WSCCCA Meeting Minutes
Oct. '06 Apr. '06 Feb. '07 July '07
Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association
July 9, 2007 - Clear Lake / White Pass Cross Country Camp
Present:
President - Joe Clark (Lakes)
Vice President - Phil English (Eisenhower)
Treasurer -Bruce McDowell (Cedarcrest)
Secretary - Patty Ley (Gig Harbor)
Website & Scholarship Coordinator-Doug Fulton - (South Whidbey)
Advisory Board District 7-Bill Kemp -(Riverside)
Jeff Hashimoto -(Ellensburg)
Steve Reed - (Aberdeen)
Advisory Board District 5-Robin Bryson - (Sunnyside)
Meeting called to order 9:10pm
Reports -
? President - Joe Clark - Joe began by suggesting that since the executive board is drawing from a broader spectrum of the state that it should consider reimbursing mileage to meetings. He will check with the parent body to determine feasibility of this move.
Terms of the executive board are coming to an end. Joe indicated he would be pleased to continue in his position if it is the will of the board. It is difficult to accomplish a lot in just two years and feels he is in a better position to move the interests of the coaches forward now. He also expressed his hope that the other members of the board would run again. Joe will verify the nomination and voting process and take action on that in the coming months.
Joe talked about the role of the advisory board, particularly with regards to the length of season issue and indicated his pleasure at the active role they have played. The advisory board members have been extremely important in reaching so many schools and coaches over this issue. And he feels that feedback on this issue and many others is at an all time high because of their work.
Joe proposed the executive board look at a constitutional change which will alter the wording about the potential role of the “retired” president to create language which will indicate a former president “may serve” rather than the more strict language in place now which seems to obligate a president to serve.
Finally, Joe spoke about his satisfaction to increased involvement but also about his commitment to continue to increase the number of coaches involved around the state.
? Vice President - Phil English - Phil reported on his work organizing and acquiring plaques for a permanent Hall of Fame wall to be located at the WIAA headquarters in Renton. He suggested an 11” x 14” plaque which would hold a 5”x8” picture and have room for a biography of the coach. Cost will be approximately $50 per plaque - labor will be donated and he is in contact with possible donors through Tom Campbell. Phil’s primary concern was for a design that could be consistent across time. Right now the format for the plaque would include - Name, Schools and then biographical information solicited from the honoree. After some discussion the information will be written in paragraph form for consistency. Phil anticipates three or four plaques to be ready by the state meet this year for viewing by the coaches. Pictures will need to be obtained from coaches or their families to be laminated to the plaque, so this may slow the process somewhat early on.
? Treasurer -Bruce McDowell - Bruce reported the following balances;
$3110.31 - scholarship account
$3499.29 - general account - used to pay expenses for the East / West race and for the website and mailings
$10,600.64 - in an ongoing certificate of deposit
The association distributed $4500 in scholarships in 2006 and received $2300 in donations. Anticipated scholarship donation for this year include:
$1000 - Columbia Mortgage (Run of the Mill)
$1000 - Brooks
$1000 - Seafair
$500 - to be designated as a scholarship in memory of Lakewood HS runner Scott Skiles
Profit from the East/West 2006 race was 368.37.
January 2008, the association will receive dues for 06-07. Dues for 05-06 totaled $1640.
? A side discussion developed about the general growth of the sport of cross country in Washington State. Patty will be researching which schools participate, which schools do not and prepare a report for the next meeting. As an association we hope to encourage and support programs at all schools in the state.
? Length of season discussion:
Joe reported that 60% of the schools in the state responded to the question of increasing the length of the season. 70% of those responding were in favor of the proposal to return a week to the end of the cross country season - extending the season, generally, into the second week of November.
Districts 1,2,3,and 5 were strongly in favor of the proposal
District 8 was slightly in favor
Districts 4,6,and 7 were slightly against
District 9 had one vote and that was in favor
3A/4A 5:1 in favor
2A 4:1 in favor
1A slightly against
1B against
2B in favor
Mike Colbrese desired one vote per school.
The board discussed the process for reaching schools (see below) and came to the conclusion that while it was very thorough 60% input may not be a strong enough number to convince the WIAA executive board. Joe was asked to attempt to reach more coaches and schools with the understanding this is a difficult time of the year to make contact. The goal is to reach 25 -30 more responses.
