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Association leaders are often pulled in many different directions. It’s easy to get distracted and lose your focus. By not giving any specific item your best, you can end up not accomplishing much during your term. In order to stay on top of your duties and move your association forward, you need to have a plan. Meet with the board before the season to determine your goals for the year. Without writing down concrete objectives to strive toward, your best intentions will most often fail. It’s a lot easier toRead More

By David Westol Bylaws are critical. Most association leaders would agree with that assessment. Leaders need to be familiar with their bylaws and the essentials of bylaws. Let’s take a look at some questions regarding association bylaws. 1. Does our officials association need bylaws and a constitution? In a word: “No.” A constitution is the skeleton. It is the framework of an organization. The bylaws are the organs — the muscles, heart, brain and other things that translate leadership into reality. Your bylaws can include constitutional language and easily serveRead More

By Dave Westol It happens on a regular basis. It happens in non-profits or associations more frequently than any of us will care to admit and perhaps more frequently than in the private sector. “It” is embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, larceny by conversion — there are a number of names for a simple criminal act. A volunteer — often but not always the treasurer — is entrusted with funds. The volunteer subsequently uses, converts, embezzles or misappropriates some, most or all of those funds to his or her own use.Read More

By Jeffrey Stern What have you done to get your members ready for the season? Have you reached out to them at all? Or do you figure they’ll just show up for meetings because they’re at the same location and same time and begin the week of the first scrimmages? The assumption is that you’ve put time and thought into putting together the educational material you’ll present at your gatherings. So you owe it to yourself to get the word out and increase the chances you’ll get maximum participation andRead More

By Carl Smith How do officials associations “train their trainers,” or more importantly, how should true trainers train new trainers to be the most effective? Say that a few times fast. … Consistent, balanced training is vitally important, not only for the development of the inexperienced or new official, but to the growth of your local association. Without proper training, many new officials will become disenchanted and “fall by the wayside.” No association can afford to lose new members. There are many different methods to accomplish this task. They mayRead More

Few things are more annoying than whining members. Their negative attitudes can have a serious effect on the morale and productivity of the whole officials association. Learn how to minimize whining and improve the outlook for all your members. Look at yourself first. It’s tough to see ourselves as whiners, because we see our complaints as legitimate. Before you can deal with the complaints of others, you have to make sure you’re not part of the problem. Track your own grumbling for a week and honestly evaluate your findings. IfRead More

Football and soccer get played in just about any weather, and as long as teams and officials can travel, basketball and volleyball rarely get canceled. But weather issues present a number of headaches for assigners, particularly in baseball and softball. Here are some suggestions for assigners in all sports who must deal with the weather and the issues related to it: 1. Put the onus on your officials. Just because you are the assigner of the game, you aren’t also the secretary for every official. Officials know the weather forecastRead More

Presenting an instructional camp can be a very positive experience. In addition to providing quality training, an association can put a few extra bucks in its coffers. Even if your group is so altruistic as to operate the camp at a loss or as a break-even proposition, there is still a lot to be gained. But with every enterprise there are pitfalls. Planning ahead and thorough follow-up can help you avoid mis-steps. Here are some potential speed bumps and how you can overcome them. 1. Low attendance If yours isRead More

By Jeffrey Stern If you’ve been training officials for any length of time, you know the benefits of using video as part of your lessons. The availability and quality of material has made quantum leaps over the years. Once obtained, however, the video must be used properly to be of value to your members. Here are six things to keep in mind. 1. Keep it topic-driven. Focus on such things as points of emphasis, new rules and mechanics or other areas of common concern. And just because it is aRead More

Sports fans normally only see officials during a game, an atmosphere that doesn’t give much opportunity for them to understand our role or appreciate what we do. The public seeing officials in a different light is one outcome of getting some media attention for your association and its members. Do you publicize your meeting dates, new officers, scholarship program or awards that your association presents to members? Obviously, the smaller your media market, the more likely you are to get media attention. But even in large markets, there are smallRead More