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The Grid - April 2010

Applications for the both the MotoGP event & membership have been included with this issue of the Grid. If you plan on working this event you need to submit the needed applications soon to make sure that you have a spot. The list is already over 1/2 full and there's about 120-130 empty spots so be sure to claim yours soon. The MotoGP event is July 23-25th this year so it won't interfere with you 4th of July plans. Everything is pretty much the same as it always is with this event. We need in excess of 300 folks to staff all the positions and accommodations for those working this prestigious event will be given lodging at the Croakside Resort with nightly serenades provided by the BF (Bull Frog) Revue & Choir Ensemble. The daytime excitement will be provided by the immeasurable talents of the best the motorcycle racing world has to offer. Rossi, Stoner, Hayden, Lorenzo, Edwards, Pedrosa, Capirossi as well as series rookie, American Ben Spies and the rest of the GP field. Come find out who wins in person at this year's MotoGP race at Laguna Seca! Ya know ya wanna be there! Get your application in NOW!

The USARM Board recently decided to go "Green" and thus a new era has begun for the USARM Grid. We do realize that there might be some that have internet access that still would like a printed version of the Grid. Choose below which version of the Grid you'd like to download for print. You can get a color or black and white version in either Microsoft Word or PDF format.

If you do not have Microsoft Office to open the DOC file you can download Open Office which is open-source software which will allow you to open and print the DOC files. You will need Adobe Acrobat to be able to print the PDF files. You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Microsoft Word Document Format	PDF Document
April 2010 Grid Color Microsoft Word Document (Approx. 1.3 meg)	April 2010 Grid Color PDF Document (Approx. 250k)
April 2010 Grid Black & White Microsoft Word Document (Approx. 1.2 meg)	April 2010 Grid Black & White PDF Document (Approx. 506k)

Happy New Year and Welcome back Race Fans!

USARM had the pleasure of signing ChumpCar World Series Racing onto our 2010 calendar.

They are a brand new affordable racing group that started in Portland, OR this last December.

Their rules and schedule are listed at www.chumpcar.com. They have over 20 races across the U.S. and Canada on the books this year.

Basically, all that's required is a car valued at $500 or less, not including the required safety equipment and a minimum of 4 drivers per team. A lot of teams had a theme and dressed and decorated accordingly. It made me laugh. To see these cars and their getups was so refreshing. They raced their hearts out. What a hoot!

Everybody was so nice to us. They fed us dinner and breakfast. With a skeleton crew, we rotated 2 shifts twice at the Streets of Willow. The weather couldn't have been better. It did get down to 31 degrees at night, but had no wind. Turn Workers were allowed to sit in their cars out on the turns in safe locations for the night shift and use the light system for yellow or red flags on the short course. Then back to normal course and minimal flags during the day. It all went great.

There are short clips and photos on U Tube, along with a little twittering and everyone was kept in the loop.

Our next event with ChumpCar is July 10-11, 2010 at Auto Club Speedway.

I enjoyed every minute and encourage you to see them. Very entertaining.

Yours in Racing,

Chris Vlastelica
Director USARM, Inc.

FLAGGING IS JOB 1 Corner working on a racetrack is serious business. It is a very important job. The lives of the participants quite literally depend upon the actions of the corner workers. Flagging is probably the most important job a corner worker does during the course of a racing event. Communicating with the drivers (or riders) about the condition of the racing surface ahead of them is essential to a safe event. The easiest and perhaps most uncomplicated way of sending this message is with flags. And the manner in which they are displayed will determine what is being passed to the drivers/riders. Make no mistake, conversing with the rest of the course and control is necessary. However, it is crucial that the drivers/riders know the course condition first and as soon as possible. This will prevent an incident from becoming more serious, or worse, involving more vehicles. That makes it necessary for the flagger to hold the flag in such a way that it is ready for display at a moment's notice. When the flag is held properly with one hand on the stick and the other hand on the free end, the flag can be presented very quickly. This, too, requires the flagger to be alert and attentive to situations developing on the track. We have all been subject to fatigue or boredom while working an event. This can translate into missing vital occurrences and not reacting in a timely manner. Obviously, the perfect corner worker has not been born yet. So mistakes will happen, people will get tired or distracted. But there are some things that can be done to alleviate these concerns. First of all, be prepared for the event. Come to the track fully rested. Bring plenty of fluids and healthy snacks. Wear proper clothing and footwear for all weather conditions. Wear a hat to block the sun. Use plenty of sun screen to prevent burning. Most of all, try to remain attentive and keep an active interest in the event. Hopefully, these suggestions will help to make flagging an enjoyable experience for the flagger and a safe one for the drivers/riders.

