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Officials experience a wide range of treatment from coaches, players and fans when working games. Officials associations can help to promote safety by educating officials and schools or leagues. It is impossible to prevent every bad thing from happening, but education and awareness can go a long way toward keeping your members safe. Let schools and leagues know your safety expectations. Meet about safety with those who host the games. Prior to the season, officials association representatives should meet with school, league or governing body personnel to cover safety issuesRead More

By Bob Masucci Every local association must determine whether it should limit the length of time an individual may serve on its board or be an officer of the association. Some have concluded that term limits bring fresh energy, new ideas and additional qualities to the board with new members. Others offer that term limits may deprive the organization of institutional memory, valuable experience and continuity. The issue of term limits, especially for board members of non-profit organizations, has been raised and debated for as long as there have beenRead More

By Brent Killackey In the business world, mission statements are a common tool used to state a company’s aims and values. Should your officiating association have a mission statement? Susan Gunelius thinks so. Gunelius is president and CEO of KeySplash Creative Inc., a marketing communications company based in Orlando, Fla. “A mission statement provides focus,” Gunelius said. Writing down a mission statement defines what you do and provides a focus to reach the organization’s goals. A good mission statement provides a common purpose to inspire an organization and its employeesRead More

In some officials associations, the quickest way to be elected an officer or board member is to leave the room or otherwise be absent when the regular elections are conducted. That isn’t the preferred method, of course. It’s always better to elect someone who is willing and able to take on the important duties that come with an elected position. If you truly want to be elected to a position of leadership or elevated to a different leadership position, you will have to put some effort into campaigning for theRead More

The training chair or one of the other leaders of an association often run meetings and speak on a variety of topics. In addition to those great educational sessions, it’s a good idea to have a guest speaker for a meeting or two. Having a guest speaker is a great way to kick off the season, increase attendance during the middle-of-the-season doldrums or end your schedule of meetings. The tough part for many associations is coming up with a good speaker option. If you’re looking for the right speaker, belowRead More

What’s the perfect mix for a board of directors? Well, they should all be well informed as to the organization’s mission and be able to give the time necessary to further that mission. In addition, board members must be trusted by those that the organization serves and abide by legal and fiduciary obligations. Ideally, a board should be comprised of individuals with varied backgrounds, skills, perspectives and areas of expertise. Those members should strive to maintain a board that reflects the makeup and diversity of the communities served. Geographic diversityRead More

When it comes to strategies that can be used to recruit new association members, remember what is often said of the chubby guy who owns the corner bakery: His physique is the best advertisement for his product. In other words, since your members are already avid officials and (it is hoped) active association members, they’re best suited to bring others into the fold. Here are some tips to boost your recruitment efforts. 1. Consider workout warriors. Many officials belong to a health club or gym. Some play rec league sports.Read More

By Carl Smith How do you know when to lead and when to step aside and observe, or better yet, jump on board and support? Those are great questions, and the correct answers are necessary to ensure your association is happy and healthy. No one that I know likes a micromanager. There’s a very fine line between being in control and being perceived as overbearing. In many associations, a small number of officials are willing to help with governing the association, training new officials and a multitude of other tasksRead More

Meetings are often the thing that people love to hate. As a result, a “less is more” approach to meetings is a strategy your members will likely embrace. Don’t have too many meetings. Cutting down on meetings will have the side effect of ensuring that the meetings you do have will be attended by people who aren’t burned out from all the meetings they attend. People will be more energized and productive at meetings if they haven’t learned to dread them. What is the right number? Each association is differentRead More

By Bob Masucci It doesn’t matter whether your association is a small or large group. Whether you have standing committees to attend to the various needs of the group, or just assign a few folks to deal with things as they arise. One of the more important tasks facing association leadership will be determining the leadership for those standing or ad hoc committees. If a chairperson is expected to control a committee’s business, which is essentially an extension of your association, you will want a person who can exert aRead More