REGULAR MEETING OF THE

CEDAR RAPIDS ATHLETIC OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION

October 29, 2013

I. Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order by President Joe Schmall at 6:30pm at Grant Wood Area Education Agency.  An attendance sheet was passed around.

II. Minutes of Spring 2013 meeting.  The meeting minutes were available on the website and accepted by the membership.

III. Financial Report.  Chris Heidelbauer presented the financial report to the membership.  As of 10/22/13, the balance on-hand was 5,562.97. Chris further advised the membership that both he and Cory Burkle were authorized parties on our Linn Area Credit Union account. Chris has also been issued a debit card against CRAOA accounts. This should allow us to avoid having individuals spend money on personal credit cards which requires reimbursement for expenses like our annual Arbiter dues and purchase of training materials. The financial report was reviewed by the Executive Board on 10/23/13. Motion by John Dvorak and seconded by Scott Anderson to approve the financial report as presented. Motion carried.

IV. Presidents Report.  The primary business proposed by President Joe Schmall was the selection of an incoming Second Vice President representing the Football side of the organization. The executive board has offered their nomination of Ron Van Hoeck . Chad Bryant seconded the nomination. No further nominations were offered and Ron Van Hoeck was approved by the membership.

V. Executive Secretary Report.  Arbiter issues were brought up as the main frustration when it comes to administrative duties.  In particular members not blocking their calendars during the first part of the scheduling process.  An Arbiter class was recommended for the members during the next full membership meetings to alleviate some of the issues.  A discussion about the past and future training sessions occurred and the consensus was to continue down the path that we had taken this year with a few additions.  Watching some film of a game from a current member crew was one idea that was very popular.  Printing out the state test and going over was also suggested.  Payment to officials for games was brought up and the Executive Secretary is collecting data from surrounding areas not assigned by the CRAOA and going to be brought to the attention to the AD's next Fall.

Discussion was held regarding our honorary membership process. Don Haugen was offered for Honorary Membership status.  Don meets the guidelines set out by our bylaws and a motion to approve the nomination by Dan Hilby was seconded by Bill Yeisley. Motion carried.

Jerry Winter is going to head up collecting names of past Honorary Members where we will post on the website.  It was also brought up that Honorary members need to be invited to future banquets and socials as well as receive newsletters.

The current banquet status was brought up on ways to improve attendance.  Several ideas were brought up about making it more of a social event at a Kernels game or at a local eatery.  The board is going to get together and talk about the event in attempt to improve attendance.

VI. New Members. Bill Yeisley presented his report on the status of Step and Step II officials.

The following were offered by Bill from promotion from Step 1 to Step 2: Matt Edwards,  Owen Lamphier,  Joel Murphy,  Shane Remington, Derrick Samson.  A motion to accept Bill’s recommendation and promote these officials was made by Joe Schmall and Seconded by Rob Noble. Motion carried.

The following were offered by Bill for promotion from Step 2 to Full Membership: Todd Ambrosy,  Bill Connolly,  Mark Murphy,  Troy Patrick,  Matt Smith,  Noel Wilbur, and Mike Pond.  A motion was made and was seconded by Bill Yeisley to approve Full Membership for these officials. Motion carried.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm