TEAE Emergency Board Meeting Minutes

June 15, 2025
7:00 p.m. EDT

Slides for the meeting can be found here (at the bottom of this page)

Slide 2

Welcome, Roll Call, Agenda

A Video Conference was called to order by President Kerch McConlogue at 7:00 p.m.

Elected Officers Present:  President Kerch McConlogue and Secretary Barb Blue

Board Members Present:  Tom Calvert, Tom Ehrhart, Barb Geschke, Eric Gibeaut, Joe   McConlogue, Jim Lindner, and Gordon Foss

Regional Representatives Present:  David Kellogg, Bill Bulpitt, Joe Montecalvo, Alan Geschke

Others:  David Hall

It was noted that we had a quorum.

Kerch turned to meeting over to Jim Lindner who went over the issue and the options for all:

The Issue:

United 42 host hotel, Embassy Suites Charlotte-Concord has advised that its parent company has decided to commence renovations in September, 2025. 

  • The TEAE room block of 55 rooms/night will be reduced by 25 rooms.
  • Currently, all 55 rooms are booked, so about half of the attendees will have their room  canceled

Embassy Suites floor plan: Slide 3

  • -Four floors of rooms will be out of service
  • -The main entrance will be closed
  • -The Atrium where all could gather will be closed
  • -The reception desk will be moved to the east entrance
  • -Our Parts/meeting room, our Banquet rooms, and Hospitality are not affected

Option 1: Slide 4

Stay at the Embassy Suites, but move the date of the United to August 17 to 21—prior to Renovations

Impact of Option 1

  • -All United Activities will need to be rescheduled and rebooked (if possible)
  •             Concours site
  •             Friday and Saturday lunches
  •             Sunday attraction visits
  • -Logo revised, new dash plaques purchased
  • -Weather:  North Carolina in August
  • -Attendance impact:  Some might not want to/be able to reschedule
  • -Notification to membership

Option 2: Slide 5

Keep the September date, but move 25 rooms to another hotel

-Another hotel has been identified about 8 miles/15 minutes south

Tried 3 other closer hotels without success

 Hilton Charlotte University Place

  •       Closer to downtown
  •       Rate is the same
  •       Vouchers will be given for breakfast
  •       Additional rooms can be added

The impact of Option 2:

  • -About half of our attendees will be affected and inconvenienced
  • -Entire United experience and socialization compromised. . . access to parts room, meeting  room, hospitality suite and banquet affected
  • -How do we decide who is inconvenienced?  Last in? First out?
  • -Attendance impact:  Likely will cause many to be unhappy
  • -There will still be construction at the Embassy Suites that could still cause interference/ nuisance

Slide 6: Map showing location of Embassy Suites and Hilton Charlotte University Place

Option 3: Slide 7

Keep Dates, but move entire event to another host hotel in the area

-Tried five different hotels and only one can accommodate us

  • -The Hilton Charlotte Airport can accommodate our entire group
  •       -Located SW of Charlotte, near Airport
  •             More congested area
  •             Somewhat isolated.  Not many restaurants or points of interest locally
  •             NC Transport Museum, Lake Norman, Five Points Pub (where we planned activities) are all at least one hour.  Concours site is 45 minutes away
  •      -Has similar facilities
  •      -Will honor all our contractual arrangements
  •      -Can add five additional rooms per night (maybe more) to accommodate those who were  unable to get a reservation at Embassy Suites
  •      -Need to physically inspect the hotel and meet with management to make sure they can   accommodate our needs
  •             There could be issues with trailer parking
  •      -Redo banquet choices for those already registered and change on registration
  •      -Driving tour will need to be adjusted
  •      -Impact on attendance will be unknown
  •      -Membership notification
  •      -We will lose $1000 grant from Cabarrus County where Embassy Suites is located

Slide 8:Floor plan for Hilton Charlotte Airport

Slide 9

  • Map showing location of Hilton Charlotte Airport and Embassy Suites Charlotte-Concord
  • Overhead photo of Hilton Charlotte Airport showing potential trailer parking issue
  •       -That issue could be resolved by getting nearby businesses to let us park trailers in their lots

Option 4: Slide 10

Cancel United 42

      -No need to say anything more if we opt to cancel

United 42 Expenses to date: Slide 11

Hotel Deposit              $1000  Refunded/transferred

Giveaway Travel Bag $658    TEAE Log Only—good anytime

Logo/Dash Plaques    $151    Money lost/Buy new ones (Option 1)

Trophies                      $75      About $40 lost, bases used again

Concours site              $60      Lost unless we can reschedule

Credit Card Fees        $???    Loss on refunds         

Discussion: Slide 12

It was decided to vote first on Option 4—should United 42 be cancelled?

  • -Cost to cancel was mentioned
  • -Five of seven board members present voted against canceling United 42

      See table below showing the votes

Because we are not cancelling, the next discussion was about changing the date to August 17 to 21.

  • -Some of the impact points were again discussed.
  • -Formal vote was not taken, but consensus was against changing the dates
  • -Two board members said there would be no impact for them if the date was moved.

