MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING
November, 13, 2003
Las Vegas, Nevada

In Attendance:
Charlie Pistorio, President
Bob White, Executive Director
Randy Kugler
Dave Larson
Tom Patronite
Brad Sellers
Darrell Sitarz
Angelo Sodano
Charlie Sox

The meeting was called to order at 2:15 P.M.

Financial Report:
Executive Director Bob White reported the following:
For the period ending 01/01/03 - 10/31/03:

Revenues: $ 7,384.62
Operating Expenses $17,868.13
Net Operating Loss ($10,483.51)

Bob noted that both revenues and expenses are less than those for the same period a year ago. He also noted that based on estimated revenues and expenses for the next two months, there will be a net loss for this year of approximately $16,600. This would result in a cash balance of approximately $12,500 at the end of the year. He expressed his concern that KIC will be out of funds by the end of next year.

This was followed by a discussion of the need to increase revenues and the possibility of raising membership dues. The Board elected to follow the dues schedule stipulated in the bylaws, effectively increasing the current annual dues by $50.00 to $250.00.

There was further discussion about how to increase
membership. —- As discussed at prior meetings,
potential members want to know what benefits they will receive from joining KIC. For the benefit of new board members, Bob reviewed some of the mailings that KIC has made in an effort to recruit new members. There were suggestions that KIC board meetings be open to the general membership, that KIC reinstate the annual general membership meetings and that KIC promote itself as the spokesperson for the manufacturers to the various karting organizations. There was general agreement on all issues, although no motion was necessary.

A motion was made to accept the financial report. It was seconded, and the report was unanimously approved. Another motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the minutes of the prior meeting.

Members’ Confidential Report:
Bob White distributed copies of the latest report as well as copies of the current membership list. He reported that there has been little activity reported recently. The board once again agreed that the report is a useful tool to members and should be continued, but that its success is dependant upon member participation, with members making timely, accurate, updates.

As suggested by board member Tom Johnson, Bob contacted TransUnion, a credit collection agency. In addition to a set-up fee and a monthly fee, the agency expects at least 100 referrals each month. The board agreed that this would not be practical for KIC. The board asked that Bob contact TRW to determine if they have a similar program that would be more practical.

New Board Members:
President Charlie Pistorio officially welcomed new board members Randy Kugler, Brad Sellers and Charlie Sox. He thanked them for their participation.

At the same time, he noted that board members Norm DeBoever and Stan Kovalak have resigned. The board agreed to send letters of appreciation to each of them.
DECEMBER 2003
Election of Officers:
Charlie Pistorio stated that he would not be continuing as president. Nominations to replace Charlie, made and seconded, were Angelo Sodano and Darrell Sitarz. Angelo was selected by majority vote of the board members.

Nomination for vice-president, made and seconded, was Darrell Sitarz. Darrell was elected by unanimous vote.

Nomination for treasurer, made and seconded, was Charlie Pistorio. Charlie was elected by unanimous vote.

There were no nominations for secretary. Darrell Sitarz agreed to continue in that office, although not taking on the duties of recording secretary.

Board Member Attendance:
There have been occasions when members elected to the board have been unable to attend a sufficient number of board meetings. The board discussed what action should be taken in such cases, and what, if any, action is provided for under the bylaws.

Re-Visit KIC Marketing Plan:
Angelo Sodano gave a brief presentation on what KIC stands for, why a business entity should join KIC and how such an entity can get involved. Angelo’s presentation generated a significant discussion, which resulted in the following ideas:

KIC must do a better job of publicizing what it is doing

KIC should be the interface between its members and the karting organizations

KIC should attend WKA/IKF/etc. board meetings and report to members via the newsletter on potential or actual rule changes

KIC should attend WKA/IKF/etc. board meetings and present issues of concern to KIC members

KIC board meetings should be open to membership who wish to present issues

KIC should hold an open “town hall” meeting for any dealers, manufacturers or tracks to present issues of concern. This meeting could be held at Kart Expo shown in St. Charles. Everyone that registered for a booth at the show would receive an invitation to the KIC “town hall” meeting.

After considerable discussion, a motion was made and seconded to implement the marketing plan by holding a KIC “town hall” meeting at the Kart Expo show. Darrell and Angelo will handle the detailed planning.

Track & Club Marketing Plan:
At the prior meeting, John Nuttall, a new member and track owner, presented a number of ideas that he has used to promote his track and race series. These included use of press releases, e-mail and a track and shop advertising and race directory. John agreed to prepare a proposal on the cost of preparing a shop and track/race guide for KIC. At the current meeting Dave Larson reported, on John’s behalf, that the project required too much effort to be workable at this time.

