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John Lynch
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Ford Lincoln Mercury DD Alumni AssociationMinutes of Board of Directors MeetingThe Ritz Carlton Golf Resort Naples, FloridaOctober 21, 2007A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Ford Lincoln Mercury DD Alumni Association was held at The Ritz Carlton Golf Resort Naples on Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 8:30 AM. The following individuals
were present: Board Members George Doetsch,
President Gus Palmar,
Vice President Mickey Bowers, Vice President Al Meyer, Secretary-Treasurer John Bearce Mike Collins, Sr. Chet Stewart Larry Stovesand Brad Webb Bob Beine John Lynch, Executive
Secretary Past Presidents Earl Book Fran Hoffman Ed Lacey Bill Michaud Dick Ruhl Ralph Seekins Dave Sinclair John Sinclair Ed Witt Ford Executives Jamy Hall Scott Majercik Richard Singletary Tanya Hill The purpose of the meeting
was to conduct the following business. The meeting was called to
order by President, George Doetsch and he welcomed
everyone to the meeting. The minutes of the June 6, 2007 meeting were presented
for review and ratification. After discussion the minutes were unanimously
ratified, approved and accepted by all the members present. Old Business New Sponsors Executive Secretary Lynch
advised the Board that through the efforts of Vice President Gus Palmar we were able to secure ADP Dealer Services as a $10,000
Corporate Sponsor for 2007. Also through the efforts of Dealer
Development Manager Scott Majercik we were able to
secure Arkona, One View, Inc. and UHY Advisors and
Dealer Development Regional Manager Tony Wolf pitched in by securing the law
firm of Shutts & Bowen, LLP. Based on having
Employee Relations, Inc. audit the 2006 Meeting, Secretary Lynch was able to
convince them to be a sponsor for 2007. The Board thanked everyone for their
assistance and support. Everyone was encouraged to welcome the new sponsors and
thank them for their sponsorship. Dropped Sponsorships Lynch further advised that three
sponsors had dropped sponsorship for 2007. Environmental firm, Entrix, Inc., which has lost most of its Ford dealership
work as well as key employees who had relationships with Ford’s Environmental
Quality Office. They could no longer justify the annual expenditure. Lynch
advised he would maintain contact by sending them semi-annual newsletters and
follow up phone calls. Reynolds & Reynolds a
long time sponsor of the DD Alumni Association also declined to provide
sponsorship in 2007. No reason was given, but the recent takeover by UCS is a
possible reason. They will be contacted again in 2008 to solicit sponsorship. It is difficult to determine
whether Young & Rubicam has dropped their sponsorship or truly combined
their sponsorship with J. Walter Thompson. In the first quarter 2007 JWT’s and Y&R’s continued
sponsorship was solicited. JWT’s sponsorship check
was received by return mail identifying it as JWT’s
sponsorship funds only and in the same dollar amount as previous years. It took
6 phone calls to Y&R’s President & Vice
President before the President’s administrative assistant advised that the
funds received from JWT was really JWT & Y&R’s
contribution for 2007. The difference was a drop in funds of $10,000 year over
year. The information was received in August 2007 a bit late to secure a possible
replacement sponsor. Past President Ed Witt agreed to contact the
President/Vice President of Y & R to determine their reasoning for the
decrease in funding and encourage them to return to their pre 2007 level of
sponsorship funding. The net effect of available
sponsorship funds for 2007 was an increase of $27,000. Lynch expressed concern
that he was unable to get all the new sponsors to the $10,000 level for 2007. Levels of Sponsorship At the June 6, 2007 Board
Meeting an inquiry was raised as to whether there was any document that existed
which detailed the various levels of sponsorship. Secretary Lynch advised that
one had been prepared by his predecessor, but that it needed to be updated.
