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Seattle Sounders Alliance Council and Seattle Sounders Football Club Agree to New Terms for General Manager Vote and Recall

General Manager Vote and Recall

As referenced in the Charter, with regard to the General Powers delegated to the Alliance, Number 1:

The right to decide on the retention of the Club’s General Manager via an Alliance-wide vote as scheduled by the Club, but not sooner than every four years.

Objectives: The Alliance Council endeavors to honor the above statement as best serves the interests of the Alliance members, the fan base at large, the growth of the sport, and the Club.  The Club retains all authority to recruit, hire and terminate a GM.  The Alliance Council recognizes and agrees that it is in our mutual interest to attract and retain the best management in order to be the best Club.  In all instances, the Club and Alliance shall work together in good faith to (a) effectively and timely communicate all information pertaining to the GM voting and recall process to all Alliance Members, and (b) to maximize the number of votes cast in all Alliance voting processes on the subject of the GM.

Definitions:  For purposes of the GM Vote and GM Recall Vote process the “General Manager” or “GM” of the Club shall mean:  that individual who is an employee of the Club whom is identified and recognized by Major League Soccer, LLC as the senior most soccer decision maker, whom is designated to represent the Club at all league wide competition related committees and meetings.  Should a vote for recall succeed, this individual shall as soon as possible, be removed from representing the Club in this capacity and MLS committee and MLS regular meetings.  Additionally the term “Voting Members” shall have the meaning ascribed to it by the then current Alliance Council Bylaws, as may from time to time be amended.

 

GM VOTE: The GM Vote will take place every four seasons after the hiring of a new Sounders FC General Manager, subject to the provision contained herein.

a) For purposes of calculating the time period triggering a GM Vote, the following rule shall apply: If a GM does not start their tenure in the off- season, July 1st will be used as the line of delineation for whether that year counts as a season or not. (If a GM is hired prior to July 1, then the ensuing GM Vote will be scheduled 4 years after, including the season in which he/she starts. If hired on after July 1st, then the GM vote will be scheduled 4 years after the start of the ensuing MLS season.)

b) When eligible, a GM Vote will include a voting window which shall be opened on the first day of the last month of the then current MLS season and remain open for a period of not less than four (4) weeks.

c) The Club shall support the GM Vote with the following:

I.  That GM Vote shall be administered electronically through the Club’s voting software and Club shall keep and record all votes. Alliance Council shall formulate the text of the GM Vote, with advice from Club, if requested.

II. The Club and Alliance Council shall mutually agree on the location and opportunity for votes to be cast.

III. The Club and Alliance Council shall mutually agree on the joint communication sent to all Alliance Members, and Club shall in its ordinary and customary manner send no less than three (3) emails to the Alliance Member email distribution list communicating the (i) purpose and scope of the GM Vote process; (ii) the methods of voting, including a ‘click through’ button to the voting platform; (iii) time window of voting; and (iv) procedures taken after the voting window is closed.

d) At least forty percent (40%) of all Alliance Members must cast votes in order for then GM Vote to be valid.

e) Action in the Alliance GM Vote can only be taken by a super majority of not less than sixty-seven percent (67%).

f) In the event that the GM Vote results in a vote of no-confidence in the GM, the then-current GM shall be removed in accordance with the definition of GM above.

GM RECALL: The GM may be subject to Recall provided that at least two (2) full MLS seasons in their entirety have passed under his/her tenure.  A full MLS season shall include any regular season in which the GM is hired before July 1st of the then current year.

a) When eligible, a GM Recall Vote may take place at any point during the MLS Regular Season.

b) The following procedure shall be used to initiate a GM Recall Vote:

