TDGPA Elections ***February 6, 10am***

[Rideout]

There will be an election held for board positions in the Tacoma Disc Golf Players Association (TDGPA). If you are a current member of the TDGPA, you have the right to vote.

Elections will be held at the Fort Steilacoom disc golf course Saturday, February 6th at 10:00 am.

[LJ Jubner]

Is there a list of candidates?

[REDFIVE]

Is there a list of candidates?

Depends on who you ask and your definition of a "list".

I will make myself available, thanks Mike!

[AchimbaProphet]

Thanks for the information. Anything further about candidates or positions would be appreciated.

[Rideout]

I thought that I had the list; I will try to get it posted within the next two-three days.

Anybody can be nominated for any of the five board positions before the elections on Feb 6th. When I post the list, it will be safe to assume that more names could easily be added to the list by election time. If anybody puts there name up on this thread for nomination, I will pass the info along to the powers that be.

Two weeks ago there was an “unofficial” meeting where people were nominated. We were going to have the elections today, but it was brought to our attention (rightfully so) that the club did not carry out the process correctly. Essentially, there wasn’t sufficient effort put into informing the paid club members of the upcoming nominations and elections for our new board members. With more and more people joining, it is becoming more and more important to increase our ability to inform them. The club is currently figuring this out.

I think it was an honest mistake. The club board members were hit hard with some people stepping down and the overwhelming amount of county issues that have been prevalent in the past year or so. Things have been getting better again and I think the nominations and “almost” elections where nothing more than an attempt to keep the ball rolling in the “right” direction.

Today’s failed elections were a victory in the clubs process of becoming a more legitimately run organization.

Even though these two meetings were not adequately advertised, for the record, these two meetings each had the largest turnouts of any club meetings I have ever attended. Hopefully these numbers will continue next month.

Mike Rideout

[Rideout]

For the record, I am not a board member. I am an active member of the club and the info I am posting is the way I understand things to be. The only thing that the club requested I post on this site is the date and time of the upcoming election. I feel that it is also important to fill people in on why the election dates have changed and why they might not have known about the original elections to begin with.

Quoting myself-
“Anybody can be nominated for any of the five board positions before the elections on Feb 6th.”

It actually has to be a club member who has been current for (I think) 90 days.


Quoting myself-
“Today’s failed elections were a victory in the clubs process of becoming a more legitimately run organization.”

I certainly don’t mean to imply that the club has been acting illegitimately.


Everything happened on a much smaller scale a few years back. This is a club with a lot of history and there is a very old-school mentality within a lot of the players who have been around a while. This old mentality is slowly evolving into something more structured which should help us deal with the increasing number of members we continue to get and the growing number of details that must be addressed with the county.


Mark Kilmer and Rob Dean (and others) took on a huge task to push the club forward when few others would. The fact that they are both motivated to improve the club and the course shows with the improvements made to tee signs, course prep (especially for upcoming tourneys), new lease agreements with the county (which should give us a little more freedom with the courses), and a set of procedural guidelines that we (as a club) are adjusting to. Some of their ideas have been great and some have been really bad, but most importantly Mark and Rob (and others) continued developing the club through this transitional time and created a foundation the club is ready to continue building on.

Thank you Mark and Rob for your services. It wouldn’t be so bad if you were both re-elected.

Mike

(still working on getting that list of nominees)

[DMAILMAN]

Here is the list for board member nominees for the TDGPA.

President...Mark Kilmer
Vice President....Rob Dean
Treasurer......Raymond Seick
Secretary...Briana Schumacher
Tournaments Coordinator....Appointed
Promotions....Dan Lilley
Matt Schumacher
Maintenence.....Jim Brassfield
Riverside Rep....Todd Bates
Jeremy Freiling

As Mike said, nominations will be taken up to the 31st of January with the elections being held on the 6th of February.

We are currently attempting to set up online voting for members who can not make the elections but no promises at this point.

[DMAILMAN]

So here is my mission statement for my election position. I challenge you all to participate in these elections. Renew your membership and be part of the solution.
Mission Statement


I believe that we as a club have the potential to grow the sport of disc golf like never before. The first step, I believe, is to strengthen our Board of Directors with members who not only want to support the Associations local impact but members who can envision our club as the regional role model for the promotion of the sport as a whole.

