Road Runners Club of America State Rep s Handbook

Road Runners Club of America State Rep s Handbook 5/13/2015 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction.... 3 II. Primary Responsibilities of an RRCA State Rep... 3 Awarding RRCA Championships Promoting RRCA Programs and Services Attending RRCA National Convention III. Getting Started State Reps First Steps...3 RRCA.org email RRCA website RRCA National Convention Stay informed IV. Working with the National Office 5 V. Awarding RRCA State Championship Events...6 VI. Promoting RRCA Programs & Services...7 Hosting Expo Booths/Tables Member Contacts Social Media E-Newsletters RRCA Branding State Meetings or Conference Calls Engage with RRCA Programs VII. Contributions and Un-reimbursed Expenses.9 VIII. Your Regional Director..9 X. Noted about Working with the local USATF Association...9 XI. RRCA Contact Information.....10 5/13/2015 2

I. INTRODUCTION For over three decades, the RRCA State Representatives (State Reps) have voluntarily served as ambassadors for the organization by providing a physical presence in each state for the RRCA. State Reps promote our programs and services to clubs, events, and runners in their home state. State Reps assist the National Office and the RRCA Board in carrying out the mission, vision and values of the organization. State Reps monitor trends and issues at the state and local level and report them to the National Office. In addition, they promote membership in local clubs and recruit unaffiliated clubs, events, event management companies, corporate supporters, and individual members. The RRCA State Representatives are a great resource for club leaders, race directors, and certified coaches. RRCA State Reps can help answer questions or connect club leaders and race directors within their home states and around the country. Club leaders and race directors are encouraged to work closely with their RRCA State Reps to help promote running throughout their home state. II. Primary Responsibilities of an RRCA State Representative Select and promote RRCA State Championship Events. Races will bid for the State Championship designation, and you will be responsible for developing the calendar for the RRCA State Championship Events in your state. We recommend the State Rep travel to as many State Championship Events as possible to hand out awards. We also request that you follow the bidding and selection procedures outlined by the National Office. (More on this below.) Help promote RRCA programs and services. Make regular contact with club and event leaders via phone, email, and social media at least quarterly. Remind members to review RRCA News, Inside Track newsletters, Club Running magazine, and Keeping Pace emails. Encourage clubs to visit the RRCA website, and use the RRCA Logo. Promote the RRCA s programs, services and benefits to our members. Make regular contact with Regional Director and National Office (written bi-annual report at minimum), providing information on state championships awarded, and contacting the RD with any local issues or problems. (More on this below.) Attend the Annual RRCA Convention, and participate in the State Rep meeting. Assist with the State Rep Silent Auction, held at the Annual Convention. You can either bring a piece of merchandise (donated by a running store or a race), or assist at the auction itself. (More on this below.) A two-year term is the recommended minimum length of service for State Reps. This allows volunteer State Reps to have sufficient time to interact with their member clubs and events, become familiar with the running community in their states, and establish a network of communications among member clubs and related organizations. The RRCA State Rep may serve for an unlimited number of years with the approval of the Regional Director. However, the Regional Director will inquire every two years if State Reps want to continue to serve. Should you elect to resign from the State Rep position or if a change is made based on organizational priorities, the RRCA has a process for finding your replacement. III. Getting Started State Reps First Steps The very first step is to make sure we have your personal email address, your photo, a short bio, and your shirt size. We will use this information to set-up your profile on the RRCA website in the State Reps section. The RRCA will also send you RRCA branded business cards that will contain your RRCA.org email address along with contact information for the National Office that you can hand out at events, meetings, etc. while promoting the RRCA. 5/13/2015 3

