KIC NEWSLETTER
January – March 2003

Minutes of Board Meeting
February 20, 2003
St. Charles, Illinois

Call to order:
The meeting was called to order at 1:15 PM by President Charlie Pistorio

In Attendance:
Charles Pistorio, President
Bob White, Executive Director
Norm DeBoever
Stan Kovalak
Tom Johnson
Darrell Sitarz
Dave Larson
Tom Fehring

Not in Attendance:
Angelo Sodano

Financial Report:
Bob White reported the following:

As of December 31, 2002
Checking Account Balance:  $ 5,955.85
Certificate of Deposit: $21,648.50
Total    $27,604.35

As of January 31, 2003
Checking Account Balance: $ 6,588.50
Certificate of Deposit: $21,648.50
Total    $28,237.00

For the period January 1, to December 31, 2002
Revenues:   $17,564.45
Operating Expenses;  $27,373.88
Income (Loss)             ($ 9,809.43)

For the period January 1 to January 31, 2003
Revenues:   $ 3,337.62
Operating Expenses  $ 1,994.97
Income (Loss)  $ 1,232.65
 

Dave Larson made a motion to accept the financial report. �
Tom Johnson seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved.

KIC Policies:
This topic was deferred because Angelo Sodano, who raised the issue, had not yet arrived.

Marketing Plan:
At the previous meeting, the board had agreed that Darrell Sitarz’ marketing plan for a National Kart Week should be presented to the major karting organizations at the next “Summit” meeting.  Darrell gave a brief summary of his plan as previously presented.  The board then had a lengthy discussion about the target customer, how to obtain funding and who would benefit from such an event.  The discussion included how to attract people and funding from outside the karting community, what incentives could be offered to potential sponsors and the various possible ways to market the event.  While no agreement was reached on how to move forward on the plan, it was again agreed to present the plan at the upcoming “Summit” meeting.

KIC Website:
Bob White provided a recap of the site’s current status.  He has received comments from KIC members that the site has little to benefit them and that it is not current.  He explained that it is currently updated only four times a year after the KIC board meetings.  He also discussed what the site has cost to date and the expense of updates.  Various board members provided input on the costs of hosting and updating a website.  Many of the board considered the current cost of hosting the site to be excessive.  As a result, Darrell was asked to contact Steve Owenby to obtain clarification of his recent invoices.  In addition, Dave Larson made a motion, seconded by Tom Johnson, that Darrell contact Bob Evans at 4-cycle.com to offer him a KIC membership in return for hosting the KIC site.  The motion was approved by six of the seven board members.

KIC Membership Plaques:
As discussed at the previous meeting, Tom Patronite researched the cost of framed KIC membership certificates.  In a letter to Bob White, Tom volunteered to print the certificates if KIC provided the frames.  However, the board decided that the cost of shipping framed certificates to members would be prohibitive.  Dave Larson suggested that KIC provide wooden plaques with brass or vinyl plates since they would be less delicate and less expensive to ship.  Tom Johnson volunteered to print vinyl plates with the KIC logo.  There was motion by Darrell, seconded by Stan, that KIC obtain 5” x 7” wooden plaques and that Tom Johnson provide vinyl plates with the KIC logo.  The motion was approved by all board members.

Credit Report:
Bob White distributed copies of the latest report.  As discussed at the prior meeting, the report has been renamed “Confidential Report” and marked “For Members Only”.  The board once again discussed the fact that the report is only a listing of shops/vendors that are delinquent in paying amounts owed to KIC members.  Tom Johnson suggested that the report would be more effective if these “delinquents” were reported to a credit agency such as TRW.  He volunteered to check with TRW to determine if that is possible.  In addition, after a brief discussion, the board agreed to drop from the report offenders who had been reported by members who have not renewed their memberships

Track Committee:
Tom Johnson, head of the track committee, reported that no action has been taken to date because the board has not yet decided what KIC wants the committee to accomplish.  There was a renewed discussion of what KIC has to offer to track owners.  No conclusions were reached.

National Tech Committee:
Bob White, head of the committee, reported that there was a meeting of the committee scheduled for Friday, February 21, 2003.  The main purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the accomplishments to date and items that still need resolution.  Bob reported that many two-cycle issues have been resolved.  Open issues include ports in HPV classes and clutches in Yamaha classes.  Upcoming issues include front brakes and fuel tech.  Unfortunately, little progress has been made on four-cycle issues because many of the nominated representatives have not been available.  In the shifter program, all the major organizations except for SKUSA have implemented CIK rules for their ICC classes.  Bob also noted that both WKA and IKF have put KIC advertisements in their 2003 technical manuals.

Summit Meeting:
The third Summit Meeting is scheduled for the morning of February 23, 2003. Two major issues will be discussed: 1) The overlapping of race schedules and 2) the progress of the National Tech Committee. In addition, the marketing plan for a National Kart Week will be distributed to attendees.

Membership Drive:
As agreed to at the prior meeting, follow-up mailings to the November and former member lists, and initial mailings to the track owner list were sent.  No responses have been received to date from these mailings.

