NEU Board Meeting Minutes Concordia University Brandes Room 2811 NE Holman Street Portland, OR 97211 Tom Sincic, President called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. The following NEU Board Members were present: Board members Present: Tom Sincic, President Julie Mulick, Vice President Dirk Conradie Melissa Fischer Jennifer Fletcher Andy Frazier David Jackson Andreas Loeffler Hans Polte Titia Quinton Craig Santos Cindy Greene 6:30 Board Members Absent: Cheryl Rath Concordia Partnership Kim Dodge NEU Bookkeeper Lisa Bassett Minutes The December Board Meeting did not have a quorum so previous Board minutes were presented for review. Tom Sincic asked the Board to discuss and vote. David Jackson moved that October 11, 2011 minutes be approved. Motion was seconded by Craig Santos. The motion passed unanimously. David Jackson moved that November 16, 2011 Annual Meeting minutes be approved. Motion was seconded by Titia Quinton. The motion passed. Andy Frazier moved that Board minutes after the Annual Meeting on November 16, 2011 be approved. Motion was seconded by Hans Polte. The motion passed unanimously. NEU Board Meeting Page 1
Executive Committee Decisions Since the last meeting of the Board, the Executive Committee took action on five issues. 1) To support the collection of sports apparel and equipment on behalf of the Foundation and discuss the formalization of an agreement with the Ndamukong Suh Family Foundation. 2) To approve NEU sponsorship of the annual 3 v 3 Grassroots Soccer Tournament. 3) The Committee agreed to allow global policy language changes to remove Alameda and ASC and replace with Northeast United and NEU where needed rather than vote on each change individually. 4) The committee discussed and voted to allow a partial season registration fee reduction for a competitive team player joining a team (that needed a player) two thirds through the season. 5) The Committee voted to accept David Jackson s withdrawal from the Executive Committee and replace him with Cheryl Rath, NEU Competitive Director. Tom Sincic asked if there were any objections to the decisions made by the Executive Committee from the remaining Board members. Some discussion and clarification of the actions taken pursued. There were no objections. Executive Committee Appointment of members Tom Sincic announced that Titia Quinton and Andreas Loeffler offered to be added to the Executive Committee. As of this Board Meeting the Executive Committee consists of Tom Sincic, Cheryl Rath, Titia Quinton, Andreas Loeffler and Jennifer Fletcher. Another Board member asked what does the Committee do and Sincic explained that during the interim the committee voted on issues that couldn t wait until the next monthly Board meeting. Calendar Overview of Activities The Board members were shown the newly updated Board Calendar that breaks down regular Board activities by month and the Club Calendar the shows events and deadlines for the general club activities. Both calendars are also on the club website for review. Everyone was invited to review and or discuss the calendar activities any time throughout the year. NEU Governance Review The Board reviewed the NEU Governance flow chart. Tom Sincic reviewed NEU s relation with each organization represented on the chart. NEU Organization Chart Review With the addition of the new Recreational and Competitive Director positions, the Recreational Program oversight structure is now Vice President - Julie Mulick, Recreational Director - Andreas Loeffler and Recreational Coordinator - Cindy Greene. The Recreational Director duties are to help with the non-coaching needs of the recreational program with budget creation and monitoring, oversight of the other Recreational leadership and to represent NEU at the PYSA level. The Competitive Program volunteer oversight structure is now President Tom Sincic, Competitive Director Cheryl Rath, Member at Large Craig Santos. NEU Board Meeting Page 2
The Competitive Director provides oversight of the Competitive Program risk management, budget monitoring and provides oversight of the program volunteers Registrar, Equipment Manager, Bookkeeper, Camp Coordinator Team Managers and Competitive Program Coaches. The Competitive Director also serves on the club Fundraising Committee and the Financial Aid Committee. The Development Academy Program is run by Titia Quinton and Andy Frazier. The DA program will continue on as before with no additional oversight. NEU Administration The Annual Report needs to be submitted to the Oregon Department of Justice and to the Secretary of State Corporation Division. Dirk Conradie stated that the Annual Report should be prepared in April. The Board members background information was submitted to the club insurance for record. To improve club Risk Management, competitive coaches are required to bring their completed background check with them to their contract signing. The Club name change had been filed with the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division. Signature cards have been prepared at Albina Bank to change authorization to Cheryl Rath, Andreas Loeffler and Tom Sincic as signers. Dirk Conradie will facilitate the accounts but will not be a signer. Board members were encouraged to find volunteers to fill supportive club positions that are still vacant. Four new website banner options were presented to the Board. David Jackson moved that the Board vote on option three. The motion was seconded by Melissa Fischer. After discussion, the motion was approved by the majority with no apposed. Submitted Program Reports Tom Sincic asked if anyone had any questions about the reports distributed for review the week prior to the meeting (President s Report, Recreational Program Report, Development Program Report and the Competitive Program Report). There were no questions. Hans Polte recommended coaches register Spring teams using Bonzi instead of allowing them to do it by mail. Development Academy Titia Quinton announced that five U8 players wanted to participate in DA. The U9-U11 parents were in favor of allowing these exceptions to the age rule because the program was not at capacity. As the Program, Mrs. Quinton stated she was inclined to allow it and asked if any NEU Board Meeting Page 3
