MID-FLORIDA OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION

Reading and Approval of 2006 Minutes: Motion by Ralph Messer to waive the reading of the minutes and accept them as posted by handout. Second by Carl Dill. The motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer’s report was given by Jeff Pole. Numerous questions were raised concerning the report, which were answered by Jeff to everyone’s satisfaction. Motion by Ralph Messer to accept the report with a round of applause for Jeff for a job well done. Second by Mark Riedy. The motion passed unanimously.

Budget: The annual budget was also presented by Jeff Pole. During the discussion, a motion was made by Jim Curington to pay the President $1000.00, the Vice President and all Directors $500.00 each, and $1000.00 to the Web Master, the new position to be created as an appointed position, if approved by the membership. Second by Tracy Goodwin. The motion passed.

The above action by Curington required a constitutional change to become effective and had not been properly advertised. However, a motion was made by Dan Robinson to waive the rule, on a one-time basis, in order to make this change to the Constitution. Second by Tracy Goodwin. The motion passed unanimously.

A motion was made by David Rogers that no contract be sent to any school that is delinquent in its payments to the MFOA by $500.00 or more. Second by Duffy McClelland. David withdrew his motion after Jeff explained that the majority of the schools that owe money are baseball/softball schools and that their payments were expected in the very near future. Motion by Ted Bedford to approve the budget as presented and modified. Second by Tracy Goodwin. Then motion passed.

Clinic/Meeting Schedules: Ted Bedford presented A schedule of clinics and meetings for basketball. No other schedules were available.

A very lengthy discussion regarding contracting with the Citrus County Schools, both Pro and Con. Motion by Jeff Nakamura that no contracts be sent to the Citrus County Schools. Second by Reid Sergent. The motion failed. It was agreed that the MFOA would continue to provide contracts to these schools and that our services will remain as in the past. If the schools in question do not want to contract with the MFOA under those circumstances, they are free to seek another officials association, It was brought up by Ralph Messer that the Commissioner of the FHSAA advised him and Bud Holt that there is a possibility that current legislation could exempt officials from the requirements of the Jessica Lunsford Act. It was agreed to wait until the result of this legislative action is received.

Outstanding Chain Crew: *Branford High School (Captain Rusty Greek, Keith Cranford, Tom Boss, Mark Schillito)

Outstanding RookieOfficial: Blake Carnahan, Steve Walker, Hubert Allen Motion by Terry Lee that each of these officials be recognized as the outstanding rookie official. Second by Jeff D’Amelio. The motion passed

Linda Abbey Outstanding Scorekeeper Award: P.K. Yonge Lafayette *Wildwood (Individual’s Name not available)

Numerous officials were recognized for having recruited at least one new member. They are Larry Mayhew, Ralph Messer, Wade Clayton, Jerome Chavers, Terry Lee, Trudy Benson, Jeff Nakamura, Richard Sullivan, Mario Coppock, Bud Holt, Emily Liming, Precley Owens, Tony Singer, Wayne Hunter, David Rogers, Saul Speights, Robert Bennett, Brandon Hiers, Bob Leahy, Dan Robinson, Jason Schmidt, Dan Cannon, Ted Bedford, and Paul Gery, The winner was *Wade Clayton with 5 new members.

Proposed Amendments to MFOA Constitution and Policies and Procedures (Constitutional change requires 2/3-majority vote. Policy change requires majority vote).

Reason for change: This position will become more important as we continue into the “post-paper” era. This position serves a primary and high level role and should be entitled to all Board Member privileges.

Reason for change: This will establish which year the position will be voted on.

Motion by: Mark Riedy – Second by: Tracy Goodwin. A motion to amend was made by Ralph Messer to make this position and appointed position rather an elected one. This would help to keep the “Politics” out of this particular office and help to ensure that a qualified person holds the position. Second by Dick VanAuker. The amendment passed. The original motion as amended passed with 2/3 of the membership voting in favor.

a. Post all information pertaining to current year activities as deemed appropriate by the Board.

b. Design and Maintain the MFOA web site so information is presented at a pleasing, professional forum.

Motion by: Mark Riedy – Second by: Dan Robinson. The motion passed, receiving 2/3 of the vote.

Currently Reads: There are requirements that make it necessary for the Board to appoint members to perform certain functions. These appointments include the INSPECTOR, the EVALUATIONS COMMITTEE, ASSIGNMENTS COMMITTEE, RECOMMENDATIONS COMMITTEE, GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE, RECRUITMENT COMMITTEE, TRAINING AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE and others deemed necessary by the President and/or Board. The Inspector will be appointed by the Board annually. Elected officers WILL NOT hold this position. Dues and booking fees will be waived for the Inspector during his/her appointment. If he/she fails to fulfill the appointment, all current due and fees shall be paid.

Change to Read: Add – Under the section pertaining to committees; Committees are to be formed and member names are to be listed on the MFOA web site before the 1^st booking is completed for each sport.

Reason for change: Makes this information available to all members at the beginning of each sport season.

Motion by: Mark Riedy – Second by” Tracy Goodwin, The motion received 2/3 of the vote and passed.

Section to Change: Article XII Budget, Fees, and Compensation, Subsection 4 (Note this should be Article VIII)

Currently Reads: The Secretary, Treasurer, and Commissioner shall be paid for their duties. The amount each receives will be determined at the annual business meeting.

Reason for change: This work is not only very time demanding, but also requires the knowledge and dedication to design and coordinate the look and information provided on the MFOA web site.

