HILLCREST VILLAGE SOCCER CLUB Inc. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Wednesday, January 29, 2003 Location: Oriole Community centre, 2945 Don Mills Road, Gallery Room Time: 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM. Board members present: Rob Hearst, Cyndie Blackmore, Carolyn Eggleston, Jim Macdonald, Rod Bemister, Elizabeth Baranyi. Club members present: Rick Ross, Vic Schroter, Andy Leeksma, Bill Cook, Bonnie Good, Wayne Wavryk, Lloyd Leonard, Richard Aqui, Harry Huyer, Owen Tulk, Mark Kennedy, Holly Ruccia, Tony Ruccia, Novo Micic, John McGlynn, Haidi Lachance, Marc Lachance, David Halprin, Marlene Silver, Gail Armstrong, Randy Armstrong, Ian Christensen, Catherine Dunlop, Luch Corso, Lynn Corso, Brian Harris, Andrew Fan, Steve Watt, Tes Rebello, Joseph H Adam, Samson Lai, Qi Liu, Norman Chin Lue, Richard Kuczynski, David Yee, Jamie Lewis, Kitty Kao, Bernard Choi. Minutes: 1. Call to order: The meeting was called to order by Rob Hearst, the president of Hillcrest Village Soccer Club (HVSC hereafter) at 8:45 pm. 2. Review of 2001 AGM minutes: The minutes of the 2001 AGM where not available for review. The meeting moved to the next agenda item. 3.President's Report: Mr Hearst expressed that HVSC had a good 2002 season with a registration base of over 750 players from ages 5 to 18. He acknowledged the efforts of the board members, and presented them to the member base. 4. Treasurer s Report: The financial report (attached as appendix A) was presented by the treasurer Cyndie Blackmore. Motion was put forward by David Halprin to accept the report. It was seconded by Bill Cook. All were in favour, the report was passed. The question was raised form the floor about the discrepancy between last year s and this year s referee fees. The response came from randy Armstrong as to the fact that this year the referee s uniforms were included the in the costing of the referees fees.
Ms Blackmore the treasurer was asked by the floor if there is a requirement to conduct an audit. According to the constitution the only requirement is for the statements to be checked by two members of the board. Ms Blackmore stated that we could have the statements audited, at an approximate cost of $5000 to the club. 5. Registrar/statistician s Report: The registration process was explained by Rod Bemister as follows; each application went through the treasurer first who deposited the registration fee and accumulated the list of players to be submitted for insurance coverage to the North York Soccer Association ( NYSA hereafter), then the treasurer passed the registration forms to the registrar who added the name of the player to the players database. It was the consensus of the board that this system was very effective. The player base was maintained in an access database, and exported to the LCR database for submission to NYSA. The LCR is a custom database system of the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA hereafter) in which NYSA and OSA would like to receive the players information. Mr. Bemister said that HVSC had 783 players in the database. Owen Tulk motioned to accept the report, and Bonnie Good seconded. Rob Bemister was commended for his efforts in maintaining the players database as well as the web site, and the statistics. 6. Equipment Manager s Report: Jim MacDonald, the equipment manager, said that all equipment was returned to the club, and has been stored in the lockup storage at Cummer C.C. In addition, many people returned their old uniforms which the club will donate to an organisation for distribution to First Nations. Luch Corso motioned to accept the equipment manager s report, and Harry Huyer seconded it. The report was accepted. 7. Liaison Officer s Report: Carolyn Eggleston, the liaison officer, explained that the sponsorship was marginally lower than last year, but it still worked out, and the majority of the teams had a sponsor. Harry Huyer asked what the minimum sponsorship amount was. The liaison officer replied that it was $250 last year, but it will be taken to the table for discussion by the new board, prior to the commencement of the season, as this amount barely covers the screening of the sponsor s logo and name on the jerseys and offers no extra to the team. In particular the coast of screening the sponsor s name on the select jersey s is more costly because of the double