July 2008 Board of Directors Meeting

[heretic]

I just wanted to clarify a point. At the BOD meeting both the budget and the audit report were discussed. Ed Wright presented the findings and went over the audit report and conclusion which is in the minutes of the meeting and Greg presented a budget for the upcoming 2008-2009 season with a proposed $350,000.00 surplus planned for. Last years numbers for the 2007-2008 were also shown to date, but since the fencing year is not yet concluded the end of year totals are not complete that should be ready for the September BOD meeting.
MD Stasinos

I hope that someday we all get to see those minutes. Hopefully, in the name of transparency, they can be approved prior to the next BOD meeting, maybe by email vote.

I'm still waiting for the 2007 BOD minutes (that's from last year's nationals) to be posted on the USFA website. That is in addition to the Audit report. I requested a copy some time ago from the secretary, and have not yet received them. It would be nice to see the minutes from the 2008 JO meeting, which I assume were approved.

Maybe the voter turnout from the recent election reflects the apathy of a disenfranchized membership. Who knows? Maybe the USOC might just infer that since the membership doesn't seem to care, they can have their way with the USFA.

[mdstasinos]

I hope that someday we all get to see those minutes. Hopefully, in the name of transparency, they can be approved prior to the next BOD meeting, maybe by email vote.

I'm still waiting for the 2007 BOD minutes (that's from last year's nationals) to be posted on the USFA website. That is in addition to the Audit report. I requested a copy some time ago from the secretary, and have not yet received them. It would be nice to see the minutes from the 2008 JO meeting, which I assume were approved.

Maybe the voter turnout from the recent election reflects the apathy of a disenfranchized membership. Who knows? Maybe the USOC might just infer that since the membership doesn't seem to care, they can have their way with the USFA.

That will be something that will be worked on, for sure, with the new administration. The minutes for the 2008 JO's were just approved at the BOD meeting last weekend. I will see what we can do to get them posted on the USFA website, but again as mentioned by someone, we do not take office till the conclusion of the Olympics. The minutes for the BOD Meeting, last week, need to be reviewed and submitted to the Board in September for approval, at that time, I believe, they can be posted for the fencing public.
As far as the apathy of the membership, I do not believe the election shows this at all. In past elections, for example, Mamaluk vs. Cheris the turn out was nearly identical. Roughly only 9800 were eligible to vote in this election, roughly 1500 ballots were cast. I think the turn out is simply the general membership pays their memberships, fences locally and at other National events, receives a magazine and beyond that haven't a clue to what is going on. That is a problem which we tend to want to correct. The next Administration is committed to keeping the membership involved in the lines of communication. This does not mean on August 24th that immediately when taking office it will change over night but change will begin and part of the change will be to have closer contact with the fencing public, and sharing of information. I, as well as you, realize how difficult it has been to even get a response to a simple question, that must and will change. There is a lot we must wade through in taking office from the previous administrations, so allow us a little time to address what they have and have not done so we can be up to speed with actual challenges left to us. I look forward to be talking with you and others from the fencing.net forums and allowing the discussions to continue but also be listened to as well.
MD Stasinos

[heretic]

That will be something that will be worked on, for sure, with the new administration. The minutes for the 2008 JO's were just approved at the BOD meeting last weekend. I will see what we can do to get them posted on the USFA website, but again as mentioned by someone, we do not take office till the conclusion of the Olympics. The minutes for the BOD Meeting, last week, need to be reviewed and submitted to the Board in September for approval, at that time, I believe, they can be posted for the fencing public.
As far as the apathy of the membership, I do not believe the election shows this at all. In past elections, for example, Mamaluk vs. Cheris the turn out was nearly identical. Roughly only 9800 were eligible to vote in this election, roughly 1500 ballots were cast. I think the turn out is simply the general membership pays their memberships, fences locally and at other National events, receives a magazine and beyond that haven't a clue to what is going on. That is a problem which we tend to want to correct. The next Administration is committed to keeping the membership involved in the lines of communication. This does not mean on August 24th that immediately when taking office it will change over night but change will begin and part of the change will be to have closer contact with the fencing public, and sharing of information. I, as well as you, realize how difficult it has been to even get a response to a simple question, that must and will change. There is a lot we must wade through in taking office from the previous administrations, so allow us a little time to address what they have and have not done so we can be up to speed with actual challenges left to us. I look forward to be talking with you and others from the fencing.net forums and allowing the discussions to continue but also be listened to as well.
MD Stasinos

Yes, we know you don't take over until after Beijing. But can't the administration-elect rattle some cages and at least get the '07 summer nationals minutes posted? Normally, the folks taking over have transitional meetings with the outgoing officers. Of course, seeing as how well the Nancy-ites discharged all their previous responsibilities, normal expectations are too much to ask.

