Varsity Crews

 

Beaumont Chapter Football Officials Association
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
June 2, 2003

Present: Pres. Gary Downey, 1st VP John Ballard, Sec/Tr. Geoff Kret, M/L Frank LeBlanc, Div. 1 Rep Bob Wortham, Div. 3 Rep. David Landrum, Div. 4 Rep Mike Defee, Div. 5 Rep Greg Sims, North Co. Assignor George Bryant, South Co. Assignor Larry Bennett
Special guest: Mr. Beau Hicks

Absent: 2nd VP Greg Peveto, Div. 2 Rep Wayne Pratt

The Board of Directors of the Beaumont Chapter met at Bob Wortham's residence on 2 June 2003 for the third meeting of the 2003 season of the Beaumont Chapter Board of Directors.

The meeting was opened and chaired by President Gary Downey.

Minutes from the March 24, 2003 board meeting were not read due to the tardiness of the secretary.

Secretary's Report
The Secretary handed the board a list of members NOT in good standing regarding dues. A list of crews was handed out and reviewed, with changes noted.

Unfinished Business
The Secretary stated that the scholarship winners had been notified by mail of their award. The scholarship awardees are Ehren Kret, Lacey Watkins, and Angela Hollier.

The Secretary stated that a preliminary letter to area coaches regarding the pickings date had been mailed in April, and that the Photo-roster booklet and official letter about the pickings will go out very soon.

Secretary Kret remarked that his partial draft of a letter that he is composing to Coach Gary Martel of Anahuac was almost finished and will be mailed shortly. The letter addresses questions raised by Coach Martel in a video of his 2002 district game versus Hardin.

Mr. Downey reported that the investigation regarding Mr. Terry Landry was on hold at this time. No further steps in the process would be carried out unless Mr. Landry requested reinstatement, at which time the investigation and hearing process would go forth.

New Business
Beau Hicks reported on the possibility of obtaining Mr. Red Cashion as a guest speaker for a chapter meeting. The chapter would need to provide his hotel room and dinner. Mr. Cashion's schedule precludes having him as a speaker at the end of season banquet. The board asked Beau to make arrangements with Mr. Cashion to speak at a chapter meeting and the chapter meetings topics would be moved to accommodate Mr. Cashion's schedule.

On the subject of the Chapter Banquet, board discussion centered on the site, menu, cost, and availability. It was resolved that the Port Arthur Club gave the best all-around service on food, spaciousness of the facility, and value. Bob Wortham moved, with second by Mike Defee, to retain the Port Arthur Club as the banquet site.

Gary Downey announced that provision of New Member Kits is being negotiated with Steve Oaks of Purchase Officials Supplies in Humble, Texas. The board discussed what type of accessories should be included in the kits, then authorized Mr. Downey to make the detailed arrangements with Mr. Oaks.

The school situation regarding Lumberton and Hardin-Jefferson came under long discussion. The board was informed that Greg Peveto had a phone call with Coach Fuller and resolved some of his concerns and that Lumberton was staying with the Beaumont Chapter. Geoff Kret reviewed his phone call with Coach Fischer and the details that Coach Fischer shared with him regarding his dissatisfaction level and what arrangements he had made with the East Texas Chapter. The bottom line is that Coach Fischer is giving the East Texas Chapter at least a one-year trial at 4 Hardin-Jefferson home games and all sub-varsity, but that he would continue to use the Beaumont Chapter when he was the visitor team at other area schools.

Finally, the board discussed a bullet list of "Improvement Ideas" that the secretary compiled from e-mail comments from members of the board in the weeks after the Lumberton and Hardin-Jefferson contacts. Resolution of the items is as follows:

  • Pickings will be in three rounds for 5A/4A, 3A/2A & Kelly, and 1A with Sabine Pass & Cathedral. This is a one-year experiment designed to address fairness concerns of the 2A coaches, recognizing that there are two 2A districts playing very competitive football in this area. This process will be reviewed after this season both to see how it worked and also in recognition of potential drastic UIL realignments for 2004-5.
  • A district-games-first pre-draft for all three rounds will be held on district/non-district mixed dates.
  • 3-in-a-row picks of a crew for a school will not be allowed, and the coaches will be MADE AWARE if they pick a crew for back-to-back weeks. Back-to-back weeks were not disallowed by the board out of concern that this could limit crew choice too severely.
  • Gary Downey will conduct a White Hat meeting during a chapter meeting to lay out Crew Chief expectations
  • Geoff Kret will write constitutional amendment proposals to create a 7-on-7 Coordinator position.
  • It was suggested that the officers or sub-committee of the board conduct a season review meeting with each set of district coaches in the early portion of the next calendar year.
  • The observer program would continue and be refined to address chapter needs as they evolve. Observers will continue to be Mr. Harold LaFosse, and Mr. Beau Hicks as his schedule allows.
  • Referee and Crew Selection Process: Much discussion was conducted over the need to formalize the white hat approval process, numbers of crews, and board authority over crews. President Downey appointed a committee consisting of John Ballard, Mike Defee, and David Landrum to identify the issues associated a crew selection process and report back to the board with recommendations.


The next board of directors meeting date will be set by President Downey.


Geoffrey Kret, Secretary
26-July-03