LCIHA General Membership Meeting Minutes

Time/Place: 7/1/03, 7:00 P.M., Jett Hall Rm. 283, NMSSU

Present: Chris Christeson, Ben Clark, Cyndy Clark, John Jacobs, Peter Kane, Tom King, David Rockstraw, Hugo Vilchis, Hugo Vilchis Jr., Patty Walters, Derrik Wootton,

Minutes:

v Elections: Derrik has prepared a letter to be sent out to the membership announcing the names of the persons who will be serving on the Board and taking over the Officers’ positions for the coming term, and asking for support for these individuals. Since there was no competition for any of the spots, there is no reason to go through the ritual and expense of a ballot and election.

v East Mesa Rec Center: Funding has been approved for the building of a new Rec Center on the East Mesa, to be built in phases with Phase I building commencing this year. Ken Barton, Director of General Services for the County (kenb@co.dona-ana.nm.us) wants to build us a full size pad as part of this project. The pad would be dedicated for our use only, and will have lights. We will have to provide our own boards, shade etc. The county commissioners need to vote to approve this expenditure before construction can begin. In the opinion of the Board, the only possible drawback is that the site may be perceived as being a little off the beaten path for some of our membership. A motion was made to continue to pursue this funding from the county; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. A list of county commissioners and their contact information will be posted on the LCIHA Website, and the membership should be encouraged to contact the commissioner from their district to express their views.

v Derrik will turn over all of the receipts and other pertinent documents from the 100 Hour Tournament to outgoing Treasurer Kevin McNelis so he can include them in his final reports. Chris Burnham will be taking over as Treasurer for Kevin McNelis. Kevin is willing to assist in the preparation of the end of the year reports, as well as the tax filing for next year. Tom King will replace Kevin as a signatory on the checking account.

v The Board, Officers and Membership are encouraged to seek business sponsorships for the coming fall season as part of our ongoing fund-raising effort. Sponsors would have their names/businesses advertised on banners hung at the rink on game days. Suggested sponsorship amount is $150.00.

v Our by-laws authorize the Board to terminate the membership of individuals whose conduct is considered detrimental to the best interest of the LCIHA (Article 3, Section 4). There may be a need to exercise this right during fall registration. There was some extremely poor behavior and unsportsmanlike conduct on the part of some individuals during the U17 Championship game.

v Registration for the Fall season will be one day only -- August 9^th at Meerscheidt. Registrations received by August the 11^th at our P.O. Box will be considered on-time; late registration fees will apply for all registrations received after the 11^th. The season will start on August 23^rd and conclude no later than December 6^th. The team formation meeting will take place on Tuesday August 12^th, time and place to be announced.

v A list of PAYS training dates/times/locations will be posted on our Website. The City conducts this training and yearly documented attendance by at least one parent/guardian of youth athletes is mandatory. Parents/guardians of youth hockey players must attend a session by Sept 7^th OR within 2 weeks of the expiration of their validation, or the youth will not be allowed to play until the session is attended and the validation obtainedby his/her parent or guardian.

v Sportsmanship training will be conducted by our Board members by Age Division in sessions to be scheduled on August 18^th, 19^th, 21^st and 22^nd (again, locations and times TBA). Emphasis will be on USAHI rule changes (available for review on their Website) and the LCIHA rule changes that were enacted last year (in particular the fighting rule). Dave will update the power point presentation that is available on-line, but it will be unavailable until after these sessions have been conducted. It is the belief of the Board and Officers that we need to make a more concerted effort to convey the importance of good sportsmanship to our membership, and that this can best be accomplished in face to face meetings.

v Registration Fees: John Jacobs voiced the opinion that our fees are too low for the value provided to our membership. A lengthy discussion ensued during which the pros and cons of raising the fees were debated. Those supporting a fee increase feel that the money generated by an increase in fees could be used to upgrade our existing equipment, and to save for future capital expenditures. The latter will be particularly important if the pad on the East Mesa is built and we need to come up with money for boards, shade etc. Another use for the additional revenue could be an increase in the pay for our referees. Commensurate with this pay increase would be more stringent controls on the quality of our referees. Improvements in our ref pool will be accomplished by holding more clinics and workshops, instituting a probationary period for new refs, and monitoring recertification more carefully. Dave Rockstraw opposed the fee increase on the grounds that he wants to keep the program affordable for anyone who wants to play, and he feels that we have enough money in the bank already to cover a good portion of the proposed equipment and future capital expenditures. Moreover, he feels that the refereeing should be improved before the membership is hit with the higher fees. John Jacobs made a motion that the fees be raised by $5 per division, with the additional monies being used for the purposes set forth above. The motion was seconded and passed by a vote of 5 for, 1 opposed.

v Dave Rockstraw made a motion to strike the clause in Article 11 of our by-laws that prohibits anyone in the U17 division from being allowed to play up to O17 unless they are a goalie. Requests for playing could be reviewed on a case by case basis by the Board. The motion was seconded and passed by a vote of 5 for, 1 opposed.

Respectfully Submitted: Patty Walters, Secretary, LCIHA