Discussion turned to Option 3—to move the hotel location.

-Again, more discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of moving the venue

  • -No vote was taken but the discussion shifted away from changing the location

Discussion turned to using Option 2—using two hotels, the Embassy Suites of Charlotte/Concord and Hilton Charlotte University Place.

After discussing pros and cons, vote was taken and this is the option that will be used.

Discussion continued about how to decide who is inconvenienced

  • -It was decided that organizers of the events will stay at Embassy Suites,
  • -Decision about others who would not be moved will be decided on a who registered first    basis.
  • -Jim will contact hotel to get dates and times of registrants and decide who will need to move
  • -He will learn about how the move will be made—if all are moved en masse or if each who  loses their room will have to re-register at University Place
  • -Jim will confirm that all moved will receive the same rate that they were getting at Embassy Suites
  • -Jim will also confirm that any extras who have been unable to get a room for United can get a room at the same rate as those who have already booked at the University Place
  • -Regarding the inconvenience of participants being at two locations
    •      –it will be suggested that people with tow vehicles could park trailers and cars at the Embassy Suites and use tow vehicle to move between the two locations
    •      –Inquiries about the possibility of shuttle bus service will be made
  • -Kerch and Jim will draft and send a communication to all club members about the hotel   situation and the solution that the Board decided to take
  • -Kerch will update the registration system to reflect the new hotel arrangement
  • -Follow-up phone calls will be made to members who haven’t responded to the hotel change notification

It was also noted that there are other hotels in the area where participants can get rooms—some hotels cost more and some even cost less.

Table of summary of votes on options taken:

Board MemberOption 1: Change the DateOption 2:  Two hotelsOption 3: Move the hotel locationOption 4:  Cancel the United
Tom Calvert No No
Tom Ehrhart Yes No
Barb GeschkeOK       Yes No
Eric Gibeaut Yes  
Joe McConlogueOK       Yes No
Jim Lindner    
Gordon Foss Yes No
  • -Jim confirmed that he will not plan the next United. 
  • -Kerch suggested considering Camelback in the Poconos as a potential venue for next year’s  event noting its amenities and proximity to the racetrack.
  • -Eric and others expressed appreciation for Jim’s efforts in helping to organize our United 42  and for all of his efforts in managing this current situation.
  • -David volunteered to help with phone calls to members as needed.

Motion to Adjourn made and seconded and adjourned at 8:11 p.m. EDT.

TEAE BOD Emergency Meeting June 2025Download

Treasurer’s Duties

Duties

  • Maintain club checking account
  • Prepare monthly income/expense reconciliation
  • Make deposits as received from Membership Chair; reconcile to reporting and segregate payments for United registrations.
  • Pay bills as required
  • Monitor expenses and alert Board to any significant issues
  • Prepare quarterly and annual income/expense statements; interim statements and budgets as requested
  • Complete annual tax form (990) for non-profit organizations
  • Assist incoming Treasurer with transfer of funds, assuring smooth transition to new bank

Guidelines for Best Practices

  • Treasurer chooses bank—usually one that they are familiar with; preferably a national chain and one that would allow deposits by Membership chair or via digital image.
  • Strongly suggest two signers on the account, just to have backup in the event of an emergency. Also suggest that Treasurer email Excel workbook to President or another officer, to serve as a recovery tool in the event of emergency.
  • Routine bills (newsletter, insurance, postage, etc.) have standing approval; anything else should have review and approval by Board. United Chairpersons can approve United expenses, provided they are in line with pre-approved budget.
  • Treasurer should call attention to any significant variances in expenditures and make recommendations for cost savings as possible.

Supplied by Barb Geschke (previous treasurer)

Board Meeting Febrary 9, 2025

Slides for the meeting can be found here (opens in new tab)

A Video Conference Meeting was called to order by President Kerch McConlogue at 3:00 pm.

Minutes from the July 2024 Board meeting were approved as posted

Elected Officers Present: President Kerch McConlogue, Vice President, Kate Lawler, Treasurer, Todd Reid, and Secretary, Barb Blue

Board Members Present: Tom Ehrhart, Tom Calvert, Jim Lindner, Eric Gibeaut, Barb Geschke and Joe Parlanti

Others: David Reina, David Kellogg, Bill Bulpitt, Ron Stein

Slide 4-5: Treasurer’s Report, Todd Reid

The move of our bank account between Wells Fargo branches became problematic. Progress is being made to move to M&T Bank instead.

We have about $40,000 in the account at this time, but the actual balance sheet is to be determined.

Slides 6 through 12: Membership Report, Kerch McConlogue

Joe McConlogue was in the Hospital

  • 18 members do not have email addresses.
  • Using a credit card to renew a membership is easier than using PayPal and the cost of using PayPal is actually a bit more than using a credit card
  • Thanks to the Regional Reps for tracking down new members and members who are late in renewing their memberships
  • And thanks to Joe for updating Regional Reps on new members.
  • Records show that the Member Roster was accessed only 9 times in the year. Several people questioned this saying they probably accessed the roster that many times themselves.
  • As the Ohio River Valley rep does not use email, the main mode of messaging, it was decided to find a replacement. Jean Webb was suggested. Tom Ehrhart (?)to contact her. Jim Lindner volunteered to notify Doug Jennings of his replacement.

