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Overview
Restore College Wrestling Steering Committee Meeting

April 6, 2013
Embassy Suites Hotel, Tigard

In attendance: Chuck Holliday, Mike Clock, Gary Head, John Dustin, Trent Kroll, Ron Iwasaki, Kurt Davis, Joe McFarland, Gary Head

The meeting was brief.
Trent Kroll was invited to attend to ‘size us up’ and possibly agree to be the first representative of a younger generation of wrestling coaches. We discussed the desirability of having at least 2 people from this currently active group of coaches on the committee.

We talked about the value of getting additional input from EACH of us on the possible ‘game plan’ for reinstatement of wrestling at EOU and it’s value as a template for other college wrestling restoration efforts. We were ALL encouraged to give our input on this matter, via email, in the very near future. Please forward all suggestions to Buck, Chuck.

We discussed ways that wrestling’s appeal & visibility might be raised. Some items mentioned were:

A) Developing a relationship with a person at each of the major newspapers in Oregon(Portland, Salem, Eugene), so that Our Sport is better represented. Perhaps we need to have someone in charge of developing better lines of communication? There was some comment on how well the Oregon State tournament was covered in the Sunday edition following the event AND the coverage of the Hall of Fame event by Norm Maves. At a minimum, those who do an exceptional piece of work in behalf of wrestling, need to be complimented. Perhaps we need to try to find someone in the wrestling community who writes well AND is willing to consistently provide possible wrestling articles of interest to targeted media? Do we try to form a subcommittee to examine ways to reach the media? A request for a volunteer to lead the charge in this direction produced no one.

B) Redmond’s honor-the-military night in conjunction with a wrestling event was mentioned as one which drew a very good crowd. Russia’s use of non wrestling entertainment in conjunction with wrestling events was noted. Some creative ideas might draw people to events who would otherwise not come---and in the process they might become educated and ‘hooked’ on Our Sport.

Several awareness items(for lack of a better term) that came to the fore: What prompted Oregon HS to initiate wrestling in the 50s, 60s?; the potential value of TrackWrestling in keeping anyone interested aware of current wrestling results at the HS level in Oregon; Crook County & Hood River HS’s use of Facebook to keep their followers abreast of what is happening in their programs---each of them have 500-1000 followers; the value of making small college football coaches aware of the potential enhancement of their program, by introducing wrestling as a sport; the possibility of filing suit against the State for failing to provide equal opportunity for handicapped and undersized youth.

Proposed subsequent meeting times/places were as follows:

Mid May Near McMinnville, so we can invite Dawn Marie/husband, so we can pick her brain for ways to improve our visibility and to organize a more functional database that can be used to, among other things, recruit help with some of the tasks that would make us more effective. John is going to followup with Dawn Marie, so that a time/place can be arranged that fits with her schedule and allows some of us to be there.

Joe McFarland suggested his place on the river for a more substantive meeting—we settled on June 17, 18.

We have an invite to Craig’s place at Big Summit for a July date to be determined. Chuck will followup on this.

I am taking the liberty of listing some things have been brought to the fore in the past & that some of us believed would enhance our efforts. Most of these are things referred to as possible agenda items in emails preceding our last meeting. At our proposed substantive meeting in June we should decide which of these is worthy of further effort AND put a timeline on those deemed relevant.

A goal without a timeline is wishful thinking.

Items for discussion at the June meeting

---deciding if/where to apply for grants, which will be especially important once we have 501 c3 'protection' under the OWA umbrella(or otherwise). In the same vein, someone to oversee grant writing.

---someone to followup on the video production, begun by Andrew Stanfield. I have forwarded some suggestions to him, but more needs to be done on our part, as well as his. Someone needs to take responsibility for this.

---someone to research what is available(or can be developed) to guide someone starting/maintaining a college wrestling program. The idea being, that having such in hand will give us added credibility when we approach college administrators.

---the value of adding to our committee a few others who have the time and energy to oversee some of the 'projects' that need attention. Suggestions appreciated.

---the extent to which we want to involve our group in the political outreach associated with combating the IOC decision to drop wrestling from the Games.

---someone to take charge of overseeing the expansion of our database. This would include seeing that all paper registration is entered into our MailChimp database in a timely fashion. Perhaps this same person is in charge of ‘housing’ the tracking the signage & other materials used at events?

---someone to oversee the collection and posting of college wrestling history items on our Facebook page/website. I have had communication with Don Hoiness re. his possible involvement on this matter. I think he is willing to be in charge of organizing and posting, but we need someone in our group to oversee the matter of collecting the pictures/articles for posting and getting them to Don.

---a plan for expanding our database to include people from a greater variety of regions of our state.

---planning a few social events that would serve to draw the wrestling community together.

---maintaining and expanding our list of relationships with college administrators who are, or might become, wrestling friendly.

