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SPRING MEETING 2010 May 31, 2010 Dear Member, On Sunday March 14, 2010, your Executive Board met at The Church Street Tavern in Burlington, for our Annual Spring Meeting. Here are the minutes: The Secretary reported that the membership now stands at 162 active members, 7 inactive members, 10 honorary members, 15 life, and 13 new members for a total of 207. Active members not renewing their dues were Evan Crockett, Joe Menoff, and Tim Smith. Bob Lance and Bob Bushey retired. New members not renewing were Rob Bliss, Kevin Cox, Paul Easton, Matt Galluzzo, Cathy Guiffre, and Sean Mullen. Inactive members not renewing their dues were Mike Alger, Rick Bushey, Tom Commito, Thom Costello, Neal Cronce, Greg Gerdel, Andrea Karon, and Mike Mullally. Inactive members retiring were Paul Barci, Dave Bullis, Charlie Marchant, Ginny Richburg, and John Werner. Thanks to all for helping to recruit new members to our Association. We encourage everyone to please continue to help recruit members for our organization. As they did last year, the Executive Board decided to continue to require new candidates to attend the introductory clinic on the basics put on by Frank Martel. These clinics will be held in the North, in Montpelier on 8-28 from 9-5, and in the South, in Proctor on 8-21 from 9-5. At the conclusion of each clinic, candidates will be administered the test. This entrance requirement is to help ensure quality in our new officials. Please contact Frank Martel for more details. The Treasurer's report was read and accepted. Right now the checkbook is in good shape, but, as we always do at this time of the year, we have a lot of large bills coming in the next few months(NFIOA insurance, rulebooks, etc.). Again, the Executive Board reminds everyone of our stance on uniforms. First, all referees MUST have BOTH the black uniform top and the "college grid" gold top. Secondly, referees may wear any college approved tops at games, as long as they both dress alike. For example, both referees may wear college grid orange. It is not acceptable for one referee to wear the college grid gold and the other referee to wear college grid blue. Referees are not authorized to wear USSF approved apparel to games. Summer referees beware: OUR GOLD GRID ALTERNATE JERSEYS ARE NOT THE SAME UNIFORM AS THE USSF JERSEYS. Mike Baker and John Pedone will have a generous supply, as they always do, of all college grid alternate jerseys for sale at our Annual Meeting at VTC. If you would like to purchase your jersey now, you can contact Mike Baker at 434-2084 or John Pedone at . Improperly uniformed officials MUST be reported to a member of the Executive Board. Improperly uniformed officials will put their tournament assignments in jeopardy. Next, committees were formed. We would ask that if you see your name assigned to a committee, you will help us out and accept the position. Here are this year's committees: Written Test: Clinics by Frank and Abe. Scholarship: Randy Dewey, Steve Hudak, and Dave Peirce Fees & Dues: Bill Duval & Pete Roach By-Laws: Bill Duval, Pete Roach, Dave Blythe, Dave Barra, John Witalec, & Bob Fletcher Nominating: Joe Kamuda & Buster Kathan Grievance: Stan Blicharz(C), Matt Fitzgerald, Kirk Abrahamson, Joe Gonillo, Paul Austin Physical Fitness: Various sites with the final site being the Annual Meeting at VTC. This year, once again, our game fees will be as follows: Varsity Sub Varsity 2010-2011 $75 $45 Mileage will be set prior to each season and will be reviewed annually by the Officials Committee. Currently, the mileage rate is $0.41/mile. I'm not sure if it will change before the 2010 soccer season. I am including a little bit about our NFIOA insurance coverage. I am paying our fees in June, so we will save $5 per member. The NFHS Officials Association is implementing a dues increase on July 1, 2010. Attached you will find the new Fee Structure. Any payments received after June 30, 2010 will be subject to the new membership fee of $25.00 per official. As a reminder your membership with the NFHS Officials Association includes: * 1 Million Dollars General Liability Insurance Policy * 50 Thousand Dollars Accident Medical Insurance Policy * Accidental Death & Dismemberment Benefit * Access to NFHS Centralized Officiating Educational Content (NFHS Central Hub) * Official Quarterly Publication Referees are reminded that you will leave the field together when the game ends. The Executive Board has discussed this topic at length and agrees that too many things can happen after the end of the contest. Remember, this is not an optional action, the Executive Board has made it mandatory. All are reminded of the lightning policy. Whenever you hear thunder or see lightning, you must adhere to the guidelines found on the inside back cover of your directory. Our Annual Meeting will follow the same format that we have used now for several years. Approved VSOA physical fitness sites will be sent to you in a future communication. New standards are being developed, but, are not yet ready. More will follow. For now, prepare to run last year's PF events until we let you know otherwise. College guys, your dates are July 13 at 6:00 P.M. at Rutland H.S., July 19 at 6:00 P.M. at So. Burl. H.S., and July 27 at 5:00 P.M. at Johnson State College. Check for further NEISOA info on-line at www.neisoa.org. If you have questions, please call Dave Barra or Gunther Sihler for your answers. Remember that we will try again have a golf tournament after our MANDATORY ANNUAL MEETING on SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 2010 at VTC at 9:00 A.M. Have a good summer and I'll keep you all posted. Pete

