INSIDE USA CURLING // BOARD OF DIRECTOR NEWS
gave its unanimous approval to the report. Te report provides as follows: A new Governance Task Force was brought together this summer to re-
view our governance structure in light of the negative feedback from a sig- nificant number of our Members to the earlier proposal. Te group consisted of James Pleasants, Gordon Maclean, Gabrielle Coleman, Chris Sjue, Dave Carlson, Jennifer Stannard, Andy Anderson, Kent Beadle, Ann Swisshelm, John Benton, Leland Rich, Maureen Clark, Carl Tomas, Jeff Hannon, Rich Lepping, and Rick Patzke. Patzke observed and provided information as needed. Aſter three teleconferences and an all-day meeting with a facilitator, we agreed on the following principles of good governance, to guide us as we draſt a new set of bylaws: 1. Need for Change. We recognize that our current bylaws are antiquated,
from a time when we were an all-volunteer organization, and were not the National Governing Body (NGB) for an Olympic sport. Being an NGB car- ries with it a responsibility to develop and carry out a high performance program, and to be good stewards of the funds entrusted to us for that pro- gram, under the terms of the Amateur Sports Act. Our COO and staff over the years have been assigned an increasing workload without receiving ap- propriate corresponding authority under the bylaws. Our structure does not use best practices of governance: our Board should be focused more on policy and strategic planning, leaving the nuts and bolts operations under the direction of the professional staff. We have a Members’ organization that has limited duties and no committees or structure that would allow it to take on more of the operational work. Finally, many of our lines of authority are unclear, or have changed in practice from the way they were written into the bylaws. Tis report sets forth principles and a vision of how our organization can be governed more effectively. 2. Members Meeting. We envision a Members’ Assembly that is signifi-
cantly different from the current Members meeting. First, it is mandatory to have 20 percent athlete participation in the Members’ meeting. Currently, we have no mechanism for athletes to participate in the Members meeting. Te athletes will make a recommendation as to how many athletes they would like to send to the meeting and how they will exercise their votes to achieve the 20 percent. Second, Member participation will include both regional del- egates and club delegates who choose to attend. Voting strength of each del- egate will be based on the number of curlers in each region or club. If a club chooses to attend, their votes will be subtracted from the voting strength of the state or region. Te Members’ Assembly will have primary responsibility for populating our operational committees, and voting for the nationally- elected directors. We also want to make the Members’ Assembly attractive to volunteers to attend by including educational presentations such as club development advice, instructional training, ice-making training and the like. We want to reach out to potential volunteers and communicate that anyone who wants to participate can volunteer, regardless of whether they are delegates or directors. We plan to rotate the Members’ Assembly to dif- ferent regions to make it easier for nearby clubs and curlers to participate.
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usacurl.org
Principles of good governance accepted A
By Dave Carlson, USCA Vice President
t the fall 2012 meeting of the Board of Directors of the United States Curling Association, a report of the new Governance Task Force was presented to its directors. Aſter discussions, the Board
Te Members’ Assembly will remain the ultimate decisionmaker as re-
gards the bylaws and amendments thereto. No club will be required to send a delegate to the Members’ Assembly.
If the club chooses not to send a delegate, the state or region delegates will carry the votes of the curlers from the clubs in the regions. 3. High Performance Program. We need to have a professionally de-
veloped and administered high performance program, free from micro- management or being overruled by the Members' meeting or the Board. Te High Performance staff are accountable to the CEO, who is, in turn, accountable to the Board. We also have reaffirmed our commitment as a matter of policy and long-term competitiveness to determining world teams through competition, and for self-formed teams having a reasonable path to national competition leading to the worlds. 4. Staff Authority. Our chief operating officer will become a chief execu-
tive officer. He or she and his/her professional staff will now be in charge of operations, with committees acting as advisors and assistants to the staff. Tey will be tasked with carrying out the policies and strategic plan devel- oped by the Board, and will have authority as to the specifics of how to ex- ecute those policies and objectives. Te committees will have such respon- sibility as the staff may choose to delegate or assign to the committees. Te CEO will have ultimate responsibility for designating who will serve on the operational committees, except that the 20 percent athletes on the commit- tee will be appointed by the Athletes Advisory Committee (AAC). We have begun the process in anticipation of these changes and have been pleased with the professional way the staff has handled the tasks we have put under their authority. 5. Te Board. Te Board should be policy driven rather than operational.
Its duties should include setting policy, developing a strategic plan, evalu- ating the performance of and hiring/firing the CEO, and review/approval of the budget. It should also take primary responsibility for enhancing the financial well-being of the USCA through fundraising and development of sponsor relationships, and should include members from outside of curling who can help us in this or other areas. Directors on the policymaking board should be guided in their decisions
by the well-being of the USCA rather than regional interests. Communica- tion with the curling community is an important duty. Te directors should have skills needed to carry out the above duties, and should reflect the di- versity of the curling population. Te Board should have some directors that are appointed by regions, some directors who are elected on a national basis, 20 percent athletes selected by the AAC, and some independent directors selected by the board. We have some ideas but do not yet have consensus on how to achieve all of these objectives while keeping the board at an efficient number. Te members of the Task Force continue to invite and request any indi-
viduals and/or representatives of any state or region to communicate any and all concerns or suggestions they may have. Te process of governance reform of the USCA will continue until we have achieved an acceptable structure to meet the needs of the USCA as outlined in this report of the new Governance Task Force. Comments may be communicated to the Task Force through your USCA representative or may be sent directly to jimpleas-
ants@comcast.net. n
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