September 3, 2024

Meeting called to order at 7:06pm CST by Dan Hanks. 

Attendance: Marie Ralff, Brad Kassing, Dan Bocock, Dan Hanks, Lizzie Hill, Anna Marmann, Taylor Johannigman, Niina Baum, Wendy Tarlow, Kriya Dunlap, Rachel Medina, Ron Klepadlo

USFSS Board President Resignation: Brad Kassing submitted a letter of resignation to remove himself as the USFSS president due to health reasons. Kriya Dunland makes a motion to accept Brad’s resignation. Dan Bocock seconds. All in favor. 

USFSS Board President Replacement: The USFSS bylaws are ambiguous about the process for replacing an executive board member outside of the bi-annual congress. Due to the lack of information the board has decided to interpret the procedure the same way it would be done for a regular board member outside of congress. Dan Bocock makes a motion to elect the new president that is selected by the USFSS board. Emily Ferrans seconds. All in favor. Niina makes a motion to accept nominations at tonight’s board meeting, nominees will send cover letter and resume within one week from today and they will be reviewed at an additional meeting to review nominees and vote. Marie seconds. All in favor. Niina nominated Lizzie Hill. Lizzie accepts. Wendy Tarlow nominates Dan Bocock. Dan accepts. Marie Ralff nominates Dan Hanks. Dan accepts. The meeting for reviewing and voting on applications is set for Tuesday, September 17th at 7pm CST. 

Treasurer Report: USFSS has $6,355.02 available. Currently USFSS has 116 members for the 2024-2025 season. Lizzie makes a motion to approve the treasurer report. Niina seconds. All in favor. 

Meeting Minutes: Lizzie makes a motion to approve the minutes. Dan Bocock seconds. All in favor. 

Officers & Committees: 

• Athlete Selection Committee: Lizzie shared that the athlete application deadline was extended to September 7th. There are 60+ applicants already. IFSS is almost done with the official invitation. Lizzie is submitting ICF entries. 
• Race Accreditation Committee: Taylor is the new chair for the committee and is absent due to work. Dan reminded the committee to think about winter race applications. 
• Audit Committee: NA 
• Fundraising/Sponsorship Committee: NA
• Race Rules and Judges Committee: Dan Hanks is the chair. 
• Race Results Audit Committee: Marie is the chair. 
• Bylaws Committee: Wendy is the chair. 

WCh and Continentals: Waiting on final decisions at the IFSS council meeting on Wednesday to move forward with continental and WCh planning. Dan Bocock updated that he is talking with Trek and Scherrer Construction about sponsorships. Niina has applied for grants for continental championships and is working with the local chamber to apply for a grant for WCh. Dan Hanks submitted a request for an exception to 4-wheeled rigs being made for continental championships. 

New Business: 

• IFSS Council Update: Anna recapped the last council meeting where IFSS voted to allow a sport/recreation race in the second half of the day at Continental Championships. 
• Communication Method for USFSS: Kriya researched various communication platforms. She discovered that Slack had a free version for nonprofits. Kriya is going to apply for the nonprofit version. 
• CAHDS Update: Anna has been in discussion with Canada about collaborating with some of USFSS committees to align better on future initiatives. 
• Rig Policy Discussion: USFSS applied for a waiver to have 3-wheeled rigs allowed for 6-dog and 8-dog rig at the continental championships and consideration be made for world championships based on how it went at continental championships. IFSS accepted the waiver for continental championships but stated that the exception would not be made for world championships. Dan Hanks proposes we table the announcement of no 3-wheeled rigs in the 6 and 8 dog rig classes. 

Motion to adjourn by Lizzie, second by Dan. All in favor. Adjourned at 8:30pm CST. 

Meeting called to order at 7:07pm CST on August 13, 2024 by Dan Hanks. 

Attendance: Marie Ralff, Brad Kassing, Dan Bocock, Dan Hanks, Lizzie Hill, Ronald Klepadlo, Anna Marmann, Taylor Johannigman, Niina Baum, Chris Speers, Wendy Tarlow, Kriya Dunlap, Taylor Johannigman

Treasurer Report: USFSS has $8,725.68 available. Currently USFSS has 74 members for the 2024-2025 season. Up 225% from last year.  Kriya makes a motion to approve the treasurer report. Lizzie seconds. All in favor. 