Will you guys undertake an exhaustive investigation (including a forensic audit) of what went wrong, and let us common folk in on the facts? Fixing a problem requires an understanding of how and why it happened.

As far as your comparison of the current election with the Cheris/Mamlouk battle royal, you failed to account for the growth of membership over the last two decades. Per capita, the turn out this time around was far lower. You've got a whole lot of enfranchising to do.

[KD5MDK]

I suspect the voting membership hasn't grown nearly as much as the overall membership, given the explosion of Youth programs in that timeframe.

[heretic]

Undeniably, the largest increase has been in the youth category, but the number of eligible voters has increased substantially as well.

[mdstasinos]

Undeniably, the largest increase has been in the youth category, but the number of eligible voters has increased substantially as well.

True, the largest growth is in the youth numbers. During the Mamuluk/Cheris election, eligible voters were at 8600 members as of Feb. cut off date. There has not been as much, or as you refer to as substantial, growth for the fact the number of eligible members is in the mid 9500 range.

Next, yes, we as the new administration will do what we can to speed the transition but as you know Eric, a lot of that depends on the the current administration and I am not confident much will happen prior to us taking office. As far as posting the minutes, we'll have to see for the fact that current Secretary has those and I do not believe much or any (perhaps Brad has posted information in the past) has been posted before.
I will talk with our new officers to see what we can do to possibly have this move ahead.
MD Stasinos

[arc]

But can't the administration-elect rattle some cages and at least get the '07 summer nationals minutes posted?

Ummmm ... according to the website, the July '07, Sept '07, and Feb '08 BOD minutes have been posted since March ...

And just in case, they can be found here.

[stillchris]

Ummmm ... according to the website, the July '07, Sept '07, and Feb '08 BOD minutes have been posted since March ...

And just in case, they can be found here.

You are correct about the minutes and aggendas being posted, however the main concern in this thread seems to be the financial reports. The posted minutes contain blank holes for the financials and mention they are being sent under separate cover to the BOD members.

I did notice the Financial Status of USFA report. Unfortunately this contains reassurances but no detail.

So, as far as I can see, still no postings of audit reports or budgets or overruns or anything having to do with finances. I tend to agree with the Financial Status report in that I doubt any illegal actions were taken but it would be nice to know what is going on.

It looks as if the motions presented by Greg Dilworth and passed by the BOD should alleviate some of the fog of finances in the future, but to be helpful to the membership this information needs to be available to them.

I think the current perception by some, myself included, is if there is no persistent problems what is the big deal about making this information available?

[oiuyt]

Sorry it's taken me so long to get my notes posted here.

All references are to the agenda-with-reports numbering system attached to the OP.

Added to that were the following EC Action Items:

The EC approved the following action items:

* Dismissed the disciplinary panel formed to investigate allegations regarding Jeff Bukantz as the complaint was withdrawn.
* Appointed a new chair of the Hite disciplinary panel.
* Formed a disciplinary panel to investigate allegations of sexual harassment by Eric Dew.
* Direct Gerrie Baumgart to speak with the Nevada Chair to coordinate being present for the election.
* Formed a panel to investigate the actions of Frank Van Dyke of the PAcific Coast Section with regard to the financial activities and accounting for the fiscal years ending July 31, 2004 and July 31, 2005.
* Authorized Donal Alperstein to settle the action brought by Ed Korfanty.
* No organizer may make a condition of participation in any sanctioned competition the use of a third party service that gathers personal or financial information unless that service has provided to the USFA independent certification by a nationally recognized organization that it has adequate security.
* Extended the life membership offer to July 15, 2008.

That various reports were accepted. The EC action items were approved.

A proposed budget was presented, with the understanding that it was expected that it is likely that there will be variances presented at the September meeting. There was discussion of various assumptions involved, many of the discussions appearing to be continuations of same from the EC meeting 2 days earlier.

The proposed budget, with one amendment, was approved.

Decision Phase:

Urgent:

1: USFF trustees were elected: Greg Dilworth, Brad Baker, Steve Sobel, Robert Dow, Sam Cheris, Steven Trevor, Ed Wright.

