Annual General Meeting 2024
MINUTES
Gulf Coast Division, USA Fencing
Annual General Meeting
July 13, 2024
5:00 PM
Call to order - Chair Liz Mayerich called the meeting to order at 5:12pm.
Roll call - Chair Liz Mayerich conducted a roll call of Officers and Division members in attendance. The roll call included:
Chair - Liz Mayerich of Houston Sword Sports
Vice Chair - Tim Newell of Bayou City Fencing Academy
Treasurer - Kathy Machol of Houston Sword Sports
Secretary - Chuck Wemple of Bayou City Fencing Academy
Division Armorer - Susie Grace of Houston Sword Sports and Rogue Fencers Guild
Daniel Gorman of Houston Sword Sports
Lindsey Allison of Houston Sword Sports
John Trojanowski of Rogue Fencers Guild
Matthew Mejia of Space City Fencing
Comments from Chair - Chair Mayerich welcomed everybody to the meeting, expressed the goal of having an inclusive and brief meeting, and stated that notices for the meeting had been properly distributed via social media, USA Fencing email, and individual emails to Division clubs.
Division officer reports
Chair - Please see written report, included below.
Vice-Chair - Brief verbal report.
Secretary - Please see written report, included below.
Treasurer - Please see written report, included below.
Nominations and Elections - Division Officers and Armorer. Secretary Chuck Wemple conducted the nominations and election process in accordance with Roberts’ Rules of Order. We installed the officers listed below for the upcoming season.
Liz Mayerich of Houston Sword Sports for Chair. Moved by Tim Newell, seconded by Dan Gorman. No other nominations. Vote of unanimous approval by acclamation.
Tim Newell of Bayou City Fencing Academy for Vice Chair. Moved by Dan Gorman seconded by Susie Grace. No other nominations. Vote of unanimous approval by acclamation.
Lindsey Allison of Houston Sword Sports for Secretary. Moved by Chuck Wemple and seconded by Kathy Machol. No other nominations. Vote of unanimous approval by acclamation.
Kathy Machol of Houston Sword Sports for Treasurer. Moved by Lindsay, seconded by Daniel Gorman. No other nominations. Vote of unanimous approval by acclamation.
Susie Grace of Houston Sword Sports and Rogue Fencers Guild for Division Armorer. Moved by Dan Gorman and seconded by Kathy Machol. No other nominations. Vote of unanimous approval by acclamation.
Old Business - Secretary Chuck Wemple requested that the officers follow up with the National Office regarding a final approval to modify the Division boundaries and to ensure the fencing club located in Brownsville is transferred to the West Texas Division as approved by the Division more than a year ago. It is unclear what the official status is on this item. A club within the Division wants to include an accurate boundary map with their various educational materials. Chair Mayerich stated she would follow up on this item.
While there was not an item on the agenda for new business (a simple oversight by the Secretary), we did have a discussion about building off our recent successes of hosting clinics to build coaching and referee capacity within the Division. The idea of continuing this approach and focusing on armory has some appeal. Specifics will be worked out in the coming months. We also determined a date and time for the Division Tournament Calendar meeting (August 3 at 5:30pm). Chair Mayerich indicated she would appropriately notify the clubs within our Division.
Next Meeting - Tournaments Calendar - August 3 at 5:30pm central time.
Adjournment - Chair Mayerich adjourned the meeting at 5:44pm.
Minutes prepaid by Chuck Wemple, July 31, 2024.
