PresidentDANA LAVOlE4 Senter DriveBrookline, NH 03033(603) 673-9435

1st Vice PresidentROBERT H. BALDWIN411 Woodsong LaneRochester, NY 14612(585) 820-6754

2nd Vice PresidentLEVERETT TORGERSON88 Borrman RoadEast Haven, CT 06512(203) 469-0627

Secretary- TreasurerJOHN 1. DOHERTY, JR.P.O. Box 119Charlton, MA 01507(508) 248-7337

Immediate Past PresidentCHUCK WAIMON45 Amado WayDuxbury, MA 02332~03) 733-9000

rresident EmeritusC. THOMAS LYNCH447 Nahatan StreetNorwood, MA 02062(978) 762-4153

www.nihoa.com

CHAPTERSCape CodeCentral Mass.Champlain-Adirondack NYConnecticutEastern Mass.Eastern NYLong Island NYMaineMetropolitan NY -NJMid-HudsonNew Hampshire

Niagara FrontierSouth Shore Mass.VermontWestchester NYWestern Mass.Western NY

Totals 17

MINUTES of ss" ANNUAL MEETINGOF NlHOA DIRECTORSCrowne Plaza - Albany, NYSaturday - March 27, 2010

ATTENDEESBob Lahey, Tom MurrayJohn Bain, Jack DohertyMike LagreeLev Torgerson, Rick Gentile, Michael Barile, Stephen RichetelliPaul DriscollBruce Geddes, Nick DeMarte, Nick DeMarte, Jr., John Kilmer,Andrew Gray, Keith Fallon, Mike GeoffrionMichael KomichBill Sidun, Bob TriebeMark D' AgostinoDana Lavoie, Gary Young, Tom Birmingham, Frank Hoell,Alan NixaPaul PfeifferBob Powers, Jim McKenzie, Tom LynchBill BlauveltTom McCormack, J. Adam ButtsBill SapelliBob Baldwin, John Whitehair, Jay Schwerthoffer, Tony Melito

Guest: Paul Stewart, ECACHL, Director of Officiating

100% Annual Attendance: Connecticut, Eastern Massachusetts,New Hampshire, South Shore Mass.

Meeting Called OrderPresident Dana Lavoie, New Hampshire, called the meeting to order at 8:36 a.m. welcoming all to theannual meeting. A moment of silence was held for Ned Bunyon, Eastern Mass, who passed away inDecember, for Helen Stewart the mother of Paul and Bill Stewart who passed away, and for all thedeparted past members ofNIHOA. Dana encouraged those present to bring a buddy along with themto future meetings. This would give members a better insight to NIHOA. Pointing to last year'smeeting he noted he received a number of pm,;tive comments about last year's meeting in NewHampshire. The meeting provided all an opportunity to meet members from other chapters and toshare ideas.

CHAPTERS: BERKSHIRE' CAPE COD' CENTRAL MASS .• CENTRAL N.Y.• CHAMPLAIN-ADIRONDACK' CONNECTICUT' EASTERN MASS.' EASTERN N.Y. • EASTERN PA-NJ.FLORIDA' ILLINOIS' INDIANAPOLIS' MAINE' METRO N.Y.-N.J. • MID-HuDSON' NEW HAMPSHIRE' NIAGARA I'RONTIER • NORTHEASTOHIO' NORTHERNN. Y • NORTH SHORE MASS.RHODE ISLAND' ROCKY MOUNTAIN WEST' SOUTH CAROLINA' SOUTH CENTRAL N.Y' SOUTH SHORE MASS .• SOUTHEASTERNU.S .• SOUTHERN U.S .• SYPJ\CUSE • VERMONTVIRGINIA' WESTCHESTER' WESTERN MASS .• WESTERN N.Y. • WESTERN PA

Paul Stewart, Director of Officiating - ECACHL, addressed the Annual MeetingPaul Stewart noted that ECACHL officials under his direction have seen an increase in assignments both at theBeamPot and at NCAA national tournaments. He has set a high standard for his officials and this has raised thelevel of officiating in the league. Paul noted he and Gene Binda, South Shore Mass., were working togetherencouraging anyone interested in becoming an official to attend a clinic they were running. Their hope is to workwith individuals from ]2 years old and up. Paul said he had attended a number of youth games to only observethe parents of players belittling young officials on the ice. This discourages these younger officials fromcontinuing to officiate. Paul noted those ECACHL officials working the first round games of the 2010 NCAAmen's tournament.

The President called the roll of NlHOA chapters.