Meeting Minutes: Lizzie makes a motion to approve the minutes. Marie seconds. All in favor. 

Officers & Committees:

• Athlete Selection Committee: Two of our ICF selected athletes have dropped out. Next task is the selections for continental championships. The board did discuss having a second round of applications for continental championships to ensure we fill all the spots. USFSS discussed that they are ok with non-selected athletes being required to have a DID to enter at continental championships. Dan Bocock makes a motion to allow Niina & Anna to advocate for continental championships and make the decision needed whether non-selected athletes need to have a DID or not to ensure we move forward with the race. Marie seconds. All in favor. 
• Race Accreditation Committee: NA
• Audit Committee: NA
• Sponsorship Committee: NA

WCh and Continentals: Waiting on final decisions at the IFSS council meeting on Wednesday to move forward with continental and WCh planning. Dan Bocock updated that he is talking with Trek and Scherrer Construction about sponsorships. Niina has applied for grants for continental championships and is working with the local chamber to apply for a grant for WCh. Dan Hanks submitted a request for an exception to 4-wheeled rigs being made for continental championships.

New Business: 

• General Meeting: It was brought up that USFSS hasn’t been publicly announcing it’s meetings to membership very well and needs to work on that and take a look at the bylaws to figure out what USFSS is required to do. 
• Communication Method for USFSS: How USFSS communicates was brought up. Right now USFSS uses Facebook messenger to communicate but it has its drawbacks. The use of Slack was brought up as a solution that is more professional, has more organization, and capabilities. Kriya and Taylor volunteered to research what Slack would cost and report back to USFSS. 
• New Committees: Marie brings up adding a Race Results Audit committee. Anna makes a motion to add a Race Results Audit committee. Lizzie seconds. All in favor. Marie brings up to add a Bylaws committee. Lizzie makes a motion to add a Bylaws Committee. Anna seconds. All in favor. Anna and Dan Hanks brought up adding a Race Rules and Judges Committee. Emily makes a motion to add the Race Rules and Judges Committee. Dan Bocock seconds. All in favor. 
• Adding people to committees:  
  • Athlete Selection Committee: Emily
  • Audit Committee: Wendy
  • Bylaws Committee: Wendy (Chair), Lizzie, Dan Hanks, Dan Bocock
  • Race Accreditation Committee: Kriya, Taylor (Chair)
  • Race Results Audit Committee: Rachel, Emily
  • Race Rules and Judges Committee: Rachel, Emily, Taylor
  • Fundraising Committee: 

Future USFSS Meetings; Marie motions that USFSS have a board meeting every first Tuesday of the month at 7pm Central time. Lizzie seconds. All in favor. 

Motion to adjourn by Dan Bocock, second by Lizzie. All in favor. Adjourned at 8:40pm CST. 

June 12, 2024

Meeting called to order at 7:07pm CST by Brad Kassing. 

Attendance: Marie Ralff, Brad Kassing, Christopher Speers, Dan Bocock, Dan Hanks, Lizzie Hill, Ronald Klepadlo, Anna Marmann, Lauren Stierman, Alyssa Bourne Yoder, Niina Baum, & Lauren Stierman.

Treasurer Report: Marie has opened a bank account with Bluevine. She is just waiting on funds from Wells Fargo. We owe $1,900 for DID Fees. $7,500 is the rough USFSS balance. USFSS has 72 members. Dan B makes a motion to approve. Lizzie Seconds. All in favor. 

Meeting Minutes: Minutes were not ready yet for approval. Board will vote on it later. 

Athlete Selection Committee: Lizzie shared the athlete selection criteria Dan Hanks proposed to the committee. The committee reviewed and made edits. Lizzie presented the final version to the board. Athletes need to have competed in at least 3 races in a season, more than 3 races is encouraged, athletes who have not competed in 3 races in a season will still be eligible if there are open spots. The selection committee will look at the number of competitors and strength of competition in classes/races athletes competed in. Athletes who go to at least one race outside of their state will be prioritized in the selection process. Going to a WCh requires travel and the selection committee wants to see demonstration of athletes being able to travel for races. Athletes must be in good standing with USFSS and the sport of dog sledding. Brad asks for feedback on the 3 race minimum for the selection criteria. Marie asks about race cancellations impacting the 3 race minimum. The athlete selection committee is understanding that things such as weather can impact races and will take that into consideration when making selections. Athletes will need to have USFSS membership and DID for the season prior to WCh. 