		CATEGORY	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter
	EXPENSES
		Bank Fees	$57.00	$175.00	$32.00	$50.80
		Banquet/prizes	$625.00	$392.75	$6,782.97	$0.00
		Communications - conference and Grid	$355.30	$525.37	$368.82	$26.74
		Equipment	$32.30	$1,108.33	$34.70	$43.89
		GP / Membership operations	$0.00	$1,650.54	$3,282.61	$0.00
		Legal Fees	$2,250.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Logo Sales - items with USARM logo	$2,000.00	$2,407.17	$1,974.00	$0.00
		Worker Meals	$35.00	$20.29	$2,187.31	$246.11
		Office Supplies	$605.96	$1,060.81	$734.73	$215.91
		Postal incl. supplies and stamps	$509.65	$70.93	$242.60	$37.77
		Worker track Payments - Skippy	$6,400.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		membership overpayment	$45.00	$150.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Charity Donation	$100.00	$0.00	$0.00	$4,252.00
		Lodging - Coronado	$0.00	$0.00	$4,428.00	($4,500.00)
	Quarterly Totals		$13,015.21	$7,561.19	$20,067.74	$373.22
	INCOME
		Bank Interest earned	$0.00	$0.00	$0.24	$0.96
		Communications	$0.00	$98.49	$0.00	$0.00
		Membership Dues	$1,975.00	$6,582.33	$0.00	$500.22
		Fundraiser	$0.00	$0.00	$3,997.00	$0.00
		Logo Sales	$255.00	$0.00	$0.00	$145.30
		Equipment Rental	$1,130.00	$500.00	$300.00	$200.00
		Workers Track pay	$6,400.00	$0.00	$0.00	$100.00
		GP	$0.00	$0.00	$8,000.00	$0.00
		Outstanding Debt owed (uncollected)	$0.00	$0.00	$5,428.00	$0.00
		Credit Account	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$6,566.89
		Scramp resubmit bill 10-13-09	$0.00	$0.00	$2,000.00	$0.00
	Quarterly Totals		$9,760.00	$7,180.82	$19,825.24	$36,766.06
Year to date Total			-$3,255.21	-$380.37	-$342.50	$7,140.15

2009 Final Figures
	Income		$44,179.43
	Expense		$41,017.36
2009 Closing Figures			$  3,162.07

		CATEGORY	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter
	EXPENSES
		Bank Fees	$37.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Banquet/prizes	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Communications - conference and Grid	$731.27	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Equipment	$402.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		GP / Membership operations	$14.34	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Legal Fees	$300.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Logo Sales - items with USARM logo	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Worker Meals	$40.39	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Office Supplies	$115.60	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Postal incl. supplies and stamps	$320.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Worker Payments	$3,995.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		membership overpayment	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Charity Donation	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Lodging	$58.85	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
	Quarterly Totals		$6,054.45	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
	INCOME
		Bank Interest earned	$1.27	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Communications	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Membership Dues	$1,975.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Fundraiser	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Logo Sales	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Equipment Rental	$150.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Workers Pay	$4,350.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		GP	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Outstanding Debt owed (uncollected)	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Credit Account	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
		Reimbursement	$2,100.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
	Quarterly Totals		$9,478.27	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Year to date Total			$3,423.82	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Meeting Start 7:09 PM