Process for reaching schools about length of season proposal
1. Contacted league commissioners asked for a vote at post season meetings
2. Contacted coaches through the advisory board
3. E-mails sent to coaches and A.D.s throughout the state using WIAA site as source for school emails
4. E-mails sent to District secretaries for distribution to schools, A.D.s and coaches
5. Notice placed on www.watfxc.com soliciting input
While still a goal to reach 70% or better involvement in the process the feeling was that we still had better depth of reaching and recording than in past processes.
? John Crawford’s last year - John will be retiring after this year. How best to honor his contributions in this last year. He has already been made a member of the Hall of Fame and given the President’s Award for Service. Patty suggested collecting memories of state meets at Pasco from coaches and creating a book of these memories to give to John at the coaches’ meeting at state. Patty will contact present and former coaches and athletes to solicit contributions and collect and collate these into a presentation for John.
? Awards:
Joe discussed the idea of multiple Coach of the Year awards because of the quality of coaching in the state of Washington. One award per gender did not seem adequate for the level of quality. Discussion ensued about the appropriate number of awards. Ultimately the proposal was made to increase the number, but leave room for fewer given in any year. Discussion moved to when the announcement of coach of the year should take place and general consensus was that this should be no later than early December rather than the November of the following year. Publication of CoY and All - State teams was also discussed with the consensus being this should be done within 30 days of the state meet and sent to papers throughout the state and on the website for publication
Joe proposed two motions
1) Award up to one award per gender per race - passed
2) Meet electronically as a board to select coach of the year and confirm All-State and East/West nominees within 30 days of the state meet.- passed
? Career recognition - a certificate will be created to award to coaches who meet the career recognition criteria. This will be filed through Patty who will be responsible for accepting applications and returning certificates. Discussion about establishing coed criteria began resulting in agreement that this should remain single gender recognition. It is possible for a single coach to receive career recognition as a girls’ coach and as a boys’ coach. This was deemed an important detail in order to maintain the integrity of cross country as separate gender sports.
? Hall of Fame nominees - names to be sent to the Hall of Fame committee
Mike Hubbard - Inglemoor
Pat Tyson - Mead
Pete Steiner - East Valley - Yakima
Ed Santos - South Kitsap
It was recognized that there is a need to solicit input from around the state especially since there is an anticipated jump in retirements soon.
Awards schedule -this was discussed at the previous meeting. Several coaches were not able to attend award ceremonies for their girls’ teams because of commitments to a boys’ team as well. This issue was caused by a change in schedule that many deemed unsolicited. Several suggestions were made for rectifying this issue.
1. WIAA should review returning to 2005 time schedule adjusting for the new classification in the appropriate spot.
2. Place the 2A schools with the 3A and 4A schools because by talent level this is where they belong. This is best for the sport since 60% of the population will be represented this way.
3. Simply wait until after both girls and boys races in that classification to present awards this will increase numbers at the awards as well.
Viewing area - this was deemed a great addition to the race. Two suggestions to make it better.
1. Wait 2 - 3 minutes after the start of the race to close the area down. Or better yet have radio contact with the lead cart and at the half mile or three quarter mile mark shut down access. This will allow spectators to move from the start to this area.
2. Move the bottom flagging to the natural boundary of the trees. This will allow an easier setup by using the trees and be a more natural addition to the course.
Finish Line - there is a need for more workers at the front of the finish chute. They should be shoulder to shoulder so that athletes can not come out of place. Cameras need to be set up both the read numbers and to record a side view of place.
Jury of Appeals - There is now an overlap of the scorekeeper position sitting on the games committee as well. This is a conflict that needs to be addressed. Secondly, coaches need to know the process to contact the jury of appeals during the meet. ie location or contact person. An appeal form needs to be placed in each school’s packet (like track) to facilitate this issue.
? Executive Board:
Joe proposed adding at large positions (up to three) to the board to serve at the pleasure of the board. This action was primarily to give Doug official standing, even though he doesn’t want it and to keep him from escaping, even though he deserves to.
? East/West All Star race
Still looking for a coordinator. This is difficult because it seems it will have to be someone in the Seattle area to facilitate use of Lower Woodland and connections with Super Jock and Jill. John O’Leary has volunteered himself and others to do course set up this year. Joe will solicit help for registration , timing and finish from the board and other coaches.