Niina makes a motion to approve the selection criteria. Marie seconds. All in favor. 

Race Accreditation Committee: Applications are coming in. The deadline is the 15th of June. So far there are at least 7 applications. Chris recommends creating some sort of survey for races who are accredited to ensure they are meeting standards. 

Audit Committee: No update as there has not been a need. 

501c3 Status Committee: Now that USFSS has regained its 501c3 status this committee is no longer needed. Next steps can be handled by the Audit Committee. Niina makes a motion to dissolve the 501c3 status committee as USFSS now has its 501c3 status back. Lizzie seconds. All in favor. 

Sponsorship Committee: Committee has met twice to discuss how USFSS can get sponsorships for the organization and for 2025 WCh. There will be three forms for sponsorships. One for USFSS in general, one for sending athletes to WCh, and one for 2025 WCh in Minocqua. Marie is creating a spreadsheet for organizing sponsorship ask initiatives: What companies are being contacted, what for, who is contacting, etc. WITB is seeking USFSS to commit to providing a certain dollar amount towards 2025 WCh. Dan presented a sponsorship form/letter the committee developed for USFSS general sponsorships. Marie added that Andrew Comoletti is helping create two promo videos to help with garnering sponsorships. There was discussion about USFSS committing $5,000 to 2025 WCh. The sponsorship will present a proposal to the USFSS board at the next meeting for a dollar amount that USFSS will commit to WITB for 2025 WCh. 

QuickBooks: Marie brought up purchasing quickbooks for USFSS for $70-$80/year with the non-profit discount. Brad makes a motion to spend up to $100 for one year subscription to quickbooks. Lizzie seconds. All in favor. 

WCh and Continentals: Niina shared that she will be putting together a spreadsheet that outlines all the tasks and things that will be needed for 2025 WCh and then each task will be assigned to various committee members. Need about $5,000 in extra funding to pull off a continental championship. 

GA: Dan Hanks and Anna Marmann attended the IFSS General Assembly. The biggest thing that came out of the meeting was that for snow world championships, they set a list of eligible places for hosting to ensure consistency. 

Open Board Positions: There are three board vacancies. Two active athlete board positions and one at large director board position. USFSS has received 4 applications  from Kirya Dunlap, Sally Bair, Alyssa Bourne Yoder, and Lauren Stierman for the 3 open spots. 

The board decides to table voting on new board members. The board will promote the open positions to the memberships to garner more applications, and will determine if any current board members are looking to discontinue their current positions to see if USFSS will have additional open spots. The board will review and vote on new board position applications on July 9, 2024. 

General Membership Meeting: Marie proposes having a general board meeting for all members to attend. The board will have a general membership meeting in September. This would be once a year. 

Social Media: Marie proposes doing some more consistent social media communication. 

Canadian Association of Harness Dog Sports: President of CAHDS is concerned about the changes in USDA regulation for transportation of dogs across the borders. She wants to create a committee around this to help navigate the implications of the regulation changes. She is seeking two people from USFSS to join the committee. 

Brad makes a motion to adjourn. Lizzie seconds. All in favor. Adjourned at 8:52pm CST.

4/02/2024 7:30pm CST

Attendees: Brad Kassing, Anna Marmann, Lizzie Hill, Dan Hanks, Ronald Klepadlo, Dan Bocock, Rich Kisseloff, Marie Ralff

Minutes

Dan Bocock makes a motion to approve minutes. Lizzie Seconds. All in favor. Motion passes.

Treasurer Report

Due to transition of treasurer duties and setting up of new bank account Marie cannot provide a full report yet. The PayPal balance has about $1,600 with additional fund in the Wells Fargo bank account. $800 in dues are due to IFSS. 

No open discussion from the public. 

501c3 Status

The USFSS non-profit status was reinstated and discussion occurred around strategy for maintaining the status. 