Financial
1.	$100 Check received and deposited.
2.	SCRAMP was sent the information and we are still waiting for the check from SCRAMP for the t-shirts.
3.	HMSA monies still due to us and on their way.
4.	Old account has $8 remaining in it.
5.	Balance of new account - as of October 18, 2009 - $9,698.34
Grid
1.	Do we need a monthly newsletter? Minimum of 4 Grids per year.
	A.) We post the minutes online so monthly Grids are not required. More discussion needed.
2.	Electronic Grid? Absolutely. Need to set a deadline on when we will go to Electronic Grids entirely.
3.	Obituaries – Russ Hayes – Need a pic of Russ to put in the GRID along with his obituary.
Clients
1.	POC – Jan to review
2.	HMSA – Ted talked to Chris. Monies at end of the month. HMSA is sanctioning body for Monterey Historics and it is 4 days. Ted will talk to Chris and Bo.
3.	Russell – Final event last weekend. Only 5 drivers. Cross Training accomplished. Russell contract should be back to us relatively soon.
4.	Skippy – Jan to check on status. Jan to call Jim. Down to 8-10 people.
Membership Application
1.	Discuss membership and wording for the membership application.
2.	Voting Member or not – Yes, all members will be voting members per corporate guidelines.
3.	Must be age 18 to work on course. Parent Signature is a must if under age 18 to work any position.
4.	Clear easy directions on renewals – do a separate Minor application. Mickey will work with Ted on that. No other changes to the membership application.
5.	Membership dues for 2010 - $25.00 Keep it at the same rate - MSP
6.	Ted contacted the two members who have already renewed and informed them their membership cards would be coming towards the end of the month.
Roundtable
1.	Electronic Signature – Jan to check with Lynda of IMSA. Awaiting answer.
2.	Check a checkbox that says you have read everything and agree to it. So the check confirms this is done and agreed to. In accordance with USARM policies and procedures.
3.	Merchandise - Mickey recommendation – a list of the items available and what a member wants to order. Put it online so it will be sent via email to Rosebud so he has something to go off to send the products.
4.	Corporation - Checking with Angele on concerns putting up a classified ad . Only for registered members.
5.	Training - Jim Short – Training Session will be put up on a Survey tool. Jim is working with a company that does surveys. Do two tests – one for motorcycles and one for cars.
6.	Concalls - Need USARM credit card info for USARM to put on concall account. Info provided by Rosebud.

Meeting ended at 8:15 pm.