An announcement was made at the camp soliciting entries and help from campers as well.
The board discussed other ways to increase participation. It is difficult to draw eastside athletes well. Suggestion was made to look at either North/South split or perhaps designating athletes East or West like football does.
WSCA will reimburse up to $2000 for expenses occurred for these types of events, so the board will look at ways to use that incentive.
Currently - All star coaches will receive a Brooks polo shirt and athletes will receive singlet, shorts, t-shirt and a spike bag as well as lunch on Saturday.
Discussion was held about the social and ways to make that viable. Is it necessary given there is a barbecue on Saturday? The purpose was to create contact with major sponsor Super Jock and Jill. Is there another way this can be done? Discussion tabled until next meeting.
Other - using the website for fundraising. Should the association sell advertising. Short discussion. Bruce questioned the need to do this without first answering the question what should the money go to. Discussion tabled
? Other:
Bill Kemp approached the board asking for a board recommendation to WIAA for team awards for wheelchair athletes. WIAA is interested in building interest in the activity and believes team awards will help but seeks feedback from the board. Joe asked Bill for written proposals for the issue and the board decided it needed to seek out more information about when and how team trophy presentations were implemented in other sports at early stages when there was minimal participation.
Meeting adjourned 10:37pm
Respectfully submitted 7/16/2007
Patty Ley
Secretary
Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association Executive Board
Minutes of meeting 2/18/2007
WIAA Headquarters -Renton Washington
In attendance:
Joe Clark (President)
Bruce McDowell (Treasurer)
Doug Fulton (Advisory Board - East/West All -Star Scholarship)
Jeff Sowards (Scholarship)
Patty Ley (Secretary)
Annette Silvernail (West Seattle HS - observing)
Joe brought the meeting to order and then did introductions.
2. Bruce McDowell delivered the treasure’s report:
The current accounts are held at Key Bank
CD = $10,600
Scholarship fund = $3100
General checking = $3800 - this includes $900 from East/West race and $1640 from 2005-2006
WSCCCA membership dues from Washington State Coaches’ Association
Expenditures
East/West All star race =$903 for plaques, tshirts and barbeque
Deposit of $1272 from meet entries
Scholarships distributed + $4500
Discussion ensued about contributions to 2005-2006 scholarship fund. Received $2500 for scholarships. Brooks contribution received Oct 31. Question was raised whether this was 05-06 or 06-07 contribution. Need to establish time frame to track these contributions. Joe will be investigating whether SeaFair pledge of $1000 was ever received. Run of the Mill race also contributed $1000.
Website expenses.
Super Jock and Jill miswrote check. Should be $500 but check written for $50. Bruce address
error.
Motion made to establish fiscal year of July 1 - June 30. Patty made motion; Joe seconded; motion passed.
3. East/West race report
a.Tom Anderson will be leaving Super Jock and Jill. He has been instrumental in keeping SJJ involved in East/West race. Ty will become connection with SJJ. Tom and Leo Genest have worked to create new course on upper Lower Woodland area to limit number of areas needed to be reserved. Joe will follow up on reserving park for the race. Start and finish will be near picnic shelter used last year for the BBQ. The suggestion was made to ask Mark Cullen to continue as an advisor to the race because of his significant involvement in negotiating, reserving and setting up park last year
b. Race director - this tends to be a recurring question. This is a difficult task especially for anyone outside the Seattle area. A number of coaches have indicated their willingness to help in many ways though no one really wants to take on the director’s job. Joe will contact Rod Wilcox at King’s to discuss his possible involvement in this capacity. Race director needs to do publicity, develop brochures, coordinate volunteers. Ideal person would be someone either with SJJ for promotion or a coach not involved in track season.
c. Budget - discussed in treasurer’s report
d. New course designed by Tom Anderson and Leo Genest
e. Recognition of All-Stars. This has moved from 50 to 60 athletes this last year. Because of questions and nominations from coaches over the last few years, the need to establish guidelines for nomination beyond place and time at state should be considered. Consensus was to accept coach’s nomination of an athlete who can be shown to be at same caliber of selected athletes who was sidetracked by injury or illness.
f. Sponsorship - Super Jock and Jill and Brooks have provided good support. Can Brooks provide shirts for All-Star coaches? Coaches will be contacted to determine interest. A certificate will be given to All-Star coaches.
