BMW Club of Canada
Le Club BMW du Canada
National Directors Meeting via Conference Call
Thursday October 21, 2004 9:00pm Eastern Time

Directors Present:
Roger Harmston (VI), Bill Brown (SK), Gary Coleman (SA), Phil Abrami (QC), Gerry Low, (TR) Chris Pawlowicz (OT), Rolf Drommer (BC)
Regrets:
Laura Arthurs (BN) Jim Robson (NA)

AGENDA

Welcome and introductions:
Directors welcomed Bill Brown, of BMW Club of Saskatchewan, which is currently in formation. Bill joined us as their newly formed club is petitioning to become a member club of the BMW Club of Canada. Most formation work has been accomplished, and the club has an active core of several dozen members, a web site, and will have a formal meeting on Oct 24 to sign their petition elect officers and approve a constitution. Bill reports that all is going well, and they have so far gathered over 45 local enthusiasts to draw from. Fellow directors welcomed Bill and his efforts to form the new club and look forward to receiving the petition and being able to formally welcome then to the national club.

IC Meeting Report and O'Fest proposal:
Phil and Chris reported on their recent participation in the International Council of BMW Clubs meeting held in Spartanburg SC. Phil attended as the BMW Club of Canada delegate and also participated in his role as Vice Chair Automobiles of the IC. Chris attended as the BMW Club of Canada observer and also to assist in the promotion of a joint US and Canadian Clubs OktoberFest (O'Fest) event to be held at Mt Tremblant in 2006.
Both Phil and Chris gave quick verbal summaries of their participation and referred fellow directors to the actual notes and minutes documents they prepared and emailed to directors. (These documents will also be available on the club web site. Minutes of Meetings are accessible via the 'About' link on our web pages: http://bmwclub.ca/about/). Other relevant IC documents will be linked in our IC section: http://www.bmwclub.ca/IC/ including the actual Council minutes when IC sends them out.
Phil's recap of the IC meeting made it clear that BMW and Mobile Tradition as solidly behind the club scene, and Phil even commented on the 340,000 Euro IC budget for same. Phil also reported that progress had been made on how IC will deal with the Motorcycle clubs issue (See further details below.)
Chris' recap of his discussions with the BMW CCA folks regarding the potential of the O'Fest in Canada for 2006 was very encouraging. Much still depends on some housekeeping work that needs to be done from the BMW CCA end of things. The recommendation is that we should still actively work towards being a part of the planned O'Fest and to make sure the BMW Club of Canada has a strong participatory roll in this event.
The directors agreed, and felt it was worth setting aside some funds (approx. $2k) for the work needed to participate in this further. Chris indicates at this time it will mostly be the costs of getting to and participating in the various BMW CCA meetings relating to the proposed O'Fest.
Directors also noted that working towards a face-to-face meeting of Canadian directors would be useful in determining our team approach to this event. (See additional comments in related F2F meeting discussion topic)

BMW Canada & club discounts on new cars:
Phil gave a brief recap of his exchanges with Kevin Marcotte of BMW Canada regarding discounts at dealers and the possibility of discounts on repeat car purchases similar to the US rewards program in place for BMW CCA members. Directors had a general discussion of the discounts available for parts purchases from the various BMW Dealers across the country. There is currently no BMW Canada authorized discount program in place. Dealers however have been offering a variety of loyalty discounts at the local level to clubs, and the discount varies by dealer and region. It was noted that more work needs to be done at the local level to negotiate a discount at participating dealers, and that the club should promote the known discounts to the members. It is also important that members seeking a discount identify themselves at the dealership as a member of both the local (and as a result the national club) by presenting their club membership card while requesting the discount. Phil will also explore this more with BMW Canada. The enthusiasts represented by the clubs are an important segment that should be recognized by the dealers as they clearly influence many future BMW purchases.

Budget report:
Rolf gave a quick verbal recap on finances indicating the club account was in good shape with approx. $20k in the bank. We still have one $5k BMW support donation coming for 2004 and have an expected $2k in expenses (web site support and hosting renewals etc.) still due to pay before year end. Major club expenses are still insurance at approx. $8k and the web support and misc. admin costs relating to phone calls, conference calls etc.
Based on our good financial situation it was recommended that we continue to defer the need to collect support dues from chapters.
RD will provide a recap of the finances to be included with this document.

