Chapter Four
"Its Time for a Change"
In August 2006, Raider Ron stepped down as president, and Jeff Pintea (Pantherman) [Class of 1999] was elected the 4th President of PFUFA. He served for two years (2006 to 2008). His Officers were:
Vice President - Danny Dillman (Sergeant Colt) [Class of 2003]
Treasurer - Joanie DeKoker (Best Bills Fan) [Class of 2003]
Secretary - Sheree Pintea (Ms. Purr) [Class of 2003]
By 2006, PFUFA had a very low active membership rate, and it was looking like PFUFA might fade away. The Hall of Fans program had been shut down, and the By Laws of the organization required all members to also be Hall of Fan honorees. The organization became stagnant. There was no option for sponsorship for the Hall of Fans, and the Hall of Fame ‘had moved on.’ In addition to these facts, during this time, there were two other major factors in play that prevented the organization from taking immediate action. First, at this time to properly change the By Laws, the membership had to be notified “one year in advance,” and second, each office holder had to be reelected for his/her held office each year. Immediately after being elected, Pantherman announced his intentions to change the By Laws in August 2007 to allow for new membership.
At the time of this announcement, neither Pantherman nor Sergeant Colt had a clue on how to accomplish it. Thus, in the most historic and crucial moment in PFUFA History, the four officers sat in the lobby of the former hotel (the Holiday Inn in Akron, OH) and hammered out an outline of the PFUFA Draft. This event cannot be understated or overlooked. Without the actions of Jeff Pintea, Danny Dillman, Joanie DeKoker, and Sheree Pintea, PFUFA would not exist. Those officers are pictured below.
By the end of the 2006 PFUFA Reunion, there was a solid concept of how to bring in new members. However, it was just a concept. The formal proposal had to be written, and the membership had to vote it in. Over the next 10 months, Sergeant Colt wrote the formal By Law change and created the PFUFA Draft Card. Pantherman prepared for the battle to come and prepared the ground with long conversations on the phone with key members.
As preparations were being made for the 2007 Annual PFUFA Reunion and through Jeff Pintea’s guidance, Sergeant Colt purchased www.pfufa.org and created the official website of the organization. All user information and site content was created by Sergeant Colt. Version 1.0 was very crude and less functional than our current site, but it was based on the Sports Section of a local newspaper. Our current website is version 4.0. This was, however, not the first website for our organization. From 2002 to 2006, Lynn Schmidt (Weird Wolf) [Class of 2003] ran a website dedicated to the Visa Hall of Fan honorees (it was called FootballsFans-com). Below is a screen capture of the very first day www.pfufa.org was launched.
It was now the moment of Truth. Would the membership agree with the proposed concept for new membership?
During the 2007 Annual Business Meeting, many PFUFA many members objected to elements of the Draft, and others outright fought the idea. That business meeting was the longest held up to that time. It was not an easy sell, but the membership did pass the PFUFA Draft, and the organization embarked on a new era!! Draft cards were handed to each member, and they were charged with going through the season to find the best fans. Like today’s draft, that first draft had the required four phases: application, review, invitation, and membership.
On September 6, 2007, the Inaugural PFUFA Draft was opened and the Application Phase concluded on February 3, 2008. During this phase, a total of 22 applications were received. Just as conducted in all current drafts, all possible draftees filled out their applications on the PFUFA website and paid their Draft Dues.
During the Review Phase, all applications were read and discussed by the draft committee, however, no personal communication was conducted with the sponsor or draftee as is current practice. The votes were cast, and 16 Potential Veterans were invited to come to the 10th Annual PFUFA Reunion Canton, OH.
In August 2008, 14 Potential Veterans actually arrived at the reunion, and 15 new members became the Class of 2008. The members of that Inaugural Draft class were: Adam Dillman (Darth Packer), Green Bay Packers - Angie Meyer (Ms. Kitty), Carolina Panthers - Bill Walters (Bukdog), Cleveland Browns - Billy Spain (Bronco Billy), Houston Texans - Candice Chifici (Go Go), New Orleans Saints - Donnie Stefanski (The Yooperman), Detroit Lions - Doug Dillman (Chief White Cloud), Indianapolis Colts - Hlanson Cosse (Coon), New Orleans Saints - Mike Randall (Dawgpound Mike), Cleveland Browns - Paul Gates (BernieHawk), Seattle Seahawks - Steve LaPlanche (Sports Steve), Baltimore Ravens - Susan Podd (Buffalo Wings), Buffalo Bills - Ted Currier (Bull Pen Hardhat), Houston Texans - Tony Palumbo Jr, Oakland Raiders - Wayne Vandevort (Mr. Titan), Tennessee Titans.