Second Hearing:

1 (Cracraft): defeated 14-3. The YDC anticipates posting new procedures for the next season to their website within 2 weeks. As part of the discussion of this motion it was indicated that the general sense is that local divisions should have an official role in the scheduling of RYCs, but should not have veto power, as indicated by requiring their approval. The new process(es) will explicitly include a mechanism for appeal of scheduling/approval decisions to the YDC.

2 (Rodgers): Tabled again due to no sponsor present.

1 (Masin): Withdrawn.

2 (Masin): Amended as follows: The beginning of the first sentence is changed to "Investment firms have set up a program for charitable giving...". Passed as amended.

3 (Masin): Defeated many to 1. General sense of the discussion was that this motion doesn't significantly contribute to solving the identified problem.

4 (Baker): Tabled until September.

First Hearing:

1 (Mecahnik (on behalf of Levy)): Seconded. No discussion took place at this meeting.

2 (Mecahnik (on behalf of Levy)): Seconded. No discussion took place at this meeting.

Good and Welfare:

Presentation of awards to Coach of the Year recipients. (Michael Marx, Nat Goodhartz, Mike Pederson)

Next Board meeting was given a tentative date of September 20th. Since the meeting this has become less tentative and has had the location of St. Louis attached. Once that date/location becomes confirmed it will be sent out officially to the various members of the Board, etc.

An additional report from the audit committee was distibuted at the meeting:

In May, 2008, the USFA Audit Committee provided an up-date to the Executive Committee on the financial state of US Fencing. That report reflected the income and expenditure figures from March 2008 through April 2008. The executive Committee suggested that the Audit Committee receive and review the May financial statements, to determine whether those data provided a basis for the significant improvements projected by management. The May data provided some basis for an improved outlook.
For example:

A. The revenue for May was $760,000, which was a significant increase over April's revenue figure of $187,000. (Management's projected income for that period was $165,000 for April and $564,000 for May.)

B. The Athlete Accounts Payable figure rose by $7,000, but the Accounts Payable figure was reduced by $470,000.

While this slight up-tick is welcome, there are some basic problems with the financial management picture at USFA. In some ways, we are spinning our wheels trying to make minor adjustments to a financial system that requires a major overhaul to correct its structural problems. There are problems with the account structure, in that we have no ability to match up revenues with expenditures. We have a high amount of payables with little cash in the bank. Our Accounts Receivables includes amounts owed from past fiscal years, with no assumptions offered about the reasonable collectibility of those funds. We lack the internal controls to support the discipline needed for effective funds control, etc.

Basically, we are in a 'put-out-the-fire' mode re: financial management. Historically, some of this may have been for good reason. Today we need to do things differently. As a way of beginning to address these issues, we have requested the national office to draft a comprehensive and systematic response to the material weaknesses addressed in the 2006-2007 audit. This response will be sent to the Audit Committee and review, and then forwarded to the Executive Committee and the Board.

Respectfully submitted,

Edward Wright
USFA Vice President, and
Chair, USFA Audit Committee

I believe that the structural concerns raised are now being addressed and that, moving forward, we will have improved the situation. The Audit Committee appears to be identifying potential (or actual) problems areas to help allow us, as an organization, to fix them, to help prevent issues such as those in the past and to put us in a significantly better place in the future.

-B

[stillchris]

It is good to see information starting to become available. Hopefully we can now move on and the information flow will continue.

[heretic]

1. There is no way the 07 minutes were posted March 08. I have been checking the USFA sight since May, and they were not available.

"Our Accounts Receivables includes amounts owed from past fiscal years, with no assumptions offered about the reasonable collectibility of those funds. We lack the internal controls to support the discipline needed for effective funds control, etc.

Basically, we are in a 'put-out-the-fire' mode re: financial management. Historically, some of this may have been for good reason. Today we need to do things differently. As a way of beginning to address these issues, we have requested the national office to draft a comprehensive and systematic response to the material weaknesses addressed in the 2006-2007 audit. This response will be sent to the Audit Committee and review, and then forwarded to the Executive Committee and the Board.

Respectfully submitted,

Edward Wright
USFA Vice President, and
Chair, USFA Audit Committee"

2. This report cries out for the necessity of a forensic audit. Once again, you can't create solutions without understanding the nature and causes of the problem.

