IAABO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2009
9:00 AM
CONCORD BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB – CONCORD, NH
MINUTES
Attending: Benjamin, Dedopoulos, Fronk, Kelly, Kyle, Marcotte, Mayo, Plumer, Rossetti, Semprini, Talcott, Tostevin Vickery, Wolff, Zecha
Absent: Bean, Bourque, Donnelly, Jenness
Call To Order: By President Vickery @ 9:02 AM.
New Members: None
December 7, 2008 Meeting Minutes: Reviewed, motion made to accept (Benjamin/Marcotte), approved.
Secretary/Treasurer: Mayo handed out current internal financials showing a balance of $ 5,480.04 in the checkbook, with $1,000 in honoraria to be paid to President, Supervisor and Secretary/Treasurer at today’s meeting; expenses to be paid in the spring include those related to the John Burke Awards, the Arbiter and the biennial $ 250 payment to the Concord Boys and Girls Club for the use of the meeting room.
Mayo reminded the District Board Secretaries that 2009-2010 rosters and dues checks need to be submitted to him no later than April 15th.
Motion made to approve report (Marcotte/Wolff), approved.
Subsequent to the meeting, Mayo sent $ 250 donation check to the Concord Boys and Girls Club, and got a thank-you letter in return from the Club’s Executive Director.
Apprentice: Rossetti reported that the District Board floor tests results were as follows:
· 117 / 11 passed
· 118 / 2 passed
· 122 / 10 passed
· 128 / 0 passed
All 23 new members will be Provisional for the 2009-2010 season. Board Secretaries were reminded to send information on these members to Mayo with their checks in April.
Supervisor: Rossetti advised that 105 officials worked in the tournament this year, down slightly from last year’s 107.
With respect to the mandatory 3-person clinics, only 1 person did not show up or have a valid excuse for not attending.
At least 54 officials took advantage of the $ 15 tournament referee pass and unofficial reports indicated that as many as 70-75 officials may have actually purchased a pass.
32’s Hoops-for-Hunger donation ($250) was acknowledged by NHIAA and the New Hampshire Food Bank at the
Class L Girls final; President Vickery made the presentation on behalf of 32.
Rossetti informed the 32 members that Hank Basil had joined the NHIAA staff, replacing Tia Merrill.
With respect to ejections, 8 players, 8 coaches and 2 fans were reported to Rossetti during the season. Only a few of these were at the varsity level.
Rossetti reported that Pat McCarthy of 117 was selected to receive the John Clark Award. He reminded each District Board to be ready to nominate one member for this award, as usual, in the fall.
With respect to the all-Supervisor meetings that have occurred recently, he reported that Billy Mac will attend the next NHIAA Sports Officiating Committee on April 16th as the group’s representative.
After discussion and consensus, motion was made (Rossetti/Vickery) to offer NHIAA the option to pay game fees of
$ 78/$ 58 again in 2009-2010 instead of the $ 80/$ 60 called for in our current contract with NHIAA. Discussion centered on our desire to show good faith to NHIAA in the current economic situation. Motion approved; this item will be discussed at the September meeting.
John Burke Award: Rossetti reported that nine boys and three girls were nominated for the reward; Athletic Directors were contacted regarding each nominee.
Motion was made to go into Executive Session (Benjamin/Fronk), approved at 9:52 AM
Motion was made to leave Executive Session (Benjamin/Kyle), approved at 10:02 AM
Several nominees had been put forth by 32 members at the meeting, and they discussed their reasons for nominating each
athlete. After discussion, 32 members selected Curran Leighton of Dover for the girls award, and Alex Blomeke of Exeter was selected for the boys award. Rossetti will again handle the nominee certificates, honoree plaques and award presentations.
Interpreter: Marcotte reported that one ejection was overturned during the season; during a junior varsity game, the official mistakenly interpreted the delay of game rule as grounds for an ejection. The NHIAA notified the official and the schools of the situation, and no suspension was served.
The most difficult issue to deal with during the season involved headbands; Marcotte notified 32 that the National Federation may add socks to headbands and wristbands as items requiring color restrictions and consistency by teams.
Marcotte also reported that the National Federation is considering placing all bench seats within the 14-foot coaching box available to the head coach; this would prevent the coach from needing to leave the box during the game to consult with players on the bench.
Another item being considered by the National Federation involves calling timeout by players with the ball while going out of bounds in mid-air; prohibiting it would follow the current college rule.
Marcotte advised 32 that there are some members of NHIAA committees in favor of a mercy rule for basketball; apparently strong feelings exist for and against this provision, there will be further discussion in the spring and an update will be provided at the September meeting.
