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U L T I M A T E H A P P E N I N G S
Issue 282 - October 14, 2003
******************* 2289 players served ********************
OCUA - The largest ultimate league in the world!
(328 teams and 3800 members in 2002)
http://www.ocua.ca/
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SPECIAL ISSUE: OCUA ELECTIONS UPDATE
The nomination period is now closed, and the voting process
is under way.
We have SEVEN (7) candidates vying for a directorship on the
Board.
Armstrong, Sam
Bowditch, Cory
Donovan, Lee
Harley, Mike
Lange, Ken
Langelier, Luc
Wilkie, Jennifer
All captains have been mailed an e-ballot.
(if you are a SUMMER LEAGUE CAPTAIN and haven't received one
by noon on Tuesday Oct 14th, please e-mail
s_suys@hotmail.com )
Captains, please consult with your teammates and return your
ballot BEFORE MIDNIGHT, MONDAY OCT 20th 2003.
Updated bios will be available on-line shortly at :
http://www.ocua.ca/ocua/election/current/bios.html
A text version follows below.
Thanks,
Stephan Suys
Elections Officer
-----
Sam Armstrong
=============
Board Experience
Commerce Director 1984
Condominium Corporation Board of Directors 1985 - Accounting
Steering Committee for Round the World Challenge of Mike
Nemesvary
Director Toybook 1995 - 2003
President of Toybook 2000-2002
Toybook is a partnership of four major Canadian toy
suppliers who publish a toy catalog for use by toy specialty
retailers
Conducted and presented Market Survey to the Ottawa Symphony
Orchestra BOD 1986
Director, BOD Schleich North America L.P. 2001-2003
Education
B. Comm honours Marketing & Finance 1985
Work Experience
Social Policy and Market Research Consultant 1986-1988
President and Entrepreneur, Party Pigs 1988 -2001
Director and General Manager, Schleich North America 2001-2003
I managed a company which experienced 40% compound growth
for 8 years. Was a major distributor in Canada for Science &
Nature products. Negotiated financing which exceeded 7
figures with two major banks. Our firm developed product
which won gold star awards with the Canadian Toy Testing
Council.
Was a Speaker at the inaugural Canadian Museum Association
Retail Conference.
I am presently responsible for North American operations of
a German toy manufacturer. Responsible for ‘driving
business’ which includes meeting sales and profit targets,
managing 20 employees and 60 commissioned sales agents.
Develop, monitor and meet financial budgets. Our company won
a 2003 vendor award of excellence from TSC (a $1 billion
plus retail operation) and was the only company with less
than 1,000 employees to receive such an award.
Ultimate
I have been an active player since 1986. I participated in
the first Nationals as a member of Ottawa’s competitive
team. Been on too many league teams to remember. My ultimate
highlight has been to be a competitive player at Nationals
in the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. My children are now actively
involved in Ultimate as well.
Volunteer - Having been in the league since the original 5
teams I have picked up too many cones, written for Tour,
billeted out of town players, set up scaffolding for
filming, done high school demos etc... Lately I have been a
Kid’s Ultimate coach and volunteered for the Ontario High
School Provincials. I was also a shareholder of UPI and have
donated back my share to OCUA.
What do I bring to the board - administrative competence,
financial competence and a hard nosed respect for
communication and time lines. Why now? Frankly, I avoid
volunteer organizations like the plague because those who
volunteer are not appreciated, overworked and criticized,
however, I truly love Ultimate, believe in OCUA and always
believe the glass is half full. The OCUA BOD has recognized
it needs new and different skills and I believe I possess
the managerial skills and previous board experience to be
successful. I am also a passionate Ultimate player for the
past17 years and have previously demonstrated my willingness
to volunteer for this organization.
Platform
Essentially bring board and financial experience to the
current BOD. Ensure timeliness of communication and
financial planning and budgets. Do not favour increasing
team fees without a reason but would be interested in
introducing a volunteer or pay extra component as is done in
other sports. Presenly do not favour paying for volunteers.
Would like to see more decentralized work in the
cells/committees. Stronger and more vocal action with
respect to political lobbying. If we decide that new land
purchases will occur in the next few years I would like to
see maintenance done within the organization on a paid basis
rather than outside contracting in order to develop this
competence. Playoff consistency and or course... beer to
the winner’s.
Cory Bowditch
=============
What do I do for a living? I build computer networks and
write software to support those networks. But that's just
what I do to fill in the time between games.
How have I been involved with OCUA? I've played 2 to 3 times
a week, Summer and Fall, for eight years. I've done the
score and time keeping, and numerous other duties, at the Co-
ed Jamboree this year, the past two Nationals held in Ottawa
and No Borders since 2000. I've been Tournament Director for
the Summer League Finals for the past four years. And I’ve
been a member of the OCUA Board of Directors on an interim
basis for the past three months.
There are two primary issues that I see facing OCUA in the
immediate future. First, and foremost is securing more field
space to allow us to grow. Second, is improving the level of
service to our membership.