I believe in the importance of providing our golfers with a positive disc golf experience when they come to our courses. A positive experience for a visiting golfer not only boosts the public opinion of disc golf but it shows all users of the park that our club is strong and united in the same cause.

I believe that a positive disc golf experience at our courses should include the following;
1. A well maintained course layout.
2. A course that is well marked with tee signs and fairway markers.
3. A visit to our kiosk where golfers can see, retrieve and view event news and club information.

I believe these three items represent my core belief system as it pertains to disc golf at Fort Steilacoom DGC and Riverside DGC.

Our association raises money primarily through disc golf events. Therefore I believe that our association should strive to make all events the best that they can be. When players have a positive experience at our tournaments, they will tell others and in turn those players will come to more events. The end result will be that golfers will want to be part of the overall experience at Ft. Steilacoom. This will increase participation through volunteerism and membership.

I am confident that we, the TDGPA, will continue to be the role model for other clubs. As a board member, I believe that I must hold myself to a higher standard. This means that I represent all of our members in a positive light and that I must stand firm in upholding all decisions made by the Board of Directors and our general membership.

I believe that I have the recipe for success. Now we just need to get all the ingredients together. You are part of the recipe. We cannot do it without your participation. It truly is all about you!

Thank You,
Rob Dean
Vice President TDGPA 2004 – 2009
Member #108
PDGA#10113

[LJ Jubner]

I guess it's time to renew my membership. Shit thats six clubs now

[REDFIVE]

I am optomistic about the future of the club. What kilmer has done as president is admirable. The pieces he and the other position holders have picked up has pointed the club in the right direction. There is definately room for improvement but you can say that about any organization. I look forward to the future of steily, (don't forget about) RIVERSIDE, and any other endeavor the club decides to partake.

[DMAILMAN]

We could never forget about our sister course. For the first time in the history of the club, we have created a new board position for a Riverside representative. If you are a club member and are current with your dues you can vote on line. That too is a first for our club.

If you would like to vote online send me your information and email address and I will set you up with a registration code that will get you in vote. You may also vote in person at the course on Feb 6th from 10:00 - 11:00 am. Members who can not make it in person and do not have access to the internet may call me for a mail in ballot. All nominations must be submitted by January 31st,2010. Online voting will open on Feb 6th at 12:01 am and close at 11:59 pm.

Contact me at 253-973-4938 (leave a message)
robd@discgolftacoma.com

Keep your feet on the ground and your discs in the air.

[Rideout]

I thought that Raymond Seick was appointed to the position of Treasurer until he didn’t want it anymore. I am not saying I like that arrangement, but are you sure that his position as treasurer is actually up for nomination and election?

Mike

[REDFIVE]

Riverside was not represented properly within the club by the locals in the past mostly because the players from there were put off by the clubs representation(or a lack of) in the past. I am greatful to todd and jeremy for stepping up and to the club for stepping up also. The future is bright as long as the people are represented properly and information is shared and made easily available. Checks and balances.

Any new candidates?

[Rideout]

On the reader board at Steily there is a list of nominees.

President:
Mark Kilmer
Rob Dean

Vice President:
Bill Winkler
Rob Dean

Secretary:
Briana Schumacher

Maintenance:
Jim Brassfield (JB)

Promotions:
Matt Schumacher
Dan Lilley


There is also a statement that read, “… you must be present to vote…”.

I had a brief discussion with Mark Kilmer about the discrepancies between what is posted online and what is posted on the reader board. Mark said that as long as Rob Dean has a way for people to vote online, that voting online won’t be a problem.

I am not exactly sure what the official nominations list is, but this list I just posted would be from the nominations that were taken at a meeting a few weeks ago. My guess is that people on both nominations lists are being nominated. Some repeats, some not.


Mark stated some concern with nominations that may come from the online forum because of a lack of people to second anything.



Mike Rideout

[REDFIVE]

Kilmer is a dork.

Anybody like to 2nd the statement?

[DMAILMAN]

I thought that Raymond Seick was appointed to the position of Treasurer until he didn’t want it anymore. I am not saying I like that arrangement, but are you sure that his position as treasurer is actually up for nomination and election?

Mike
All positions on the board are supposed to be for a term of one year but it hasnt worked out that way as we all know. I have not recieved any nominations for additional treasurers so Rays name will be the only one on the ballot at this time.

Great question though!

