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INDIANAPOLIS - President Bill Roe spoke on Wednesday evening at the Opening General Session at the 2006 USATF Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, sharing his vision for the sport.
Celebrating a theme of "Focus on the Horizon," the 2006 Annual Meeting brings together more than 1,000 of the sport's officials, coaches, administrators, athletes and supporters, who come together to chart the future of the sport.
During his address, Roe discussed his wish list for the future of track and field in the U.S.:
* I'd like us to be more popular as an elite sport.* I'd like more people to watch our sport on television and/or the Internet.
* I'd like more people to be in our sport, particularly at the grassroots level.
* I'd like our sport to be drug-free.
* Most important to me, as a devoted national servant to our sport for over 30 years, I want all of these things, but not at an increased cost of administration.
Roe also listed his visions for the sport:
* I envision a structure for our sport which first makes sure the entire community of our sport is represented, and in the right places.
* I envision a structure which gives each distinct division of our sport control of their area - governance, budget priorities, strategic planning, and development - to name a few.* I envision a Board which knows its job as a board - policy maker, employer of the CEO, planner, advocate, monitor, and evaluator -and knows the difference between management and governance.
Roe also focused on USATF's new mentoring program under its Leadership and Diversity banner. The program is under the direction of Dr. Evie Dennis, with participation of Pat Rico, Darlene Hickman and Stephanie Hightower among others. The program's goal is to identify, encourage and develop the organization's leaders of the future.
"As we begin our leadership initiatives with a formal mentoring program, we look beyond the informal system of the past, and forward to actually helping those we think have the potential for leadership to be prepared in ways we perhaps were not," said Roe. "Questions like: What is a budget? What are Roberts Rules of Order? How do I prepare for and run a successful meeting? How do I delegate work to others and monitor progress? What are the codified ethical issues leaders face, and how should I deal with them?"
Roe also stressed a strengthening of USATF's dialogs with the USOC "on a number of development and high performance issues." "The USOC can be our most valued partner," said Roe. "I think in the coming year, you will see continued and productive efforts with the USOC, and movement forward in this area."
2006 President's Award Winners
Cliff Bosley - Race Director, Bolder Boulder
The Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women - Includes the Celebration of Health and Fitness including a 1K Walk for Kids, Pre-Race Aerobics, a Post-Race Stretch, as well as a sports massage, body composition testing, cholesterol screenings and literature distribution on how to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Twin Cities Marathon - Often referred to as the "nation's most beautiful urban marathon", Twin Cities has built a strong two-day series of events, most of which finish on the capitol campus in Saint Paul.
Lawson Van Kuren - Event organizer, youth athletics enthusiast, association administrator
Inez Finch - She has served her Association down in Georgia in a variety of capacities, and currently is the Club Contact.Ken Ferguson - Law & Legislation committee member, restructuring task force member.
Curt Clausen - Three-time Olympian, athlete advocate, and a race walking proponent. Budget and Law & Legislation committee member.
Brenda Taylor - 2004 Olympian, restructuring task force member
Mark Timmons - Coaches Advisory member of Law & Legislation, Cross Country enthusiast
Linda Melzer - Officials chair, long-time USATF official
Linda Phelps - Association officer, national committee and task force member, regional coordinator, official, administrator, Youth chair.
Pete Rhinehart - Chairman of USATF's Audit Committee, formulator of initial USATF Code of Ethics.
For more information on USA Track & Field and the 2006 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, visit www.usatf.org.
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