VYSA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
June 23, 2007

The Annual General Meeting of the Virginia Youth Soccer Association, Inc. was called to order by President Denise Edwards at the Sheraton Richmond West at 10:00 AM.

Representatives from each member club or league were asked to sign in. The following members were present: Annandale Boys and Girls Club, DC Stoddert Soccer League, Fairfax Police Youth Club, Loudoun Youth Soccer Association, Portsmouth Youth Soccer, Reston Soccer Association, Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle, Stafford Area Soccer Association, Virginia Rush, Blue Ridge Classic League, National Capital Soccer League, Old Dominion Soccer League, SOCA Skyline Soccer League, Virginia Club Champions League, Washington Area Girls Soccer League. A quorum was established.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the June 17, 2006, Annual General Meeting. The motion was approved.

President Denise Edwards explained that each member is eligible for the number of votes equal to the number of paid registered players as submitted to VYSA. Each member present received an envelope of ballots when they signed in that indicated their number of votes.

President Denise Edwards chaired the election of VYSA Board members. She announced the positions up for election this year:
Officers - Vice President, Secretary
Recreation Commissioners - North, Central, West
Travel Commissioners- VCCL, VSLI, ODSL
The Chair announced Ray Greenberg had been nominated for the position of Vice President and that Ray had accepted the nomination. The Chair called for nominations from the floor for the position of Vice President. There being no further nominations for Vice President, the Chair declared the nominations closed. A motion was made and seconded to declare Ray Greenberg elected to the position of Vice President by acclamation. The motion was approved.

The Chair announced that Roger Underhill had been nominated for the position of Secretary and that Roger had accepted the nomination. The Chair called for nominations from the floor for the position of Secretary. There being no further nominations for position of Secretary, the Chair declared the nominations closed. A motion was made and seconded to declare Roger Underhill elected to the position of Secretary by acclamation. The motion was approved.

The Chair announced that Bob Maynes had been nominated for the position of North Recreation Commissioner and that Bob had accepted the nomination. The Chair called for nominations from the floor for the position of North Recreation Commissioner. There being no further nominations for the position of North Recreation Commissioner, the Chair declared the nominations closed. A motion was made and seconded to declare Bob Maynes elected to the position of North Recreation Commissioner by acclamation. The motion was approved.

The Chair announced that John Singleton had been nominated for the position of West Recreation Commissioner and that John had accepted the nomination. The Chair called for nominations from the floor for the position of West Recreation Commissioner. There being no further nominations for position of West Recreation Commissioner, the Chair declared the nominations closed. A motion was made and seconded to declare John Singleton elected to the position of West Recreation Commissioner by acclamation. The motion was approved.

The Chair announced that there were no nominations for the position of Central Recreation Commissioner. The Chair called for nominations from the floor for the position of Central Recreation Commissioner. There being none, the position of Central Recreation Commissioner remains open and will be filled by appointment of the Board of Directors.

The Chair announced that Lorelle Myer had been nominated for the position of VCCL Travel Commissioner and that Lorelle had accepted the nomination. The Chair called for nominations from the floor for the position of VCCL Travel Commissioner. There being no further nominations for the position of VCCL Travel Commissioner, the Chair declared the nominations closed. A motion was made and seconded to declare Lorelle Myer elected to the position of VCCL Travel Commissioner by acclamation. The motion was approved.

The Chair announced that Paul O’Connell had been nominated for the position of ODSL Travel Commissioner and that Paul had accepted the nomination. The Chair called for nominations from the floor for the position of ODSL Travel Commissioner. There being no further nominations for the position of ODSL Travel Commissioner, the Chair declared the nominations closed. A motion was made and seconded to declare Paul O’Connell elected to the position of ODSL Travel Commissioner by acclamation. The motion was approved.

The Chair announced that there were no nominations for the position of VSLI Travel Commissioner. The Chair called for nominations from the floor for the position of VSLI Travel Commissioner. There being none, the position of VSLI Travel Commissioner remains open and will be filled by appointment of the Board of Directors.