Next Board Meeting Date:
No date was set for the next meeting.  Bob White and Charlie Pistorio will develop a list of potential dates and coordinate with the other board members.  The meeting will be held either in Columbus, Ohio or Indianapolis, Indiana.

Adjournment:
About 7:45 PM Stan Kovalak made a motion for adjournment.  The motion, seconded by Tom Johnson, was unanimously approved.
 

KIC Summit Meeting
February 23, 2003
St, Charles, Illinois

Host Organization:
Karting Industry Council
Charles Pistorio -�
Bob White

Representing the US Associations
Brad Swiggart – International Kart Federation
Dave Larson – International Racing Association
Paul Zalud – Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow
Mitch Wright – SCCA�
Jim Murley – SKUSA�
Ken Venburg – World Karting Association

Not present
Karters of America Racing Triad (KART)

Call to order
Charles Pistorio called the meeting to order about 8:25 A.M.  Each of the attendees was asked to introduce themselves.  Charlie then offered a brief recap of the agenda for the meeting.

The following agenda topics were discussed:

Safety Issues
Brad Swiggert (IKF) discussed some information about safe helmets for children.  The problem is that helmets for children need a different type of liner than that used in adult helmets because children have softer skulls.  Currently, most of the karting organizations’ technical manuals require the use of a helmet with a Snell rating of 95 or higher.  Testing for the Snell rating is based on the helmet construction used for adults, and does not make allowance for children’s softer skulls.  According to SFI, a nonprofit California-based safety research organization, a helmet with a Snell rating of 95 may be potentially dangerous to children.

At this time, only Snell and SFI certify helmet safety ratings.  As president of IKF, Brad plans to introduce to his board a technical requirement that helmets be approved by either Snell or SFI. There was a general discussion that resulted in suggestions that KIC join SFI to receive their safety publications and keep abreast of their safety research.  There was also a suggestion that KIC send representatives to the annual SAE Motor sports Conference and participate in their helmet safety seminars.  In the meantime, Brad will distribute copies of the information he has received to the other attendees.  Mitch Wright agreed to discuss the information with the SCCA trauma doctor for his comments.  All the attendees expressed their desire to develop a common standard to increase the safety of kids’ helmets.

Overlapping of national race schedules
All the organizations are aware of the competition for the limited number of tracks and race dates.  They agreed that less overlap would allow karters to attend more races, to the benefit of all the organizations.  Charlie Pistorio distributed a small, multi-fold calendar, prepared by Kart Marketing International, that contains the national race schedules for all the major organizations.  He expressed the hope that all the organizations will continue to coordinate in an effort to reduce overlap in the future.
 

Technical Issues
Bob White reviewed the status of the National Tech Committee.  The committee, which was formed as a result of the last Summit meeting, held it first joint meeting on February 21, 2003.  The purpose of the meeting was to review issues that have been resolved to date, as well as new issues that will be addressed in the coming year.

Bob reported that the committee has made significant progress toward establishing common rules among the organizations for two-cycle tech.  Unfortunately, little progress has been made in the four-cycle area because volunteers have not been available.  Among the significant issues to be addressed in the coming year are the CIK changes in bodywork, the phase-in of major rule changes and the potential development of a Two Cycle Technical Seminar Series.

The committee is developing a proposed standard for the implementation of the new CIK bodywork.  Bob will submit the proposal at the next WKA board meeting in March 2003 The goal is that if WKA, as the CIK representative for the United States, accepts the proposed standard, and then all the other organizations will implement it.  Mitch Wright noted that the CIK changes were made to address safety issues and in his opinion, it is important that all the organizations adopt the changes.

Because of the confusion that has existed about the implementation of the new bodywork, the tech committee has recommended that in the future, major rule changes should be announced a year in advance to allow both karters and manufacturers time to react to the changes.

At its meeting the National Tech Committee also discussed the issues of pre-tech and tech inspection.  The committee volunteered to develop and present a seminar on the inspection of two-cycle engines.  The seminar would explain the proper procedures and techniques for performing the technical inspection, as well as what tools are needed for the inspection.  The committee wanted to know if the organizations would support such a seminar.  The attendees were in favor of KIC undertaking this project.

Finally, Bob noted that a National Tech Team was also formed after the last meeting.  In the past year, team members Scott Evans, Phil Poole, Ron Pierce and alternates Jim Stroud and Jack Hoergel have provided technical assistance to the SCCA, WKA, Stars of Tomorrow and Rotax programs.

National Kart Week
Charlie Pistorio asked for the attendees’ input on the staging of a national kart week.  He distributed copies of the marketing plan prepared by Darrell Sitarz of Kart Marketing International.  There was some discussion about the timing and venue for such an event.  The attendees agreed to review the proposal and provide their comments to KIC.

Closing
Charlie Pistorio expressed his appreciation to the representatives that attended the meeting.  He asked for any questions, comments or suggestions for topics for KIC involvement.  The meeting adjourned about 10:00 A.M.
 

KIC THANKS KMG
The Karting Industry Council would like to thank Darrell Sitarz and his company, the Kart Marketing Group, Inc. for the booth space that was donated for the association at the 2003 Kart Expo in St. Charles, Illinois in February. Sitarz also made available space for KIC banners to be displayed in both the seminar and forums rooms during the show. 