Lynch presented a document that listed the various levels as Platinum, Gold,
Silver, & Bronze (Platinum being $20,000 and each other level being $5,000
less. He further explained that the benefits of sponsorship were basically the
same for all levels except for the number of guests that the sponsors could bring
to the annual meeting. The Board believed there
should be a greater distinction. Ideally the Board would like to have all
sponsors at the $10,000 level or higher. At the present time there is one at
$20,000, one at $15,000, four at the $10,000 level and six at the $5,000 level.
The Board recommended that unless a Sponsor would be willing to increase their
sponsorship by another $5,000 that they should not have the opportunity to
speak from the podium each year. The sponsorship level benefits will be revised
again and presented at the next Board Meeting. Long Term Sponsor Recognition Investigation since the last
Board Meeting indicated that J. Walter Thompson and Alumni Dealer Milestone Recognition Secretary Lynch advised that
the Alumni Dealer Milestone Recognition details that had been discussed at the
previous two Board Meetings could not be resolved with Director Remy and therefore there would be no presentations at this years meeting. He apologized
to the Board and vowed to ensure that this would be accomplished for the 35th Anniversary Meeting. New Business September 2007 Financial Statement & 2007 Forecast Secretary Lynch presented the
Association’s September 30, 2007 Financial Statement and full year 2007 Forecast
for review and discussion. Whereas September YTD income increased predominately
due to the refund of the 2006 deposit associated with an overpayment of the
deposit to the Las Vegas Marriott, the paid membership dues received remained
flat. All Sponsor has been received except for $5,000 from One-View, Inc. (they
are to bring their check to the Annual Meeting) and $10,000 from Tetra-Tech,
Inc. which was to be paid by the end of October. Anticipated receipt of these
funds is reflected in the year end forecast. Lynch noted that based on
September YTD expenses the Association was currently showing a profit of
$121,575, however 2007 Meeting Expense and a 2008 Meeting Deposit due by year
end was not reflected in the September 2007 YTD statement. The December 2007
full year forecast reflected a profit of $28, 608. As explained at the October
2006 Board Meeting, because the Association is a not for profit organization,
doing business on a cash basis, any profit realized in a given year will be
taxable. The Association’s accountants have recommended that any excess cash be
used to pay advanced deposits thereby reducing the amount of profit realized at
year end. The final December 31, 2007
Financial Statement will be presented at the next Board meeting scheduled for
March 6, 2008. Charitable Contribution President Doetsch discussed a Charitable Contribution which he had authorized since the last Board Meeting. Most everyone was aware that Dave Sinclair’s granddaughter/ John Sinclair’s niece, Bernadette Godfrey had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in February 2007 and had been undergoing chemotherapy and other treatment throughout the year. Bernadette had wanted to help other “Kids with Cancer” so various fundraisers were formulated. One such fundraiser centered around becoming one of “Bernadette’s Buddies”. A T-shirt was designed with a likeness of Bernadette walking her dog. For a small donation sponsors were sent a “Bernadette’s Buddies” T-shirt. Secretary Lynch on behalf of the Alumni Association inquired as to what they could do to help. Following discussion with President Doetsch, he agreed that $2,000 be contributed pending approval by the Board at their next meeting. The thought was that “Bernadette’s Buddies” t-shirts would be distributed to all attendees at the Annual Meeting. Secretary Lynch advised that a total of 260 shirts had been shipped in anticipation of a larger turnout for the meeting so that the total bill plus shipping would be about $3,000. Following a brief discussion the Board unanimously approved a charitable donation of $3,000. The Sinclairs thanked the Board for their support and concern. 2007 Meeting Final Agenda The agenda for the annual meeting was reviewed and discussed. Secretary Lynch advised that in order to facilitate the supplier panel and dealer panel presentations that some adjustments would be necessary from a logistics stand point to permit the hotel to set the stage for these presentations. DD Director Jamy Hall expressed concern about the length of the supplier presentations (110 minutes) at the end of Monday business meeting indicating that the audience would lose interest and the presentations would lose their effectiveness. Some Board members agreed. After discussion Secretary Lynch was requested to amend the Agenda by spreading the Sponsors ten minute presentations throughout the two morning business sessions and make other adjustments in Speaker time slots as necessary. A revised Agenda will be distributed before Monday’s Business Session which supersedes the Agenda published in the 34th Anniversary Booklet. Ambassador Program Secretary Lynch reminded the Board that they were being requested to be Ambassadors during the meeting to ensure that any new members of the Association and first time attendees were welcomed, embraced and encouraged to attend
