July 2025 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes and Activity Reports
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– Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
July 14, 2025
Virtually present at meeting
Casey Anderson – President
Jali Fernando – Executive Secretary
Alison Wells – Administrative
Assistant
David Beugelmans - Secretary
Dave Magill - MD Advocacy Director
Rob Lowe – Membership Director
Neil Blake – Treasurer
Michael Ullmann – VA Advocacy Director
Kathy Mihm – Ride Programs Director
Not Present
Maris Finley – Activities Director
·
Guest: Tony Watkins – Dirt Buggy (Michael)
o
Michael
§
For the last several months, talked with Tony
about certain types of machinery that could make the life of those that are
taking care of jump lines, berms, etc., easier.
§
Tony himself has himself has funded machinery out
of his own pocket, and has bought machinery for Lake Fairfax
§
Started talking about VA, but then it morphed in
MD and VA, and Tony had found what appears to be a good deal of a piece of
machinery, which I passed along to the board, and there were more questions.
o
Tony
§
What we have found at Lake Fairfax is that we
don’t have a way to deliver dirt right to the jump line. Some places you can
deliver dirt directly to the jump line, but others you can’t, and it’s a big
problem.
§
Been using a machine, but it’s very slow, so we
have hired professionals to use larger machines. But when you get into a large
machine, there is maybe a liability issue.
§
We have in the past rented a mud buggy, which has
a large bucket and take more dirt.
§
It has been useful at our park and with the amount
of dirt we need to move around, for Lake Fairfax, we use it a lot.
§
The amount we end up using the machine, the rental
is expensive and the time it takes to rent is difficult.
o
Michael
§
Funds could come from Trails for Youth. Gave
$10,000 to be used for tools, machinery, and idea would be that funding source for
the machine itself could be bought for $8k or $9k
o
Rob
§
Think it’s a good idea. Have the same issue at
Wakefield.
o
Dave
§
With passion from Tony and passion from Childers,
question is whether we want to use $10,000 on
this, or
spread it around a little bit from other funds.
o
Michael
§
Break-even is about 15 or so for rentals.
§
Trails for youth gave Tony for
funds,
but
gave the bigger amount to other parks.
o
Dave
§
Need someone to have responsibility for the
equipment.
o
Michael
§
We’ve answered a decent number of questions. Will
get another email going so we can discuss as a board and get back to Tony.
·
Executive Director Report (Jali)
o
Events
§
We had a very successful Emmitsburg event at the
end of June. Close to 50 people there, many riding there for first time.
Timed it so that it linked up with the town’s
community day, so about half of the people went to have beer in the beer
garden, with proceeds going back to the trails. Sploosh MTB made a video
covering the ride and event.
§
The next event is in Hashawa July 26, and two in
VA
§
This is a very good model instead of having one
summer picnic. Next year we can be more deliberate where we spend money on for
projects and having a summer ride series for those trails.
o
Membership/donors
§
Jali: Wants to present members, supporters,
donors, as opposed to just members, which is 7000 instead of 2000
§
Casey:
·
WAMBA now counts people who sign up to their email
list.
·
It makes sense to present a higher number.
·
We want to be able to say we can speak for a large
group of people.
·
On the issues of donors who give us money but
aren’t members, unless they tell us they don’t want to be members, we should
comp them a membership if they have donated a large enough number.
o
State level organizing
§
Other groups want MORE’s help or to be associated
with MORE. Received a couple emails from other groups that are a bit more
sensitive.
§
Think about state level organizing with other
trail groups, but that’s more of a 2026 vision planning item.
·
Move United Membership (Jali)
o
Would like us to Move United, which is an
affiliate group for adaptive sports
o
Affiliate membership is $500/year, but comes with
resources that liaisons can use, such as volunteer training.
o
This is an agenda item because it requires some
proof that board voted on it.
o
Motion (Jali): Move for MORE to for approve a Move
United Membership at $500 per year.
§
Second: Dave Magill
§
Passed Unanimously
·
Shed at SGBP Update (Kathy)
o
Haven’t got an update from Todd, but it doesn’t
look like the Shed will happen in time for MoCo Epic
o
Casey: I made a little progress, but it’s going to
take work. Think we will be able to do it, but it’s going to take some time.
Will need to bring management down on lower-level people. Will try to deal with
it this month.
