Greater Cleveland Athletic Association - Board Members Needed

Cleveland Community,

My name is Chad Cunningham and I am currently the President of the Greater Cleveland Athletic Association. I have the pleasure of managing the Board of Directors that proudly serves over 2,000 children in the Cleveland Community annually through our baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball programs. The time has come to reach out to you as we are looking for new members to join the board. We are actively seeking leaders within our community that share our passion to build youth sports programs in the greater Cleveland area.

The Board of Directors has the following positions that we fill on an “as needed” basis:
Executive Committee
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Sports Chairs
Baseball
Basketball
Soccer
Softball
Volleyball
Members At Large to Serve on Sports Committees

We are looking to add some positions as soon as possible, including:
Website Manager
Parent Volunteer Coordinator
Fundraising Chair

2008 and 2009 have been very successful years for the GCAA. We have nearly completed our bond projects that have enabled us to invest over $320,000.00 in our programs and facilities. Here is a snapshot of our accomplishment with the bond funds:
• We have completed the soccer and baseball fields at West View elementary school, including a new well and irrigation system
• Hired an engineering company to create a full site plan of our facilities and create a plan for future expansion and growth
• Added a new heating and air conditioning unit to the gymnasium to allow for year round use
• Fixed the gymnasium windows and insulation
• Fixed our erosion issues in the middle of our property by installing proper drainage and a ten foot wide, paved walkway
• Resurfaced, aerated, and fertilized our largest soccer field
• AND we are now in the process of our final project which will be a much needed bathroom and concession stand facility – this will be a newly constructed building including new handicap accessible bathrooms, a storage facility, and new concession area

We have accomplished all this while still expanding our programs and increasing our membership during difficult economic times. Here are some highlights of our program expansion efforts:
• Baseball, Soccer, and Basketball now offer more advanced and competitive leagues that represent the Cleveland Community all over the State of North Carolina while keeping our recreational programs about sportsmanship, skill building, and teamwork
• Softball and Volleyball are both growing year over year and providing more opportunities for the girls in our area

As you can imagine, this work does not happen without the hard work of our parent volunteers, coaches, and active board members. Our organization is currently run by a Board of Directors with 18 members. Several board member terms will be expiring at the end of 2009 and we are looking to build our bench. Please contact me directly if you want additional information or are interested in serving the Cleveland Community. Feel free to e-mail me and I will get back to you quickly. With your help, we can do more for our kids!

Chad Cunningham
President – Greater Cleveland Athletic Association
chad.cunningham@bankofamerica.com
919-606-5662

 

Over the last 3 month I've sent 2 e-mails and called (left v-mail) volunteering to be a basebal coach, any age group. Never heard back from anyone. What gives?

 

Feel free to e-mail me your contact information and I can follow up with the baseball committee. Thank you for your interest in serving.

 

It would be nice if the GCAA was more concerned about the children than they are about money. I can't believe how much they were charging the YMCA to rent the building when they were there last year. It's a shame that we don't have anywhere in the Cleveland area to take our children this year for the summer because of the money that the GCAA wants to charge to rent the building... My child played ball for the GCAA and was treated differently by the head coach because he wasn't on a traveling team.. my child wasn't the only one that was treated that way. It is just a shame that the kids couldn't be treated the same... some of the one's on the traveling teams couldn't play any better than the ones that were not on those teams... It's just a shame. I know it doesn't matter what I think, but I just needed to vent a little. Sorry... :banghead:

 

Its a shame that the YMCA could never learn to shut a door, or flush a toilet, or set the A/C above 65. Its a shame the YMCA could not pick up after themselves and leave the GCAA members to clean up after them. Its a shame the YMCA, with all the money they had, could not share any upkeep cost when it was them who used the facility every day.

Let me ask you. How does a facility like the GCAA run up a $1800 gas and power bill during the winter, then the GCAA uses only the Board room twice a month? Ill tell you how. The YMCA sets the heat on 85, leaves the gym doors open all afternoon as well as the building doors and then they do not turn the heat back down to 68 when they leave for the day.

The YMCA also did not help with the maintenance of the grounds (ie: soccer and baseball fields) though they abused the hell out of them every day.

I could go on.

Sorry, as a former board member, i just had to vent at the ignorance of people. As a friend of mine is so fond of saying...You cant talk sh** unless you know the facts.

 

Jubes,
I welcome your feedback, but would prefer you contact me directly so I can address some of the misinformation that you have clearly received. Your comments about the GCAA are unfounded and unfair to the many parents, coaches, and board members that spend their personal (and volunteer) time to serve the community and your child. The best way to make things better is to get involved. Send me a note and we can make that happen.

