Klink replaces Robyn Fennig, who led the Board for four years.
March 17, 2023 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 0 comments
USA Ultimate’s Board of Directors has a new President.
Dave Klink, a long-time ultimate organizer, volunteer, and USAU board member, was elected to the position. He will replace Robyn Fennig, who will become the Secretary after four years as President.
Leslie Gamez was elected to the Vice President position and Mike Edmonds will serve as Treasurer. The officer elections follow the announcement of four new members to the board.
Ultiworld reached out to Dave Klink to ask him about his election to Board President and what he hopes to accomplish. Here’s his response:
Ultimate has been a huge part of my life for the past 25 years, from barefoot pickup to “grandmaster” and everything between. As an attorney I like to advertise ultimate as the best pre-law sport. I believe SOTG and self-officiating are key ingredients in advancing the sport, and I like to dream that they could contribute (and perhaps are contributing) to the evolution of sports. I hope to see ultimate continue to recover from the pandemic and to further build a trajectory of explosive growth, especially at youth levels. I believe USA Ultimate is an important leader in such pursuits, and I feel very privileged to have this opportunity to help contribute to the organization.
When I signed up as a sectional coordinator in 2008, it did not occur to me where it might lead! Since then, I have been honored to work with the phenomenal staff and volunteers at USA Ultimate in a variety of roles. My first term on the board of directors in an elected athlete seat was enlightening and humbling, serving with many of the giants of our sport (giants on the field, as coaches, as organizers, in the boardroom, or all of the above!) and other amazing leaders. After my first term on the board, I continued to serve on the judicial committee, seeking to help protect the ultimate community. When I was asked to rejoin the board last year in an appointed seat, I was again deeply honored by the opportunity. And now my brain is exploding at the prospect of serving as board president. The current board is highly qualified and energetic, and we get along very well (with great thanks to the presidents before me and other leaders of the group, and the ultimate community who elected over half of the board!). It’s somehow simultaneously comforting, terrifying, and certainly mind-blowing to now be serving alongside two former presidents of this board!
Though I’ve shared a bit about the philosophy driving me, I do not enter into this new role with a heavy agenda. USA Ultimate is largely a staff and volunteer driven organization, and the board does not run the day to day. I believe that it is important for the president to help setup others in the organization for success, and I aim to put in time and energy to that end. It isn’t lost on me that I was elected largely because of circumstance – my colleagues on the board were more interested in pursuing other roles – so while I certainly seek to take advantage of the opportunity, I’m primarily looking to empower my fellow board members, the staff and volunteers at USA Ultimate, and our network of strategic partners, to pursue their goals. I hope that my fellow board members and I can be helpful supporters of such efforts!
As with most sports organizations, USA Ultimate has been through the ringer the past few years, but thanks to very competent, dedicated, and selfless leadership and countless staff and volunteer contributions, we appear to have weathered the storm (knock on wood), and I believe the organization is well positioned to help the sport bounce back stronger than ever. A key focus area for the board over the next six months will be the development of USA Ultimate’s next strategic plan. We are currently in the “planning to plan” stage and haven’t put much out there publicly about it just yet, but I expect there to be announcements in the near future where USA Ultimate will be seeking community input in multiple ways and formats.
