By David Westol
Officials need stuff.
Stuff includes the basic things that we need just to walk onto the court, the field or the contest area and work a game.
If you, like me, officiate football, stuff includes a very specific uniform shirt and pants with a high school association patch identifying you as a licensed official, a whistle, a beanbag, a penalty flag, a game card and pencil or pen, a down-counter and a fitted cap. That gets us started.
Let’s now consider the stuff an officials association board of directors needs — the basic things that help to ensure success for a board. The basics include:
1. A board policy manual.
That contains all of the “unwritten rules” (hint: sit down and write ’em out) as well as policies regarding conflict of interest, expectations for board members, how, when and where meetings are conducted, quorum — in other words, your manual answers every question that a new board member will have before it can be asked.
2. Bylaws.
Bylaws are the organs of your association — the heart, the brain, the muscles. Bylaws allow you to do things in an orderly process, much like the rules that we use for sports. Review your bylaws on a yearly basis — make certain that they are up to date and in proper alignment with state law for non-profits or associations.
3. A strategic plan.
That is your four-, five- or six-goal plan for the next year to 18 months. That is your compass. It keeps the board focused and helps to prevent detours and issues.
4. Specific expectations for board members.
Are board members expected to be on time for meetings? How many meetings must they attend or may they miss? Committee involvement? Outreach efforts to sports other than “their” sport(s)? Specificity here means fewer issues down the road.
5. Removal procedure.
The procedure, which should be checked by an attorney, allows the board to remove a member. That is an area that most boards struggle with because of the inherent contentiousness of the issue and because most board members will take sides.
If you have the procedure in place before you need it, that will certainly help your board arrive at the appropriate decision. The procedure could also be a part of your bylaws, depending on how much your association wants to include in its bylaws.
If your board attains those first five basic tools, here are some other things to add.
6. A mission statement and a vision.
The mission statement describes the purpose of your officials association — why it exists. A paragraph is plenty. The vision describes where your association is going. Your vision should incorporate elements of your strategic plan.
7. A strategic planning meeting.
Each year at a specific meeting, board members should talk in candid fashion about the strategic plan, vision and future goals. That meeting should be facilitated by someone from outside of your board and indeed outside of your association. The president or another board member cannot facilitate and participate.
8. Income and expense statements.
Each month those statements should be sent to board members. One of the responsibilities of a board is to oversee operations and an area of operations that often generates issues is financial accountability.
9. A crisis plan.
You should put in place communication and administration plans for that once-every-three-years situation that arises and brings instant and often uncomfortably close attention to our avocation.
10. A formal recruitment program.
Just as you need a recruitment program to attract officials to your association, you should have a program in place to attract new board members or to encourage them to become candidates and an educational, training and orientation plan for new board members that is taught by current or previous board members.
Associations are, as the saying goes, either getting better or getting worse — they never stay the same. Getting the basics in place will help your officials association maintain that “better” ranking.
Dave Westol, a longtime football official, is principal and owner of Limberlost Consulting, Inc. in Carmel, Ind., and specializes in non-profit association consulting.
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