DECEMBER 2009

Hello to all and welcome to our new members. I hope you all are enjoying the Christmas Season.

For those of you that have not paid your annual dues, please do so as soon as possible. Dues must be in my hands by January 1, 2010. Any dues received after that date will be considered late and will be subject to the late fees outlined in the bylaws. All high school dues are one game fee, $75. Please visit the VSOA website at www.vermontsoa.com and click on the "Dues" tab for a breakdown of dues. IF YOU ARE A MENTOR, THE VSOA DUES ARE WAIVED.

All officials, please make sure that I have your correct e-mail addresses. If you have any doubt, send me an e-mail at referee27@hotmail.com and I will save your address. What I have goes in the directory and is where you will receive your newsletters electronically, so make sure I have it right. Thanks for your attention to this very important matter.

New members, please note that your 2009 dues were waived because you were a new member, but, your 2010 dues are due by January 1, 2010.

According to VSOA policy, dues for mentors have been waived. Please finish up those evaluations and send a copy to 1) the new official 2) to Frank and/or Abe and 3) send the original to me for VSOA records.

If you have a son or daughter who is planning on applying for the VSOA scholarship, applications are available from me. All materials must be completed and returned to me (in my hands) by May 1, 2010. There will be a revised application this year, so please call me for an app.

Congratulations to these VSOA members who worked State Finals this year:

D-1 Boys Jim Bellinghiri and Andy Gingras D-3 Boys Roland Billings and Matt Fitzgerald** D-3 Girls Dennis Filion and Joe O'Brien D-4 Boys Tom Cook and Mike Kinsler D-4 Girls Jamie Falco and Brian Hickey

** Denotes first final worked.

These officials worked State Semi-Finals:

Paul Austin, Bob Buzzell, Mike Clark, Keith Collins, Nate Cook, Randy Dewey, Dave Doenges, Eric Evans, Craig Henson, Jim Marshia, Dave Palmer, Roger Ranz, Pat Roach, Dave Rousselle, Steve Skilton, Gunther Sihler, Art Thompson, Jim Trippany, Pat Whalen, John Woodruff, and Dave Zehnacker.

Congratulations to the recipients of the Dick Stewart Outstanding Official Award. This award is presented to the highest rated official in the South and the highest rated official in the North. Officials can only earn this award once in his/her career. This year, the winner in the South is John Sivret. The name of the winner in the North is not available at this time.

This year, the annual VSOA Sportsmanship Awards go to:

Girls - Green Mountain Union and CVU Boys - Windsor and CVU

As he does every year, Gerry Gingras organized soccer officials to work at the Vermont special Olympics. Each year, the Vermont Special Olympic Games are hosted by Norwich University in October. Gerry wants to remind everyone that everyone is welcome and the more officials, the merrier! Gerry has photos of the event. If you would like to see the photos, send Gerry an e-mail.

On Sunday, November 8, 2009, the Annual Senior Classic was held. This is the tryout for the Twin Cup teams. Thank you to the referees that volunteered their time and services to aid and benefit these seniors. Thanks to Dave Rousselle for organizing the officials for the day. Those working were: Jim Boucher, Miles Etter, Frank Halden, Craig Iverson, Scott Lagasse, Phil Lovely, Mike Nixon, and Dave Rousselle.

