SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2007
The
Annual Business Meeting (the “Annual Meeting”) of the Michigan Board of
Volleyball Officials (“MBVO”) was held in
1. Welcome & Introductions. Chair Fusako Hines convened the meeting at 2:05 pm. Secretary Betty Near recorded the minutes of the meeting.
- The following new members were introduced, including: DeLee Dankenbring, Ross Martin, Luke Reynolds, Kathie Toth, Denny Troshak, and Jason Wambier.
- The following officials were recognized for obtaining their initial ratings, including: Ken Bertin, Bob Canute, Kelli Hart, Mark Petrie, and Dan Silva, who earned Apprentice ratings. Additionally, since the last Annual Business meeting Sarah DeBoe, Cary Grant, Perry Sutherland and Candy Whitney earned Local ratings, while Jill Baker-Cooley earned her State. Chuck Erbe and David Saenz have earned State ratings through the Reciprocity Agreement, as they obtained their USAV Junior National and USAV National ratings, respectively.
2. Secretary’s Report. Secretary Near shared with the group that the
August 2006 Annual Business Meeting minutes had been posted on the MBVO.org
website in July, and an e-mail had been sent to each member informing them that
the information was there for their review.
Upon a motion duly made by Sharon Harris-Higgins and
seconded by Mike Mullin, respectively, it was resolved that the Minutes
be approved. Motion carried - no
dissent.
- Since the E/C had no knowledge of how much
activity the MBVO.org website was getting, Secretary/Treasurer Near posed the
question to the members. Through a show
of hands it was evidenced that a vast majority of the members were utilizing
the site.
- The members were reminded that rulebooks
were sent to the address presented to the secretary via the spring registration
form. Members were encouraged to share
address changes with the secretary/treasurer in order to allow for them to keep
the website current.
- A brief history of the organization’s
founding documents was shared with the group.
The MBVO Constitution was created in the 80’s, and the MBVO Bylaws were
created in the mid-90’s. In 2002 Ronnie
Mutter formed a committee consisting of Herb Smith, Sharon Harris-Higgins, Dan
Kitchel, Steve Miller, Bette Norman-Nakamura, Evie Langlands, and Betty Near,
to move forward in eliminating the constitution and creating a replacement set
of bylaws. Secretary/treasurer Near was
asked to take the group’s recommendations and merge the two documents into
one. She then created the MBVO Handbook,
which further explained the bylaws in a detailed fashion. Each member received a Member’s Resource
Booklet, which housed these documents until the website was up and running. All members, especially those that are new,
were encouraged to visit the site, print off the documents, and become familiar
with them.
- The list of ratees for 2007 includes: Jean Dukic, Eleanor Dorow, Dana Nelson and
Roxane Steenhuysen.
3. Treasurer’s Report. Treasurer Near led the group through the
financial report, which presented:
Balance
Forwarded as of 1/1/07 $ 381
2007 Revenue 6,502
2007 Expenses
4,122
Balance on-hand $2,761
- The following points of emphasis were made
regarding the financial report that was distributed to the members in hard
copy, including:
o The E/C directed that accounts receivable (“A/R”) and accounts
payable (“A/P”) be presented on member financial reports going forward.
o MBVO would have ended 2006 in the red had A/P’s not been deferred
to 2007 for officer mileage reimbursement payouts.
o OTP
copying costs on average are $300, which the hosting board must fully
absorb. The cost will be $0 in 2007, as
the time/copying was donated. However,
this savings cannot be counted upon going forward.
o The 2006
March E/C officer mileage reimbursement was paid at the IRS rate, which the E/C
now realizes they cannot afford.
Subsequently, officer mileage had been paid out for the A/P from the
12/06 E/C meeting, and the 3/07 meeting, respectively, at $.35/mile, and is
projected to be paid at the same rate for the Nov/Dec. 2007 meeting.
o $700 is
projected in officer mileage reimbursement for the 11/07 E/C meeting, with both
new and retiring officers in attendance, as today’s elected officers will not
take office until 6/1/08.
o Chairperson
Hines announced that effective in 2007, and going forward, each ratee will be
expected to contribute $50 to the treasury, a portion of which will be paid to
the raters. Rationale included:
-
The number of community college tournaments is
declining.
-
With a change in seasons the pool of available
raters would be decreasing, thus requiring more rating sessions to be held at
spring, pre-season, and scrimmage events, where no pay was available.
-
With the cost of doing business escalating
(i.e., gasoline/postage), the officers didn’t want to raise membership fees for
everyone to cover rating costs for a minority of the members.
