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Sonoma Valley Youth Soccer Association

Minutes for the April Board Meeting

7:00pm, April 7, 2010

At Common Bond, 172 West Napa Street, Sonoma

Directors Present): Lynn Abaté-Johnson, Adolfo Contreras, Jean-François Ducarroz, Jaime Evina-Galindo, Vikki Griggs-Demmin, Sam Honey, Colleen Paul, Edwin Richards, Marc Sloop, Jim Van Sickle, Deidre Verdu, Greg Volker, Phylis Wakefield

Absent: (see Apologies)

Also Present: Renee Caruso, Teri Miller, Scott Miller,

Apologies: Dino Rossini, Camerino Hawing

Public Comment

None

Mission Moment

Ben & Jerry’s Cone Day on March 23 had been a tremendous success. The League had received $300 more in donations than last year.

Approval of Minutes

A motion to approve the minutes of the March 3, 2010 Board Meeting was proposed by Jean-François, seconded by Jim and carried without a dissenting vote.

A motion to approve the minutes of the Special Board Meeting held March 12, 2010 was proposed by Vikki, seconded by Colleen and carried without a dissenting vote.

Action Items

Edwin read through the action items and recorded the responses.

Action Items arising from 03.03.10 (reference 030310-)

1) ACTION ITEM: Sam and Vikki to talk with Adolfo re Martin’s proposal and SDC issues. Adolfo to talk with Martin and SDC. (Martin to continue planning, talk with Adolfo, Tobias.) Ongoing – meeting tomorrow (04.08.10) at SDC.

2) ACTION ITEM: Any and all – publicize March 23 Free Cone Day (see website for details) Done.

3) ACTION ITEM: Greg and Lynn to put together and send email regarding Jazz Festival coupon offer. Done.

4) ACTION ITEM: Phylis to review pre-schools and decide which of them need to be sent flyers for the upcoming registration (based on eligibility - having children aged 4 on August 1, 2010). Done.

5) ACTION ITEM: Deidre to recruit Age-Group Coordinators (AGCs). Ongoing.

6) ACTION ITEM: Vikki to talk with Adolfo about where to send $500 check donation to SDC for field use. Done.

7) ACTION ITEM: Sam to talk with Sonoma Valley Bank about getting a credit card for the SVYSA. Sam reported that getting a credit card would require submitting personal information and being financially liable for the use of the card. However, it was agreed the registrar could get a debit card for League-related use, if she was amenable; she was. Motion: Renee should apply for a debit card to use in her capacity as registrar. Proposed by Colleen, seconded by Jim. Carried unanimously. ACTION ITEM: Renee to apply for debit card.

8) ACTION ITEM: Vikki, Teri, all: Special Meeting will be needed to approve the appointment of select coaches before April 1. Meeting date and location need to be set Done.

9) ACTION ITEM: Phylis, Vikki and any other interested parties to come up with better language to define SVYSA membership in the by-laws (Article V, Article VI, Section 12, Section VIII). Done. A motion was taken to accept the amendments, proposed by Phylis, seconded by Deidre. Carried unanimously. (SEE BELOW FOR NEW BY-LAWS).

10) ACTION ITEM: Teri to speak with CYSA District 5 to get clarification on new nomenclature (names of select teams - what gets called what and when). Done. There is not much new specific information. The nomenclature will probably evolve and clarify over the coming year.

11) ACTION ITEM: following on from 020310-2 Sam, Vikki, Greg to discuss new field layout for High School field to accommodate Bob Midgely’s request, then to get back to Bob Midgely. Not yet done. It seems unlikely that there is enough field space to accommodate Mr. Midgely’s request.

12) Renee to contact Sam Keechler and let him know what Phylis found out from the State Department. Done. There is a plan for the soccer balls, but nothing has happened yet.

13) Teri to contact Stacey to sound out the possibility of a barbecue following the April 18

tryout. Done. Stacey won’t be able to do it.

14) Sam to call Bruce Weaver (District 5 Commissioner) regarding “equal strength rule.”

Done. If two teams from the same League e.g. SVYSA play in the same age group

and division e.g. U14B Division 3, then the teams should be of equal strength.

15) Edwin and any other interested party to suggest language and position in the by-laws to reflect the board’s decision regarding filling vacancies on board. Done by Phylis and Vikki.

16) Dino to get field development cost figures for Santa Rosa fields. Unclear. Dino absent.

17) Greg to initiate $500,000 fundraising project to buy land and build two fields with lights and parking. Done (the initiation).