Grill badges and other national merchandise:
Grill Badges. During the previous conference call it was decided to explore the creation of a grill badge that can be sold to club members. The BC mainland club had successfully arranged an order of grill badges for their club from a German manufacturer, and that was used as a basis for potentially moving forward. Other production options and quotes were also explored. Following the previous conference call it was decided to obtain an expression of interest from the clubs based on the anticipated budget pricing. The results of the poll of clubs showed that there would be enough interest to justify an order in the minimum quantity of 100 pieces that was required by the manufacturer. Anticipated landed in Canada cost is expected to be $35-40 CDN and clubs could then sell the badges to local members for approx. $50 each. Responses indicated that there was pre order demand for between 65-75 badges in the clubs. Based on that info Rolf recommended that the national club proceed in steps, first paying for the die and cutting tool costs which amount to 450 Euros or approx. $729 CDN. This would provide us with several final production samples. Once those are received in Canada, promotion can be done at the club level and we could proceed with an order in the minimum quantity of 100 pieces. The proposed manufacturer provided price breakdowns for a basic epoxy painted version and a baked enamel version in quantities of 100, 200 and 300 pieces. The epoxy painted version may not stand up as well on a car, so the baked enamel version is recommended. Our quoted costs are ¤17, ¤15.75 and ¤15.50 for the quantities of 100, 200 or 300. Based on that the recommendation is to go for a trial lot of 100 pieces.
Based on feedback during the conference call, Rolf recommends the club proceed by paying for shape cutting tool and the production die so samples can be made. Rolf will arrange a requisition and money transfer to the manufacturer to cover those costs which amount to ¤450.
Once samples are received we will proceed with a full order and clubs will have to start collecting funds and order commitments.
Other products were also briefly discussed, however it would seem that most items lend themselves to local acquisition and distribution.
Exceptions are window decals and lapel pins.
Previously we had produced and distributed 3000 window decals to the various clubs based on the percentage of membership in each club vs the total membership at the time of production which was just under 1500 members. Most clubs should have sufficient supplies of decals to meet their needs, however some clubs have indicated they have used up their supply, which is rather odd, but as a result, it was decided that we should plan to produce more window decals in the New Year, once current membership info is verified by the chapters.
The directors also asked Gerry to provide a quote on the production of lapel pins as he has contacts in that industry. Once the cost numbers are available we can work on a plan to purchase and distribute same to the clubs for sale.

Driver Training School Manuals:
RD reported that he has made no new progress on the Driver Training Schools manual updates. The previous status is that the original manual had been scanned to electronic format, and had been separated into sections. This work is available on the club web site via the special driver-training link, which is: http://www.bmwclub.ca/DT/
The instructor manual parts started and supplied by the Southern Alberta club are also available at the above link.
Gerry indicated that Trillium had been quite active in revising the manual and is willing to share their work The directors welcomed this and look forward to having Gerry share the Trillium based revision work as soon as possible. Budget funds can be made available to help share this document.
It was also noted that plans should be made to share instructors among the chapters, and that it would be wise to look toward some funding support to do this.

Insurance:
Rolf reported that all insurance renewals had been arranged with Jones Brown. The 2004 insurance expenditures to cover national and the chapters totaled $8063.40. Of this, $3414.00 was for Directors and Officers liability insurance. This covers the national group as a whole and the member clubs, and amounts to about $379 per covered club (national and the 8 chapters), which is a reasonable and competitive rate. The national Driver Training and event liability insurance portion cost was $4649.40 or again about $516.60 per covered entity (national and the 8 chapters). Chapters are still responsible for specific event coverage as required via the master policy. This means chapters still need to arrange for their Driver Training per session event insurance with Jones Brown based on the master policy in effect. Driver Training event coverage will vary by chapter based on the nature of the event, facility and other details. The expected average cost for a typical Driver Training event is in the range of $500-800 per day.
Gerry indicated that Trillium had explored an affiliation with ASN for their insurance needs, feeling that it gave them a cost advantage.
Rolf reported that he had also explored the ASN option based on Gerry's previous comments on this topic As per the above breakdown, it seems that the national policy is competitive with the ASN rates, particularly in light of the fact that the funding for our insurance comes from the BMW support we receive and chapters only need to pay for their dedicated Driver training event insurance coverage. There should be no need for a chapter to pay their own main coverage, as national pays it.
Rolf also noted that he was going to have further discussions with Jones Brown and possibly more discussions with the ASN folks as Jones Brown actually provides the ASN insurance.
The main difference between our policy with Jones Brown and the coverage by ASN is that ASN requires more reporting by the participants. Perhaps if we do some more national reporting on event coverage (driver training in particular) and insist on chapters filling reports we can arrange some additional rate discount via Jones Brown.

Motorcycle Clubs Update
Phil reported as part of his IC report that some progress had been made regarding motorcycle clubs and their affiliation with national umbrella clubs (like ours). The subject had originally come to light when a new Canadian start-up motorcycle group contacted IC and IC indicated they would need to apply to the regional umbrella club, that being the BMW Club of Canada. The issue is that representation for motorcycle groups already exists in North America and Canada via two US based groups, the BMW MOA and BMW RA, while IC seems to want to have riders clubs also affiliate with the national umbrella club.
Phil spent quite some time behind the scenes exploring the subject with representatives of the MOA and RA, as well as IC and BMW.
Per Phil's minutes on the IC meeting in Spartanburg, the result is the motorcycle clubs in Canada will be affiliate with either BMW MOA or BMW RA, but will also be loosely affiliated with and linked to the BMW CC via web links and other means. This can lead to positive interaction between the riders and drivers in Canada that are all BMW enthusiasts. Our clubs are encouraged to extend invitations to the various riders clubs in their respective regions and ask for their participation and involvement in various BMW CC chapter events across the country.