  • Step 1: Any member of the Alliance may ask the Alliance Council to add the agenda item to certify a bonafide question of competence of the GM at any time. All Alliance Council members will act in good faith to bring a bonafide question of competence of the GM to the next, regularly scheduled Alliance Council meeting.
  • Step 2: When brought forward, the Alliance Council must reach an agreement that the bonafide question of competence of the GM is valid and in the best interest of the SFC Alliance, Alliance Council and the Club to move forward (“Qualification”).  The Alliance Council will not determine the merits of the bonafide question of competence of the GM; instead is tasked with evaluating of whether the claim is valid and setting it as the first item on the Agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting.
  • Step 3: If the bonafide question of competence is Qualified, then a Member of the Executive Committee of the Alliance Council will, within two (2) business days, serve an official notice (“Notice”) on the Club to include the following information: (a) the full nature and scope of the bonafide question of competence, which shall include at minimum a concise statement as to the reason for the question of competence, including any specific rationale that formed the basis for the Qualification, or other details that in the exclusive discretion of the Alliance Council, are relevant or necessary to provide the Club in order to reasonably prepare ownership to address the issue; and (b) the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting, upon which the discussion, debate and decision will take place; the Notice shall serve as an invitation to the Club to send ownership or another designee to present a case of retention or otherwise to the Alliance Council.  The ownership will be provided no less than sixty (60) minutes on the agenda at the next meeting to present the position of ownership and the Club.   Notice will be served on Club’s General Counsel and Club’s Alliance Council Liaison.  At the conclusion of discussion and Ownership presentation, the
  • Alliance Council shall vote on whether to proceed to the Alliance Members for Certification, with the following percentages necessary to so proceed:
  •      0-34 Voting Members on Council: 80% must vote, 67% of the votes cast must be in favor of recall
  •      35-50 Voting Members on Council:  75% must vote, 67% of the votes cast must be in favor of recall
  •      51 or greater Voting Members on Council: 70% must vote, 67% of the votes cast must be in favor of recall
  •      Failure to Progress: If the vote fails to progress at Step 1 (Alliance Council votes against recall), a vote to recall          cannot be proposed to Council again for a vote for a minimum of ninety days after the date of the Alliance Council      vote to Recall.
  • Step 4: 20% of all Sounders FC Alliance Members must agree that a GM Recall Vote is necessary to proceed (“Certification”). Certification shall be conducted through an online voting process which shall remain open until the twenty percent (20%) threshold is reached or for 4 weeks.
    • Club Liaison will provide SFC Council with weekly totals related to the Certification (numbers only, not who voted or how they voted but how many voted and cumulative results of the vote).
    • Failure to Progress: If the vote fails to progress at Step 2 (Alliance votes against recall, or not enough votes are cast in favor of a recall within the four weeks), a vote to recall cannot be proposed to Council again for a vote for a minimum of 180 days after the date of the Alliance Council vote to Recall.

c) When Certified, a GM Recall Vote will include a voting window which shall remain open for a period of not less than four (4) weeks.

d) The Club shall support the GM Recall Vote with the following:

I. That GM Vote shall be administered electronically through the Club’s voting software and Club shall keep and record all votes. Alliance Council shall formulate the text of the GM Vote, with advice from Club, if requested.

II. Club will send, in its usual and customary manner three (3) email blasts to all Alliance email accounts which shall include notice of the GM Recall Vote and (i) the purpose and scope of the GM Recall Vote process; (ii) the methods of voting, including a ‘click through’ button to the voting platform; (iii) time window of voting; and (iv) procedures taken after the voting window is closed. One (1) email will be sent when the voting period opens.  One (1) email will be sent when the voting period has seven (7) days remaining.  One (1) email will be sent when the voting period has twenty-four (24) hours remaining.

e) The Club will, in its exclusive discretion and control prepare a press release in its usual and customary manner identifying the GM Recall process.  All content will be controlled by Club, however, where possible, input and/or quotations from Alliance Council will be included.

f)    At least forty percent (40%) of all Alliance Members must cast votes in order for then GM Recall Vote to be valid.

g)   Action in the Alliance GM Recall Vote can only be taken by a super majority of not less than sixty-seven percent (67%).

h)   In the event that the GM Recall Vote results in a vote of recall of the GM, the then-current GM shall be removed in accordance from all activities pursuant to the definition of GM above.

   I. Restriction on Multiple Recalls: Failure to recall: If the vote fails to progress at Step 3 (Alliance votes against recall, or not enough votes are cast in favor of a recall within the four weeks), a vote to recall cannot be proposed to Council again for a vote for a minimum of 180 days after the date of the Alliance Council vote to Recall.

   II. Weighted Vote: GM Vote + GM Recall Vote will be a weighted vote, meaning an Alliance Member with four seats will have four votes attached their account. If this account has not designated, then all undesignated seats will have votes cast in the same direction as the primary.

