Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 1:18 PM at the offices of Crovetti Orthopaedics in Henderson, NV. Those present included: Deke Saffery, Jake Naylor, Larry O’Halloran, Ernie Yuen, Michael Mc Kee, and Frederick Balduini MD.

The first order of business was review of the minutes from the September 10, 2011 meeting. After review, the minutes were passed without amendment or change.

The next item on the agenda was the gayvolleyballvegas website. Mr. Naylor was asked about the minutes being included and he informed those present that such had already been accomplished. Mr. Naylor reminded the board that he was still missing some bios of committee members. Mr. Naylor noted that we were still missing the registration code from Tropicana for the event for the discounted rates. He also still needs the schedule of play for the tournament and the social calendar for same. Mr. Naylor also requested that we submit a description of duties for the tournament volunteers so that they can be posted on the PRIDE website.

In regards to the “gayvolleyballvegas” division of LVGA3 , we are still in need of a logo for that organization especially as we intend to bid for an annual tournament sanctioned by NAGVA. That tournament is tentatively to be titled “Viva Las Vegas”. It was suggested that we modify the present logo to some degree so we maintain some semblance of branding.

The next agenda item dealt with committees.

Entertainment:
Michael McKee and Michael Tapia are to inquire further as to the status of Nikki Beach at the Tropicana. They have also been asked to explore entertainment options for Saturday between pool play and bracket play. Moreover, a site visit to the Tropicana needs to be arranged to adequately assess the banquet room and facilities for a “floor show”.

Mr. Yuen suggested that PRIDE do the registration party and bring in the bars for a “four-wall” event. By doing this the profits can be shared with PRIDE and fulfill our obligations for our commitment to PRIDE as one of our charitable organizations.

Friday night following pool play, there is presently planned a “pool party” at the Tropicana and afterwards there is planning for an event at Planet Hollywood.

Some of the local bars have expressed an interest in doing “something” for Championships. The banquet will last till near midnight so anything planned that evening will have to start afterwards. A bar “crawl” has been suggested to last the four days of the tournament where prizes would be awarded (by random drawing) to those individuals that visited all four/five participating bars during the tournament. Stamped cards would be used to document participation.

Sponsorship:
A meeting with Mr. Yuen, Naylor, McKee, and Dr. Balduini has been scheduled for October 12, 2011 to discuss further planning for sponsorship.

Marketing:
Banners of the Championships logo designed by Frankie Fernandez have been purchased (three) and are being distributed to the scheduled NAGVA sanctioned tournaments via the tournament directors. Banners will also be placed at the “Vegas Baby” tournament. The tattoo program is now functional and will have its birth at the “Vegas Baby” tournament as well. Printed press options include Q Vegas, Compete, and Out magazines. Editorials and press releases seem the best approach to such. Mr. Naylor informs the board that these magazines provide coverage as a “gift in kind”.

New Business was the next agenda item.

The was no new business to report.

The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 2:32 PM.

Next meeting scheduled for November 5, 2011.

Submitted by Fred Balduini

The meeting was called to order at 10:16 AM. Those present were: Jake Naylor, Deke Saffery, Larry O’Halloran, Michael Mc Kee. and Fred Balduini MD.

The first order of business was review of the minutes from the July 30. 2011 meeting. The minutes were amended to reflect that the volunteer program for PRIDE is spelled “LOVE” as opposed to what was in the minutes. Mr. Naylor proposed amending the minutes to reflect such a change and this motion passed unanimously.

The next agenda item was review of the gayvolleyballvegas.org website.
It was noted that since the previous meeting that the minutes of the meetings had been posted. Discussion was held about sending the gayvolleyballvegas.org link to other tournament sites to provide a link to Championships.

Tropicana needs to provide a rate code for us to place on the website so that those who visit can begin registering with the proper rate. That rate code also needs to incorporate the package benefits (airport transportation, venue transportation, registration, Trop card, and pool play parties, etc).

Mr. Naylor was asked to add a link to gayvegastravel as well.

The next agenda item dealt with an update from the various committees.

Entertainment: Michael McKee and Michael Tapia need to make a site visit to the Trop to assess space needs, lighting, sound, etc.

Volunteers: With PRIDE scheduled for Sept. 16 & 17, LGVA3 volleyball needs to recruit as many volunteers to help and gain credits for Championships.

Programs: We need to establish a website link in the programs of other tournaments. Frankie Fernandez (personal communication) has established contact with a publisher that may be willing to publish the Championships program pro bono for mention on the website and in the program itself as well as other promotional material.