3. I'm still looking for the addenda for the 07 and 08 BOD meetings.

4. and the audit report.

[arc]

1. There is no way the 07 minutes were posted March 08. I have been checking the USFA sight since May, and they were not available.

Not to quibble unnecessarily over unimportant points, but I have to disagree with the implied accusation (i.e., that Ms. Greenman falsified the posting date), as my personal archive of these files indicate that I downloaded them in May, so they've been available for at least that long.

[kuroutesshin]

Very interesting to see, thank you.

I also like the thread tags- "paranoia rocks" at the bottom of my screen.

[heretic]

Not to quibble unnecessarily over unimportant points, but I have to disagree with the implied accusation (i.e., that Ms. Greenman falsified the posting date), as my personal archive of these files indicate that I downloaded them in May, so they've been available for at least that long.

From: Rosenberg, Eric
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 2:03 PM
To: 'Linda Merritt'
Subject: RE: USFA BOD Minutes

I can’t find the 2006 or 2007 minutes. Can you send me the links?

________________________________________
From: Linda Merritt [mailto:Linda_Merritt@raytheon.com]
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 1:53 PM
To: Rosenberg, Eric
Subject: Re: USFA BOD Minutes

Eric,

all the minutes except for February 2008, which have not been approved, should be on the USFA website. The can be found under forms and documents.

http://www.usfencing.org/usfa/compon...,select/id,18/

Best Regards,

Linda Merritt
Desktop Publisher/Proposal Specialist
Advanced Media
Raytheon Company

880 Technology Drive
Billerica, MA 01821
978.436.8526 office
7.424.8526 tieline
978.436.8499 fax
linda_merritt@raytheon.com

________________________________________
From: Linda Merritt [mailto:Linda_Merritt@raytheon.com]
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 3:01 PM
To: Rosenberg, Eric
Subject: RE: USFA BOD Minutes

you're right. big gap. unfortunately those are the years I took off my computer and archived so I have to hunt through stuff.

Linda Merritt
Desktop Publisher/Proposal Specialist
Advanced Media
Raytheon Company

880 Technology Drive
Billerica, MA 01821
978.436.8526 office
7.424.8526 tieline
978.436.8499 fax
linda_merritt@raytheon.com

From: Rosenberg, Eric
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 3:02 PM
To: 'Linda Merritt'
Subject: RE: USFA BOD Minutes
I would appreciate your help.

[dekko]

4 (Baker): Tabled until September.

-B

Dumb question, is this the askfred discussion? If so, what was the reasoning for delaying this until September?

[oiuyt]

Dumb question, is this the askfred discussion? If so, what was the reasoning for delaying this until September?

Yes.

Some concerns had been raised at the EC meeting. I decided that some additional time could be beneficial in indentifying and addressing any potential issues. Additionally, the extra 2 months will allow for the change to form part of a more comprehensive strategic move with online event registration, rather than being an initial incremental step without a concrete path laid out for further advancement.

I requested that the motion be tabled until September and the rest of the Board agreed. There was minimal additional discussion at the meeting, other than the statement from me of my reason (paraphrased above), and a suggestion from me that anyone with concerns should discuss them directly with Peet while he was still in San Jose and it could be accomplished face-to-face.

-B

[epeemike81]

The EC approved the following action items:
...
* Formed a disciplinary panel to investigate allegations of sexual harassment by Eric Dew.

Again???

geez, edew, even hamsters have a learning curve...

-m

[noodle]

Yes.

Some concerns had been raised at the EC meeting. I decided that some additional time could be beneficial in indentifying and addressing any potential issues. Additionally, the extra 2 months will allow for the change to form part of a more comprehensive strategic move with online event registration, rather than being an initial incremental step without a concrete path laid out for further advancement.

I requested that the motion be tabled until September and the rest of the Board agreed. There was minimal additional discussion at the meeting, other than the statement from me of my reason (paraphrased above), and a suggestion from me that anyone with concerns should discuss them directly with Peet while he was still in San Jose and it could be accomplished face-to-face.

-B

out of curiosity, what concerns? same ones as always?

in addition, this might be a more radical move, but has there been any consideration to making an offer to peet to outright purchase askfred and make it a USFA property, thereby allowing internal control of all sensetive data? (if he was willing)

[teacup]

So will online registration be available in August or not?

[noodle]

So will online registration be available in August or not?

yes, in the sense that we already have online membership.