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Meetings

Meeting Recap: November 2015

Photo by Stephanie Steiner

By Stephanie Steiner

November 7, 2015

Not a whole lot to report this time around.  We amended the last of the bylaws that we’d been working on for 2015. Whew! That is D.O.N.E.  Soooooo sexy (not!). But it needed to be done so that the 2016 council can start fresh – you know, because having fun is way more fun than not having fun.  Oh wait, that’s my dating site headline.  No wonder I gave up on that. I’ll be here all week, tip your servers well.

Most of what we talked about was our plan for the Annual Business Meeting, the questions we’ve received so far, our meeting with owners, and trying not to get nervous for the presentations we’ll be making in front of all of you (it’s so not working).  We also let everyone know that Q13 will make a TV special out of the event. That means that anyone who will make a presentation who wasn’t nervous previously (or pretending well) isn’t bothering to pretend any longer. We’re toast. On the plus side, the Paramount Theater now allows grown up sippy cups for grown up beverages.  That will help most of you, but I’m a total lightweight. If I try to calm my nerves at this point, I’ll be comatose – so be nice, please – it’s hard to be me.

See you Thursday!

~S

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Meetings

Meeting Minutes: October 2015

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC ALLIANCE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

October 6, 2015 7:00 p.m.

The Ninety Present

 (11 of 32): Cameron Collins, Paul Cox, Craig Dillon, Roberta King, Angelica Mendoza, Jerry Neil, Karl Picard, Daniel Roe, Stephanie Steiner, Brendan Vaughn, Kristina Vaughn Via telephone: Likkit Pocinwong

Next meeting: Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at 7:00 p.m

I. Call to order – Stephanie Steiner

II. Roll call – Angelica Mendoza – 11 of 32 members present

III. Approval of minutes – Stephanie Steiner

IV. Old business

  1. Scarf vote update – Kristina Vaughn
  • Committee narrowed to top five designs with two alternates and provided to Taylor Graham

o 41 submissions this year (compared to 160 last year)

  • Ruffneck sponsoring design contest this year · Voting begins October 12 and continues through October 23 o Only STHs received email announcement re voting opportunity

o Question re seat designees not receiving email notifications

  • Winner announced at October 25 match
  • Committee role complete at this point; Club takes over from here
  • Considering future opportunity for design competition for kids
  1. Constitution and bylaws – Stephanie Steiner
  • 2013 vote

o Constitution posted on website is not up-to-date

o Added Bylaw 8 in 2013, which created standing committees (e.g., work groups)

o Articles gave us ability to create Executive Committee

o Planned to include in Alliance-wide vote for approval with GM voting procedures

  • AC voted and approved in 2014; agreeing to adopt Constitution as a working document
  • 2015 new bylaws o Passed presumed Bylaw 8 at last AC meeting; now to become Bylaw 9

o What exists on the website now has not been approved by vote of Alliance

o Fix and clean-up to put out to Alliance-wide vote in 2016

o Start 2016 AC year with cleanest, most up-to-date version of Constitution as a working document

  1. Council minutes and documents – Stephanie Steiner
  • Website archives are now up-to-date

o Very few meeting minutes for 2011

o Contact Stephanie, if aware something is missing from the Archives

o Existing archive structure difficult to search

V. New business

A) Proposed amendment to attendance bylaw – Angelica Mendoza

  • Attendance bylaw amendment passed at last meeting
  • Two changes proposed with current amendment

o Members who have missed the previous three meetings in a row are ineligible to attend meetings with owners

o Members with non-voting member status are ineligible to participate in any perks or incremental activities as a Council member or guest of a Council member

  • Cameron Collins proposal to amend amendment to add “or receive” between “or participate in” and “any Council member perks or incremental activities” passed unanimously

B) Proposed amendments to Bylaws 1 and 3 – Cameron Collins

  • As bylaws are written, AC votes do not hold power
  • Anyone may bring something to AC, regardless of voting status (e.g., non-voting or ex-oficio)
  • Any additional changes should ensure that references to bylaw numbers are correct
  • Two proposed amendments unanimously passed

o Phrasing “Council members present” to be replaced with “quorum”

o Strike phrasing between “of” and “quorum” in 5.1 and 5.2

  • Consider adding time limit to Club discussion during AC meeting; otherwise “discuss issue fully” is sufficient as loose definition allows for greater discretion
  • Cameron will draft updates for discussion at November meeting