Finally, but ov vital importance, please send those dues to me before the cutoff dates. Don't forget that our ANNUAL MANDATORY MEETING is on SATURDAY AUGUST 7, 2010 at Vermont Technical College (VTC) in Randolph at 9:00 A.M.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely, Pete

Physical Fitness Schedule

Here is the Physical Fitness schedule. Members are reminded that these are the only authorized sites to run for high school referees. College guys can fulfill their obligation at JSC or Rutland.

Johnson State College Phil Acebo 7-21 6:00 Norwich University Denny Miles 7-23 6:00 ; call Denny if you plan on attending this site Rutland H.S. Gunther Sihler 7-14 6:00 Weston Craig Henson 8-5 6:00 Proctor (T & T Field) Mike Kinsler 7-27 6:00 Collins-Perley (St. Albans) Dave Rousselle 7-23 6:00 Springfield H.S. Buster Kathan 8-4 6:00 Brattleboro H.S. Eric Evans 7-24 6:00 VTC &n bsp; 8-9 After Meeting

Please share this info with all as I still have some members that have changed e-mails and have not notified me.

Thanks, Pete

April 25, 2009

Dear Member,

On Sunday March 15, 2009, your Executive Board met at The Church Street Tavern in Burlington, for our Annual Spring Meeting. Here are the minutes: The Secretary reported that the membership now stands at 171 active members, 23 inactive members, 10 honorary members, and 15 life members for a total of 219. Active members not renewing their dues were Frank Brock, Nick Denette, Rob Mihalec, and Nick Trottier. Phil Baker, Ben Drury, Al Flory, Dave Gilbert, and Ed Wilkins retired. New members not renewing were Josh Boylan, Lawrence Hibbard, Elvir Jandric, Nate Jaring, and John Kearns. Inactive members leaving us are Evelyn Belden, Chuck Black, June Rosenberg, Mike Rosenberg, and Scott Gratton. Thanks to all for helping to recruit new members to our Association. We encourage everyone to please continue to help recruit members for our organization. As they did last year, the Executive Board decided to continue to require new candidates to attend the introductory clinic on the basics put on by Frank Martel. These clinics will be held in the North, in Lyndon on 8-14, and in the South, in Proctor on 8-22. At the conclusion of each clinic, candidates will be administered the test. This entrance requirement is to help ensure quality in our new officials. Please contact Frank Martel for more details.

The Treasurer's report was read and accepted. Right now the checkbook is in good shape, but, as we always do at this time of the year, we have a lot of large bills coming in the next few months(NFIOA insurance, rulebooks, etc.). The Executive Board reminds everyone of our stance on uniforms. First, all referees MUST have BOTH the black uniform top and the "college grid" gold top. Secondly, referees may wear any college approved tops at games, as long as they both dress alike. For example, both referees may wear college grid orange. It is not acceptable for one referee to wear the college grid gold and the other referee to wear college grid blue. Referees are not authorized to wear USSF approved apparel to games. Summer referees beware: OUR GOLD GRID ALTERNATE JERSEYS ARE NOT THE SAME UNIFORM AS THE USSF JERSEYS. Mike Baker will have a generous supply, as he always does, of all college grid alternate jerseys for sale at our Annual Meeting at VTC. If you would like to purchase your jersey now, you can contact Mike Baker at 434-2084. Improperly uniformed officials MUST be reported to a member of the Executive Board. Improperly uniformed officials will put their tournament assignments in jeopardy.

Next, committees were formed. We would ask that if you see your name assigned to a committee, you will help us out and accept the position. Here are this year's committees:

Written Test: Clinics by Frank and Abe. Scholarship: Randy Dewey, Steve Hudak, and Dave Peirce Fees & Dues: Bill Duval & Pete Roach By-Laws: Bill Duval, Pete Roach, Dave Blythe, Dave Barra, John Witalec Nominating: John Woodruff and Pete Roach Grievance: Stan Blicharz(C), Matt Fitzgerald, Kirk Abrahamson, Joe Gonillo, Paul Austin Physical Fitness: Various sites with the final site being the Annual Meeting at VTC.