---adding to our group a few more people who are ‘tech savvy’ and who share our goal.

---building a complete network of community leadership pairs(CLPs) to facilitate communication in the ‘wrestling community’.

---someone to oversee the development of our website to include links to appropriate sites AND to examine what other sites are doing that might be relevant to our work AND to communicate with John Sayles re. same.

---identify colleges/key people that are likely initial ‘targets’ for our group, as we begin to try to get colleges to ADD wrestling in the coming year and develop a ‘game plan’ for each college to be approached.

 Mike

 A few noteworthy items(and I am sure there are more);

1)     Our digital database has now exceeded 1,000, with a few more on hand to be added;

2)       Buck and I are actively pursuing the possibility of us(RCWOR) becoming a subdivision of OWA. Buck has been designated the primary voice in communicating with Steve Thorpe(Chair OWA).

3)      Thanks to a ‘heads up’ by John Dustin and some spadework on my part our brochure was included in the OSAA Delegate Assembly Executive Council packets at their meeting last week. HD Weddel(one of the delegates & former coach) made sure of the inclusion and gave a us his ‘endorsement’ at the meeting. Our brochure will also be in the packets when the HS Athletic Directors meet next week and I have asked 2 of them, who are former wrestling coaches, to make a ‘pitch’ for the Restore movement.

4)      As near as I can tell our 3 Newsbriefs to date have been well received.

RCWOR Steering Committee Minutes
OSAA State High School Championships
Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Exhibit Hall
Saturday, Feb 23, 2013
 

In attendance: Mike Clock (MC), Ron Iwasaki (RI), Buck Davis (BD), Marlin Grahn (MG), Chuck Holliday (CH), John Dustin (JD), Dr. Joe McFarland (JMc).

(CH) Is going to contact Simpson College to find out how they brought wrestling back.

(BD) Will talk with Don Hoiness Re; helping us get the archives going again.

(MC) will contact John Sayles to put in a thank you page on our website for Businesses that have supported us.

(JD) reported that Bob Allen, former OSU barometer editor has agreed to provide the RCWOR website with short histories about accomplished beavers. Readers will be able to click on a link to be taken to the OSU photo page.

(CH) Chuck will talk to Seremia Growth about creating a sponsor recognition page on Face Book if possible.

(JD) asked that we use our data base to recruit people who believe in our cause to take on some projects as volunteers. Their contribution of time will make a difference and will allow RCWOR to move forward. Jobs range from staffing a supporter sign-up table at a tournament (minimum 4 hour shift) or perhaps choose a more challenging task of interest. We need people with journalistic skills. As the Restore movement grows, the list of tasks and projects will also grow. Restore needs your help.

(JD) This spring we will seek coordinators at the district level who will work with community level coordinators to grow the local organizing committee of alumni and youth to build a data base of people that are willing to be heard when the time comes.

Meeting ended at 2:30pm
 

Overview----------Restore College Wrestling Steering Committee Meeting
January 18,19 2013
Deschutes County Fairgrounds
In attendance: Committee members:
Chuck Holliday, Buck Davis, Joe McFarland, Gary Head
 John Dustin, Mike Clock, Kurt Davis, Craig Woodward.
Other contributors--Don Hoiness, Stephanie Mathews, Serenia Groth, Pat Clock

Introductions.
Serenia Groth, who is a Facebook pro(at least in this group!), has volunteered to work with us to improve our ‘reach’ via the medium. She suggested posting more things that will be attractive to the younger generation. She is more than willing to make suggestions and do some of the detail work to make this happen. Her punch line was that, if we get more of the next generation tied into our Facebook page, they will get their parents and others interested AND we will multiply our outreach via this important group. The idea is to make our page dynamic enough so that young folks visit it with regularity.

Serenia also suggested that we use MailChimp as our email database host AND to get better acquainted with it’s potential (she has volunteered to facilitate this). It has a monthly cost associated with it UNTIL we are a registered non profit, then no charge. She also gave us an overview of some of the potential pitfalls associated with Facebooking. Finally she attempted to clarify some of the terminology and limitations of Facebook utilization.
Serenia gave us a brief introduction to the use of QR codes to lead people with smart phones directly to specific web addresses. She had already developed such a code associated with the RCW supporter sign up on the RCWOR Facebook page. By announcing this at the venue, along with an associated competitive t shirt gimmick, the number of friends of the RCWOR page increased by 37 in less than 30 minutes. The power of modern technology--in the right hands!

We discussed the value of having a professional trifold to begin distributing by State Tournament time. The trifold would include our mission statement and some of the things we plan to do to accomplish our goals AND some history of Our Sport in Oregon that features a few athletes of special note from discontinued programs. The point being, that without the programs that allowed these folks to compete our sport would be much ‘poorer’. Kurt will make contact with Bill Hocker, who owns a print shop in Redmond, to see if he will help us put together a trifold brochure for presentation at the State tournament. Bill Hocker of Marathon business machines(mbm@mbmcopiers.com), subsequently came to our meeting and said that it would cost 0.12 per side for good quality 8.5X11 tri fold color brochures. Following his departure, we decided to move in that direction, with Buck being the contact person. Several of us volunteered to underwrite the cost.

