To All Solon Stars Parents and Master Swimmers,

As the new season begins, it is time to elect the Executive Board to lead the team for the next year.  The Solon Stars Swim Club is a parent run organization that depends upon its members to bring forth their ideas and leadership abilities to make the Club the best it can be.  Below is the ballot of people who have stepped forward and volunteered to serve on the Executive Board followed by a synopsis of each candidate.  We hope each family will take a few minutes to review the candidates and cast a vote.  To make things easier, families can vote by email or in person.

Voting Procedure

·         Each family receives one vote

·         In-Person Voting
Families wishing to vote in person using a secret ballot can vote in person at the high school pool on Monday, May 10 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. or Tuesday, May 11 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

·         Email Voting
Families wishing to vote via email can send the names of those for whom they are voting for each position to Diane Finnerty (finnerty7@att.net) or Dave Poduska (poduska@ieee.org).  Obviously, if you choose to vote via email, the person to whom you email your vote will know for whom you voted.  Both  Diane and Dave served on the Nominating Committee and will keep your vote Confidential.  Email votes must be received by 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11.

Thank you for your support of our Club,

The Nominating Committee

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2010-11 Solon Stars Executive Board Ballot

Chairperson (vote for no more than 1)

         Nancy Veto

Vice Chairperson (vote for no more than 1)

         Jim Finnerty

Meet Director (vote for no more than 1)

         Sharon Badertscher

Treasurer (vote for no more than 1)

         Michelle Mahle

Secretary (vote for no more than 1)

         Michele McRill

         Amy Mitchell

Member-At-Large (vote for no more than 1)

         Maureen O’Leary Brown

         Susan D’Amico

         Donald Timko

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Chairperson

·         Name:                         Nancy Veto

·         Residence:                  Solon

·         Joined the Stars:        1998

·         Current Swimmers:   Terrence, 17 years old (Senior Elite)
                                    Anna, 13 years old (Age Group Elite)

·         Personal Statement: Someone once told me that the best way to effect change is to be a part of the decision process. I firmly believe in this philosophy.  I have been with the Club when we only had 80 swimmers.  The Club has had 3 other Head Coaches and several assistant coaches.  I have attended board meetings headed by 6 Chairmen.  Everyone of these individuals have contributed positively to the Club.  Eleven  years later, I have chaired Socials, Apparel, Safety, and Publicity.  I have also been Vice Chair  before I became Chairperson last year. I believe I still have something to contribute to the team.

Vice Chairperson

·         Name:                         Jim Finnerty

·         Residence:                  Solon

·         Joined the Stars:        2005

·         Current Swimmers:   Erin, 15 years old (Senior Elite)
                                    Shannon, 12 years old (Age Group Middle School)

·                                             Brian, 10 years old (Developmental II-C)

·                                             Megan, 10 years old (Developmental II-C)

·                                             Sean, 9 years old (Age Group I)

·         Personal Statement: I am interested in serving on the Executive Board as it will allow me to get more involved with the sport that has been very important to my family for the past nine years.  By making this commitment to serve as the Vice-Chairman, I am interested in being involved in making the decisions that will continue to shape the growth of the team.  I have seen first hand the positive experiences my children have shared being a part of this team.  I would like to continue the work of the parents who have served the team in the past, and make the Solon Stars the most successful program it can be.

In this capacity, I will work to insure that the coaches have the resources and support to continue to provide all of our children the quality instruction and guidance necessary to develop them into quality swimmers, and people.  I will work to insure that our By-laws, Code of Conduct, and other Policies are applied consistently and fairly to all families participating on the team.  I will welcome all comments, questions, concerns and suggestions and insure that they will be given due consideration by the Board.  I look forward to this opportunity to serve and commit to do so with the integrity and fairness that our children deserve.

Meet Director

·         Name:                         Sharon Badertscher

·         Residence:                  Bainbridge

·         Joined the Stars:        2007

·         Current Swimmers:   Andy, 14 years old (Age Group Elite)
                                    Elizabeth, 10 years old (Age Group I)

·         Personal Statement: Our family has been part of the Solon Stars since fall 2007, and at one time or another, we have had a child in every swim group except the senior/senior elite.  That experience will come in the fall as Andy enters high school.  We believe that one of the things that make the Stars unique is that Stars children really are teammates in every sense of the word; not just swimmers who share a coach and wear the same colors at meets.  Our families work well together and are supportive of all of our swimmers.  This is particularly evident during our meets.  I was fortunate step into the position of Meet Director this past year with the assistance of our previous Meet Director, our Meet Entry Chairs, and other seasoned Stars volunteers, to experience the practiced way our team runs a meet.  I enjoyed working with everyone and I would like the opportunity to continue in this position.

