Heart of
America Lacrosse, Inc.
Meeting of
Board of Directors
I. Meeting was brought to order by Jack Yates, who, with David Steffano and Cory Samaras, has been acting as an organizer of the initial formation of Heart of America Lacrosse, Inc. (HOA).
II. Roll Call:
A. Present:
-Nancy Hannan
-Eric Hethcoat
-Dave Steffano
-John Culbertson
-Dave Wiley
-Ross Dessert
-Eric Olson
-Cory Samaras
-Peter Schwartz
-Chris Buchinger
-Chuck Ozonoff
-Bill Aliber
-Russ Cline
-Tom Laughlin
B. Absent:
-John Campbell
-Michael Defenbau
II.
Purpose
of this meeting was to conduct elections of officers for the HOA board and to
transfer the authority of the board to the elected officers.
III.
Terms
of office needed to be determined for the positions of Cory Samaras and Peter
Schwartz (Athlete Directors) and for the positions of Chris Buchinger and Chuck
Ozonoff (Officials Directors).
Terms were chosen by drawing numbered balls out of a
ball bag. Cory Samaras will hold a 3
year term and Peter Schwartz will hold a 1 year term as Athlete Directors. Chris Buchinger will hold a 3 year term and
Chuck Ozonoff will hold a 2 year term as Officials Directors.
IV.
Election
of Officers:
A.
President:
-Dave Steffano was nominated by Eric Hethcoat.
-Peter Schwartz was nominated by Ross Dessert. Peter Schwartz declined the nomination due
to time commitment limitations.
-No other nominations were heard.
-Tom Laughlin and Bill Aliber made a motion for an
election by acclimation.
-David Steffano was elected President.
B.
Vice
President:
-Eric Hethcoat was nominated by Eric Olson.
-Cory Samaras was nominated by David Steffano.
-Eric Olson was nominated by Ross Dessert.
-Cory Samaras was elected Vice President by majority
of ballots.
C.
Treasurer:
-Eric Olson was nominated by David Steffano.
-Eric Hethcoat was nominated by Eric Olson.
-Eric Olson was elected Treasurer by majority of
ballots.
D.
Secretary:
-Ross Dessert was nominated by Peter Schwartz.
-Eric Hethcoat was nominated by Eric Olson.
-Ross Dessert was elected Secretary by majority of
ballots.
E.
At-Large:
-Eric Hethcoat was nominated by Eric Olson.
-No other nominations were heard. Tom Laughlin and Peter Schwartz made a
motion for election by acclimation.
-Eric Hethcoat was elected to the At-Large position
by acclimation.
V.
Jack
Yates transferred the authority of the board to the newly-elected officers.
VI.
New
Business:
-David Steffano discussed the current status of
HOA. We can choose to remain as an
independent corporation as we are established now. We can decide to file an application to become a Kansas City area
Chapter of US Lacrosse. This will be
determined by the board at a future meeting.
We do have the bylaws and documentation largely in place to apply for
consideration as a new chapter.
-Formation of committees will also occur at a future
board meeting. Tentative committees
include: 1) Finance/Fundraising 2) Programs/Events 3) Communications/Membership.
-Future board meetings will occur at least every 2
months. Officers and committees may
meet outside of the larger board meetings.
VII.
Open
Floor Discussion & News:
-Jack Yates discussed the need for more coaches to
assist with the youth programs at Pembroke-Barstow and also at St. Paul’s.
-Chuck Ozonoff shared that the recent training
sessions for new officials have had about 10-15 persons in attendance. They are hoping to retain 3-5 of those in
training, as well as having all officials return from last year. There continues to be a need for more officials
to meet the demands of the growing number of lacrosse participants in greater
Kansas City.
-Cory Samaras shared that there will be a clinic for
women’s officials on March 9 & 10 in St. Louis. She also expressed a concern for a lack of women’s coaches for
the growth of women’s lacrosse in KC.
The meeting was adjourned by David Steffano.
Notes submitted by:
Ross Dessert