

  1. Download all levels of members from the website
  2. Sort by membership (printed and electronic)
  3. Copy each class to its on page for manipulation. Do not delete the main page in case you have questions.

To prepare for printed mailing

  • Delete columns A-G, N-U, W-Y (confirm contents of Z- admin) AA-AC, AE-AL
    leaving Address1 and 2, city, state,zip, country, expires, admin and display name
    • The printer uses the expires date as part of the first line on the labels
  • Remove Kim and Jason Coleman
  • Make sure YOU are on the list to get the printed version. Looking thru old issues in print is easier than searching thru the pdfs
  • Replace Never with AutoRenew
  • Prefix expiration date with exp.
  • Sort by zip to confirm all addresses use +4 version
    https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?byaddress#
  • Make appropriate corrections in the online membership list
  • Save the page as csv and send to printer with the press version of the RootesReview
  • Generally include in the cover note: Total number of names, mention any that need to be hand addressed (to UK), +10 extra copies to membership chair

For electronic

  • Replace Never with a far future date. I have been using 1/1/2050
  • Delete colums A-E, F-U, W-Y (confirm contents of Z-admin), AA, AB, AE-AM
  • From time to time import the first first names of member and joint member for import into Mailchimp
  • From time to time write to people who have unsubscribed and remind them about the electronic version of the newsletter.
  • They must go to https://www.teae.org/resubscribe-to-emails/ to signup again. You can not directly add them to the list
  • Save the file as .csv for import into mailchimp
    • Wnen you import names, add a new tag so you know who should be getting THIS electronc version
    • Generally I copy the last campaign and adjust dates, titles etc before sending.
    • Please note: Our account only allows for 500 names for free. We could carry only the electronic people but I am loathe to do that.
  • Be sure you have uploaded the electronic version to the website.

Secretary Duties

Secretary of TEAE is responsible for attending meetings, recording, and posting minutes.

For regular and full meetings

Generally, there is a PowerPoint slide deck presented for the meeting which makes recording the minutes pretty easy. They are an accurate recording of the general topics of discussion for the meetings.

It is not necessary to record EVERY conversation, or to record who made or seconded a motion. Unless there is contentious conversation, only record that a motion was made, seconded, and passed by the Board.

I find it is easiest to write up the minutes within a pretty short time while you still remember the meeting. Then post the minutes to board.teae.org. In the posting, add the minutes to the category “Board Minutes.” 

Automatically an email is set to the Leadership to read them and comment on changes required. (This is set up in MailChimp so check at least annually to insure it’s still working. It requires that Board and Reps are tagged as Board in Mailchimp.)

For emailed discussion and votes

For online disucssions, it seems prudent to record who made the motion and who seconded it. Then include the results of the vote and any appropriate commentary.

Posting can be made by emailing the webmaster with text and instructions or by the secretary if that person has apporpriate permissions.

Webmaster duties

Under Construction

Some technical skills will make this job easier but still it requires attention to details

  1. Maintain the website with appropriate backups and updates,
  2. Ensure that website content is not objectionable to the membership.
  3. Submit to the Treasurer an annual budget covering fees for hosting, domain registrations, plugin licenses, and other third‐party applications.
  4. Manage contact from membership when the site doesn’t behave as expected. Interface with Dreamhost, the site host, when appropriate.
  5. Interface with Membership Chair when problems arise.
  6. Provide guidance on any updates to the website design and functionality.
  7. Add new content either suggested by a member or found by the webmaster.
  8. It would be VERY helpful if the newsletter chair would provide to the webmaster at least one story per month for publication on line.
  9. Prepare a list of programs, plugins, and any other password protected content. This should NEVER be emailed. Make sure that whoever you give this to is not likely to go in and mess about.
    1. Ensure that one other person, known to the board, has access to log in the club websites and password protected sites mentioned above
  10. The Forum is hosted on the website and administered by members with administrative FORUM rights. [expand]
  11. Annually confirm the forwarding addresses of Regional Reps and Board Officers at Dreamhost. Make sure Board members and Leadership members are added to the discussion list hosted at Dreamhost.
  12. Mailchimp RSS for updates to board.teae.org to board@teae.org which in turn goes to leadership@lists.board.teae.org. Confirm that the right people are on that list in Dreamhost panel here: https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=mail.discussion
  13. Upload via FTP newsletters provided by other clubs and update the TOC lists on appropriate pages
  14. Upload via FTP RootesReview to the website and update the TOC page to include links there
  15. FTP members only files are stored TEAE.org/cars/members_only
  16. Update winners of club awards, location of United.
  17. Prepare online United Registration forms. Using a previous version is a good place to start.
  18. Prepare online voting ballot
  19. Publish on line bios of people running for positions as well as the on line ballot
  20. Publish the results of the election
  21. Update the leadership here: https://www.teae.org/about/#board and include the expiration date of board members.
  22. A great deal of support is required to manage the membership program, PaidMembershipsPro. There is excellent support offered by the company, but you must be able to understand and carry out their instructions.
  23. Style for RootesReview is one word and in italics