Additionally, Sitarz continues to provide ad space for a KIC ad banner on his widely-read karting news and information website www.e-KMI.com at no charge.  The KIC banner links readers directly to the new KIC website. 

ARE YOU MAKING A PROFIT?�
By Darrell Sitarz

Karting is competitive by nature and with discounting so prevalent in today’s marketplace, it is important to know if you are making a profit on the products you’re selling. Here is a simple worksheet which will help you determine if you are selling products at the correct price and making a profit (or losing money) from each sale. I suggest taking at least two or three sample products from each of your suppliers to get an accurate understanding of the profit or lost from each. 

Basic Worksheet�
1. Company Name: __________________________�
2. Item Name/Part Number:  ___________________�
3. MSRP: $_________________________________�
4. Average Selling Price: $_____________________
5. Percent of Discount off MSRP:  _______________
6. Item Cost: $_______________________________
7. Freight Cost: $_____________________________
8. Subtotal (Lines 6+7): ________________________�
9. Overhead Percentage (See Note Below) ________________
10. Overhead Cost In Average Selling Price: _______
11. Actual Total Cost of Item (Lines 8 +10) ______________

Profit/Loss
12. Average Selling Price $_____________________�
13. Actual Total Cost of Item (Line 11) $___________
14. Dollar Difference (+ or -) $___________________
15. Percentage Difference (+ or -) _______________

Gross Profit/Loss
16. Average Selling Price $______________________
17. Item Cost (Line $  _______________________
18. Gross Profit Dollars (+ or -) $_________________
19. Gross Profit Percentage (+ or -) $______________

Sample Worksheet�
(Note: Sample figures are used for demonstration purposes)�
Line 1. Company Name: ABC Helmet Supply, Inc.�
Line 2. Item Name/Part Number: Brain Bucket  #1234
Line 3. MSRP: $129.95�
Line 4. Average Selling Price: $103.95�
Line 5. Percentage of Discount off MSRP: 20%�
Line 6. Item Cost: $64.98�
Line 7. Freight Cost: $4.32�
Line 8. Subtotal (Lines 6+7): $69.30�
Line 9. Overhead percentage: 18% (See note below)�
Line 10. Overhead $ in Average Selling Price: $18.71�
Line 11. Actual Cost of Item (Line 8+10): $88.01 

Net Profit/Loss
Line 12. Average Selling Price: $103.95�
Line 13. Actual Total Cost of Item (Line 11) $88.01�
Line 14. Dollar Difference (+/-): $15.94+�
Line 15. Percentage Difference (+/-): 15.33%+ 

Gross Profit/Loss
Line 16. Average Selling Price: $103.95�
Line 17. Item Cost (Line 8): $69.30�
Line 18. Gross Profit Dollars (+/-): $34.65�
Line 19. Gross Profit Percentage (+/-): 33.33% 

Note: Overhead Percentage (Line 9): Your accountant or bookkeeper should determine this figure. Be completely honest and accurate when figuring your overhead percentage. 

As you can see in the sample worksheet, there is quite a difference between Net Profit and Gross Profit. Using the worksheet, determine which of your products are making a profit and which are not. You can also use this worksheet to determine the selling prices required to make a profit. Keep all of your worksheets so you can refer to them if selling prices, costs or overhead percentage change.�
INTERESTING READING
Starting from ‘No’ By Azriela Jaffe�
ISBN 1-57410-122-6�
272 Pages - Paperback 

“No!”, “That won’t work.” “ What were you thinking?” “It’ll never happen.” These are just a few of the responses that get hurled around every business day. What can you do about rejection? How can you turn criticism into useful feedback? Are personal attacks always a bad thing? Few people are immune to the deleterious effects of rejection and criticism. Even the thick-skinned salesperson has trouble overcoming negative feedback. 

In her book Starting from “No”: 10 Strategies to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection and Succeed in Business, author Jaffe sets forth ten strategies for overcoming the fear of rejection in the business arena. Jaffe shares front-line stories, showing how she and others have successfully conquered the anxiety and dread that, unfortunately, can result when criticism is in the air.  “Overcoming rejection and making a distinction between useful feedback and personal attacks is hard work, especially against the backdrop of competition”, say Jaffe. “Rejection, even the fear of it, eats away at our confidence and self-esteem. With the right tools, however, people can rid themselves of the fear and get back to what’s important.” 

Jaffe shares her own stories as an entrepreneur who struggled with the despair and self-doubt that often followed episodes of rejection. “When you run a business, or appear in the public eye, someone, somewhere always has something critical to say about you.  You can’t escape criticism, no matter how perfect you try to be, she writes, “I finally learned to listen and evaluate criticism, take the best and learn from it, and leave the rest and move on.”  

Throughout the book, Ms. Jaffe puts her readers to the test - literally, with self-administered exams designed to help people recognize way in which they can shake themselves from the debilitating effects of rejection in business. In addition, under the “Try This!” headings, each chapter includes action tips designed to propel you out of the bottomless pit of rejection.  

You can order this book from your local bookstore by using the ISBN number provided.