Minutes of 4/12/06 Meeting

This meeting opened at 7:35 p.m. by Sis. N. Pajeau at American Sokol Office in Oak Brook, Illinois. The Pledge of Allegiance was given. The following BOI members were present: John Bazata, Lynda Bazata, Christina Curran, Bev Domzalski, Mary Ann Fiordelis, Chuck Kalat, Jan Kalat, Matt Kocek, Bob Kucera, Paul Lebloch, Juanita LoGiudice, Nancy Pajeau, Kandi Pajer, Tom Pajer, Irena Polashek, Pat Satek and Howie Wise. Barb Vondra, Barb Kucera and Beth Kocek were excused.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– March birthday greetings: Allison Gerber, Jan Kalat, Beth Kocek and Matt Kocek.
– April birthday greetings: Frank Michalek and Chuck Kalat.
– May birthday greetings: Lynn Conrad.
– Congratulations to Grandparents, Barb and Bob Kucera, on the birth of their grandson, Scott Robert, born 2‑11‑06, 5 lbs. 15 oz.
– Expressed sympathy for Sis Betty Prener passed away 83-year Sokol member, 100 years old.
– American Sokol will receive the Jan Masaryk Gratis Agit Award at the Czernin Palace in Prague, Czech Republic on May 4, 2006.

MINUTES:
– Minutes of the February 8, 2006, meeting were reviewed.
MOTION made by Br. T. Pajer to accept the minutes of the February 8, 2006, American Sokol – BOI Meeting, seconded by Br. B. Kucera and passed.

BILLS:
– Juanita LoGiudice, postage, envelopes and cards, $27.59.
– Taylor’s Flower Shop, green planter for Benak family (Sandy Benak’s mom passed away), $51.36.
MOTION made by Br. B. Kucera to approve bills, seconded by Sis. M. Fiordelis and passed.

CORRESPONDENCE:
Mail Sent:
– Sympathy cards to Walko Family for Albert Walko, Sokol USA Past Director; Benak Family for Sandra’s mom, Johanna Kocourek.

Mail Received:
– Ellen Jeanne Schnabl donated three video tapes: American Sokol, CATV Herald 2005 Slet and Roots of Sokol (Sokol NY); also, sent an Article: “Exercise for Life.”
– Chuck Kalat sent March and April, 2006, Directors’ Newsletters.
– Benak Family sent a thank you card for the green planter.
– Patti Komara sent a packet of specials; VHS tapes on sale; now converting to DVDs.
– Crown Trophy Catalog (showroom in Brookfield, IL).
– Dinn Bros. Trophy Catalog (Massachusetts).
– The Heart Of Europe Publication; in the Sports Issue there was an Article about Sokol.
– Hlasy Naroda publication; included an Article about Fred Kala in Czech.

E-mails received:
– Jan Kalat: 2/12/06 and 3/19/06 Action Lists; forwarded to BOI.
– Jan Kalat: 4/2/06 Updated Action List; Tom posted on web site www.american‑sokol/boi/members.
– Bev Domzalski: 2/28/06 American Sokol BOI minutes; Tom posted on web site.
– Bev Domzalski: 10/21/05 District Directors’ Conference minutes; Tom posted on web site.
– Patti Vondra: new e-mail address: pvondra@sbcglobal.net.
– Lance Kovac: Summer jobs available at Sokol Woodlands, Barryville, NY; contact Ljkovac1@aol.com or 609‑324‑3959.
– Bryan Pracko: Sokol USA Lodge 306 web site, www.sokolusachicago.com.
– USA Gymnastics: Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, WI, was 1 of 10 finalists for 2005 Sullivan Award; Mary Cushing knows her.
– Wingstop Boneless Moves Contest: www.wingstop.com.
– American Council on Exercise: February and March, 2006, Newsletters: www.acefitness.org.
– PE‑NEWS: February and March PE Newsletters: www.pelinks4u.org.
– PE4life: DuPage County Institute in Naperville IL: www.pe4life.org.
– The Presidents Challenge: February and March newsletters: www.presidentschallenge.org.

E-mails sent:
– District Directors, BOI and other National Organization Directors: Announcing District Directors’ Conference during the weekend of October 20‑22, 2006, at Sokol New York.

YOUTH MEMBERSHIP:
– Youth Committee Status Report dated April 12, 2006 is attached.
– Discussed low Tots enrollment numbers. Attendance records and youth membership numbers will need to be compared to see if there is a difference and find out why, if at all, Tots are not being enrolled as youth members.