We also discussed the potential utility of the video Andrew Stanfield has volunteered to help us produce. We all agreed that with the professional work volunteered by Andrew it was doable and a valuable asset. The idea is to have it ready by State tournament time this year(probably edited for different length presentations) and to do much of the taping at the Reser TOC next weekend. Mike will be the primary person in charge of getting appropriate folks to Liberty HS and to make arrangements for those who cannot make it there to connect with Andrew in the near future. Suggested inclusions in the video: Dan Russell, Richard Jensen, Marty Reser, Larry Owings, Jess Lewis, Roy Pittman, Chael Sonnen, Dave Nieradka, Kacey McCallister, Chad Hanke, Tim Tsukanov, Jessica DeHart (Hood R. HS), Melissa Simmons, Dan Vidlak, Harold Weight—and perhaps a couple of other young folks. Lots of pressure associated with the timeline, but the potential payoff seemed worth it!
We made some tentative assignments as to the matter of contacting people with regard to being part of the video, or having pictures & bio information for the brochure.
We also generated a few questions that we thought would be appropriate for Andrew to ask the interviewees during the ‘shoot’.
The organization, National College Scholarship Assn(NCSA), was brought to the fore as an organization that focuses on helping high school athletes get financial assistance for college. Another organization that we might want to link with at some point?
A brief reference was made to the number of students being served by current college wrestling programs in Oregon. The total is something less than 200(or less than 50/graduation year). It was noted that Washington has only 1 program and it involves about 30 young men. The total currently served in the 2 states is clearly below the ‘reproduction rate’(what it will take to replace retiring mentors). Keep in mind that Alaska and Hawaii also depend largely on NW colleges for people with wrestling expertise. Overall prospects—grim, without change.

We also discussed how we might be able to help colleges that express an interest in initiating wrestling in several ways:

a) Notifying our data base that these colleges are starting wrestling and ENCOURAGE prospective students, via our database, to examine their curriculum(s) and environment to see if they are a good ‘match’.
b) Facilitate connecting prospective athletes with coaches at those institutions.
c) Point students to other resources(financial and otherwise) at those colleges.
d) Promote those programs, by encouraging others in our database to attend home events AND to be supportive in other ways.
e) Be a resource for coaches initiating programs at such colleges. Note the availability of NWCA online course material to assist in the all important non technical aspects of running a successful college program.
f) Be a potential source of start up costs.

The matter of not losing sight of the importance of teaching healthy ‘life skills’ via the sport of wrestling, was brought to the fore.
Rob Bonner, coach at CCHS, shared a bit about his experience when WOU dropped wrestling after he had already made a decision to attend.
We discussed the matter of partnering with the OWA, so as to minimize some of the paperwork associated with getting 501 c3 designation AND to join forces with others who care about Our Sport! Mike Simons commented on how the OWCE was an arm of OWA and how much that helped in dealing with Cultural Exchange financial matters.

Other items touched on: Possible alignment with the PRCA(rodeo Assn); sharing our mission and encouraging others to support us by utilizing already existing wrestling oriented databases(Peninsula Club, Cobra, OWA, OSU, etc)
We talked briefly about the bylaws fine tuned by Joe McFarland and agreed to review them further on our own time.
Serenia had a wrap up session where she shared with John, Mike & Pat some of the finer points associated with Facebook.
 

Overview-------Restore College Wrestling Steering Committee Meeting
Dec. 29, 2012
Site: Westview H.S.
Host:  Mike Delany, Westview Head Coach
(thanks to Mike for opening up his hospitality room also.)

Attending: John Dustin, Joe McFarland, Mike Clock, Ron Iwasaki, Gary Head (cameo).

Mike Clock presented a proposed materials list to address Kurt Davis’ suggestion of generating seed money at the Classic in Redmond Jan 18/19.     Joe reminded Kirsten Stenland’s concerns regarding non-profit protocols.  This prompted some commentary that (at least initially) RCWOR should be a subset of O.W.A. which is a member of U.S.A. Wrestling. 

There was frustrated commentary of the lack of photo submission representing Oregon State and Portland State.     (Ron texted Steve Woods, Bob Allen, and Marlin Grahn during the meeting w/o any reply)     Mike and John initiated discussion about having slide-show picture frames as part of RCWOR presentation tables.   Joe thought Don Hoiness would be an interested and capable person to put this together. . . when desired subject photos were submitted.

