The 2015 annual meeting of the Montana 500 Cross Country T Association was held in Thompson Falls, Montana and was called to order 11:12am on October 11th, 2015.
Members and guests in attendance were: Mike Robison, Brooke Robison, Nan Robison, Jillian Robison, Tom Carnegie, Susie Carnegie, Heather Robison, Janice Hutchinson, Mark Hutchinson, Dave Cooley, Garrett Green, Bill Mullins, Donald Carnegie, Mike Stormo, Lee Orr, Sonny Bishop, Bryan Patton, Brandon Langel, Char Bonebright, Janet Cerovski, Doug Langel, Rick Bonebright, and Tony Cerovski.
The meeting started with general discussions of how the run went this last year as well as location and dates for the run this coming year. Four places were mentioned as possible places to go, Deer Lodge, Dillon, Columbus, and Miles City. There was a vote and Dillon won with the most votes. There was a motion to hold the run June 19th (inspection day) thru June 23rd (tour day). It was seconded and passed.
Old business began with the discussion of the names on the trophy. The trophy was filled up, so the cast iron plate was removed. Ideas were discussed on how to add more names. There was a motion to form a committee to look into how to extend the trophy plates. It was seconded and passed. Nan Robison volunteered to be the committee.
The next item of business was the open director positions. All director positions will be for three years. The first open position was opened to the floor for nominations. Mike Stormo was nominated and seconded. Garrett Green was nominated and seconded. Brandon Langel was nominated and seconded. A motion was made to close the nominations and it was seconded and passed. A vote was taken and Brandon Langel was voted in as a director.
The second open position was opened to the floor for nominations. Mike Stormo was nominated and seconded. Bill Mullins was nominated and seconded. Garrett Green was nominated and seconded. A motion was made to close the nominations and it was seconded and passed. A vote was taken and Garrett Green was voted in as a director.
The third open position was opened to the floor for nominations. Tony Cerovski was nominated and seconded. Bill Mullins was nominated and seconded. Mike Stormo was nominated and seconded. A motion was made to close the nominations and it was seconded and passed. A vote was taken and Tony Cerovski was voted in as a director.
A motion was made to approve the minutes from the 2014 meeting as printed in the newsletter and provided at the meeting. The motion was seconded and passed.
The treasurer’s report was presented. The revenue for the past year was $2,190, made up of run dues, member dues, hats, shirts, etc. Expenses for the year were $1,796 with a net profit of $394. At September 30th, 2015, we have $4,234 in the bank. The entrance fee in 1961 was $25 which is about $200 in today’s money. Should we raise the dues? Should we have prize money? The general thought is the dues are enough because we have money in the bank and we do not need prize money. The issue was dropped.
The newsletter was discussed. There are some people who receive it via email and a lot more that receive it via US Mail. If you want it emailed, please email Tom Carnegie, so we can reduce the number we mail out. Tom has been mailing them out for a long time and not been reimbursed and Janice Hutchinson prints them and does not get reimbursed.
It was also noted that Tom Carnegie paid $20 to the garage used for tear down in White Sulfur Springs. There was a motion to pay Tom $20 to reimburse him. It was seconded and passed.
We took a short lunch break around noon and returned around 1:00pm. It was noted that the pistons that are currently being manufactured do not match the drawing in the rules. There was a motion to change the drawing in the rules to include the groove and the wrist pin holes that are on the currently manufactured pistons. The motion was seconded. The motion was amended to add this as a separate piston drawing as an optional piston. The amendment was seconded and passed.
The amended motion to add an optional drawing in the rules of the piston to include the groove and wrist pins holes that are on the currently manufactured pistons was seconded and passed.
A motion was made to add exhaust system wrap to the list of optional items. It was seconded and failed.
There was a motion to add to the rules that no exhaust wrap shall be allowed prior to the termination of the 36” pipe. It was seconded and passed.
There was a discussion of the fact that people still seem to be drafting. The rules state no tailgating. There is no good way to monitor this. Issue was dropped.
There was some discussion about issues with timing. The flag in team has times when they are waiting for a slower car for a long time between the last cars and then they are into town late and need to be the first to leave, so they are set when cars are under time again. Several solutions were discussed. There was a motion that if one or more cars are at least ten minutes behind another car while finishing a leg, that they will get slow time of the car in front of them, plus ten minutes and the mileage, providing they complete the leg under their own power, if not, then the regular rules will apply. It was seconded and failed.
An alternate solution discussed is to have more timer teams, so that our timers can eat lunch and take breaks as needed. The meeting turned to discussion around the teardown. It was noted that last year inspectors felt like they were being harassed. There was a motion to have a closed teardown. The motion was seconded.
There was an amendment to the motion to add that after the winner is announced, the next twenty minutes are open for others to look. The amendment was seconded and passed. The motion was seconded and passed.
There was a motion to change the rule stating that drivers of the 2nd place through 6th place are car inspectors, to allow them a substitute driver as an inspector, subject to a vote of the directors. The motion was seconded. The motion was amended to have the inspector in need of a substitute to ask the 7th place driver, then 8th place driver, and on down, subject to the approval of the drivers. The amendment was seconded. The amended motion is to allow a 2nd place through 6th place driver to get a substitute teardown inspector, starting with the 7th place driver, subject to an approval of the drivers. The amended motion passed.
There was discussion about how vacuum gauges are hard to seal and a motion made to not allow vacuum gauges. It was seconded and failed.
There was a motion to add to the teardown manual a four inch gauge for measuring stroke. It was seconded. The motion was amended to add an exact drawing of the gauge to the rules. The amendment died due to a lack of a second. The original motion passed. There was a motion to make a drawing of the four inch stroke gauge. It was seconded and passed.
There was discussion about a joint tour with the RMMMTC and the MCCTA. There was a motion to allow volunteer inspectors to a limit, in addition to the six already. It was seconded and then ruled out of order because it goes against motions that were already made and passed in the current meeting. There was a motion to write a letter to the RMMMTC as a thank you. It was seconded and passed.
It was decided that Tony Cerovski will write the letter. There was discussion about developing a standardized logo for the MT 500. There has been a yearly design acquired, costing from about $75 to $150 a year. There was a motion to have Mike Robison look into getting a permanent logo made. It was seconded and passed. There was a motion to adjourn the meeting at 2:49pm. It was seconded and passed.