This meeting opened at 7:30 p.m. by Sis. B. Vondra at American Sokol Office in Brookfield, Illinois and via teleconference. The Pledge of Allegiance was given. The following BOI members were present: Mary Cushing, Bev Domzalski, Maryann Fiordelis, Allison Gerber, Chuck Kalat, Jan Kalat, Barb Kucera, Bob Kucera, Juanita LoGiudice, Nancy Pajeau, Kandi Pajer, Tom Pajer, Irena Polashek, Ted Polashek, Barb Vondra, Howie Wise, Jane Wise, Christina Curran-Wurst. Patti Vondra was excused.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
– Happy Belated Birthday: Lynn Conrad, 5/01; Paul Lebloch, 5/13.
– Happy Birthday: Jane Wise, 5/28.
– Sympathy: Br. Rich Miller’s father passed away on May 5, 2008.
MINUTES:
– Minutes of the April 9, 2008, meeting were reviewed.
MOTION made by Br. T. Pajer to approve the minutes of the April 9, 2008, American Sokol – BOI meeting, seconded by Sis. N. Pajeau and passed.
BILLS:
– None.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Mail Sent:
– Paper Copies of updated to the Instructor School Handbook: Kandi Pajer, Peter Lattanzio, Frank Michalek, Jerry Milan and Kevin Fitzpatrick.
– Reminder letters to 2007-2008 Merit Award recipients to send in past year’s school transcript.
– Thank you card to Sokol Spirit for use of gym for Special Number taping.
Mail Received:
– COS Sokol Publication, 4/2008; contains article about Marie Provaznikova
– Patti Komara packet of special officers.
– May Director’s Newsletter.
-Czech/Slovak Sokol Minnesota Publication; congratulations celebrated 125 years.
E-mails received:
– Strategic Planning Task Force Instructor Standards Committee: review instructor guidelines document.
– Jean Hruby, Public Relations Director of American Sokol.
– Greg Harris, new Executive Director of American Sokol.
– Sokol KHB DVD of 100 years celebration, April 18-20, 2008.
– National Physical Fitness and Sports Month at www.fitness.gov/May%20Month/may_month_toolkit.html.
E-mails sent:
– Minutes and updated Action List posted, www.american-sokol.org/boi/members.
YOUTH MEMBERSHIP:
– Youth Committee Status Report dated May 14, 2008, is attached.
– Breakdown of $630.00 income: Sokol Ft. Worth, $460.00; Sokol Naperville-Tyrs, $5.00; Sokol West, $145.00; Sokol Stickney, $10.00; Sokol Milwaukee, $5.00; and Sokol Tabor, $5.00.
– Breakdown of $2, 324.92 expenses:
Copying of Kids and Teens newsletter, $247.18.
Toddler Newsletter, $130.98.
Mailing labels, $64.34.
Stamps for the May newsletter, $713.40.
Four scholarships to 2008 National Camp, $1, 300.00.
– Br. B. Kucera noted the $480 overage is from Sokol Ft. Worth who has not turned in any names, but sent their payment in early.
MOTION made by Br. T. Pajer to approve the Youth bills, seconded by Sis. M. Fiordelis and passed.
– Br. Pajer questioned the lateness of dues from the units listed in the Youth Report. Br. B. Kucera explained that Sokol Baltimore had a late start because of an issue with their hall and things fell behind. Br. B. Kucera talked to a gentleman at Sokol Corpus Christi, had help from Br. R. Milan and will be submitting names and dues soon. Sis. J. Kalat said Sokol Houston has classes with about 10 youth, but does not know why the dues have not been turned in. Sis. J. Wise said Sokol Little Ferry gave reports about classes and their exhibition in their newsletter, so they must have youth.
– So far, no youth campers are from any of these unpaid units. Br. C. Kalat will continue to push Sokol Houston for their youth dues since they do have youth entered in their District competitions.
2008 AMERICAN SOKOL NATIONAL INSTRUCTORS SCHOOL – July 7-21, 2008, Sokol Greater Cleveland
– Sis. J. Wise reported that 8 applications have been received. First deadline date is Thursday, 5/15/08. After Thursday, the price goes up another $50.00. Of those 8 applicants: 2 from DA Sokol, 2 from Sokol Ferrell; 2 of the 8 were scholarship winners; some of these applicants are missing some paperwork and Sis. Wise will contact them.
– A phone call was received inquiring about the President of Sokol Serbia and his daughter attending the school. The true motive for the inquiry was questioned. Br. P. Lebloch will be asked if they are members of World Sokol Federation and if not, they are not eligible to attend. Otherwise, Br. Kalat told Sis. Wise to tell Serbia the National BOI has decided not to issue an invitation. Br. Kalat took the responsibility to reply to the inquiry.
– Sis. M. Cushing has secured her initial 4 staff people, and will not secure additional staff until she knows the final number of students attending. There are three other staff members interested in working with the Instructors School.
