Meeting Minutes: May 2015

7:00 p.m. Seattle Sounders FC Front Office

Present (12 of 32): Sam Chesneau, Cameron Collins, Craig Dillon, Roberta King, Leann Johnson, Angelica Mendoza, Jerry Neil, Karl Picard, Stephanie Steiner, Hans Ulland, Kristina Vaughn, Kelly Weiler

Guests: Petyr Beck (Documentary Media), Maya Mendoza

Next meeting: Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.

I. Call to order – Stephanie Steiner

II. Roll call – Angelica Mendoza – 12 of 32 members present (13 needed to establish quorum)

III. Approval of minutes – Stephanie Steiner – Motion to approve April minutes passed

IV. Guest Speakers – Petyr Beck and Maya Mendoza

Petyr Beck – Documentary Media publishing company and former college roommate of Adrian
Maya Mendoza – General Counsel for SSFC and Executive Director of Rave Foundation
- Father, Fred Mendoza, served as General Counsel and saw transition of SSFC to MLS
- Maya began when SSFC separated from Seahawks
Rave Foundation is a wholly separate 501(c)(3)
- Created by Adrian to give back to Seattle soccer community and provide opportunities for those who cannot afford to play
- Increase equity, opportunity and accessibility of the game
- Allow for more urban participation
- Design tennis court-sized urban fields for free, small pick-up games
- First fields may be part of Yesler Terrace project and ideas to part of waterfront designs
Legacy book project that captures unique relationship between the community and team
- A look at the team over the last 40 years of professional soccer
- Coffee-table style, large, 200-page landscape book featuring images and stories
- Mostly visual and less narration
- Feature mid-70s team today
- Bring in stories from the community coupled with compelling images
- Images not only of match-day in the stadium, but also local bars, fields, etc.
- Demonstrate the love for soccer in Seattle and commemorate the Pacific NW relationship with the team
- Tribute to soccer in the community driven by images, quotes and stories
- Include all supporter communities (e.g., more diverse south-end populations)
- Council to help solicit stories, photos and experiences
- Maya and Petyr interested in all types of feedback and suggestions; contact via email
  - 83-94 intervening time
  - NASL Sounders marketing directly to young people while MLS Sounders targeting adults with children
  - Players throughout the decades
  - Marketing campaigns with scarves throughout the city
  - Culture of 2009 opening MLS season to today
  - Personal perspective of supporter culture from within
  - Away match experiences
  - USOC family make-up and how it differentiates from S2 and First Team matches
  - Supporter group representation over the years
- Rave Foundation project, so outside of MLS control
- Maya considering summer intern to help with Rave Foundation and book generation
- What stats would we like to see?
- Considering eight-page fold-out with timeline displayed; perhaps showing jersey colors and designs over time
- Collecting ideas and building content all through the summer

V. Old Business

a) Changes to Charter – GM vote – Stephanie Steiner

Stephanie and Kyle Boyd presenting AC ideas to Taylor Graham
Engaging in collaborative conversation with the Club until we have a resolution to concerns
Club wants GM recall procedures in writing
- More clarity on what vote actually means; confidence versus no confidence vote
- Need to determine percentage of people required to petition for recall
- Votes should be blind; FO should not be able to see who votes which way
- Anonymous voting needs to be emphasized in advertising
- Build more power into the recall vote and ability to call as needed, rather than be concerned about circumvention by the Club
Will need to detail vote advertising frequency, time of day, medium, etc.
If Club will not allow us to reach out to fan base directly, it has to be responsible for doing the work and absorbing the costs associated
Letter to Taylor expressing that conversation re GM vote is pending
Suggestion that we are too concerned about 48-month limitation; general fan is maybe only concerned with ability to vote on GM rather than when voting occurs
Goal should be to ensure the greatest number of Alliance members vote
Greatest fan engagement in October; shouldn’t timeline work backwards from there?
Consider engaging in soft polling with existing options and throwing out those that receive minimal votes
Stephanie and Kyle drafted four question to pose to fans
- Put questions into blog form to be tweeted out one at a time
- SSFC will distribute via social media
Requested Sounder at Heart to feature the blog

VI. Work group updates

Year-end meeting – Stephanie Steiner
- Email went to FO to check on date and venue for this year

Supporter group recognition – Daniel Roe
- Daniel, Mark Nesteroff and Brendan Vaughn participating in conference call to discuss
- Sending clarification questions to Taylor

Community involvement – Kristina Vaughn
- Pioneer Square clean-up event on May 16 (VAN away)
  - Viewing party post-event
  - Kristina Vaughn to clarify how many people are needed
  - RSVPs needed by May 8
- Kristina met with Roger Levesque to discuss United in Green initiatives
  - Rave Green run in Kirkland – 9k, 5k and kids run
  - March to the Match water carry in support of clean water initiatives in Africa; hoping for 1,200 people and Guiness World Record
  - Considering July match; more info at June meeting

Communication – Karl Picard
- Karl now managing Twitter account
  - Currently 2,500 Twitter followers versus 900 Likes on Facebook; need to pump numbers up
  - Goal to tweet twice a day with a photo and/or link
  - Shane willing to retweet by request
- Work group is developing guidelines for appropriate communication via social media

Adjournment – Motion to adjourn passed

Share this:

Related