C) 2015 Annual Business Meeting – Kristina Vaughn

  • Set for Thursday, November 12
  • Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.
  • AC meeting with ownership beforehand
  • Unable to announce emcee at this time
  • Cash bar and light snacks available (suggest special lids to allow drinks inside of the theatre)
  • Players and trophies planned for preshow o Suggest a request to ECS to bring Cascadia Cup

o Propose large team photo with cutout to allow fans to put their head in and take photos

o Propose players in different configuration than last year as it bottlenecked

o Suggest giveaway items for MatchPass holders or a raffle ticket on your way in

  • Suggested program

o Drew Carey – welcome and video (previously democracy in sports)

o Bart Wiley – business report o Stephanie Steiner – AC report o Cameron Collins – GM vote and recall process

o Adrian – team update

o Q&A

  • Jerry Neil and Cameron Collins to manage Q&A
  • Hashtag #sfcbiz
  • Begin compiling and categorizing questions via email and social media

D) 2017 jock tag and neck tape – Likkit Pocinwong

  • 2016 first and third kits will include COS logo as jock tag (second kit is white again)
  • Duwamish Tribe did not officially bless, but authorized use
  • No information available on 2016 neck tape at this point
  • Option to design both jock tag and neck tape for 2017 season (phrasing and/or imaging)
  • No hard deadline to submit yet, but the sooner the better
  • Suggested that we select a new design; Cameron Collins and Jerry Neil will lead on soliciting ideas

E) Annual Business Meeting format change – Kristina Vaughn

  • Is there interest in changing the format of the meeting for future years?
  • Do not eliminate Q&A portion
  • Push AC recruitment during AC report and show examples of what AC has accomplished (e.g., jock tag design, GM voting procedures)
  • Offer AC, SCT and supporter groups table space
  • Keep lines minimal and moving
  • Photo booth with one photographer who posts all for download rather than fans utilizing smartphones
  • Consider change of venue
  • Difficult to encourage attendance on a weeknight
  • Expo or “Sounders Summit” rather than “End of Year Business Meeting”

o Similar to organization of Mariners FanFest

o Start of season in conjunction with first week of practice at Starfire

  • Hold event before season is over to ensure players are in town and emphasize player appearances well in advance
  • Work group to present proposal to AC, then to Megan West and Club VI. Open discussion
  • Feedback from last match

o Sold out of HALO jerseys by noon

o Opportunity to purchase online was not well-advertised

o Size Large only as part of giveaway

VI.  Adjournment – Motion to adjourn passed

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Meetings

Meeting Minutes: September 2015

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC ALLIANCE COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
September 1, 2015
7:00 p.m.
The Ninety

Present (15 of 32): Samuel Chesneau, Cameron Collins, Paul Cox, Craig Dillon, Roberta King, Angelica Mendoza, Kris Mydske, Jerry Neil, Karl Picard, Daniel Roe,
Stephanie Steiner, Hans Ulland, Brendan Vaughn, Kristina Vaughn, Kelly Weiler
Via telephone: Kyle Boyd
Next meeting: Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.

I. Call to order – Stephanie Steiner

II. Roll call – Angelica Mendoza – 15 of 32 members present

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

IV. Old Business
a) Scarf design – Kristina Vaughn
• To be announced September 8 in a press release and call for designs
• 18 will be selected and then narrowed to final five
• Committee will have six participants determining final designs for voting
• Voting period will be October 2-9 with the winner announced in October
• SSFC to select summer or winter weight

b) Season Ticket Member renewal calls – Paul Cox
• Craig Dillon and Paul Cox participated and each called 12-20 members
o Most intended to renew
o None referenced price as prohibitive
o Praise for six-month over five-month payment plan
o Partial season packages helpful for those who cannot attend all matches
• General confusion about Renew for Life option
o Uncertainty about opting out versus opting in every year

c) Bylaw updates – Stephanie Steiner
• Supporter group recognition (Bylaw 7)
o Line struck providing option to eliminate supporter group
o Bylaw reworked; last two paragraphs removed
o No need for renewal as there is no mechanism to do so
o Motion to vote to approve modification of bylaw passed (14 for and 1 against)

