Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Board Candidates Answer Questions
By John Philbeck & Gary Coy
Election Committee Chairmen
The Members of NBUA are interested in the opinions and focus of their Board Members. There are many reasons for seeking a position on the NBUA Board. Please tell our Members your reasons for wanting to serve on our Board.
Mark Forsythe: Like most candidates that run for the board, I want to "give back" to NBUA for being so generous to me over the past 16 years. I have a ton of respect for the folks that keep the NBUA wheels turning (our current board) and have fostered some very close friendships with those that I've served with over the past two years and wish to remain within that circle. I'm extremely proud of what this board has accomplished but realize there is still a lot of work to do to make us even better. I wish to continue what we've started.
Rich Johnson: I serve on the Board of Directors because I am committed to the Northwest Baseball Umpires Association and am willing to contribute my time and effort to work for and represent the interests of this fine organization.
Brian Gooch: These questions have been answered in my Candidate Statement
Chris Claflin: As I said in my candidates statement, I feel it is time for me to give back to the association, plain and simple. I have the time to commit to being a board member and the desire to make a difference.
Vern Dahl: Like all of you, I love umpiring am delighted to be part of an organization that provides the opportunity to participate with the best baseball in the Puget Sound Area and anxiously wait for the email from Leslie telling me I have new games so I can go do what I love to do.....umpire.
However, while often we all think Leslie is a MAGICIAN (she is) it takes a strong organization and nine dedicated directors working behind the scenes (in addition to Leslie) to make it all work.
Throughout my business career I have always been in a management position where organization skills, people skills and clear business thinking are required. When I first joined the board I hoped these skills could benefit NBUA and as our association continues to mature these skills are even more important. In 2008 for the most part we had an great board, looking at the candidates, in 2009 we will have an outstanding board and I would be proud to contribute what I can.
Jay Neff: Many years ago, I served on the board. It was a lot of work. I was there when we voted to begin our current assigning system. I restarted the "liaison" program, a program that I think greatly benefits our association. I loved my short time on the board. For the past few years now as I have talked with several members, I just felt like I wanted to be a part of the decisions that effect our association. A lot of people have expressed things to me that might just benefit our group. One way of finding out, is to get onto the board and make things happen. Now I have a chance to get involved. A chance to make a difference. I have talked with many members who support my decision to run. They know that I will be there at every meeting, bring communications to the forefront, and keep the best interest of the association always as a priority. I want to get in, roll up my sleeves, and get my hands dirty. I want your vote and support of the membership so I can get involved. I have no big issues here, I just want to be a part of the group that continues to make our association the best in baseball.
Will you have the time, energy, patience and desire necessary to take on multiple, complex tasks and issues and see that they reach a satisfactory resolution for the Association? Please let our Members know the level of involvement you would expect and be prepared to invest.
Marc Forsythe: We all have personal lives, jobs, family commitments, etc. that can interfere with baseball. I won't lie to you, sometimes my priorities will not always be baseball and NBUA. That said, I do hope that my tenure on the board has proven to most of you that I take my job as director seriously. I've sacrificed a lot of time during the past two years for NBUA business activities because things have to get done. Come December and January, I hope to continue on as the chairman of recruiting & retention. As the R&R chairman, you become very involved with all of the new members and their training. Once the season begins, you continue in that vein by attending, working with, and evaluating new members. Throughout the season, you receive several calls and emails from potential new membe rs inquiring about training and evaluations. As the Summer wears on, you start to look forward to fall ball and again, working with the newer and lower tiered umpires. In-between those times, work about 100 games for NBUA and a full-time job... I've enjoyed working for you and will continue to work just as hard if re-elected.
Rich Johnson: My level of involvement is complete. I do whatever it takes to get the job done. No one has ever questioned my time commitment, energy, or desire. Patience, however, is not one of my virtues.
Brian Gooch: These questions have been answered in my Candidate Statement
Chris Claflin: Yes I will have the time and energy for total committment and will always have the best interests of the association in mind. I am prepared to take on whatever tasks the board would see appropriate.