[DMAILMAN]

On the reader board at Steily there is a list of nominees.

President:
Mark Kilmer
Rob Dean

Vice President:
Bill Winkler
Rob Dean

Secretary:
Briana Schumacher

Maintenance:
Jim Brassfield (JB)

Promotions:
Matt Schumacher
Dan Lilley


There is also a statement that read, “… you must be present to vote…”.

I had a brief discussion with Mark Kilmer about the discrepancies between what is posted online and what is posted on the reader board. Mark said that as long as Rob Dean has a way for people to vote online, that voting online won’t be a problem.

I am not exactly sure what the official nominations list is, but this list I just posted would be from the nominations that were taken at a meeting a few weeks ago. My guess is that people on both nominations lists are being nominated. Some repeats, some not.


Mark stated some concern with nominations that may come from the online forum because of a lack of people to second anything.



Mike Rideout

Rest assured that I am not running for president at this time. I have not been nominated for this position. Also, any club member may nominate another club member as long as the e-mail nomination has another club members second on the nomination. I then will verify the nomination before adding it to the list of nominations.

[olydiscgolf]

I nominate Rob Dean for President of TDGPA.

Chris Gilberts

[Rideout]

I second that.

[olydiscgolf]

I nominate Ryan Deroche for Vice President of TDGPA.

Chris Gilberts

[REDFIVE]

I nominate Ryan Deroche for Vice President of TDGPA.

Chris Gilberts

2nd

[olydiscgolf]

2nd

We need an official 2nd for the nomionation of Ryan DeRoche to the position of Vice President. According to Mark Kilmer and Rob Dean, Chris Waugh is not a current member of TDGPA. Therefore, unable to vote.

[REDFIVE]

We need an official 2nd for the nomionation of Ryan DeRoche to the position of Vice President. According to Mark Kilmer and Rob Dean, Chris Waugh is not a current member of TDGPA. Therefore, unable to vote.

Yeah, I guess I'm a fraud. Time to make myself valid again.

[olydiscgolf]

According to Rob Dean, somebody seconded the nomination of Ryan Deroche as Vice President. So its official.

[Rideout]

The vote will continue on Feb 6th but it has changed a bit. I had long discussions today with Mark Kilmer and Rob Dean both before and after they had a meeting about the future of the club. I think they came up with an efficient agreement that will greatly benefit the TDGPA over the next year.

A lot of the guidelines and legal agreements the club has have expired and the club keeps running into kinks that hold us up from trying to progress out of this problem. So, Mark and Rob are going to keep their positions as president and vice president until October. Bill Winkler and Ryan DeRoche voluntarily withdrew their nominations for this cause. Their primary goal over the next several months is to work with the board members that are elected on Feb 6th to enact a new set of guidelines and achieve non-profit status for the club.

In August there should be an official announcement for nominations for the board positions of president and vice president. With elections to follow in October. There should be a fully instated set of guidelines and non-profit status for the club. The next president and vice president should be set up with a club built on a solid foundation.

Nominations for the remaining board positions will be accepted until Sunday, January 17th at 9pm. Nominations can be made either on this thread or by contacting Mark or Rob. Rob has set up an online vote with a company that should be emailing out the instructions of the procedure on Feb 1st. If you want to vote in person, that will still take place at the Fort Steilacoom disc golf course between 10 and 11 am. You must be a current club member to vote.

Board positions (with current nominees) still up for nominations until Jan 17th at 9pm and election on Feb 6th are:

Secretary...Briana Schumacher
Maintenance.....Jim Brassfield
Riverside Rep....Todd Bates


This should all be official.

Mike Rideout

[Ode]

The vote will continue on Feb 6th but it has changed a bit. I had long discussions today with Mark Kilmer and Rob Dean both before and after they had a meeting about the future of the club. I think they came up with an efficient agreement that will greatly benefit the TDGPA over the next year.

A lot of the guidelines and legal agreements the club has have expired and the club keeps running into kinks that hold us up from trying to progress out of this problem. So, Mark and Rob are going to keep their positions as president and vice president until October. Bill Winkler and Ryan DeRoche voluntarily withdrew their nominations for this cause. Their primary goal over the next several months is to work with the board members that are elected on Feb 6th to enact a new set of guidelines and achieve non-profit status for the club.