• Leave of absence (Bylaw 8)
o Historically, AC attendance has been between 33-51%
     Bylaw passed previously to help make it easier to meet quorum
     Difficulty meeting quorum resumed after approximately two meetings
     Necessity for bylaw amendment prevalent during voting regarding GM recall procedures
o Leave may be necessary due to work schedule, life changes, etc.
o Temporary non-voting status for those who miss more than half of five meetings or more (running total)
o Non-voting status lasts for two months (60 days)
      Unable to attend ownership meetings
      Ineligible to receive special invitations
o Two ways to stay involved with AC without impeding ability to get business done
      Ex-Oficio status for entire term; still active, but unable to attend meetings
      Leave of Absence status for finite period of time
i. Not included in quorum count and able to return to full-fledged voting status upon return
ii. Previous two absences start leave of absence
o Neither Ex-Oficio nor Leave of Absence status extend AC term
o No notice regarding absence constitutes a resignation; Executive Committee is not responsible for following-up with those who do not provide notice
o Call-in is an acceptable form of attendance
o Consider including voting status on website in the future, so that those voting know status/attendance history
o Include attendance in published meeting notes
o Regular meeting day and time should be included on website when someone considers running for AC
o Concern regarding inability to participate in meeting with ownership after missing the two prior meetings
      Would rather see it limited to non-voting members only
      Ex-Oficio and voting members able to attend
      Argument that attendance at previous two meetings allows for active engagement in current topics
      Predisposed higher attendance at ownership meetings given that they are held on a match day or prior to the EOY business meeting
      Motion to amend amendment to bylaw and strike “who have missed the previous two regularly scheduled monthly meetings” failed (3 for, 7 against, 5 abstained)
o Modification does not apply retroactively; only moving forward beginning next year
      Note that per Bylaw 5, any modification will take effect immediately, unless language of amendment is changed to begin in 2016
      Motion to add language noting beginning in 2016 passed (10 for and 5 abstained)
      Bylaw would not apply to those who don’t receive meeting notice two weeks in advance
o Motion to pass proposed amendment to Bylaw 8 passed (9 for, 2 against, 4 abstained)

• Alliance-wide voting
o Currently restricted on when we may put votes out to entire Alliance
o Appropriate that we call for an Alliance-wide vote at any time for any reason
o Will continue to work with SSFC to strategize timing, reach, etc.
o Motion to vote passed (unanimous); motion to amend the bylaw passed (unanimous)

d) GM vote and recall update – Stephanie Steiner
• AC proposal submitted to SSFC and agreement was reached; Maya Mendoza and Taylor Graham approved
• No additional feedback from owners, so will present to ownership at next meeting
• Procedures only; not a bylaw, charter or article, but will eventually be broken up into those elements as appropriate
• Timelines for four year calculation were cleaned-up; vote will always happen at end of season (October)
• Suggestion to create a simple infographic for every day fan to understand general concept and process
• Need to define whether percentages are all members or all voting members
• Final, legal document will be fine-tuned further and properly worded
• Unanimous vote accepting the proposal

V. New Business
a) Media updates
• New Sounders app will be tested for 6-8 weeks
• AC to have opportunity to test

b) Ticketing updates – Stephanie Steiner
• Executive Committee had a phone call with FO ticketing representatives
• $.50-3.00 increase per seat per match next season
• SSFC has been successful in getting lower bowl seats back that were owned by ticket brokers for resale
• Upper 122 STHs were polled and prefer assigned seating as opposed to GA

VI. Adjournment – Motion to adjourn passed

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Meetings

Meeting Recap: October 2015

Photo by Angelica Germani

By Karl Picard

October 13, 2015

The October Alliance Council meeting took place on the 6th at The NINETY.  We had a pretty full agenda as this was the second to last meeting of 2015.

Our first order of business was an update about the Scarf vote, we looked over the finalists that the scarf committee had submitted to the front office.  Voting has already started and will run through the 23rd.  Here are the finalists and voting site. The winner will be announced at the last home match.  While we did get a decent number of submissions it was down from previous years.  We think this is due to a lower level of publicity, but we’d like to hear from the Alliance as to why you think we have fewer entries.  Feel free to send an email to ssfcalliance@gmail.com or comment on our Facebook page.