Outstanding Action Items from Earlier Meetings

Action Items arising from 02.03.10 (reference 020310-)

2a) ACTION ITEM: Vikki, Sam and Greg to approach other user groups for money. It was

felt that in the current economic climate, this was an unrealistic item.

6) ACTION ITEM: all interested parties – email Greg with ideas about what we want/ need to raise funds for (Greg’s email = fundraising@sonomasoccer.org) Nobody had contacted Greg.

Action Items from 11.18.09 111809

4) Rick and Vikki and any other interested party to craft a memorandum of understanding between the SVYSA and the School District in the event the SVYSA undertakes to work on the fields. Had been ongoing, now dropped, viewed as inappropriate in the current atmosphere.

By-Law Amendments

A motion to amend the by-laws with the language proposed by Vikki and Phylis was proposed by Phylis and seconded by Deidre. Carried unanimously.

By-laws amended to read as follows:

Article V

Membership

There shall be one class of member. Members shall include: (1) those persons dedicated to the purposes of this Association who have paid soccer dues as may, from time to time, be fixed by the Board of Directors; (2) the parents or legal guardians of any child whose Registration Form has been accepted; (3) any member of the current Board of Directors; (4) any person who serves as a coach, assistant coach, team manager, independent contractor, or volunteer for this Association whose Risk Management Form has been accepted by this Association’s Registrar. No member may transfer for a value a membership or any right arising from it. All rights of membership cease on the member’s death.

Article VI

Section 12. Voting of Classes

All members of this Association, as defined in Article V, are entitled to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of the members. However, members who are parents or legal guardians of more than one registered player in this Association are entitled to cast one vote per player, up to a maximum of two votes per family, on all matters submitted to a vote of the members. At least one parent or legal guardian must be present in order to exercise the two-vote maximum, but it is not necessary for both parents or legal guardians to be present. When a family is entitled to two votes, they accept responsibility for how the votes are distributed between the two parents or guardians.

Article VIII

Election of Directors. Meetings of Directors

Section 1. Election and voting Protocol

(b) Filling a Vacancy on the Board

In the event that a Board seat is vacated, the position will be filled by the person who received the highest number of votes after the 15^th position on the Board was filled at the most recent election. If this person is unable or unwilling to assume the role, then it would go to the person with the next highest number of votes. This process would continue until the seat is filled.

In the event that the list of candidates is exhausted, the Board will fill the vacated seat by accepting nominations of one or more interested parties and then taking a vote.

Secretary’s Note: I have changed “(ii)” to “(b)” before “Filling A Vacancy on the Board” to remain consistent with the format of the minutes.

ACTION ITEM: Edwin to update by-laws to reflect the above amendments.

President’s Remarks

Sam reported the U19 boys are now in quarter finals of the Association Cup, playing in Redding on Saturday April 10, kick-off at 1 p.m.

Sam said that he had recently approved a meeting expense that involved the purchase of alcohol. (Two board members had met with a third individual to discuss possible land availability for soccer fields. Drinks, including alcoholic drinks had been purchased at the meeting (for a total cost of less than $30).) In retrospect, Sam felt uncomfortable with the fact that SVYSA money was being spent on alcohol. An attempt at a motion regarding SVYSA policy and alcohol purchase was abandoned when it became clear the issue was more complex than it initially appeared.

ACTION ITEM: Phylis and Sam to draft a policy on the purchase and use of alcohol in regard to the SVYSA.

Vice-President’s Remarks

None

Secretary

None

Treasurer

Jennifer gave out the latest financial documents that she had generated. The SVYSA’s financial year had begun on April 1.

Registrar’s Report

Renee went to a meeting for registrars at the 2010 CYSA Soccer Expo in Santa Clara on March 27. A number of changes are afoot: the player cards will be reformatted so that they will be easier to use (photos on the front), the transfer process will be simplified, more processes will take place electronically and a lawyer has been hired to review whether wet signatures are necessary for 1601s (currently 1601s must be signed in pen). On a technical matter, CYSA is looking to set up a registration section that will move registration rules from the CYSA constitution. This will enable changes to the registration rules to occur more quickly. Currently the CYSA constitution can only be amended on an annual basis.

Online registration is ongoing. Renee estimated about 30 players had been signed up. Walk-in registration times and dates:

Monday April 12 orientation at La Luz 6 p.m.

April 13 and April 22 at Sassarini 6 – 8 p.m.

May 1, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m at El Verano.

May 8, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at La Luz.

