It was held Thursday, January 31, at 6:00pm at Breckenridge Brewery
Attendees Glenn Carlson, Jon Glaefke, Louis Ortiz, Mike Lakritz, Mike Applehans, Margaret Oliver, Justin Meyer, Sheila Paul, Curtis Elmore, Lincoln Todd, Fred Roth, Teri Daois, Donna Bowden, Glenn Conser, Jeff Brown, and Mark Schellinger
Leadership of Committee
President Glenn Carlson
Vice President Jon Glaefke
Secretary rotating position Donna Bowden at first Meeting
Financial Overseers Mike Applehans and Donna Bowden
Purpose and Mission Statement
Our mission as the 2008 MRA PR and Marketing Committee is to increase spectatorship, recruit new members and racers, and create a symbiotic relationship with businesses to increase visibility. We will accomplish this through a series of local paper, television, and radio campaigns and through the distribution of materials and attendance at events at the local shops and businesses. Success will be measured through surveys of spectators at the races and race schools, and business tailored fliers with discount gate coupons.
There were lots of ideas, more than we can take on to begin with, but we hope to realize many of them with time. Here's what we're going to tackle first:
1) Fliers and Schedule Cards to be distributed at bike shops, including independently standing MRA information stands with MRA logos and business logo of the participating business.
2) A Large Banner (Thank you for your donation Marty at 12 Volt! Tavern) that we will put at the entrance to the track every race weekend.
3) We have several members of the PR group who have contacts into print, radio and television media who are showing interest in doing free spots and/or stories on the MRA.
4)Improving the MRA image of professionalism at races and making the event more of a show at the races with such ideas as Dan Morgan Pacesetter Award (still must be approved by the MRA Board) to be given at Banquet for most professional looking pit and acting racer, Umbrella girls and boys at pregrid, preferred pit areas for professional looking pits, and what else? (Here's your chance to input, folks!)
5) More internet visibility with an MRA MySpace page, YouTube videos, more cross links between the MRA and businesses.
6) MRA presence at bike shop Open Houses with the MRA Truck, racebikes and racers, and MRA information. We need your help here by attending these events with your bike, especially if you are sponsored by that shop (ie I really can't take my TriCity Cycle sponsored (and sticker covered) bike to Grand Prix Motorsports.
7) Right along with #6, you can help by just taking your bike to your sponsors and letting them show it off at their place of business for awhile.
This is where we are starting. We have more in the works, but are concentrating on these seven areas first.
The MRA Board has authorized us a budget of $1000. We intend to be as frugal and efficient as possible with those funds.
Also, we have started the CAMA Phone Campaign soliciting members and others for donations. And we also have the MRA/CSC Challenge. Let's whoop up on those CSC guys and ladies!