Currently Reads: Each member must be registered and in good standing with the FHSAA. Each member is an independent contractor for the purpose of receiving game fees by virtue of Florida State Statue.

Change to Read: Add a heading paragraph: All members must be in full registration compliance with both the MFOA and the FHSAA before being named to any booking. Full compliance must be confirmed by the Treasurer and presented to the Commissioner before being named

Reason for Change: This will assure registration compliance and remove the responsibility from the Commissioner for booking any member prematurely. This will assist to insure compliance to the schools and the FHSAA.

In addition to the standard Membership Application fee, an additional surcharge fee of $25 will be required of any member wishing to receive a hard copy of any MFOA related materials (booking, application, books, etc.). Such material will be provided via USPS or any other means of standard delivery.

Reason: This material is easily available via the MFOA Web Site. Special service is expensive and time consuming. .

Motion by: Mark Riedy – Second by: Wade Clayton. The motion failed. It was recommended that a record be kept of the number of mailouts and the costs for same.

Currently Reads: Schools may scratch two officials in each sport from the MFOA membership upon written notification signed by the individual or position expediting the Officiating Agreement for the sport.

Change to Read: Schools may scratch two (2) officials in each sport from the MFOA membership upon written notification on school letterhead and signed by the individual or position expediting the officiating

Agreement for the sport. A written notification, on school letterhead, will be the only official request accepted by the MFOA for scratching an official. E-mails and phone calls are not acceptable. The reason for the scratch must be documented in the written notification and must be reviewed by the grievance committee in that sport within three (3) to five (5) days and their findings and recommendation submitted to the Executive Board, who will then either approve or disapprove the scratch request. The MFOA Secretary will then notify the requesting school regarding the findings of the Executive Board. The MFOA Secretary will also notify the Booking Commissioner in that sport. Approved requests for scratches will only apply to the Home Team games, not the visiting team.

Reason for change: The current article is very vague and leads to inconsistencies regarding requests for scratches. The office of the MFOA President makes decisions on discrepancies regarding booking policy, which has included request scratches in the past. This change could remove this authority from the office of the President and transfer it to the Grievance Committed and Executive Board.

Motion by: Jeff Pole – Second by: Dick VanAuker. A motion to amend was made by Terry Lee to change the wording from two (2) scratches to one (1). Second by Richard Sullivan. After much discussion, Terry withdrew his motion. The original motion failed.

Section to Change: Section: 003. Booking Policy Section 13. (Add new subsection)

1. The Board shall submit playoff crews, based on the selections made by the Recommendations Committee and approved by the MEMBERSHIP for football, basketball, baseball and softball, to the FHSAA. Selections made by the Recommendations Committee shall be in the manner prescribed by the FHSAA.

a. Selections will also be based on performance during current and previous seasons, appearance, and evaluations, using the relative rating roster as a guide.

b. Football crews will be booked for extra games on Thursdays and Saturdays in order for them to gain experience of working together as a crew. Varsity games on Thursdays and Saturdays are considered extra only after all eligible officials have been booked in that week.

c. Primary white hats, in football, and their entire football crew, if FHSAA eligible may be submitted as play-off crews unless recommendations committee recommends otherwise and their recommendation is approved by the membership. The committee shall total combined points of each recommended crew to determine the rating of each crew and the order in which they will be submitted to the FHSAA. Any member of the MFOA may be excluded based on subsection a.

d. The top ten (10) rated basketball officials can recommend their crew for either boys or girls playoff crews, but not both. They may select any FHSAA play-off eligible official (3 times the number of crews to be submitted). The rest of the crews will be put together using the relative rating scale as a guide. The crews will be rated by combined points of the crew. Any FHSAA qualified official can be excluded from play-off consideration based on performance, appearance, and evaluations. The performance and appearance must be documented on an evaluation form and submitted to the basketball directors and the recommendations committee.

e. If the membership does not approve the recommendations made by the Recommendations Committee at the meeting scheduled for this purpose, recommendations will be taken from the floor until final selections are made.

f. In football, members shall not be selected to the first 4 crews (or first half of total number of crews selected) more than two consecutive seasons until all eligible 1s and 2s have been selected or eliminated.

Reason for Change: Gives younger officials, who are not at the top of the relative rating, but otherwise qualified, an opportunity to go deeper into the playoffs, rather than the more senior officials each year. This would establish a more equitable rotation of qualified officials.

Change to Read: Remove entire section and other sections that pertain to playoff selection from Booking Policy and create new Section entitled Playoffs.

Reason for change: Playoff crews selections and assignments are not part of the MFOA booking process. Beyond District Play it is handled by the FHSAA, therefore should be a separate section.

Change to Read: All bookings, to include weekly assignments, tournaments, and ALL CHANGES shall be posted on the MFOA web site in a tinselly manner. Changes that are made inside the 24-hour time frame shall be made by telephone to ensure that the affected officials are aware of the change.

Reason for change: Currently is not being done, especially CHANGES. This would eliminate confusion for officials who are booked and allows members who are not booked or working a particular sport the opportunity to check the bookings and see where games are being played

Motion by: Ralph Messer – Second by: Charlie Anderson. A motion to amend was made by Jeff D”Amelio to change the wording MFOA Web Site to MFOA Booking Web Site. The motion to amend passed. The original motion as amended also passed.

Note: Larry Mayhew was nominated by the Committee for Football Booking Commissioner, However it was brought up by the membership that this office had been combined with basketball to form one office and would not consider Larry’s nomination.