Next Board Meeting is December 15th – 7 pm






Meeting Start 7:09 PM

Financial
1.	Rosebud will send later. We received the $4,500 check from HMSA for the rooms we took care of at Coronado and it has been deposited.
2.	Ted and Rosebud sent a note to Bo at SCRAMP regarding the check for the t-shirts.
3.	Balance - $14,189.12
Minutes - Minutes from November - MSP.
Clients
1.	Russell – Jim – Updated Contract sent to clients with new logo. Ron to send All a copy of the Russell Contract.
2.	NASA – Jim – Met with Jerry. Draw up a contract and Jerry will sign it. 3 Dates at Thunderhill. Possibly adding new venues later. Jim sent update to the directors. Ron will check and will send update to everyone.
3.	Chump Car – Need to determine the number of workers for Willow Springs. Sears is January 9 and 10. 2–7 hour Enduros. Jim and Ron Cowen got 19 workers set up for their first event. Ron talked to him on Monday night. Discussion about historical concerns. Talked the basics. Contract details discussed and agreed.
	A.) T-Hill, Buttonwillow and Willow Springs contract details discussed and agreed. BBQ on Saturday night for all. 2 spare workers for relief. 22 workers will be fine for coverage. Paul Einhorn is the Starter and does not fall under USARM. We do not provide GRID or Black Flag. 35-40 cars will run.
	B.) 3 solutions on the pay discussed. Mike sent in write-up with some verbiage.
	C.) Ron to send the Directors the contract. We will provide list of people participating. Ron will send the contract out to all of us to look over prior to sending to John. Specific contract for January event due to timing of the event. Ron and Jim will discuss separately.
	D.) Button Willow and Willow Springs and Auto Club Speedway – set-up 80 miles as the window where we would need rooms.
	E.) Equipment fee discussed MSP. Jim will work on the total numbers, paid prior to the event. If paid prior it is noted that USARM is a courier only. We will have to cut 1099s for all the workers. They are responsible for the landline or radios for use during the weekend. $10 food allowance. BBQ should be free for workers. Check prior and we will disperse to workers. This is a one event agreement to determine our actions going forward. Vote – 6 Yes, 1 No
4.	24 Hours of LeMons – Dan Radowitz – First race in February. Ron and Jim to work on that contract.
5.	Sprint Car – Mike met with them. Talked to the club president for Silver Dollar Fairgrounds. They are interested in us presenting a contract to Handy Racing Productions. Mike will draw up a proposal. Northern Auto Race Club currently works the event and the Fairgrounds wants a more organized group. First event is first week of April.
6.	Historics – Looks like SCCA will be doing the Pre-Historics and the Historics. Chris from HMSA will be talking to BO.
7.	Skippy – Call Jim Hileman regarding Skippy. – Action Jan
8.	Moto-GP – Jan to work with Ted and Mickey to put up the Apps. Already completed by Ted and Mickey.
Training - Jim Short – Training Test online. It’s up and online. Couple of wrinkles to work out – housekeeping stuff. Need a way to score it and then pass that along to whomever is going to score it. Jim completed test for motorcycle people only. You can print out the results and it gives you the written answers. Jim will collect scores and will pass that along to Ted. Mike will volunteer to send out a certificate. Mike and Jim to come up with a Diploma/Certificate that can be sent out that says they passed the certification. Jan to get the signature to add to the Certificate.
Corporation
1.	Need new Board Members to sign the Conflict of Interest Policy. Need disclosure of other groups.
2.	Meeting with Angele cancelled. Reschedule for 2010. Ron to work that with her. All procedures to be finalized and ready to go.

