General Monthly Meeting Minutes for April 18, 2023

Meeting Location –

The Paddock Pub, 1005 Richardson Rd., Groveport, OH, 43125. 

Members in Attendance –

Attending the April meeting were Mike Allen (President), Henning Carlsen (Treasurer), Larry Laskorski (Secretary), Rich McCoy (Activities), Al Holtsberry and Mike Akers, Joshua Casto and Joie Casto. 

Call to Order –

Mike Allen called the meeting to order at 8:09 P.M. 

Secretary’s report –

Larry Laskorski read the minutes of the March 21. 2023 meeting.  Mike Allen moved to accept the minutes, as written, and that they be entered into the organization’s records.  Henning Carlsen seconded the motion.  All members in attendance voted in favor, with no objections, and the motion was approved.  

Treasurer's report –

Henning Carlsen provided a short financial report that indicated the treasury balance and that the club is solvent.   

Larry Laskorski moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report, as provided, and that it be entered into the organization’s records.  Rich McCoy seconded the motion.  All members in attendance voted in favor, with no objections, and the motion was approved.  Should any members not attending this meeting need information on the current financial position of the club, please reach out to Henning. 

Membership report – 

With the club currently searching to replace Cory Samuell as Membership Director, resulting from his move out of state, Mike Allen presented the membership report.  

Mike reiterated that we are still looking for a Membership Director, as well as someone to assist the Membership Director by maintaining the club website and Facebook page.  Joshua and Joie Casto indicated that they might be able to provide some assistance to the club in this area.  They are going to discuss it between themselves and get back to Mike Allen. 

Mike reminded the members in attendance that Motohio will pay the first-year club membership for any purchaser of a new BMW motorcycle that expresses interest in becoming a member of the club. 

Mike then stated that since Cory’s departure, the club has faced some challenges with the operation of the website with respect to some members not being able to log in to the Members Only section.  Additionally, the monthly cost of maintaining the website, in its current form, has been increasing. 

The members in attendance then discussed modifying the club website to both reduce the monthly maintenance cost of the site and eliminate the member access problems that have occurred.  In the proposed revised website form, the information contained on the website would be accessible by everyone, without the requirement to login.  Updates and modifications to the website would only be made by the Board members (E.G.; President’s messages, Secretary’s notes, Activities Calendar, etc.).  

The members in attendance agreed that this was the best course of action, at this time.  Mike stated that he will contact Cory and ask him to eliminate the Members Only section and related login requirements.  It was decided to implement this change on or about Monday, May 1, 2023.  When this change happens, members will not be able to log in to the Members Only section and may receive an email notice that their membership has expired.  Rich suggested that we inform all members of this change.  Larry said that he would provide this information to all members when he sends out the notification that the April meeting minutes have been posted on the website. 

The creation of a closed group Facebook site was also discussed.  Joshua and Joie Casto said that this would be very helpful to the club and would also be a way to provide members with real-time updates about the club and activities.  A suggestion was made that the club may wish to consider migrating fully to the closed Facebook page and eliminating the website at some point.  No action was taken on either of these items. 

Larry Laskorski moved to accept the Membership report, as presented, and that it be entered into the organization’s records.  Henning Carlsen seconded the motion.  All members in attendance voted in favor, with no objections, and the motion was approved.  

Activities Report –

Rich advised the members in attendance that he is currently updating the Activities calendar on the club website. 

The “Covered Bridge” contest has commenced.  All members are encouraged to participate. 

MOA National Rally (June 8th to June 10th) – Rich said that he will see if he can arrange for a club camping area for anyone who wants to participate. 

Other potential activities –

·  May 6th at National Trail Raceway.  (Car and motorcycle event). 

Hennig Carlsen moved to accept  the Activities Report,  as presented, and that it be entered into the organization’s records.  Mike Allen seconded the motion.  All members in attendance voted in favor, with no objections, and the motion was approved.  

Old business - 

Club Business Cards -  The design and printing of these cards was approved at the March meeting.  Rich had the cards printed and distributed some to the members in attendance at this meeting.  Motohio has been provided with cards to give out to individuals that express an interest in participating in the club. 

With the resignation of Cory Samuell as Membership Director, the club is now seeking his replacement.  Any members interested in filling this role should contact Mike Allen. 

In addition to being Membership Director, Cory also functioned as the webmaster for the club’s website.  Any members interested in filling this role should contact Mike Allen. 

Charitable activities – several possible charitable activities were discussed:

·  Donating to Smile Train, as we have in the past.

·  Mike will request some information from Chad Warner regarding the Autism charity that he supports the BMW MOA.

·  Consider supporting other charities. 

New business –

The following new business topics were discussed:

·  Motohio has scheduled the BMW Demo trucks for both BMW Motorcycles of Greater Cincinnati and Motohio.  The dates are:

·  Friday, June 30th and Saturday, July 1st - BMW Motorcycles of Greater Cincinnati.

·  Friday, August 11th and Saturday, August 12th - Motohio.

·  Like last year’s Demo Truck Event at Motohio, Mike would like to set up the membership tent to attempt to recruit additional new members.  Please let Mike know if you would like to volunteer to staff the tent and what availability you may have?

·  Motohio will be participating in the AMA Bike Night on Friday, May 13th.  He will also set up the club membership tent.  Please let Mike know if you can volunteer to staff the tent for this event.

·  The weekly Motohio Dinner Ride Schedule is currently being updated and will be posted to Motohio’s website.

·  Motohio will add a link to the Buckeye Beemers Motorcycle Club on its website.

·  Mike contacted Neil Jones, the Editor of the BMW Motorcycle club of Cincinnati to see if we can piggyback and jointly attend an overnight outing with them this year.  Neil said that they are all for it, “the more the merrier!”    

Questions raised – None. 

Next Meeting –

The next regularly scheduled club meeting will be Tuesday, May 16th.  Location:  Little Italy, 480Main St., Groveport, OH, 43125.  Website:  Little Italy Groveport. 

Adjournment –

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mike Allen at 9:00 PM which was seconded by Henning Carlsen.  All members in attendance voted in favor, with no objections, and the motion was approved.  The meeting was then adjourned.