The 2020 LAOUT Board Elections are coming up! In preparation for the upcoming Board Elections, we are hosting a series of Town Hall/Open Discussions to share information with the community, help answer questions, and encourage more people to run! We have two topics to discuss in separate Town Halls, and each Town Hall will be held twice to ensure everyone has a chance to attend.

Returning to Play / What We Can Do Now

Sunday, August 2nd 4:30-5:30pm

Topics: 

• What can we do as a community while we can’t play? 
• What does returning to play look like? How do we keep it equitable? 
• What do we need from the new board to make this work? 

Watch the recording here

Board Structure & Elections

Saturday, August 8th 4:30-5:30pm

Topics

• What does the Board do? 
• What should the new Board look like? 
• What questions would you ask new Board Nominees

Watch the recording here

Election Timeline

• Now – Sept 11th: Submit nominations for the new Board members.
• Sept 12th – Sept 14th: Nominees submit personal statements
• Sept 21st: List of Nominees and personal statements shared with the community
• Oct 5th: Voting Period Begins
• Oct 11th: Voting Ends
• Oct 12th: Winners are contacted
• Oct 16th: New Board Members announced 
• Oct 19th: First Board meeting with new members

Q&A

Why join the LAOUT Board

The Ultimate community has been built by folks willing to handle the behind-the-scenes details and planning. Being on the Board is an opportunity to help lead the community – our experiences, our programming, shaping our culture, and upholding equity. It’s an opportunity to reimagine and revisit current and future plans, actions, and decisions that you’d like to help improve. Additionally, donating one’s time and energy to something loved, can bring a lot of value and satisfaction both on and off the field.

What is the time commitment roughly?

Historically, the LAOUT Board has met once a month for 2 hours, pre-COVID this was in person, but for most of 2020 it’s been via Zoom, which has worked out very well. There are occasional spot-check calls and infrequent shorter meetings (although during COVID, we’ve actually been meeting a bit more as we navigate the Pandemic and our upcoming elections). Non-meeting time spent varies depending on the individual’s role. All Board members will be asked to participate in a few lengthier training sessions (schedule to be determined). Not having internet access would not be a barrier to becoming a Board member.

With COVID and no Frisbee, what are some of the projects we as a Board might tackle in 2020?

That will largely depend on the make-up and interests of the new Board and the LAOUT community. Continuing the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work would ideally be important to anyone on the next Board. Considering possible return-to-play scenarios and what would mitigate risk will be a necessary conversation. Eventually, once sport can resume, so too would the Board’s responsibility for programming, outreach, and Ultimate specific events.

Is anyone staying on the board? 

Yes! Each Board member serves a two-year term, and we have four members who are one year into their two-year term — Jessica Creamer, Nahall Esteghamat, Christi Betz, and Jackson Dolan. Christi and Jackson will be staying on for another year. Jessica and Nahall will be stepping down. The remaining eight Board members have all served their full two-year term and will need to run for election again if they would like to stay on.

What board positions need to be filled? 

The current board structure consists of 5 core positions: Chair, President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. That said, we’re currently looking into alternative board structures and ways to make everything more equitable. We’ll be soliciting feedback from the community on alternative options, and the new board will be allowed to figure out a way that works best for everyone. The key areas of focus that we’d need to cover are: League Programming, Equity, Fields, Communications, and Finance.

What are the first / next steps?

• Nominate yourself and/or someone who you think would be interested.
• Start game planning a personal statement – what this includes, and what you feel is important to communicate, is up to you.
• After the nominations are collected, the personal statements will be shared with the community before voting begins. 
• The current Board – with the help of Both/And – will facilitate the voting process.