jerseys. Ms Eggleston continued and said that the uniforms were delivered on time, and the quality was satisfactory. The distribution of uniforms was not performed adequately, primarily because some coaches disregarded the instructions that accompanied the uniforms. Marc Lachance commented that the uniforms must be made longer, both the shorts and the shirts. Comment was noted, and the liaison officer expressed that this comment was made several times through the season. The complaint has been and will be again communicated to Team Mates and HVSC will request longer shorts and shirts this year. It was asked how do we select the supplier. The response was that in past years we had about three suppliers bid on the project, the HVSC board then took all offers into consideration, and selected the supplier. HVSC has gone with Team Mates in the last 3 years because of their good track record. Team Mates are not necessarily the lowest bidders, but they work in a timely fashion, they deliver quality and are very cooperative. HVSC will most probably go with the same supplier this year, although it does not preclude inviting other bidders. Randy
Armstrong added that in the past Hillcrest was burned by accepting a lower bid, the draw back of which was that the material was not supplied in time and in good quality. Marc Lachance motioned to accept the liaison officer s report, Bill Cook seconded it. Motion passed. 8. Statistician s Report: Rod Bemister, the statistician, started the website and the statistics from scratch. While he was setting it up, and putting the information on line, he got feedback from the community member base upon which he acted. The website contained the team lists, the statistics, the schedule, and a direct access to the HVSC board members. The site averaged 220 hits a week, the week of the play-offs, the site recorded over 750 hits. Overall there were 20000 hits on the HVSC website last season. The website is still in its infancy, it can be improved. The statistician expressed that he enjoyed setting up and maintaining the site. The motion was made by Carolyn Eggleston to accept the statistician s report, it was seconded by Gail Armstrong. It carried. 9. Head Referee s Report: Elizabeth Baranyi, the head referee, explained that before the beginning of the season the head referee organises a level 4 referee clinic, for new referees and a refresher clinic for returning referees. Furthermore every year we refer experienced referees to apply for level three qualification. The club pays for the certification of its referees, and their uniforms. HVSC had 43 referees to draw upon in the last season. The head referee is in charge of the schedule of the referees, and accountable for their calls and behaviour. Ms Baranyi said that she enjoyed working with the referees, and that HVSC has a group of dynamic and reliable referees. The motion made by Bill Cook to accept the report, seconded by Bonnie Good. It carried. 10. Election of Officers: Election of president: Rob Hearst, the current president expressed that all positions are open for nomination from the floor, except for the president s position. The presidency is a two year appointment, at the end of which, unless there are no nominations, the president can not serve a third year. In addition, according to the bylaws of 1994 the prerequisite to be eligible for the candidacy of the presidency is to have served a minimum of two (2) years on the board, one of which must be the preceding year. Gail Armstrong objected, and said that according to the 1998 amended version of the bylaws, an eligible candidate is a candidate that has served on the board for a minimum of two (2) years during the past 5 years without a requirement of having been on the board the preceding season. At the current time, Rob Hearst has served for two (2) years, and unless no other candidate stands, he is not eligible to serve a third year. Steve Watt requested a clarification on the discrepancy. He motioned that since the board has functioned with its 1994 version of the bylaws those are the ones that should be taken into consideration. Harry Huyer asked for the historical background on the discrepancy: the response was that the eligibility for the presidents position in the bylaws of 1994 stated as prerequisite a two year service on the board, one of which must precede the year of the candidacy.