The next order of business was working to close out some of the Constitution and Bylaw work we’ve had going on all season.  We’ve been working to ensure all our documentation is the most up-to-date version and that our storage drive has all of our historical minutes, and documents. The goal is to get all of our new work voted on at our November meeting and start the 2016 season will the cleanest version of the Constitution and Bylaws.  This would also provide the foundation for us to get all changes out to the Alliance for a vote in 2016.  The updated constitution and bylaws will include General Manager Vote and Recall (once all of that is written into articles and bylaws) as well as support group bylaw changes and alliance council attendance and voting status changes.

We then moved into covering the details on this year’s business meeting.  In case you missed it, it will be on Nov 12th with doors opening at 6 and the presentation starting at 7.  We’ve moved it to a weekday this year.  You can, as in years past, get your questions in for the panel to address. There are a couple ways, at the website link above, via email to ssfcalliance@gmail.com, or using Twitter and the hashtag  #SFCBiz.  We are exploring ways to get more people to attend the meeting in 2016.  We’d love to hear input on what the Alliance would like to see, add, or change, so please send us an email at ssfcalliance@gmail.com, post something on our Facebook page, or send us a tweet at @AllianceCouncil.

Lastly, voting for Alliance Members for 2016 is still open.  Head over to https://vote.soundersfc.com/Login.aspx and vote for someone to represent you, or nominate yourself to be on the Alliance Council.  Being part of the Alliance Council takes dedication, time management, and a commitment to see projects through to the end. Click here to learn more about the Alliance Council.

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So You Really Want to Recall Garth Lagerwey? (No. No, I certainly don’t.)

By Stephanie Steiner

September 24, 2015

In a meeting with Adrian Hanauer in February of this year, when discussing the very first vote he was asked “what were those results – ninety-four percent ‘confident?’” to which he replied with genuine sheepishness, “I think they were ninety-seven…”  This man has set a very high bar.

That meeting in February between the Alliance Council and Adrian Hanauer was held to meet our new General Manager and President of Soccer, Garth Lagerwey, and to initiate the conversation of the General Manager Vote in general.  When our Charter was written, the authors didn’t anticipate the need to change the person in this role between voting cycles.  The Alliance Council was invited to weigh-in on the topic and propose a solution for voting now and going forward that would accommodate a new General Manager.  For instance, an important question that needed to be answered was: should the new General Manager get a minimum number of years before facing a vote?

We’ve also had the ability to recall the General Manager sort of.  I say “sort of” because the notion of a recall was always understood to be available but never written down. No process had ever been mapped out and agreed upon.  Discovering it was missing was a lot like reaching into the spare tire compartment and finding it empty – in this case, we were lucky to determine it was missing before we needed it.

The task of determining what the GM Vote and Recall process should be was not an emergency, but certainly we felt some sense of urgency to get the process completed during this season – Season Ticket Members could be expecting a vote next year and they should have an explanation of a new procedure if there was to be one.  Then our season got underway, and by the time we had a workgroup tasked with working on all of this, it was March. Throughout the spring, we polled fans via social media whether they thought the General Manager should have a minimum amount of time from their start, or if a General Manager vote should be every four years.  Responders were overwhelmingly in favor of giving a General Manager enough time to make a difference.  By late May, we had agreed upon our GM Vote language with the Club representatives, and had the GM Recall language still ahead of us to negotiate.

Then the June USOC match happened and our July performance was worse.  Early August made us think that July was forty days long.  There were a lot of hashtags in social media with the word “out” attached.  I showed my own Italian temper and German stubbornness in social media with a fan who refused to accept the facts in chronological order.

Losing isn’t supposed to make us nasty.  It should make us committed to righting the ship, and that’s exactly why having our General Manager Vote and Recall process finalized is so important. But for crying out loud –we need to give Garth Lagerwey the opportunity right this ship himself.  I can’t speak for every decision our owners and General Manager will make, nor do I understand everything a General Manager faces.  Any General Manager will make tough decisions, and in Seattle, a General Manager will answer for them.  Had I met Garth Lagerwey in other circumstances – if he’d been an Alliance member instead of our General Manager – I would have recruited him for Alliance Council.  Seriously, I would have been that pain-in-the-backside who bought him beers and nagged him to nominate himself (with my tablet ready for him to say “yes”).  You think I’m nuts? Well I might be for many reasons, but I’d love more legal minds on council, and soccer management experience as well? Yes, please.

