Agenda for April 7 meetings:

Announcing Ongoing Progress - last updated: 4/7/2026:

• Status of Registrations early April 6:

  • • • 1 squad and another LOOKING EXTREMELY LIKELY.

      • 1 individual

      • About 9 total  have attended the Maggie-run  interest meetings so far.  

      • No interest in TAR was declared by participants at the April 4 CCW Running Group meet-up that JJ co-hosted

• Kaku got us 15 hats!  For staff. For prizes. For purchase by participants.

• Shirts?

• We will develop plans to drastically cut the event to just a couple of hours for Stroke Smart if we don't get at least 4 squads-worth  signed up by April 15.  Let's discuss our Plan B which might look like this:  Begin at 2pm with Registration and Icebreaker. Move to Stroke Smart Leg immediately and finish our event by 5pm.  Plan C would retain a 10:00 registration and end approximately 2 pm when people can go to lunch.  The LEGS DEFINED document contains the legs that Maggie suggests we would drop. Discuss?

• Maggie sent a feedback survey to registrants of TAR and also Interest Meetings on 4/7 to collect preferences to re-org to a morning vs. afternoon event. I'll share results to inform an April 15 decision. This email also "red flags" for the present registrants the fact that the event is subject to change. 

• Refunds if we drastically alter? No... They were non-refundable registrations and we spent money and will still offer an event. We can offer hats instead of refunds.

• We have time April 15 onward to post an entirely new event posting that adds a new registration opportunity as Community Service (entirely.)  This would collect up additional distributors for Alan's leg who could participate in only that 90 min activity at no cost.

• Repeat: Committee's organizational action is focused on 3 documents: 

  • this page that you are reading (purpose: agendas, links, progress reports, Maggie's to-do list for transparency). Maggie controls one-way communication and updates it every couple of days.

  • Collaborative: most on our committee can now edit the leg for which they are responsible: developing legs here:  Legs Defined Google Doc where most (Alan, Julie, JJ, Sneha, Liz, Alan)  now have access if they gave Maggie a g-mail address. 

  • Web site for Participants: Participant facing and public. Squad captains and organizers can e-mail Maggie any content to place there (such as the -shirt order form. Maggie updates it weekly. 

  • Additional: We have a WhatsApp thread for practice  in March and April and so far can confirm that it works for JJ, Julie, Sneha and Maggie. I'd like all of us race organizers to chime in there before race day when it will be our chief communication service for organizers if possible.
    
    

• Maggie edits CCW home page-- she's acting webmaster for the club--, posts registrations in their Calendar as much as time allows but there can be significant time lags. Maggie prompts CCW social media to post on Instagram and Facebook outlets.)

• All: Mark your Calendar for May 5 evening COMMITTEE meeting.   Maybe I make it a 7 pm meal at my house in Falls Church?? What is best?    May 5 might be by Zoom, but maybe face to face in Alexandria at Virtue Feed and Grain is best? Send me (proactively!) alternative ideas (or substitute meeting dates) that would ensure full attendance/ communication this close to race date. I want you all to be able to talk with one another to clarify roles, needs. 
  
  

• Your Edits Needed: On April 15 I'll make an executive decision based on this week's feedback to cut Plan A to Plan B or C  if we don't have the makings of 4 squads.  I'll rapidly edit the LEGS DEFINED doc,  and then I need the Czar of each leg to fine-tune their section by April 30, please, but Alan's and Kaku's edits of the Appendix will be appreciated earlier.  Sneha and Julie need to confirm with me the support to STAFFING that they've previously indicated from hubby, pals... THANK YOU! CRUCIAL!
  
  

• Per decision above, I'll email any schedule updates to official registrants and get the event updates posted at CCW web site, TAR Event Web site.

• Permit info: Maggie learned friom City of Alexandria the permit requirements for our event and will convey them to you all.  Suggesting that Alan uses my card table for SS materials be placed south of King Street in Waterside Park near our finish line to double as a distribution table for public at large in addition to our participants. Alan, let's discuss.
  
  

• Monday March 9 Walk Thru in Alexandria  refined locations, transitions, timings, contacts, supplies for all legs except #6.  UPDATE: Maggie investigated permits and learned that Alan's leg can set up a table and that leg should be conducted from the park JUST SOUTH of King Street (instead of Founders' Park.)
  
  

• Status update on  here:  Legs Defined Google Doc.  We targetted completing the LEGS document  by March 31. Appendix should be done now but is not...  and Leg Staffing/ Transitions were on hold for more information. We will confirm the staffings at our early April meeting. Julie's husband Larry can help, and Sneha's friend  might be available. If I get recruits for staffing, I'll list at the top of that document.
  
  

• HERE'S the  "official registration link for the Amazing Race which collects payments.  <-- send people there to register. 
  
  

• Interest meeting updates:  Mr.  Henry's was awesome! So was the Art Gallery meeting.  And I had 3 attend the 4/6 Zoom meeting.  None of our Int. Meetings have produced registrations yet, however.  This week, one gal seemed like she would become a squad captain for 3 non-cornellians and be open to individual joiners if not.             
   

