Mustangs Baseball 
Diamond Club Meeting Minutes
February 6, 2007
Members Present: Lana Walen, Jennifer Dickison, Craig Dickison, Jim Marshik, Al Barkve, Mark Rosin, Coach Mark Downey, Ken Porten, Steve Runkel, Ben Gallagher, Bob Freed, Nina Wise, John Hoffman, Jeff Kurkowski, Karin Wessberg
Minutes from January meeting
Approved.
Treasurer’s Report
John Hoffman reported on last month’s activity which included checks for Pizza Pals ($600), 1 year of website hosting costs ($125), and John Gordon Speaking Fee ($200).
A deposit of $1,456 was made from the Cub Foods fundraiser last Saturday.
The current balance is $3,585.
Treasurer’s Report Approved.
Old Business
Player Apparel
Coach Downey reported that he has ordered all of the items that will provided for team members: hats, socks, and mock t-shirts.
A meeting with the Captains and the vendor (
Players /parents will have opportunity to see the optional items at the Mandatory Meeting in March. Players will be given the opportunity to order optional apparel at two times, once before the teams are finalized, and again after teams are finalized.
Pizza Pals
Lana Walen reported that approximately 60 of the 100 Pizza Pals previously purchased by the Diamond Club have been sold; primarily through selling them at home basketball games.
The Diamond Club will again this year have all players that make a team sell 10 additional Pizza Pals, with the opt-out alternative being a $100 donation to the Diamond Club. This will be explained to Parents at the March Mandatory Meeting.
Dinner/ Auction
Karin Wessberg reported we have 137 attendees for the Dinner this Sunday evening, with additional people expected. Last minute reservations are to be communicated to Karin, and people are encouraged to do so as soon as possible so as to be able to provide Kozlak’s with a final count.
Jennifer Dickison reported we have over $7,500 (more than 70 items) of donated items for the silent auction.
The number of attendees and of donated items has far exceeded people’s expectations. Congratulations to all who have worked very hard to make this happen; it promises to be a real fun event!
Section Programs
Al Barkve and Mark Anderson (through Mark Rosin) reported that advertising packets were sent to all 40 advertisers from last year’s program as well as an additional 5 businesses. Information was also communicated to all parents; requesting leads to follow-up on.
Students Erik Anderson and Brendan Flaherty have been making follow-up calls to the businesses with good response.
Thus far, eight businesses are committed. This represents enough to cover the cost of printing the programs. Thus, all sales from this point forward represent profit for the Diamond Club. This puts the status of this effort ahead of last year’s pace.
Cub Foods grocery bagging
The event last Saturday at the Arden Hills Cub Foods raised $1456. Pictures of the players working at this event are on the website: www.moundsviewbaseball.com.
The second Cub Foods bagging event is scheduled for Sunday, February 18th, 11:00AM – 5:00PM at the White Bear Lake Cub Foods.
Game Day Experience
No discussion, things will ramp up here as we get closer to the season.
Captains Practices
Reports are that more kids than in the past are taking advantage of the opportunity.
Coach’s Report
The Mandatory Meeting is currently scheduled for March 5th; the same night as the Physics Fair. Coach Downey will explore alternative dates.
Coach Downey ordered 40 pair of white game pants @ $27 each. This will cover 2 teams, with the other 2 teams continuing to use grey pants. Anticipating the need to purchase some new game pants each year, all teams will migrate to white pants over the course of the next couple of years.
The website continues to be updated weekly with current information: www.moundsviewbaseball.com.
Carryover of $$ for Next Year
Mark Rosin pointed out that this is an item the Diamond Club had some discussion on previously. With the revenue side of the equation becoming clearer for this year, how much $$ the Diamond Club should carryover to next year is an item for discussion at next month’s meeting.
New Business
Non-Profit Corporation
Ben Gallagher reported on some research that he and others had done regarding the requirements for an organization becoming a non-profit.
Filing fees would be $885. Associated attorneys fees would likely be $1300; perhaps these could be reduced if the Diamond Club were to receive some donated time in the process.
Advantages would include the ability to provide a non-profit tax id to donors of the program, the club could hold a raffle, and there is some liability protection. Disadvantages would include the need to file annual tax returns and observe corporate formalities. Craig Dickison will contact Ken Wise to further discuss some of the pros and cons of being a non-profit.
John Hoffman reported that the government said that their approval process will be anywhere from 3-12 months in duration.
This item will be on the agenda for next moth for further discussion and consideration.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50PM.
The next regular Diamond Club meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6 at 7:00 in the Mounds View Forum.
All are welcome and encouraged to attend!