NJFL Executive Board Minutes

This new section will host the transcription of the minutes of the NJFL executive board, which can be read below, or downloaded in .doc format via the menu on the right.

NEW JERSEY FORENSIC LEAGUE SPRING COACHES MEETING
MAY 30, 2012
MINUTES

In Attendance:
David Yastremski – Ridge , Mary Gormley - Montville, Kevin Tidd, OSB – Delbarton, Lynne Coyne – Ridge, Michael Paul – Millburn, Renee Drummond – Elizabeth, Phil Drummond – Freehold, Charlie Coe – Pingry, Gail Bauwens – Matawan, Eileen Waite – Randolph, Jack Bathke – Princeton, Ben Horwitz – Randolph, Jillian Trader – Matawan, Andrew Monagle – Ridge, Frank Torres - Perth Amboy, Arjun Gupta - TCNJ Debate Team, Morgan McElroy - TCNJ Debate Team, Andrew Miller - TCNJ Debate Team, Priya Dalal TCNJ Debate Team, Prashanth Palvannan - TCNJ Debate Team, Prof. Catherine Zizik - Brownson Speech Team – Seton Hall University, Ryan Dicovitsky - Brownson Speech Team – Seton Hall University Reesa Jenkins - Washington Twp. Middle School, Betsy Tuxdill – Dumont High School – NJDFL Treasurer

Meeting Called to Order at 4:15

David Yastremski commented on the new faces at the meeting from other organizations to help bridge the forensic communities found within New Jersey. Representatives from the college forensics community (TCNJ and Seton Hall University), middle school community (Washington Twp.), and the New Jersey Drama and Forensics League were present.

Michael Paul suggested regional judge training sessions next year where coaches and parents can travel to others school’s training sessions to help facilitate schedules and consistency between workshops. David Yastremski commented that Ridge and Delbarton informally shared judge training sessions this past year.

Schools will share their judge training dates with the President and Webmaster next year to publicize dates on our website. Parents and new judges will be encouraged to attend any of the series.

Vice-Presidents of Speech and Debate will develop an outline for training, along with a collection of documents, videos, and/or sample ballots to post on the website so judge training can be consistent. The NJFL Judge Training manual that was developed last year was shared with the group.

Charles Coe asked whether debate pairings could use codes instead of schools. Discussion involved the potential biases toward or against some schools that may be subconscious and the capability of tab software to convert to codes.

The league will use a blind coding system, in debate, for the Borelli, State Championship, and Novice tournament during the 2012-2013 year and revisit the issue at next year’s coaches meeting.

The 2012-2013 calendar was shared. It was noted that some dates are still tentative. The debate team members from TCNJ noted they will try to host an event on November 3rd. Details are forthcoming. Further discussion focused on how the various stakeholders can help one another pursue our similar goals. Prof. Catherine Zizik commented on our desire to share our similar visions in helping students know of the post-secondary opportunities available to the students. Brother Kevin Tidd commented the need for qualified judges at our state events. Both representatives from TCNJ and Seton Hall commented their interest in helping when it doesn’t interfere with their own competition schedules.

Ms. Reesa Jenkins provided insight on the middle school league and events indicating her desire to start a tournament and whether high school competitors would contribute as judges. It was also suggested to open the Novice Festival to middle school programs as well. Betsy Tuxdill offered some perspectives from the NJDFL community and mentioned that May would be a good time of the year to explore a joint ‘festival’ type of experience.

Election Results:
President – David Yastremski
Vice-President – Speech: Mary Gormley
Vice-President Debate: Brother Kevin Tidd
Vice-President of Outreach: Ben Horwitz
Secretary/Treasurer – Philip Drummond.
Executive Board Members:
Jack Bathke
Charles Coe
Lynne Coyne
Renee Drummond
Andrew Monagle
Michael Paul
Jillian Trader
2 Positions Vacant

Final Acknowledgement
The league recognized the efforts and contributions of Ms. Eileen Waite (Randolph) and Ms. Gail Bauwens (Matawan) to the New Jersey Forensic League and all the students who benefitted from their coaching , judging, and influence. The league wishes them the best in their retirement.

Meeting Adjourned at 6:00pm.