the annual meetings in future years. This would be particularly important this year as several undergraduates had accepted the Board’s invitation to attend the
meeting.(Linda Lynch simultaneously was holding a breakfast meeting with the Board Members spouses to deliver the same message and to discuss and solicit
ideas for future annual meetings.) Lynch displayed a sample name badge which identified Board members as Ambassadors and advised that new Graduate and
Undergraduates would be similarly identified. Ford Speakers Ford DD Representative Tanya Hill reviewed the final list of Ford Speakers. In addition to President Alan Mulally’s Town Hall on Tuesday, Ford & LM General Manager Randy Ortiz and Ford Credit President for Global Marketing & Sales would be speaking on Monday during the Business Session. She advised that unfortunately Elena Ford and Jay Davis had to cancel their appearance, however Beth Donovan, Group Product Marketing & Planning Manager, would be replacing Elena Ford and Norma Conrad, Orlando Regional Customer Service Division Manager would replace Jay Davis. Attendees Secretary
Lynch advised that he anticipated as many as 210 attendees at the meeting
including 102 dealers and 28 Ford Dealer Development personnel. Registration is
scheduled for the Cypress Courtyard which is outdoors one level below the main
lobby out the back of the hotel to the right of the stairs. Inclement weather
is anticipated and if it is raining at 1:00 PM, registration will be moved
indoors next to the business center at the foot of the stairs. Lynch
further advised that the Undergraduate cocktail reception to which all Board
Members and their spouses are invited is scheduled for 6:00 PM in the Great
Egret Room, however based on the number of expected attendees the reception has
been moved to the Blue Heron Room at the same time. Monday Night Dinner Secretary
Lynch reminded the Board that Monday night’s cocktail reception and dinner was
Black Tie Optional and would begin in the Court of Palms at 6:00 PM. There would
be assigned seating for dinner and seating assignments would be posted at the
cocktail reception and outside the doors to Tiburon Ballroom prior to dinner.
Board members would be spread at different tables throughout the room so they
could continue to network with new members. Food & Beverage Costs Secretary
Lynch advised that he needed to make the Board aware of a situation regarding
food and beverage costs for the forthcoming meeting. As
everyone was aware the 2005 Meeting at the Ritz Carlton had to be cancelled due
to Hurricane Wilma. A decision was made to return to the hotel in 2007 as the
hotel wanted our business and agreed to charge the same room rate as would have
paid for in 2005. This was not true for the cost of food and beverage costs. When
a contract is negotiated every effort is made to get the hotel to use the food
and beverage costs for the year that the contract was signed. In the case of
the Ritz Carlton it was agreed that their 2006 prices would be used for our
2007 event. When Lynch received the menus in 2007 they had the current date on
them. (Previous experience with other hotels had the year printed on the
catering menus not a date that was computer generated.) Lynch challenged the
pricing and was assured it was 2006. The difference in pricing from 2005 to
2006 was extraordinary. The Hotel had changed Executive Chefs and completely
changed their banquet menu offerings. The
additional cost coupled with the increase in attendance, approximately 40 more
dealers and spouses, additional Sponsors and spouses and the entire DD
organization (20 additional attendees for the entire meeting versus the Tuesday
night dinner in 2006) meant that total funds available was a concern. Ford
Motor Company Dealer Development has paid the food and beverage costs along
with the cost of renting audio visual equipment in the past. President George Doetsch and Secretary Lynch placed a phone call to DD
Manager Scott Majercik to discuss the issue. Previously
