Message
from the President
May 11, 2006
We had our first official board meeting on April 24th, and I would like to share with membership what we discussed and what we hope to achieve this year within the league. This message, in addition to our newsletter, will be an ongoing report to membership about what is happening at the board level.
Before that, I want to say that it’s with a sense of deep responsibility that I take over the job of President from James Gumbert. I hope I can fill those big shoes Gumbie got from Ed Suhr. He did a great job and it was a pleasure getting to know him better over the past year. We wish him Gold success with Team USA.
We have much work to do, and here are some of the things we discussed at the board meeting, and that we are going to be working on in the coming months and year.
1.
Newsletter. Newly formatted and informative news about the
league, including deadlines, player news, international news, reports, and
information. We want to have input from the Specs Committee, Referees, and
Classifiers. All of it to inform and engage membership. The Newsletter will
be published every two months and sent electronically and/or via mail for those
without computers. We will publish the newsletter as a PDF so each team rep/player
can distribute the info to sponsors, volunteers, friends etc. It will also be
available online. Right now it will just be called Quad Rugby News, but we
would like membership to submit name ideas for the Marketing Committee to
consider. Ideas for what you would like to see in your newsletter are also
welcome. Send to Bob Crandall.
The Newsletter will be coming your way
on June 1, 2006.
2.
Clinics. Jason Regier and I will work
with Wendy Gumbert at Blaze Sports to set up clinics. We will spend the
Chris Reeve grant money to accomplish this. We need teachers.
3.
AGM. The board discussed the critical need for better
attendance at the AGM. We are going to investigate better communications with
teams to get them to attend the AGM because it is vital to both the Association
and to each team. We are also looking for ways to shorten the meeting as was
evidenced by the 2006 meeting. We are developing guidelines for AGM proposals
that will make them more comprehensive and detailed, requiring fewer questions
and discussion. Minutes from the 2006 AGM will be published asap.
4.
Developmental Committee. This committee work on things like procedure and
ideas to build the league. Tom Hamill
is committee chair.
5.
Advisory Board. We want to create this board to provide both ideas
and participation into our board and committee activities. We are asking every
National sponsor, along with any volunteers, referees, classifiers, and
interested players to be included. Ed Suhr
will chair the Board, and it will organize and meet
via email. We desperately need input from as many interested people as we
can get. No idea is a bad one, but we must stay focused on the league and
what will best help it grow. Right now we need people. If you are
interested contact Ed Suhr.
6.
Brochure and poster. The marketing committee, chaired by Jason Regier
,
plans to have these completed by the end of summer so teams will have them for
next season.
7.
North American Wheelchair Rugby Challenge. At Disney Wide World of
Sports, Orlando is set for 11/10 to 11/12/06. The tournament is set up to
showcase the best rugby in North America and generate mainstream exposure to
the sport.
8.
Developmental Grant. We awarded our first to Kip Johnson from Oregon. Details will be in our Newsletter. We look forward to receiving more
applications.
9. International. Lynn Nelson will be our liaison to the international community, including reports and information.
The USQRA board will meet every 2 months until September when we will start meeting monthly. The Newsletter will give you reports and information about what your board is doing on behalf of membership.
We have a dedicated group of people going into 2006/2007. Murderball the movie gave us a lot of momentum last season. Try as we might, we haven’t been able to sell a reality series to anyone up until now. So, the momentum must be provided by us all, by our passion for the sport, and by our participation in the Association. It really is up to us.
Join the effort, and let’s keep “Smashing Stereotypes One Hit at a Time.”
Ed Hooper, President
USQRA