With respect to answering questions about individual situations, discussion and consensus developed that questions need to go to Marcotte first, then questions and answers are forwarded to Rossetti, who can efficiently distribute information to the membership via email.
Assigner: Rossetti reported that during the entire season, there was only one no-show (junior varsity official wrote game in on the wrong day). There were many turnbacks, but Rossetti deemed them all to have legitimate reasons and decided not to access any penalties for turnbacks this year.
Despite the problems caused by the December ice storm, Rossetti reported that the Arbiter worked flawlessly, and the
reassignment process worked very well for officials and schools during a most difficult period.
Assigner Review Committee: After discussion about the Assigner’s job description, consensus developed that Dedopoulos will finish the draft with Rossetti and then Dedopoulos will send it to Mayo, Vickery and the four District Board Presidents. They will review and provide the final approval to the document, Dedopoulos will publish the final version and 32 will vote on it at the September meeting.
With respect to Rossetti’s annual performance review, it was agreed that Vickery will survey the District Board Presidents, do the review with Rossetti, and report to 32 in September.
Old Business:
# 1) Policy/Procedure: Dedopoulos discussed the evolution of this document, and suggested that a Table of Contents would be appropriate to help members use it. It was agreed that whether or not it should be published on the website would be voted on at the September meeting.
With respect to penalties, 122 advised that they will be changing the Constitution in their District to enforce the April 15th date for dues payment. After discussion, consensus was that 32 recommend this change to all District Boards.
#2) 2011 International Meeting: Rossetti reported that there had been no activity since the last meeting.
#3 Blow the Whistle on Cancer: 117 reported that they collected and sent in $450 from this week-long promotion;
after discussion, consensus emerged that if we do this again next season, we need to have a better public relations effort associated with it. Rossetti agreed to send an email encouraging compliance if it happens, and Mayo agreed to do the press releases for media.
#4) Legal Report: Dedopoulos reviewed his March 3, 2009 memo with 32; with respect to the Constitution, he requested a change to Article 7 of the Constitution and Article 6 of the By-Laws, allowing changes to be made at both annual and regularly scheduled meetings. Motion was made (Benjamin/Semprini) to do this, motion approved.
Dedopoulos also asked that a motion be made to reaffirm and ratify all previous amendments made to the Constitution; motion was made (Marcotte/Rossetti), motion approved.
With respect to background checks, Dedopoulos advised that there are two provisions regarding this subject in the NHIAA handbook; while we cannot enforce NHIAA rules, we can let our members know that the NHIAA provisions exist. After discussion, consensus emerged that Dedopoulos should send the relevant provisions to Rossetti, who will advise the membership via his email list.
District Board Concerns:
#1) 118: Had a question regarding tracking technical fouls (not just ejections), and whether or not it was worth it to do so. After discussion, consensus emerged that we should not do this at this time.
#2) 122: Voiced that apprentices don’t get enough opportunities to work games beyond the youth level, and therefore have a tough time progressing to the point where they will be able to do more challenging games. While understanding that there are relatively few games per official available, they expressed hope that Rossetti will be able to provide their apprentices with a few freshman-level games so that they can be evaluated and encouraged to progress in their careers.
#3) 117: A question was raised regarding how soon teams can take the floor at tournament games; NHIAA rule is 15 minutes, and it was confirmed that our officials’ jurisdiction begins 15 minutes before the start of a game, regardless of when either team takes the floor.
#4) Regarding camp scholarships for members paid by Board 32, Vickery recalled that some were granted on occasion in the past by paying in arrears, but no application existed; it was agreed that email requests will be acceptable, and considered by 32 at the September meeting.
#5) 117 advised that Dennis Murphy (an active member at the International level) has expressed an interest in the District 11 Executive Board position if Tony Haley succeeds to the Vice Presidency of that group, and that 117 had sent a letter supporting Murphy to IAABO.
New Business: None
Elections: Mayo advised that the two available positions this year were for Secretary/Treasurer and Supervisor, both being 3-year terms for the first time as a result of a 2008 vote of 32.
Mayo expressed interest in the Secretary/Treasurer position, nominations were closed and motion was made (Wolff/Rossetti) to cast one vote, motion approved.
With respect to Supervisor, Rossetti indicated interest, nominations were closed, motion as made (Marcotte/Benjamin) to cast one vote, motion approved.
Next Meeting: Sunday- September 20, 2009 @ 9:00 AM at Concord Boys and Girls Club
Adjournment: Motion was made (Kyle/Marcotte) and approved at 12:05 PM.