May 27, 2006 (Morning Recap)
We’re underway at the NAGM in Orlando!
This year’s meeting is at the beautiful Dolphin Hotel at Walt Disney World. So far, we’ve already had a mix of sunny, 90-degree weather and, on Friday, a heavy downpour. Something for everyone!
A series of meetings kicked off the NAGM on Friday, with the National Board of Directors gathering for the last time before Sunday’s election. When the NBOD meets again on Monday, at least one new member will take a seat on the board.
Attendees also had an opportunity yesterday to ask questions and make comments about the proposed 06-07 budget, which will be up for a vote Sunday. National Executive Director Dr. Richard Smith and the NBOD also took the time to field questions about the operation of AYSO on a national level.
The highlight of the first day was the NAGM Awards Presentation on Friday night. After some introductory remarks, the Region, Area and Section of the Year were announced. They were:
Region of the Year: Region 10-E-42, RC Gary Nelson
Area of the Year: Area 1-D, AD Danny Juarez
Section of the Year (awarded the Rick Davis Cup): Section One, SD Jeff Hull
Next, we honored the 2006 Spirit Award winners in officiating and coaching:
For officiating, the Spirit Award recipient is Jane Vanderhook, who has been a nearly 25-year volunteer in West Virginia, and has led the effort on the national level to draw more women and young people to officiating.
For coaching, the Spirit Award was given to Paula Borstel, the section coach administrator in Southern California’s Section One, who has served in a wide range of coaching, officiating and management positions at the highest level.
The new inductees into the AYSO Hall of Fame were announced. They will be officially inducted into the Hall this summer in New York:
Brandi Chastain, U.S. Women’s National Team player, who is best known for the game-winning penalty kick that gave the U.S. the 1999 World Cup Championship.
Joy Fawcett, U.S. Women’s National Team player, known as the "Ultimate Soccer Mom" after raising three kids while becoming the highest-scoring defender in U.S. history.
Julie Foudy, U.S. Women’s National Team player, who joined the National team at the age of 16 and captained the team to two Olympic Gold Medals and one World Cup victory, while earning international recognition for her battle against child labor and helping to improve the state of women’s sports in America.
Later today, following a series of section, area and regional meetings, the Opening Business Session will kick off the official business of the NAGM. Attendees will hear from the candidates for the NBOD and for president of the board, and will have a chance to chat with them one-on-one during a Candidates Reception this evening. Voting will take place on Sunday for these offices, as well as for a variety of proposed Bylaws and Rules and Regulations changes.
We will bring you all of the news throughout the NAGM weekend, so you won’t miss a thing…except the 90-degree weather and torrential downpours.
May 27, 2006 (Afternoon Recap)
Delegates at the 2006 NAGM in Orlando have begun the decision-making process that makes this gathering the most important business meeting of the year for AYSO.
The voting for National Board of Directors and Board president will be held on Sunday. This afternoon, all of the NBOD candidates had the opportunity to address the delegates in Orlando and state their case for election. They also fielded questions for more than an hour on topics ranging from finance to player and field development to communication. The call was made for additional nominations from the floor, but there were no new candidates nominated beyond the five running for the NBOD.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Opening Business Session kicked off with a Memorial Day weekend salute to all who have served their country in the military, including special recognition for those who are now serving the kids of AYSO. NBOD Chair Burt Haimes spoke about how AYSO impacts soccer on the world stage, and NBOD President Pete MacPhail offered a review of the AYSO successes in the past year.
Tomorrow, in addition to the NBOD and presidential elections, there will be voting on a variety of proposed Bylaws and Rules and Regulations changes. The business session will close with a presentation on the 2007 NAGM site and a thank you to our 20-, 25- and 30-year volunteers.
By Sunday evening, we should know who has been elected to help lead AYSO in the coming year. That information will be in tomorrow’s Goal Line.
May 28, 2006
Some things change. Others remain the same.
Delegates at the NAGM in Orlando re-elected Pete MacPhail for a third term as president of the National Board of Directors. He was also the only incumbent winning re-election to the Board. He will be joined by first-time NBOD members Jim Gregory and Bill Hummell. This first meeting of the new Board will be Monday in Orlando.
Presentations were made to retiring Board members Steve Lacher and Marvin Gindlesperger.
Delegates also made decisions on a variety of proposed Bylaws and Rules and Regulations changes:
Bylaw proposal #1: Withdrawn
Bylaw proposal #2: Passed
Bylaw proposal #3: Failed
Rules and Regulations proposal #1: Failed
Rules and Regulations proposal #2: Failed
Rules and Regulations proposal #3: Failed
Rules and Regulations proposal #4: Failed
The Fiscal Year 2006 Operating Budget was approved.