This year, our game fees will be as follows: Varsity Sub Varsity 2009-2010 $75 $45

Mileage will be set prior to each season and will be reviewed annually by the Officials Committee. Currently, the mileage rate is $0.41/mile. I'm not sure if it will change before the 2009 soccer season.

Referees are reminded that you will leave the field together when the game ends. The Executive Board has discussed this topic at length and agrees that too many things can happen after the end of the contest. Remember, this is not an optional action, the Executive Board has made it mandatory.

All are reminded of the lightning policy. Whenever you hear thunder or see lightning, you must adhere to the guidelines found on the inside back cover of your directory.

Our Annual Meeting will follow the same format that we have used now for several years.

Approved VSOA physical fitness sites will be sent to you in a future communication.

College guys, check for NEISOA info on-line at www.neisoa.org If you have questions, please call Phil Acebo or Gunther Sihler for your answers.

Remember that we will try again have a golf tournament after our MANDATORY ANNUAL MEETING on SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2009 at VTC at 9:00 A.M.

Have a good summer and I'll keep you all posted. Pete

DECEMBER - 2008

Dear VSOA Member,

Hello to all and welcome to our new members. I hope you all had an injury free and fun-filled season and are enjoying the Christmas Season.

For those of you that have not paid your annual dues, please do so as soon as possible. Dues must be paid by January 1, 2009. Any dues received after that date will be considered late and subject to the late fees outlined in the bylaws. This year, there is no breakdown of dues, such as $50 + $20 for insurance. All high school dues are one game fee, $70. Please visit the VSOA website at www.vermontsoa.com and click on the "Dues" tab for a breakdown of dues. IF YOU ARE A MENTOR, THE VSOA DUES ARE WAIVED.

All officials, please make sure that I have your correct e-mail addresses. If you have any doubt, send me an e-mail at referee27@hotmail.com and I will save your address. What I have goes in the directoryand is where you will receive newsletters electronically, so make sure I have it right. Thanks for your attention to this very important matter.

New members please note that your 2008 dues were waived because you were a new member, but your 2009 dues are due by January 1, 2009.

If you have a son or daughter who is planning on applying for the VSOA scholarship, applications are available from me. All materials must be completed and returned to me by May 1, 2009. There will be a revised application this year, so please call me for an app.

Congratulations to these VSOA members who worked State Finals this year:

Division 1 Boys Mike Clark Jim Marshia Girls Stu Maynard Steve Skilton Division 2 Boys Bill Duval Dave Rousselle Girls Scott Slocum Dave Zehnacker Division 3 Boys Phil Acebo Marvin Pritchard Girls Rick Desorda Art Thompson Division 4 Boys Craig Henson Jamie Falco Girls Scott Allen Marty Adams ** Denotes First State Final

Also, these officials worked Semi-Finals this year:

Bob Abrahamson Marty Adams Jim Bellinghiri Roland Billings Jim Boucher Dave Bullis Bob Buzzell George Cook Tom Cook Miles Etter Eric Evans Ezzedine Fatnassi Dennis Filion Matt Fitzgerald Parke Fitzgerald Andrea Fressie Buster Kathan Ernie Kelley Mike Kinsler Frank Martel Roland Noel Joe O'Brien Pat Roach Mark Royer John Sivret Scott West Pat Whalen Joe Wood John Woodruff

Congratulations to the recipients of the Dick Stewart Outstanding Official Award. This award is presented to the highest rated official in the South and the highest rated official in the North. Officials can only earn this award once in his/her career. After winning the award, the 2 officials names are not considered in future years. We are attempting to recognize many members in the future!! This year, the winner from the South is Marty Adams. The name of the winner in the North is not available at this time.

This year, the annual VSOA Sportsmanship Awards go to:

Black River Boys Lake Region Boys (2 in a row) Black River Girls Essex Girls (2 in a row)

Again this year, Gerry Gingras organized a group of officials, to help make the day special for Special Olympians at this year's Vermont Special Olympics. As always, the event was held in October and the site was Norwich University. Remember, all are welcome to pitch in and help, whether new, current , or retired referees. Call Gerry Gingras for details. If you are interested in seeing photos from this year's event, get in touch with Gerry. He can e-mail you the photos! Thanks again to all that help in any way to help make this day so special for the kids. Look for news of next year's date and location in future newsletters.