Discussion about entry regulations. Should establish an entry deadline then perhaps there could be entries beyond the original number. This led to the selection discussion of point e.
h. Letters will be sent out by Doug. Date = July 21st Time = 10:00 Place = upper Lower Woodland
There will be one race unless registration numbers indicate need for more.
Awards - will stick with the same number of awards as last year
Joe will check on availabilty of power at the picnic shelter.
4. Scholarship Report (Jeff Sowards)
a. Last year WSCCCA distributed 1 x $1000 and 2 x $500 scholarships to both the boys and the girls. Special circumstances also led to the distribution of an additional $500 to the girls.
Funds were distributed to the athletes after notification of enrollment was received by Bruce.
Date was set for reviewing scholarship applications = Monday July 2nd site TBD. Scholarship applicants are not limited to those invited to race as All-Stars.
8. WIAA report - Theresa
Theresa arrived at this point in the meeting, so agenda was moved out of order.
a. There will be an online rules clinic developed. Theresa asked the Association to provide points of emphasis. The clinic will be adapted from the track and field clinic.
Suggested points:
Obtain and read the meet syllabus
Uniform rules as they apply to cross country (same as relay rules for track)
number of meets allowed in a season
General information - possibly including scoring a meet, reporting scores etc.
b. Nothing significant is on the horizon. The letter of agreement with the community of Pasco runs through 2007. There has been little interest expressed by other sites in terms of hosting the state meet.
5. State Meet report
a. What worked. The coaches viewing area received a lot of positive feedback though a request will be made to extend the length of time before it is closed. It closed only a minute or two after the start of the race which didn’t allow coaches to make it to the area and watch the start. One or two more minues would be helpful.
Theresa asked to deliver a report based on facilities issues and management issues. This will make it easier for her to address issues.
Management:
Awards - several complaints about the scheduling of the awards, particularly the girls’. Several girls’ teams coaches were not at the awards because their boys’ teams were preparing to start. Could management hold the awards so that the classification awards are held together. ie. 2A girls and boys awards at the scheduled time for 2A boys . This would allow extra time if needed for both awards, eliminate the issue of coaches missing awards and highlighting an entire classification with more spectators at the awards.
Schedule - the question was raised why the schedule was changed this year. What is the rationale? Could those needs be met in some other way? Should schedule be adjusted so that small schools are not always the first event of the day? Discussion ensued about reasons for schedule. This may be issue to poll membership about. Bruce indicated Bs and 4As don’t socialize.
Access to games committee - several coaches felt the need to file appeals or protests but there were no forms available nor was there a venue for filing these. With the current situation it is virtually impossible to appeal to the games committee because no process is available nor is a site available for contact. Games committee and Jury of Appeals should be different groups and the Jury of Appeals should have no other responsibilities in order to respond without prejudice.
Finish line - there were several questions about the finish line mechanism. (This falls under both management and facility concerns). There is a need for experienced people picking places and making sure those are held in the chute. There may need to be more people at the front of the chute to keep athletes in order especially with races now being decided by one or two places.
Facility
Awards area - much better movement around this area. There was much less of a bottleneck around this area and it was much easier to move from point to point and gave a great viewing area of the awards for spectators.
New viewing area - very positive response - just need longer time to get there from the start. Suggestion to bring this a little lower to use the natural barrier of trees. This should help setup time.
Corners - much better since last year - typically positive feedback to course changes.
Housing development - what issues may the management be facing in the future. It might be best to consider a course configuration which eliminates movement around the development. Though it might be best to explore these possibilities but not take action until forced to change.
Bleachers - more would be great. The number of spectators is increasing as is the number of spectators who need to be able to sit while the races progress.
10. Length of Season
Change of length occurred in 1985 after snow at Hangman Valley in 1984 and along passes forced some schools to stay overnight. At issue is whether or not to add and additional week to the end of the current season. Weather analysis for the Pasco areas indicates very little difference.
Advisory board members have been asked to poll membership. Feedback has been largely positive for a change, but there is some resistance especially on east side of the state where there are different weather issues. Joe spoke to the need to determine how to value each set of interests - coaches, JV athletes and post-season athletes.