Minutes of the 2009 Annual MeetingThe 2009 Annual Meeting minutes were distributed to those in attendance for their review. A motion by Bill Sidun, MetroNY-NJ, to accept the minutes as presented was passed unanimously.

Secretary's ReportThe 2009-10 Secretary's Report was distributed to those in attendance for their review.

Report of OfficersPresident Dana Lavoie, New HampshireDana noted that the differentiator between the guys who you might want on the big games is not necessarily the personthat knows all the rules but, the person who is the better game manager. More senior officials must impart to the newer,younger officials various aspects of game management. One procedure used in New Hampshire is that the officialassessing a penalty is always positioned for the faceoff on the opposite side of the rink from the team assessed thepenalty. This has proven most effective in preventing confrontations. Dana noted that the game is not about you (theofficial), it's about the players.

I" Vice President Bob Baldwin, Western NYBob thanked all for attending the meeting. He noted the evaluation process used in the Western NY chapter. Seniorofficials attend games observing officials and try to present three positives to one negative when speaking with theofficials after a game. The program has been well accepted by the chapter's members.

2nd Vice President Lev Torgerson, CTThanked all for making the trip to Albany. Lev talked to the difficulties in writing the NlHOA exam in which threedifferent rules books are used. Chapters must have their members take the exam in the rules that they are using in theirareas. He noted he is looking forward to preparing next year's exam with two of the three rules books changing.

President Emeritus Tom Lynch, South Shore Mass.Tom read correspondence from Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH. NIHOA made a donation to theWilliam B. Clark Scholarship Fund at the school. Bill Clark is a NIHOA past Secretary-Treasurer. Tom read anote from Peter Clark, SOIl of Bill and Helen, telling of the passing of his mother, October 21, 2009. Helen wasas much a part of hockey and NlHOA as Bill was. Tom maintained close contact with Mrs. Clark over theyears.

Tom also noted the South Shore Mass. chapter had implemented an observing program two years ago. An issue thatchapters must deal with is that younger officials believe they should be assigned the highest level games immediately.When they don't get the high level games quickly they have a tendency to leave officiating. The chapter is working toretain officials.

Past President Mike Komich, MaineMike noted that some officials are entering the higher levels of officiating directly, by-passing NllIOA. These officialshave no insurance coverage afforded through membership in N1HOA. Mike encouraged those present to contact

anyone they know in this position and suggest they join the local NIHOA chapter. He stated the need for coveragecannot be overstated.

Report of the Audit CommitteeMike Komich reported he and Bob Powers had reviewed the financial records ofthe association and found the records tobe true and accurate.

Treasurer's ReportThe 2009-10 Treasurer's Report was distributed to those in attendance for their review. The Secretary-Treasurer providedan overview of the report.

CorrespondenceNo additional correspondence was received.

NEW BUSINESS

NIHOA Excess Medical, Catastrophic, Liability and D&O CoverageThe Secretary-Treasurer provided an overview of the association's coverage. The coverage provided through NIHOA'sexcess medical, catastrophic, liability, and D&O remains unchanged. An overview of all coverage can be found in NIHOA'sDirectory-Manual for quick reference, as well as on NIHOA's website.

Honorary MembersA motion by Bill Sidun, Metro NY-NJ., to accept the following individuals as NIHOA honorary members was passedunanimously.

Champlain-Adirondack South Shore Mass.Robert Zuckerman David Belcher*

Joe Coronite, Sr. '"Eastern Mass Jim McCarthy*

Ned Bunyon" Mike BeaumontBill Dunk

Eastern NY Robert PowersJohn Becker, Sr.

Western MassSyracuse John Roberts

B. J. SimoneWestern NY

Peter DawesJeff Phillips

* Indicates deceased member

Proposed 2010-2011 BudgetThe Secretary-Treasurer presented the proposed 2010-2011 budget. Dues for 2010-2011 are to remain at $34.00 per member.A motion by Bill Sidun to amend the proposed budget increasing the Secretary-Treasurer's stipend by $500 was passedunanimously. A motion by Bill Sidun to accept the budget as amended passed unanimously.

Long Island NY Application to become a chapterAn application was submitted to the annual meeting, along with supporting documentation as outlined in NlHOA'sConstitution, to form a new NIHOA chapter on Long Island NY. Representing the Long Island officials at the annualmeeting were Mike Geoffrion, President; Keith Fallon, Vice President; and Andrew Gray, Secretary-Treasurer. The

proposed chapter expects to register approximately 20 or more members for the 2010-11 year. Considerablediscussion was held concerning the proposed chapter's boundaries. The boundaries of the proposed chapter wouldbe that of Long Island. The chapter's proposed area is presently a part of the Metro NY-NJ chapter's area. A mapdetailing the boundaries of the chapter, especially that between Metro NY -NJ and the proposed Long Island chapter,will be submitted to NIHOA's Secretary-Treasurer. The officers of the proposed chapter clearly noted that thechapter's membership would not infringe on the territories of existing chapters.