Pete Russo - visiting briefly - stated his viewpoint that the future of h.s. and collegiate wrestling depended on developing and maintaining the interest of the youth wrestling families.   But he emphasized – it is likely they do not (yet) identify with the ultimate absence of opportunity . . i.e. colleges.

We had a little conversation about the status of S.O.W. and any advantage to unite efforts?    It was without any new or current information, and premature to speculate.

Discussion evolved to website evolution and opportunities.  Maintenance was a recognized challenge and various individuals were re-referenced including John/Roger Sayles and Serena _____.   Joe hoped to take some website classes at P.S.U. or W.S.U.-Vancouver.

Rick Rockwell was identified as a good source of wrestling data; also Dr. Bill Bettis’  very complete photo display of past collegiate national placers would be valuable educating and/or reminding all of Oregon collegiate wrestling’s very rich heritage. 

John stated needs for regional table support at the various venues.   (Bonnie Dustin has been an unsung heroine here, including providing refreshments for the committee.)

Mike introduced the idea of an inexpensive brochure that would be a handout take home.

Submitted by Ron Iwasaki w/o corroboration;  subject to modification by all in attendance.

Overview-------Restore College Wrestling Steering Committee Meeting
Nov. 16, 2012
Site: Town House, Corvallis


In attendance: Ron Iwasaki, Buck Davis, John Dustin, Mike Clock, Chuck Holliday, Gary Head.

The site was chosen primarily to show support for OSU wrestling and allow those who wished, to attend the OSU/Michigan dual following the meeting.
John Dustin distributed information he acquired as a result of taking a program planning and grant writing course at Portland Community College this fall. Some discussion followed.
John also suggested that we review a software program called, Constant Contact, that had been recommended by both Les Gutches and Steve Garner(a former wrestler of John’s). Les and Steve are have found this product very useful in connecting groups with a common interest. John also, gave a brief report on his recent visit to Colorado Springs, which included time with Les and Rich Bender, Executive Director of USAW. Both seemed to think our overall ‘game plan’ had considerable merit.
John distributed some materials that he acquired as a result of his attending a grant writing course at PCC.
Chuck Holliday and Buck Davis reported on their recent meeting with a few Central Oregon wrestling advocates regarding setting up a District leadership team so that we can promote our cause in that area and collect additional supporters’ contact information.
There was also some discussion at that meeting of trying to get the Hall of Fame banquet shifted to the fall and coordinate the timing of that with a clinic put on by the OWA. No decision on how to tackle such a project.
We discussed the importance of getting the online data base entry system restructured so that all information is immediately accessible to us after entry. We also noted that there might also be a built in automated response thanking a registered supporter for their interest in becoming involved and letting them know they will be receiving periodic updates on our progress and ways they might help .Chuck said he had contact with a lady in Prineville who had indicated she might be willing to work with John Sayles to see that this was accomplished.
Chuck has also had contact with another lady in Prineville who is ‘wrestling friendly’ and has experience in grant writing and may be willing to help us when we are ready to move on that aspect of our work.
It was suggested that RCWOR SC members(and perhaps District Leader/CLPs) might go to some high school practices for a short presentation about our work AND give them an opportunity to sign up right then as supporters. It was suggested that there might be a very high ‘conversion’ rate in such a setting.
Chuck and Mike suggested that a combined ‘map logo’ of OR and WA colleges having programs in the 70s would have even a greater potential impact than OR colleges alone. We would need to have someone do the graphics—and ultimately some printing.
It was suggested that we need someone to take the responsibility for data entry for ALL supporter information collected. Roger Rolen and Curt Davis were mentioned as possibilities, since they still have access to ‘slave labor’ at their high schools.
Buck volunteered to talk with Les Combs about the value/extent of a working relationship with the OWA.
John Dustin and Joe McFarland have volunteered to spearhead finding/implementing the best apparent solution to getting tax deduction benefits for RCW contributors.
Mike will oversee developing a RCW newsletter for supporters.
Mike and John will be overseeing promoting our cause and collecting contact information at the SOU tournament and the OSU kids tournament this weekend.
 

Overview------Restore College Wrestling Steering Committee Meeting

September 29, 2012
Site: Clackamas CC, Oregon City

 

Front/LtoR: John Sayles(Webmaster), Ron Iwasaki, Tim Tsukanov (BarlowStudent/Wrestler)
Back/LtoR: Mike Clock, John Dustin, Chuck Holliday, Roger Sayles, Gary Head, Buck Davis, Joe McFarland.

Those in attendance: John Dustin, Buck Davis, Ron Iwasaki, Gary Head, Chuck Holliday, Mike Clock, Joe McFarland. Also invited guests: Tim Tsukanov (current HS athlete) and John Sayles (RCWOR Webmaster) & father (Roger).

Oregon City (CCC) was selected, in part, to support the CCC season kick off fund raising dinner & auction Saturday evening AND to have a presence in another part of Oregon.