If you are on Facebook, we will also add you to the State Reps private group on Facebook. Only State Reps, Board and staff have access to this group. This group page is a good forum to ask questions of other State Reps and share ideas with State Reps. If you have questions for National Office staff, please email that staff member directly as opposed to posting staff specific questions in the Facebook group. RRCA.org email Each State Rep is assigned an rrca.org email address that is [your state]@rrca.org. All we need is a personal email address where we can have all rrca.org forwarded. We ask that you only use your RRCA.org email address to promote the programs and services of the RRCA. Please refrain from using this email address if you work within the running industry as a supplier or race director. Your rrca.org email is the one that will be posted on the RRCA website for members to use to contact you. A State Rep s Most Important Tool the RRCA Website: The RRCA website at www.rrca.org will be your most important up-to-date source of information. In the masthead of the site you will find our primary links for Find a Club (listing of clubs), Find an Event (should include all RRCA insured events), Find a Coach (RRCA Certified Coaches in good standing), and more. Below the masthead you will find the primary navigation links, which contain detailed sub-navigations once in the section. The site also contains the Resources For sections. Click on the images to access these sections designed for club leaders, race directors, coaches, and runners. The following links will be very helpful to you as you get started: State Rep Private page - http://www.rrca.org/state-rep-committee/. This private section will give you access to such files as the State Rep Handbook, a state rep newsletter template, and much more. The Membership page http://www.rrca.org/membership/ - will provide you with all the information necessary for a club or event to join the RRCA. Make sure to familiarize yourself with this content. However, direct all inquiries about membership, insurance, and nonprofit status from members or potential members to membership@rrca.org. The Programs page - http://www.rrca.org/programs/ - will provide you with a summary of the programs that the RRCA offers. Here you will find information on bidding for championship races (a State Reps primary duty and more on that below), Coaching Certification courses, the Kids Run the Nation program, the Runner Friendly Community program, Race Director Certification, and more. The Services page - http://www.rrca.org/services/ - will provide you with important information about the insurance program, nonprofit status, additional insured certificates, and more. These are just a few important links on the RRCA website. We recommend that you become familiar with the RRCA website as a first step and visit it on a weekly basis. It will help familiarize you with the organization as a whole and all the programs and services we offer. The National Office also posts weekly news items that will keep you up-to-date on current events. Informational Packet from the National Office: You will receive a package from the National Office containing materials to help you in your role as State Rep. This packet will include a sample of our print newsletter Inside Track, a copy of Club Running magazine, a We Run the Nation sticker, a Runner Friendly Business sticker, a yellow state reps shirt, and more. You will also receive an Excel list of the clubs and events in your state. Once you receive this list, we encourage you to reach out the local members and introduce yourself. 5/13/2015 4

RRCA National Convention: We hope that you will attend the upcoming RRCA Convention. We schedule a State Rep Meeting/Training Session prior to the start of the convention on Thursday. We ask all State Reps be on hand for this session. As a State Rep, your convention registration fee, meal package, and hotel (less personal incidentals) is complimentary if you meet our stated expectations outlined below. The RRCA will also provide a travel stipend based on the success of the State Rep s Silent Auction. The stipend ranges from $100 to $200 depending on the success of the auction. State Reps are encouraged to share hotel rooms at the RRCA Convention if they don t have plans for sharing with an officer from their home club. In preparation for each year s convention, you will be expected to submit a report outlining your goals for the coming year and reporting on your RRCA activities for the year. This annual report is requested whether you are able or unable to attend the convention. Minimum Expectations for Reimbursement to the RRCA Convention: State Rep must have designated at least one State Championship event in their state Submit bi-annual reports to the RD, mid year and year-end to the National Office Volunteering to assist with the annual State Rep Silent Auction by donating an item Stay Informed Email is our primary method of communication with State Reps. You will receive a monthly email from the National Office called State Reps Keeping Pace. This email has information on how to implement programs and services at the state level. It is important to read these emails and respond as requested. Be sure to visit the RRCA homepage on a weekly basis to read the news, as most of it pertains to new program opportunities, announcements, and related news. You will also receive a copy of the monthly Keeping Pace email that goes out to all of our club and event leaders (over 22K contacts). You will receive the printed copies of Inside Track and Club Running magazine as well. Review these items closely to stay current on RRCA information. We don t provide advanced notice to the State Reps for most announcements, so you need to read what we provide to the members to get the whole picture. While the National Office and your Regional Director are your primary resources for RRCA information, there are also many seasoned State Reps that are always willing to share their wisdom. IV. Working with the National Office It is important to cultivate a good working relationship with the National Office staff and more specifically the Program Coordinator, who will be your primary point of contact. In 2013, the Board delegated most day-to-day management of the State Reps program to the National Office. This means the National Office staff handles most communications between State Reps and members. General communications between State Reps, members, and the National Office related to programs, services, insurance, etc. are not generally shared with Regional Directors, as they are not a matter of governance for the organization but are simply basic day-to-day communications. As such, State Reps should direct general questions about programs, services, insurance, membership, etc. to the appropriate staff member for answering. The staff member is not required to copy Regional Directors on general communications to State Reps or members, but they may provide an update as needed or as requested to the Regional Director. The staff engages Regional Directors on matters of significant importance including resignation of a State Rep, conflicts of interest, matters that involve the Complaint Resolution Process, and the Member Accountability Process. If a member approaches a State Rep about a conflict and is seeking advice, the State Rep should notify the Executive Director and the Regional Director. The RRCA has a Complaint Resolution Process in place to help guide members in conflict. Our goal is not to have State Reps manage local conflicts, because your role is to try to remain neutral. Therefore, we will report on the Complaint 5/13/2015 5

