CASRA Annual Meeting

Meeting Minutes

02/24/2018

Addendees

Name	Present	Name	Present
Robin Miller	Y	Mitchell Williams	Y
Erik Endler	Y	Frank Giullano
Ed Grimes	Y	Missy Lambert	N
Rey Quiroz	Y	Mark Patterson
Desiree Ridgell	Y	Charlie Pope	Y
John More	Y	Maria Cribbs	Y
		Trey Krell
		Marty Kuser
		Thomas Gobeaux	Y

Location:        Hella’s Restaurant

Agenda:

Call to Order

President,  Ed Grimes Called the meeting to order at 9:30 AM

Presidents Report

President Ed Grimes Delivered his report.  Copy attached as Addendum 1

State Youth Referee Administrator

State Youth Referee Director, Jeff Gontarek spoke about the youth referee issues.  Over 50% of Youth referees do not make it past the first year of service.   Also mentioned was the Mentoring Program and the Facebook Site

https://www.facebook.com/groups/383103995063065/540141502692646/?notif_t=group_activity

Jeff can be reached at syra@msysa.org

Executive Directors Report

Executive Director, Robin Miller delivered her report.   Copy is attached as Addendum 2

Special Olympics

Robert Liles addressed the membership about the Special Olympics.   Bob provided signup sheets for those interested in learning more about or participating in the program.  Student Service credits are available for High School Referees

Vice Presidents Report

Rey Quiroz spoke about returned 1099’s   He asked all present to be sure that their address information is correct in Arbiter

Treasurers Report

John More reviewed the Treasurers report.  Addendum 3.  There were some questions regarding EDP collections and late payments.  John also noted that hew will be staying to ensure that the transition to the new Treasurer is a smooth one.

New Business

There was no new business to discuss as Ed Grimes withdrew the proposed By-Law Changes

Elections

Mark Jennings conducted the election.   The Ballot is attached as Addendum 4.   Winners are noted on the Ballot.  There were no motions from the floor to add any individual to the ballot.

New Presidents Comments

President Erik Endler addressed the membership regarding items discussed and approved by the Board.  

1. The $65 Administration Fee has been removed,  in it’s place is a .03% game charge for administration.   For the majority of the membership this will result in less than the previous Administration Fee.

2.  Referee Payments.  Going forward there will be no personal line of credit to support monthly Referee Payments. Payments will be dispensed through the Billing and collection process to clients.  All new contracts have a retainer fee built in. Do away with set monthly payment. Payment for League Matches will be three times per season.  For High School and Indoor one time per season.  There is no change for tournaments.

3.  All Referees need to complete game reports in a timely manner (24 hours after the match)

Meeting Adjourned at 11:15

Addendum 1 – Presidents Report

Welcome to the 2018 Annual Meeting of CASRA.

Let me start by thanking:

1) The Referees

a. Enforcing Safety, Enjoyment, and Equality for all those involved in the game

b. No matter the weather; no matter how bad the coaches or spectators are

c. Without you the game of soccer wouldn’t be the growing sport it is in America

2) The Assignors

a. For the thankless job of getting all the games covered despite

i. Referee turn-backs

ii. Last minute game additions, cancellations, or changes

iii. An assigning system that at times just will not cooperate

3) The Board of Directors and Executive Committee

a. For all your efforts in promoting the game with the focus on our general membership and clients

b. I know it is a thankless, tireless, unpaid job and I appreciate all your efforts

4) I especially want to thank our Executive Director, Robin Miller, and our Treasurer, John More

a. The vast majority of the day-to-day running of CASRA falls on their shoulders

i. This includes the good but mostly the bad

ii. Most calls or emails from coaches and clients are complaints, not praises

1. They have to handle them with class and respect

As for CASRA, we are a growing organization.  We are not perfect and have our share of growing pains but we have many positive characteristics too.

1) We are one of the largest referee associations in the country and in the world for that matter

2) We are Arbiters largest client and at many times their guinea pig

a. We push their system to its limits and bring it to its knees

i. I know our Assignors spend countless hours with their help desk every year on improvements we need based on the sheer number of games and referees we have

3) We support all level of games from youth recreation, to travel, to adult amateur.  Indoor and outdoor and during all types of weather.

