Click Newsletter Category

We all make mistakes, right? But when you’re in a leadership position, your bad decisions are often on display for all to see. For example, if you encourage your association to start a camp or clinic to help earn extra funds and your group loses money on the endeavor, you’re in the hot seat. So how do you recover after leading your association down the wrong path? Have a good track record. All great leaders have made a mistake sometime along the way. The best way to encourage members toRead More

By Bob Masucci How many association meetings have you attended where the person in the front of the room did all the talking, and about 15 minutes into it, people begin looking at their watches or playing with their phones? More than a few, I’d guess. The secret to dynamic meetings is participation. With it, your members will leave talking enthusiastically about the topics that were covered; without it, they might leave wondering how they might have better spent that hour and a half. One of the keys to encouragingRead More

A lot of people get tired of going to meetings and hearing from the same voices every week, every month and every year. Those who are the leaders must find a way to change up the message, even when the points of the message remain the same. One of the best ways to change up the message is to change the messenger, but getting participation from members can be a challenge. Here are some ways you can get more people involved. Find out what the membership wants. Do a surveyRead More

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 boardRead More

Even if you had every good intention to serve in an officer position when you were elected, unexpected things can come up to force you to step down from serving sooner than expected. It might be a career move that takes more time than expected, an unanticipated move or health issues for yourself or family. When you have to step down, there is a right way to do it. Follow these steps to leave gracefully. Apologize for the Inconvenience Recognize that you’re putting your association in a tough spot andRead More

Is It Time to Give Your Agenda a Boost? By Lawrence Tomei “Where is everyone tonight?” “Same agenda, same speaker, same topic — rules, rules and more rules. Can’t we talk about something different?” “This meeting room has a big-screen television, video player, projector — and we’re still using the chalkboard to diagram plays. C’mon already, let’s use some technology.” Many people view meetings as a form of slow torture, so it is not surprising that officials associations face the same challenges in attracting members to their meetings. Luckily, meetingsRead More

By Jeffrey Stern Many officials don’t have to be told it’s time to retire. They know it. Their bodies give them constant reminders. They no longer have the time. Or they just lose interest. From an association and assigner standpoint, those are easy. It’s a lot tougher when officials don’t know their best days are in the rear-view mirror and want to continue. In those cases, succession planning can assist. Since amateur officials are independent contractors, an association can stop offering games to anyone it deems is no longer capableRead More

There is much to be gained when local associations reach out to each other. That is true even in places where boards or associations are competing with each other for assignments. Discuss Common Issues If your members are having trouble with a local school — perhaps checks aren’t being issued in a timely manner or there have been a number of issues with fan behavior — a call to a neighboring chapter can produce results. Although the administrators at the troublesome school should be approached in a measured, professional manner,Read More

By David Westol The irony is inescapable. A group of men and women who officiate sports — who live by rules, policies, regulations, requirements, mechanics, “If in doubt” language … form an association and subsequently ignore, work around or simply violate the very rules — the bylaws — of their association that they have agreed to follow. And violations often occur because, “We don’t have time to do it right,” or “We’ve stalled long enough on this,” or “We can’t get done what we want to get done.” First, lastRead More

Board meetings are business meetings used to decide issues affecting the association. Since board members are donating their time to the association, leaders should make sure the board meetings stay on topic and move along. These suggestions are important whether your board meetings are in-person or online. Ask for reports in writing well in advance of the meeting. Forcing board members to type up their thoughts will keep their updates more focused. It will also force them to be prepared instead of winging it at the meeting. Distribute an agendaRead More