Upcoming Season Parent Meeting – “Moving Forward” – August 3, 2024
Time: 11:04 am
Location: Amphitheater behind Area 5 Training Tank
1. Introduction of the Camp Lejeune Parent Board
a. President – Samantha Callahan
b. Vice President – Jeff Cook
c. Treasurer – Lisa Miller
d. Secretary – Bianca Sullivan
e. Members at Large – Tiffany Daniels
2. Request for volunteers
a. Must fill “Member at Large” positions
b. Required to have a Parent Board to have a team on the base
c. Need at least 2 Members at Large
i. More would be better – need as much parent participation as possible
ii. Disperse and collect ballots today
1. Can nominate another parent or self- nominate
iii. It is ok if you volunteer and are unable to make every meeting
d. Meet the 4th Tuesday of the month at 5:45
i. This time is the most convenient time for parents of any team (between practice groupings)
3. New website currently under construction
a. You will be able to find all important team information here
b. QR code posted on the meeting welcome table for parents to snap a picture to take them to the webpage
c. Camp Lejeune Parent Board Meeting minutes will be posted on the new team website
4. We are currently waiting for the base to approve the MOU in order to officially begin “moving forward”
a. To obtain “Safe Sport” designation badge for our website, majority of parents will have to complete Safe Sport training.
i. Proposed goal is 75%
ii. Need to go to USAswimming.com to take course
1. Approximately 2 hours to complete
iii. Will need to repeat if completed last year because we are partnering with a different team
1. We will post instructions on the website
2. USA Swimming website can be challenging to navigate - Tiffany encouraged parents to reach out to if they are having trouble
b. Monthly fees are remaining the same as last year, with the exception that they will be rounded to the nearest dollar amount
c. New colors will be assigned to teams once MOU goes through
i. Coaches will be announced once MOU approved
ii. Expect that to occur in the next 2-3 weeks
d. MOU must be renewed every year, not just this year with the change of partnership
i. Out of abundance of caution, we are waiting on the finally approval of the MOU to announce all the upcoming season details
ii. Camp Lejeune is an independent team, we are partnering with the new team, just as we were partnered previously with ECA
e. Partnering with the new team allows Camp Lejeune swim team with new competition at swim meets instead of swimming against the same swimmers at every intrasquad meet
i. We are looking into holding our own meet at New River pool
1. New River is the official length
2. One obstacle in setting that up will be to rent port-a-potties for adults to use because they need to have a separate facility than the swimmers use due to safe sport regulations from USA Swimming
f. Tryout dates for new swimmers and registration for returning swimmers will be posted once MOU is approved
g. Looking good for coaching and lifeguards this upcoming year
i. Tiffany will be the new Head Coach
1. She will be hiring and firing
2. Assignments not set in stone because she hasn’t spoken to them all yet
3. Will announce once MOU is approved
ii. Practices will remain the same
h. We want to get the kids back in the water as soon as possible
5. Discussion of ECA funds brought up by parents in attendance
a. ECA collected funds, including fundraising that occurred on base
b. Lack of transparency regarding finances and budget with ECA
i. Fees collected from all teams and put into a “pot”
ii. No site-specific breakdown was provided
1. We were told we would only receive the financials if we stayed with ECA
iii. Meets at ECU were a fundraiser for ECA
1. Parents inquired on what the entry fees at the intrasquad meets went towards
iv. Coaches had to ask for equipment for the team
1. One example was the lane lines that were said to be new, but are not
c. Moving forward – 15% to new partner club whereas ECA collected 100%
d. We are making a clean break from ECA
6. Other concerns and topics brought up by parents in attendance
a. Proximity of upcoming meets – none of them are close
i. We will reach out to CCA to see if we can find meets to participate in that are closer
ii. Another possibility is meets with swimmers from other sites in the club
iii. Also as discussed earlier, possibility of a meet at New River, especially for younger swimmers so they do not have to travel as far
b. One family expressed that they thought the intent of today’s meeting was to decide if we were going to stay with ECA
i. Others expressed that they did not trust ECA after the Zoom meeting several weeks back – loss in confidence
ii. When the parents in attendance were asked to vote if they wanted to stay with ECA, the group was almost unanimous in leaving ECA
c. Parents of seniors want to make sure that their swimmers have opportunities to participate in meets and be observed
d. Transparency moving forward –
i. In addition to minutes, balances, ledgers, will be available for viewing
e. Are we on schedule to start on time
i. Practices are expected start up as planned, just waiting for the MOU
f. What is the value of being part of CCA bring?
i. We will know our finances
ii. The club is local, making access and communication better
iii. We’ll work on trying to secure closer meets, especially for the younger swimmers
iv. We will have more control here
v. Created website/marketing email/we’ll control fundraising
1. Emails currently coming from “Constant Contact” until MOU is complete
g. Suggestion that if there are problems with partner clubs in the future, that having an arbitrator could be beneficial
h. Parents want:
i. A program that is done well
ii. Safe environment for the kids
i. More opportunities to watch practices?
i. We will continue to hold Parent Observation week every other month
ii. Parents are always welcome to poke their head in the door, but not remain on deck during practices
j. Why are dues remaining the same?
i. Our team already had the lowest fees due to no cost for pool rental fees
ii. Dues pay for all employees – coaches, lifeguards
iii. We can get new needed equipment
iv. If there are mechanical issues at our pool, we may need to rent lanes at another pool during the interim while maintenance is performed
v. There will be transparency in what our finances are and how money is being spent
7. Ballots handed out to nominate Member at Large positions
a. These positions will be advocates or a liaison for their color group
b. Typically Voting will occur in May to coincide with the End of Year party/banquet
c. Need for a treasurer
i. Dan Sooy volunteered to take over for Lisa when she leaves
d. Discussed term limits for board members – currently 1 year
e. Nominations for Member at Large positions:
i. Rafael Benitez– gold
ii. Dan Sooy – green
iii. Julie Carrozza– green/white
iv. Michael Thirsty – green /white
v. Kendra Dunford – purple
vi. Summer Freedman
vii. Sarita Lewis – white/green – possibility of helping with website/graphics
f. Concerns expressed about how Members at Large will be able to connect with other color group families
i. We will look into the possibility of setting up a “Remind” group or other communication app to allow messages to be sent to both the overall team and within each individual group
Adjournment – Meeting closed at 11:47am