Motion by Paul Driscoll, Eastern Mass., to accept Long Island NY as a new NIHOA chapter. Unanimously passed.

NIHOA Constitutional AmendmentJim McKenzie, NIHOA Clerk and South Shore Mass. member, presented the following proposed constitutionalamendment to the meeting.

Add the following Section 6 to Article Vlf entitled Elections and Terms of Office:6. If in any election for President, First Vice President, Second Vice President or Secretary- Treasurer thereare more than two candidates who have chosen to run and no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast bythe Directors present and eligible to vote, a second vote of the Directors shall then be held between the twocandidates receiving the most total votes. The candidate receiving a majority of the votes cast in the secondvote shall then be elected to the office for which the candidates are running.

Motion by Bob Triebe, Metro NY-NJ, to accept the change to the constitution as presented. Unanimouslypassed.

(Secretary-Treasurer's note: Article XXI of the NIHOA Constitution; CHANGE IN CONSTITUTION: TheAssociation's Constitution may be amended by an affirmative vote of3/4 ofa quorum of the Board of Directors.)

Election of OfficersThe following individual was presented as a candidate for the position of:

2nd Vice President (One Year Term)Lev Torgerson, Connecticut

The Secretary-Treasurer cast one vote for the above candidate.

Reports of ChaptersAgain this year several chapters noted a reduction in the number of games in their areas due to the downturn in the economy.Also noted were the freezing of officiating fees by local school districts. In other areas the addition of teams, especially girlsteams, was mentioned. Western NY member Pete Feola was the only amateur on-ice official from the United States toofficiate the 20 I0 Winter Olympics. Vermont member Carol Weston officiated the high school boys championship game.She also officiated the Hockey East women's outdoor game at Fenway Park in Boston.

Recruiting: Although it was noted that in some areas there were reductions in the numbers of games, chapters continue torecruit new members. The belief is that the future of chapters is in the new, younger members that are recruited. Chapters areseeing more females joining their ranks. As more girls and women play the game, more will hopefully want to continue theirinvolvement in the game through refereeing. Chapters are working closely with their newer members in the hope of retaininggood officials, thus reducing turnover of officials.

ty[entoringiTrainingiChapter Meetin~: To assist in the training of chapter members and to provide more interesting meetingsthat encourage members to attend meetings, chapters are utilizing various learning tools, guest speakers, as well as on andoff-ice programs. The Central Mass. chapter uses a variation of the Jeopardy TV game with questions based on hockeysituations. Chapters use evaluators, online and return coaches' evaluation cards to assist in the ongoing development oftheirofficials. The difficult part appears to be getting the coaches to complete the forms. Tom Lynch, South Shore Mass., noted

the success in raising meeting attendance by having pizza meetings. Pizza appears to be a great motivator in getting membersto meetings. Westchester NY chapter has a junior mentoring program where new officials, as young as 12 years, are paired

- with senior officials in officiating youth games. The use of senior officials also provides a high level of officiating to thelocal youth programs

Sportsmanship: Chapters continue their efforts to increase the lines of communication between their chapters and teams,players, coaches, parents and league administrators. Chapters hold preseason meeting with teams and those associated withteams reviewing rules, including presentations by coaches and administrators. Postseason activities such as publiclyrecognizing the high level of sportsmanship exhibited by teams during the year not only recognize those for theirsportsmanship, but also set a bar for others to achieve. Establishing open lines of communication is of positive benefit to all.Bill Sapelli, Western Mass. Chapter, noted the passing of Amo "Betts" Bessone, fonner Michigan State coach and native ofWest Springfield, MA. The Western Mass. chapter assists in organizing this annual awards banquet for high school teams inthe area.

Community: Chapters noted their involvement with the Special Olympics, their members volunteering to officiate SpecialOlympics' events. A number of chapters have scholarship programs that assist graduating seniors in the continuation of theireducation.

2011 Annual MeetingThe 2011 Annual Meeting will be held in Bridgeport, CT or Manchester, NH on March 26, 2011 both are sites of2011 NCAA Regional Tournaments. It was the feeling of the directors that having the meeting at the tournament sitewhere regional games are on Friday and Saturday would be the best choice. The Executive Board to determine thelocation of the 2011 meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 1J :59.

Respectfully submitted,

01111 J. Doherty, Jr.Secretary-Treasurer