Issuing National USFSS Judge Certificates 

USFSS had 6 people who attended the national USFSS judge training in 2023. USFSS needs to create and issue certificates to these individuals. He also brought up having US National Judges bibs made for the races. 

Dan Hanks makes a motion to have the USFSS Secretary draft up and issue USFSS National Judge certificates to those who qualify. Dan Bocock seconds. All in favor. 

Continental and WCh

IFSS approved Niina’s/WITB’s bid for the 2024 Continental Championships and the 2025 World Championships. Minocqua is set for October 26-27. 

Fundraising

Now that the 501c3 status is reinstated USFSS can fundraise again. Dan Bocock will set up a committee meeting to work on fundraising. 

Mikki’s Youth Camp Proposal 

Mikki Douglas submitted a proposal to host a USFSS recognized youth/junior camp to increase junior participation in the sport. Dan Hanks makes a motion to approve the Youth Camp Proposal with the requirement that the Youth Camp abide by language requirements set by USFSS and that USFSS be added to the insurance plan as an additional insured for the camp. Niina Baum seconds. All in favor. 

General Assembly

May 19th, 2024 is the date for the GA. GA items/proposals need to be submitted by April 6. Lizzie makes a proposal to submit to the GA that the racing age for a dog be changed from 18 months to 12 months. Brad seconds. All in favor. Brad, Lizzie, and Anna will attend the GA. 

Athlete Application Timeline for WCh in Norway

Dan Hanks makes a proposal to open up the application period for 2025 WCh in Norway and close the application period on May 1 with selections made by May 15. Brad Kassing seconds. All in favor. Niina will update the website and application. Marie will share the news on social media. 

Dan hanks proposes Lizzie as athlete selection chair. Brad seconds. All in favor. 

Team USA selection protocol for 2025

Dan Hanks wants to refine and improve the athlete selection process for Continental and World Championships. He has a written outline of his thoughts for a new selection process for the board to review for the next meeting. 

IFSS Rules Committee Rules Proposals

USFSS can have two members attend on April 10. Dan Hanks and Brad Kassing will attend. 

Open New Bank Account

Marie is looking to open a new bank account for USFSS. Marie is recommending we switch to a bank that emphasizes online banking. She is proposing USFSS open a bank account with bluevin. Lizzie makes a motion to use bluevine and close the bank account with Wells Fargo. Brad seconds. All in favor. 

Niina makes a motion to adjourn. Brad seconds. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 9:25pm CST. 

Minutes

7/25/2023 7pm CST

Attendees: Brad Kassing, Anna Marmann, Lizzie Hill, Dan Hanks, Brandi Williamson, Ronald Klepadlo, Dan Bocock, Rich Kisseloff 

Brad Kassing submitted a preliminary letter of intent for the President Position. But due to the letter coming in after the deadline for the Congress the board will not vote this position at this meeting. 

Will need to reach out to Janet to get previous congress minutes for board to vote on. 

Marie was not able to attend to provide an in-person virtual report, but she emailed a report stating that she is working on paying ICF dues and that she is still working on getting the Wells Fargo bank transferred into her name. 

No new board nominations. A lot of current board members were appointed to vacant positions after the last congress. Laura Hayes is not going to continue her term, leaving a vacant position on the board. 

Dan Hanks submitted a bylaw change of bylaw 6.3. The board will table making a decision to the next board meeting. 

Elections: 

Dan Hanks for VP – Passes

Niina Baum for Secretary – Passes 

Chris Speers for At Large Board Member – Passes

Discussion of having the Minocqua Dryland Race a Continental championship in 2024. Board is supportive of this.

Discussion of establishing guidelines for National Championships in USA took place.

Brandi makes a motion to adjourn the Meeting. Lizzie seconds. All in favor.

USFSS Meeting Minutes

May 23rd, 2023

7pm CST

Attendance: Marie Ralf, Anna Marmann, Brad Kassing, Dan Hanks, Ronald Klepadlo, Lizzie Hill, Rich Kisseloff, Chris Speers

Public Comment

Treasurer Report – Marie

IFSS fees have been paid. Marie set up a new membership and DID request form/payment to make the process easier. Marie has been using Freshbooks to track finances. Marie hopes to have reports by the next meeting when bank access has been transferred over to her.