Ford agreed to contribute $110,000 toward the meeting expense outlined above. A
comparison of food and beverage costs for 150 attendees (the number of attendees at the 2006 Meeting) versus
anticipated 2007 food and beverage costs using the hotels 2006 pricing for
anticipated attendance of 240 was presented. The cost for 150 attendees was
$108,225 versus $173,991 for 240 attendees a shortfall of $65,766. Discussion
ensued and Majercik called back later advising that
Ford could contribute another $10,000. President Doetsch
thanked him for the additional contribution, but advised that it was not
enough. Secretary Lynch advised he would continue to negotiate with the hotel
before finalizing the menus. Lynch
presented a revised estimate of food and beverage cost at this Board Meeting
(October 21, 2007). Based on current anticipated attendance of 210 the
estimated cost was revised to $149,232, a shortfall of $41,007. He advised that
he had continued to have hard negotiations with the hotel and believed in the
end the menu selection still provided a variety of cuisines and beverages in
sufficient quantity that everyone would enjoy. He further
advised that he had found where at least one menu item that was priced more
than 100% higher than the 2005 prices leading further credence to the
possibility that 2006 prices were not being used. Lynch
stated that he believed it was his fiduciary responsibility to not only advise
the Board, but to obtain their authorization to spend DD Alumni Association
funds to cover any shortfall. The Association had the funds to cover the cost
in 2007, but would not in future years without additional sponsorship funds
from all its Sponsors. Former President Ralph Seekins
made a motion to authorize Secretary Lynch to spend up to $41,000 to cover any
food and beverage shortfall. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved
by the Board. Additional
Sponsorship funding will be the subject of further discussion at the next Board
Meeting. Board Member Speaker Introductions Tanya
Hill distributed Bio’s on all the Ford Speakers. President Doetsch
asked for volunteers to introduce each of the speakers at the annual meeting.
After discussion Board members agreed to introduce the speakers as follows: Director Speaker President George Doetsch Alan Mulally Vice President Gus Palmar John Noone Past President Ralph Seekins Randy Ortiz Director Brad Webb Ken
Walton Past President & Director John Bearce Norma Conrad Past President Ed Witt Beth
Donovan Committee Reports Nominating Committee – Secretary Lynch advised that the term of three
Board Members was expiring and the Board needed to elect two new Officers (a
new President to replace outgoing President George Doetsch
and another to replace a vacated Vice President position). The Board was advised
that former Directors Tarik Daoud,
Al Long Ford,Inc. Discussion
ensued. After further discussion Vice President and Director Gus Palmar was nominated as President, Secretary-Treasurer and
Director Al Meyer as Vice President and Director Mike Collins, Sr. as
Secretary-Treasurer. In addition Tarik Daoud, Al Long Ford, Inc. President
George Doetsch asked Director Mickey Bowers what his
intentions were regarding his position on the Board as he had sold his
dealership within the last year and as a Vice President he could be considered
for the position to President in 2009. He advised that he planned to serve the
remainder of his term as a Director and then resign when his term expired at
the end of 2008. The question was raised whether someone who was no longer an
active dealer could be a Board member. Former President Ralph Seekins advised that the Association by-laws do not
specifically prohibit a member who no longer is the holder of a valid Sales
Agreement from being a Board member, but does prohibit that same member from
being elected as an Officer of the Association. Past Presidents of the
Association whether an active or retired dealer will have voting rights at any
meeting of the Board of Directors. A
motion was made and seconded to recommend the aforementioned slate of officers for
ratification by the membership at their annual meeting on Tuesday, October 23. The
Board thanked President George Doetsch for his
service and loyalty to the Board and his performance as President in 2007. Mr. Doetsch will remain on the Board as a Director. The Board
also thanked and expressed their appreciation to Directors Stovesand
and Remy for their years of service to the Board. Membership Committee – Secretary Lynch thanked the Board and Ford
Executives for their efforts in soliciting dealer attendance for the meeting. At
last count there were 102 dealers who had signed up to attend the 2007 meeting.