Adjourned at 8:30 pm

Next Board Meeting January 19th – 7 pm





Meeteing Start 7:09 PM

Financial	Balance - $10,268.66 as of 1-15-2010
Clients
1.	CHUMP Car – Contract signed with Chump Car. First race - Willow Springs at the Streets.
	A.) They do not allow turn worker vehicles on the course. Workers will be outside the fence.
	B.) Jim Short, Rosebud and Bob King are coordinating the issue.
	C.) Bruce Brunner worked Sears Point and said it went fine. Paul Einhorn was the Starter. 14 hours and 5-6 Full course yellows.
	D.) Rosebud and Kevin Griffin will be added to the Chump Car List.
	E.) Need to give office at Willow Springs the whole list of who is working that race. We only need flags, nothing else. We made arrangements for Infineon to bring down the flags. Rosebud will bring down the flags. Jim will let Frank know he does not need to bring the flags down. 6 sets plus the starter set.
	F.) If signs of lightning – we will pull the workers are out of there.
	G.) USARM Fees plus rooms will be provided. $150 for equipment. Town House Hotel is the hotel. 8 rooms on a time-sharing basis.
	H.) Need clarification of the deposit from Chump Car that should be in there 7 days prior to the event. The deposit should be in there 7 days prior to the event which would be this coming Friday.
2.	NASA – Jim – Met with Jerry. Draw up a contract and Jerry will sign it. 3 Dates at Thunderhill. Possibly adding new venues later. Jim sent update to the directors. Ron will check and will send update to everyone.
	A.) Jim short sent contract to them. They should have it and we should get it back signed.
	B.) Need schedule for NASA and Chump Car to post on the Website and on the GRID.
3.	Russell School - still working out their schedule.
4.	Moto-GP
	A.) Dates changed on the applications. Ted will double check and will send to Mickey.
	B.) Contract – Jan to make the changes and send to Ted. MSP.
5.	Other Clients - Ted talked to Bo beginning of January about possibly other events.
Grid - Jan to script articles for the GRID.
Testing
1.	Mickey had several valid points about specific track issues and specific events – where do our workers find the specific information on our website?
2.	Jim will rename the test so it’s not membership specific. This will be a test to review the training documentation. Jim will make changes to the questions as needed.
3.	The Board to review the questions and provide the feedback. Motion to push forward with Mickey having the testing on our website. Need to get the hand-signals up on the website. Jim will review the website to make sure the answers are readily available.
4.	Jim will be adjusting the test every so often to keep it fresh.
5.	We discussed a business card saying the person is certified.
6.	Jan to review the tests again and provide feedback to Jim by the 1st of February.
7.	Motion – Leave the testing and tracking of scores with Mickey instead of with the outside company. MSP
Roundtable
1.	Question for Mike – Sprint Car Dirt Races – Mike talked to Mr. Sullivan about it. And he talked to the Promoter. Mike will update us after he talks to them again. They start racing at the end of March/Beginning of April.
2.	Mike – Webpage – He is going to send some recommendations to Mickey.
3.	Corporate Meetings – Nothing scheduled at this time.

Motion to end the meeting – MSP Meeting ended 8:37 pm

Next Meeting February 16th – 7 pm

Financial	Financial Report – All outstanding payments to USARM have been received and deposited. Expenses are up to date.
Clients
1.	Historics – Contract for Historics. Do we/they want us to try to work it? We will check with SCRAMP now that they are promoting the event.
2.	Chump Car
	A.) Report from last event – Fantastic event.
	B.) Schedule going forward
3.	NASA – Contract update – Jim in touch with NASA and will update all at next meeting.
4.	Russell – Jim has contract into Russell – Update will come soon.
5.	Moto-GP
	A.) Contract update - MSP
	B.) Medical update – Dr. Ting and Tuan will be back.
	C.) BARF – Jan posted on their website.
	D.) Discussion on personnel.
	E.) Camping – Need someone in charge of Camping. Discussed recommended personnel. MSP to ask them to take on that role.
Corporation
1.	Legal representation – Angele and how much help do we need/want – Angele proposed contract for this year. Looking for quarterly meetings.
2.	By-laws update – Jan to finish by end of February and send to all.
3.	Trademark update – Signed the electronic paperwork. We have registered USARM as our Trademark and also covers the logo. It’s in the process of being worked for $350
4.	Corporate Meetings - Jan to call Angele to get an update.
5.	Official notices to our lawyer - $80 a year. MSP
6.	Corporate Meetings – Nothing scheduled at this time.
Training
1.	Tests updated? Jim needs to update us on this. Ted sent out the tests the other day. White flag when out of comm.
Roundtable
1.	Turn Boxes at Laguna Seca - update - $3,000 was to repair the boxes and put tops on them. Someone will check with Laguna on the status.
2.	Website - Event Schedule online needs to be updated. Board reps of each event need to send Mick their schedules
3.	Recommendation from Jan - Facebook - MSP
4.	Board Positions - All Board Members will remain in their respective positions for 2010
5.	Ron is coming home from Africa in about 30 days. Back around March 15th .
6.	The Board is extremely grateful for Ron's call from Africa into tonight's meeting.

Next Meeting March 16th – 7 pm

Ken Berri	Jan Kaufman (Weaver)	Mike Otell	Jim Short
Vice President	Secretary	Director	Director
Chris Vlastelica	Ron Vlastelica	Rosebud Vlastelica
Director	President	Treasurer