What A Manager Needs to Keep

Phylis wanted to know what documents a manager of a team should keep and what to do with them. With regard to financial records it was resolved that Phylis and Jennifer should communicate and come up with guidelines, which Phylis would then write up, as part of a “What Managers Need to Keep” document.

ACTION ITEMS:

(i) Phylis and Jennifer to communicate with regard to what managers need to do with financial documents (receipts etc.) and when.

(ii) Following the above, Phylis to draft guidelines on “What Managers Need to Keep.” The suggestion was the guidelines become part of the coaches’ manual.

.

Outreach and Communication

Lynn reported that about 1700 postcards had been mailed out to publicize registration. Flyers had been sent to all but two schools. Mark wondered if try-out information could be listed on the postcards also.

Note: the cards aren’t big enough at 6” x 9” to add additional information. Also, since not all age-groups have select teams, adding try-out information might create confusion and detract from what needs to be a clear, simple message. (Added following 05.05.10 board meeting.)

Banners have been put up: two on Broadway and two at the Verano/ 5^th Street West corner. All banners have a similar fomat and feature the SVYSA shield. The question of how to acknowledge the owners of the properties on which the banners were hung was raised.

ACTION ITEM: Scott to look into how to acknowledge those who have allowed the SVYSA to hang banners on their property (i.e. who are the owners? would they mind if we acknowledged them? etc.).

In addition, registration is being advertised on screens at Sonoma Market and there are adverts running on KSVY radio and channel 27.

Scholarships

Lynn said that scholarship guidelines are ready to go. The guidelines are slightly changed, the income table has changed, but the application form is the same.

Fundraising

The Escrip promotion is in place.

Mary’s Pizza Shack is running a Dine and Donate on April 28 (on that day, Mary’s will donate to the SVYSA 20% of money received for dine-in, take-out and delivery orders). Lynn had prepared flyers for distribution.

Outreach

There is a meeting on April 8 with Valerie Brown (1^st District Supervisor) which Vikki, Lynn and Greg are attending.

The SVYSA will have a presence at the Cinco de Mayo celebrations on Sunday May 2 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m..

Lynn acknowledged Adolfo, who is coordinating the gear exchange and Cam who has done a lot of translating from English into Spanish.

Coaches T-Shirts

Lynn asked whether to shop around for coaches’ T-shirts or to buy from last year’s provider. The consensus was to use last year’s provider. T-shirts had been included as an item in the budget and no further voting was necessary. The purchase of generic (non-coach, SVYSA) T-shirts for sale was considered unnecessary, since Greg already had plans to purchase shirts.

ACTION ITEM: Lynn to proceed with ordering coaches’ T-shirts from same company as last year.

Jaime asked whether it would be appropriate for all select coaches to have the same type of shirt.

ACTION ITEM: Select committee to review the matter of T-shirts for select coaches.

Fundraising

Greg reported he was receiving help from Lisa Lawrence with organizing the fundraiser. He was trying to make it a “zero budget” event. He asked that board members solicit donations for auction. In addition to a silent auction, there might be a live auction, in which case Ed Vaughan would be auctioneer.

The current proposed date of the fundraiser (the Saturday before opening day) was questioned. Perhaps there would be more enthusiasm from the community if the event was held once the soccer season was underway and everybody had had chance to see the fun Sonoma youth got from soccer.

ACTION ITEMS:

(i) Greg to announce fundraising meeting.

(ii) People to contact Greg with ideas.

Fields

Greg and Sam had met with a realtor to discuss a tentative project that may enable the SVYSA to build some fields.

Greg requested seed money to purchase souvenir/ fundraising items (shirts, hats, scarves). He was advised to submit a request to the finance committee.

ACTION ITEM: Greg to contact finance committee regarding seed money for promotional logo items (e.g. shirts, hats, scarves)

Encouraging Parental Involvement

Since Cam was not present (he was at a School Board meeting) this item was postponed.

Facebook

This item was also postponed. The board wanted to hear from Mike Verdu, who had proposed the idea that the SVYSA have a Facebook page.

Any Other Reports/ Business

Marc Sloop wondered if there could be any community events associated with the upcoming World Cup which starts on June 11. While there were perhaps fundraising possibilities, it could just be a good community-building opportunity. It was noted there was a time diffence between Sonoma and South Africa, which means games will start in our mornings. (There is a plus nine hour time difference between South African time and Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), thus the USA’s group games kick-off at 11.30 a.m. and 7.00 a.m. PDT)

ACTION ITEM: Marc to look into the possibilities of leveraging interest in the World Cup into community events.

The meeting adjourned at 8.52 p.m.