Annual General Meeting

1. Call to Order

President Dave McManus called the meeting to order at 11:00 AM. An agenda was presented.

Motion Adam Humphrey / Danny Patterson the agenda for the 2007 AGM be accepted wit= h the noted additions. Carried=

2. Registration of Voters

All members were registered by the Secretary-Treasurer.

3. Presentation of 2006 AGM Minutes. =

Motion Corey Orchard / Jonathan Ross the minutes of the 2006 AGM be accepted as presented. Carried=

4. Reports

President: - Written and oral synopsis.

Vice-President: = ;- Written and oral synopsis.=

Interpreter: - Written and oral synopsis.<= /span>

Secretary-Treasurer: - Written and oral synopsis.

5. Zone Representative Report's

Oral and written Zone Reports were submitted as follows:

§Z= one # 1, Woodstock (Both)

§Z= one # 2, Fredericton (Both)

§Z= one # 3, St. Stephen (Both)

§Z= one # 4, Saint John (Both)

§Z= one # 5, Moncton (Both)

§Z= one # 6 (South), Miramichi (Both)

§Z= one # 6 )(Central), Bathurst (Both)

§Z= one # 6 (North), Campbellton/Dalhousie (Written)

6. Intro to Officiating ( Formerly known as Junior Development)

Written and oral synopsis.<= /span>

7. BNB:

A written was submitted by BNB Preside= nt Chuck Beyea.

Motion Greg Russell / Jeff McGinle= y the reports be accepted as presented. Carried

8. Correspondence:

A letter from Nancy Morrison was read.= It concerned the pilot project und= ertake by the Saint John<= /st1:City> zone on a billing process for the year.&nb= sp; The project was well received by the schools in the Saint John Zone = and was accepted by the officials in that zone. Zone # 4 intends to operate with it again this year. There was a spirited discussion about the billing project and concerns were expressed regarding potential tax implications by going to a billing process. Dave McManus is to contact Kevin L= askey, a member in the Saint John zone and have a discussion, unofficially and off the record and see if he c= an get an answer on this subject.

9. Old Business:

None

10. Election of Officers:

The nominating committee reported the current executive were going to let their names stand for re-election and that they had received no further nominatio= ns from the zones. JP Richard was appointed Elections Officer.

Peter DeMerchant nominated Dave McManus for the position of President<= /span>

John Hickey nominated Rod Aube for the position of President.<= /p>

After 3 calls for further nominations went unheeded, nominations were declared closed. A secret ballot was h= eld with JP Richard and Danny Patterson serving as scrutinizers. As a result of the ballot, Dave Mc= Manus was declared the winning candidate for the office of President.<= /span>

Motion Bill Gallant/ Brent Stocker= the ballots be destroyed. Carried=

Peter DeMerchant nominated Scott Wood for the position of Vice President

Joe Stepaniak nominated Todd Messer for the position of Vice President.

After 3 calls for further nominations went unheeded, nominations were declared closed. A secret ballot was h= eld with JP Richard and Danny Patterson serving as scrutinizers. As a result of the ballot, Todd Me= sser was declared the winning candidate for the office of Vice President.

Motion Dirk Bishop/ Cliff Smith the ballots be destroyed. Carried=

Peter DeMerchant nominated Seward Neilsen for the position of Interpreter/Evaluat= or.

After 3 calls for further nominations went unheeded, nominations were declared cl= osed and Seward was declared elected to the position of Interpreter/Evaluator

Adam Humphrey nominated Peter DeMerchant for the position of Secretary-Treasurer= .

After 3 calls for further nominations went unheeded, nominations were declared cl= osed and Peter DeMerchant was declared elected for the position of Secretary-Treasurer

Seward Neilsen made a short address on the time and efforts put in by the Executiv= e on behalf of the membership.

11. New Business :

Scott Wood presented a new travel poli= cy for consideration by the membership.

Motion Bill Gallant/ Jeff McGinley= the Proposal be accepted as presented.

During the question period the followi= ng amendments were made:

Motion Rod = Aube/ Fran McHugh section 3 & 4 be struck from the proposal. Carried<= /p>

Motion Matt Tweedie/ Todd Messer t= he word charts in Point # 5 be changed to read charges. Carried<= /p>

The original mover of the motion, Bill Gallant would not support the amendments.

Motion Fran McHugh/ Jeff McGinley = we accepted the travel proposal with the two accepted amendments and as shown below and add it to our operating procedures. Carried

1. The mileage rate that is determined at= an AGM is the rate that will be charged, without exception.<= /p>

2. Mileage will be paid to the driver onl= y.

3. It is the responsibility of each zone = to document and publish zone travel charges prior to the season commencing.

4. The assignor must make every effort to assign officials so only one travel is charged.

5. Should an official have to officiate t= wo games at different venues in the same geographical area, travel fee will be divided between the two user groups proportionately. It will be the assignor’s responsibility to notify both groups. (ie. No double trave= ls!)