On Sunday November 9, at Mt. Abe, the annual Senior Classic was held. This is the tryout for the Twin State teams. Thank you to the referees that volunteered their time and services to aid and benefit these seniors. Thank you to Miles Etter for organizing a crew of officials for the day.

And last, but certainly not least, please send those dues to me before the cutoff dates. Don't forget that our ANNUAL MANDATORY MEETING is SUNDAY AUGUST 9, 2009 at Vermont Technical College (VTC) at 9:00 A.M. Have a warm winter. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Sincerely,

MINUTES ANNUAL MEETING AUGUST 9, 2008 The meeting was called to order at 9:00 A.M. by President Kinsler. Joe O'Brien then went over new rules & interpretations. All were reminded of pregame duties and the corresponding timetable. Officials were also reminded that captains and the head coach are required to be present at the pregame meeting. Joe also went through the points of emphasis in your rulebooks. A lengthy discussion ensued concerning the new timeout rule. Each team has one timeout per half, with no carry-over, and it can only be called by the head coach when his team has a free kick, corner kick, throw-in, etc. Two minutes will begin when the coach is recognized by the referee and the game shall resume no later than two minutes later. A show of hands by those in attendance indicated that an overwhelming majority, approximately 150 out of 160 present, did not support the new timeout rule. The body then instructed the Secretary/Treasurer to send a letter to the VPA expressing our feelings and concerns. Next, Bill Duval presented a segment, 'Before the Whistle'. This segment dealt with game preparation and habits that everyone needs to observe. Things such as calling your fellow official prior to the game, setting up a place to meet/ride together, color of jerseys to wear, difficult situations, and game mechanics of working together were discussed. I hope that all were paying attention! Our coffee break followed Bill's presentation and the meeting was resumed at 10:40 A.M. Joe reminded the group of the official uniform. EACH MEMBER MUST HAVE AS A MINIMUM: BLACK SHOES, BLACK ONLY SHORTS, BLACK SHIRT WITH WHITE CUFFS AND COLLAR, BLACK SOCKS WITH 3 WHITE STRIPES, AND GOLD GRID ALTERNATE SHIRT WITH BLACK CUFFS AND COLLAR!!! Remember, college grid jerseys are the only approved alternate jerseys for High School matches. If both officials have a college grid orange or blue, they may wear them as long as they are dressed alike. Frank Martel then gave a presentation on restart mechanics and the diagonal system of control in an attempt to get us all to call it alike. ALSO, MAKE SURE TO CONTACT ABE OR FRANK WITH ALL RED CARDS AND WITH CAUTIONS ON THE COACH. We need to document all for eligibility reasons and for reasons concerning future rule changes. The business meeting started at 11:15 A.M. President Kinsler waived the reading of his President's Message, since it is on the inside front cover of your 2008 directory, in an effort to get the meeting back on time At 11:18 A.M., Steve Hudak of our Scholarship Committee presented a $1000 check to the winner of the 2008 VSOA Scholarship, Adam Falco. Adam could not come to the meeting, so, his dad, Jamie Falco, read a letter from Adam to the membership. Congratulations to Adam and to his proud parents! The Secretary's Report was then read and accepted. Highlights were: a membership update, an update on the website, and officials' alternate jerseys. The report was accepted and passed. Next, the Treasurer's report was read and accepted. A. Fees and Dues Committee reported that fees for this year are $65.00. The mileage rate has been set at $.41/mile. Upon the recommendation of the Secretary/Treasurer, the dues were set at $70.00. This amount is the same as last year. A motion was made and seconded to set 2008 dues at $70.00. B. Grievance Committee chair, Stan Blicharz, made a short report in the interest of keeping the meeting moving on time. Stan reported that all grievances were discussed and acted upon by the Grievance Committee. C. The Nominating Committee put the name