BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO BE CHOSEN
AHO’s annual elections for Board of Directors positions will be held in May (date to be determined). Nominations for vice president, secretary and three at–large positions are being accepted by Chad Colliander at c81colliander@yahoo.com or phone at 907–240–2181. These are two–year positions. Nominations may be made through March.

The Board of Directors sets association policies, coordinates efforts with player associations, assists in membership educational programs, hires schedulers, establishes rates for pay and much more. Members interested in being involved with these important efforts are encouraged to run for office.

ANCHORAGE OFFICIALS PAID BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGE
AHO’s pay committee has gathered referee rate information from 28 associations across the U.S. and has found that Anchorage officials are paid less than those Outside for most all levels of games. The greatest pay discrepancies were found for U12, U14 and U16/18 level house games – some almost $16 less per game than the national average.

In order to bring AHO rates up to a level consistent with the rest of the nation, the pay committee is recommending that pay increases be implemented over a three–year period. The committee proposes a thee–year implementation to lessen the impact of increased rates for teams. The proposed pay raises also account for adjustments in inflation.

These details and more can be found in the report which is available in PDF form online at http://www.hockeyref.net/pdf/pay_report_2008.pdf The Board of Directors will consider the pay committee’s recommendations and input from members before making a final decision on pay adjustments at the March board meeting (see calendar listing at left). Members wishing to comment on the report or pay adjustments are encouraged to attend.

NOT AVAILABLE? HERE’S A RefRanger TIP TO BLOCK OUT DATES AND TIMES
Using the “Canceled dates” function from the left hand menu in RefRanger removes games from your view when scheduling games. This does not, however, show your canceled dates to the schedulers.

To show schedulers you are not available for certain games or times, use the “Search for games” function, look up the dates you want to block out and click the “n” boxes on the left side of the games list. The times you indicate you are not available shows up on the on the schedulers’ view. Hit the “continue” button at the bottom of the game list to submit the list of games when you are not available.

NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE THROUGH E–MAIL SUBSCRIPTION
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For comments or questions about this newsletter, contact newsletter editor Ben Harris at bharris2@acsalaska.net.