Vern Dahl: This is an outstanding question, a question all candidates must ask themselves and an issue where I have done a great deal of soul searching. I have seen first hand what happens when a director commits to a major job then is unable or unwilling to fulfill their responsibilities. This deeply hurts the organization is unfair to all members and is something I will never do.
Like many of you, I have a demanding job and while my wife sometimes disagrees, I try to have a life outside NBUA. J An issue I have to deal with is frequent and often unpredictable business travel. But with today's communication tools, board meetings can be attended by phone and many if not most of director responsibilities can be managed by phone and email if necessary. A great example was a couple of years ago when with the assistance of some outstanding members we rewrote the NBUA By-Laws. Virtually all of that work was accomplished with email and conference calls. Personally I managed this process including every conference call from my hotel room wherever I was at that time.
The bottom line is, I believe if a director agrees to take on an area of responsibility there is absolutely no excuse for not completing their task......I commit to completing any and all responsibilities.
Jay Neff: Look, to be quite honest with you, being on the board is a HUGE responsibility and is very time consuming. I don't know what lies ahead. No one does. What I do know is that I am committed to invest the time, and the energy to put our association first. I have seen this first hand and I am ready. I know that this is going to be kind of time consuming and I know I am ready. I haven't yet decided on what committee I want to focus on but I have a couple of ideas.
Whatever the area is, I will jump in and do what is asked of me to put our members first.
Describe a function or issue facing our Association that is of particular interest to you. What Board function would your prefer to have be the focus of your attention and energy?
Marc Forsythe: I enjoy the recruiting and the training aspect but will work in any capacity that is needed. As a director, you get involved in just about every aspect/issue of NBUA with committee involvement, feedback, and brainstorming sessions. Of particular interest (and sometimes concern) is the feedback and comments we receive from our customers. As I mentioned in my candidate statement, I am customer focused and take feedback (positive & negative) very seriously. I believe most of you will agree that when we are asked to umpire a game, the focus should never be on you. Our customers need to know that NBUA is working very hard to keep it that way.
Thanks to the election committee for the great questions. To any members that have further questions for me, please don't hesitate to call or email me. Cell: (425) 308-2937. Email: marc.forsythe@comcast.net .
Rich Johnson: My current role as President requires me to be involved in many "functions". I think one of the most important issues for us right now is evaluations. We must continue to improve our evaluations program at all levels. We are also moving forward with incorporating peer evaluations into Game Assign which will make the process of entering scores more efficient.
Brian Gooch: These questions have been answered in my Candidate Statement
Chris Claflin: I am interested in getting involved in the recruitng of new members. I feel I have an ability to communicate well with others and a desire to make the NBUA grow. I'm also interested in helping make our evaluation process better and more efficient. And finally, after a year where we saw quite a number of on-field incidents, I'm concerned about the safety of our umpires and holding leagues accountable for the actions of their players.
Vern Dahl: The board is faced with many responsibilities, some of these responsibilities such as chairing the training, evaluation, recruiting, etc. committees are ongoing while other issues come up during the year and need to be dealt with when they come up. While I am prepared to assume any committee chairmanship where I can effectively serve the organization, an area of particular interest to me is managing our relationships with our customer organizations.
During 2008 NBUA had an unusual number of issues that required a board member interfacing with a league. Brian Gooch our 2008 Vice President handled the majority of these issues, doing an outstanding job. If Brian is reelected and he wants to continue managing these issues I would be proud to serve with him. If Brian chooses to take on other responsibilities, I would be happy to assume these responsibilities.
Jay Neff: There are so many areas that need leadership whether it's evaluations, bylaws, liaison, and so forth. There are also issues facing our association that need to be addressed from the web site to updating bylaws, to putting our evaluations system back on track. I sure would like us to look into a fuel surcharge or better travel expense if that's even possible. One area that is of particular concern to me seems to be the evaluation process. One member expressed his displeasure to me about being evaluated by someone who didn't stick around after the game. This just can't happen to our hard working folks. I would love to either co-chair that one or possibly take it on myself.