Board members could see any reason she shouldn t. No-one offered any reason. It was brought to the Board s attention that Jill College, who has been making the new player cards, is leaving the club this season and Mrs. Quinton asked who could serve the club in this capacity. Hans Polte suggested that he and Mrs. Quinton could work it out. Financial Aid Request Mr. Sincic presented a late financial aid request from a player s family. He said they did not apply at the beginning, because they misunderstood the process. They already paid $400 and agreed to pay another $100, but are asking the remainder of the Competitive fee be waived. Mr. Sincic noted that if they had applied at the beginning, they could have had 75% funded aid. Andy Frazier motioned to approve the financial aid request at $500 total. The motion was seconded by Craig Santos. The motion was approved unanimously. Concordia Partnership Report Kim Dodge reported that the Concordia Field Grand Opening Celebration was scheduled for March 3 rd and asked all Board members to attend as a show of support. Mike Archer negotiated NEU scheduling of 800 hours per year on the new field. The club must use every minute or will risk losing time allocated to it. The club s funding raising efforts stand just shy of $30,000. Mrs. Dodge asked all Board members contribute so she can announce that all Board members were in support of the partnership. Several strategies were discussed about how the club could meet their Concordia Partnership fund raising goals. The Board took a break to tour the new field with teams at practice 7:10-7:28 p.m. Treasurer Report Dirk Conradie reported on his first look at the NEU books. He stated that he only briefly looked at the club financials and everything appears to have been done very well. The NEU s non-profit compliance looked good. Financially the club is stable and he saw no red flags. The only recommendation at this time would be to extend the club s federal tax filing three months then it could be filed at the same time as the Oregon return. He would also help put together a written internal control accounting policy. Mr. Sincic announced that Lisa Basset, the club bookkeeper, plans to stay on for a while. Everyone has been pleased with her performance. Fields Plan Andy Frazier volunteered to attend meeting with Parks & Recreation about field availability. Late Tryout Policy and Procedure NEU Board Meeting Page 4
Craig Santos presented a late tryout policy. Andreas Loeffler motioned to approve the policy with changes as presented. The motion was seconded by Julie Mulick. The motion was approved unanimously At this time, the Competitive Director has complete authority to make decisions over late tryout issues. More policy is going to be created but until it is in writing, the Competitive Director is encouraged to consult with Board Member Advisors. Coaching Criteria Policy Cheryl Rath had not submitted the Coaching Criteria Policy draft for review. Andreas Loeffler motioned to table the Coaching Criteria Policy approval until a later date. The motion was seconded by David Jackson. The motion was approved unanimously Meanwhile, policy review and changes will be discussed by Cindy Greene, Cheryl Rath and Tom Sincic. Equipment, Uniform and Apparel Report Last year, as Equipment Manager, David Jackson changed NEU uniform vendor to the Farpost. Member response to the change has been very favorable. Nike supplying gear saves the club tremendously, because the club no longer has to purchase the supplies for the coaches. Board Policy Writing Assignments The following policies still need to be written and have been assigned to Board members with the following final draft deadlines: Parental Concern and Member Grievance Policy February-Andreas Loeffler Fundraising and Sponsorship Policies March Kim Dodge Member Benefits and Volunteer Recognition April Titia Quinton Record Keeping June Jennifer Fletcher. Mr. Sincic asked that first drafts be prepared one or two months prior to the deadline so changes can be made prior to a vote. Other Business Mr. Sincic proposed NEU consider paying for a Youth Sports Psychology Session conducted by Kevin Simpson. The Board reacted favorably. Mr. Sincic will present more detailed information at the next Board meeting. Mr. Conradie was asked to review the NEU cash handling and processing and he said it is fine. The photo release form has been created by Arkady Mak and is being reviewed by the club NEU Board Meeting Page 5
Attorney. The form will be included with the next registration packet. Tom Sincic agreed to put together the unpaid balances policy. Risk Management Policy - TBD Inventory procedure plan - TBD A new donation request procedure has been suggested that members receive donation requests along with the club registration confirmation email. Andreas Loeffler volunteered to develop or recommend a process by the next Board meeting. Competitive Spring Camp Proposal Mike Archer joined the meeting and was introduced to the new Board members. Mr. Archer proposed the club organize a Spring Soccer Camp with Concordia Coach Grant. It shouldn t interfere with the University schedule, since Concordia Spring Break and PPS coincide. He also noted that there were no games on the weekends that bookend Spring Break. A joint activity is part of the NEU Concordia agreement. Mr. Sincic met with Coach Grant and concluded that $3,000 for a three night training program put on by Concordia Coach and Staff. Hans Polte motioned that NEU setup a three night Spring Break Camp and pay Concordia Coach Grant and staff $3,000 to conduct the camp. The motion was seconded by Julie Mulick. The motion was approved unanimously Next Meeting Date Several Board members did not want to meet on Valentines in February. Julie Mulick motioned to change the next NEU meeting to Tuesday, February 7, 2012. The motion was seconded by Melissa Fischer. After discussion, the Board did not vote. Craig Santos motioned to hold the next NEU meeting on Tuesday, February 21, 2012. The motion was seconded by Dirk Conradie. The motion was approved unanimously 8:41 NEU Board adjourned. Respectfully Submitted by: Jennifer Fletcher NEU Board Meeting Page 6