• How might we follow up  with all who have come to interest meetings  to get them to commit?  I sent  a query for queries to most Interest Meeting people today, 4/7 which reminds of deadlines.
  
  

• In March I deputized  JJ, Julie and Sneha each to set up a Squad as an ACTING Squad Captain if you want to take financial and Leg 1/2 responsibility  (but no pressure!!!)  Do this if you think you have 2-4 reliable folks you don't mind harassing through Legs 1-3. Apprise me, and you can tell me who takes over as Squad Captain by April 30.   But actually, I think you might want
  
  Use e-mail to fill me in and to send me your squad name/ members, please.  I think we are running out of time for this strategy.

• Plan to  WEAR RED on race day, please. Staff will get a navy cap, too.
  
  

• Maggie  maintains  TAR Interest Meetings on home page of the web site  .  Maggie can handle participants at those meetings herself so that committee members are freed for all of their other work. Dates are April 18 and April 22.   Maggie got them listed on the CCW Calendar.
  
  

• Does the CCW Calendar of events at CCW home page support anyone in town to use any as a recruiting tool?  For APRIL 22,  I note that there's a 6 pm Happy Hour at Madhatter at Dupont Circle. Does anyone want to attend and push there?   See details here: Cornell Club of Washington DC - Explore DC Happy Hour Series – Madhatter at Dupont
  
  

• WhatsApp thread is in place for our planning committee. It's a good test project. A similar thread could be fun for buzz and also answering questions day of race if we invite squad captains and participants to such a (different Whatsapp) thread. It could help us manage last second logistics and "where are you" on Race Day.  Easy would be to coop the CCW RUNNER GROUP thread for the day and our committee can join ahead of time.  But can Sneha or JJ  set up that thread if not using that one? Maggie needs help to collect the link and QR code to proactively post at TAR site.
  
  

• Interest Meeting Series is linked  at home page of TAR  site
  
  

• PR from Tony Chen's stuff to promote our race:  JJ sent once!
  
  

•  Maggie included mention of TAR in  an email sent to everyone who registered for run/walks at the National Mall.  Maggie can do a big similar send out to everyone who's ever registered to conduct Community Service.

• CCW sent a March newsletter linking our registration page.
  
  

In Progress:

1. All:   Recruit staffing for each leg!  You could use graphics you can mine from our web site.  

2. "Like" and forward our Instagram postings!

3. Does anyone want to attend the CCW Happy Hour April 22? I suggest you take a laptop and some of our biz cards?  Introduce people? 

4.  Maggie will monitor registrations and post # of teams here and eventually at Leaderboard (which will lag) for all to be able to monitor.

5. Maggie is prompting  Squad Captains to share photos, team colors, fun names of teams forthe Leaderboard. Note that the following Squads are fakes for the purposes of illustration and hype only:  Mike's Maniacs, Gil's Gladiators, Ezra's ExtraFast, Triumphant Tridelts.  

6. Alan is fine-tuning the race leg (#6)  and the APPENDIX for his instructions/script for the Distribution leg in the appendix of that Legs Defined document.  Based on progress of registrations through April, he will prepare bags of the appropriate # of SS handouts, being super careful not to be wasteful. He will bring them all for that Leg on Race Day.

7. Kaku is preparing for the caps sale on Race Day. 

8. Happy Hour organization is being assigned to someone OUTSIDE of the TAR committee but may be something very informal with several people involved just reserving some tables at the patio of Virtue Feed and Grain which have 2-hour limits and a max of 7 per table. We might be scattered.

9. Maggie will be overseas mid-March till April 30.              Add 6 hours to East Coast time but with eough notice, is available to Zoom, Whatapp or Email.   She'll be online at times noted on our home page for TAR.

10. Final WHOLE COMMITTEE MEETING is set for May 5, TBD if it's in person at Maggie's, at Alexandria's Virtue Feed and Grain or by Zoom (meh!)

11. Minutes and resources/ideas that were listed in agendas related to past meetings are in this multi-purpose archive.

Maggie manage... do or assign later:

•  Liz will run the registration table May 9. Maggie will collect a set of instructions and materials such as a card table, flag, clipboards, lanyards with nametags of participants....

• Maggie has time to "hand-make" some winners' medals for our top teams. See the medals that I made for our Jun '25 Charity Run at lower left pic.

• INSTAGRAM posts?  WhatsApp hype? QR codes?

• Determine and organize the prizes to be handed out each leg: cash in envelopes, 4 -5 of the hats already purchased? Cornell stickers...

• Determine and have "corral finish" colored cards to communicate clearly at end of each race leg in case our numbers look like they will be chaotic. (Maggie will do.)

• Should we set up a WhatsApp thread for lead up? For May 9?  (Why not?)  Who sets up? Who monitors? Which TAR members would participate?  Based on experience, I know comms through this mechanism hit only a partial set of the audience who can opt in or opt out.)  If we set one up, I can put the link at the Web Site and develop a "Contact" page there closer to the race.