[spolym-l]: Informational Meeting Minutes

[spolym-l at news.gocolumbiamo.com]

The following are the minutes of the Informational Meeting held on Wednesday, Oct. 26th.

INFORMATIONAL MEETING NOTES
October 26, 2005


Meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m.  

Lynn Montgomery volunteered to take the minutes of the meeting. 

Announcements

Frances announced she would be leaving her position as Recreation Specialist with Columbia Parks & Recreation to take another position in Farmington, New Mexico.  Her last day here is Friday, Nov. 4th.

Frances introduced her supervisor, Erika Coffman, who explained the steps being taken in replacing Frances.  The position is being advertised nationally and closes Nov. 11th.  She is looking for someone with experience with Special Olympics and hopes to conduct interviews before Thanksgiving and have someone hired around the first of January.  She is looking for a qualified candidate, not just someone to fill the position.

Erika has met with Diane Brimer, the Central Area Director, and discussed the situation with her.  Diane will be working with Erika on deadlines and getting information to participants.  She reassured all in attendance the Parks Department is committed to the Special Olympics program and things will continue as they have in the past.  If anyone has any concerns, Erika is available and encouraged people to contact her.

On Wednesday, Nov. 4th there will be a going away reception for Frances at the ARC from 4-6 p.m.  She encouraged people to bring athletes by to wish Frances well in her new position.

Currently we are taking registration for basketball.  So far we have 53 athletes signed up.  In 2004 we had 60 athletes participate in basketball.  Assessments will be done November 28-29 and December 5-6.

The Fall Sports banquet (volleyball and soccer) will be held tomorrow night at the ARC from 6-8 p.m.

The dances for the next 3 months are on:  October 28th, November 18th and December 16th.  The December Dance is co-sponsored with People First and will cost $3.  All dances are held at the ARC.

There are 2 more sessions of the adapted weight training available in November and December.  Registration is currently being taken for powerlifting and swimming.  Practices begin in January.

This year Special Olympics Missouri is charging a registration fee for the Indoor Classic.  The cost is $25 per athlete.  Frances was able to get money donated from the Columbia Bowling Association for 16 athletes to attend.  We requested a smaller number of athletes for the Indoor Classic this year due to Frances' leaving.  When Frances gets confirmation from the Area Director about the number submitted, she will mail out letters to the athletes letting them know who is attending the tournament.

The bowling banquet has been changed from a formal banquet to a pizza party at the ARC.  The banquet will be held on Friday, Dec. 9th from 6-9:30 p.m. at the ARC.  The cost will be $5.  Athletes will be able to use the facility after the banquet.

Fundraising Report

We raised $1,800 at the Bowl for Gold tournament in October.

In 2006 we need new Fundraising Committee members.  Jeanie Byland is stepping down after being the chairman for 2 years.  The committee will meet in January to organize the fundraising events in 2006.  Most businesses have money to donate to organizations through March and that is when we get most of our items for the Silent Auctions.  It was harder to get items donated in 2006 due to the natural disasters.

Frances asked for a list of businesses to split among the parents so each family can contact 1 or 2 businesses in 2006.  Diane Brimer has emphasized that fundraising for the Central Area is one of her main goals in 2006.  Frances would like to require parents to participate and limit athlete participation if they don't.  Due to the Special Olympics International regulations we will not be able to limit athlete participation.

Trish Wallace suggested making the request more specific to involve more parents.  A lot of parents are willing to help, they just need more guidance in how to help.  Frances suggested making a list of items for businesses to donate, then ask people if they would be willing to call to get the items or purchase the items themselves to use for the Silent Auctions.

There was discussion about the possibility of having to go to registration fees for the athletes if parents were not willing to help.  It was suggested the athletes that live in a group home setting help work the fundraisers.  Jan suggested when the athletes are out in the community to ask different businesses for donations.  She also said it needed to be emphasized that the money we raise for SOMO stays in the Central Area.  While the money may not go specifically to CPRD athletes, it does help pay for costs associated with the tournaments our athletes participate in.

Trish suggested the athletes work to earn money * like a car wash or raking leaves.  She believes the athletes need to understand the value of the services they are getting for no cost.  Frances shared that between vehicle and facility charges during the last year it cost $25,000 to hold practices for 11 different sports.  Of that amount $6,000 was transferred out of her budget to pay for the parks and recreation vans used to transport athletes to practices and tournaments and $1,000 was transferred out for facility rentals.  Frances explained due to the cooperative agreement the parks department has with Columbia Public Schools we are able to trade facilities.  Otherwise we would have to pay for each facility we use.  For example it costs $58.00 an hour to rent New Haven Elementary School for basketball practice.  In one week we spend $232.00 just for basketball practice.  Over the course of the season that cost $2,320.00.  Susan Shaffer said it costs close to $35 per athlete to host a state tournament which includes meals, hotel rooms and medals.  Frances said she could figure out how much it costs per person for the parks department to train the athletes.

David Hood suggested we have a Special Olympics week or night to raise money.  Frances wanted to know if Mayor Hindman could declare it Special Olympics day or week in Columbia.  Erika said we could find out if it was a possibility.  David suggested we could call it a Dare to Care Day or Week.

There are financial means available for athletes to use if they need help, but very few take advantage of the programs offered.  It used to cost athletes $5-15 to attend state events and athletes never seemed to have difficulty in coming up with the money.

Frances suggested that if parents felt they were not able to contribute financially that maybe they could donate some time to helping with the practices or in helping organize the fundraisers.

Pat Parry told everyone she thought Special Olympics was just a recreational event for her children when she first started in the program but the benefits her children have gained from the program make her realize it offers so much more.  She said she now understands it is a place for her children to have a normal peer group, to have fun, to prepare them for a life without a parent and to gain social benefits.  She also said parents need to get out to help with Special Olympics.

A big thank you went out to Jeanie for all her fundraising efforts in organizing and running the committee over the last 2 years.  She also organized the National Games mum sales where approximately 800 mums were sold to raise a total of $1,400.

Questions/Comments

Frances thanked everyone for attending the meeting and said she has thoroughly enjoyed working with everyone over the last 3 years.  She will miss everyone when she leaves.

The next meeting is a mandatory meeting for any person who has an athlete who will be participating in any Special Olympics event in 2006.  It will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 4th at 6:30 p.m. at the ARC.

Meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.



Frances McCoy
Recreation Specialist
Columbia Parks & Recreation
PO Box 6015
Columbia, MO  65205
(573) 874-7312
fgmccoy at gocolumbiamo.com