The question was asked of Mike Colbrese what would make this be viable before WIAA. It will be important to address concerns of various districts. A.Ds. and principals will need to understand the issues and the importance. What will make their lives easier or better..
Bus transportation
Meets do not have to be scheduled on SAT weekend
What will be issues of housing with the 1B and 2B volleyball tournament
This will be an issue that is best addressed with face to face conversations. It will also be important to document votes as well. It will be important that each school vote once - even if they have a boys and girls program. WIAA leadership feels this is an important point.
Pasco may be an issue. Meet management will have to be addressed especially if no other area shows interest in hosting the meet.
6. Hall of Fame
a. Plaques - Phil English (vice president) has offered to head fundraising for plaques to be placed at WIAA headquarters in Renton like those of other sports. Hope for a possible display at the State meet before the first installation of plaques.
b. The Hall of Fame committee is being asked to establish nomination process for 2007. Nominations will be limited to 3-4 a year, though there may be a couple of “bubble” years in the future as a large number of strong coaches retire at about the same time.
National and State Coach of the Year discussion There is an October deadline for National Coach of the Year. Joe asked the question whether there should be a small schools and large schools coach of the year. This discussion was tabled until the July meeting.
Coaches recognition: To come in line with other state associations where coaches are recognized for career achievements guidelines were established for a two level recognition process.
Both steps would require a minimum of 12 years as head coach
Level 1 - 8 years of teams at state (one gender) or 16 athletes (one gender) who place in the top 12 (podium position at state)
Level 2 - 8 years of teams at state (one gender) who place in the top 8 at state
7. Scholarship Fundraising
Association will need to contact major sponsors (SJJ and Brooks) to determine whether seeking other similar sources of scholarships would cause a conflict. The hope is that the advisory board can begin to generate contact with companies to contribute to the scholarship fund. Contact should be made by spring break in order to avoid conflic with track responsibilities.
9. Website Report
Doug suggested it would be valuable to move away from a single sponsor (SJJ) of the website and instead move towards advertising links with income earmarked for maintance of the site and for scholarships. Bruce will talk to Ty at SJJ to determine comfort with this move.
Other: Should the association consider developing a new organizational structure in order to expand involvement and take multiple responsibilities off one person’s shoulders (Doug).
Meeting adjourned at 4:20
Respectfully submitted
3/1/2007
Patty Ley
Secretary
Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association
WIAA offices
Attending:
Joe Clark - President
Phil English -Vice President
Mike Colbrese -WIAA
Bruce McDowell - treasurer
Patty Ley -secretary
1:34pm - Meeting called to order by Joe Clark
1. State meet access for spectators:
Joe expressed the frustration of much of the membership about limited spectator and coach access. After polling the districts following most recent announcement of limiting access, Advisory board members reported extensive response to question about greater access. Virtually all responses indicated frustration.
Several recurring questions arose 1) At what point will Sun Willows no longer be a viable site for the state meet 2) Are there currently other viable sites 3) Why does this type of issue keep cropping up at the end of the season when there is greatest potential disruption, but least possible response?
Mike responded by pointing out that cross country coaches have unprecedented access to the tournament manager. No other sport allows as much input. One of the primary issues is who should be delivering these messages to John Crawford and his team. Communication would be most effective by membership communicating with board who should communicate with Mike and the WIAA who will bring concerns to John.
Current commitment agreements are primarily with the Red Lion / Doubletree. There will be a change in oversite within a year from Mike to Teresa __________, so this may be an appropriate time to look closely at the state meet not necessarily with the intent to move but as part of reevaluating a situation.
Joe suggested the creation of an advisory document similar to standard operation procedures adopted by several districts for the consideration of state meet sites. Such a document would consider student, coach, spectator, and management issues. Mike agreed such a document would be helpful. A meeting will be scheduled to include coaches and WIAA staff. Board will begin soliciting input and similar documents to begin this process.
Phil spoke to the advantages of the Tri-Cities or Yakima area because of weather conditons in early November. He also spoke to the emotional atmosphere that could be created by emphasizing spectator access that could rival that of other sports.
A discussion ensued about how this might be best achieved. A two loop course on the Sun Willows course would appear to be a strong solution. It would allow central spectator access as well simplify course set up and would move the course away from the housing development limiting its influence on the meet.