Review of Minutes – Niina

Ron makes a motion to approve. Marie seconds. All in favor.

2023 WCh – updates on new location and update on current athlete selection process

Anna reported that the location is being finalized. There is a possibility the date may change.

Dan brings up that with the change in location and a date not being finalized yet we may need to extend the application period so people can apply with all the information about the WCh.

2025 WCh – updates

USFSS will make a decision June 1st to extend the deadline or not based on what information about WCh is released from IFSS.

IFSS wants to receive a report from Jim Cunningham when he visits for the 2023 dryland event before making the final decision. Jim Cunningham is willing to come to Minocqua dryland in 2023 to be able to provide judge training.

2023 Congress

Open seats and call for bylaw changes. Tentatively planning the event for the middle of July. Niina will send out a doodle to see what day works the best.

Set terms of recent board member additions

Anna made a motion to put her and Lizzie in 4 year terms vs filling out the last 2 year terms to help even out term lengths. Lizzie seconds. All in favor.

Juniors camp

Anna brought up the idea of putting on a dog mushing camp to encourage juniors. IFSS is pushing these styles of events to grow the future of the sport.

Judge training

Jim Cunningham is willing to come to Minocqua dryland in 2023 to provide judge training. Continental championship 2024. Anna brought up hosting a Continental championship in Minocqua for 2024 as a trial run for 2025.

Anti doping training

Anna brought up that IFSS would like us to do doping control training.

Motion to adjourn meeting by Anna. Second Lizzie. All in favor.

USFSS Meeting Minutes

March 7, 2023

6pm CST

Attendees: Rich Kisseloff, Brad Kassing, Laura Hayes, Brandi Williamson, Chelsea Murray, Laura, Anna Marman, Lizzie Hill, Marie Ralf, Dan Bocock, Ronald Klepadlo, Chris Speers.

Public Comment (5-10 minutes)

Treasury Report – Janet/Marie

Marie is getting on the bank account in two weeks. And has found software to use.

Review of Minutes – Niina

Motion to approve Chelsea, second Lizzie. All in favor.

Filling Committees

Brandi brought up wanting to add another person the athlete selection committee.

Fundraising Committee: Marie, Dan B (chair), Anna, Brad, Chelsea, Lizzie.

Audit Committee: Lizzie (chair), Chris.

Race Accretion Committee: Brandi (chair), Dan H, Chris, Ronald, Brad, Anna, with Lizzie as an alternate for tie breaking.

Athlete Selection Committee; Brandi, Dan H, Chris, Niina Baum, Brad (chair), Anna Marmann

Filling Continental Director Position

Motion to appoint Anna Marmann as Continental Director, Second Brandi. All in favor.

2023 Winter WCh team update – Niina & Brandi

Egil Ellis got second for the open class.

2023 Dryland WCh team selection update/process

Current process will be followed with the addition of a second selection process to fill any unfilled spots. Motion to add second selection window by Lizzie. Second by Brad. All in favor.

2025 WCh update – Niina

IFSS came back with wanting to know about additional space availability.

Website update – Niina

Website has been updated to be on WordPress.

Active Athlete Council Chair position

Brandi is currently Vice-Chair. Brandi motions to appoint Brad as the chair, second by Anna. All in favor.

ICF

Motion to appoint Lizzie Hill & Brad the ICF Liaisons by Laura, second by Chelsea. All in favor.

President’s position vacant

Discuss visibility of USFSS at the next meeting.

Social platform admins: Brad, Chelsea, Niina

Motion to adjourn Lizzie, Marie. All in favor.

USFSS Meeting Minutes

December 8th, 2022

6pm CST

Attendance: Marie Ralf, Mandy Collins, Chelsea Murray, Anna Marmann, Janet Saxon, Brad Kassing, Nick Weis, Brandi Williamson, Jessica Pulliam, Dan Hanks, Ronald Klepadlo, and Lizzie Hill.

Public Comment (20 minutes)

Recap of IFSS history with inconsistencies of policy when it comes to changing location ect; frustrating for USFSS board members to follow.

