SFC Board Mtg Minutes – June 15 2021

Final Board Meeting Minutes June – 15, 2021 – 4:30 p.m.
Zoom Meeting

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The Final Board Meeting Minutes are as follows:

1. Prayers/Moment of Silence

SFC President Jim DaRin brought the Zoom meeting to order at about 4:35pm with a moment of silence for former players who have recently passed away or are in need due poor health.

2. Approval of Previous SFC Board Meeting Minutes

The draft SFC Board Meeting Minutes of May 18, 2021 was approved. These minutes will now be distributed in their final version with any attachments in a PDF format to not only to all the Board members but also to the entire SFC membership as a means to continuously inform all the SFC members as to the scope of activities conducted by our organization. These minutes will also be posted on the SFC website. Also, with the advent of Zoom meetings becoming the normal routine and with a better comprehension of how this new technology works, the zoom meeting will at some time in the future be posted on the SFC website along with the minutes.

3. Financial Information-Money in Savings and Checking Accounts – Jim Jerome

Jim Jerome provided the Board with the following SFC financial balances; A combined checking account and saving account balance of $53,512.26 for cash on hand with $30,946.80 in a checking account and $22,565.46 in a savings account. However, please note that this total is now minus the $32,720 check that will soon be donated to “Wall of Service” (formerly referred to as the “Wall of Honor) inside the new National Veteran Resource Center. Jim Jerome will present the check to the Veteran’s Center on Monday morning June 21. Any SFC members who wish to attend this affair along with Jim should contact Jim or Bar Nesci and let them know.

4. June 21 Coaches Golf Tournament

This annual affair, cancelled last year due to the Covid Pandemic, is now all set to occur at the Tuscarora Golf Club in Marcellus, NY on June 21, 2021. The holding of this event is now assured as determined by the success of the vaccinations and the willingness of the SU Football Coaching staff (24 Coaches) to attend this Golf Tournament to be held next week. According to Nick Marcella the Chairman of this affair, everything is in place to hold this event; however Items are still needed for the auctions, particularly any Syracuse Orange memorabilia. Please submit any auction items or ideas to Nick Marcella soon as possible. Barb Nesci has sent out the registration forms for signup. The costs are for golf, lunch and dinner is $150 and just lunch and dinner $100. A new dark navy SFC Golf Shirt will be given to all attendees. Various sponsorships, both individual and corporate, will be also available. A 50-50 raffle will be held.

5. 1^st Annual Marcus Paul Foundation Golf Tournament

Another golf affair associated with SU Football is the newly established Golf Tournament in memory of the recently deceased former SU gridiron stars Marcus Paul. This new golf tournament was held on Monday June 7 at the Tuscarora Golf Club in Marcellus, NY. The SFC Board contributed to this affair by sponsoring a hole. Some SFC members did attend. This Marcus Paul Golf Tournament will benefit the Marcus Paul Foundation. The Markus Paul Foundation (“the MP Foundation”) is a productive resource that improves the lives of hardworking young adults in Osceola County, Florida who may be underrepresented in colleges and universities. Some of the support to students will include financial assistance scholarships to Osceola High School students and donations to the local Boys & Girls Club. To support students beyond high school, the MP Foundation will donate resources to Syracuse University. These resources will focus on the Syracuse University Football Program, its strength and conditioning program, and students majoring in exercise science.

6. Black Lives Matter Video

Chris Williamson noted that the video editing is now complete. Where and when it may be shown e.g., during SU football games, is currently still being discussed in an ongoing dialog with the University. Jim DaRin, who has viewed the video, expressed his full endorsement of the contents.

7. Planning for Annual SFC Weekend- Golf, Zunic & Tailgate Tent Fall 2021

It is now being planned that our traditional SFC weekend would once again to be held with the Golf Tournament, Zunic Awards Dinner, Tailgate Tent and other ancillary activities. Our annual SFC Weekend is now set for the weekend of the Clemson game which is scheduled to occur on a Friday evening October 15, 2021. The choice of selecting a weekend with a Friday night game requires us to push back the first evening reception to a Wednesday night, the Golf Tournament to a Thursday, the Zunic Award to Thursday evening and the Tailgate Tent to Friday afternoon and evening. Initial conversations with Drumlins personnel concerning SFC events anticipated to occur this fall found that Drumlins will still be instituting a number of constraints. Hence Blake Bednarz first looked at Turning Stone but their costs are much higher. He then recommending that the SFC Golf Tournament take a hard look at Timber Banks Golf Club located in nearby Baldwinsville, NY. The SFC successfully held a Golf Tournament at Timber Banks a number of years ago but since that time we have been using Drumlins. Jim DaRin has lately been in contact with SU AD John Wildhack and the Drumlin option is once again back on the table. It appears that with the opening of the Dome to full attendance that Drumlins will also have removed it Covid protocols and restrictions. According to Jim DaRin the new administration at Drumlins is “eager to please” as stated by the recently appointed Director at Drumlins Chris Myslow. Also, discussions with SU to assist in a football weekend honoring both former SU football coach Paul Pasqualoni (SU’s head football coach from 1991-2004) as well as all the teams he coached over that 15-season span of time are still in an indeterminate state. As mentioned at a previous Board meeting that our long-standing partner for cohosting the SFC annual Tailgate Tent, O’Brien & Gere Engineers (OBG), may not be able to participate this year and the Forestry School (ESF) location is not a given as we must now apply for an annual permit. ESF (as well as Syracuse University) is scheduled to hold their Homecoming Weekend the end of October so this on Campus major event (Orange Central) should not interfere with our plans. At this juncture a “save the date message” should be broadcast throughout the SFC membership for the mid October Clemson game. Another item to be resolved is the securing of a block of tickets for incoming football alumni. Also, SU will assist in securing a block of rooms at a reasonable rate at the Sheraton on campus. The availability and location of tickets to the game is yet to be determined.

8. New Revised SFC By-Laws

A finalized version of the new By-Laws will be forthcoming as soon as we have a lawyer review the new document. Both, Pete Pietryka and Richard Murphy have completed their final review and approval. Once reviewed and approved by an Attorney for release the By-Laws will be distributed and formally voted upon by the SFC Board.

9. Membership Drive

Discussion ensued on the topic of contacting the nearly 1000 former players who are not now active participants in the Syracuse Football Club. The idea of appointing team Captains for various years that will be responsible for contacting their former teammates was once again suggested. The acute need for an updated more complete list of players was once again brought up as a prerequisite for making the contacting task more achievable. Also, locally held get-togethers should be in part sponsored/funded by the SFC particularly for those individuals who live in locations where they cannot get back to Syracuse without difficulty. In addition, this fulfillment of our contacting former players’ effort will also help with our budding ‘Mentoring Agenda’ as well as the newly conceived ‘Huddle of Hope’ program as more and younger members are brought into the Club.

10. Next SFC Board Zoom Meeting

The next SFC Board meeting will occur on Tuesday July 20, 2021 (the third Thursday of each month). The meeting agenda and the Zoom information will be sent out in the days prior to the meeting.

Prepared by Kevin McLoughlin