In August there should be an official announcement for nominations for the board positions of president and vice president. With elections to follow in October. There should be a fully instated set of guidelines and non-profit status for the club. The next president and vice president should be set up with a club built on a solid foundation.

Nominations for the remaining board positions will be accepted until Sunday, January 17th at 9pm. Nominations can be made either on this thread or by contacting Mark or Rob. Rob has set up an online vote with a company that should be emailing out the instructions of the procedure on Feb 1st. If you want to vote in person, that will still take place at the Fort Steilacoom disc golf course between 10 and 11 am. You must be a current club member to vote.

Board positions (with current nominees) still up for nominations until Jan 17th at 9pm and election on Feb 6th are:

Secretary...Briana Schumacher
Maintenance.....Jim Brassfield
Riverside Rep....Todd Bates


This should all be official.

Mike Rideout

not trying to complicate things but ive heard differently as recently as today. COME TO THE MEETING AND VOTE! WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

[Rideout]

Hey Chase

What did you hear?

From who?


I have been in direct contact with the powers that be and I would be very surprised if things changed.

If we don't make things clear now, things won't progress.

Mike Rideout

[DMAILMAN]

Mike is correct. Its complicated but Mike did a great job of trying to explain alot in a small amount of space. Give me a call Chase.

[LJ Jubner]

So are there really elections going on or was this just a rouse to get people to renew?

[DMAILMAN]

Rest assured that our members renew their memberships because they they support both the aims and goals of the TDGPA and the promotion of the sport of disc golf as a whole in the Puget Sound region and not because we are having an election.

Really it comes as no surprise to our current members. Association members whos annual dues have been brought current are notified via e-mail of all major event issues that face the club. This year marks the final year of a five year plan to bring the club into the new millennium.

We have made leaps and bounds of progress and need only finish the work of bringing current the all paper works that make an association strong. For example, The TDGPAs current by-laws were drafted in time when the internet was in its infancy and computers could only be found in the office place. The redrafting and adoption of these,"new", bylaws will be a top priority of the 2010 Board of Directors.

When our Bylaws were written there were not that many golfers to take advantage of our beautiful course. Thats 30 years ago! Much has changed since then but those pesky old bylaws are still here so they have got to be updated. It is the wording of the bylaws regarding elections that has proven to be an issue.

After the election, a general meeting of the association will be held to discuss the 2010 goals. This meeting will be an informational session to bring our members up to speed on all the changes that are coming including the huge club vote on the adoption of the new bylaws. There will be more info posted on this site as well as our own website. We are currently upgrading the way we communicate with our members too! This means our website also. We are dedicated to to improving the way we communicate with our members!

Finally, it is anticipated that the 2011 elections (to be held in October 2010) will offer to the newly elected directors a stable platform to conduct business on. Its been a challenge to complete the goals that were set five years ago but I remain hopeful and vigilant that they will all be completed on time.

I will begin updating this thread with news as it becomes available. The newsletters located at the club website offer a wealth of information on the happenings of the association.

[Rideout]

Were there any more nominations that came in or is there only going to be one individual that is running for each of the three positions on the board up for election?

Mike

[DMAILMAN]

[QUOTE=Rideout;49297]Were there any more nominations that came in or is there only going to be one individual that is running for each of the three positions on the board up for election?

No other nominations have been recieved yet but the role is still open until 1/31/10. We had a couple people nominated that were not aware of the nomination but declined for personal reasons.

[DMAILMAN]

Please remember that when you nominate someone you should inform them of the nomination. All nominees are verified before they are put on the roles.


Go Team Steili!

[Rideout]

Quoting myself, “Nominations for the remaining board positions will be accepted until Sunday, January 17th at 9pm.”

Rob, I was under the impression that the deadline you have posted for Jan 31st was no longer valid and that the new deadline for nominations was set for Feb 17th at 9pm.

So, right now there are two deadlines for nominations posted. In writing in the Fort Steilacoom course kiosk and on one of my more recent posts, the deadline for nominations is set for Jan 17th. On Rob’s original post and on Rob’s most recent post, the deadline for nominations is set for Jan 31st.

I was under the impression the Jan 17th deadline for nominations was agreed upon (agreed upon by Mark & Rob) and that’s why I printed it.

We need to be clear.

Which is it?