I am not kept up at night worrying about our owners, but some might be.  I don’t know what’s in owners’ heads nor pretend to be included in their strategy.  I am comfortable saying that Adrian Hanauer has a strong sense of doing what is right, and Joe Roth wants to win (he isn’t a guy to waffle).  Their job is to build and enhance the Club, including their own prosperity along the way – let’s face it, this isn’t supposed to be their donation to Seattle.  My job is to build and enhance Democracy in Sports – or specifically, Democracy within the Sounders – in perpetuity and specifically for the Alliance.  Luckily for all of us, these jobs are not mutually exclusive and we respect this in each other.  The Season Ticket Members of the Sounders FC are lucky to have owners who believe in the Alliance, in fact, they created it.  The ability to vote out the General Manager was the contribution of Drew Carey as a condition of joining the ownership group.  Without his commitment, there would be no GM Vote, no recall option, and no Alliance.

Now here we are, several months after that February conversation with a lot accomplished.  Garth Lagerwey has gotten us players who are making a considerable difference, and our big time players are getting healthy.  The Cascadia Cup has made its way back to Seattle and our standings in both the Western Conference and the race for the Supporters’ Shield look tremendously different than they did only a month ago. Everything feels better. Five weeks is a lot in soccer-time, and that is a concept that we’d remind ourselves of often as the Alliance Council took on the task of updating our GM Vote and Recall processes.  Throughout this year, Cameron Collins and I have been in negotiations with Taylor Graham and Maya Mendoza-Exstrom regarding these very processes.  After there is agreement all-around, it will all have to be translated into legalese, built into the Charter, and then into our Constitution and Bylaws.  I’m so glad I’m not one of the lawyers, and very grateful for their contributions.

So blah blah, why does it really matter then?  Because, damn it: by creating a GM Vote and Recall policy that is workable and has “teeth” to it, we support the Sounders’ legacy – correction – our Sounders legacy.  It’s not just about the threat of a recall or vote of no-confidence.  It’s our stake in the matter at hand.  It’s our stewardship of our Club, and it’s an assurance that we will have the best General Manager in the MLS. Our continued involvement drives loyalty.  It’s that loyalty that keeps us chanting long after a loss and the referees have been escorted out by police.  And our kids? By God they are Sounders.  Not just ‘til they die, but from their first breath.  This is a tie that needs to be strengthened, always.  This is what makes us unique, makes us strong, and makes us successful.  We get to have a say – I know, I wrote half of the agreement that grants it. This is not our just our entertainment.  This is our Club.

This may not finish up as our easiest season: it’s been full of moments we refer to as “not our best,” but also full of moments which should be our considered among them.  I’m proud of our Club, proud of our owners, and honored by their commitment to Democracy in Sports and the Alliance.  I hope you are too.  When all of the “legalese” is completed and handshakes are behind us, I’ll going to put my feet up, raise a glass, and watch Oba’s Goal of the Week (again).

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Meetings

Meeting Minutes: August 2015

7:00 p.m. The NINETY

Present (8 of 32): Jerry Neil, Kelly Weiler, Stephanie Steiner, Cameron Collins, Hans Ulland, Craig Dillon, Kristina Vaughn, Paul Cox

Next meeting:    Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at 7:00PM

I. Call to order – Stephanie Steiner

II. Roll call – Kristina Vaughn – 8 of 32 members present

III. Approval of minutes – Motion to approve July minutes made by Kristina, second by Hans. Motion passes.

IV. Old Business – Stephanie Steiner

  • Supporter Group bylaw proposal
    • Stephanie moves to vote during the September meeting. Cameron seconds, motion to vote on this passes.

V. Anticipated Owner Meeting – Stephanie Steiner

  • Soon – will be announced in coming weeks

VI. Break – skipped

VII. GM Recall Update

  •  Alliance wide voting
    • Proposal to amend bylaw 2
  • Council voting
    • Attendance Bylaw proposal
      • Paul to revise for September meeting

VIII. Adjournment – Jerry moves to adjourn the meeting, Craig seconds. Motion passes.

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Meetings

Meeting Minutes: July 2015

7:00 p.m. Seattle Sounders FC Conference Room

Present: (11 of 32):    Kyle Boyd, Cameron Collins, Paul Cox, Craig Dillon, Roberta King, Jerry Neil, Karl Picard, Dan Roe, Stephanie Steiner, Hans Ulland, Kristina Vaughn

Next meeting:                              Tuesday, August 4, 2015 at 7:00 PM

I. Call to order – Stephanie Steiner

II. Roll call – Kristina Vaughn – 11 of 32 members present

III. Approval of minutes – Motion to approve May minutes seconded by Kyle; motion passes. Motion to approve June minutes seconded by Kyle, motion passes.

