SFC Board Mtg Minutes-June 16, 2020

Final Board Meeting Minutes June 16, 2020 – 4:30 p.m.
Call in by Phone Only

Attending:
Kevin McLoughlin
Chuck Boniti
Dick Murphy
Rich Rosen
Scott Schwedes
Len Campolieta
Norm Mordue
Skip Dalrymple
Nick Marsella
Cliff Ensley

Jenna Rodgers
Barb Nesci
Jim Jerome
Will Hick
Gary Bugenhagen
Pat Killorin
Todd Kasmar
Karl Lombel
Rusty Mills
Warren Harvey
Jim DaRin


The Draft Board Meeting Minutes are as follows:

1. Prayers/Moment of Silence

President Jim DaRin brought the meeting to order at about 4:35pm and requested a moment of silence/prayer for all recently departed Syracuse Footballers and thoughts/prayers were also requested for all those SFC members having health issues. Robin Griffin who has heart problems is doing much better and thanks everyone for their spiritual support. Richard Steiner who continues undergoing chemo therapy for intestinal cancer has improved substantially. Both gentlemen thank the SFC for their thoughts and prayers as their health conditions have amended considerably. In addition, our thoughts and prayers go out to Ed Reardon “68 and Dan Yochum “72, who are both suffering from chronic health issues.

2. Approval of March 24 ,  2020 SFC Board Meeting Minutes

The draft Board meeting minutes of the March 24, 2020 were accepted and approved by the attending Board Members. 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 the entire  SFC membership as to the scope of activities conducted by our organization.

3. Financial Information-Money in Savings and Checking Accounts

Jim Jerome provided the Board with the following SFC financial balances;   A combined checking account and saving account balance of $74,595.32 for cash on hand with $52,038.07‬ in a checking account and $22,557.07 in a savings account.

4. Upcoming SFC Events

With the Covid 19 Pandemic still present without a cure or vaccine to be had in the near future (mostly likely not in time for the football season)  the SFC will by necessity cancel all its 2020 events including the Zunic Award Dinner, the Golf Tournament and reception as well as the Tailgate Tent. All proposed Tailgate activates will also be curtailed this year. Syracuse University and the Athletic Department have likewise canceled all social events related to the football season. The attending Board members voted unanimously on the issue.

5. New SFC Website Development – Skip Dalrymple

The website development is currently under the guidance of SFC member and now also a member of the Board Skip Dalrymple and his Website Developer Andy Poystila. This renewed supplementary effort is again being funded by individual SFC members so as to facilitate our reconstructed SFC Website to be even more exciting and impressive.  Skip mentioned again that all our previous items (pictures, obituaries, Zunic Award Winners, Newsletters, etc.) from the old SFC Website will be kept and transitioned onto our new site. Moreover, our website developers will provide ample access to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, etc. that will further simplify communications and the hosting of news stories about current Syracuse University Football events. Also, they expect to expand the SFC marketing of a variety of athletic attire and other items with the Club logo on them such golf shirts, T-shirts, hats, jackets, sweat shirts, cups, mugs, magnets, etc. from the website with the SFC taking a small percentage of the income from such internet sales for the Club treasury.   It was again noted that we can also host corporate sponsors on the new website through advertising. Many of the first phase changes on the SFC Website should be evident now with more work continuing on the Website over the next few months.  The website could also be used to enable the mentoring of younger players just getting started in their careers by more established former players.  Then the long term commitment involves the maintenance and upkeep of our website. The website must be kept current and up to date on issues and activities pertinent to the Syracuse University Football Program as well as the Syracuse Football Club in order to reap all the aforementioned benefits over the long haul. The location of our new SFC Website is still; syracusefootballclub.com.  Almost 800 football alumni have been loaded into the site.  However, only about 8% at this time have filled out their profiles and Skip requested that the Board members attempt to do so as possible.   Also, Skip said we had about 470 alumni with no known email addresses that we could not get into the site but that he was working on addressing this issue. At the conclusion of Skip’s presentation the Board Members unanimously approved Skip as the newest SFC Board Member.

6. Veteran’s Memorial – Jim Jerome

The Syracuse Football Club & Friends have a superb opportunity to make donations in support of the Captain Ben Schwartzwalder’s Hall of Honor to be included in the new National Veterans Resource Center just being completed at SU. This facility will be featured as a tribute to Ben’s heroism in World War II particularly during the D-Day invasion. He served with the 507th Parachute Infantry of the famed Eighty-second Airborne Division. He became a company commander and earned the rank of major. During the D-Day invasion in 1944, Ben parachuted into Normandy and was wounded. After recovering he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and parachuted across the Rhine River. Among other citations, Schwartzwalder was awarded the Bronze Star and the Silver Star. Every dollar donated through the SFC will be matched up to $100K by an anonymous former Orangeman’s generosity, and donations are tax deductible. Donations can be made at the new SFC website. For more detailed information about the National Veterans Resource Center just being completed at Syracuse University go to: https://veterans.syr.edu/news/nvrc/?redirect