Mike Rideout

[DMAILMAN]

Mark wasnt sure how much time it would take to verify a nominee. At this time I am currently able to process within 48 hours of recieving the nomination. So I believe January 31st is still OK. So if you know someone who would like to participate in the elections, please send information to robd@discgolftacoma.com

A test page was sent out to all members who's memberships are current and have also provided a valid email address. If you havent recieved this test page your membership has lapsed. For information regarding membership please contact me at the address listed above.

[Rideout]

Rob, have you made the change in the courses’ kiosk? If you haven't, there are still two different dates for these nominations.

Here on the forum you have re-extended the nominations to the 31st. At the course, what does it say?

Mike

[DMAILMAN]

I will update the flier in the kiosk today. Thanks Mike. I am not expecting more nominations at this point It is always good to have the bases covered.

Thanks Mike

[DMAILMAN]

2010 Board of Directors Meets to Discuss Goals

February 10th was the first meeting of our Board of Directors. This meeting was crucial for setting the direction the Board of Directors will take the club. With the agenda set, board members sat down and finalized the goals for 2010.

The agenda for this meeting was as follows; this was the first opportunity for the sitting board members to meet and welcome the newest board members. We wanted to hear from each of the board members so that we begin to learn the strengths and weaknesses of our position. We now know and have a working plan to get the course opened up and back to providing a place for the local disc golf community to practice their craft.

February 10th,2010 Agenda
1. Meet and greet new Board of Directors.
2. Discuss our current web presence.
a. Presentation by Greg Zart regarding what we can do to increase revenues utilizing an updated and revamped web site.
b. How our web site currently serves the club and how it can be used as a powerful tool to communicate with our members.
As a result of this presentation, it was agreed by the Board to appoint Greg Zart as “Internet technologies” specialist. He will be working closely with the Board to design a web presence that will combine our needs as a club with the needs of the countless people who travel to our web site for information about our courses. An online store will also be added to the web site.
3. Discuss equipment security
a. Tony Beckett has utilized his working relationships with a vendor to provide us with 50 new barrel locks at a cost of 582.00. There is a two week back order on the locks but they have been ordered.
b. Basket hardware is still in the shop being welded to the pipes. Should all be done within the next two weeks.
c. Security sleeves to protect the locks and tabs will be completed once the locks are received. This will be the last step to the completion of securing our equipment.
4. Discuss adoption of new By-Laws (Phase 1)
a. All board members received an updated copy of our new by-laws. It was agreed that the board will review these by-laws and adopt final changes at the next Board meeting.
b. It was agreed that the President and Vice President will form a committee to expedite the process of implementing the new by-laws once they are adopted.
c. It was agreed to by the Board of Directors that the by-laws will be implemented in a timely manner so that the next phase can be begun.
d. Discussion about changing our club name. To give our club a broader presence, it is agreed that a name change should be considered. At this point only one name has been presented. “Pierce County Disc Golf”. The concept will be tabled at the next meeting.
5. Discuss Non Profit status. (Phase 2)
a. It is agreed that we move forward with attaining our own 501 c3 non profit status.
b. The By-Laws must be completed before filing the paper work for the 501 c3 status.
c. Discussion on the benefits of a non profit status vs. 501c3 non profit status.
6. Discuss individual goals within each of the positions.
a. It was agreed that each Board Member will present to the Board at the next meeting, a mission statement that describes what they as Directors hope to achieve in the coming year.
7. Discussion about Riverside (Presented by Todd Bates)
a. Discussion on improvements to the course. Primarily new tee signs.
b. It was agreed that the Saturday Doubles will alternate between Ft Steilacoom and Riverside until we switch back to Thursday Doubles in March.
c. It is agreed that Todd will be running the doubles events at Riverside. He was given all the paperwork that must be filled out each week that he runs doubles.
d. Partial discussion about expanding the course to include areas adjacent to the BMX area.
8. Discussion about full elections in October
a. Full elections will be held in October 2010.

Overall, we had a very productive meeting. It was great to meet our newest Board members. I am sure that we can achieve all of our 2010 goals. We must continue to meet regularly so that we stay on track for completing our goals

The agenda for the March 10th meeting has not been finalized but we have some ideas.
1. Adoption of by laws by the Board.
2. Plan to present these by-laws the general membership for vote
3. Discussion about steps to completing phase 2, non profit status
4. Equipment security update
5. Riverside update
6. Spring Tournament update
Board member mission statements