Yeah, great idea on the thread Chuck.
I agree that TJ's presentation was really exciting to hear. I think you and Tuffi are totally right that we need to develop a systematic way of looking at parks and writing up reviews - I'm wondering if a new thread in this section just about different parks and reviews would do the trick. That way, everyone can be involved in checking out new places and sharing information so we can more systematically determine which parks work (and for what they will work - casual 9, championship 18+, etc), on our end anyway, and which ones we know aren't ideal for disc golf.
Seriously, for those who weren't there, the next step in the process for leveraging the development funds set aside by King Co suggested by TJ was that we start looking at park space which has the potential for course development
. Having said that, it sounds like it *may* be a long process to find a piece of land that fits our needs and the requirements that King Co must fulfill.
My other thoughts:
It was great to get so many people (total count was 28!) at this meeting. I think it demonstrates the excitement building in the area around some of this stuff. We do have a lot of expertise in areas that will be helpful to getting new courses and leveraging the $$, but there is definitely a lot of work to do!
Lowell is going to be providing a workgroup with the current bylaws/ constitution to review and consult with the current club officers about. Tim Coye, Thomas Little, Aaron Holley, Andrew Rivers, Kelly Smith, Bro Berg, and Curt Mott all volunteered to review the current club bylaws/ constitution and will consult and make recommendation for change with the current club board of Lowell Shields, Gordy Kirkpatrick, and Bill Weyrick.
My take was that the Youth Sports Facilities Grant (YSFG) deadline is coming up soon, sometime in March, and that the club will have to act very quickly to be able to have a chance of obtaining those additional funds ($75,000).
For the record, information about the YSFG is here:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/partners/ysfg.aspx
The other grant that is really just waiting for a course is called Community Partnerships and Grants (CPG) and information for this fund ($100,000 for us) can be found here:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/partners/partnerships.aspx
We also spoke a little about communication options for events, club business, etc. It sounds like we will need a multipronged approach to reach those who prefer internet sources for their information and for those who use course kiosks and word of mouth for most information. The latest idea I heard was that a website like
www.seattlediscgolf.com could house most of the club business (it currently does not, but I will be updating this weekend to include this information). To do this, we will need to post information at course kiosks that can link people to the website and we may need to develop a way (individuals who are responsible at each course) to cross-advertise events in Seattle at the kiosks.
The action steps I took out of this meeting just to keep myself focused on what needs to be done was:
1. Check out parks for courses
2. Review the current club constitution/bylaws
3. Schedule an official club meeting
4. Find course volunteers who can post information at their respective course kiosks (Curt volunteered for Terrace Creek, I'm going to ask Tuffi about Lakewood/Seatac, need a rep for North Park and for Juel)
Please let me know if I left anything critical off of here!
January 7th, 2010, 11:40 AM
What did you get out of the SDG meeting last night?