This prerequisite limits the number of eligible candidates. In 1998 this prerequisite was amended as 2 years in the last 5 year, and a third year of service if no other candidate stands. This decision was made as the result of not having any candidates for the position, and in the threatening situation of the possibility of the league folding. Rod Bemister asked who the eligible people are at this time, and asked that those that are eligible stand so that the floor becomes aware of the potential candidates. Bonnie Good asked if the HVSC actually is in possession if a signed copy of the bylaws and amendment in terms of its legality. No member present was aware of the existence of a signed copy. Marlene Silver said that in this case from a legal perspective we have nothing. David Yee from the floor remembered the AGM in 1998 when the eligibility for the presidency was opened and the amendment was made. Harry Huyer suggested to go ahead in good faith and accept the eligible and nearly eligible candidates, and let the floor decide. In order to circumvent the discrepancy in the bylaws, Mark Kennedy made a motion to proceed and nominate candidates. The Floor suggested that all those eligible for the presidency in both versions of the bylaws be named. The eligible people consist of: Carolyn Eggleston: liaison officer for the last 3 consecutive years Jim MacDonald: Equipment manager for the last 3 consecutive years. Gail Armstrong: Past president from 1997 to 1999. Ms Armstrong has not held a board position since. Elizabeth Baranyi: Head referee for the last 2 consecutive years. Mrs. Eggleston and Mr. MacDonald did not wish to run for the presidency. Mrs. Armstrong protested the eligibility of Elizabeth Baranyi, stating that Ms Baranyi was not voted in at the AGM of 2001, but was voted in by the board in a subsequent board meeting in April of 2001, and hence technically Ms. Baranyi has not served on the board for 2 full years. Ms Baranyi expressed that she has served 2 full seasons, but the response did not satisfy Ms. Armstrong, who maintained her protest against Ms. Baranyi s eligibility. The floor then asked explicitly who would like to run for the presidency. Mrs. Gail Armstrong stood and expressed her candidacy. She then spoke of her long list of qualifications. She obtained the trophy case in Cummer C.C. for Hillcrest Village soccer club. She put in motion the construction of the HVSC storage room attached to the south end of Cummer C.C.. She was secretary at HVSC for 2 years, and the president for 3 years, the following year she was the administrator, which is not a board position, hence Mrs. Armstrong was paid for her much valued efforts as administrator. It was her idea to implement the referee clinic. Mrs Armstrong coached numerous house league and select teams for HVSC, she continued and added few more credentials to her long list of qualifications. The second person to stand as a candidate for the presidency was Elizabeth Baranyi. Ms. Baranyi complimented Mrs Armstrong on her impressive qualifications. Then she said that she served for 2 years as head referee, during which she learned a great deal. She enjoyed her duties as head referee and is was a pleasure working with The HVSC
officials. Ms Baranyi said she knows there is a lot more to learn, and she will do her best to serve the community would she be elected in the capacity of the president. The vote was performed by ballots. Two people were named to count the ballots: Carolyn Eggleston from the board, and Rick Ross a non voting attendee who has no child in the league. Both authorities agreed on the count, and announced Ms. Elizabeth Baranyi as the new president. Mr. Mark Kennedy asked if the floor may know the figures which decided the new president. The figures were disclosed as 27 votes for Ms Baranyi and 11 votes for Mrs Armstrong. Mr. Harry Huyer asked if the vote is accepted to destroy the ballot, and the motion carried. Election of the Executive Vice-president: Mr. Rob Hearst described the position, please see appendix B. Mrs. Gail Armstrong nominated Mr. Randy Armstrong for this position, and Mr. Owen Tulk nominated Mr. Rob Hearst, Mr. Steve Watt seconded the nomination. Gail Armstrong protested Rob s eligibility. She said that Mr. Hearst, by the nature of his employment travels and is absent for prolonged periods of time, while this position requires a person that is available throughout the season. The floor requested clarification about how the responsibility is fulfilled at Mr. Hearst s absence. The board said that in the past the board ensured that all areas were adequately attended to by the members present. In addition, Mr. Hearst has always been readily available via email to offer his comments, advice, and support. In short the board members will ensure that the job is done. Randy Armstrong explained his credentials. Mr. Armstrong held the position of executive vice-president last year until the month of April when he resigned from the position because of work related reasons. Since the board did not fill the vacancy, Mr. Armstrong continued as the convenor of select teams and liaison with NYSA and OSA and looked after this area. Mr. Armstrong has a long list of credentials among which is his long standing relationship he built over the years with NYSA, and his successful coaching carrier of select teams. Mr Armstrong s teams have won trophies for Hillcrest numerous times, in tournaments as well as in the NYSA league. Gail Armstrong protested the nomination of Mr. Rob Hearst, she said that the nominees should know about competitive soccer, and stressed that Randy Armstrong is very qualified and has a long track record to prove it. While this is not the case with Mr. Hearst. Mr. Rob Hearst expressed his qualification as follows: He has been the house league vice-president of HVSC (2 years), and has served as president for the last two (2) years. During his many years at HVSC he coached both house league and the select teams. He coached the same select team for two (2) years. He acknowledged that his select team did poorly in the standing but that the players had fun and came out to every game. The election was performed by ballots. Mr. Hearst won the election with a vote of 25 to 15.