IV. Supporter Group Work Group Update – Stephanie Steiner

  1. One of our duties/rights/responsibilities named in the Charter
  2. History: started for Cascadia ticketing purpose
  3. Proposal for vote: revise Bylaw 7 to eliminate the last two sections/lines of bylaw – Kyle moves to table this proposal until the end of the meeting, Cameron seconds, motion passes

V. Visibility Work Group Update – Roberta King

  1. Working on getting better access to Alliance Council content on SSFC website
    1. Search by tag
  2. Monthly “minutes” write up – currently written by Karl
  3. No content calendar as of yet
    1. Need volunteers to write op-ed pieces
  4. AC highlights (2-3 per month)
    1. Expectations of 1st AC meeting
    2. What do you bring to AC if in a Supporter Group?
    3. More personal info – What do you do?
    4. How do you live the Sounders way – Passion, Courage, Community

VI. Scarf Vote – Kristina Vaughn

  1. Timeline set for scarf design
  2. Summer scarf vs winter scarf
  3. Need volunteers for the team: Jerry, Cameron, Dan, Roberta

VII. Community – Kristina Vaughn

  1. Water Carry event at March to the Match festivities on August 1 – more information to come following a meeting with WGHA

VIII. GM Vote Work Group Update – Cameron/Stephanie

  1. Continued discussion on Front Office’s POV
    1. Defining “unanimous”
    2. Communication plan
  • Signature gathering – FO does not like idea
  1. Creating a Code of Conduct in the Bylaws
  2. Creating a budget for the Alliance Council for 2016?
    1. Add a small amount of money to STH cost?
    2. Kyle will head the Budget Proposal Group
      1. Create rules and proposals
      2. Skeleton budget

IX. Old Business

a) Supporter Group proposal tabled to August meeting

X. Adjournment – Dan moves to adjourn meeting, Cameron seconds – motion passes

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Meetings

Meeting Minutes: June 2015

7:00 p.m. The NINETY

Present: (10 of 32):    Dan Roe, Kristina Vaughn, Kris Mydske, Mark Nesteroff, Cameron Collins, Craig Dillon, Roberta King, Karl Picard, Mike Dollard, Stephanie Steiner (via phone conference)

Next meeting:                              Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at 7:00 PM

I. Call to order – Dan Roe

II. Roll call – Kristina Vaughn – 10 of 32 members present

III. Approval of minutes – Dan Roe – Tabled item due to minutes not being available

IV. Front Office Guest – Mikeala Purvis – Fan Relations Manager

  1. 2016 Renewal process has begun with preliminary emails going out to current STH
  2. Renewal rate is greater than 90%; going to have conversation with remaining 10% of STH
  3. Looking into new option for renewal process
    1. “Sounders Til I Die” – Auto-Renewal
      1. Credit card held on file
    2. SG Work Group Update – Mark Nesteroff
      1. An opinion of the group is to not be involved in this
      2. Do we eliminate Bylaw #7?
      3. Mark propose to strike Bylaw #7; Cameron seconds; Vote to happen at the July meeting
      4. Dan moves to table SG revision; Cameron seconds; motion passes
    3. Visability Work Group Update – Roberta King
      1. The first blog (written by Stephanie) is one month old and not posted to website as of this date
      2. Spoke with Shane Evans
        1. “Minutes to be written by Karl
        2. “Op-ed” article
          1. Topics list to be compiled by volunteers
          2. Posted every other week
        3. Social media – currently running through Karl and Stephanie
          1. 2038 followers
          2. Trying to keep with 2.5 tweets per day
  • Found that pictures drive activity
  1. Alliance Council Table
    1. Need something to pass out
      1. Buttons/pins?
  • GM Vote Work Group Update – Cameron/Stephanie
    1. Discussion on Front Office’s POV
      1. Every 4 years for GM vote after start of “term”
    2. Weighted voting vs non-weighted voting
    3. Recall – Goal is to vote on this at the August meeting

Adjournment – Dan moves to adjourn meeting, Mark seconds – motion passes

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Meetings

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