2008 NATIONAL SOKOL SUMMER CAMP – July 27-August 3, 2008, Sokol St. Louis Camp
– Sis. J. Kalat reported there are 34 campers: 6 from Northeastern District, 5 Southern District and 23 from Central District. The first deadline has passed; two were received after deadline and did pay the higher fee.
– Currently, there are more staff applicants than we can support with 34 campers. There are 3 counselors including 2 from St. Louis which will not require travel reimbursement.
– If complete fee is not paid by camper, no acceptance letter will be sent to that camper until it is paid in full.
– Sis. J. Kalat has tried to keep the unit directors up on the numbers; those units that have more than 4 campers have been notified. Two discount coupons from the Directors’ Conference have been turned in.
– Sis. A. Gerber is still encouraging Western District youth to sign-up for camp.
NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR REPORT
– Sis. E. Schnabl sent information to be shared with the BOI. Br. Kalat does include items of interest in the Directors’ Newsletter.
NEW WING
– Sis. J. Wise had no new information.
– Br. T. Polashek will contact the New Wing in the next month or so to discuss the future Winter Slet.
– Br. T. Polashek informed Sis. J. LoGiudice that there were problems at the hotel last used by Sokol for the Winter Slet and that we would not be using that hotel again.
OTHER OLD AND NEW BUSINESS:
Bridgestone/Firestone Grant for Instructors School
– Bridgestone/Firestone scholarship application deadline was April 15, 2008. Nine applications were received. Eight recipients will receive $225.00 each towards Instructor’s School. One was not originally awarded as there was a glitch in the application. Subsequently, one of the original 8 was unable to attend he school so that award was given to the ninth applicant after application probles were resolved. There were 3 recipients from Northeastern District and 5 from Central District. Congratulations will be posted in the ASO publication.
2009 American Sokol Slet – June 22 to June 28, 2009
– There was a Slet committee meeting. Things continue to progress slowly.
– Major grants or sponsorships have not yet been secured. Committee is confident they will get a major sponsor.
– There are 380 rooms blocked at the Omni for this event. Those rooms need to be booked by January 1, 2009. If you block more than 10 rooms, you will have to sign a small contract with the hotel guaranteeing those rooms; if you back out at the last minute, you will be responsible for those rooms.
– A Yahoo Group has been established for 2009 Slet. Information will be distributed through that group. Instructions for joining are in the May Directors’ Newsletter.
– There was a BOI leadership meeting on the Slet schedule and other Slet items. Investigation on certain items is ongoing.
– Opening ceremonies on Tuesday evening will be in conjunction with the USA General Gymnastics Gala, so it will be Opening Ceremonies and Gala combo. The Fun Run will be open to everyone including non-Sokol members. The committee will be investigating the possibility of opening up the Fitness Challenge to non-Sokols granting achievements rather than placement.
– For the Slet program, it was decided not to have a parade into the stadium. There will be a separate parade in downtown Ft. Worth on Friday morning. At the Slet program, there will be a mass assembly getting everyone on the field as quickly as possible.
– Folk dancing will be considered for the Gala as opposed to the outdoor Slet program.
– Finale will be the All-Sokol Special Number written by Br. T. Pajer. It will be open to outsiders and we hope to completely fill the field with people. A fee plan for non-Sokols is being developed. There may be a combo ticket where they buy a t-shirt and get a ticket as well. – Awards will be presented at the venues directly after the competitions.
– Sis. B. Vondra is working with the women’s routines, while Br. C. Kalat is working with the men’s routines. The men’s routines will not be out in time for our typical Slet handbook.
– Opening volleyball to outsiders is being considered. Also, discussing opening up the artistic gymnastic competitions to non-Sokols.
– There will be another meeting in early June at which time some of these issues will be tackled.
– Southern District is testing Group II and Children’s cal; Central District tested the adult cal; Junior/Young Adult aerobic cal has a training video and is completely aerobic.
– During review of the jr./sr. aerobic cal, it was felt that some of the movements might necessitate having the junior girls wear shorts over their leotards. Central District is not in favor of adding shorts to the junior girls’ uniform; the comment was to change the move.
– Sis. J. Kalat recommended a written 2009 Slet Report should be presented at Executive Board meetings to help with communication of Slet information. Sis. L. Laznovsky has taken on the responsibility of communication for the committee. She is doing all communications for USAG. Sis. Laznovsky will have a bulletin coming out shortly, which will be e-mailed to officers and directors.
– A lot of the communication is going to be done with e-mail and on the web site and people will need to start establishing a procedure to go look there once in a while and not sit back and wait as we have in the past.
– Several places have been viewed for the social.
– Marching may open up to non-Sokols; pick your own music and any age group mix and it would be an open competition.
– Sis. B. Vondra needs to discuss rhythmics versus aesthetics with Sis. M. Cushing.
– The bowling may be a candlelight bowl.
– The golf would be two tournaments, one regular and one celebrity fundraiser.