At this point Mr. Lloyd Leonard asked about the screening of the coaches and asked if HVSC can ensure that there will be enough coaches to coach next year. Mr. Hearst replied that we have no alternative to screening all select team officials for the 2003 season and all coaches in 2004, and the club must do its best to ensure that all select teams have coaches. Election of House League Vice-president. Mr. Hearst explained what the position entales. Mr Steve Watt was nominated by Bonnie Good, and Luch Corso seconded. Mr Watt expressed his qualifications: He coached for 5 years for HVSC as his two daughters have been playing. He has been very active with the Willowdale Hockey league, where he held executive positions. His emphasis with the players has always been on fun. We have to keep the focus on the players and their recreation. He expressed that he would like to see a better job done with the balancing of the teams. There were no other nominations, and Mr Watt was appointed by acclamation to this position. Election of Treasurer: Mr Hearst explained what the position entails and continued by nominating Cyndie Blackmore, and Bonnie Good nominated Owen Tulk. Mrs Blackmore declined the position, and Mr. Tulk was appointed by acclamation. Mrs. Blackmore offered her support and help to Mr. Tulk. Mr. Tulk expressed his qualifications: He is a CGA and has been in accounting for 15 years, with 5 years in financial services. Mr Tulk is the new treasurer by acclamation. Election of Registrar: Ms. Elizabeth Baranyi nominated Vic Schroter to the position of registrar, and David Yee seconded it. Vic has been contributing to Hillcrest for the last 11 years. He has 2 sons that have been playing soccer and Mr. Schroter coached over the years. Mr. Schroter was appointed by acclamation. Election of Head Referee: There were no nominations and the position remained vacant. Election of Equipment Manager: Mr Jim MacDonald was willing to continue in his capacity as equipment manager. Mr Rod Bemister nominated him, and Bonnie Good seconded. He was appointed by acclamation. Election of Liaison officer: Mrs. Carolyn Eggleston was willing to continue in her capacity as liaison officer. She expressed that she enjoyed her role, and has established an excellent rapport with the sponsors, as well as the uniform supplier. She is eager to apply her experience and knowledge in this up coming season. Ms Baranyi nominated her and Mr. Hearst seconded the nomination. Mrs. Eggleston was appointed by acclamation. Election of Secretary: Mr. Hearst explained what the position entails. Carolyn Eggleston nominated Catherine Dunlop for the position, and Cyndie Blackmore seconded. Ms. Dunlop was appointed by acclamation. Election of Statistician: Rod Bemister expressed that due to his employment situation he is not able to afford the time, and hence declined to stand for the position again. Carolyn
Eggleston nominated Mark Kennedy, and Bonnie Good seconded. Mr Kennedy accepted the position and was elected by acclamation. Rod Bemister offered his help and assistance to Mark Kennedy. Rod is an invaluable resource and HVSC is very pleased with his offer of support. 11. Appointment of convenors: The following people came forward and accepted the position of convenors for various age groups. Division U6 U8 U10 U12 U14 U17 Appointee Vacant Vacant Marlene Silver Bonnie Good Bill Cook Vacant 12. Other business: Mr. Hearst touched on field fees coming into effect. He said the classification of our fields at the best is C. We are projecting a cost of $16000. A motion was made to draft a constitution this year, out of existing material. With a time limit of September 2003. Mr. Huyer asked about the status of select U18. Mr. Hearst responded that we potentially will be able to enter U15 and up teams in the CTYSL, which is upscale from select. 13. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 11:05. Motion was made by Jamie Lewis and seconded by Elizabeth Baranyi.