Meeting of Palmetto Rugby Union Board of Directors
December 6, 2002
Meeting was convened at 8pm at Delaney's Pub in Columbia, SC. Representatives who attended the meeting: Scott Hunter (Columbia), Ed Lawson (myrtle Beach), Justin Chandler (Citadel) John Roberts (Furman M/W), Kirk LeCureux (Winthrop), Justin Czerski (USC-Men), Christina Lambert (USC-Women), John Graham (Coastal Carolina University), John Meyers (Disciplinary Chairman- PRU). Attending by Proxy - Brad Burns, Wes Brown.
- Nine of the ten teams registered for 2002 were represented and a thus a quorum was declared. Each Club was advised that LAU meeting will be 2-3 times per year and that they should plan on having a representative at each meeting.
- Current officers of the Union attending: John Graham (Select side coordinator), Bill Bell (College Coordinator) and John Meyers (Disciplinary Chairman)
- The first item of business was the financial status of the Union. RS south has reported to several members that the Dues to RS have not been paid in Full and penalties have been assessed. The impact of this is that if the LAU is in arrears to the territorial union, member clubs of the LAU cannot compete in matrix events. The only person who can resolve the payment issues is Jeff Goode who was not in attendance.
- The Second order of business was discussion of the current organization of the LAU and the Palmetto-RS relationship. There are ten teams currently in the union:
- Senior Men: Charleston Columbia Myrtle Beach Augusta
- College Men: Citadel Furman USC
- College Women: Furman, College of Charleston, USC
Kings Bay was listed but the team has folded. There are no Senior Women or Youth sides in the LAU. There are 4 new College teams starting to form this year: Winthrop (men) Coastal Carolina University (Men/Women) College of Charleston (Men) Lander College(men) Anderson College (men) The understanding is that Winthrop has already paid dues to Rugby South and the LAU for inclusion in the Rugby South Matrix for the Spring 2003 season. A quick check of the Rugby South (RS) website confirms USC and Citadel in the Division II matrix Furman and Winthrop in the DIII matrix for men. Furman and CofC women are in the DII matrix. USC women are not listed in the RS competition matrix.
Currently, Dues to the Palmetto Union are $350 per year and dues to Rugby South are $400 per year. Both of the amounts are payable in the first quarter of each calendar year. Since there was no reporting process to anyone present, it was requested that every member team report to the treasurer and Vice-president notification of invoice and payment. This notification is due by 12/3102 for the club teams and by 1/15/03 for the College teams.
- Third item of business was dues for the 2003 season. To assist the new clubs (Winthrop, CCU, Anderson,Lander, CofC) the Palmetto dues will be waived. To participate in USA events, get referees and get the USA rugby liability insurance, the teams must pay the $400 to to RS and register the Team with USA Rugby ($25). Invoices will be sent to all member clubs by 1/15/03 payable by 2/15/03.
- Fourth item of business was budget for the Palmetto LAU. If ten teams pay $350 each, that gives a revenue of $3500. As a first pass, $1200 will be spent for the Men's select side, $1200 for the College Select side, $1100 reserve for a women's select side and other miscellaneous union expense. This was not a final budget but rather a rough idea of what the money is intended for.
- Fifth item of business was election of officers. By acclamation, the officers to be elected were vice-president, treasure and secretary. Jeff Goode will remain as president with the condition that he report to the new officers the payment of sues and fines and provide a reporting of all expenses the union for the past year. This reporting is due by 12/31/02 to all of the officers of the union. If there is no such reporting, the office of president will be declared vacant and the vice-president will assume the duties of president . If Jeff Goode does report but chooses to step down as union president, the office of president will be declared vacant and the vice-president will assume the duties of president. Office Elected E-mail President Jeff Goode Jsg30@comcast.net Vise-President John Graham Rugby@coastal.edu Treasurer John Roberts John.roberts@furman.edu Select Side Coordinator John Graham Rugby@coastal.edu College Coordinator Bill Bell Bellw@citadel.edu Secretary Christina Libert Crstna7981@hotmail.com Disciplinary Chairman John Meyers Chapeygonz@aol.com Items to be discussed among the membership and the officers at future meetings:
- Preparation of a handbook describing policies, procedures and responsibilities of officers.
- Financial accounting procedures.
- Structure of select sides.
- Structure of Palmetto tournament.
- Encouraging Greenville to become a member.
- Determining if Augusta is going to continue as a member.
- Not really an item of business but comment on the operation of the LAU. Communication and accountability are the keys to the organization, To assist in cimmunication the PRU website is up and running palmettorugbyunion.com. The website contains contact information for every team and a calendar of events for the LAU. Also, an email list with at least one representative for each team was assembled.
- Complete E-mail list for Team representatives and PRU Officers: President Jeff Goode Jsg30@comcast.net Vise-President John Graham Rugby@coastal.edu Treasurer John Roberts John.roberts@furman.edu Select Side Coordinator John Graham Rugby@coastal.edu College Coordinator Bill Bell Bellw@citadel.edu Secretary Christina Libert Crstna7981@hotmail.com Disciplinary Chairman John Meyers Chapeygonz@aol.com Furman Men/Women John Roberts Citadel Justin Chandler chandlerj1@citadel.edu Blake Rayon rayonB@citadel.edu USC Women Christina Libert Val Winger pbh_bumm@hotmail.com Columbia Scott Hunter nhunter@scana.com Todd Schuster Philly9@msn.com USC Men Justin Czerski Keith Shurett shurett@aol.com Winthrop Kirk LeCureux rugby@winthrop.edu Myrtle Beach John Graham Charleston Wes Brown brownwd@spawar.navy.mil College of Charleston Brad Burns bjbmoglo@hotmail.com
- Meeting was adjourned at 10pm.