7. Mentoring Program – Rusty Mills

Rusty Mills mentioned that the new website may be used as the main vehicle for assisting younger members of the SFC that are either finished with their athletic careers and are still in school or have graduated and are out finding jobs in their field. With sufficient older SFC members listed on the website noting their areas of career expertise then contacts could be facilitated among the younger and older SFC members. Even groups with similar employment backgrounds; e.g., marketing, IT, teaching, etc. could be established so as to enable the younger job seekers to gain an in-depth robust assistance from a number of older SFC members that have experience in that field of interest. It was recognized in an earlier SFC discussion of ‘mentoring’ those undergraduates with eligible athletic competition yet remaining pose a potential ‘slippery slope’ in regards to the prolific and nuanced NCAA compliance standards. Hence, we should focus our attention on those ‘graduating seniors’ and other younger players that have completed their athletic careers thus posing no undue accidental chance of an NCAA violation.

8. Associate Membership – Warren Harvey

The discussion first noted that the original ‘need’ for associate members a few years ago was predicated on a time when the SFC coffers (cash in the Savings and Checking Accounts) were at a very low ebb. New younger members were not joining up and many active older members held “Life Time Memberships.” Thus little additional funding was coming into the Club from membership dues. Since that time the SFC has been able to secure additional funding from revenue enhanced events, new sponsors and some additional sizable member contributions from Life Time Members. Furthermore, only 5 associate members actually joined the SFC at $100 each (twice the normal annual $50 dues). It now appears that only a couple of these want to continue their membership on an annual basis. Thus it was felt that we could abandon the opening of the Club for new Associate Members entirely and simply “grandfather” the couple we already have if they still desire to keep their membership by paying the $100 annual dues.


All Lifetime Members were issued new Syracuse Football Club Membership Cards laminated in plastic last year.
For example two members made donations of $10K and over $13K respectively.

The attending Board Members voted to revoke the opportunity for new Associate Member’s to enter the Syracuse Football Club and resume to restrict membership to former football players and others directly associated with SU Football such as managers, coaches, trainers, physicians, etc.

9. Benefits for “Out-of-Town” SFC Members – Warren Harvey

In addition to the new SFC Website and the preliminary plans for a SFC Mentoring Program, an additional feature for SFC members located around the country is new initiative of setting up local or regional Clubs. Get-togethers of the local SFCs could be partially or fully subsidized from the funds in the Syracuse Office of the Club so that former players who cannot get back to Syracuse often (or even at all) can be able to meet up with other former Orange Players for televised SU Football games or any other local SFC planned events. Wherever a number of SFC members reside; e.g., Southern Florida, if they need some seed money to have food and beverages provided at a local establishment for viewing a game or even just a social get together (meet & greet) the SFC could help out with the initial funding, i.e., provide the seed money for this type of gathering. This social outreach aspect of the Club, to enhance camaraderie among generations, could be facilitated by selecting Regional Captains to help organize such SFC sponsored events. Another possible way those SFC members not located in central NY (or at least within easy driving distance of Syracuse) could assemble would be at Tailgates held at away games (when games are played fairly close to where they reside). Again a local sponsor or two or more could volunteer and with financial help from the SFC put on a Tailgate Party at various away games. For example, Warren Harvey mentioned that he could provide this sponsorship for a game at Rutgers as he lives in central New Jersey. Unfortunately, this year with the Covid 19 Pandemic still persistent these away games tailgates will by necessity need to be postponed. However, it was noted that a SFC sponsored Tailgate at the West Virginia Bowl Game held in December 2018 found dozens of younger SU ballplayers now residing in Florida or other locations in the south attending this SFC sponsored event. Virtually all these younger former players living in Florida that had never been able to attend a SFC function before had a great time at this Tailgate Party and expressed interest in follow up events.

10. Floyd Little – Pat Killorin

Pat discussed the health issues now being faced by Floyd Little and the resulting financial implications. Pat noted that he had set up a GoFundMe for Floyd and suggested that the SFC make a contribution to Floyd Little as well. (See Attachments) After a discussion it was decided to set up a contribution page in the new SFC website to help Floyd in addition to the GoFundMe.

11. Syracuse Eight 50th Anniversary – Kevin McLoughlin

It was noted that 2020 is the 50th year anniversary of the Syracuse 8 football boycott/strike. The University was going to hold some kind of reunion that might also involve all members of the 1970 team. Recent contact with members of the Syracuse 8; Greg Allen and John Lobon by Kevin McLoughlin, found that although there were plans being made for some type of recognition/reunion by SU, they had been recently informed by SU that due to the Covid 19 pandemic that this gathering would most likely need to be postponed. However, Jim Jerome heard even more recently directly from members of the SU Athletic Department that something night still be done to commemorate this anniversary date. 

12. Next Meeting

The next meeting date has tentatively been set for July 16, 2020 (but has been cancelled and a new date not yet selected).

Prepared by Kevin McLoughlin

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