This past year, I was the Meet Director for four Stars meets: the long course Summer Swimfest, the Fall Breakout bronze meet, the Snowflake Fest meet, which was new to the Lake Erie schedule this year, and the Last Chance dual meet with Hudson HEAT.  Particularly in this tough economy, families make the financial sacrifice for their children to participate in swimming.  I tried to be very sensitive to this commitment by looking for creative ways to reduce our meet expenses as much as possible to keep our overall team costs down.  In addition to the Stars meets, I have been the co-Meet Director for Lake Erie Swimming Gold Championship Meet in 2009 and 2010, and the co-Meet Director for the Lake Erie Swimming Long Course Championship meet in 2009.  I am the co-Chair of Lake Erie Swimming's Meet Management Committee, which is responsible for running all Lake Erie meets (generally the Mile Meet, the Distance Animal, and the Championship meets), and assisting other teams with questions that may arise as they host meets.  I am the Chairperson of the Lake Erie Swimming Board of Review, and a USA Swimming official.

Treasurer

·         Name:                         Michelle Mahle

·         Residence:                  Aurora

·         Joined the Stars:        2008

·         Current Swimmers:   Taylor, 15 years old (Senior)
                                    Alyssa, 12 years old (Age Group II)

·         Personal Statement: I was elected Treasurer for the last term beginning May, 2009 through current.  I am willing to serve an additional term at this time.

Secretary

·         Name:                         Michele McRill

·         Residence:                  Solon

·         Joined the Stars:        2006

·         Current Swimmers:   Kelsey, 15 years old (Senior)
Personal Statement: My name is Michele McRill and I am throwing my hat (swim cap?) in the ring (the pool?) for the Secretary position.  Our family moved to Solon from the Cincinnati area almost five years ago.  We have been part of the Solon Stars Swim Team since the short course season in fall of 2006.

Presently, our daughter Kelsey, who is very nearly 16 and a sophomore at Solon High School, swims with the Senior Group under Coach Mike.  Our son Tyler briefly swam at the developmental level but ultimately decided there were other things he would rather be doing instead of swimming!  He hasn’t ruled out returning again someday, though.  He has seen how rewarding it has been for Kelsey as she has progressed in the last few years.

I am interested in the Secretary position and being a member of the Stars board because it seems a logical step in our swim club journey.  Kelsey has made a serious commitment to swimming, and it feels like the right time for me to become more involved and make a commitment along with her.  In my past life as a person with a “real job”, I coordinated meetings and took notes at them too, so I am familiar with that portion of the responsibilities of being a secretary.  I feel that I would be a positive contributor to the board, if I were to be chosen.  Thanks for your consideration.

·         Name:                         Amy Mitchell

·         Residence:                  Solon

·         Joined the Stars:        2005

·         Current Swimmers:   Katherine, 16 years old (Senior Elite)
                                    Andrew, 14 years old (Age Group Middle School)

·                                             Anna, 11 years old (Developmental II-C)

·         Personal Statement: My name is Amy Mitchell.  My family and I live in Solon, and we have been a part of the Solon Stars for 4½ years.  I have three children on the team. Katherine is almost 17, and in the Senior Elite group, Andrew is 14, and in Age Group Middle School, and Anna is 11, and in Developmental 2C.  The Solon Stars Swim Club has been a big part of my children’s lives.  They have made many friends, learned many valuable life lessons, and have had a lot of fun swimming with the team.

I have assisted with various aspects of the club over the last four years, and am currently serving on the General Board as the Publicity Chair. Being a part of the Stars has been an extremely positive experience for my children and I want to make sure that the club continues to grow and develop so that other children have the same opportunity that mine have had.

Member-At-Large

·         Name:                         Maureen O’Leary Brown

·         Residence:                  Solon

·         Joined the Stars:        2005

·         Current Swimmers:   Corrine, 15 years old (Senior)
                                    Cara, 13 years old (Age Group Middle School)

·         Personal Statement: I would like to be Member at Large because I think that it is important for parents to be involved in the activities of their children and I know that clubs such as the Solon Stars need parents to be involved in order to be successful organizations. As I understand it, this newly established position would be a liaison between the membership and the other members of the Executive Committee.  I am willing to take on this responsibility on behalf of  you.

·         Name:                         Susan D’Amico

·         Residence:                  Bainbridge

·         Joined the Stars:        2008

·         Current Swimmers:   Halle, 13 years old (Age Group Middle School)
                                    Maria, 11 years old (Developmental II-C)

·          Personal Statement: We are residents of Bainbridge Township. Our Family has been involved with the Solon Stars swim club for 2 years now, we have 2 children swimming with the program , Maria 11 with dev 2c and Halle 13 with age group middle school. I would like to be a member at large because I think it's a great opportunity to get involved with the executive board of the swim club without a huge amount of responsibility. It gives me the opportunity to have a say in decisions that directly affect the children and parents of the club. I can bring input to the board from parents that have concerns about the decisions presented as well as have a vote for the parents of the club. I also would like to see how the executive board runs so in the future I can gain an understanding of the different board positions in the chance that I may want to run for a position with more responsibility.

·          Name:                         Donald Timko

·          Residence:                  Bainbridge

·          Joined the Stars:        2008

·          Current Swimmers:   Reilly, 8 years old (Developmental II-A)
Personal Statement: Not submitted