August 13, 2019
Dear RAHA Families,
Thank you to everyone who came out tonight for RAHA’s annual meeting and Board Election.
For those of you who were unable to make the meeting, it was great to see so many new and returning faces. We heard some terrific suggestions on ways to help further improve our organization (topics included: recruiting, “pitch the pitch”, fundraising ideas, website improvements, marketing ideas etc.,). Below you will find the Presidential Report that I shared with those in attendance this evening.
The RAHA Board felt it was a very productive evening, with a good turnout, fresh ideas and most importantly excited to have new members to add to RAHA’s Board of Directors. We would also like to say that even prior to this evening’s elections, the RAHA Board agreed that both presidential candidates had so much to offer and the RAHA Organization would benefit tremendously with having them both on the board going forward.
Without further ado, the RAHA Board election results are as follows:
President: Brian Olsen
Vice-President: Heather Olsen (holsenhockeyvt@gmail.com)
Treasurer: TJ Sabotka
Secretary: Corey Kendall
The votes were extremely close, which confirmed our decision as a Board to ask that Lane Patorti join as an Appointed Member of the RAHA Board of Directors. Lane’s extensive knowledge with youth hockey, coaching and business management will be a such an asset for the RAHA organization. At this time, the RAHA Board is excited to announce that Lane Patorti, has accepted the role as an Appointed Member on RAHA’s Board of Directors. Congratulations and welcome!!
Again, I appreciate all of the support, feedback, ideas, encouragement and patience you have all demonstrated these last few months. I have no doubt that this season is going to be great!!! Especially as more RAHA members continue to express their interest in volunteering their time during the season and also in the appointed positions on the RAHA Board. We all want the same thing for our organization and our players, so please consider joining the Board or attending our monthly meetings, which will be held on the second Tuesday of each month.
Enjoy the rest of your summer & please feel free to reach out to me with any questions and or concerns you might have. My personal email can be found above or you can also contact us at rahahockeyvt@gmail.com. Thank you, Heather Olsen
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Rutland Amateur Hockey Association 2019-2020 Season
On behalf of all executive members of the Rutland Amateur Hockey Association, I would like to welcome you to our Annual Meeting and Board Elections.
President’s Report
The season starts off with the Executive Board saying good- bye to a few of its members. Former President, Patrick Lowkes and also RAHA’s registrar, Sara Utley, both having served as members of the board for many years. We, the current RAHA Board, extend our sincerest thanks to Patrick & Sara for their years of service to RAHA and wish them both great success in their future endeavors.
In addition, I would like to personally extend my sincerest appreciation to all of you, the RAHA members who have been patient and understanding as the current board worked through these last few months. Everyone that I have had the pleasure working with thus far, not only shares my passion for the continued success of our organization but also recognizes and emphasizes the importance that RAHA has on the children of our community.
Regardless of who takes on the role of President later this evening, I know that I can confidently speak on their behalf in saying that we all want the very best for our organization and most importantly for our players.
As we look forward ….
In an attempt to create a better level of transparency between the RAHA Board, including the Youth Hockey Committee, and its members (which include parents, guardians, coaches, referees etc.) the Board is making all of the necessary changes to have meeting dates, monthly agendas, meetings minutes, programs etc. readily available on the RAHA Website. Please be patient just a little bit longer as we work on making some changes to RAHA’s Website and Social Media outlets, to make the sites a little more user friendly for those of us doing the updating and also for all of our members.
I do understand that there is a lot of information to cover in a short period of time tonight, and that this may not be in the typical annual meeting format that some of you might be accustomed to. I will say that I have personally worked with and received total support from the VSAHA President these last few months on all of the steps that we, the RAHA Board, have taken to get the season up and running and also move forward with Board Elections and our By-Laws amendments. The By-Law Amendments Addressed the following:
Clarification of membership positions (such as player members, voting members etc.,)
Board of Directors: (composed of a maximum of Twelve (12) voting members of the Association)
• The Four elected officers and their lengths of terms are as follows:
o President : three year term
o Vice President: two year term
o Treasurer: three year term
o Secretary: one year term
• Up to eight (8) additional members to be appointed by the Board of Directors. Those positions are:
o Safety Officer
o Scheduler/State Representative
o Coaching Coordinator
o Player Agent/Chair of Youth Hockey Committee
o Registrar
o Fundraiser
o Marketing/Public Relations
o At-Large
The term for appointed Board members shall be for two (2) years ending July 1 or until succeeded. Should a Board vacancy occur, the Board of Directors, by majority vote, shall appoint an Association member to serve for the balance of the board position’s lengths of terms.
Finances:
Our treasurer, TJ Sabotka has provided us with a Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement which covers July 2018 to June 2019 (which can be found on the table near the door) According to TJ’s reports, as of June 30, 2019 RAHA’s current assets at $125,283.64. Unlike in years past, we did not have a very big push last season for fundraising and there was minimal participation by our members. We did however host the state tournament and that did help offset some of our costs. We had an operating loss of $2,506.63 for the 2018-2019 season. This year, fundraising will definitely be a part of our season’s success and upon completion of tonight’s elections, which will allow us to get input from our newly elected president, fundraising information will be available in the weeks to come.
TJ Sabotka will be available a little later this evening and more than happy to answer any questions that you might have in regard to our financial status.
Some important dates to remember:
Next Board Meeting: Tuesday, September 10 @ RRMC
Annual RAHA Kickoff Picnic: Sunday, September 22nd, from 3 to 5 pm @ Spartan Arena. 2018-2019 Tom Lord recipients will be acknowledged. Details will follow.
I would like to end this by saying let’s all work to align ourselves with a common goal and that is to remember that Rutland Amateur Hockey Association is for the benefit of our children and the children in our community.
As we go forward, we need to really concentrate on our core values. Remember that every single one of us are role models to these children. They look up to us. They learn from us. Be supportive, be encouraging, emphasize what great sportsmanship looks like regardless of a game’s outcome, help them learn how to be a great teammate, have fun with them, learn with them and always put your best foot forward because these kiddos are always watching. So, lead by example.
Thank you for your time & here’s to a great 2019-2020 season!!
Heather Olsen
RAHA Interim President