Mankato Area Officials Association

Annual Meeting MinutesAnnual Meeting Minutes of April 5, 2005

Mankato Legion Club

Board members present: Terry Helget, Terry Reynolds, Brad Mathiowetz, Doug Boyer, Jim Northenscold, Pat Haefner, Aaron Wirtz, and Tom Stierlen. Absent; Todd Pfingsten and Brandon Rabenhorst. In all, 18 members were present out of 70 total members.

Meeting was called to order by President Terry Helget at 7:11pm.

Motion made by Dewey Mettler, and seconded by Tom Westlund to approve the agenda. Motion was carried unanimously.

Minutes for the April 1, 2004 annual meeting were distributed by Secretary Brad Mathiowetz. Motion made by John Hawker, and seconded by Rolling to approve annual meeting minutes of April 1, 2004. Motion carried unanimously.

Treasurer’s report was distributed by Treasurer Brad Mathiowetz. Brad gave a brief summary of the MAOA’s financial activities for the past year. He reported an account balance of $5,732 at year-end 2004 and a current account balance of $4,019.84. Motion made by Mettler and seconded by Rolling to approve the financial report. Motion carried unanimously.

Terry Helget presented the President’s Report summarizing the activities of the M.A.O.A. in 2003 and stressing our mission of mentoring new officials and improving the quality of officiating overall.

Minutes from April 3, 2003 annual meeting and November 11, 2003 board meeting were reviewed in their entirety. Motion made by Rich Stolp to approve minutes, 2nd by John Becker. Motion carried.

Terry Reynolds presented the Vice President’s report and discussed the mentoring system. Terry was disappointed by the lack of interest in the mentoring system from new officials and lack of follow up from mentees getting in touch with their mentor to work with them. A short discussion ensued in which the following initiatives were discussed:

·  Have more than one mentor per mentee.

·  Have group of veteran officials get paid to observe new officials working their first varsity games.

·  Jeff VanHee suggested developing an association rating system.

Dewey Mettler expressed his concerns with the mentoring system and the need to educate all officials on the proper pre-game conference procedures. Everyone can do a better job.

Doug Boyer then presented the Assignment Secretary’s report. In all, the MAOA assigned the following games:

·  3 varsity football games

·  40 Jr. High and C squad football games

·  237 Jr. High and C squad basketball games using 474 officials

·  22 varsity basketball games using 30 officials.

President Terry Helget then led discussion on unfinished business. Topics covered were as follows:

  1. The MAOA sponsored a hospitality room at the Taylor Center during the girls and boys 1 & 2A section tournaments for the second consecutive year. Terry reported the event was well received by coaches, A.D.’s and officials and deemed a success. A brief discussion ensued about the cost of the event ($1000 + in 05). While it was the members’ consensus to continue with the hospitality room, ways to reduce cost are needed. The menu will be reviewed by the new board in 2006. Dewey Mettler suggested that there may be another room available (D9) that would not require us to order our food from Chartwells.
  2. Terry Helget reported that Steve Enderle will be the volleyball charter clinician.
  3. Terry Helget and Jeff VanHee commented that the web site is going very well and is a valuable tool for our association. Terry encouraged members to continue to provide input on how we can improve the website.
  4. Terry Helget discussed the MAOA Code of Ethics and reminded members to conduct themselves as if they were running a good business. He reminded members not to double book or solicit games.
  5. The MSHSL basketball officials rating system was discussed by Terry Helget. The enhancements to the ratings have been well received. Dewey Mettler gave a short presentation on how the rating system is broken down. The selection process for State Tournament games is based on the coaches’ ratings, association ratings, and ratings from observers.
  6. Incident reports from last year were discussed. There was a consensus from the members present that there was a sportsmanship problem at Mankato Loyola. Several members discussed unsportsmanlike behavior they witnessed from players, coaches and fans. After much discussion, the members decided the best course of action would be to have the incoming President and another member meet with Loyola’s Superintendent and athletic director to discuss our concerns.

