All news
Highlights of AYSO’s National Annual General Meeting
5/31/2012 3:08:47 PM
AYSO Executive Members from around the country joined forces in Seattle, Wash., last weekend for AYSO’s most important business meeting, the National Annual General Meeting (NAGM) on Friday, May 25 – Sunday, May 27. Here are the highlights from a weekend of business, fun and AYSO family:
Election News
In the weekend’s most important news, Paula Berriz was re-elected as president and new members were elected to the National Board of Directors (NBOD) on Sunday, May 27 during the NAGM’s General Business Session.
The following candidates were elected/re-elected to serve out three year terms on the NBOD:
Bob Daniel
Tony Veronico
Ken Rhoads
The following candidates were elected/re-elected to serve out one year terms in order to serve out the remaining terms of Mike Marks (resigned) and Mike Fults (passed away):
Wells Frice
Bill Hummell
The delegates also voted on amendments to the Bylaw and Rules & Regulations during the General Business Session. After an amendment was proposed, delegates were first asked to vote vocally with an "aye" or "no". If the result of the voice vote was not overwhelmingly in favor of one result, a ballot vote was taken. The results are as follows:
Proposed Bylaw Amendment No. 1 - Passed (voice vote from delegates)
Proposed Bylaw Amendment No. 2 - Failed (ballot vote from delegates)
See a description of the amendments here. Proposed Rules & Regulations Amendment No. 1 - Passed (voice vote from delegates)
Proposed Rules & Regulations Amendment No. 2 - Passed (voice vote from delegates)
Proposed Rules & Regulations Amendment No. 3 - Failed (voice vote from delegates)
See a description of the amendments here. VIP Event
Business aside, the meeting was also a chance for volunteers and staff to reconnect, re-energize and have some fun! The fun events kicked off Friday morning, May 25 with the VIP Event. AYSO invited several local schools to participate in a morning of soccer for their students with mental and physical disabilities.
Coaches from AYSO Soccer Camps and almost 100 AYSO volunteers hosted a series of fun soccer activities in a Funfestival and had a ball. It was hard to tell who had the most fun, the kids or the grown-ups! The volunteers all traveled by monorail from the host hotel in downtown Seattle to the Seattle Center that includes the Space Needle, the Experience Music Project Museum and field space that converted perfectly to a Funfest venue.
And the Award Goes To...
The NAGM awards dinner also took place on Friday, and volunteers took the “Experience Music” dinner theme to heart by dressing up as their favorite musicians. The costumes included Lady Gaga (with a real meat suit!), Amy Winehouse, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Slash, Katy Perry, The Village People, Joan Jett and dozens of others.
The awards dinner was also the opportunity to honor the years of service of AYSO volunteers, including 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years. And for the first time in memory, a 40-year volunteer was honored: Michael Koran of Region 76 (Beverly Hills, Calif) who played in AYSO and began as a youth volunteer at 12 years old. The Region, Area and Section of the year, as well as the Spirit and VIP Enrichment Award winners were also honored.
Click here for a list of the winners. NAGM Kick-Off
The NAGM’s opening business session kicked off with a state of the organization from National President Paula Berriz (
read Paula’s speech in its entirety here) and a National Staff update from National Executive Director Tom Tobin. The official opening ceremonies were impressive with pomp and circumstance, featuring a youth color guard and a video slide show honoring all of AYSO’s veterans. Attendees also received a coin dedicated to all veterans, made for AYSO by Sport Pins International.
Let’s Caucus!
One of the most powerful aspects of the NAGM is the caucus opportunities for Regional Commissioners, Area Directors and Section Directors. This was a time for volunteers to get together and discuss the topics that matter most to them. Subject matter included compliance, dealing with competition, internal and external growth and more. The RCs and ADs discussed best practices and solutions, and the results of the caucus sessions will run as articles in future issues of
The Commish and
The AD Report.
The 18th Annual Silent Auction
The Silent Auction - one of the NAGM’s most treasured traditions – went off without a hitch last weekend, bringing in $8,000! The earnings from the auction will be donated in full to the Hugo Bustamante AYSO Playership Fund to help bring more soccer to more kids.
Some of the hotly contested items were a signed LA Galaxy jersey, vintage AYSO memorabilia and MLS gear.
Jurgen Klinsmann Addresses AYSO
Before the elections on Sunday, May 27, U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann addressed the AYSO volunteers in a special video message. He was not able to attend the NAGM in person as the U.S. team was playing back to back games against Scotland (a 5-1 victory) and Brazil (a 4-1 loss) in preparation for World Cup qualifiers.
Closing with Style
The NAGM’s closing dinner provided some of the most memorable moments of the entire weekend. To get things started, Sound Wave – the official band of MLS’ Seattle Sounders – surprised diners in the hallway with an impromptu performance. The band then led attendees into the dining hall and took the stage and performed a few more live numbers.
Following the performance, Seattle Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid gave the audience their second surprise by taking the podium and speaking to the audience about his love of AYSO and what it has done for his career. Schmid was on one the first-ever AYSO teams in Torrance, Calif. in 1964. He traveled to the NAGM directly from the airport, where he was returning from a 1-1 tie with Chivas USA in Los Angeles. Also in the audience was Hans Stierle, the first-ever president of AYSO, and his wife, Crystal. They live in nearby Vashon Island, Wash.
The dinner was also an opportunity to recognize and thank the volunteers for their dedication. Two Mike Fults Warrior Awards were given in the memory of the late NBOD member Mike Fults, who passed away in November 2011. The award honors Fults’ tenacious spirit, no-nonsense attitude and love of AYSO.
The Mike Fults AYSO Warrior Award winners were: Hossein Fassa, Area Director of 3-T and Carolyn Taylor, Area Director of 8-F.
The 2013 Section Meeting theme, "RESPECT.starts.with.me", was also unveiled that night with a video that will become available when the 2013 meetings begin.
Next year’s NAGM will be held in the suburbs of Washington D.C. on Memorial Day weekend. Hope to see you there!
