President's Report

Sept/Oct 2006

By Sheri Soderberg Pittman

If you usually skip over this report, now is a good time for you to start reading.  Why?  Because USATT is on the verge of adopting new Bylaw provisions that will somehow or another impact you.  As usual, I’m devoting this space to the “association primer series,” and this one will explain some of the main issues the Board is looking at as we take more steps to conform to, and revise where we deem appropriate, the Bylaws proposed by the United States Olympic Committee.

Governance Reform & Restructuring

If you missed some of these reports, here’s a quick review.  A few years ago the USOC was embroiled in very public Congressional oversight hearings and media headlines.  The USOC hired some companies/advisors in order to reform itself and its governance structure.   Ultimately, the USOC Board voted to dissolve itself and adopted new Bylaws.  Its Board went from 120 members to 11 members.  The USOC kept national associations informed about the new direction it wanted to pursue.  About a year ago, the USOC produced new Bylaws for a national association it had taken over.  The USOC forwarded those Bylaws to all of the national associations.  At the time, and it’s still the case today, those drafted Bylaws were considered to be recommended model Bylaws.  National associations are not compelled to adopt them. 

As your president, and as the Chair of the Board, I have urged the USATT Board to review the proposed Bylaws, to compare the proposed Bylaws with our own, and to come up with recommendations.   We are very mindful that 2006 would normally be an election year, so we are pressing hard to come to some conclusions as to how we will transition from our current system to a newly reformed system.  As soon as we have come to a resolution regarding 2006 elections, we will post a notice on our website, www.usatt.org.

The Board first began discussing the model Bylaws a year ago when the USOC Sports Partnership Director assigned to USATT attended our September, 2005 Board meeting.  At that meeting, the Board voted to change the Bylaws to require 9 members to approve changes to the Bylaws.  At the next meeting, although we had a quorum, we lacked the super-majority required to pass Bylaws, so we just discussed general concepts related to the Bylaws revision.  Then, in 2006, we had to postpone the Board meeting until the U.S. Open in order to get the attendance required.  Prior to the meeting, I had asked Board members to consider various issues.  In July, the Board met and began taking the steps that will be necessary to move the reform process forward.         

What are some of these reforms?  A primary item put forth by the USOC is that all Board members must be U.S. citizens.  The USOC model Bylaws even require citizenship in order to vote.  Issues like those piqued our interest and what we did at the July Board meeting was make a list of all of the “hot button” issues.  We then asked the USOC to comment as to which items the USOC felt that we had some latitude to decide for ourselves, and which items the USOC felt were most important.  For example, the USOC felt that all Board members must be U.S. citizens, but that if the Board decides that all members can vote, regardless of U.S. citizenship, then we could allow that.

As this issue goes to press, we are still awaiting further clarifications from the USOC.    But it seems sure that the USOC would like to see the membership given ample notice of proposed changes, the opportunity for members to comment, and, a timeline that would ensure that all Board seats in the changeover be filled simultaneously.  Among the new Board members would be 2 independents, a coach and an umpire. 

Some of the primary hot button issues are whether or not to respect the terms of those who were already elected through 2008, what latitude to give to a to-be-reconstituted Nominating Committee, and how to select the Chair of the Board.  Keep checking www.usatt.org to find updates on this important issue.

Club Initiative & State Association Project

Two years ago the Board set quadrennial priorities.  The number one priority was creating state associations that would work closely with USATT to support the club structure.  Meanwhile, at our budget meetings, the Board keeps voting to sock away our year-end financial surpluses into our reserve account.

About a year ago I met with a small group to discuss club initiatives.  Shortly after that Bowie Martin, owner of Martin-Kilpatrick (Butterfly distributor) and I spoke.  It turns out that he was very eager to assist USATT financially and logistically.   Martin-Kilpatrick hired two staff members to work on club development and creation of state associations as a contribution to USATT.  If you run a club, and if you have not yet completed their survey, please check for it at http://www.butterflyonline.com/clubsurvey.asp.  Thank you, Martin-Kilpatrick, for this support.  I also thank Bowie for taking on a leadership role in getting the table tennis companies to meet at the recent U.S. Open.

Thanks to Volunteers

On a closing note, I’d like to extend USATT’s appreciation to the many volunteers who assist on a variety of USATT’s activities, especially the most recent U.S. Open.