Resolution Process with you, but the Executive Director or an appointed task force handles most of the Process. From time-to-time State Reps have ideas they want to share with the Regional Director, President and/or Executive Director. To facilitate idea sharing, the Regional Directors will schedule 2-3 conference calls with the State Reps during the year. Keep in mind that the RRCA Board is a governing board focused on big picture issues and not a managing board that deals with day-to-day programs and/or services. Ideas that come out of regional calls most often are not board meeting material. The Regional Director will draft minutes of the call and share the minutes with the Executive Director who can help determine what are management items and what items might deem Board discussion. Many items that come up during State Rep regional calls relate to information that is readily available on the RRCA website, and the Program Coordinator is included on the regional calls to help answer questions. Keep in mind that the RRCA National Office staff works with over 2,500 club and event primary contacts, 4,000 certified coaches, nearly 200 certified race directors, 50+ State Reps, 200 Championship Event directors, and more. Sharing of ideas and feedback is encouraged. However, it must be managed within the established practices of regional calls, board meeting planning, annual objective planning, and strategic planning to ensure effective engagement and oversight without distracting from day-to-day management. V. Awarding RRCA State Championships Since 1958, the RRCA has awarded championship events through a competitive bidding process at the National, Regional, and State level to RRCA member clubs and events to promote the sport of distance running. The RRCA Championship Event Series is the largest grassroots organized running series in the U.S., attracting over 320,000 runners each year. The goal of the RRCA Championship Event Series is to shine a spotlight on well-run events and to award top performing runners in the open, masters (40+), grand masters (50+), and senior grand masters (60+) categories for both men and women. Detailed information about the Championship Event Series bidding process is found at http://www.rrca.org/programs/rrca-championship-series/hosting/. We encourage you to become very familiar with this information. Shortly after the deadline for RRCA State Championship bids on November 1, you will receive a link to a DropBox folder containing PDFs of all the bids you received for your state. You will need to review the bids and select events to fill the following distances: 1 Mile 5K 10K or 10 Mile Half Marathon Marathon Ultra (One extra event at a distance other than that listed 2 mile, 8K, 15K, cross country event, etc.) You may not have bids for all of the distances outlined above. This is fine. Finalize as many events as possible by the deadline. Then try to recruit events to fill out your state calendar by January 1. Our goal is to have at least 4 RRCA State Championship Events that are well-run per state. Keep in mind you may not select first time events as an RRCA State Championship even if a long-standing club hosts it. You must report your winning bids/ final slate of RRCA State Championship Events for the year by emailing your selections to programs@rrca.org. We encourage you to send a letter to the race directors of your State Championship Events welcoming them to the series. You can find the letter template in the State Reps Private page. To help the event 5/13/2015 6