·
Financial Update (Neil)
o
$29.3k
net unrestricted increase
§
$45.8k
general revenues
§
$38.4k
other revenues (mainly TFY donation)
§
$5.9k
memberships
§
$1.5k
interest
o
$16.5k
general expenses
§
$10.1k
staff costs
§
$4.3k
MoCo Epic (MD Event rentals & Seneca Creek permit)
§
$1k
tool reimbursements
§
$1.1k
other
o
$22.4k
net restricted increase
§
$33.5k
restricted revenues
§
$20k
Wakefield (TFY)
§
$10.3k
Lake Fairfax (TFY)
§
$1k
River's Edge
§
$0.9k
Hashawah
§
$0.8k
Adaptive MTB grant
§
$0.5k
other
o
$11.2k
restricted expenses
§
$7.4k
West MoCo (bikes from Terrapin)
§
$1.5k
Adaptive MTB (storage)
§
$1k
Waterworks
§
$0.6k
River's Edge
§
$0.7k
other
o
Dave
§
We’ve
been trying to thank the Childers. The donation is
really
impressive
.
·
Casey: Will be going next week. Same
with Michael. On 23
rd
.
Also
will recognize
them again at next membership meeting.
o
Jali
§
Maris
wants more money for swag.
§
Dave:
Coach her through putting in a budget request
.;
·
Membership Update
(Rob)
·
Not a bad month, we nearly matched
last year June 2025 if we had not had a refund on a membership that was
from Jan 2025. A bit non-typical for a refund to happen that
late.
·
Large donors were the big positive. We were a
bit down on New Joins and Renewals.
·
I think in part weather, events,
and also
local economic uncertainty probably.
·
In the Other Stats I've updated the kept the LY (Last Year,
same month) numbers in brackets for comparison/clarity.
·
Post IMBA Processing Estimate - $5905
·
Summary of data
§
Membership
revenue is trending ahead of last year.
Year-to-date (YTD) dues stand at
$46,917
, which is
$1,620 higher
than the same point in 2024.
§
Total
membership remains strong.
As of
30 June 2025
the organization counts
2,129 members
(11 new plus 2,118 current), slightly
down from May’s 2,134 but well above April’s 2,095 and last year’s 1,904.
§
Lapsed/expiring
members are improving.
There were
128
lapsed or expiring accounts
across May–June 2025, down from 168 in the comparable 2024 period.
§
June
intake slowed, largely on renewals.
Only
11
new joins
occurred
in June (vs 14 in June 2024), and total renewal transactions fell, which Rob
attributes to poor weather and “over-communication” after a heavy May reminder
campaign.
§
Renewal
pipeline skewed to near-term expirations.
·
61
members renewed within 15 days of expiry (-20% year-over-year).
·
Middle-
and long-term renewals (3–6
mo
and 6
mo
+) totaled just 7 and 6 respectively, reflecting lower
early-renewal engagement.
§
High-value
supporters remain healthy.
There are
21 donors
giving $100+ annually
,
contributing
$3,200
in June (vs $2,350
LY).
§
Paid-member
core is solid.
Within the past 12 months
1,598
members (75%)
have
paid dues, generating an estimated
$96,970
before IMBA’s share.
§
Auto-renewal
continues to grow.
·
Annual
auto-renew:
851
members/family accounts (602 paying) worth
$39,550
; up 24 payers this year.
·
Monthly
auto-renew:
95
members, providing
$910
per month
($10,920
annually).
§
Monthly
membership revenue fluctuated:
·
June
2025:
177
memberships,
$6,975
(slightly below June 2024’s $7,024).
·
May
2025:
300
memberships, $13,776.
·
April
2025:
214
memberships, $8,134.
§
Refund
impact:
June missed
its dollar target primarily because of a single January-2025 refund.
§
New-join
trend:
11 (Jun), 21
(May), 19 (Apr); each month trails 2024’s comparable figure,
§
Overall
snapshot:
The
organization enters July with a broad base (2,129 total members), solid
paid-member retention, expanding auto-renewal, and a modest YTD revenue lead.
·
Trails
o
Virginia (Michael)
§
There was a trailwork day in Loudon County, where
they cleared out about a mile worth of brush for a small loop. There will be a
jump line as well. Loudon County seems to be behind it.
§
Had a meeting with three parks in Prince William
County and many liaisons for the various parks. Gave request to MORE
that
anything that is an addition to a trail it will
require Board of Supervisors approval. Spent about two hours on the phone about
this.
§
We get emails all the time about people wanting
trails in certain places. About a month ago, received an email from a gentleman
who lives in Fairfax proper and said he’d like to show trails in Piney Branch
Park, where he cleared out trails. Went out and walked 3-4 miles, and there’s
3-5 miles of trail in there. Joined MORE after meeting and he has engaged his
county supervisor. This is promising.
o
Maryland (Dave)
§
The board should know that to deal with massive
growth of overgrowth, with support of board, went out with an offer to expand
reimbursement for those that will buy hedge trimmers. Encouraging other people
to do. Have got 8 more people who have purchased
these, and
trying to manage them all and get them out.