Mike will contact Le Burns about these suggestions in the post season. He also will consider issues with the current awards schedule and possibly adjusting the awards area so that the bottleneck of spectators might be limited in the next few days.
2. Length of season proposal:
Joe asked Mike to comment on the issues and strength of a length of season proposal which would reestablish and additional week at the end of the season. A new proposal will also address the inequality between high school and middle/junior high school seasons.
Mike indicated he personally supported an effort to reintroduce this proposal as long as support was indicated by the coaches in the state. Two issues which helped to kill the proposal previously were a perception of nonagreement amongst the coaches and a strong statement against the change by meet management.
Mike also indicated he would pass along minutes from last WIAA Executive Board meeting when the proposal was discussed and voted down on the third vote when it had looked fairly strong. Best time for implementation would be Fall of 2008. In order to do this, the Association would need to bring the proposal to the Executive Board by early spring.
Board discussed the elements of the proposal - equality with junior high season length (10 + 2) versus high school length of (9 + 2) - need for making the proposal available as broadly as possible and to seek as much response as possible. All members of the board will seek a vote at individual league meetings. Advisory board members will be asked to contact each coach with in his/her district for response on the issue. This input will be very important in convincing the Executive Board of broad support by the cross country coaches in the state.
3. Career recognition criteria:
State Coaches Association seeks to recognize coaches for career achievements in each sport. They have asked the WSCCCA for criteria for this recognition. Football has a two tier recognition with the first tier being reached at 100 wins. Because of league differences, dual meet wins are probably not the best criteria. Discussion led to the suggestion that recognition be based up team or individuals who competed at state with a minimum experience requirement. Discussion led to the following criteria:
12 years experience
Tier 1 8 years of team at state or 10 individuals on podium
Tier 2 8 years of team placing in the top 8 at state
Feed back will be sought on this proposal.
4. Paperwork to Jerry Koester
Joe reminded Bruce about turning appropriate paperwork into Jerry Koester in order to receive moneys from the State Coaches Association.
5. State meet membership meeting agenda
Joe solicited advice about agenda items. All agreed this should be kept as short as possible so coaches can get back to their athletes. Board agreed on topics. Joe will set order for meeting.
Coach of the year awards
Presidential recognition awards (Mark Cullen - recipient)
Recognition of officers and advisory board members
All star race news
Amendment to coaches constitution vote
Membership drive
Coaches’ poll - Team / Runner of the week proposal
Length of season - no discussion
Joe also requested reimbursement for hotel room for he and Phil for the meeting. Approved
6. All Star Race
Short discussion - Joe indicated Brooks continued support but communication has been rougher with transition in liason position. Insurance will be provided by WSCCA contingent upon presence of a doctor on site during the competition. Joe also expressed hope that John Hill would be willing to take on meet manager role again this year, but that board must consider other possibilities as well.
7. State meet course requirements
Tabled until future date - idea of advisory document approveed by Mike Colbrese earlier in discussion
8. Official position papers
Out of state coaching - discussion by board about prevelance of problem. Position paper could be slippery slope leading to issues for in-state coaches. Board decided a mention should be made at State meet coaches’ meeting indicating there is a Colorado prep school actively recruiting talented kids from the state. This school is unacredited in Colorado and does not compete in state association meets. This is a cautionary note to coaches.
9. Pictures ofexecutive and advisory board members.
Joe suggested this would be a nice touch on the website. Initial feelings were to avoid placing pictures in a public forum, but after discussion the advantages of photographs are strong. Primarily they would be valuable for coaches to recognize representatives and board members for communication purposes. Bruce will bring his camera and take pictures. Patty will grudgingly make herself available.
Meeting was adjourned 3:30pm (just in time for the pass to close so Phil can’t go home)
Respectfully submitted
11/2/2006
WSCCCA Executive Board Meeting
Minutes
University Prep, Seattle
In attendance: Mark Cullen - President
Joe Clark-Vice President
Craig Bowen - Treasurer
Doug Fulton - East/West, Scholarship
Patty Ley - Secretary
Meeting began at 9:05.
President’ Report - Mark Cullen
Mark spoke first about the recent WSCCCA elections for both advisory board and executive board. Elections were considered very successful with 100 members voting a significant increase over previous elections. Though there were 100 who voted 117 other members chose not to or missed communication. This is an issue the board will continue to address including considering best times for elections. Comments from voters indicated a positive response and positive sense of engagement in the Association process. There is some concern that the District 6 position for the advisory board remains unfilled. Mark made the suggestion to Joe Clark to contact Kevin Rieke of Cascade-Leavenworth as a possible candidate.