In order to secure more fields, we must gain the support of
City Council. I believe that there are two ways to gain that
support. We must raise the association's profile in the
community through continued support of charitable
organizations. Also, it has been made clear that sports with
a significant youth component get more support. As such, I
think OCUA should be doing everything it can to expand the
Children’s League beyond the children of our membership to
the community at large and to further efforts to aid school
boards in starting a High School intramural program.
Since OCUA’s growth is in a forced plateau due to the field
issues, I believe that this time should also be spent
improving those aspects of the association’s services that
are most visible to our members. I would see the
communications efforts initiated by the current Board or
Directors continued. I think they have been doing a
wonderful job. I would also like to see better lead time in
the scheduling of games. Better coordination of tournaments
such that all OCUA-sanctioned events provide the level of
service our members have come to expect.
Lee Donovan
============
BIO:
I have been playing Ultimate in Ottawa since 1988. For many
years I was coach and captain of a traveling competitive
team (Roadkill/Sphinxter Wax). Lately, I have been a captain
of a lower tier team that always brings in new players,
teaching them the rules and SOTG which we have won numerous
times. It is in this capacity that I believe keeps me in
touch with the heartbeat of this league (as opposed to
playing solely in the upper tiers). Currently I play for the
Huckin Hores (mon tier 8) and the Loons (wed tier 3). During
the last half dozen years I have been playing competitive
masters with Liver Spot, Peace Frog and others. I have also
spent a great deal of time volunteering helping out at local
tournaments and as a member of the web team.
Justification for election to the BOD:
PRO:
I am outspoken, opinionated and not afraid to say what I
think. But I am flexible, willing to listen to opposing
views and change my mind if justifiable.
CON:
I am outspoken, opinionated and not afraid to say what I
think.
Election Platform:
1. Communication with OCUA members.
a. Publish BOD meeting minutes on web page.
b. Publish main goals and accomplishments of BOD.
c. Publish goals/accomplishments for each BOD member
(Thus allowing more intelligent choices for OCUA members)
d. Have place on web for comments/questions for the BOD.
e. Publish how individual BOD members vote on issues.
(again allowing more intelligent choices for OCUA members)
2. Fiscal responsibility and reporting to OCUA members.
3. Responsible growth of OCUA.
4. Pressure city councillors (in a mature professional way)
to come through on promises of replacement fields for the
sod farm.
5. Establish a budget and schedule to maintain UPI (MHJ want
a job?)
a. hire part-time students for grunt work.
b. Single point of contact for all things UPI.
6. Develop a fair and reasonable way to handle contraction
if needed.
7. Re-organize the structure of the BOD and redistribute the
work .
Mike Harley
===========
My name is Mike Harley and I am running for OCUA's board of
directors. I hope you will vote for me in the election next
week.
I have been playing Ultimate in OCUA for 16 years.
I was elected to OCUA's board of directors and served as its
president for a two year term. During that time I
participated in the negotiations and development of UP Inc
as well as many other league tasks and decisions.
I started the "Ultimate Happenings" e-mail newsletter and
was the editor for five years.
I was the editor of TOUR for one year (and one rare and
valuable issue).
Frankly, I surprised myself by running for the board again.
I remember how much work it is. There are many 20 or 30 hour
work weeks. There is always too much to do and too few hands
to do it. It can be frustrating and tiring. However,
Ultimate has given me a lot over the years and OCUA's
volunteers always need more help.
I would like to take a moment to thank all the volunteers
(on and off the board) for the great job and hard work they
have done. Ken Lange in particular is doing a great job as
president of the league. He is always a calm voice in a sea
of chaos. I strongly suggest that you vote for him this
year! Finally, Deb Murphy and Robin Kealey, who are retiring
this year, deserve their rest.
Some of the goals I would like to accomplish while on the
board are:
A) Improve communication between the board and the league.
Create a mechanism (for example a web based form) that OCUA
members can use to submit questions, comments and
suggestions to the board. Save these ideas in a knowledge
base available on OCUA's website. Track the progress of each
idea as it is worked on. This would generate a list of
frequently asked questions (FAQ) and their answers which we
could also maintain.
Establish a better method of communicating to the league
what the board is doing. For example, a summary could be
sent out regularly in Ultimate Happenings. This summary
could detail what each cell in the board is working on and
has completed recently. It could also announce new decisions
and policies the board has finalized.
B) Establish methods to allow the board to operate more
efficiently.
Document sharing and other collaborative procedures will
improve communication within the board. Establishing
deadlines and keeping stricter adherence to them will speed
up tasks and decision making.
A more efficient board means we can get more done but more
importantly it makes the process less frustrating for
everyone involved. Less frustration equals happier
volunteers and less burn out.
C) Find, buy and develop more Ultimate fields.