Topics discussed included the following:
1) The importance of developing a comprehensive list of high school, middle school and club supporters (athletes, parents, coaches, others with an interest in wrestling). In order to get those in charge of these programs to help us build the databases, we need to make it very clear how the databases can be ultimately be used locally to solicit support for their programs (as well as the broader mission of RCWOR).
It was suggested that one method of database development with the younger set might be get a student/athlete in each district/group to solicit support via a Facebook page. People in that age group are more likely to be engaged in that fashion.

There were some comments as to the potential value of reaching beyond the borders of our state to include people from adjacent states who have a vested interest in wrestling.

2) We discussed the value of a graphic display showing the colleges in the states of Oregon AND Washington that had wrestling in the 70s. This would be an expansion of our current ‘logo’ showing the programs in Oregon that have been dropped since the 70s. Gary Head and Chuck Holliday volunteered to team up to create such a display that can be used on Facebook, our website and perhaps elsewhere. Although Oregon is our primary focus, including Washington makes the case for expanded college opportunities in wrestling even more graphic.

3) We discussed the possibility of having an Oregon colleges wrestling alums social in connection with a dual meet at OSU, or elsewhere. Joe McFarland was going to lead the charge in this matter. There were some concerns about the timing of such a social.

4) We distributed a set of 3 documents that can be mailed to District leaders and Community leadership pairs who will spearhead the building of our networks in each District. These might well be sent following a personal call (possibly cold) encouraging their involvement.

5) We spent considerable time discussing the process of setting up our 501 c3 status as a charity. We felt it might be advantageous to piggy back on an existing charity-- such as USAW, ASC (American Sport Council), etc. John Dustin will investigate the piggy back option and report back to the group.

6) We agreed to have our next meeting on November 16, 12:00-5:30 in Corvallis. This is the afternoon preceding the first home dual of the season for the Beavers---against Michigan. Another chance to support an ongoing program AND to solicit support for our effort. John Dustin will make arrangements and notify the group.

People on the Steering Committee were encouraged to be diligent in following up on any tasks they had volunteered to undertake.
 

Overview-------Restore College Wrestling Steering Committee Meeting

August 18,19 2012
Site: SWOCC, Coos Bay
 

(L to R): Joe McFarland, John Dustin, Mike Clock, Ron Iwasaki, John Speasl.

Those in attendance: John Speasl, John Dustin, Mike Clock, Ron Iwasaki, Joe McFarland.
**Note below, District with a capital D refers to an Oregon officiating District, which typically includes several school districts. 14 of these encompass the entire state of Oregon.

Coos Bay was selected for several reasons:
John Speasl agreed to arrange for accommodations on the SWOCC campus. The housing far exceeded our expectations!
The date coincided with the annual Marshfield Hall of Fame induction dinner. John Dustin, former MHS coach, was one of the inductees.
It was an opportunity to connect with the local wrestling community in another part of the state and promote our cause.

There were several aspects to our presence there that are worthy of note:
--John Dustin had made numerous calls in connection with our impending appearance in Coos Bay to encourage certain people in the wrestling community to assemble at SWOCC on the afternoon of the 18th. John (and others) tried to make our (RCWOR) mission clear AND to enlist the support of several of these key folks in the District to take leadership roles in building local support groups(within communities/local school districts in that District). The game plan is to collect names and contact information of potential supporters at various wrestling events throughout the year, so that we can keep them abreast of what we are doing and to encourage them to speak out when the time is right. In addition, we hope they will be energized to do MORE for Our Sport in their area. Once ‘connected’, we will make suggestions, as to other things they might do to make the wrestling community stronger. Of course, we expect to learn from them as well! The turnout was encouraging.

--The 5 Steering Committee members present went to the Marshfield Hall of Fame dinner the evening of the18th as a show of support for wrestling AND because John Dustin was being inducted as a former MHS coach—and because there was food!
 

--Our group met for several hours on the 19th, with the focus on identifying wrestling people (mostly coaches) in the other 13 officiating Districts who might be receptive to playing leadership roles in the matter of collecting contact information for wrestling people (potential supporters) in the Districts. We also assigned specific members of our SC the responsibility of seeing that those identified are contacted. Many phone calls need to be made to complete this task and others of our group will be asked to help.
 

--We also discussed how to structure the conversations of those making the calls to prospective District & community leaders. We (SC) will put some suggestions together for making those calls AND an associated Word document summarizing the responsibilities of each District and individual school district coordinator. The summary document could be used to follow up the call(s) and incidentally verify the email address recorded.

We discussed the importance of getting people on the broader SC to follow through on matters previously discussed, such as :a) recovering archival information/pictures of 70s college programs no longer in existence; b) taking responsibility for agreed upon important tasks, such as--drafting of an incorporation document; finalizing a the paperwork necessary to gain 501 c3 status; seeing that the Facebook page and website get proper attention; etc.
Parting thought: A goal without a timeline is a dream.
 