Mark next spoke to the transition planning he and Joe are working through over the next few months (until mid July). Both feel very positive about the process. Joe will take over the presidency and its duties effective at the end of today’s meeting. Documents, contact information and previous Association history will continue to be transferred to Joe, and Mark will be available for questions over the next few months.
Mark closed by reporting the positive status of scholarships totaling $2000 sponsored by Brooks and Seafair. The Brooks sponsorship is effective for several years. Letterhead for the Association will need to be updated to recognize board changes, so Mark plans to use a general letterhead to thank both Seafair and Brooks for their support. Joe will continue contact with both groups.
Vice-President’s Report - Joe Clark
Joe opened his remarks by indicating his appreciation for his experience on the board and his goal to make the transition to President smoothly. He indicated other goals to continue to advance the Association as well as to establish links on the watfxc.com website to Association history including prior Presidents and the history of honors awarded: Coach of the Year, Hall of Fame and the President’s Service Award.
Joe will be meeting next week with Darren Hanson and Michael English of Brooks to discuss the scholarship sponsorship.
Joe plans to meet with Mike Colbrese in order to extend the good relationship with the WIAA Mark has developed over the last six years. He also hopes to schedule meetings with John Crawford and Jeff Page (President of the track coaches association).
Treasurer’s Report - Craig Bowen
In his final report after years of service in many capacities, Craig reported the Association is in a strong situation financially. The WSCCCA account balance is at $3789.93. The Scholarship account stands at $4777.95. There also continues to be a $10,000 CD representing the Jeff Munroe scholarship fund.
Craig also indicated the need to transition to new Treasurer Bruce McDowell (Cedarcrest HS). This will include filing for WSCCCA monies from WSCA’s Jerry Parrish and possibly establishing a new bank account for the ease of access for both Bruce and Joe.
Craig reported that all monies donated to scholarships go toward the Association scholarships for seniors, while expenses for the East/West race(rent of Lower Woodland Park, Seattle) come from the WSCCCA account.
The question arose as to the current status as a 501 C3 non-profit and will be pursued by Joe.
Craig expressed both optimism and some concern over scholarship money. With the addition of Seafair and Brooks as major scholarship sponsors, there will be a consistent source of $2000, however other sources that have been accessed in the past will need continuous contact and may not continue. There is a need to continue developing new sources. Craig did indicate there is a spreadsheet of previous donors on record. Joe suggested the possibility of contacting local Athletic commissions as a possible resource. The minimum goal is to avoid having to use the Jeff Munroe CD principle.
Scholarship Report - Mark Cullen for Jeff Sowards
Jeff had a question for the board - should request forms to coaches for scholarship sponsorship go out now or wait until after state. The general consensus was to send out immediately to avoid the end of year rush of information created by school ending. Jeff has created a mailing list for all high schools and coaches in the state. Sponsorship of scholarships as indicated in the previous report by Craig Bowen will continue to be an ongoing discussion.
Scholarship Application Process - Doug Fulton
Doug provided Senior All-Star certificates to Mark for signatures. He will also email a copy of the Association letter to Mark for modification and printing. Certificates will be sent out as soon as possible to seniors. The letter will encourage seniors to access the web site for the application process. Coaches will receive both an email and a direct mailing to encourage the process.
Doug also indicated Ernie Goshorn hopes to establish a scholarship in memory of Sarah Wirth of Oak Harbor. Ernie will contact family for permission and then seek sponsorship.
East / West All-Star Race Planning-Doug Fulton
Doug has discussed the mechanics of the race with Al Bonney and Tom Anderson (Super Jock and Jill) and will meet with them in two weeks to continue discussion about the Lower Woodland location. Al Bonney has indicated interest in helping to plan the race. Tom Anderson is enthusiastic about the change which moves the race closer to the store location. Ken Emerick (USATF official) will help set up the course.
Joe will be applying for the insurance for the race. WSCA insurance coverage for all-star events begins August 1st,so this should be a one year expense. Joe will contact Tom Anderson or Brooks about the possibility of creating race brochures for distribution at Super Jock and Jill and at the State track meets. The suggestion was made to explore the possibility of including race bochures in coaches’ packets at the state meets and making scholarship packets available as well. Discussion about the scholarship packets indicated the web site seemed the appropriate point for the application.