The General Business Session also included reports from AYSO commissions, and caucuses of regional commissioners, area directors and section directors. Many of those presentations will be available on the Web site in the coming days.
Volunteers serving 20, 25 or 30 years in AYSO and attending the NAGM were honored. They are:
20 years – Mark Linsky, Roberta Malcolm, Harry Dalton, Dave Oram, Gerald Solomon, Russell Frear, Brendan Cravahlo.
25 years – Thomas Yore, Richard Bradwell, Charles Rufa, Hank Nunez, Alan Heu, Mike Ricci.
30 years – Archie Shum, Paul Castellani, Daniel Juarez, Patrick White.
New Orleans was officially named the site of the 2007 NAGM. The meeting was to be there this year, but was moved after Hurricane Katrina.
This evening is the Closing Dinner. President Pete MacPhail will present the President’s Awards, the NSTC will name its Employee of the Year, former AYSO players who will represent the U.S. in next month’s World Cup will be recognized and the theme of the 2007 Section Conference season will be unveiled. (The 2006 theme was "Just Push Play.")
Look for the final NAGM Extra e-mail on Memorial Day.
May 29, 2006
Volunteers are preparing to head home today, after completing an NAGM that will help direct the future of AYSO.
The NAGM is wrapping up on Memorial Day with the first National Board of Directors meeting for two members. Jim Gregory and Bill Hummell were elected to the Board on Sunday and were officially installed as Board members today. (See NAGM EXTRA #3 for complete election results.)
The NBOD picked its officers and liaisons to sections and various commissions:
Officers –
President – Pete MacPhail
Vice President – Mark Stewart
Vice President – Frances Stronks
Secretary – Mike Wade
Chairman of the Board – Fred Gregory
Treasurer (non-voting) – Steve Lacher
Commission Liaisons –
USSF – Burt Haimes
Management –Mark Stewart
Referee – Bill Hummell
Coaching – Shawn McCormick
Programs and Education – Jim Schauer
Legal – Fred Gregory
Operations – Jim Gregory and Steve Lacher
Development – Pete MacPhail
Tournament – Paula Berriz, Frances Stronks
Adult League – Shawn McCormick
Section Liaisons –
One – Jim Schauer
Two – Bill Hummell
Three – Frances Stronks
Four – Mike Wade
Five – Fred Gregory
Six – Mark Starwart
Seven – Jim Schauer
Eight – Frances Stronks
Nine – Burt Haimes
Ten – Jim Gregory
Eleven – Shawn McCormick
Twelve – Mike Wade
Thirteen – Shawn McCormick
Fourteen – Paula Berriz
The final night of the meeting was highlighted by appreciation…and surprises. The major surprise was the announcement of the site for the 2008 AYSO National Games. The Games will be held in Section Seven in Hawaii, which hosted the tournament in 2002 to rave reviews. In July, Chicago will host the 2006 National Games.
President Pete MacPhail, who earlier in the day won re-election to a third term, presented the President’s Award to a number of volunteers for their work on behalf of the kids and volunteers of AYSO. The President’s Award went to:
RC-Peter van der Heijden, Region 3-T-220 Commissioner
AD-Eileen Tabert, Area 9-B Director
SD-Jeff Stern, Section Six Director
NBOD-Jim Schauer, Fred Gregory, Paula Berriz (Rookie of the Year)
Dr. Richard Smith, the National Executive Director, named Steve Close as the NSTC Employee of the Year. Steve works in the Programs Department, assisting volunteers on a variety of needs, but is also known as the go-to guy when help is needed in other departments.
Throughout the year, volunteers have rallied around the 2006 AYSO theme "Just Push Play." Sunday night, the theme for 2007 was unveiled…"More". AYSO will use the "More" theme in its marketing and Section Conference Presentations to emphasizes what AYSO is all about, such as "More Fun", "More Good Sportsmanship", or "More Silly Team Names."
A special video was prepared highlighting the former AYSO players who will represent the U.S. in next month’s FIFA World Cup in Germany. At least seven Men’s National Team players got their start in AYSO, including Landon Donovan, Brian Ching, Jimmy Conrad, Josh Wolff, John O’Brien, Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo.
Decisions, and friends, were made this weekend. Now it’s time to head back home and bring the enthusiasm from the 2006 NAGM to the children on our fields.