2006 PRAGUE SLET – July 1-6, 2006
Performance Team (ASPT)
– ASPT performed Prague Slet Gala number for the first time on April 8, 2006, at the Central District Special Number Competition.
– ASPT has achieved over and above its goal amount ($25, 422.68); however, expenses need to be extracted, i.e. DVD creation and duplication costs, pictures to create and mail, t-shirts mailing. ASPT is hoping to still make enough money so that the Sokol Seals money can be put back into its regular account, rather than be used for the Performance Team. Donations continue to come in to achieve these goals.
– Prague DVD sales are coming up; will be advertised in American Sokol publication.
– Final fundraiser will be the cash raffle dinner and art auction which will be held on June 23, 2006. Flyers will be passed out at the Central District Sokol Day and an announcement will be in the American Sokol publication. Team members will be selling tickets. This event will be held at Sokol Tabor on Friday evening, 6/23/06. The Team will perform their 5-minute number and possibly include some stage performances; there will be a catered dinner; also, a live art auction, which will include works from Rome Milan, Annette Schabowski and team member, Megan Rosenow.
– Thanked Pat Satek for help in designing the t-shirts for those who donated to the pyramid fundraiser. Those who donated $1, 000+ will have an ad in the American Sokol publication; the deadline for ads from the donors is June 1, 2006.
– The ASPT will be staying at Tyrsuv Dum while in Prague.

ASO Calisthenics Formations
– Br. C. Kalat reported that ASO still needs people to fill in some of the formations. There are women needed in five spots and men needed in three spots for Senior calisthenics. There is one spot open in the men’s calisthenics. There are four openings in the women’s drum number.

Uniforms
– All uniform information has been distributed.
– COS will be sending one set of sample uniforms for the Senior II calisthenics.

Prague T-shirt Orders
– There were 277 orders for t-shirts.
Rehearsal and Program Schedules Received
– Received a rehearsal schedule from COS. Schedule was distributed to all groups participating. There are two separate rehearsals for each number; there is a rehearsal for the program itself; and there is a dress rehearsal for the program itself. The men will be in the finale of the second program.

Parade – Hand Held U.S. Flags
– A meeting was held with Paul Lebloch, Tom Pajer, Barb Vondra, Chuck Kalat and Larry Laznovsky about a week ago. It was decided the Performance Team will do some moving activities during the parade. We will also get some hand held flags; Br. Kalat spoke to someone who is offering a 10% discount from Oriental Trading Company which has the best deal at about $3.00 a dozen for 4″ x 6″ flags. Br. Kalat is also working on a souvenir pin that should be on the web site in a few days. If anyone has other ideas, they should be sent to Br. Kalat before 5/1/06.

Other Information
– A second Slet Bulletin was received; however, it is written in Czech only. Jan Ulrich is listed as the person in charge of the Slet Gala. There is information on first aid, a release form is included and a technical insurance section that is for the Czech children. For the Sokol Gala, there is a pre-premier at 3:00 p.m., which is a 2-hour program with 90 minutes of sports; from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., there will be musical groups and bands that will be playing; 7:00 p.m. will be the opening of the Slet, which is a 3-hour program and includes the same numbers from the 3:00 p.m. program. On Sunday at 4:00 p.m. in the Tyrsuv Dum courtyard, special numbers will perform; there is a conflict with men’s calisthenics practice. On Monday at 4:00 p.m., there will be special numbers performed again. They do state that program order will take into consideration rehearsal obligations of participants. There will be groups from Denmark, Croatia, Portugal, Austria, Spain, Canary Islands and USA. In case of rain, performances will be indoors at Tyrsuv Dum. On June 28-30, 2006, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., there will be an exhibition of some Prague units’ special numbers. At the Old Town Metro Stop, there will be different folklore groups performing. On July 2-4, 2006, there will be cultural programs and folklore groups throughout the day at Tyrsuv Dum. On July 3, 2006, there will be a street ball tournament from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for 12 to 18 year old boys and girls. On 4th of July, Sokol Theater Groups will perform at 6:00 p.m. On July 6, 2006, there will be a farewell celebration at Tyrsuv Dum.

NEW WING
– No report at this time. Attempting to schedule a meeting time and date.

OTHER OLD AND NEW BUSINESS:
Web site Administration
– The web site is up and running. Continuing to work with Sis. J. Hruby to straighten out a few issues.
– The BOI web site is broken into two web sites; one is more public, which includes program and information on Slet: american-sokol.org/boi; the second is more private for the board to post minutes and other internal information: american-sokol.org/boi/members.

2006 National Instructors School- July 17-31, 2006
– Br. Kalat received a report from Br. B. Benak. Br. Benak is working on securing a staff for the school. He received several applications for assistant instructor positions; has not received any student applications as yet. He is working on a new graduation diploma and code of conduct. Application deadline is June 1, 2006.
2006 National Sokol Camp – July 31 to August 6, 2006
– Sis. J. Kalat reported that there are five people interested in being on the staff. Five camper applications have been received. Sokol Detroit, Sokol Greater Cleveland, Sokol Crete and Sokol St. Louis sent e-mail inquiries about the camp. All information is on the web site.

