In a step in the right direction, the USACA Secretary issued a "what's happening" memo, which he hoped would promote greater communication between the national cricket body and its constituents.
"I have opted to use this method of keeping you up-to-date on what's
happening at the administrative levels in your national organization.
As part of the volunteerism of USACA, it is important that members be
kept up-to-date on what the organization is doing, planning on doing,
and if any, what obstacles are standing in its way," John Aaron wrote
in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by DreamCricket.com from one
of the recipients.
He asked the recipients to share the what's happening
memo with all interested members through the normal communication
channels used in their regions. Mr. Aaron said he was not entrusted
with the management of the USACA website.
Operational Matters
The memo confirmed that the Second Vice President Manaf Mohamed was
named the Director of Cricket Operations by the USACA Board, when it
met on April 26, 2008.
A CEO Recruiting Committee was appointed by the board, with
Gladstone Dainty as Chairman and September 1, 2008 was established as
the deadline for the appointment of USACA's CEO. Similarly, the board
also created an Operations Committee with a view to examine proposals
and other financial approaches to USACA. President Gladstone Dainty
will preside over this committee as well. The two committees have not
yet met, the memo informed.
As was reported on this website last week, John Thickett, the
Treasurer, has posted all prior year USACA tax filings to the USACA
website and has provided all board members with a monthly financial
report (April, May and June 2008).
However, the organization's Treasurer has not yet been able to
gain control over the organization's bank account. This, the memo
stated, has restricted the Treasurer's ability to carry out certain
functions as required by the USACA constitution.
With respect to the minutes of the April 26 board meeting, the memo
said that the minutes were prepared and approved by a majority of
Directors and will be posted when the President authorizes the
webmaster to do so.
A second meeting of the USACA board scheduled for July 12th,
2008 in New York, was cancelled on the evening prior to the meeting,
with the President citing a lack of quorum. The memo also informed that
the next meeting is planned for Saturday, August 9, 2008 in Chicago,
Illinois.
The ICC Conference
President Gladstone Dainty and John Aaron, USACA Secretary,
attended the ICC Annual Conference in Dubai earlier this month, as the
representatives of USACA. USACA's presence at the conference helped to
"establish a level of confidence with those ICC officials with whom we
had discussions, as well as our peers from other member countries," Mr.
Aaron wrote in the memo.
"It is my opinion that our organization came away from the
conference with the firm understanding that the ICC, primarily through
its Americas Regional Development
Office in Canada and the West Indies Cricket Board, would lend USACA
whatever assistance is needed to further develop, promote and encourage
the sport in the USA. The WICB's President Dr. Julian Hunte has pledged
his commitment to helping USACA raise the standard of its national team
through bi-lateral tournaments, coaching and organizational support for
event planning and execution. The ICC's Global Development Manager Mr.
Matthew Kennedy said that the resources
of the Regional Development Office were at USACA's ready disposal."
Grants and Fundraising
On the subject of further grants from ICC, the memo noted that
"USACA has the opportunity of acquiring larger sums of money from the
ICC, starting in 2008, through that organization's revamped development
funding plan. However, that plan is based on a number of criteria,
including the implementation of an ICC audited adherence to a budget,
membership head-counts, development programs put in place, appointment
of a CEO, and other performance criteria. Much work is needed to
prepare USACA for the new funding environment."
The memo also confirmed that USACA had received the 2008 ICC
Associate grant of US$90,000 in addition to US$20,000 development
funding. "Most of that money was spent preparing and allowing our team
to participate in the WCL Division 5 tournament in Jersey."
U-15 and U-19
Referring to the selection of a team to participate in the
ICC's Americas Under-15 Cup in Bermuda next month, the memo said that
the "current method of selecting our national teams, including the
appointment of selectors and team management, is seriously flawed and
requires immediate action by the Board of Directors to establish a
process and procedural protocols for the future."
The secretary informed that the Under-19 National tournament
was postponed due to the unavailability of suitable grounds in Florida.
Alternate venues in other USACA regions are now being considered.
Membership Issues
With respect to the leagues seeking membership of USACA, Mr. Aaron noted in the what's happening
memo that "the Massachusetts Cricket League has not yet been readmitted
as a member of USACA. Their omission depleted the certification of the
Northeast Region as a bona-fide region, because there were less than
the requisite three leagues within the region. In addition, several
leagues are being investigated or denied membership in their regions.
At least one league has appealed directly to the USACA board." These
issues are expected to be dealt with at the next meeting of the board.