Overview------Restore College Wrestling Steering Committee Meeting
July 17, 18, 2012
Site: Sauvies Island/McFarland Retreat

In attendance: LtoR/Front to Back: Joe McFarland, John Dustin, Mike Clock, Ron Iwasaki, Frank Johnson (Matside Oregon editor), John Speasl, Buck Davis, Chuck Holliday, Gary Head, Joe Becker (Facebook presenter)

**The hosting was orchestrated by Joe McFarland and his wife, who did much of the dirty work associated with arranging sleeping accommodations and feeding such a group.

Kirsten Stensland helped us out by providing a general overview of the duties, responsibilities and steps that it takes to become a charity. We discussed general matters related to incorporation AND doing the proper paperwork to achieve non-profit status. She brought to the fore several things for us to do before we become a legal entity. The amount of DETAIL she added on this matter is not outlined here, but is available on request. She gave us lots to think about --and ultimately do.
Kirsten volunteered to meet with a few of us again AND to bring a person (friend) who is well versed in the matter of getting recognized as a 501 c3 organization. A time was arranged for Joe McFarland, John Dustin and Mike Clock to meet with the two of them in Tigard.

Joe Becker, a friend of Chuck Holliday’s, who operates a business in Prineville and who is well versed in the workings of Facebook volunteered some additional time (he was also present at our June meeting) to make another presentation re. the use of Facebook and how it might be used to our advantage. We had internet access on SI, so the working conditions were much more favorable---and most present should be well enough versed in FB that they can(and hopefully will) develop a profile of their own OR at a minimum utilize the RCW FB page.

A variety of questions were brought to the fore whose answers might be of value to us as we move to forward:

a) How is the OSU Foundation structured?;
b) How has Cornell organized themselves, so that they are in a position, as an Ivy league school, to have a very successful wrestling program?;
c) What went on behind the scenes in Georgia, that led to initiating 5 college wrestling programs in that state in the last 4 years?;
d) What can we learn from Baker University’s (KS) work in starting a wrestling program that might be useful to us?.

What revisions need to be made to our ‘supporter forms’ to be sure we have all the information about them that might be useful?
 

Much discussion about fundraising ideas that might work for RCWOR: a) Memorial tournaments, with a portion of the proceeds to RCW;
b) A wresting camp where the portion of the proceeds go to RCW and perhaps we promote the camp and supply one/some of the clinicians (not likely from our group, but from younger coaches sympathetic to our cause);
c) Organize a wrestling social(s) which has a fundraising component to it---auction; Etc.

Other matters brought to the fore to gain visibility in the wrestling community:
a) RCWOR having a presence at wrestling events held at the surviving wrestling colleges as a show of support (and to gain some ‘recognition’);
b) invest in potential promotional materials: signage, business cards, bumper stickers, t shirts, etc;
c) have a presence at many of the major HS wrestling events in Oregon---Coast Classic, Reser, Oregon Classic, NW Duals(Christmas), Gillis tournament(Newberg), as well as the District and State tournaments
Frank Johnson, editor of Matside Oregon, put in an appearance to get ‘acquainted’ with our group, with the idea that he would do a feature article on us in the next edition of MO.
 

The question is not do we want to win, rather are we willing to pay the price to win?

Some Committee members at our June meeting in Central OR.

How many members can you identify?

Overview of Topics covered at the Central Oregon Meeting of RCWOR SC 6/8-10/2012

Joe Becker volunteered his time to try to bring our group up to speed on Facebook usage. We were somewhat handicapped by lack of internet access---and age! Thanks to Joe for volunteering now AND to meet with us again on Sauvies Is. We suggested that a geriatric summary of how FB works might be in order! We were all encouraged to develop our own page.
It was suggested that posting items on FB(even things like college archival information) draws much more attention to the site if done REGULARLY, rather than all at once.
We discussed the value of having ‘business cards’ identifying our mission and listing email contact information for each member of the SC(steering committee) and our website address. MC volunteered to followup on the matter of cards.

Robert Storlie (UO alum) shared his experience working on the Save Oregon Wrestling project, to get wrestling saved/reinstated at the U. Oregon. This included some reference to their work in fund raising and the value of having some specifically targeted event(s) for college wrestling ‘friends’ to meet others of a similar ilk. He suggested that he would volunteer printed t shirts for such an event, that would have an appropriate inscription. He also made some other helpful suggestions re. how we might promote our cause.
Norm Berney volunteered some information about the potential for starting wrestling at Corban College where he is currently working as head coach in Track and Cross Country.
 