This was a huge improvement over attendance at the 2006 meeting and achieved
the goal of having at least 100 dealers in attendance. Of continuing
concern is the increase in membership and payment of membership dues (which
was previously discussed when reviewing the financial statements during this
meeting and was further discussed in “Other Business” later in these minutes). Throughout
2007 the dealership member list was continually purified to update emails,
phone numbers and changes in ownership. This will continue for 2008. A
quarterly letter or postcard was sent to all delinquent members requesting
payment of dues, providing updates on the annual meeting and encouraging their
on going participation in the Association.
The positive results were minimal versus the additional costs of the mailings. A
link to the website is being published in each newsletter to allow members who
had not attended the annual meeting to view the photos taken at the event to
illustrate what a good time everyone had and promote future attendance. It
appears the best way to solicit renewal memberships was by personal contact.
Secretary Lynch advised that he would be soliciting the Board members assistance
again in 2008 to bolster membership and meeting attendance. Awards Committee – Committee Chairs Bearce, Stovesand and Ruhl advised that
the Robert L. Rewey Award for 2007 would be presented
by the awards namesake, Bob Rewey at the welcoming
Dinner on Sunday night, October 21st instead of Monday Night.
Unfortunately Mr. Rewey cannot stay to be with us
Monday evening due to a prior commitment.
Future Goals of DD Alumni President George Doetsch solicited comments from Board members on what they
believed the future goals of the DD Alumni should be. After discussion the consensus
was as follows: ·
Continue to
strive to increase membership and annual meeting attendance. ·
Form a
Sponsorship Committee. Members would 1.
Serve for 3 years 2.
Help solicit
Sponsor contributions 3.
Work with Ford DD
on the Company’s Sponsorship funds (Volunteers to serve on this
Committee will be solicited at the next Board Meeting) Other Business President George Doetsch solicited comments on any items of new business. Discussion
ensued and the following recommendations were adopted:
conditions
and loss of market share continue there could be 50% less dealers.
Membership Dues Secretary Lynch advised that
due to increases in operating costs and the fact that membership dues had
remained flat the last three years ($35,000 in 2005, $34,200 in 2006 and $37,900
to date in 2007), the Board should consider raising membership dues. Operating
costs increases were predominately in the area of insurance, office supplies
and postage (attempting to collect membership dues from former members of the
Association) and printing. Lynch advised that he had
hoped that with the invitation of the Undergraduate dealers to the meeting,
approximately 100 dealers @ $300 each, would result in an additional $30,000 in income, however if dealers
did not come to the meeting they did not pay any dues. Also several dealers who
had consistently paid their dues in the past did not pay their 2007 dues and
some dealers who are attending the meeting still have not paid despite
collection efforts. When sending membership billings for 2007, Lynch advised he
also requested those who had not paid their dues for 2006 pay these delinquent
dues also. Some did, others did not. Discussion ensued. It was
unanimously agreed that all those who were attending the meeting had to pay
their dues. A motion was made to increase the membership dues for 2008. The
motion was seconded, but further discussion ensued. The motion was amended to
increase the membership dues to $400 annually for
active dealers and $200 annually for retired dealers who had sold their
dealership(s) and retired. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved by
the Board members present. The Ford Executives were
excused from the Board Meeting. Management Bonus Executive Secretary John
Lynch was excused from the meeting so the Board could discuss his compensation.
After discussion the Board approved a year end bonus in the amount of $15,000. The Board also awarded a
bonus of $5,000 to Mr. Lynch’s spouse, Linda. Next Board Meeting The next meeting of the Board
of Director will be held in February 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale
Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch, There being no further
business to discuss the meeting was adjourned by President George Doetsch at 10:55AM. Respectfully
submitted John J. Lynch, Executive Secretary
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