UP Inc gives us solid control of roughly 40% of the fields
OCUA currently uses. Leaving us vulnerable to losing the
other fields we rent or use which are under the control of
others. OCUA is in a good position financially. The
mortgages on UP Inc are paid off. Our bank balance is
healthy. Purchasing and developing more of our own fields
gives us better control of our future. The above items are
just some of the many that the board needs to address. Other
issues such as bylaw reform, election procedural changes,
support for competitive ultimate, league sponsorship,
attracting league advisors and parties without disco music
are also very important.OCUA has always been a volunteer
league. There is always a lot to do. Volunteers are always
needed. Please consider helping out if you can.
Thank you for taking the time to read this far. If you have
any questions feel free to send me an e-mail at
mharley@sympatico.ca
Mike Harley
Ken Lange
=========
OCUA Involvement
President (Sep. 2000-present)
OCUA Board of Directors (Sept. 1998-present)
UP Inc. Board of Directors (1997-present)
OCUA Structure Committee (1998)
OCUA Share Sales Committee (1997)
OCUA Webmaster/Web Team Leader (1997-1999)
13th Canadian Nationals Organizing Committee (1999)
16th Canadian Nationals Volunteer (2002)
No Borders Tournament Volunteer (1999-present)
Spring Tuneup Tournament Co-Director, (1997-1999)
Teams:
Dick & Jane Layout, Wed 5/2 (1995-present), Outlaws, Mon/Tue
4/3 (1996-1997), Girlie Drink Drunks, Mon 43 (1997-2000),
Sweet Daddy Whup Ass, Mon 43 (2001-present), Voodoo
Lovedolls, open competitive (1997- 1999),Curse, open
competitive (2000-2001), Phoenix, open competitive (2002),
Smell My Mule, masters competitive (2003)
OCUA Vision
As a member of the Board of Directors, and as President, I
have always been committed to trying to improve how OCUA
functions as an organization, and that remains my focus.
Although progress has been slower than I would have liked, I
believe that we are now turning a corner to be a much
stronger, more effective organization. We have a paid
general manager in place, which has been a phenomenal help,
but having that position has also exposed other weaknesses
in our organization and it's structure. We have great people
working for us, but we need to reevaluate how all the pieces
fit together and make changes so that they can be more
effective, and so that the whole experience of working for
the organization can be more rewarding. This year's board
started that process, and I am committed to seeing that
through, as so many of our problems are compounded by this
less than optimal organization.
There are of course, other major issues to address. We've
significantly improved our financial management, but we
still have substantial improvements to make. Our
communications, while improved in many ways, still needs to
be better, particularly in terms of communications with
members. Field issues continue to be paramount, as I'm sure
you know. And despite years of experience to draw on, summer
league did not run very smoothly this year, something I
don't want to see happen again.
These are all issues that need to be addressed in order for
us to move forward, while still maintaining a solid grasp on
the fundamental principles and mores inherent in our sport.
This is what I've always tried to exemplify in my service to
date. I try to combine sound judgement with a willingness to
listen to opposing views in order to reach fair and
reasonable decisions. I have always been open to discussion,
and encouraged member feedback. I would appreciate the
opportunity to continue to bring that to the table along
with my years of experience, in order to help see through
what we have started.
Thanks, and please encourage your team to seriously consider
all the candidates, and to vote responsibly. This is YOUR
organization, and it is what YOU make it.
Cheers!
Ken
Luc Langelier
=============
BIO:
I've been a member of OCUA for some time. I love the game,
I'm passionate about its success.
Important points to ponder this year:
- Improve communication with OCUA BoD
- Create a new elections procedure and have it voted on in
the spring at the captains meeting.
- Increase the number of directors from 8 to 12.
- Create an executive committee to handle the day to day
stuff so directors don’t burn out.
- Be open to assisting independent ultimate leagues around
the region.
Look for mutually beneficial ways of co-operating with other
people to expand the sport of ultimate in regions where OCUA
has traditionally not been able to get a foothold. This might
even mean regionalization of OCUA into
east/west/south/elite/etc. divisions in order to provide
ultimate games closer to home and better ultimate in
general.
Jennifer Wilkie
===============
I would like to volunteer my skills and expertise to be on
the OCUA Board of Directors so that I may give something
back to the ultimate community that has had such a strong
impact on me since moving to Ottawa in the mid 1990's.
As an OCUA member for the past 8 years, I have met, know and
respect a vast amount of Ottawa Ultimate players. I have
also captained many teams including taking a team in the
1998 Nationals in Montreal.
Due to the Ottawa ultimate league growing in leaps and
bounds over the past several years, I believe it is now more
important than ever for the Board of Directors and other
organizers of the sport to be in a strong position to deal
with the City of Ottawa and to help the league develop and
expand and become a major partner in the community and
especially to deal with the impending field shortage issues.
As a lawyer and a partner in a large law firm in Ottawa, I
feel that I have strong skills that would assist and benefit
OCUA and therefore I would welcome the chance to be a part
of their initiative. My legal background is patent law, and
my legal skills involve reviewing all types of papers,
contracts, agreements and documents and being able to
effectively communicate in a large variety of legal
contexts.
I hope you will consider my application for the Board of
Directors.
Jennifer Wilkie
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