 

i have a question, why at the end of the season did they ask the baseball players, not the traveling teams but the ones that play local to pay an extra $20 for registration when the season was a few weeks short of being over? And the attitude about the traveling teams i have seen myself, i think it is great that they have that but not every parent has the money for that and some of the most talented players can be overlooked because they are not on the traveling teams. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to separate the traveling teams from playing regular season, make it a more fair playing field? just a suggestion from an old time baseball parent and one who did run the programs when my boys were young.

 

I agree with you on that one, Kaci. When I was coming up through the ranks of Little League we had the same kind of conflict, albeit not with the money issue. There was the town's athletic association which was basically just the traditional Little League (although you could play until you were 17) and then we had the American Legion traveling team which was for 15 and older. That was the team you had to really try out for. I made the American Legion team at 15 and wanted to play both because I was a total baseball nutcase. I was told in no uncertain terms that making the legion team was a so-called full time gig and that I couldn't do both. Of course I played legion ball, but had to quite at 16 when I made the varsity team at school. Neither the A.L team or the varsity team let you play in any other league. Although I thought it was unfair as a kid, I can see why they did it.

Since the A.L. sponsored their team, we didn't have to pay to play. I guess it was kind of a heirarchy thing in my town. The best players made the Legion team, and the best of the best made the varsity high school team. That's not to say that the Little League (or town league as we called it) weren't any good. I enjoyed the stiffer competition on the A.L. traveling team, but I had a lot more fun playing in the town league.

That probably had something to do with busting 3 home runs off my best friend in the first game of the season when I was 14 :lol:

 

I wanted to thank the community for their response. I have already been contacted by several people expressing their interest in serving on the board and will be making several calls next week. Please keep the e-mails coming in!

As for the additional amount for baseball - due to the economic challenges, gaining sponsorships has proven more difficult this year than ever before. Our baseball committee has worked extremely hard to complete the season with a reduced budget. The addition amount requested of the players was to cover the basic operating costs to complete the season.

I appreciate everyone on this forum that UNDERSTANDS how hard our board member work with little to no appreciation. As a matter of fact, we would welcome you back on the board....except maybe GRINDER. Just kidding!

 

Mabye....grin.

 

Excuse me for being so ignorant mr. former board member! I guess you can't vent a little on this site without being called names by the high and mighty... We don't have anything to do with the GCAA any more either because of people like you.

 

I apologize for venting. I guess for the past two years that my child has been on a team, that's all I've seen... so, me being ignorant, I vented my feelings. BTW... GCAA has some amazing coaches too... Not everyone is a bad person because they voice their opinions on this site... Just me. Oh well...

 

oh, woe is you. nobody said you were " a bad person", nor did they call you names. telling you to get your facts straight before you mouth off is neither one of those things...

 

You can vent all you like. That is what this place is for. However when you start your venting with a comment like "I wish the GCAA cared more about the kids than they do money" because it is 100% false and it is attitudes like that that keep people from staying with the Board. Attitudes like that cause major burnout with those who volunteer. They are out there doing what "you" will not, and all you can do is come on here and make false statements.

Still, its fine to vent. Just do it with some knowledge of what you are venting about.

 

Can I vent about the lack of volunteerism among the masses? :mrgreen::jester::jester::jester:

 

Vent away! I don't know why so many people think somebody else will do it. Don't they know, they are somebody else! :mrgreen::jester:

 

LMAO, so true, ah what memories that brings up:lol::lol:

 

*

 

Thank you to the Cleveland Community! I have received almost 20 responses and looking forward to connecting with everyone in the coming week!

As for the other comments, I can fully appreciate your frustration and would simply ask that you try again to get involved. I knew that sending this type of communication to the community would require some planning, follow through, and organization. Not only are we ready for people like you to step up and help.....we need it! We are moving forward with the best interest of our kids and community as the priority.

Thank you to all the previous board members and parents on this forum that clearly understand the hard work, intentions, and commitment that our current board members, coaches, and members exhibit on a daily basis. The GCAA is interested in serving our kids! We are not perfect, but for an all volunteer organization that serves over 2,000 kids, I'm proud of my team!

 

The only comment I really have about the GCAA is that it's seen it's fair share of troubles, but I *think* that there are people in place now whose hearts are truly in the right place.

In the past, there have been people on the board who had no place there, and people in charge with personal vendeta's to accomplish.

We've not personally participated in a few years because of some of that, but from everything I've heard lately, there are a few dear souls who really are trying to clean things up over there, and I wish them the best of luck.

My hope is that by the time my youngest is ready for T-ball, that things will have been rolling at a great pace with great board members, for long enough to get the kinks worked out.