What are we doing to improve and what can you do to help?

1) Game assignments

a. Please accept or reject games in a timely fashion (no more than 48 hours)

i. The sooner, the better

b. Please show up 15-30 minutes before your game. 

i. Don’t be late. 

ii. Plan on traffic and be pleasantly surprised when it isn’t as bad as you planned. 

iii. There are always things you can do to prepare for your game if you are early

c. Please do NOT turn back games unless you absolutely have to

i. If you have to, please give as much advance notice as you can

2) Games

a. Come prepared

i. Know the rules for the games you will be refereeing

ii. Conduct a pre-game with the referee crew

b. Dress appropriately

i. Short tucked in

ii. Socks pulled up

iii. No jewelry

c. Act professionally.  It is your job and it is expected of you by the players, coaches, spectators, your fellow referees, and your assignor.

3) Game reports

a. Please fill these out game reports for the client and in Arbiter within 24 hours

b. Make special notes of game situations (cards, injuries, etc.)

i. Many of our clients have access to Arbiter and do read our game reports

ii. Without completed game reports, we cannot bill the client or pay you

1. If the center referee does not do the game report, they are holding up pay for the entire crew.  That is not fair to your fellow referees.

4) Referee Pay

a. We are working with clients to improve pay for the referees

i. As contracts are added or renewed, we are focusing on improving pay

ii. We are also asking more clients to put up a retainer at the beginning of the season so we can pay the referees more timely

5) Mentoring

a. We are working with the State to provide opportunities for young referees to be mentored on a more formal basis

i. The intent is to Inspire, Encourage, and Retain

1. Each year we lose many new referees due to verbal abuse by coaches and spectators

Finally, I want to thank everyone for their support over the past 3 years that I have served as President of CASRA:

a. There has been a lot of growth and change within the organization

ii. We have a new Executive Director and next year we will have a new Treasurer

1. Please have patience with the new Treasurer as it is a huge job and will have a steep learning curve

b. Client relationships have improved

i. We now have long-term formal contractual relationships with many of our clients

c. New Clients were added, and

d. Referee fees have improved

Again, thank you all for coming and all that you do for CASRA and the game of soccer.

Addendum 2 – Executive Director’s Report

Executive Director’s Report

Contract Status –

EDP – We are in negations.
Anne Arundel PS – submitted the bid on February 13.  We should have a response in about a month
Soccer Plex Tournaments – Working on agreeing to fees
Soccer Plex league – Working on agreeing on fees
NCSL – Send the contract and waiting for a response
Working on updating all other client contracts

Other Items

Schedules

We will be receiving schedules shortly and the assignors, with my help, will be working diligently to enter them. 

EDP –League begins 3-24
BBSL –League begins March 10
NCSL – League begins April 7

Website

We are very excited about our new web site.  It is still in the infant stage, but we plan on having all information needed on the site.  We will also have a link to our CASRA store available.  Please go on and review the information.  If there is anything that you would like us to add, please let me know.  www.casrareferees.com.

Addendum 3 – Treasurers Report

Robin  I do not have an electronic copy of John’s report  Please add

Addendum 4 – Election Results

CASRA Ballot

2018 Election Results

 
All Candidates Listed Alphabetically
Board of Directors Officers (Term Annual)

President (Vote for 1)

• Erik Endler  elected
  Other                        
  Abstain

 
Executive Vice President (Vote for 1)

• Trey Krell
  Barry Lawrence   elected
  Other                        
  Abstain

 
Vice President (Vote for 1)

• Rey Quiroz  elected
  Other                        
  Abstain

 
Secretary (Vote for 1)

• Bruce Cochrane    elected
  Melissa Richardson
  Other                        
  Abstain

 
Treasurer (Vote for 1)

• Desiree Ridgell  elected
  Other                        
  Abstain

 
Board of Directors At-large (Term Three Years)
(Vote for no more than 4)

• Robert Fereday   elected
  Kevin Garvey      elected
  Perry Kelley
  Marty Kuser        elected
  Perry Priestly
  Terri Tomoff
  Mitchell Williams  elected