PRIDE was the next agenda item. The week starts out with a pool party at Luxor on Sunday (9/11/11) followed by the Q social at the Fashion Mall on Tuesday (9/13/11). The parade is Friday night (9/16/11) and the festival is the following day. There will be Blue Moon and Luxor pool parties on Sunday (9/18/11)

Old Business: Sponsorship was deferred till such a time that Mr. Yuen could attend. Mr.’s Yuen, Naylor, and Balduini will direct these efforts.

New Business/ open forum: Mr. Naylor and Mr. O’Halloran suggested that the committee submit an editorial for “Compete” which is a magazine devoted to gay sports and athletes. The topic of a “bar of the week” was again presented as a means to generate funds for the Championships. In conjunction with that effort a “bar crawl” could be part of the events for Championships to induce local bar owners to become sponsors.

Mr. Saffery suggested that the entertainment committee look at the stage presentation of Marc Savard at Planet Hollywood as a possible source for entertainment for Championships.

The topic of a logo for gayvolleyvegas was presented again. Mr. Naylor and Mr. McKee will work jointly on such efforts.

Mr. Saffery suggested that the next meeting be a lunch meeting. He made such a motion which was seconded by Mr. O’Halloran and approved unanmimously.

There being no further new business a motion for adjournment was entered at 11:32 Am and passed unanimously. The next meeting is scheduled for October 8, 2011 at 1300.

Submitted by Fred Balduini

The meeting was convened at the offices of Crovetti Orthopaedics: that being the office of Fred Balduini as well. The meeting was called to order at 10:16 AM. Those present included: Fred Balduini MD, Michael McKee, Larry O’Halloran, and Jake Naylor.

The first agenda item was review of the previous minutes. The minutes were presented and accepted without change, deletion, or amendment.

The second agenda item was review of the gayvolleyballvegas website. At the time of the meeting the framework for the website was up along with visitors information and links to various gay friendly websites. Planned at that time were: Tropicana link, contact pages for the committee members for Championships, and a NAGVA link. Sponsorship packets and sponsorship info and links, as well as photo posts were also planned at that time.

The next agenda item dealt with updates form the various committees. The three committees reporting were: Programs, volunteers, and transportation.

Programs:
Frankie Fernandez through personal communication has made initial contact with a publisher for a sixty page program to be done pro bono for a link on the website and charitable recognition.

Volunteers:
Volunteers will be obtained through PRIDE “LUV” program and through the LVGA3 softball league. It is still assumed that up to 120 volunteers (two shifts of 60) may be needed for court layout and pick-up.

Transportation:
Robert Groff has contacts with the monorail and Celebrity Coach has submitted a bid for bus transportation. The latter bid will be reviewed by Robert Groff in conjunction with the NAGVA Board prior to acceptance.

The next agenda item was an update on LVGA3 : Mr. O’Halloran reported that the organization was about to regain control of the website and that once accomplished that changes would be made to render it current and in compliance with non-profit organizations. It was emphasized that this was critical inasmuch as LVGA3 is the mother organization for Championships and their non-profit compliance is critical for sponsorship donations.

The final agenda item was open forum. Topics presented during this period included the use of rack cards for distribution at NAGVA sanctioned tournaments, “remember the date” cards for a similar purpose, and the previously discussed “temporary tattoo” contest for teams to win a reimbursement for Championships registration fees. Other topics explored during this agenda item included updating the LVGA3 volleyball website as to dates and league standings.

There being no further business, a motion was accepted to adjourn the meeting at 11:27 AM. It was seconded and passed unanimously.

Submitted by Frederick Balduini MD

The meeting was held at the offices of Crovetti Orthopaedics in Henderson, NV.

The meeting was called to order at 10:05 AM

Those present were: Jake Naylor, Ernie Yuen, Michael Tapia, Rigel Painter, Robert Sylva, Larry O’Halloran, Frankie Fernandez, Deke Saffery and Fred Balduini

The first formal agenda item was that of committee assignments and discussion of responsibilities. The committees presebted were: Volunteers, Marketing, Local sponsorship, Program, Transportation, Entertainment/event planning, Graphics, and Website.

Volunteers: The local LGVA softball organization is on board to assist with court lay down and pick up on the event days. Other assistance will come from the PRIDE database for volunteers and local volleyball clubs (juniors). Mr. O’Halloran who represents the softball league offered his assistance in this eneavor.