Annually after the election

Update the forwarded teae.org mail and discussion groups to include new people

Update the leadership mailing list/discussion list in Dreamhost  https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=mail.discussion

Confirm board and reps are tagged in Mailchimp

Update the expiration dates of officers and board members: Table 57 and 58

Domains we own
rootes.org5/17/202317.99
rootesamerica.org6/9/202317.99
sunbeamamerica.org5/17/202317.99
sunbeamsunited.com5/9/202317.99
teae.org3/16/202417.99
tigerseast-alpineseast.org 3/23/202317.99
tigerseastaplineseast.org3/23/202317.99
tigerseastaplineseast.com3/23/202317.99

General expenses

The ones Kerch pays for are also used on other client sites so TEAE does not have to pay for them. If Kerch gets hit by a bus, someone will have to pay

companyannual feeskerch pays forexpiresnotes
zoho$12.727/17/2021for MAIL TO TEAE.info
dreamshield (malware protection)$119.96in 202329.99 each for 4 sites
dreamhost.com domain names$143.92for 8 domains (see abve)
dreamhost.com hosting $240 7/1/2025paid for 3 years
namecheap.com $17.162/25/2025For the domain name - TEAE.info
Kerch currently pays for theseIf Kerch dies these will have to be paid for by the club
cleantalk anti spam plugin$811/12/20233 year payment
paidmembershipspro.com$1478/4/2021THIS MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR IF I DIE!
thememylogin.com$107/1/2022
gravitywiz.com$1497/20/2021adds many options for payment and registratoin forms

February 2023 Board Meeting

Action Items

  • Kerch will set up the code for electronic registration.
  • Jim Lindner to organize the Facebook & Forum sub-committee.
  • Barb Geschke will lead the sub-committee on Legacy Awards.
  • Tom Calvert and Bill Bulpitt to chair sub-committee on TAC initiative, Dave Kellogg will be a member.
  • Ron Stein and Joe McConlogue volunteered to create a list of shops currently interested in and capable of working on our vintage cars.
  • Kerch will continue to manage the website content.
  • Regional Reps to utilize BASH label wherever possible to promote the Club.
  • Kerch to get trifolds printed.

A Video Conference Meeting was called to order by President Jim Lindner at 1:07 pm.               

Elected Officers Present: President Jim Lindner, Vice President Rob Harter (new), Treasurer Steve Murphy (new), and Secretary Gary Corbett (new).
Board Members Present: Tom Calvert, Tom Ehrhart, Barb Geschke, Eric Gibeaut, Joe McConlogue, and Joe Parlanti.
Others:  Bill Bulpitt, David Kellogg, Barbara Skirmants, Kerch  McConlogue, and  Ron Stein.

Slides presented at the meeting are here.

Approval of Minutes From Previous Meeting

The draft minutes from the last Board of Directors meeting on 30 July 2022 as posted on the Club website were approved.

Treasurer’s Report (Slides 4&5)

Rob Harter presented a 5-year summary of the Club finances, showing the year-end balance for 2022, due to the income for both SUNI from 2021 and United 39 from 2022.

Rob thanked the Board for the opportunity to be Treasurer over the past five years, and introduced the new Treasurer Steve Murphy.

Membership Report (Slides 6&7)

Joe McConlogue provided an update on Club membership data. The membership is basically the same at slightly more than 500 members. Over 60% of the members still prefer a printed copy of the Club newsletter which incurs a significant mailing cost. More than 2/3 of members pay their dues by credit card, with a significant shift towards using Stripe versus PayPal which provides a cost saving to the Club.

Rootes Review/Web Presence (Slides 8-12)

Kerch had previously suggested that we consider publishing the newsletter monthly but only printing it every other month. She presented a cost analysis showing the estimated yearly cost for this approach for a 16-page issue every month would be $10,800, versus $18,600 to publish and mail a similar sized issue every month – a significant cost savings. It was discussed later in the meeting as part of the discussions about the 3-year business plan.

Kerch presented some statistics about the Club’s Facebook presence. Although most members are within the US there is also significant participation and interest overseas in the UK and Australia. Kerch also presented some statistics about the Club’s website, and mentioned that she and Gary had started to work on some new ideas for the website format and for content.

Old Business

United 40 Update (Slides 15-17)

General – Jim Lindner provided an update on the planning for United 40 in Bowling Green, Kentucky 14-17 September 2023. Many details have already been finalized as outlined in the slides. Hotel reservations can now be made, and event registration should open in April. Two additional details were mentioned regarding the lapping session at NCM Motorsports Park on Thursday – there will be no requirement for tech inspection for a participant’s car and there will be no need for a helmet. The format will be a pace car leading a group of 3 participant’s cars, and the organizers indicate the pace will be quick enough for people to get a good feel for the track experience.

Pre-United Gathering – Joe Parlanti mentioned he was planning a small gathering in Lexington, Kentucky for the Tuesday and Wednesday before United to give people an additional opportunity to socialize and do some drives through the local countryside. There will be a separate registration process for this event – more details will follow.

