Chapter Six
"A New Leader, A New Time"
The 2010 Annual PFUFA Reunion held two major challenges for the organization: We needed a New Leader and We said No to a Potential Veteran.
Early in 2010, Sergeant Colt had informed the organization that he would not be able to continue as President and that he was stepping down for personal reasons. Before the Reunion, a candidate for president was put forth and was the only candidate nominated. Some uncertainty was present, however, and at the reunion, a few members were approached and one other candidate was nominated. Candice [Schloegel] Chifici eventually agreed to run for president.
Thus, in August 2010, Candice Schloegel [Chifici] (Go-Go) [Class of 2008] was elected the 6th President of PFUFA. This was the first time a Draft Selected member was elected president. She served for four years (2010 to 2013). Her Officers were:
Vice President - Karl Sides (Ram Man) [Class of 2004]
Membership Officer - Joe Banowsky (Joe Texan) [Class of 2004] served 2010 to 2011.
Cindy Pierce (Purple Dame) [Class of 2009] served 2011 to 2012.
Steve Tate (the Owner) [Class of 2009] served 2012 to 2016.
Treasurer - Joanie DeKoker (Best Bills Fan) [Class of 2003]
Secretary - Stephanie Phillips [Class of 2003]
Due to the complete rewrite of the PFUFA By Laws, a Board of Directors and the Office of Membership Officer were created. This was a very special moment for our organization. The power of the President was placed under the newly created Board, and the PFUFA Draft (and all member related items) would be placed under the Membership Officer. It was the beginning of great things to come.
The very first Board of Directors for PFUFA was comprised of: Chairman, Board of Directors - Sheree Pintea (Ms Purr) [Class of 2003] and Board of Directors - Don Watcher (Bearman) [Class of 1999], Lionel Alphonso (Da Pope) [Class of 1999], Ron Rickard (Raider Ron) [Class of 2001], and Danny Dillman (Sergeant Colt) [Class of 2003] (all are pictured below). Monte Short (Arrowman) [Class of 1999] was elected to the Board after Sergeant Colt stepped down in 2011.
The second challenge of the 2010 Reunion was “Voting No on a Potential Veteran” for the Class of 2010. During the voting for the Classes of 2008 and 2009, each Potential Veteran that was invited to the reunion was also voted in as a new member. All three of the first drafts were less structured and procedures were far more loose and informal than today. There were large holes and was much room for interpretation in the process.
At that reunion, an incident/misunderstanding arose and the draft committee had to make a very tough decision (the official Membership Committee as it is today did not exist yet). It was not easy to “pull the trigger” and say no, but the committee did just that. The fallout of the draftee, the team fans, and former leadership was swift and harsh. This also gave the brand-new Board of Directors an issue to deal with.
The Board of Directors was created to “oversee” the organization and to “make adjustments” as needed. The rejection of a Potential Veteran and the possibility of over-turning the decision was the first issue for the board. It debated this topic for three months. Finally, it voted and decided to UPHOLD the decision of the draft committee and NOT overturn the Potential Veteran status. It chose to purposefully limit its power and reach and to not become another presidential office. This decision did not completely address the hurt feelings of those involved. However, both time and the influence of Cindy (Pierce) Ricci did help the situation and all those involved. Also, that Potential Veteran did apply for a future draft, and is now a member of PFUFA. As an organization, we are actually stronger and much better off having said No and taking the resulting actions.
Special recognition needs to be given to the Cindy (Pierce) Ricci (Purple Dame) [Class of 2009]. She took a rough, but working draft process, and completely streamlined it. Through the next five years and through numerous By Law changes, Cindy was able to effectively and efficiently maximize the PFUFA Draft process from beginning to end. She rewrote most of the By Laws concerning the Draft as well as created the artifacts that accompany the draft process. She has served as both Membership Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. (She is pictured to the right.)
During Candice’s first term as President, she had to make another very tough decision that affected the structure and foundations of the organization. Once again, we are better and stronger having gone through this challenge. In the 2010 re-write of the By Laws, a clause was added that would allow for the “Termination of Membership.” The steps were specifically detailed and the entire active membership present at the Annual Business Meeting had to vote on the termination.
At the 2011 Annual Business Meeting, Candice brought two members before the organization and discussed their activities and made a case for termination of their membership. The membership debated and a vote was taken resulting in both members being expelled from the organization.
At the 2012 reunion, Candice was unable to attend due to a severe illness. Karl Sides, the Vice President, assumed the duties of President during the reunion while keeping Candice informed of events and decisions of the reunion. His first action, as stated before, was to bring the main PFUFA charity event back at the J. Babe Stern Center.