of Robert 'Buster ' Kathan forth as the next Member-at-Large. Buster ran unopposed and was elected by the membership to be on the Executive Board. The following Probationary Members were accepted as full members: Betty Baker, Ryan Black-Deegan, Will Burke, Peter Cobb, Bill Edwards, Dave Galfetti, Dan Hammond, Leslie Hammond, David Holmgren, Owen McDermott, Robert Mihalec, John Pike, Bob Richardson, and Jay Vallieres. The following members were granted inactive status: Phil Baker, Paul Barci, Chuck Black, Will Burke, Thom Costello, Scott O'Hearn, June Rosenberg, Mike Rosenberg, and Milt Sanderson. The following members were granted active status: Mike Brown and Tim Rousselle. Please remember, those that can help, Gerry Gingras has asked us to volunteer our time and talents to referee at the Special Olympics on Saturday October 4 at Norwich University. Please call Gerry for more details. Gerry even has pictures that he can send you via e-mail if you would like. Just let him know. He is in the directory. If you would prefer, you can meet Gerry and the rest of the volunteers at Northfield Pizza (they serve breakfast), previously known as The Red Kettle Restaurant in Northfield at 8:30 A.M. that day. All officials, male or female, young or not so young, are welcome to help. The follwing is a list of members and their awards that were presented for their accomplishments and contributions: DICK STEWART OUTSTANDING OFFICIALS: Craig Henson and Jim Marshia TEN YEAR CERTIFICATES: Nate Cook, Ezzedine Fatnassi, Steve Lunna, Roger Ranz, Milt Sanderson, Scott Slocum TWENTY YEAR PLAQUES- Mike Clark, Miles Etter, John Woodruff QUARTER CENTURY CLUB- Norm Graves and Steve Skilton STATE FINAL MUGS- Div. 1 Boys Parke Fitzgerald** Joe O'Brien Girls Dave Bullis ** Brad Smith** Div. 2 Boys Dennis Filion Andy Gingras Girls Marty Adams Bill Ladd Div. 3 Boys Miles Etter Phil Lovely Girls Roland Billings Andrea Fressie Div. 4 Boys Tom Cook Mike Kinsler Girls Bob Buzzell Brian Hickey ** Denotes 1st State Final SEMI-FINAL MUGS: Marty Adams, Paul Austin, Bob Buzzell, Mike Clark, George Cook, Nate Cook, Tom Cook, Randy Dewey, Rick Desorda, Dave Doenges, Bill Duval, Eric Evans, Jamie Falco, Joe Gonillo, Frank Halden, Mike Kinsler, Bill Ladd, Steve Lunna, Jim Marshia, Stu Maynard, Steve Peck, Marvin Pritchard, Milt Sanderson, Bruce Schmidt, John Sivret, Steve Skilton, Scott Slocum, Art Thompson, Scott West, Ed Wilkins, Joe Wood, and John Woodruff. MENTOR JACKET OR BAG: Dave Barra, Jim Bellinghiri, Brian Bittner, Dave Bullis, Rick Desorda, Gerry Gingras, Corinna Hussey, Bob Lance, Denny Miles, and Steve Skilton. At this point, the gavel was passed to Joe Kamuda, our President for 2008-2009. Joe presented with his gavel and thanked him for his service. Dennis remains on the Board as Immediate Past President. Next year's ANNUAL MANDATORY MEETING is on: SUNDAY AUGUST 9, 2009. Please mark it in stone on your new calendars. It will be held at Vermont Technical College (VTC) at 9:00 A.M. A motion was made and seconded to increase the Secretary/ Treasurer stipend to $1500/year. This motion also included a clause which provides for the stipend to increase each year at the same rate that the varsity game fee increases. President Kamuda conducted the vote, which was passed resoundingly. Your Sec./Treas. thanks you very much! Everyone needs to make sure that you know what happens and what you need to do if you 1) do not pay your dues by January 1, 2) do not attend the annual mandatory meeting, and/or 3) do not participate in the annual physical fitness run. Consult the by-laws in your directory for all the details. Following the meeting, Matt Fitzgerald administered the physical fitness test for the members still needing to fulfill that obligation. Please make sure that I have your correct e-mail and phone numbers. All you have to do is send me an e-mail and indicate your phone numbers in the body of the message. Also, please send your dues in as soon as you can. Sometimes when you wait to do things, you end up forgetting about them. December 31, 2008 will creep up fast. Hopefully electronically, Pete Roach Sec./Treas. VSOA Pete