Each year, the club gathers to go over the last year and address questions about the year ahead. We elect the new board for the coming season and we have an open forum to discuss questions or concerns people have about the club, about the state of Gaelic games in the Unites States, and anything else that might be on their minds.
First things first, we got the legalese paperwork out of the way—the standing orders were adopted, and the minutes from last year's AGM were accepted. First up after that was the annual secretary's report. Secretary for the 2022 season Candace Stone wasn't able to be at the meeting, so Paddy McCabe read it out in her stead. The report mostly covered some of the highlights in recruiting, development, and competition over the past year.
After that, club treasurer Richard O'Rourke presented a report on the club's finances. As in years past, the club remains in solid financial standing, with our 501c3 status maintained, healthy balances to cover operating costs, and a set of investment accounts with funds from the 1998 Finals we hosted back in the day. Following the treasurer's report, some questions were raised about fundraising efforts over the last year, what had come from division-level discussions over funds from Nationals in 2019, and a few other sundry items. There was a general consensus that the funds from hosting nationals should be divided in a way that helped the division's smaller clubs, but in a way that had structure and safeguards to ensure the money was used responsibly.
Next, the club chairman, Paddy McCabe, offered his address. The chair's address echoed some of the progress that was noted in the secretary's report, and encouraged further development for the year ahead. A note was made as to the difficulty of finding fields to routinely practice on that were convenient for club members.
Next up was the election of club officers for the next year. The bulk of the positions only had one nominee and therefore didn't require an election. There was no nominee for the youth officer position, as last year's officer Danny Green was unable to continue in the role. The only position that required an election was the club development officer. After the candidates presented their credentials and arguments, a secret ballot was held and the board for the 2023 season was announced.
2023 Board
Chair: Patrick McCabe
Vice Chair: Emmet McKeown
Secretary: Christina Petrocelli
Treasurer: Richard O'Rourke
Registrar: Jillian Kelly
Public Relations Officer: Ian Hutchinson
Club Development Officer: Ronan Kelly
After the election of the board for the upcoming season, trustees were also elected. The new trustees for the club for those terms are Eric Fawl, Robert Rayburn, and Rebecca Levetzow for one, two, and three years, respectively.
At the end of the meeting, the floor was opened for discussion of any outstanding topics. Discussions were had about the fairness of USGAA nationals and whether they should be the be all and end all of club planning for the year, or if perhaps smaller tournaments in other places would make a better priority for the club to grow and get players more time on the field against reasonable opponents. Several subcommittees were suggested as well for fundraising and updating the by-laws to help the board.
To see full meeting notes from the AGM, click here.