– Sis. B. Vondra is viewing the aerobic cal; there is no text. She will work with the Central District to get a block of people together to learn it and then video it. Sis. Vondra is also working on the Tots’ cal. Nicole Marchluk wrote the cal and Sis. J. LoGiudice revamped it a little. The Central District will also take a look at this one.
– Shuttle buses will be available.
– USAG Group is planning a Six Flags day on the Sunday after the Slet.
– There will be a farewell social at Sokol Ft. Worth on Sunday. Slet activities will end on Sunday.
WSF “Fitness” Program/Contest
– Sis. J. Wise received 176 scores so far from six units. There are a few that are still on the way. All information received is being double checked.
– Participants will receive a pin; top 25% in each age category will receive a medal (males separate from females). The top scores will go to COS. People have been scoring higher than the chart shows.
Merit Award
– Six applications have been sent out: 4 to Central District, 1 to Eastern District and 1 to Western District. Only one application from Western District has been sent back. Sis. J. LoGiudice will follow-up with District Directors to see if the applications are being completed.
– Sis. J. LoGiudice knows of one transcript being sent from one of last year’s recipients.
– Sis. C. Curran-Wurst has been added as a merit award committee member replacing Sis. Kocek.
– Sis. B. Kucera will call a committee meeting in the beginning of June, 2008, to review applications.
Strategic Planning Committee Report
– Sis. M. Fiordelis announced new executive director is Greg Harris. Central District had a plan review and meet and greet on May 10th and he was well received. People have been commenting on his enthusiasm and his knowledge.
– Mr. Harris went with Sis. Fiordelis to American Red Cross to finalize the partnership. Sis. Fiordelis is still waiting for the contract, but she does have the prices.
– Today, Mr. Harris and Sis. Fiordelis worked on obtaining a grant for the implementation of the educational program that we will be trying. If the application is successful, we will have the money in June.
– Mr. Harris is going to attend the Northeastern District Slet and will meet their members. Sis. Fiordelis is working with Sokol Detroit to get a session with more members while he is there.
– Instructors Standards Team is working on reviewing the comments that have come back about the booklet.
– The Program Team is putting final touches on the physical fitness program.
– The Volunteer Management and Finance Teams are putting together their resource book. The Finance Team is also putting together and reviewing survey results.
– The Membership Team is meeting next Tuesday. Mr. Harris is attending as many team meetings as he can. He will be taking a more active role in moving the teams along.
– The Implementation Team is focusing on getting the three programs out and how that is going to happen. There is still no representation from the Northeastern District or the Western District on this team.
– Message updates are being put on roll call and articles are being submitted to the publication regarding the strategic plan. Br. H. Wise noted that the telephone number listed in the publication is missing a digit in the number.
– Sis. M. Fiordelis will be wrapping up her term.
– Br. T. Pajer noted that the physical program is expected to be completed on June 10, 2008, and will be presented to the Strategic Plan Task Force. Br. Pajer requested some time at the June 11, 2008, BOI meeting to present this program.
Miscellaneous
– Sis. M. Fiordelis talked about the laying of the wreath at the Masaryk monument last night. At the Rockefeller Chapel, Madeleine Albright was the guest speaker talking about democracy. A reception followed. The Sokol Honor Guard was excellent and a very good representation of American Sokol. Many pictures were taken and will be put in the publication.
– Br. T. Polashek stated there is a flyer out for the Third Annual American Sokol Campout on September 5-7, 2008 at Warren Dunes in Michigan. There will be a small bocci ball tournament and a peach picking excursion, otherwise, participants will be on their own. There are 15 campsites; 4 adults per campsite. There is one fee for two nights regardless of whether you stay one night or two.
– The current thought for the 2010 convention is to be held in the month of July, which is a very active month for the ASO-BOI. The BOI would prefer the convention be held during a different month.
– The National Traveling Camp will be holding a camp June 13-15, 2008, in Central District. Campers’ registration forms are due on May 18, 2008. Currently, there are not enough campers registered, but Central District expects the forms will be turned in on the last day at Central District Sokol Day. As long as there are 25 campers, a staff will be put together and the camp will go ahead.
Websites
– American Council on Exercise: www.acefitness.org.
– PE-NEWS: Newsletter: www.pelinks4u.org.
– PE4life: www.pe4life.org.
– The Presidents Challenge: Fitness is Fun Newsletter: www.presidentschallenge.org.
– Health & Fitness: www.exercise.about.com.
– President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports: www.fitness.gov.
– Sign up for newsletters: www.talk.about.com
– Tiffin Mats: www.TiffinMats.com, monthly specials.
– Gymnastic Training tips: www.gymnasticstrainingtips.com. Links and Resources.
ACTION LIST:
– Action list was reviewed; an updated copy is posted on the BOI members’ web site.
– The next regular ASO-BOI meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 11, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. There was no further business to discuss.
MOTION made to adjourn.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Beverly R. Domzalski, Secretary