-
Additionally, current procedures called for
the ratee to give their raters their match pay, which generally costs the ratee
around $80-$90, so this would be a savings to them as well.
o We have a
line item of $600 earmarked to pay raters, however, when this amount is divided
up among 15+ raters, the daily stipend is limited. Therefore, at the end of the year the E/C
will be reviewing the status of the treasury and may choose to provide
additional stipend to the raters.
o The
yearend financial position is estimated to come in somewhere around $600.
o A
question and answer period following the secretary’s presentation.
Upon
a motion duly made by Pat Folkertsma-Garrett and supported Ann Hutchins, it was
resolved that the financial report be
approved. Motion carried - no dissent.
4. New Business.
- Fusako was directed to
review the process for switching the “disabled” to “enable” entries on the PAVO
website soon so members could complete the written test. The group was reminded that the deadline for
scores to be received by Fusako was October 15, 2007.
- Ann Hutchins, Eastern
Regional Representative, was introduced, as coordinator of the State
card-renewal process. Ann shared that
those due for a card re-rate in 2007 included: Laura Alves, Pat
Folkertsma-Garrett, Sharon Harris-Higgins, Linda Hoover, Evie Langlands, Sharon
Lucey, Gary Merrill, Mike Mullin, Kent Neitzert & Mark Schlatter.
- Ann reported that the E/C had reviewed the
card renewal process and the following improvements were identified and
highlighted in her presentation.
o Adding comments, versus merely circling a
number, provides greater feedback. The
coaches often circle but we, as peers, can do better.
o Ann shares comments/scores from the cards
with each ratee, and often deficiencies and bad habits are identified in which
the ratee is totally unaware.
o It was recommended that National and
State-rated peers check their schedules and pick up extra cards to be completed
anonymously, even for those that are not doing a re-rate this year, as this
will make the entire board stronger.
o This is the best tool we have at the present
time to help each other.
o State ratings cannot be achieved below the
NAIA level of play, nor should cards be handed out at that level.
o May be best to present them at the end of
the match, and to both coaches, unless you can be discreet.
o Cards should be given to different coaches
than you handed them to the prior time.
o It is preferred that three (3) be given to
coaches and two (2) be given to peers.
o Cards have been sent to Kent for loading on
the website.
o We were encouraged to share post-game
communication comments, both positive and negative, with each other.
o On or about October 1 Ann will contact those
needing to renew this year to let them know how many cards have been received,
so they have time to react and not come up short.
o Individuals may also e-mail Ann in September
to let her know to whom cards have been presented.
Upon
a motion duly made by Mark Daniel and supported Gary Merrill, it was resolved that the assignors give their reports next,
to be following by the election. Motion carried -
no dissent.
4. Assignor Reports.
- Jeanne Skinner.
o Announced that there would be a scrimmage at
Cornerstone University on Tuesday, August 14,
from 2:00 – 4:30 pm. Anyone wishing to
tune-up should give her a call.
o Those
scheduled to be rated at Cornerstone include: DeLee Dankenbring, Ross Martin,
Luke Reynolds, Eleanor Dorow and Roxane Steenhuysen.
o Officials
should be onsite 60 minutes prior to the match for GIAC, and 45 minutes before
D-III matches, Sienna Heights, Cornerstone and Aquinas matches.
o The
desired emphasis should be on keeping the starters on the court after
introductions.
- Betty
Near
o
The
rate for 2006 and 2007 will be $80.00, with an increase to $85.00 in 2008. The 2-out-of-3 community college tournaments
have increased their pay to $45.00, effective this year.
o
Officials
should plan to be onsite 45 minutes before Davenport University, Grace Bible
College and community colleges matches as well.
- Both assignors would like an e-mail if
cards are presented during a match, or a protest takes place.
- It was announced that Ronnie Mutter’s new
contact information is on the website.
5. Election Process.
- The chair had asked Mark Daniel to be the
sergeant at arms for the election process, and he was introduced. He turned the floor over to Debi Schug,
Chairperson of the Nominating Committee, to start the election process.
Upon a motion duly made by Dan Kitchel and
supported Bill Barone, it was resolved that the ballots be separated to allow for
the voting of the Chair first, and the votes would follow to elect the Regional
Representatives. Motion carried - no
dissent.
- The Chairperson asked if there were any
nominations from the floor and there were none.
The names of Fusako Hines, Ann Hutchins and Kent Neitzert were placed in
nomination and they were introduced to the membership.
Upon a motion duly made by _______________ and
supported by Evie Langlands, it was resolved that these nominations be accepted for the
Chair position, and that the nominations be closed. Motion
carried - no dissent.
The vote by secret
ballot was conducted and the Nominating Committee assisted Chairperson Schug in
tallying the ballots. The sergeant of
arms oversaw the tallying process. Upon
completion Chair Debi Schug announced that Ann Hutchins had been elected.