directors comply with our branding requirements, email them the How to Brand Your RRCA Championship brochure that is posted at www.rrca.org/programs/rrca-championship-series/hosting/. The RRCA will also contact all RRCA Championship Event directors via email to remind them about sponsorship fulfillment and branding requirements. State Reps need to check the websites for all RRCA Championships scheduled in your state to ensure the events have the Championship logo posted along with the Gatorade logo if they qualify for that sponsorship. These logos should be in a prominent place either with all other sponsor logos or somewhere on the homepage or information about page the race. If you can t find the logo, you should contact the event director and remind them about the branding requirements. Give them a week or so to comply and then contact the office if they do not. We will address noncompliance by withholding Gatorade shipment or withholding other sponsorship items as needed. State Championship race directors must list their event on the RRCA Calendar at www.rrca.org/calendar/find-event/. We ask race directors to post their events so they can make updates to the listing as needed. Please check the RRCA Calendar periodically, and remind any race directors that don t appear to have listed their event, which is also a membership requirement. Starting in January, the RRCA National Office will mail RRCA Championship in a Box items to all events in the Championship Event Series. This box usually ships one month before the event. The items in the box include eight RRCA Championship medals, plastic RRCA Championship banners for hanging at the finish area, a finish line tape, and instructions for handing out RRCA Championship awards. Sports Authority discount cards and RRCA Join a Club cards are mailed to events that pro-actively say they have a goody bag and will stuff our materials. You are encouraged to attend State Championship Events if at all possible. After all, you are the RRCA's ambassador. Clubs will be thrilled to have you at their event. Offer to assist with the awards ceremony. VI. Promoting RRCA s Programs and Services Host Expo Booths: We highly encourage State Reps to host expo tables or booths at local races. The RRCA pays for a limited number of expo booths at marquee events and may recruit State Reps to help staff these expos. State Reps are encouraged to work with local events to get donated booth space at an expo or a finish line party. If you plan to host an expo booth or table, contact programs@rrca.org, and we can send you promotional materials to distribute along with RRCA banners and table drapes. Member Contacts: On a bi-annual basis, the RRCA will provide you with the contacts for clubs, events, and event management companies in your state. You may not share, sell, or give this list to anyone, nor use it to promote programs or services that compete with the RRCA. We do not provide contacts for coaches or individual members to State Reps. Keep in mind our information is only as good as what is provided by the member. If you find emails bouncing back, we encourage you to review member s websites for updated email contacts and share those emails with membership@rrca.org. We will then include them in our master email list and hopefully the member contact person will update their information in our database. Social Media: The RRCA website is the definitive source of information for the RRCA and should always be referred to as such. In addition to the website, the RRCA maintains social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, Links to our accounts can be found on RRCA.org and in Keeping Pace emails. State Reps are encouraged to like, follow, and share these accounts regularly. State Reps are encouraged to participate on the RRCA Facebook page on a regular basis by liking posts and sharing comments. Keep in mind your personal settings may not allow the RRCA to share information you have posted on your personal page, therefore State Reps are encouraged to email photos, stories, videos, etc. to programs@rrca.org to be posted on the RRCA Facebook page. Submissions will be 5/13/2015 7

posted at the discretion of the Program Coordinator and based on other planned messages. If you see a good post on a member s Facebook page, alert programs@rrca.org so we can consider sharing the content. RRCA State Reps are permitted to set-up an RRCA state level Facebook fan page, however it is not encouraged. We request that you review plans for a state-level Facebook page with the Program Coordinator before setting one up. In order to keep our messages from getting fragmented, we prefer all Facebook content to flow through the RRCA National page. If you do set-up a Facebook page, you are required to make the RRCA program coordinator (programs@rrca.org) an admin in the event you step down from your role as State Rep. The RRCA is also on Twitter. Please follow the account and mention us in any tweets or photos you make related to RRCA events. Retweet our posts to help increase engagement and to help grow our following. We encourage tweets from Championship Events and recommend using the hashtag #RRCAChampionship. If you host an RRCA expo booth or table at an event, post photos and use the hashtag #RRCAontheRoad. Emails and E-newsletters: The RRCA sends the Keeping Pace email every month to over 22K emails contacts including club leaders, race directors, coaches, and more. We encourage State Reps to send an email or e-newsletter to club, event, and event management company contacts in your state on a quarterly basis. We ask that you don t just copy information the RRCA has already sent, but remind people about important program deadlines or announcements that may be of interest to members and where to find the information on RRCA.org. Develop a state-level voice for your email or e-newsletter by highlighting State Championships, race results for notable races in your state, congratulations to members, and other running news of interest at the state level, such as grant recipients from RRCA programs. Encourage members to list their events on the RRCA Calendar, which is also a membership requirement. RRCA Branding. As noted above, you are assigned an RRCA.org email address for your region. We can provide the POP account instructions so you can set-up the email as an Outlook account. We encourage you to create an email signature that outlines your name, title as an RRCA State Representative, contact information, special dates, social media links, etc. National Office staff can supply an email signature template. You are provided with RRCA branded business cards to hand out to people and at events. The RRCA staff manages the design of all RRCA printed and digital materials. The RRCA logo is our Brand, and we should take every reasonable step to improve logo recognition. Members should be reminded to place the RRCA logo on their newsletters, websites, race applications, etc. If you see a member that has an old RRCA logo posted, kindly ask them to update it with the current logo and share a copy with them. RRCA logos can be downloaded from the RRCA website State Meetings or Conference Calls: Some State Reps host annual RRCA state meetings often in conjunction with an event that attracts a large audience of club and event leaders. While not required, state meetings are a great opportunity to connect in person with members. You can schedule an hour or longer meeting to review RRCA programs, services, etc. with members that attend. You can also work with the Program Coordinator to host a statewide teleconference to connect with members using the RRCA conference call line. Engage with RRCA Programs: In addition to promoting RRCA programs, we encourage State Reps to assist with programs by serving on selection panels for the National Awards program and nominating deserving members for awards. State Reps have been instrumental in getting Runner Friendly Community designations. State Reps have hosted RRCA Coaching Certification Courses and many are also RRCA Certified Race Directors. State Reps have help circulate thousands of copies of the Kids Run the Nation program materials. State Reps have organized youth running programs, beginner programs, senior programs, and more. By participating in programs you lead by example for the members in your state. 5/13/2015 8

