Dear USA Boccia Membership and Stakeholders,
We hope that this update finds you doing well and staying safe as our world continues trying its best to persevere through the Covid-19 pandemic. As a nod to such perseverance, our organization continues to work and plan as if we will finally be able to see all of you in person for our 2021 National Championships. The tournament is scheduled for October 7-10 in Gardner, Kansas. It promises to be especially exciting as our first competition in what will be more than two years by the time it arrives. Stay tuned for future updates!
Beyond this, it is with a mixture of hearty congratulations and an admitted sprinkle of disappointment that we write to tell you that our Executive Director, Dave McCann, has decided to leave our organization in the next few weeks to pursue an exciting opportunity as USA Volleyball’s Director of Education Services.
As many of you likely saw in your committee work alongside Dave, sport education is an undoubted passion of his. As such, we know he will go on to do great things in his new role. What’s more, in a true win-win scenario under the circumstances, Dave has offered not only to continue helping USA Boccia where he can but to also share resources where possible. In short, as English philosopher Francis Bacon said, “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” This is certainly the case when looking back at Dave’s year with us at USA Boccia!
Going forward, we will be bolstered by numerous grants that have funded our new website, a new membership services platform, a course development platform allowing us to provide cutting-edge training opportunities throughout our organization, and new marketing initiatives. Together, these assets will further enhance the work of our existing committees as well as new taskforces focused on immediate Return to Play concerns and long-term international High-Performance.
Lastly, we are wrapping up the trying yet crucial work of our first three-year financial audit and Safesport audit as required by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). With these foundations in place, we as a Board–along with USA Boccia’s Compliance Manager, Lorin Fiehler–will forge ahead to capture the bright future that awaits us. In the next few weeks, we will make our case for new, elevated status as a Paralympic Sport Organization (PSO). This status will grant us all the staying power, rights, and revenue privileges that come with being a de facto national governing body with permanent control over elite-level Boccia in the United States. Once this more immediate-term work concludes, we can then move to longer-term discussions concerning how best to structure the organization and future leadership of it. Thank you for your time and consideration of all of these developments. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.
Sincerely,
The USA Boccia Board of Directors
