From Previous Division Jennifer Nollner, August 26
Hi everyone-
I'm serving on the committee for USA Fencing which is standardizing the division by-laws and the divisional operating guide. As I mentioned at the meeting, there will be a new by-law template rolling out for divisions to adopt later this season but first we felt that the divisional operating guide needed to be updated to go hand-in-hand at the same time. We are dedicated to get that done very soon. As we worked on this yesterday, it was discussed that Athlete Handbook actually lays out the sanctioning requirements for divisions, way back toward the end of the handbook on page 121. Page 17 touches on local tournaments and references the division site at USA Fencing but it never directs you to page 121.
In 2012, our by-laws were changed from requiring 14 days notice when announcing a sanctioned event to only requiring 5 days. Bethany Andrews was chairperson at the time and we've had the 5 day rule ever since up until the recent change. Page 121 of the handbook sites the Board of Directors implemented the 14 day change in 2013, so maybe that's why we were not aware of the violation with our change? I feel that all sanctioning rules should be easy to find on the Officer Resources page under Division and Membership. https://www.usafencing.org/page/show/698348-division-officer-resources But currently the only place the 14 day rule sits is on page 121 of the Athlete Handbook.
https://www.usafencing.org/athlete-handbook If you held a tournament with size restrictions, then it must be published 30 days before the event. There is more useful information about local tournaments on pages 120-122.
I apologize for not finding this out before yesterday. That says a lot about the need for this committee to revise the divisional operating guide. If I was not working on the revisions for the operating guide, we may not have learned this for some time. The former officers checked the resources available often. Please know that USA Fencing guidelines will supersede our divisional rules, so I wanted to pass this on right away before any of your tournament plans are impacted. I'm sure we can still have a lot of tournaments this season, just with a little more foresight and planning.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Nollner
From Current Division President, Mark Stasinos
August 27
All,
I wanted to send out a message to you all after reflecting after our Division meeting and elections in the last week.
First, I want to extend a special thank you to Jennifer Nollner and Angie Carrier for their service as the Division Chair and Secretary of our Division and overseeing the Division's needs though recent challenging times. I understand the accountability and responsibilities carried by their office and personal hours of service given to help the Division, our events and the efforts to make events run seamlessly. It is with great appreciation that I personally and together we collectively thank you for your tireless efforts and sacrifice on our behalf. I hope you will be willing to be called on to help with future governance and projects as we move forward in the season.
Next, I am honored to be able to serve as your Division Chair. This is not a new responsibility for me. I have served simultaneously in the past, 22 years as Division Chairman, 19 years as Section Chair, 26 years on the US Fencing Board of Directors, Chairman of the National Tournament Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Fencing Officials Commission, Head Referee for NCAA Fencing and Championships and Vice-President of US Fencing Association. If nothing else through these callings and experiences I have learned that our sport is fluid and always developing, as technology, concepts, rules and competition and organizational operations improve.
My goal for this season is to bring together the clubs to work collectively, for Divisional competitions, to support in club growth and membership retention. In the next few weeks a Division calendar will be constructed with emphasis on support and attendance of the Division clubs. If my years in leadership in our organization has shown to me personally, to quote the line from a wonderful movie, "Field of Dreams", "If you build it they will come!" I have witnessed this and firmly believe in this principle. Activity and opportunity creates growth.
Next, the motion voted on for clubs to hold sanctioned events in their clubs with a minimal window of notice is currently a violation of the operational rules and guidelines set forth in the USA Fencing Athletes Handbook on pages 120-122. That requires a minimal 14 day published notice for sanctioned events to be in compliance. We will follow what is currently published, I will speak to the National Office on this matter to see if there is a way to adjust for Divisions with smaller member communities to help develop in club and Divisional tournaments of value.
I want to thank you all in advance, for your support and cooperation. I look forward to your thoughts, ideas, questions as we move into our competition season. Please feel free to call, email or text me.
Thank you and let's create a great season for our athletes and clubs!!
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USID Chair
483 West 75 North
Orem Utah 84057
801-995-2780
Email from Jennifer Nollner, outgoing President 2021
Hello incoming officer team,- I don't have Graham's email so please forward to him, as he may do a lot of these items for you.
I wanted to send you a summary of things yet to be done in case it helps. A couple are time sensitive. Mark, I’ll give you the folder the next time I see you.
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I’ve attached the summary from the tournament this weekend. I deposited the cash today and the receipt is attached.
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I’ve attached the State of Utah annual corporation renewal post card. You’ll need to visit the corporation website and access our division non-profit with the entity number and the renewal ID #. You will want to change the officers and the contact for the non-profit. Do this PRIOR to renewing. You may also need proof of this to remove my name and add Mark’s name at Zion’s for the banking access. Remove my mailing address from the non-profit. Change directors and addresses as needed. Once done, pay the $10 renewal fee for the non-profit. This is due by 9/30.
Articles of incorporation are there as well.
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Once you have that done you can take proof of that to Zion’s and remove me from the bank account. I have no checks or debit card or the like. Should be a done deal. Our EIN number is 47-5653052 Zac Hansen has all the full statements if you need them.
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You’ll need to all send in the Non-Compete document along with the Financial report Zac supplied and there is an annual officer documentation sheet to fill in and submit to the national office. Once you do this, we should be eligible to continue to receive rebates from the national office. That’s due right now and is late based on our delayed annual meeting.
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Boise is in need of another Silver Cup for the Utah/Southern Idaho Divisional Champion- Foil. I’ve attached a receipt so you can see the size we last ordered and of course you can order from wherever you’d like. The plate for names is listed below, so two fencers need that to show their name and the year only. Jonathan Hsu will need that as well for the new cup.
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IRS return is normally filed between March and April and was filed in 2021 for 2020. As a non-profit, we can just file online with a quick answer of questions and the e-postcard method. WE don’t normally take in enough money to warrant a full return. I’ve attached the only printed version of this I have in the folder. I’ll log in to see what else I can find and then when you file in 2022 you can list the principal officer as Mark.
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I’ve attached the job description for the Safe Sport Liaison, since I had already printed it. I searched the Division Officer resources site and could not find the description for Bill’s position. The USA Fencing site has links to everything you’ll need.
Let me know if you have any other questions or need anything.
Jennifer Nollner
See attached Items here.