- Member Dan Kitchel insisted the number of
votes be shared publicly and placed in the minutes. Discussion ensued about whether this was the
direction we wanted to go as our historical precedence had been to keep this
information confidential. Secretary Near
shared that the same request had been posed during the prior election, and she
had been directed to discuss this with Marcia Alterman, PAVO’s Executive
Director, which she had done. Marcia’s
recommendation had been that this could not only create a potentially
embarrassing situation for a candidate, but may also negatively impact the
number of people willing to run for an office in the future. Because this topic was not specifically
addressed in our bylaws we turned to Robert’s Rules of Order and Central Regional Representative Brian Smith
read that this action was required.
Upon a motion duly made by Chairperson Schug
and supported by Marc Van Maldegen, it was resolved that the numbers be
reported to the membership. Motion
carried - no dissent.
The election result was: Ann Hutchins – 33; Fusako Hines 12; and Kent
Neitzert – 12.
Upon a motion duly made by Bob Canute and
supported by Marc Van Maldegen, it was resolved that the ballots were to
be destroyed following the meeting.
Motion carried - no dissent.
Chairperson Schug
asked if there were any nominations from the floor for the Eastern Regional
Representative position, and Owen Nakamura nominated Bette
Norman-Nakamura. The names of Sharon
Harris-Higgins, Mike Mullin and Bette Norman-Nakamura were placed in nomination
and they were introduced to the membership.
Upon a motion duly made by Ann Hutchins and
supported by Lisa Bain, it was resolved that these nominations be accepted for the
Eastern Regional Representative position, and that the nominations be closed. Motion
carried - no dissent.
Chairperson Schug
asked if there were any nominations from the floor for the Northern Regional
Representative position, and there were none.
The names of Jill Baker-Cooley and Gary Merrill were placed in
nomination and they were introduced to the membership.
Upon a motion duly made by Dave Alexander and
supported by Bob Canute, it was resolved that these nominations be accepted for the
Northern Regional Representative position, and that the nominations be closed. Motion
carried - no dissent.
Chairperson Schug asked if there were any
nominations from the floor for the Western Regional Representative position,
and there were none. The name of Sarah
DeBoe was placed in nomination and she was introduced to the membership.
Upon a motion duly made by Pat
Folkertsma-Garrett and supported by Betty Near, it was resolved
that, as Sarah was running unopposed, the rules be suspended so that a vote may
take place by a show of hands of her constituents, in lieu of a secret ballot
vote, to allow her to be elected to the Western Regional Representative
position. Motion carried - no dissent.
Chairperson Schug called for a show of hands
in support of Sarah, and she was unanimously elected.
The vote by secret
ballot was conducted for the Northern and Eastern regions and the Nominating
Committee assisted Chairperson Schug in tallying the ballots. The sergeant of arms oversaw the tallying
process. Upon completion Chair Debi
Schug announced that the results were:
o Northern
Region were: Jill Baker-Cooley
– 6 and Gary Merrill – 5
o Eastern Regional were: Mike Mullin – 6; Sharon Harris-Higgins
– 4
Bette
Norman-Nakamura – 3
- Discussion ensued as some members took
exception to there not being a plurality in the vote for the Eastern Regional
Representative. This situation is not
addressed in either the PAVO or MBVO bylaws.
The Nominating Committee met with the three candidates. Chairperson Schug informed the members that
Sharon Harris-Higgins and Bette Norman-Nakamura had withdrawn their names from
the ballot.
Upon a motion duly made by Brian Smith and
supported by Bette Norman-Nakamura, it was resolved that the rules be
suspended so that a vote may take place by a show of hands of Mike Mullin’s
constituents, in lieu of a second vote, to allow him to be elected to the
Eastern Regional Representative position.
Motion carried - no dissent.
Chairperson Schug called for a show of hands
in support of Mike, and he was unanimously elected.
- For the record, the Chairperson read the
names of the newly elected officers, who will take office June 1, 2008,
including: Ann Hutchins – Chair; Mike Mullin – Eastern Regional Representative;
Jill Baker-Cooley – Northern Regional Representative; and Sarah DeBoe – Western
Regional Representative.
Upon a motion duly made by Mike Mullin and
supported by Bill Raymond, it was resolved that the elections be closed. Motion carried - no dissent.
7. Next
Annual Business Meeting. Chairperson
Hines informed the group that she will be requesting that PAVO grant MBVO the
right to host the 2008 PAVO OTP clinic, to be combined with the MBVO Annual
Business Meeting on the same second Sunday of August 2008.
8. Adjournment. Upon a motion duly made and seconded by Bill
Barone, and seconded by Ray Bauer respectively, it was resolved
that the meeting be adjourned. Motion
carried - no dissent.
Respectfully Submitted,
Secretary/Treasurer