From: John Puglisi, NISOA President

John Puglisi (NY)

Each January brings resolutions and the promise of a new year. We look ahead to the challenges and excitement of another year while looking back on the accomplishments and events of the past year. As I begin my two year term as NISOA president, I want to express my appreciation for the work of our Past President, George Wescott. During his term as President, George moved our organization forward. He put NISOA in an excellent position to evolve and be more responsive to our members and the student-athletes we serve on the soccer field.

I am dedicated to NISOA’s outstanding reputation for integrity and excellence. Our organizational commitment to top notch education, NCAA Soccer rules training and certification for game officials remains the core of our mission. Delivering value to our membership is equally important and will be an important part of our strategic planning.

A point of emphasis for NISOA this year will be game assigning. There are some common concerns our chapters and members have communicated to the national leadership group. We will address these issues, including assigning non-members when qualified NISOA members are available. Providing a national approach for such local and diverse problems can only succeed with a true partnership between the chapters and the national organization.

We will perform a complete assessment and external audit of our financial performance during the first few months of 2017. Under George Wescott’s leadership, we implemented a structured financial reporting system which allows us to make decisions about the dues structure and expense allocation. Our Executive Director, Julie Fabsik-Swarts will coordinate the financial assessment and audit. Our goals are to implement operational improvements and review the dues structure.

NISOA is primarily a volunteer organization with only three part-time employees. Senior leadership needs to better reflect the geography, ethnicity and age of our membership. We can not achieve our goals without members stepping up and giving their time and talents. Over the next few months, we must fill vacant Executive Board and senior leadership positions in the organization to achieve our strategic goals. We will reach out to chapter leadership across the country to identify future leaders.

I am honored to serve our members as President. I look forward to improving NISOA so our members take pride in belonging to our organization.