Vice President's Message

September 2002

It has been a busy time this past two months, since the conclusion of the NGB meeting. We have been working on a number of projects with some success. As you will recall, and see from the minutes, we discussed a number of initiatives to further our federation, including ideas for fund raising, publicity, and increasing membership. These projects have are, primarily, the ideas of individual members, and the work on them has been done by members.

First, we discussed the need to better manage the work flow of our finances, such that several levels of oversight are present, and so that timely reporting can be done to the Executive and the NGB as to our financial status and outlook. The NGB approved the hiring of a part-time bookkeeper to perform the day-to-day business of USAPL. Freeing the Treasurer of these duties will allow our Treasurer to provide the guidance that this type of officer GENERALLY provides in a not-for-profit service organization. That is, to assure that all tasks are being done in a timely manner, and that the work being done is accurate and of high quality. You also approved quarterly outside accounting reviews to add another level of oversight. Interviewing of the bookkeeper is ongoing, with several qualified applicants being screened.

The membership was clear that paying for these services through increased fees was not acceptable, and in your opinion, to raise fees would make us less competitive with the private and other powerlifting organizations out there. Therefore, I asked the assistance of several qualified members to design and implement a dedicated fund raising campaign. The objectives of this program are contact individuals and corporate sponsors so that they might make tax deductible donations to our federation. This Ad Hoc group, our Funding Discussion Group designed a multi-level giving program which will have it's own page on the USAPL Website, and will detail monies raised, and publicly thank those who have so generously given. I have attached the letter explaining this program, and the program itself. This information was sent to NGB members, and those who attended the NGB meeting approximately one month ago. Members of this committee include Lance Slaughter, Kim Newman, Brad Gillingham, Brad Madvig, Priscilla Ribic, Todd York, Rick Fowler, and Nectar Kirkiris. This is a very active committee, with a great deal of energy and expertise. (I apologize if I have overlooked anyone). They continue to roundtable ideas, including the member generated possibility of USAPL promoting a National Competition in house, hosting a "Fitness Fair," and improving merchandising of USAPL gear. We have also discussed such ideas as automatic, credit card debits for membership rollover, and other measures to retain member year to year.

One idea, originally generated by Bryan Getchel, our Iowa State Chair, and discussed at this year's NGB meeting was the concept of a development meet for lifters who have yet to qualify for Open Nationals. This concept was approved by the E.C., and targets lifters who could benefit from larger, well organized competition against lifters from across the country. The winner of each class will automatically qualify for Open Nationals. Plans are underway for the first American Open following this concept. Please note: this does not replace other competitions, such as the Lifetime Nationals, which was firmly supported by the membership. It is to take place late each year, prior to the beginning of the next National competition season so that winners can prepare for Opens.

One rumor that I want to dispel here and now is being spread by a competitor organization. That is, that your Executive passed a raise for ourselves at this year's NGB meeting. Any such action would require a vote of the NGB, and we didn't ask. E.C. salaries represent small honoraria, and in the cases of your officers, is put back into USA Powerlifting in other ways.

While on this subject, I would like to address our membership numbers. As I stated in the NGB meeting, we are growing again. At that point, our numbers were up approximately 250 from the prior year, and we continue to grow. The member-generated idea for anniversary date memberships has begun paying dividends. But that is not all. If you review our competition schedule, you will see that we have been having both larger and more frequent meets. Competitors are most likely to compete in meets that are close to them. We have worked hard to encourage growth of meets in most areas of the country. That we are succeeding is credit and a testament to the meet promoters, themselves volunteers that are part of your organization.

This is the short summary of activity from the V.P.s office. Please direct any questions to me at l-maile@usapowerlifting.com .

To the future:

Larry