President Terry Helget opened discussion on new business. Topics covered were as follows:

  1. 2005 Annual Banquet. The annual banquet will be on April 22, 2005 at the Bandana Brewery in Mankato. Social hour starts at 6:00pm with dinner to follow. The board decided that the MAOA will pay for the dinner again this year, but drinks will be on the member’s tab. Awards, plaques, and door prizes will also be given away at the banquet.
  2. 2005 Dues were discussed. The membership discussed the increased cost of sponsoring the hospitality room and paying for dinners at the annual banquet as well as the increased number of mentee reimbursements. It was decided that all of these events were important to the growth of development of the MAOA. Since dues have not been raised for several years, it was decided that an increase was warranted at this time. The Board recommended raising membership dues $5.00 across the board. Regular membership dues would increase from $25.00 to $30.00 and reserve membership dues would increase from $15.00 to $20.00. Motion was made by Dewey Mettler to accept the proposed membership dues increase. The motion was seconded by Larry Westlund. Motion was carried unanimously.
  3. MAOA Game fees for 06/07 and 07/08 were discussed. The MAOA is currently requesting $165.00 for a two person basketball officiating crew. The board made the following recommendations:
  4. Football for 06/07, $350.00 for a five person crew
  5. Basketball 06/07 and 07/08, $175.00 for 2 person crew and $205.00 for 3 person crew.
  6. Volleyball 06/07 $140.00

Motion was made by Tom Westlund to approve the Board’s recommendation for game fees. Motion was seconded by Ron Rolling. Motion carried unanimously.

  1. Minnesota River Conference Bid was discussed. Terry Helget talked to the river conference coordinator, Grant Anderson. They are beginning year two of a three year contract. We were advised to bid for all of the boys or girls or both, not just the south half of the conference as we did in the past. Terry Helget is drafting a letter to express our interest in bidding to officiate their basketball games for the 07-09 seasons.
  2. Reclassification of members. Pat Haefner and Todd Coyour are both reserve members that have applied for regular membership. The board recommended that both be given regular membership status. Both were reclassified to regular status.
  3. State Tournament Officials were recognized. In football John Becker, Pat McDermott, Shawn Erickson, Rick Sellner, Aaron Wirtz, Doug Frericks, and Doug Boyer all worked State Tournament games. In Basketball, Al Hansen Larry Westlund, John Becker Doug Boyer, Larry Scearcy, Terry Reynolds and Brad Mathiowetz all worked Girls State Tournament games with Terry Reynolds and Brad Mathiowetz working State Finals in the Girls 2A and 4A games. Dan Grifiths, Dean Rengsdorf, and Terry Helget all worked in the Boys State Tournament with Terry Helget working the Boys 1A Final.
  4. Camp Reimbursement was discussed. The MAOA will continue to reimburse members who attend summer basketball camps up to $50.00.
  5. Nominations of Officers commenced starting with the President’s position. Doug Boyer was nominated by Pat Haefner. Motion made by Ron Rolling, 2nd by Aaron Wirtz to cease nominations. Motion carried. Motion made by Ron Rolling to unanimously elect Doug Boyer for President. Motion approved. Terry Reynolds nominated Jim Northenscold for Vice President. Ron Rolling made motion to cease nominations for Vice President, 2nd by Terry Reynolds. Motion carried. Motion made by Rolling to unanimously elect Jim Northenscold as Vice President, 2nd by Reynolds. Motion carried. Terry Reynolds nominated Aaron Wirtz for Secretary Treasurer. Terry Helget nominated Jeff VanHee. Ron Rolling made motion to cease nominations 2nd by Dewey Mettler. Vote was taken. Jeff was elected by ballot vote of 8 to 7. Doug Boyer nominated Terry Reynolds for Assignment Secretary. Dean Rengstorf made motion to cease nominations, 2nd by Rolling. Rengstorf made motion to unanimously elect Terry Reynolds Assignment Secretary, 2nd by Rolling. Motion carried. Noah Trimmer was nominated by Terry Helget to be the Board’s Reserve Representative. Mitch Nachriener was nominated by Aaron Wirtz. Rolling made motion to cease nominations, 2nd by Mettler. Mitch Nachreiner was elected by a ballot vote of 8-7. Pat Haefner was nominated for the regular at large board position. Motion to cease nominations was made by Rolling, 2nd by Westlund. Haefner was unanimously elected for the at large board position vacated by Jim Northenscold’s move to the Executive Board.
  6. Assignment secretary salary of $550.00 for the 2005 / 06 season was approved.
  7. Terry Reynolds was appointed the basketball charter clinician and Pat McDermott was appointed the football clinician.
  8. Officiating camps. Jeff Van Hee thought the MAOA could put on a summer camp as an additional revenue source. He also discussed possibility of recruiting high school seniors to get started in officiating by contacting local high schools.

Motion made to adjourn made by John Hawker. 2nd by multiple members. Meeting adjourned at 9:27pm.