Steve Straughan, former EOU wrestler and lobbyist, emphasized the importance of several things relating to our mission of gaining identity in the wrestling community and with politically significant people in the legislature and colleges. He emphasized such things as: identifying key people and the basic qualities of patience, persistence and steady pressure. He suggested that, at some point, we may want to form two groups, one as an educational/non profit and another as a political action committee.
We discussed ways we might get involved in financially supporting colleges who show a willingness to consider starting a wrestling program. Things brought into the discussion were endowing programs, endowing only base coaching salaries, simply volunteering to pay startup costs (mats, room padding, gear) or providing some initial coaching salary support, with the institution having the option of applying for additional support after the initial period ends. In all cases of support, it seemed reasonable for us to request a presence on the search committee for the head coach.
It was suggested that our internal functional structure might be broken down to areas such as:
 

(A) Web Page (Content – articles), perhaps ultimately including donation ability via visa/PayPal
(B) Facebook management - pictures (tag all of them to help draw traffic to our website).
(C) Financial gifts, including recognition for program donors
(D) Strategic promotion – attendance at college meets, camps and other events involving significant numbers of folks from the wrestling community.
(E) Identifying some of the colleges that have the best current ‘environment’ for adding wrestling programs. A college environment can be favorable as a result of administrators in place and/or connections that we(members of the wrestling community) have with people of influence.

It was suggested that ALL of us likely have people in our personal contact base who are potential supporters of RCWOR and that we should each encourage them to ‘sign on’.
We talked about the matter of making our website registration process more functional, by being sure we have the ‘fields’ we want and being one that we can readily access for connecting with our supporter base.
We talked about setting up an appropriate organizational structure set AND getting non profit status, using Kirsten Stensland as an initial contact.
We talked about the importance of having well thought out written procedures for utilizing moneys donated, so as to maximize donor confidence and minimize misunderstandings as to how money is to be used.
We discussed the matter of having a presence at summer camps, so we can begin to have some identity among those who are currently active in Our Sport as participants and coaches AND to register them as supporters. We had some specific people who volunteered to see that a ‘presentation’ was made at certain 2012 camps.
The importance of brevity in public posting about our work was emphasized, as many people will not read anything with too much detail---at least not until they are really ‘hooked’.
I finish with that. Thanks for following our work!
 

 RCW Steering Committee Minutes in Corvallis OR May 5, 2012 5/24/12

The meeting was convened at 2pm in OSU's sports performance center. In attendance were Mike Clock (MC) Joe McFarland (JM) John Dustin (JD), Ron Iwasaki (RI), Howard Morris (HM), Kurt Davis (KD), Chuck Holliday (CH), John Speasl (JS). Frank Johnson, editor of Matside Oregon (FJ), was a late attendee trying get information for a possible article about RCWOR for the next edition..

First order of business was the progress of adding archives to our face book page and website. HM has passed a rather detailed history of OIT wrestling to MC, which has been digitized. CH has captured much of EOU history in connection with his earlier work in developing the Facebook page. He has arranged for John Sayles to access the Facebook page, via the custodian. Lewis and Clark and Pacific will be done by MC and some progress has been made there. JM has submitted some digital photos taken from the annuals at Oregon up till they stopped making annuals—more needs to be done, perhaps utilizing Ron Finley in the process?. GH came to the meeting with a fairly large packet of materials chronicling some of the history wrestling at Mt Hood CC. He was encouraged to find someone who can help him scan and digitize them and get them to John. It was mentioned that Bob Tomasovic was actively involved in collecting Umpqua CC history. KD obtained a list from WOU of all wrestlers that once wrestled at Western Oregon. He plans to flesh that out with some WOU wrestling historical highlights. We still have colleges with a wrestling history that need an archivist? Mike Ives has provided RCW with a disk with extensive digitized history of wrestling in Oregon. Bill Bettis was mentioned as a potential future source of Oregon historical information/pictures.

It was suggested that in many of the tasks(such as finding historical information, digitizing materials, etc) we will need to rely on volunteer work. Reaching out to others of the wrestling family for help with some of these projects, though time consuming, often has a fringe benefit of getting others more intimately associated with Our project.
Gary volunteered to look into getting historic data on our website (RCWOR.COM) and to discuss with John Sayles ways the site might be improved so that it is both more appealing and user friendly.

We have supporter info forms from the Hall of Fame sign-ups of people that are interested in our cause. So far there are a total of 43 supporters and the number is growing.

