2025 Minutes for Wednesday, July 9 Board Meeting
Officers
President: Mary Smith
Vice President: (vacant)
Secretary: Bobbie Berkman
Treasurer: Al Peters
Past President: Anne Squire
Group Reps
Amblers: Carol Evans, Lena Birch
Ramblers: Nancy Verner, Harriet Schwartz
Trekkers: Rich Kinsey, Adrienne Roth
Scramblers: Marcelle Welch, Slava Tetelbaum
President opened the meeting at 4:00 PM.
Roll Call : Bobbie Berkman
Al Peters and Carol Evans were absent.
Review of Agenda : Mary Smith
Minutes approved from May 2025 meeting.
Board reports:
Treasurer: Al Peters (absent)
Signature cards have been updated at Poppy Bank.
Approved removal of Don Barber as signatory due to resignation.
Copy of these minutes provided to Poppy Bank to confirm the above.
Committee reports:
Membership - Joanie Boyle
- 371 members currently
- New members - Lori Miller-Klein
- 8 new members in May
- 12 new members in June
half year membership dues kicked in on July 1
Trails Steward - Jim Pearson, new Trail Steward, introduced to the Board by Mary Smith
He reported that MOD cut down the grass along the trails for fire prevention.
He sent out an email to the crew with a timeline and a list of the tasks that need to be done. 35 volunteers are currently on the contact list.
Jim acknowledged Larry as a good leader as he made the work fun, and people were willing to come back to do trail maintenance. Kudos to Larry!
Rich Kinsey reported that new trail signage will go up beginning at the end of July.
Safety Issues - Harriet Schwartz
Signup sheets have been updated to include emergency contact info and ID drivers.
Leaders need to emphasize that emergency information needs to be filled in and kept up to date on backpack tags.
Mary emphasized that medication be included on the tag. If we have an incident on the hike, we want to make sure there’s no contra-indications to medical care and medical staff can get in touch with family member to approve care.
Leaders have to remember to take the sign-up sheets with them on the hike so they can count off again at the trailhead.
Driver safety can be an issue and has to be handled tactfully. If someone does not want to ride with a specfic person they should talk to the hike leader beforehand.
Harriet said hikers should learn how to call 911 without cell service on an iPhone 14, 15, or 16. Make sure your emergency information, and your medical ID stuff is enabled on your cellphone.
Hike Leadership Training and Mentoring
Harriet reported on one past successful leadership meeting following which several new members scouted then led one hike but they just never came back after that.
Lena reported that the Amblers are in good shape and have a good number of hike leaders and participants. Amblers tend to be back from hikes between 12 and 1 PM which might make them more attractive.
The Ramblers are having a really tough time right now and Harriet thinks a lot of it is due to illness. Many of the people who used to hike with us were leading one hike a month but a lot of them can’t do it anymore. She asked for suggestions on how to get new leaders.
The Trekkers are struggling as well.
Anne said we have not implemented the rule that members lead 2 hikes a year for those wanting to attend the safaris.
Mary asked Harriet to speak with the Quarterly Captains and come up with a motion for the next meeting that requires leading a hike in order to attend safaris.
Mary mentioned two updated Hiking Resources.
Ros Carol updated her Ambler Hikes book (*.pdf) and it is available on the website. Thank you Ros!
Bruce Freedland updated his map and QR code instructions for Rossmoor Walks and it is available on the website. Thank you Bruce!
Technology - Anne Squire
Website home page has been updated. Search and Contact are more visible.
Past Board minutes from 2023 to Current are now searchable.
Additional minutes can be added if available in a digital format.
Events : Kathy Devine and Molly Clopp
Potluck picnic on August 21 is a go. Sign up due date is August 13.
Hosts, Joanie Boyle and Pat Kramm, have organized with Ellen and Molly all the due dates for advertising in emails and in the newspaper.
Cashew based ice cream will be served following the Potluck.
Annual Meeting and Potluck on October 28 will be hosted by Mary Smith with Jennifer Arevalo and Jackie Stuart.
The Notable Volunteers Brunch will be hosted on November 13th by Mary Smith and Anne Squire.
