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USA DIVING NEWS |  |
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December 20, 2007 A year-end message from CEO Debbie Hesse Dear USA Diving Membership, As I complete my first year as CEO, I would like to report on some highlights from 2007. I must say it’s been challenging, fun, frustrating and exciting. The main goal this year has been to move USA Diving into a more professional and staff-driven organization as we listen and respond to our members’ needs. We did this in the following ways… 1) Town Hall Meetings – Dave Burgering and I conducted five Town Hall meetings at the following competitions: Speedo Spring Nationals, Junior East and West Championships, Kaiser Permanente Nationals, and Speedo Junior Nationals. We appreciate all the information shared by athletes, parents and coaches. Some ideas are already being implemented, and many others will be incorporated into our 2009-2012 strategic plans. 2) Retreats& Workshop- We held two strategic planning retreats. A board and staff retreat was held in August, and a High Performance Retreat with World Championship coaches and staff was held in October. Each was held at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to reinforce our Olympic connection. In addition, a partner and sponsor workshop was held in November in Indianapolis. The purpose of all retreats was to get all stakeholders and partners on the same page and begin to develop USA Diving’s 2009-2012 strategic plans. 3) USAS Convention – The coaching education classes at convention were VERY positively received, and we’re excited that the information people have been clamoring for is being shared in open and honest forums. In addition, a new junior competition was created with input from many members. We’re working through the “kinks,” but have had enthusiastic support for the concept of a new Age Group National Championship and a process that includes many more junior athletes. 4) Online “Members Only” Site – Just released, it is an informational site for members only. Check it out here (you’ll need your USA Diving member ID and password to log in). The site will include extensive national training center information; Board of Directors, Committee for Olympic Success (COS) and Committee for Competitive Excellence (CCE) minutes; an online directory; and more. 5) E-Newsletter – The e-newsletter is sent to all members who opt in and other subscribers every two weeks. This has received very positive comments from the membership as information is being released on a timely basis. If you know someone who would like to subscribe, they may sign up here (Note: Members who are not receiving the newsletter simply need to log in to their USA Diving account and check the box that says, “I would like to receive USA Diving’s e-newsletter."). 6) USA Diving Staff Updates - We added three new staff members this year – Molly Evans as our Events and Programs Coordinator, Larry McQueary as our Vice President of Sponsorship and Business Development, and Pam Majors as our new Membership/Administrative Assistant. In addition, Linda Paul has been promoted to Vice President of International Teams. This provides us with additional bodies in the office and will enable us to better serve our growing membership. 7) Insurance - Our liability insurance for clubs was increased from $1 to $3 million. 8) Membership Fees – Membership categories and fees have been revised to better accommodate the needs of our membership, along with the goal of attracting new members to USA Diving. Click here for more information. 9) Selection Process – Bob Rydze, Chair of the Committee for Competitive Excellence (CCE) and Ron O’Brien have worked to provide more transparency to the selection process, i.e. metrics were released to coaches of athletes following the selection camps. In addition, we just received a grant from the USOC to hire a statistician in 2008 to review results of the past few years and help us prepare the metrics for the 2009-2012 quad. 10) International Success – I’m proud to report that USA Diving had its best year internationally since the 1980s, with 22 Grand Prix medals, 3 World Series Medals, 1 World Championship medal, 7 Pan American Games medals and 30 medals at the Junior Pan Am Games. Our future is bright as we continue to improve and move onto the medal stand. We are looking forward to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Diving and the Olympic Games in 2008. 11) Sponsorship – We were proud to welcome AT&T to the USA Diving family this year. They came on board as title sponsor of the AT&T Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale for 2007-2008 and webcast the AT&T Grand Prix and Kaiser Permanente Nationals on the AT&T Blue Room. In addition, the AT&T Communicator tool (which you can download in the Blue Room) is a great way to receive USA Diving news right on your own computer. We could not have been more pleased with the quality of the webcast production and express our appreciation to AT&T for a great partnership! We are also proud to be partnered with Speedo, Kaiser Permanente, Choice Hotels, Colorado Time Systems, Sport Graphics, Medical Animatics, XP Apparel, Hasty Awards, and CoSport. We appreciate all they do for USA Diving. Please support these businesses as they believe in you and USA Diving! 12) Talent Development Camps – Ron O’Brien created the concept of a camp system designed to identify talented young divers throughout the country and provide education and mentorship to them and their coaches from our current cadre of elite coaches. We have received incredibly positive feedback from the athletes, families, coaches and mentor coaches about this program. Due to its great success in 2007, we plan to continue these camps in 2008 and beyond. Look for upcoming information! I am committed to moving this organization forward in a manner in which I hope you ALL will be proud. My vision is that in a few years, this organization will be a model for other Olympic sports, and one in which our passionate volunteers, staff, coaches, parents and athletes can work together to bring positive change to our organization. The 2009 – 2012 strategic plan will be developed in 2008. The plan is for our three main strategic goals to center around the following: 1) International Competitive Success – Win medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships In addition, we are committed to a set of core values that do and will continue to drive our business and personal conduct. They are COMMUNICATION, TRUST, TRANSPARENCY, EXCELLENCE & ACCOUNTABILITY! We still have many improvements to make. As the staff recognized at our last staff meeting, our goal is to develop better processes for decision-making and communication. We’re still working on this one, so if you see an area for improvement, please tell us. I hope you’ve seen a difference in the way we do business. I know the board, staff, high performance coaches and staff, sponsors and committees are committed to making this organization one of which we all can be proud. If you see an opportunity for improvement or an idea you’d like to share, we are open to listening. Please be part of the solution – we need you and your help! I’d like wish you and your family a very blessed holiday season and a very happy and GOLDEN New Year! Debbie Hesse, CEO
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