An Open Letter to the Membership of USA Table Tennis from the Board of Directors                            
Peter D. Scudner, Chair
July 25, 2008

USA Table Tennis has a new Board of Directors committed to seeing USATT fulfill its mission:
1. To develop sustained competitive excellence,
2. To grow the sport,
3. To deliver value to members. 
We judge our efforts against this mission.

This letter shall serve as a brief introduction to your Board and its work.  We will provide regular briefings in addition to posting our minutes and to holding an Annual Assembly.  Our intention is to operate with transparency and to keep our focus on issues of governance.

First let me offer a few introductions.  The new board structure has three independent directors, two elite athletes and four members from the membership.  The directors bring experience in business, academics and sports.  I have a background in finance and management, as well as experience in leadership in other non-profits.  Hal Jeffcoat is President of Texas Wesleyan University and a former professional baseball player.  Jim Kahler runs the Center for Sports Administration at Ohio University and has over 27 years of experience in sports business.   Mike Babuin brings experience project management in addition to being a tournament director.  Christian Lillieroos has experience in coaching and tournament organization in the US and internationally as well as global business experience.  Linda Leaf is president of a table tennis club in Wisconsin and brings the experience of a legal career.  David Del Vecchio played in college and now is Treasurer of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA).  Ashu Jain and Han Xiao are elite athletes with a passion for the sport.  Together we form a team dedicated to improving table tennis in the United States. 

We set priorities at our first meeting, which we held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO on July 17, 2008.  We must hire a CEO by year-end and start work on our Strategic Plan and High Performance Plan immediately.  Our board meeting minutes are posted on the USATT web site.  Here is a brief summary:

1.      CEO Search:  The deadline for applications was extended to September 30, 2008 and a task force was appointed to conduct the search.  Our goal is to have a CEO in place by year-end.

2.      The Strategic Plan and the High Performance Plan are key documents that will guide our efforts for the next four years.  The High Performance Plan is part of the Strategic Plan and will be developed primarily with input from coaches and athletes.  The Strategic Plan is broader in scope and will be developed by the Board with input from the membership. 

3.      The bylaws require the board to conduct a review of all committees by December 31, 2008. We established a task force to conduct that review and will be in contact with all committees for their input.

4.      We are addressing the various legal, financial and business issues necessary to the operation of USATT.

5.      We are committed to keeping the membership informed and have scheduled the Annual Assembly in conjunction with Nationals in Las Vegas this December.  The Assembly shall be an advisory meeting where USATT staff and Board brief the membership on the State of USATT and get input on issues of the day.  We look forward to hearing from you there.

The Board is scheduled to meet in person two more times this year and will meet by phone as well in order to make progress on the priorities of the CEO search, High Performance Plan and Strategic Plan.  I am writing this letter in July as our US Team is departing for Beijing.  We wish them great success.

On a personal note, as an Independent Director I am new to table tennis.  I had the opportunity to attend the Ping Pong Diplomacy Rematch at the Nixon Library and enjoyed the chance to meet some of the sports’ finest ambassadors.  I look forward to meeting many of you at the upcoming assembly and welcome your comments.  Each Board member now has a USATT email address.  Please keep in touch.  I can be reached at p.scudner@usatt.org. 

 

Best regards, 

Peter D. Scudner

Chairman of the Board, USATT