The Nov 2000 meeting was at the Flamingo Hilton from 8 AM until 5:25 PM on November 18. All 5 Excom members (Chair Tim Welles, Frank Reid, Jim Short, Steve Northcraft and Jim Payne plus President Larry Sanderson attended.

Tim opened the meeting with a review of the agenda and of the Excom role, responsibilities, and expectations.

We next spent 3 hours going over the SSA's Strategic Plan and setting priorities for the coming year. An important part of this was the assignment of responsibility for the various elements of the plan. We decided the "vital few" priorities would be governance (relations with FAA), development (strategic plan implementation), safety, and effective organization (optimization of staff, volunteers, and resources).

Rand Baldwin sent an excellent report on the status of the web site. Since the SSA does not have the resources to do all things we would like, he and his committee have set a list of goals and priorities.

We spent a lot of time discussing the elements of Aland Adams' excellent Contest Chair report. He has selected Dick Mockler as the chairman of the Contest Site Selection Committee. Gary Kemp is the new chairman of the US Team Committee. GPS flight recorders will be required for all nationals in 2001. Regional organizers have the option of all GPS or GPS/cameras as long as they specify by the preferential entry deadline.

Aland requested approval to pursue a plan to "investigate a standardized scoring program for US Nationals." He reported that he would like to "contract" with Guy Byars. The Excom agreed that the SSA should have a standardized program but that he should have an open competition. It is likely that Guy's program will win but to be fair others should be allowed to compete. Due to some problems at regionals the Excom also recommended Aland look into providing and hence requiring use of the SSA standard scoring program at regionals.

Aland noted that Contest Rules Committee is working a plan to determine Feminine and Junior National Champions. The suggestion is that the SSA construct a ranking list for each class based on each pilot's percentage of the winner's score from all US Nationals. The feminine and junior pilot in each class with the best percentage would be declared champion as long as some minimum number of feminine/junior pilots participated. The minimum might be set at five (5). The Excom sent this back to the Contest Committee for review at the Indianapolis Board Meeting. [Editorial comment: I think that the determination should be based on participation or some high level of of achievement, i.e. the highest scoring feminine pilot or junior pilot in Category One or Two should be a respective champion no matter how many participate.]

Aland recommended that the US Team Committee no longer fund nor manage participation in Junior, Feminine, and World Classes due to small participation. Since the IGC requires entries at a Worlds to be from the appropriate national aero club, the Excom felt it would not be fair to get rid of the responsibility while holding the authority. The Excom did however agree that any funds need to be allocated based on participation in each class.

Aland noted that Contest Rules Committee recommended changing the purpose of Sports Class to include selection of the World Club Class Team. This will be a Board agenda item at Indianapolis.

Speaking of Indy, things are moving along. The convention hotel, the Embassy Suites, (317) 236 1800, has a limited number of rooms call ASAP if you want a reservation.

The SSA has a contract for the 2002 at the Doubletree Inn in Ontario, California. The SSA office will have primary responsibility for the planning and conduct of this convention.

See you next spring in Indianapolis,
JP