Marketing: Mr. Yuen suggested that as an organization we give consideration to using “rack” cards and “remember the date” cards for inclusion in the packets for players at other NAGVA sanctioned tournaments. It was also suggested that we use temporary tattoos for marketing.

Local sponsorship: Local bars to host events. It was suggested that we try a bar crawl with a helicopter tour prize as an incentive for participation.

Program: We need to establish a printer for the program. We could utilize the same printer that Q Vegas uses (Print Las Vegas?) or use an online printer for the program. After some considerable discussion it was decided to use an 8 ½ x 11” format with color for the covers. It was also decided that including photos of the participating teams, NAGVA Board and our local board would be appropriate for this sentinel event. Cost will be an issue so any gifts in kind will be greatly appreciated.

Transportation: Robert Groff will spearhead our transportation needs and will review any bids received in conjunction with this.

Host hotel: Although not on the “committee” agenda, a discussion was held at this time as to host hotel options. Once again is was iterated that the NAGVA Board had desired a “strip” hotel and that the Tropicana had offered the most favorable bid. It was suggested that in case the Board was unimpressed with the Trop in its upcoming visit that we engage me. James Healy who now is the Diversity representative for NY/ NY hotel and casino as a resource.

The second agenda item was that of the website. After considerable discussion with other LGVA members and the volleyball board it was decided to take the domain name of: gayvolleyballvegas.org. The site will feature the logo designed by Frankie Fernandez as the first wipe through scene and will include headers for sponsorship, Vegas dinig, shopping, and entertainment, etc., board and committee members with their bios and links to NAGVA, LGVA3 , sponsors and PRIDE.The organization’s mission statement was offered by Mr. Balduini and discussion was held as to any changes that may seem appropriate.

The next agenda item was the upcoming NAGVA Board visit. The local Board and committee members were reminded of the need for their presence at the Saturday meeting with the NAGVA Board to answer any questions posed. They were also invited to attend the after meeting party at Nikki Beach sponsored by the Trop.

The final agenda item was an open discussion. Mr. Yuen again offered the support of the Vegas Pride organization and invited Mr. Balduini to present at the next Pride Board meeting. Discussion was also held as to the format that PRIDE uses to track volunteers and the participation of LGVA volleyball with PRIDE.

There being no other topics of discussion the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 AM.

Submitted by Fred Balduini

The meeting was brought to order at 10:00 AM with the following being present: Fred Balduini, Michael McKee, RIgel Painter, Frankie Fernandez, Deke Saffery, and Robert Sylva

The first agenda item was that of “critical timeline” items.

The first item in that discussion was about committees for NAGVA XXX. The committees that were discussed were: entertainment, volunteers, program, sponsorship (local & national), and website.

Discussion was also commenced about the upcoming NAGVA board visit. Board members of LGVA volleyball were reminded to mark their calendars to be available for the July 16th meeting with the NAGVA board. Specific committee members were also invited.

The next topic dealt with the bids from various hotels to host the Championships. The Tropicana was the only “strip” hotel to submit a bid with reasonable rates but bids from the Hilton and Planet Hollywood were still being considered.

The next topic on the agenda was development of the website for Championships so as to be able to establish a link with NAGVA’s website. The previous meeting with Jake Naylor was discussed and it was established that Mr. Naylor would be responsible for web design.

The second agenda item was that of “semi-critical” timeline.

Transportation quotes for transit to and from the LVCC are needed. Mya Reyes from LVCVA has given us the contact of Celebrity Coaches, which is her preferred provider.

Discussions with Courts Galore (supplier of sport court flooring for the event) have begun. Estimates for transportation are being generated as this represents a significant cost for the flooring and netting systems.

The last topic under this heading was that of referees. This is a critical need as it is recognized that there are few USAV refs in Vegas that are qualified to work the Championships. It was agreed that Deke Saffery and Fred Balduini would spearhead this effort.

The last agenda item was that of non-critical timelines.

This agenda item dealt predominantly with the various committees and their respective chairmen. In that regard it was decided that Michael McKee and Michael Tapia will be responsible for all entertainment venues. Robert Groff’s name was mentioned as a resource for transportation issues. Considerable discussion was held about sponsorship packets and levels of both local and national sponsorship. Fred Balduini offered that he had previously held discussions with Ernie Yuen of PRIDE to reflect on appropriate levels of participation.

The final item in this block was a discussion of the program for Championships. It was suggested that a 5 x 8 ½” program (in essence a folded standard sheet) would suffice.

There being no further agenda items and no further topics of discussion, the meeting was adjourned shortly after 12:05 PM.

Submitted by Fred Balduini