Public Comment from Jessica Pulliam, Mandy Collins, and Anna Marmann. 

Jessica – sent an email to Janet that was distributed to the board. Biggest stance is growth of the sport and ensuring the support of involvement towards that growth. A concern that the judiciary processes of USFSS have collided with the growth of support. Proposing an initial deadline to fill slots, and should those slots go un-filled, there should be a second round opening. Was unaware that rules were in place as deadlines have not been a thing in the past. Advocating for as many people that want to be involved should be able to be involved if there are open spots. 

Mandy – agrees with Jessica. Thinks it will be a larger burden if Jessica drops out due to judiciary concerns of USFSS/if Rich is not allowed to go. Rich has been USFSS member, has supported in the past, now hard deadlines have been set unlike previous decisions.

Jessica – brought up communication and coming up with ways to create more clarity with communicating USFSS information to membership. 

Anna – provided the idea of treating team selection like we do for World Cup applications. 

Nick Weis responded to public comments as the chair of the selection committee. In 2019 USFSS followed that model and had issues. Second round applicants were upset that they were not prioritized over first round athletes they felt they were better than. He brought up how the selection committee has been accused of bias and favoritism in past selections and that the board has been trying to improve the process. 

Dan Hanks addressed public comments by providing details that there are other deadlines besides USFSS’s that we need to be conscious of. The board is open to suggestions and changes. 

Lizzie Hill commented that policy/rules need to be changed to allow late entries if there are open spots, not to make acceptions for individuals. 

The board commented that athletes have requested the earlier WCh application deadline so there is more time to plan, cheaper to book things sooner, and find more affordable options. 

Nick shared that ICF deadlines are different from IFSS deadlines. USFSS is a member of both organizations and does team selection for both. 

Treasury Report – Janet/Marie

Janet asked Marie to look into quickbooks. Janet was copied her on the process for DIDs and Memberships. 

Review of Minutes – Niina

Dan makes a motion to approve. Brandi Seconds. All in favor. 

Board member resignation and passing of duties – Nick

Nick submitted his letter of resignation. Dan makes the motion to accept his resignation. Niina seconds. All in favor. 

Nick covered the passing of duties. Brandi is vice chair of the active athlete committee. Need to discuss taking over the Selection and Accreditation Committee. Brandi will take over the Accreditation Committee. Dan will take over the Selection Committee in the short term. Will need to find someone willing to be the contact for ICF. And need to fill the chair position of the Audit Committee. 

Interested Potential Board Member Introductions

USFSS has 2 active athlete board positions open and 4 at large positions. 

Brad Kassing (active athlete), Lizzie Hill (active athlete), Anna Marmann (at large), and Rich Kisseloff (at large) expressed interest in being board members of USFSS. Each provided an overview of their interest and background. 

Niina will send an electronic ballot for the board to vote on board position applications. 

501c3 status update – Committee

Committee was formed in October has not had a chance to meet. 

2023 Winter WCh team update – Niina & Dan

Dan makes a proposal to open up a second round of selection and create an updated policy for future selections to reflect the changes made for this selection. Janet seconds. All in favor. Athletes have until December 11th at midnight to submit second round applications. Selection Committee will make a decision by midnight December 12th. 

2025 WCh update – Niina and Dan

Niina submitted an application of interest to IFSS to host Dryland WCh. 

Winter World Cup Accrediting update – Brandi

Brandi is taking this over. USFSS has allotted three winter slots to Dale Mumford (Michigan), Grand Summit (Colorado), Heal Creek (Wisconsin. 

IFSS Race Judges in US – Niina & Dan

Richard Baum, Anna Marmann, and Annie Hammond are interested in becoming IFSS race officials. Jim in Canada is willing to help train any new interested race officials. Dan received information from Jim Cunningham about the process for training judges.

Survey results for developing a strategic plan

Niina did not have time to put this together so it has been pushed back to the next meeting.

Website update – Niina

Niina will purchase the website service and launch. She will submit bill for reimbursement. 

Membership Levels – Niina

Niina brought up that we have 10 different membership levels. Wondering if USFSS could reduce. 

Niina makes a motion to reduce membership levels to active athlete, inactive athlete, racing organization/RGO, and organization/corporate, Brandi. All in favor. 