VYSA Officers for 2007-2008 are as follows:

President - Denise Edwards
Vice President - Ray Greenberg
Secretary - Roger Underhill
Treasurer - Jim Bonfils

VYSA Recreational Commissioners for 2007-2008 are as follows:

North Recreational Commissioner - Bob Maynes
North Recreational Commissioner - Steve Bender
DC Recreational Commissioner - Tom Gross
Central Recreational Commissioner - VACANT
Southeast Recreational Commissioner - Matt Hinson
West Recreational Commissioner - John Singleton

VYSA Travel Commissioners for 2007-2008 are as follows:

NCSL Travel Commissioner - Debi Honaker
VCCL Travel Commissioner - Lorelle Myer
BRCL Travel Commissioner - John Singleton
VSLI Travel Commissioner - VACANT
WAGS Travel Commissioner - Anne Thompson
ODSL Travel Commissioner - Paul O’Connell

The meeting was turned over to Vice President Ray Greenberg to conduct the approval of the proposed bylaw amendment, the approval of the annual budget, and approval of a fee increase for the 2008-2009 seasonal year.

Vice President Ray Greenberg presented a proposed amendment to the By-Laws that was timely submitted for approval. A motion was made and seconded to amend the bylaws to add a provision for recovery of grievance expenses when an appeal of a decision rendered by VYSA is made to the US Soccer Federation and the decision by VYSA is upheld. Ray explained that if a party brings a grievance against VYSA which goes to USSF or if the party takes VYSA to court, VYSA should change its bylaws to include the recovery of expenses for handling the grievance or a suit against VYSA to include attorney fees and reasonable compensation such as travel. It was noted that there have been a few cases filed to USSF that cost the State Associations considerable amounts of money. The motion was approved.

Ray presented the proposed 2007-2008 VYSA Budget for approval. Ray highlighted several items of significance. He noted VYSA now has a full time Director of Coaching Education and there are increases to Regional expenses for State Cup. A motion was made and seconded to adopt the budget as presented. The motion passed; the 2007-2008 VYSA Budget (Attachment A) was approved.

Ray Greenberg noted that the VYSA Board of Directors recommended a fee increase of $1.50 per player for the 2008-2009 seasonal year. A motion was made and seconded to approve the fee increase. A motion to amend was made that the fee increase be $1.50 for recreational players and 50¢ for travel players. It was explained that travel fees were previously raised, with the approval of the travel leagues, by $2 per player to cover the costs of set up and maintenance of the online travel registration system. Now that the set up costs have been paid, only maintenance is required at a cost of about $1 per player necessitating only a 50¢ per player increase. The motion to amend was seconded and approved. The motion as amended was approved.

David James of Blue Ridge Classic League asked for an explanation of what registration fees cover. It was explained by referring to the budget that only a small portion of revenue comes from registration fees and that most of the program activity is self sustaining. It was further explained that of each player’s registration fee, $2 is paid directly to USSF and US Youth Soccer and approximately $1 is paid for insurance. The balance covers operational expenses, VYSA programs, and member benefits such as State Office, staff, Workshop and much more. It was noted that VYSA fees are lower than most State Associations and programs, such as coaching education, are subsidized by VYSA, keeping the costs for participation low.

David James of Blue Ridge Classic League also asked whether travel teams must be disbanded if they register for play the Fall season and choose to sit out the Spring season. There is no VYSA rule requiring that a team that registered in the Fall be disbanded if they do not participate in the Spring.

State Administrator Julie Caramanica reported that there are still several clubs that have not submitted Spring registration fees or Spring data. A list of those clubs was distributed. It was noted that September is Youth Soccer Month and all VYSA members were encouraged to participate in some way and promote Youth Soccer Month.

A motion was made and seconded to ratify the actions of the Board for the past year. The motion was approved.

There being no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 am.

Prepared by
Julie Caramanica
VYSA Administrator