Upcoming Elections
Phil reminded all chapters that the BMW CC Bylaws call for the local election or appointment of National Directors from the following chapters in 2005: Bluenose, Quebec, Southern Alberta, and Mainland British Columbia. These appointments will be for two years and each chapter should announce them to him well before December31, 2004.

There is work to occupy the National Directors and we need dedicated and active volunteers willing and able to take on national chores. Phil therefore recommends that as each chapter considers candidates for the position, they emphasize two qualities: first, the ability to represent the chapter's views and interests nationally; and second, a willingness and availability to take on national work and responsibilities. Some of these chores and positions include: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Motorsports Director, Communications Director, and Marketing and Merchandising Director.

With a strong team the work done by each Director need only be 1-2 days per month, less during the "driving season".

F2F Directors' Meeting (Phil)
In addition to our commitment to hold regular national director meetings via conference calls, it is time we explore the possibility of another actual Face-to-Face meeting of directors. Although these meetings can be quite expensive, they can also be quite productive and also give us an opportunity to get a better feel of the regional make up of our club.
It was noted that in addition an F2F meeting would be good in strengthening our approach to support and involvement in the proposed 2006 O'Fest.
Gerry suggested a meeting to possibly coincide with an early in the year driver training event.
Phil will explore the option of BMW Canada involvement in such a meeting, possibly at the BMW Canada head office in Whitby, ON. Other options will also be explored. Rolf will explore some cost options via a travel agency for the flight costs involved in gathering all chapters.
All agreed that if a meeting is called, it should be early in the year prior to the very active driver training and driving season. We'll confer further via email and an additional possible conference call in February 2005 before setting an actual F2F direct meeting time and place.

Chapter Reports
Phil asked fellow directors to quickly summarize or highlight any significant details for their chapters. It would seem that for the most part local chapter life is going well and the clubs are happy, and what ensued was a round of comments that all seemed to indicate the chapters are doing well and working hard at supporting their local events and enthusiast communities

Other Items
In addition to looking forward to officially welcoming Saskatchewan to the national group, Phil asked for other items that may need to be dealt with. Directors were asked to submit items of concern to Phil or Rolf, and also to remind affected chapters to provide their director nomination as mentioned in the 'Upcoming Elections' section above. If you have comments of suggestions or recommendations for national, please submit them to Phil or Rolf so they can be acted on appropriately.

Adjournment and next meeting
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00pm eastern.
The next conference call is tentatively slated for sometime in February 2005 based on reports and feedback on the various items covered in the current meeting.

Other bits and comments
All directors are reminded that if they log on to the national site electronic forum and identify themselves correctly, Rolf or Chris can give them director access, and they will be able to post club event info via the electronic calendar. This generates the calendar listing that appears on the main national home page and lists chapter events. There is also a national photo gallery option available where some event photos can be posted.
If you need help with the forum log in or sign up, or calendar use, or photo gallery access, please contact Rolf or Chris via email.
Other submission for the national web site content, chapter info, stories pictures and links of interest can be submitted to Rolf and he will include them in the regularly scheduled national web site updates he performs
If you chapter is not already using the national web-hosting plan arranged with NetNation, and you would like your site hosted that way, please contact Rolf Drommer. Currently Southern Alberta, Northern Alberta, Quebec*, BC mainland and the national club all have national paid for hosting at NetNation. Hosting of a 400mb site with unlimited bandwidth, and 50 emails on a Unix server platform can be arranged for each club and national will pay for this hosting valued at $383.66 per year. Refer to: http://www.netnation.ca/products/shared-pro.php
If you already have another hosting plan and an active working site, your chapter can qualify for the equivalent hosting subsidy (max $400). Please contact Rolf if you require further info
(*The Quebec hosting is about to expire since the switched to a different provider without advising national.

Appendix
Budget Recap:
2004 Budget Recap ­ Dec 1, 2003 to Nov 1, 2004
Previous 2003 Bank balance $20028.92

Income
BMW Group Canada $20000.00
Interest Earned $383.65
Total Income $20383.65

Expenses Admin Expenses Includes computer $1399.97
Club Promo (IC Award) $101.78
Insurance D&O Insurance $3414.00
Liability $4649.60
Meetings IC Observer $290.88
O'Fest Related $426.30
IC Travel Advance $1848.24
Repaid Advances <$1272.55>
Schools $365.00
Services &Supplies Ink paper and other $342.21
Postage and packing $234.79
Phone Including conference calls $2132.70
Web Sites Hosting $3034.92
ADSL $376.10
Maintenance $1300.00
Domain Charges $768.72
Bank Charges Service Charges $75.40
Misc taxes & fees $168.98
Total Expenditures $19657.04

Current Balances
Chequing $8769.14
Term Deposit $15000.00

Current Bank Total (Nov 9, 2004) $23769.14