A plea was made to have 2 members of the Steering Committee(SC) take notes from the meeting and ultimately get the minutes of each meeting uploaded to the website, so that our supporters can stay abreast of developments. This was a plea not only for 2 ‘on demand’ secretaries, but for them to take charge of refining the minutes of each meeting and getting a final draft to John Sayles(JS).
There was a request for people to take charge of certain projects that we feel are important in connection with our work. The ‘volunteers’ for specific projects are listed below:
1) MC will develop a summary on how to deal with Title 9 reasons for not having a wrestling program.
2) JD and GH will work together in giving guidance to JS re. website development.
3) MC will develop and ongoing written record of ‘connections’ and ‘bridges’. We are talking about a list of people in key positions, with the potential to help us in our quest to restore/support college wrestling.
4) JM will take charge of determining what steps we must go through to establish a 501-3C tax deductible fund within RCW. This should include overseeing the process.
JS circulated a fascinating document showing the total financial impact of sports programs at the college level. This was something he had found very useful in justifying the sports program at SWOC, when he was Athletic Director. Apparently he undertook this annually and saw that it was circulated to the Board of Trustees---a very proactive approach. The bottom line was that sports can have a positive financial impact on the institution and community. Institutions may be hurting themselves by cutting a sports program.

HM suggested that, at some point, we at least consider bringing our arguments for adding wrestling to the conference meetings, as well as to individual institutions.
HM volunteered to help develop a sample mock budget/schedule for presentation to athletic directors, or others in leadership positions at colleges. A sample wrestling schedule might include Simpson College and Simon Frasier plus catching teams that visit Oregon to wrestle OSU, SOC and Pacific.

We discussed possible dates for future meetings, one in mid June 8-10 in Central Oregon and another in July 17-18. on Sauvies Island. These need to firmed up and managed respectively by CH and JM.

A power point document regarding the starting of a wrestling program at Baker University in Kansas was circulated. This proposal was sent by Les Gutches via links to the NWCA website. There seemed to be two lessons for us here—a) A fair amount of planning was done before this administration was approached; b) the payoff can be good, both financially for the college AND the next generation of aspiring wrestlers! Baker’s program just finished it’s 3rd year and had 52 men on the roster this year. They also had their first 2 achieve All American status---on the surface a big ‘win’ for Our Sport and the University!

HM and MC both cautioned us to minimize the budget and facilities expectations in starting a wrestling program. Extraordinary expenses are not a must at the outset. OIT used an off-campus building for a wrestling room for a few years. MC ‘restarted’ wrestling at Pacific in a 20’X20’ room the first year, used the high school facilities at NIGHT in year # 2 and used the Odd Fellows Hall off campus in year 3. The new gym, completed in year 4, included a well designed wrestling room. In a similar vein, CH reminded us that things at EOU were not all that different. They DROVE from LaGrande to the National tournament in Pennsylvania. In each of these cases, once some credibility was established, more resources were allocated to wrestling by the athletic departments.

JD mentioned a book regarding Title 9 called “Tilting the playing field” by Jessica Gaudro. He also feels that the “American Sports Council” will do battle on our behalf. WIN magazine presents the plight and politics well in its publication. We are not alone in our battle: gymnastics, swimming, diving and wrestling have had the ax fall.
John hopes to follow up with posting of links on the website. Maybe the high schools are next and perhaps there might be some high school students in Oregon that have had their dreams and aspirations cut short by incorrect interpretation of Title IX language. Wonder if any high school wresting programs have been reduced or cut?

JD volunteered to oversee the creation of a Marshfield wrestling alumni & friends group to help the Restore movement. MHS has a fantastic general alumni organization that began about 40 years ago. MHS has 57 endowed scholarships, half of which are memorial endowments in the name of a loved one. Having a bunch of little endowments allows more people to be recognized. MHS annual yield from these community endowments is $194,000. We recognize that we are 30-40 years behind but we didn't see the unintended consequences of Title IX coming. It's better late than never to form our RCW wrestling support group from Marshfield.
http://www.marshfield.coos-bay.k12.or.us/alumni/ScholarshipNewsletters/ScholarshipFund.htm  Note how the MHS website toggles back & forth between Facebook and the host website via a click of a mouse.

RI volunteered to oversee the creation of a wrestling alumni & friends support group at Hillsboro high. RR also agreed to do the same at Oregon City. The general idea is to learn by doing with a view of writing a "How-to" manual for distribution. We are soliciting wrestling alumni to form a "Model School/community support group" for others to emulate.



Kurt has been driving high school seniors to campus visitations this spring. He encourages the seniors with a wrestling background to ask the counselors if there is a plan to start a wrestling program, as that would seal the deal for them in choosing to attend. He has also talked with the football people at WOU about their support for wrestling and the positive impact that could have on their recruiting.
Chuck will see that we get the optimal mileage out of our Facebook/website presences.

JD notes that the Oregon Coaches directory publishes the names of the wrestling coaches at Oregon high schools but not for the elementary and middle schools. It was noted that nine (9) schools were "Open" - probably meaning that the school didn't have a wrestling coach at the time of directory publication.

Howard mentioned a sports editor in Klamath Falls that was previously inducted into the MN Wrestling Hall of Fame. Community sports editors often work together with materials. Printed Tri-folds are a popular way of distributing information.