Joe will make sure Super Jock and Jill has the East and West singlets for display at the store. Brooks will be providing shorts as well as singlets this year. Joe is currently determining sizes needed. After a short discussion by the board, shorts will be black for both teams. Joe will also contact Tom Anderson about possible additional items for and athlete’s package for the future.
Doug reported that Tom Anderson has been pleased that the Association has responded to sponsorship concerns by moving the race to Seattle.
A discussion about a possible Friday night gathering of athletes ensued after Mark Cullen reported University Prep would not be available to host due to construction. The suggestion was made that perhaps Super Jock and Jill would be interested in hosting and event. Joe will approach Tom with this suggestion.
Wheelchair Race Guidelines - Mark Cullen for Bill Kemp
Bill Kemp has spent time developing specific guidelines for wheelchair cross-country, especially researching wheelchair divisions and standard rules. Mark presented the board with a copy of these guidelines. Joe suggested in might be valuable to create specific language to adjust the number of awards should the event continue to grow. He will contact Bill about this change.
Offer from Dominic Urbano - Mark Cullen
Dominic Urbano has made the offer and asked permission to offer his services as an awards designer/supplier to Coaches’ Association members for a discount and to offer a percentage of the sale to the scholarship fund of the WSCCCA. His initial offer was for 15% discount - 5% to scholarships. The board suggested 10% discount - 10% to scholarships. Joe will reply with permission and thank you for the great gesture.
Transition Planning - All
Mark opened discussion by indicating he will send a thank you to Seafair dated 4/30/2006 as one of his last official acts as President. He has kept records on his computer and will be working with Joe to transfer those records to him. He will also be eliminating nonessential files (ie. drafts of meeting agendas) before transfer. Because a transition period (May 1st through All-Star race) has been established, this will allow for a more efficient (and less stressful) transfer of records. Mark indicated his hope to create a history of Presidential newsletters to include in Association archives.
Joe hopes to initiate a timeline for information similar to the WIAA. Minutes will be sent to the President within seven days of meeting for review and distribution to the board for approval. A summary will then be produced for the general membership to be printed online.
Mark will finalize Constitution document with changes which were approved at the last meeting. Joe hopes to create a link to Association Constitution and by-laws.
Joe Clark becomes President of WSCCCA on May 1, 2006. Joe and Mark discussed a list of things to do.
-- Scholarship review - Mark offered University Prep - accepted because of proximity for Doug and Craig - a date will be forthcoming - July 17th or 18th preferred.
-- Late Augustexecutive board meeting - Coach of the Year process to begin - Mark will supply Joe with compiled results and data from last several years.
-- October executive board meeting
-- State meet Association meeting - Awards announcements COY and President’s Service Award - How can we ensure winners are present? - General report to be sent to coaches week prior to meet in order to streamline meeting. - Include announcement of scholarship winners at the State meet.
-- Contact Tom Anderson (Super Jock and Jill) for website payment
-- Contact Tom Campbell (Hall of Fame) about coordination with President - What is process for selection - Can Association access bios and photographs for inclusion on website.
-- National Coach of the Year nomination is due October 1.
-- (Bruce McDowell - treasurer) June 30 deadline for filing for dues with WSCA
(Jerry Parrish)
Suggestion by Doug Fulton about process of reviewing or changing bank accounts to consider obtaining credit card or debit card, especially for paying for server costs for website. Suggestion was made to also consider automatic withdrawal. Debit card seemed next best option.
Inauguration of New Executives and Advisory Board
10:58am April 30, 2006: With much pomp and little circumstance the ceremonial passing of the “box” occurred between Mark Cullen and Joe Clark. Mark shared his appreciation for all those coaches he has worked with over the last several years beginning with Tom Campbell’s willingness to let him speak at the State meet and continuing through this date. The Board expressed their appreciation to him as well.
New Executive Board - May 1, 2006
President - Joe Clark (Lakes High School)
Vice-President - Phil English (Eisenhower High School)
Treasurer - Bruce McDowell (Cedarcrest High School)
Secretary - Patty Ley (Gig Harbor High School)