A request w= as received from Zone # 2 to have the following game fees adjusted in order to bring them in line with the rest of the fees.

1/ Midget 20 minute halves -- $30

Du= ring the winter months, the High School JV leagues are charged $35 per game -- these teams at the AA and AAA level are comprised of Grade 9/10 players (Grades 7= -9 at the A level), which is equivalent to the Midget age category. Therefore,= we charge $35 for midget-comparable games all winter, and then when age class games are played in late March/February, we suddenly reduce our rate to $30. From an equitable standpoint, we should charge the same rate when the same players are playing the same game type - that is, JV high school and midget games of 20 minute length should all be $35. I recall we had a similar situation in the mid-'90s when the JV league was first introduced -- there = was much confusion as we had a 'high school rate' and a 'midget rate' – m= any of the JV teams only paid the lower midget rate as their teams were compris= ed of midget-aged players. While we have taken steps to clearly indicate what = JV teams should pay, I believe the midget and JV rates should be the same to eliminate any confusion surrounding this.

2/ Midget 15 minute halves -- $25

Si= nce middle school (grades 6-8) 15 minute halves are $25, a midget game (effecti= vely grades 9-10) should be a slightly higher price since these games are usuall= y a higher caliber and more intense. It would seem to me that a $30 rate for th= ese games would be more inline with what should be charged.

3/ Middle school 20 minute halves -- $28

Be= ing the assignor in the Fredericto= n area, this rate has caused me the most grief over the last couple of years.= Our middle schools all play 20 minute halves at the Grade 8 level (grades 6 &am= p; 7 still play only 15's). While a standard 30 minute game can usually be playe= d in ~1 hour, increasing the game to a 40 minute game will oftentimes end up the game taking as much as 90 minutes, if not longer since players of this age = are not conditioned enough to play this long a game. When presented with an opt= ion - a "60 minute" game for $25 or "90 minute" game for $2= 8, the choice is quite obvious which the official will take -- those $3 extra dollars aren't worth it. As well, from a team's standpoint, $6 per game for= an extra 10 minutes of playing isn't much of an expense, and many opt to do th= is. This leaves assignor's sometimes scrambling to cover these longer games. If= the 20 minute half MS game fee was increased to $30, this results in officials being more willing to take these games given the additional time required f= or the game to be played.

4/ Intermediate, Masters, etc -- $38

Wi= th high school games being $35, an additional $3 for intermediate, etc is not = much of a difference considering the verbal grief that we as officials oftentimes endure during these games. As well, especially at the Intermediate level, t= he quality of play is much higher than high school. Given that the $35 high sc= hool rate is still at the low end when reviewed across the country, I would thin= k a $40 Intermediate, etc. rate would be a very acceptable rate for this class.=

&= nbsp; Motion Adam Humphrey / Troy Cox the suggested fee changes be accepted as presented. Carrie= d

A question = was raised from the floor as to the direction we are going with Middle Schools = for the upcoming ear as we move to the FIBA timing rules and what would the game lengths be. Dave McManus is t= o look into this and advise the Zone Reps.

Adam Humphr= ey brought up a couple of perceived areas of concern with certain sections of = our constitution. The first had t= o do with the procedure, or current lack of one, within our current constitution, for the removal for cause of an elected Zone or Provincial officer and he expressed concerns with the current procedure for determining assignments f= or the Final 12. He also asked t= hat the constitution on the web site be updated.

&= nbsp; Motion Adam Humphrey / Brent Stock= er a committee be formed to review the section of the constitution which deals w= ith the Final 12 assignments. Car= ried

The Preside= nt asked Adam to chair this committee and report back by the 2008 Final 12. Adam agreed.

Motion Adam Humphrey / Danny Patterson a committee be formed to draft a policy to be incorporated = into our constitution to provide for the removal, if necessary and for cause, of= any elected officer in the Association at either the Zone or Provincial level.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Carried<= /p>

The Preside= nt asked Adam to chair this committee and report back by May 1, 2008. Adam agreed.

Corey Orcha= rd asked about getting a list of Points of Emphasis for the Zones to work on in orde= r to try and obtain a consistent approach to the game. After some discussion, it was agre= ed this would be left to the Zone Reps to work on with each other.<= /span>

Motion Bill Gallant the meeting be adjourned. Meeting was adjour= ned at 3:05 PM