National Interscholastic Motorsports Association (NIMA):
Darrell Sitarz distributed a presentation explaining the vision of NIMA to develop a network of high school kart racing teams. Darrell stated that Gary Smith, NIMA’s founder will be at the KMI show to discuss his organization. The board agreed to review the written presentation and discuss endorsing the program at the next meeting.

KIC Mission Statement:
Randy Kugler, as a new board member, raised the issue of the currency of the existing KIC mission statement. After some discussion, the board agreed that the mission statement should be updated to emphasize KIC’s function as the liaison between the industry businesses and the karting organizations. The board also agreed that the current KIC promotional flyer needs to be updated.

Track Committee:
New board member Brad Sellers will serve on the track committee. He agreed to work on developing a package for tracks and clubs, which will outline the basic need to know, items (insurance, marketing, trophies, etc.).

Race Director Seminar:
As agreed at the previous meeting, a ”Race Directors” seminar will be presented at the Kart Expo show by John Nuttall. Darrell presented the outline for the seminar and noted that it will be posted on KIC website. After some discussion, the board agreed to add a coupon to the registration form for the seminar. This coupon would allow nonmember attendees to apply their seminar registration fee toward KIC dues if they decide to join KIC within a specified time period.

National Tech Committee:
Bob White reported that several two-cycle issues have been agreed to by all the organizations. Among these issues are the clarification of the Comer K80 exhaust length, standardization of both the Yamaha ignition timing and of the go/no go gauges.

Charlie Sox will begin to interface with the organizations on four-cycle issues. Since Charlie is also on the WKA four-cycle tech committee, he is already aware of a number of issues to be addressed. These include Briggs after-market rods, phase-out of the Briggs 5 horsepower engine and problems with the “Animal” engine.
DECEMBER 2003
KIC Website:
Bob White reported that approximately $2,100 has been spent to date to develop the site and in maintenance and hosting fees. There was general agreement that the hosting and maintenance fees are high. Several board members suggested new vendors to contact that might provide lower prices and easier update capabilities.

KIC Meeting Location:
As a new board member, Randy Kugler wanted to know the criteria for deciding where meetings would be held. The general consensus was that meetings are held at locations convenient for most board members. Many times they are held in conjunction with a race event or manufacturers’ show

Non-agenda Items:
Randy Kugler raised two issues: First, WKA would like to sponsor a two-cycle tech seminar to be given by KIC at the KMI show in St. Charles. Bob White and members of the national tech committee would present the seminar if space is available.

Second, Randy announced that Bob Chiras has proposed to establish a fund for people injured in karting. He would request that companies in the karting industry donate obsolete inventory to sell on E-bay. Randy suggested that we (the board) contact Bob to obtain more information. The board agreed and Angelo volunteered to make the contact.

Next Board Meeting:
As agreed at the prior meeting, the next meeting will be held from 7:30-11:00 P.M. on February 19, 2004 in St. Charles, Illinois. A general membership meeting will be held prior to the board meeting from 6:00-7:30 P. M. on the same date. In addition, a “Summit” meeting is being planned for 8:00-10:00 A. M. on Sunday, February 22, 2004.

Adjournment:
About 8:00 PM a motion was made for adjournment. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
TRACK GUIDE PROGRAM
A message from Brad Sellers, KIC Track Committee:
We are establishing a new Track Guide Program for all our existing members that are track owners. This guide will provide local track owners with information such as preparing their facility to be customer friendly, pre-promotion of there track or event, race procedures, tech procedures, and post promotion of their event. It will also cover local ad media cost such as radio, newspaper, karting publications, and television. This guide will give the track owners special promotional ideas like providing the school library with some karting publications etc.

We urge all KIC members to advise your local kart track about KIC and what it can do for them. Please feel free to have them contact me at brad.sellers@dillfab.com and I’ll get them a KIC membership form personally.
LATEST KIC PRESS RELEASES
In the last few weeks, KIC has released to the karting media, the following Press Releases:

KIC SPONSORS ‘TRACK DIRECTORS WORKSHOP’ AT KART EXPO – December 5, 2003

KIC TO PRESENT 2-CYCLE TECH SEMINAR AT KART EXPO – December 26, 2003

KIC SELECTS ANGELO SODANO AS NEW PRESIDENT – January 7, 2004

These and all other KIC Press Releases are available online at www.kartindustrycouncil.com.
KIC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
As a KIC member, you are invited to the General Membership Meeting on Thursday, February 19, 2004 from 6:00 PM-7:30 PM at Kart Expo, Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL. For more Info: Call Bob White at 859-760-5850 or bwkic@msn.com.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?
Opinion by Darrell Sitarz, Courtesy: www.e-KMI.com

NOTE: This article may help you in the recruitment of new KIC members. It may be reprinted without permission.

I’m often asked; What is KIC? What has it done? And finally, Why should my company join?