USFSS Membership refund to Rich K.

Deferring this vote to a future date to verify what Rich wants.

Continental Director’s position vacant

Anna is interested in taking this over down the road. Niina is willing to fill the position temporarily. 

Active Athlete Council Chair position transition

This is deferred to the next meeting to allow for potential new board members to express interest. 

President’s position vacant

Position is still vacant. USFSS is accepting applications for anyone interested in filling the position.

Motion to adjourn meeting by Niina. Second Brand. All in favor. 

USFSS Meeting Minutes

October 25, 2022

6pm CST

Meeting called to order at 6:05pm CST. 

Attendees: Dan Hanks, Christopher Speers, Nick Weis, Brandi Williamson, Janet Saxon, Lizzie Hill, Ronald Klepadlo, Marie Ralf. 

Treasurer’s Report by Janet: Memberships and DID’s are coming in right now. As of 09/30/2022 the balance is $6,041.94. Motion to approve by Nick, second by Brandi, all in favor.

Review of Minutes: Motion to approve minutes by Dan, second by Nick, all in favor. 

501c3 status update by Janet: Have gotten 3rd or 4th rejection for 501c3 status renewal. We are down to filling out a 18 page form. Janet will make one last attempt at filling out the form. Niina suggested creating a committee to handle the application. Brandi, Niina, Dan, Marie, Lizzie and Janet will be on the committee. Janet will also provide how the previous forms were filled out. 

2023 Winter WCh team update by Niina: Everyone on the team is still going except for Ron Hayden. Schedule and additional details have not been released yet by IFSS. Deadline for the Team USA gear purchase is December 18, 2022. Sally Bair made a $1,000 donation for WCh last year. But due to difficulties in team members getting to Norway there is money left over. A total of 310 euro was used of the $1000 USD that was donated on Egil’s entry and Stephani’s entry. 

2023 Dryland WCh plan discussion: Nick suggests that we start the team application process in May 1, 2023 with a deadline of June 15, 2023. We will set the goal of announcing the team June 30, 2023. There is also an ICF event next year that we can run an application for during the same period. ICF is 3 weeks prior to IFSS WCh and is in Germany. USFSS will also have application for ICF during the same time frame. 

Exception Policy for Team USA Applications: Nick wrote up a policy for late applications for Team USA. Dan suggests to table voting when the board has had enough time to review it. Feedback will be done by email by November 1st at 6pm CST, voting will be done by November 8. Second by Brandi, all in favor.

2025 WCh update: Minocqua “Almost” Winter Dryland Dog Dash was a success. It is the proposed venue for the 2024 Dryland WCh. IFSS is wanting an application soon so they can start to consider it. Dan brought up the rule about carts needing 4 wheels vs 3 wheels. USA primarily uses carts with 3 wheels. Dan asked IFSS what the process is to get an exemption for this rule and is waiting for an answer. 

Winter Race Accrediting update. Deadline is October 31, 2022. Niina will make another announcement to get applications. 

IFSS Race Judges in US. Niina suggests that we work on getting judges certified in the US during the next WCh. Dan is going to look into what the full process is for judge certification. 

Continental Director’s position is vacant: Niina said she would be potentially interested in filling the position if no one else wants it. Dan will talk with the Canadian Director to see if anyone else is interested first. 

Treasurer’s Position vacancy at the end of 2022: Janet emailed that she is ready to resign and pass the baton on at the end of the year. She is willing to train during a transition period. The position does the accounting for the club, it is currently being done in Quickbooks; preparing the quarterly reports; annual filing of the 990N to retain 501c3 status; processing DID and Membership dues; bill payments; and putting together information and payment for WCh applications. Marie said she would take on this responsibility. Nick made a motion to appoint Marie to the Treasurer position, Brandi seconds, all in favor. Brandi makes a motion to accept Janet’s resignation, Niina makes a second, all in favor. Janet will work with Marie to transition the duties over. 

President’s position vacant: Nick has talked with some individuals who may have an interest. The board will discuss this more at the next meeting with interested parties present. 

Next meeting will be Thursday, December 8 at 6pm CST. 

Niina makes a motion to adjourn the meeting, second by Brandi.