The Holiday Party will be hosted on December 11 by Janet Jolley and Shirley Wiegand.
The caterer will be Englunds.
The Last Hike Party will be hosted on December 20 by Dave & Gloria Kern.
Mary has done a very good job securing 2026 event spaces with the Reservation Department. All the events have been scheduled for the coming year but Event Coordinators hope to have two of our moved from the Fireside Room to the Event Center as originally requested.
Priority is being given to musical performances at the Event Center but there is a possibility that we may get that venue. Mary will follow-up.
Past events and Outings - Thanks!
Kickan Wilson, Marsha Thrall, Carolyn Walkling, setup and cleanup crew for June picnic.
Angela Norton for teaching line dancing and for the background music before and during the June picnic.
Ros Carol and Carolyn Walkling for outing to Tunnel Tops.
Note: There was an issue that a lot of people signed up but some did not turn up or let Carolyn know.
Upcoming Outings: Angel Island, August 17, Ros and Carolyn
Safaris : Anne
Sisters, Oregon - July 21-26, 2025.
Mary Smith (hike logistics and locations), Anne Squire (orientation and messaging), Ros Carol (Monday night pizza)
Joshua Tree - November 2025 - Harriet Schwartz
Tucson, AZ - March 2026 - Sue Margolis
Club Fair:
We had a table outside with a big banner on poles. There was a good crew of helpers, including Joanie Boyle, Lori Miller-Klein, Ellen Gilman, and LenaBirch. Anne and Peter stayed all day.
Old Business: Mary Smith
A committee has been working on the by-laws. There has been a suggestion of revising the By-laws and that the President, Vice- president, Treasurer and Ex-officio terms be extended to two years so new Board members didn't have to be recruited every year. Staggered two year terms would provide continuity as well.
Mary asks if there is a motion on this issue but none was put forth. Rich and others discussed the various staggered terms idea for a two year commitment. Also, there is nothing in the by-laws stopping someone to sign up for another two year term.
On August 27th, a Nominating Committee will meet with current officers and one member from each hiking group to recommend a slate of officers for the following year. The new slate will be ready by September 10th and must be shared with Club membership 30 days before the Annual Meeting on October 28.
It was suggested that the Nominating Committee could ask other clubs how they form their form their officers’ terms. Mary will send out an email message about that in August.
Open positions are President, Vice President and one Rep from each hiking group.
Bill Patten tendered his resignation July 3rd. as one of the Trekker Representatives. Adrienne Roth has stepped in to take his place. Thank you Adrienne!
Mary will become Ex Officio Board Member in January 2026 unless she volunteers to run again as President, which would give the new Vice-President a year to become familiar with the Board.
New Business: Mary Smith
Rossmoor's legal name will become Rossmoor Walnut Creek but no change is required in the By-laws as name change is DBA (Doing Business As).
Resetting the board calendar to meet every three months instead of every two months was discussed and approved BUT needs to added to the Revised By-laws to be voted on and approved at the General Meeting in October to finalize the change.
Club calendar would move to four meetings a year January, April, September and December on the second Wednesday from 4 to 6 PM.
It was clarified that the December meeting would be a wrap-up of the last year. The January meeting would present the new officers, a review of prior incident reports and a start on an agenda of new business.
Club would need to change our request to the reservation department for new dates and time
Mary had suggestions from members Adrienne Roth and Margaret Clark that the East Bay Municipal Utility District do a presentation for us open to the whole Rossmoor community.
Elliott volunteered to put it together and follow up with EB MUD.
It’s been suggested several times that we make a donation to local hiking resources. We can donate to any non-profit organization as long as no board member benefits personally.
A motion was approved that we donate to the John Muir Land Trust.
We will decide on an appropriate amount at the next meeting and invite a representative to our meeting to receive the check.
Shirley Wiegand has been an liaison with the Trust.
MEETING ADJOURNED at 5:03 PM.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by Roberta Berkman, Secretary.
Reformatted for email by Anne Squire in case of errors or omissions.
trailsclubofrossmoor.com is your best source for information about the Club activities, events, hiking information, etc.
Next Meeting:
September 10 2025