§
Biggest news is we are out to bids for $125k
project to build trail at Patuxent. This is a big, complex procurement process.
Have contacted 15 different trail contractors to see what we get.
§
Lastly, was blown away with what they did at
Emmitsburg. It’s amazing what Greenstone can do with difficult terrain.
·
Ride Program Update (Kathy)
o
Set up some additional rides, including
sMOREs
in Bacon Ridge
Activity Reports
·
President
–
Casey Anderson
-
[*]
·
Jali Fernando – Executive Director
o
MoCo Epic
- opened registration, finalized equipment rental, finalizing aid station
sponsors, test rode 20-mile adaptive route, set up long-distance riding
webinar, etc.
o
Developed
relationships with
The
B-Team who have been raising
funds for the Frederick Watershed trails.
o
Met with
Prince George's County Parks and Rec for new trails in the county.
o
Met with
Maryland DNR Secretary about trail project updates, TTF policy, e-bike policy,
etc.
o
Represented
MORE at the bike expo for members of congress and staff.
o
Assisted
River's Edge Trail Liaison with movie screening fundraiser planning.
o
Regular
communications via email, newsletter, and social media.
·
Secretary – David Beugelmans
o
Coordinated board meeting and
finalized minutes
o
Advocate for and advance
Annapolis Flow Trail and Bacon Ridge/Waterworks Connector projects
o
Tons of trailwork due to rain/storms
·
MD Advocacy Director – Dave Magill
o
Issued
the Invitation for Bids for the work on the $100k LBI grant project at
Patuxent, site visit will be July 28.
o
Signed
up about 10 people to trim trails with power trimmers, arranged reimbursements
for them
o
Recruited
co-liaisons for Schaeffer and SRT, still need new liaison for Black Hills/TMC
o
Helped
get a new trail to use in the MoCo Epic, by adding a short connector trail to
Oak Ridge park
near Damascus
·
VA Advocacy Director – Michael Ullman
o
Working
with Loudoun County and Stephen Martinez (
LoCo
Liaison) on the opening of Edgar Tillett loop/jump line. A trail
work day
was completed in
mid June
to clear out a
1 mile
loop as
well
as
future jump line. Connected Stephen with a contact to get free
dirt for the jump line
o
Had
meeting with the Prince William County Liaisons and PW Parks Authority to
discuss future projects and their request to have board of supervisor approval
for additions to existing trails. We will be meeting once quarterly
ongoing.
o
Walked
a potential new trail in
Fairfax;
Piney Branch Stream
Valley Park. This trail is between 3-5 miles already cleared by a
resident/rider Kevin Morgan. I am in discussions with Kevin, his county
supervisor and working to engage Fairfax Parks on this trail. The plan is to
have it added to the MORE catalog of trails
in the near
future
. I have also identified some volunteers that can help Kevin as
well.
·
Membership Director –
Rob Lowe
o
[*]
·
Ride Program Director – Kathy Mihm
o
Managed
ride cancellations and announcements
o
Provided
tutorial and discussion with 1 new ride leader
o
Skills
clinics with Hillary M
o
Lead
rides at Muddy Branch and Cabin John
·
Communications Director – N/A
·
Treasurer – Neil
Blake
·
$29.3k net unrestricted increase
o
$45.8k
general revenues
o
$38.4k
other revenues (mainly TFY donation)
o
$5.9k
memberships
o
$1.5k
interest
·
$16.5k general expenses
o
$10.1k
staff costs
o
$4.3k
MoCo Epic (MD Event rentals & Seneca Creek permit)
o
$1k
tool reimbursements
o
$1.1k
other
·
$22.4k net restricted increase
o
$33.5k
restricted revenues
o
$20k
Wakefield (TFY)
o
$10.3k
Lake Fairfax (TFY)
o
$1k
River's Edge
o
$0.9k
Hashawah
o
$0.8k
Adaptive MTB grant
o
$0.5k
other
·
$11.2k restricted expenses
o
$7.4k
West MoCo (bikes from Terrapin)
o
$1.5k
Adaptive MTB (storage)
o
$1k
Waterworks
o
$0.6k
River's Edge
o
$0.7k
other
·
Activities Director –
Maris Finley
o
MoCo
Epic planning meetings
o
New
event swag acquisition
o
Emmitsburg
Ride planning & execution w/ Community Festival
o
Smoketown
Film event planning
o
P
rep for remaining Summer Ride
series events (3)
§
Up
next:
Hashawha
(Westminster) on 7/26
§
James
Long: 8/9
§
Lake
Fairfax: 8/23