Slides 1-16: Editor/Webmaster Report, Kerch McConlogue

There was discussion about combining the January and February issues of the RootesReview because of lack of content and the holiday complications. There was discussion about printing bimonthly and publishing monthly. This is actually more work for the editor.
The consensus was that unless it is a budget issue, then do not change to bi-monthly.
On slide 14, was the amount for July with 20 pages a typo ($1079) as June at 20 pages was $1758

Facebook membership is up about 300 members since August

Kerch has found a source of regalia: bitsoftriumph.com will do individual, personalized embroidered shirts, etc with our emblem

Slide 17: Additional Reports

David Kellogg reported Steve Towle has requested/encouraged that TEAE make the Bristol Rhode Island British Car show a sanctioned event
Tom Ehrhart suggested making a BASH of the event
It is June 6 to 7, 2025, so same weekend at Susquehanna BASH
David mentioned the $500 fee to establish a class of cars, but maybe that could be waived for if we don’t request a class, just acknowledgement of participation.

United 42

Cannot do concours in Frank Liske Park—looking for another location or a different location in the park.
Attraction visits will be available in lieu of the Autocross.
The NC Transport Museum is very interesting per Bill Bulpitt. He will write up something for the newsletter about this attraction

Slide 20: Budget Estimate for United 42

The numbers on this budget estimate do not include sales tax
Trying very hard to keep registration fee down ($175 per person is less than recent years)

Slide 21: Three Year Business Plan Update

  • Regarding the change of tax status from 501(c)7 to a 501(c)3
    Email from Joe Montecalvo rebutting the cost of fees to convert to a 501(c)3. Kerch points out that Joe’s group is only in California, but we are nationwide. Also, Joe’s website is focused totally on charity. TEAE is a social group, not a charity group
  • Expanding membership west of the Mississippi River was mentioned again
  • Regarding producing technical videos
    This is going to be virtually impossible for TEAE. Lots of technical videos out there already
  • Kate Lawler suggested and said she would make a playlist of YouTube videos that can be posted as a play list on our website with a link on our Facebook page
  • Currently, there is no link from our Facebook page to our website

Slide 22: Proposed TAC improvements

These items were discussed

Slide 24: SUNI VIII (2026)


Tom sent information about SUNI via Kerch before the meeting for everyone to review
Claudia and Buck are planning a SUNI for 2026.
One of the policies of SUNI is that we won’t hold our own event in the same year.
But 2026 is the 50th Anniversary for TEAE and we might want to celebrate that ourselves.
Additionally, Tom says that the original tenets of SUNI are being violated
So should we even be involved?
A motion was made and seconded. The motion passed. We will not be involved in the 2026 SUNI.

Slide 25: United 43 (2026)

Jim Lindner is not doing it!
Tom Ehrhart will look at hotels.
Location in New Jersey (perhaps Smithville, NJ) is being considered. October at the shore might be more open than September, but it could still be crowded and therefore expensive. Tom Hillmann will be asked to organize the United 43.

Barb Geschke asked if we have gotten rid of rotating to different parts of the country. Someone said yes, but Tom Ehrhart thinks we should try to keep moving around.

We have traditionally had 4 Zones to hold Uniteds—North, South, Mid Atlantic, and MidWest. The far west is regularly discussed but without much support.

After discussion, it is proposed: 2026 MidAtlantic, 2027 Midwest, 2028 North (New England), 2029 South

Suggested locations for 2030 were Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Valley Forge.

Slide 26: Wrap Up

Notes regarding TEAE.org forwarded email:
Our mail processor will not forward mail to addresses using one of these domains: Outlook, Hotmail, Live, AOL, Comcast, Microsoft, or Verizon
Therefore, TEAE position-based email (for example:Secretary@teae.org, Midwest@teae.org, etc.) will no longer work. (These addresses are used on the printed brochures and for officers) A new domain (TEAE-regions.net) was purchased by Kerch to support a new process for appropriate regional reps and for some officers who have addresses using those domains.

A short board meeting will happen in EARLY May to address the United issue.

Motion to Adjourn made and seconded and adjourned at 4:36 p.m. EST.

Barbara Blue
Secretary

Additional 501 (c) 3 answers from a professional in the field

Supporting information regarding becoming or adding a 501(c)3 organization:

From the report available below

Note also that audit costs generally begin at around $5,000 annually for small organizations.
This would be in addition to the $15,000 compliance costs referenced above.

It is my recommendation that if you’re not looking at a minimum of $100,000 in real dollars contributed annually, this will not pay off appropriately for the organization.

501 C 3 queriesDownload

Additional information about requirements for compliance with the rules for 501(c)3 organizations from Lawyers for NonProfits.