Three Year Business Plan (Slides 18-31)

Full report of this committee is here

Tom Ehrhart provided an update on considerable activities to date undertaken by the 3-year business plan committee, and thanked the members of the committee for their efforts to date. Slide 20 identifies the ten members of the committee and their initial discussions over three video conference meetings. Slide 21 identifies the committee’s Mission, Objectives, and Process. An initial report of recommendations was provided by the committee outlining specific initiatives and details of the discussions held about them – this report can be found here. The remaining slides summarize these specific initiatives, recommendations to move each initiative forward, and actions to be taken to do so – complemented by the following notes.

Bylaws Amendments (Slide 24)

The committee recommends several specific amendments of the current Club by-laws to remove ‘Policy and Procedure’-type information – this type of information will be captured in a ‘Policies and Procedures Manual’ where changes can be more easily managed by the Board rather than requiring a bylaw amendment. A motion was made and unanimously approved to investigate the exact changes required to prepare for a vote by the membership to implement the bylaw changes.

Electronic Newsletter Subscribers (Slide 24)

The committee recommends offering a $5 discount for the membership fee for a new member’s first year if they have been solicited directly by a regional representative and if they choose the electronic newsletter subscription. A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so. Action – Regional reps to action as required. Kerch will set up the electronic registration as required.

Facebook and Club Forum (Slide 25)

The committee recommended a standing sub-committee of club members be created to maintain a club presence on Facebook. A motion was made to do so, and was amended to include having a moderator for the Club-managed forums on our web page; the motion was unanimously approved. Action – Jim Lindner to organize the Facebook & Forum sub-committee.

Technical Videos (Slide 25)

The committee recommended a series of videos be created to assist members in maintaining their cars. A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so. A preliminary list of topics is included in the recommendations report.

Legacy Awards (Slide 25)

The committee proposes a separate sub-committee to study and make recommendations regarding the Wally Swift and Keith Porter Awards. A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so. Action – Barb Geschke will lead this sub-committee.

TAC (Slide 25)

The committee recommended a series of videos be created to assist members in maintaining their cars. A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so. A preliminary list of topics is included in the recommendations report.

There are several issues with administering the program that need to be resolved, including:

  • Scheduling – There are currently a limited number of TAC inspections being regularly scheduled.
  • Senior Inspectors – Tom Calvert and Bill Bulpitt are the only two senior TAC inspectors east of the Mississippi. Their availability significantly affects the number of inspections that can be performed.
  • Tiger owners in the are geographically dispersed up and down the coast, requiring inspectors to travel long distances at no small cost. Last year’s TAC event in New Hampshire was the first time car owners were charged a fee to cover the inspector’s expenses – this should be a model for the future.

Regalia Plan (Slide 25)

The committee proposes a regalia plan be created.  A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so.

501 Tax Status (Slide 25)

The committee proposes investigating qualifications required for the Club to have a 501(c)3 tax status. A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so.

Club Name and Logo (Slide 25)

In support of embracing and welcoming all Rootes vehicle owners to the Club, the committee proposes investigating options to altering the Club’s name and logo. A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so.

Expansion of Membership (Slide 26)

The committee also recommended expanding the membership of the Club throughout North America. A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so.

Shop List Coordinator (Slide 28)

Ron Stein and Joe McConlogue volunteered to create a list of shops currently interested in and capable of working on our vintage cars.

Website Technical Content and Access

Kerch McConlogue volunteered to work on this.

BASH Concept (Slide 29)

The committee recommends that the concept of a Bring A Sunbeam Here (BASH) event evolve from being one event in a specific location to any regional event where a group of Rootes owners can be encouraged to bring their cars. It could even be part of a larger multi-marque event. A motion was made and unanimously approved to do so. Action – Regional Reps to utilize BASH label wherever possible to promote the Club.

Leadership Initiatives (Slide 30)

The committee recommends expanding the Board of Directors as required, and pursuing western membership. Holding future United events in the west or mid-west could be part of this initiative. This initiative will require further investigation to provide recommendations for consideration by the Board.

Bylaw Amendments

Any bylaw amendments required to implement any of the above initiatives should be researched and proposed to the Board at the earliest possible convenience.

Donation to Rootes Archive Centre

A motion was made and unanimously approved to donate $500 to the Rootes Archive Centre.

New Business

Locations For Future United’s

Robert Jaarsma suggested West Lebanon, New Hampshire as a potential location for United 41 in 2024 and has done some preliminary investigations into a site. He will continue his planning with the intent to provide an update at the next Board meeting. Tom Ehrhart wondered if we should try for a mid-west location in 2024; Joe McConlogue thought we do not have enough members in the mid-west to support a large event and that east coast members may not want to make the trip.

Other Business

Tiger 60th Anniversary Commemoration – Ron Stein reminded everyone that 2024 would be the 60th anniversary of the Sunbeam Tiger and so should be commemorated in some fashion.

Club Pamphlet – Barb Skirmants stated she would be attending car shows at Amelia Island and the Gilmour Car Museum and wondered if the Club had any promotional materials. Kerch stated we have a trifold pamphlet that could be printed – a motion was made and unanimously approved to do so. Action – Kerch to get pamphlets printed.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:07 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,
Gary Corbett
Secretary