Greetings fellow supporters,
We have two new board members, Bennett Hartz, who replaced Eric Silva-Brenneman, and Max Tusa, who replaced James Norungolo. Eric resigned his position because being on the board caused too much of a conflict with his other commitments, and James resigned because he moved for a new job. We greatly appreciate Bennett and Max stepping up to bring us back to a full board, and the work that James did during his tenure. Bennett’s term will be up in March 2021, and Max’s will be up March 2020.
The newest board members have done a great job this year coming up to speed quickly, and several are taking lead on important projects. Jon Pavlica is working on crafting the Wonderwall harassment policy, and Shuo Wang is taking the lead on adding structure to the Wonderwall partnership process. Jenn Uitto was point person for the board in the middle of September when the Iron Front situation was its most tense and she did a fantastic job communicating with the MNUFC front office and the Supporter Group leadership.
Speaking of the MNUFC front office, they have informed us that the supporters section for the match against the LA Galaxy should be at or very near capacity. That means people will need to make sure they are only taking up one spot so that everyone with a ticket in the Wonderwall can fit and make the section rock. Members of the MNUFC front office will be in the section working with the security staff to make sure we’re filling it in. Please be kind to MNUFC staff if they ask you to move to accommodate others in the space.
Planning for next year is well underway, with SGs already working on their budgets for next year as you read this. Next year’s member scarves are also being designed, and they will be a significant departure from what you got this year. Tifo has been a bit of a challenge this year from both a space and time commitment perspective. Next year I expect we will have tifo more often than this year, though they will in general be much smaller than what was attempted for the Allianz opener. Large tifo like the opener require too much volunteer hours, which are already in short supply, and a lot more space than we’ve normally had to execute. Thankfully, the tifo team has formed a relationship that should add some long-term stability to the space needs, which is very positive news.
Finally, I wish to thank the many volunteers who have spent countless hours this season making our community what it is. We literally are nowhere without you, and while you might not get much glory for what you do, know that everyone appreciates your efforts. That goes for the team, too, who hears us on matchday and feeds off of our energy. Here’s to us all being in full throat en route to the Loons beating the team that Beckham guy played for!
Come on you Loons!
-Abe