2006 Summer Traveling Camps
– Br. T. Pajer met with the traveling camp staff just before this meeting. One camp is lined up so far; it is for Central District on June 16-18 at Sokol Spirit. Maria Briedenbach will be unavailable for this camp; joining Kevin Fitzpatrick and Stacey Domzalski will be Matt Petkus and Kaitlin Short. Br. Pajer spoke to John Bazata and e-mailed information he needs. The camp would like a minimum of 25 campers; deadline is May 21, 2006. Either Kevin Fitzpatrick or Stacey Domzalski will be the camp leader; Br. Pajer may not be available at all times during this camp. Budget may be a little short for some funds; part of the budget includes donations from the Future Sokol Leaders Fund and the Youth Committee; we hope we can still get $250 from the Youth Committee and $126 from the FSLF. Br. Kalat will see if FSLF included the camp in its budget; if not, the BOI will cover. The camp is also looking for $63 to come from general donations. The camp schedule will be very similar to last year’s pilot camp.
2006-2007 Merit Award

– There have been 7 requests; 4 from Central District, 1 from Northeast District and 2 from Southern District. Deadline for request is May 1, 2006.
Strategic Planning Committee Plans
– The committee continues to meet by teleconference to work on strategic imperatives. The committee will be meeting face-to-face during the first weekend in May in Ft. Worth to take a look at all of the imperatives and put all of them in a final plan. Will work on strategies and communications of the plan.
New Uniform Committee
– Committee consists of Pat Satek (chairperson), Bob Kucera, Christina Curran, Matt Kocek. Jean Hruby is assisting the committee as the Uniform Department Rep; Sis. Hruby was on vacation and unable to attend meeting. Committee looked over the report from the convention then discussed items committee would like to pursue.
– Priorities were established:

1. Men’s competition uniform consisting of a shirt and shorts and women’s competition leotard. Committee would like to have these items available by January, 2007. Would like to have units poll their women to see if leotard preference is for long sleeves or no sleeves.
2. Shorts for girls to wear over their uniform leotards; shorts could be worn during a parade; shorts would not be considered part of the official uniform, but would be an accessory. Girls are interested in the short shorts offered by the Soffe Company. The shorts would have the entire waistband on the inside printed with the word “Sokol” repeating around the waistband upside down so the waistband can be rolled down and you can read Sokol right side up, or possibly have the word Sokol just on the backside of the waistband; color would be an ash gray. Committee woul like to have this item available by September, 2006.
3. In addition to the regulation uniform, ankle socks with “Sokol” printed on the side. Committee would like to have this item available by September, 2006.
4. Bandana that would be a generic Sokol bandana and would be available in a lot of different colors.
5. Sis. Hruby has a lot of backpack style bags, which is more appropriate for the kids. Something appropriate for the adults would be a duffel bag; an investigation by the committee to see what size and style would be preferred.

– Long-term goals are for uniform shoes; will look for a source and have members go get them from that source. Also, considering a warm-up suit for children that would be less expensive than the one available for adults.
– Br. Pajer showed the new ASPT uniform, which will become the women’s competitive leotard.
– The shorts for men would be a shorter gymnastic short, tighter fitting, in a knit fabric. The word Sokol will be placed on the shorts.
– Committee will get a sample prepared and bring back financial information in order to get approval.
– There is an excess amount of red shorts in larger sizes to be used for girls who wear the red leotards would wear red shorts. Youth, size large, red leotards are out-of-stock; they will be re-ordered during the summer months for sale/distribution in September, 2006.

Adult Merit Award
– Sis. N. Pajeau will have a report next month.
American Sokol Special Number for 2007 Sokol USA Slet
– It was decided a few months ago that an American Sokol Special Number would be prepared for the Slet in Pittsburgh, PA, in 2007. Matt Kocek has volunteered to be considered as an author for a Slet calisthenics in 2009; instead, he was asked to put a number together with the same conception as the 500-mile number. It would be a high energy number that everyone can do. Br. Kocek was asked to have this number ready by the end of Summer, 2006. Br. Kocek has chosen the music, “You Can Call Me Al, ” by Paul Simon.

Other
– Cheri Riddle is new Sokol Fresno’s Women’s Director.
– It was noted that Speith Anderson offers Milan Vault Tables which were named in recognition of Jerry Milan’s brother.
– Instructor Handbook Book now includes rules for the Br. Bob Liptak Instructor School Scholarship; also, included is a page about Instructor School Staff and the duties of an Assistant Instructor.
– USAG National Congress will be held on August 16‑19, 2006 in St. Paul, MN.
– Central District is interested in the 2005 Special Number t-shirts to use as a parade t-shirt; there are 12 red shirts and 9 gray shirts still available.
– The Czech Council of Higher Education presented $3, 500 scholarships to Br. Bo Benak of Sokol South Omaha, Br. Andrew Dalton of Sokol South Omaha and Sis. Kelly Panackia of Sokol Detroit.
– Br. T. Pajer presented a plan for a program similar to instructors’ school, but this program would teach young people how to actually run a gym and handle executive offices on a Unit’s board. A major problem foreseen is finding people to actually teach this sort of program.
– Br. Lebloch will be going to Prague on April 30, 2006; if anyone has any questions about the Slet, drop Br. Lebloch an e-mail.

ACTION LIST:
– Action list was reviewed; an updated copy is posted on the members web site.

The next ASO-BOI meeting will be held at the American Sokol office at 122 West 22nd Street, Oak Brook, IL, on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. There was no further business to discuss.

Meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Beverly R. Domzalski, Secretary