VII. Contributions & Un-reimbursed Expenses for Service The RRCA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and financials contributions to the organization are tax deductible. We encourage State Reps to support the RRCA financially by participating in the auctions at the RRCA Convention and making an annual contribution to help support the organization. With that said, a donation is not a requirement for being a State Rep. Unfortunately we cannot cover 100% of your expenses for promoting the RRCA. If you travel to State Championship events to promote the RRCA and to present awards, we can provide you with a letter of thank you for your un-reimbursed expenses on behalf of volunteering for the RRCA. IRS mileage reimbursement rate for volunteer services is recorded at $0.14 per mile. Supplies are at the cost you paid for the item. Race entry fees are not allowed to be included. To receive a thank you letter for un-reimbursed expenses for your service as an RRCA State Rep, you can email an expense reimbursement request form to programs@rrca.org noting you are donating the cost to the RRCA. You must include driving directions to the event to prove the mileage costs and any hotel receipts. You must include copies of receipts for items purchased such as plaques or refreshments at a state meeting. The RRCA will then send a thank you letter that can be used as documentation when you report your donated services to a nonprofit organization on your personal tax returns. The RRCA DOES NOT provide thank you notes for donated time as the IRS does not allow volunteers to write this off on personal taxes. VIII. Your Regional Director The primary role of the Regional Director (RD) is to serve on the Board of Directors and perform those activities necessary for the RRCA to function as a successful national organization representing grassroots running in the USA. While they are the voice of your region, they must also focus on the RRCA s long-term goals, vision and mission and not just the items that affect your region. Regional Directors also perform other specific functions as may be directed by the RRCA President and in support of the work of the National Office. It is the job of the Regional Director to communicate what he/she expects from State Reps as outlined in this Handbook and to motivate State Reps to perform their duties on behalf of the organization. IX. Working with Local USATF Associations When feasible, explore how local RRCA clubs and USATF associations can work cooperatively. Possibilities would include co-sponsoring a Grand Prix in the state and sharing the costs, coordinating through the local Women's Long Distance Running Committee the RRCA chapter's Women's Distance Festival, or designating a local RRCA event be a USATF championship or vice versa. However, keep in mind that USATF requires participants to be members of the organization in order to qualify for USATF championship awards. You must be aware that RRCA championship races cannot indicate on the entry form that a race participant must purchase a USATF card. If it is both an RRCA and a USATF championship, you must make the distinction on your entry form and advertising that RRCA awards are open to all participants and that USATF awards are awarded to USATF members only. The RRCA does not have a rule or guideline that prohibits joint championship events. Local associations of USATF differ in their attitude towards joint championships. There have been some great examples of joint championships including the Bloomsday Road Race being an RRCA Washington State Championship and Pacific Northwest USATF Championship event. The Tahoe Rim Trail Run has served as a joint RRCA National Ultra and USATF National Ultra Championship. Examples do exist of good cooperation if you get push back from a local USATF association. 5/13/2015 9

X. RRCA Contact Information Rather than listing the Officers & Directors by name we are simply listing the positions as outlined in the RRCA Bylaws. Each director is assigned an email address that forwards to a personal email address supplied by the Director. President: president@rrca.org Vice President: vicepresident@rrca.org Treasurer: Treasurer@rrca.org REGIONAL DIRECTORS Eastern Director: Central Director: Southern Director: Western Director: easterndirector@rrca.org centraldirector@rrca.org southerndirector@rrca.org westerndirector@rrca.org DIRECTORS AT LARGE secretary@rrca.org atlarge@rrca.org NATIONAL OFFICE CONTACT RRCA National Office 1501 Lee Hwy, Ste 140 Arlington, VA 22209 phone: 703.525.3890 fax 703.525.3891 View the detailed staff listing and contact information at www.rrca.org/contact-us/staff/ 5/13/2015 10