The December board meeting for AYSO Region 337 was called to order at 7:15 p.m., December 8, 2005 at Faith United Methodist Church.

Board members present included Liesl Harrison, Dan Hawkins, Laura Walters, Kelly Gilliam, Chris Mott, Terry Wilshire, Bill Mize, Cheryl and Joe Myers, Bryan and Vicki Easterday, Russ Wise, Cat Seagle, Rich and Teresa Guy, Lynn and Amy Waller, Rick Roth, Rick Parker, Joe Snyder, Jason Derosa, Kerry Patterson, David Lister, and George Burgess.

The board welcomed new board member: Bill Mize, as Regional Referee Administrator. Bill is committed to being at our fields on Saturdays, and he will be going to Orlando to get needed training. Bill was already committed, prior to his appointment as RRA, to refereeing USFF games on two weekends for games in Atlanta, but is working to get those covered. Rick Roth and Jason Derosa will be his assistants. Bill is already an Advanced Coach and an Advanced Referee, and was voted middle school Coach of the Year for his service at Gresham. We feel the Region is in good hands.

Cat Seagle reported that approximately 178 letters are going out to both boy and girl U12 players about try-outs for the National team. The letters will be dropped off at the post office after the meeting. U10 players are welcome to try out, although letters are only being mailed to U12 players. The roster is due March 15th.

The Area is pushing to try a nine game spring season, which will, in effect, kill our largest fundraiser, Soccerfest. George will be attending an Area meeting in February. If the board wants, George will vote against the change. A suggestion was made that if the nine game season is implemented, we could hold Soccerfest the same weekend as the Area games. The decision has been made that if the Area games are cancelled due to weather, they will not be rescheduled and there will be no refunds. It is not official, but we have a couple of board members (Cheryl and Joe Myers) who are considering taking over as Soccerfest Directors for this season.

Russ Wise distributed the treasurer’s report.

Terry Wilshire intends to hold coaches training February 4-7 for U8 and U10 coaches. The date for U12 coaches has not yet been decided. We likely plan to have all coaches meet in one place (possibly the fields), and have one pre-season meeting, before having break- out meetings by division.

Russ Wise reported that one U8 girl team moved up to U10 this season, were a little competitive, possibly recruited players. Russ recommended that the team not be welcome in the spring season. This motion was seconded and approved by the board.

Chris Mott and John Harbison winterized the sprinkler system. George suggested that in the spring, we would let the Division Coordinators schedule teams to line fields. This will give them the opportunity to practice at the fields when it is their turn to line fields. We may ask if we can use Gresham’s field for some practices.
Cat Seagle has not had a chance to meet with Sandra Harbison to discuss taking over the role as Regional Registrar, but will follow her lead.

George pointed out that he left the names of Bryan and Vicki Easterday off the list for Orlando by mistake.
Bill Mize reported that he is going to try to put together two U19 teams.
George reported that for Orlando, the region is taking advantage of the early-bird discount. We will be getting 23 rooms at the hotel. One issue yet to be resolved- there are 58 people going, but the bus we plan to use only holds 55. We may need to get a second small bus. We estimate expenses to be less than the Section meeting in Atlanta. Some people are driving down. Their transportation expense will not be reimbursed. Rich Guy is driving down Wednesday night and is looking for someone to ride with him. Our Region elects to spend this money on training, in part, because we are a non-profit organization. Attending these meetings helps our volunteers get new ideas, see the AYSO “big picture”, and is really a good investment if the volunteers give back to the region. Amy Waller recommended that everyone should take advantage of any and training while in Orlando, even if it doesn’t apply to their present volunteer position. That way if we have a vacant volunteer spot come open, we are more likely to have volunteers who have already had the required training to serve in that capacity. A motion was made and seconded to approve the attendee list for Orlando. The list was approved.

We still owe the YMCA for our indoor season; the treasurer will send a check when the final count is made.
Dan Hawkins asked if it is possible to have some input in the Interregional Schedule, before the season, as he would like to request that they don’t play the same team more than once per season. George explained that many teams refuse to travel beyond a certain distance, and that is often the reason for playing teams more than once.
Cheryl and Joe Myers, Project Managers reported that they are looking into adding dirt for Field 5 and a concrete pad for the concession trailer.

Russ Wise attended the planning meeting for the improvements associated with Tommy Schumpert Park and thus far, a BMX track, disc golf, baseball fields are being considered. All that is certain is the first improvement will be of passive park space. At this time, it sounds as if a swimming pool will not be part of the park. Everything else is still open.

Jason DeRosa requested that Russ Wise add a section on the region’s website asking for donations for Darryl White’s family, to offset some of the expenses incurred with the loss of his daughter, Stacy.
With no more business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Teresa K. Guy
Assistant Regional Secretary
AYSO Region 337