Well, let’s first start with what KIC is: The Kart Industry Council (KIC) was established in 1973 by like-minded individuals and is comprised of businesses involved with manufacturing, distribution, importing/exporting, reselling of karting-related products and tracks and clubs. KIC is the oldest and largest independent trade association for the sport in North America.

KIC’s goal is a simple one — to Promote Karting Through Leadership. As an independent organization, KIC offers an objective view and acts as a liaison between its membership and the sanctioning bodies both domestically and internationally. This proves the old adage that a collective voice speaks louder than an individual one.

And in keeping with the overall dynamics of the industry, the KIC’s board is diverse in its makeup:

President: Angelo Sodano – All Kart International
Vice President/Secretary: Darrell Sitarz – Kart Marketing Group, Inc.
Treasurer: Charlie Pistorio – Grand Products, Inc.
Executive Director – Bob White
DECEMBER 2003
Board of Directors:
Tom Johnson – Oakland Valley Race Park
Randy Kugler – World Karting Association
Dave Larson – International Racing Association
Tom Patronite – Azusa Engineering
Brad Sellers – Dill Fabrication
Charlie Sox – Shadow Karts, Inc.

The Karting Industry Council is a non-profit trade organization comprised of karting industry leaders who are dedicated to:

n Providing leadership within the kart racing industry,
n Acting as a liaison between the karting industry and the sports’ sanctioning bodies,
n Creating programs to increase public awareness of the sport,
n Emphasizing programs, activities and information to achieve high quality standards and business ethics within the industry,
n Providing training programs and business resource for its members,
…and more!

Now to answer the next question — What has KIC done lately?

It has…
n Organized the National Sanctioning Association Summit Conference in 2001– Meets Annually
n Organized the National Tech Committee – Meets Annually
n Organized and sponsored 6 Association Forums at the 2003 Kart Expo
n Organized and is sponsoring the three hour 2-cycle Tech Seminar at 2004 Kart Expo
n Organized and is sponsoring the day-long Track Directors Workshop at 2004 Kart Expo
n Organized an “Introduction to KIC” presentation at 2004 KartFest in Hickory, NC
n Organized an “Introduction to KIC” presentation at 2004 Kart Expo Int’l in St. Charles, IL
n Designed and printed “Let’s Go Racing” brochure describing kart racing – available to all kart shops, promoters, etc.
n Produced an exciting promotional karting video “Introduction to the Exciting World of Karting”.
n Designed a helpful and informative website – www.kartindustrycouncil.com

And finally, Why should my company, track or club join?

KIC offers member benefits including:

Newsletter: KIC’s BI-monthly newsletter brings you news from within the karting industry, helpful business-related articles, and much more, all in a timely manner.

Liaison: Because of its diverse and unbiased nature, KIC has the unique ability to act as a liaison between itself and the sanctioning associations.

The KIC Confidential Report: All members receive the KIC Confidential Report, available only to current members. The Confidential Report is assembled from data collected from members and is considered by many to be worth the cost of membership alone. The constantly updated KIC Confidential Report will afford members a first-hand opportunity to access information heretofore unavailable from any source within the karting industry.

Web Site: The Karting Industry Council’s web site (www.kartindustrycouncil.com) contains reports from the President and board members, articles about business and marketing etc., as well as contact information for the KIC board and all members

Trade Shows: Karting Industry Council participates in a number of trade shows promoting the sport of karting.

Promotional Video: KIC has again produced a short 8-minute promotional video titled “Introduction to the Exciting World of Karting”. The video is ideal for karting dealers who wish to educate potential customers. A copy of the video is sent to new members and is available for bulk purchase.

Promotional Brochure: KIC’s full-color “Let’s Go Racing” brochure was produced to help the newcomer understand the difference in karting today. The brochure is available in bulk for distribution.

Meetings: KIC hold quarterly Board of Director’s meetings at various locations around the country. In addition, an annual membership meeting is usually held during one of the annual major karting shows.

Discounts: KIC Offers member discounts on promotional items, apparel and workshops, etc.

Whether you are large or small, well known or brand new to the industry, your company, track or club can benefit from the knowledge and experience of the Karting Industry Council. By supporting KIC, you become part of a collective and unified effort to help to promote and grow the sport of karting. And remember, as the sport grows, so should your business.

The annual membership fee is only $250 which is a drop-in-the-bucket when compared to the valuable service KIC offers to the industry and to its members. Why should your company join? Because joining with help support the industry that is supporting you!

And as Lloyd Milliken, Past President and founding member of KIC said, “Remember, it doesn’t cost to belong to an association—it pays!”.

VISIT KIC’S WEBSITE
www.KartIndustryCouncil.com
Your comments and contributions are welcomed

DECEMBER 2003