Wonderwall, the parent organization dedicated to enabling, empowering and accelerating Minnesota United FC’s Supporters Groups, will be hosting the annual Supporters Summit on January 31, 2020 at Summit Brewing Company, inside the Administration Building. The event will begin around 6:30 PM with the program aspect of the evening commencing at 7:00 PM. As with all Wonderwall Supporters Summits, all are welcome – you do not need to be a Supporters Group member or season ticket holder to attend the event.
We're planning to have 2020 membership packages (member scarf + membership card) available for pickup at the Supporters Summit, if this changes we will announce via our social media channels and update this post.
As part of the Supporters Summit, there will be the component of elections, just as there was last year. Though not required, nominees are encouraged to attend and meet with members and non-members.
Important things to note: in order to vote for the Board of Directors, an affiliated Supporters Group membership will be required, as well as the purchase of a non-expiring voting share. All information relating to the 2020 Wonderwall Board of Directors elections, voting, voting shares etc., can be found below.
View a list of 2020 Nominees and their candidate statements.
Elections Process
Elections will commence at 9:00 AM Central following the 2020 Supporters Summit; you do not need to be present at the Supporters Summit in order to vote. Those who have purchased a voting share will be emailed a voting link. Elections will last for seven days, closing on February 7 at 11:59 PM. Winners of the elections will be notified on February 12 and the new Board of Directors members will be announced prior to the start of the season opener on March 1.
Voting Shares
All votes will require the purchase of a membership voting share in accordance with our bylaws. Voting shares will be sold for $25, and are available for sale on the web store. There are 500 voting shares available. In addition to a voting share, one must be a member of an affiliated Supporters Group either through holding a season ticket in the Supporters Section at Allianz Field (sections 20-24), or through the purchase of an individual membership.
Those voting in the election will be required to provide their full name, mailing address and telephone number; this is legally required for the organization and we cannot offer exceptions. Those who wish not to share this information will not be allowed to vote in the elections.
Voting shares purchased this year will not expire and will entitle the shareholder to voting rights for future years. If you purchased a share in the 2019 elections, your voting share is still valid and there is no need to purchase another one. Each shareholder is entitled to one vote annually, regardless of the number of voting shares purchased.
The money collected from voting shares will continue to be used to further the mission of Wonderwall and their Supporters Groups, including to provide funding for supporters groups’ initiatives and funding match day components such as flags and tifo.
We will not be selling voting shares at the Supporters Summit, shares and memberships will need to be purchased prior to the end of the event, via the Wonderwall Web Store.
If you have any questions – please feel free to reach out to us via email.
Editor's Note: Due to unfavorable weather conditions the Supporters Summit has been rescheduled to March 4, 2019 beginning at 6:30 pm; it will still take place at La Doña Cervecería. Voting will take place from 9:00 March 5th until 11:59 pm March 11th. To participate in the voting process, a voting share must be purchased by March 4th. Those who have purchased a voting share will receive an email on the morning on March 5th. Those holding a membership (either through season ticket in the supporters section, or purchase of individual memberships, will be able to pick up their membership scarf and 2019 Membership Card.
Wonderwall, the parent organization dedicated to enabling, empowering and accelerating Minnesota United FC’s Supporters Groups will be hosting the annual Supporters Summit on February 20, 2019 at La Doña Cervecería. The event will begin around 6:30 with the program aspect of the evening commencing at 7:00. As with all Supporters Summits, all are welcome – you do not need to be a Supporters Group member or season ticket holder to attend the event.
Flashing your Card of Wonder at La Doña Cervecería will entitle you to receive 2-for-1's at the bar.
As part of the Supporters Summit, there will be the component of elections, just as there was last year. Important things to note: in order to vote for the Board of Directors, a membership will be required as well as the purchase of a non-expiring voting share. All information relating to the 2019 Wonderwall Board of Directors elections, voting, voting shares etc., can be found below.
Nominations
Nominations for Board of Directors have already closed, ending January 31.
Elections Process
Elections will commence at 9:00 AM Central following the 2019 Supporters Summit; you do not need to be present at the Supporters Summit in order to vote. Those who have purchased a voting share will be emailed a voting link. Elections will last for seven days, closing on February 28 at 11:59 PM. Winners of the elections will be notified on March 1st, and the new Board of Directors members will be announced prior to the start of the season opener on March 2nd.
Voting Shares
All votes will require the purchase of a membership voting share in accordance with our bylaws. Voting shares will be sold for $25, and are available for sale on the web store and in-person at the Supporters Summit. There are 1,000 voting shares available. In addition to a voting share, one must be a member of an affiliated Supporters Group either through holding a season ticket in the Supporters Section at Allianz Field (sections 20-24), or through the purchase of an individual membership.
Those voting in the election will be required to provide their full name, mailing address and telephone number; this is legally required for the organization and we cannot offer exceptions. Those who wish not to share this information will not be allowed to vote in the elections.
Voting shares purchased this year will not expire and will entitle the share holder to voting rights for future years. As a thank you to those who purchased a voting share the first year they were offered (2016), they will be granted a non-expiring voting share for 2019 and beyond. Those issued a free share will need to provide the same contact information as those purchasing a voting share - failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of the share. Each shareholder is entitled to one vote annually, regardless of the number of voting shares purchased.
The money collected from voting shares will continue to be used to further the mission of Wonderwall and their Supporters Groups, including to provide funding for supporters groups’ initiatives and funding match day components such as flags and tifo.
We will have a team on-site to sell both memberships and voting shares at the Supporters Summit, shares and memberships will need to be purchased prior to the end of the event.
If you have any questions – please feel free to reach out to us via email.
Greetings Loons,
The MN United FC off-season is slower than the rest of the year, but it is still quite busy for the Board and the many people who are key to our thriving supporter community. There are Keepers of the North and Silver Lining events, and monthly board meetings; there are meetings with the MNUFC front office about next season and the hard work of the financial planning that goes into funding tifo and other supporter efforts. One of those meetings happened on December 14th, with the primary focus on facilitating even better communication between the supporters and the front office. We also met to cover matchday items like where the capo stands will be in Allianz and how the matchday presentation people (the ones who do the hype videos) can best do what they need to while also limiting the impact on things we were already doing, like when not to play a song over the PA and let supporters/fans sing. It was a very positive conversation and it looks like match days in Allianz will truly be special events, that will likely even have some designated (trained and credentialed) supporters in charge of smoke.
Speaking of special events, the 2019 Supporters Summit is coming, and following that the 2019 Wonderwall Board of Directors election. We have yet to set a date, though we are targeting mid-to-late February, and there will be four Board of Director seats up for election. The current board members whose terms are expiring are Daniel Hills, Jim Oliver, Samantha Solberg, and Andy Wattenhofer. We are currently accepting nominations for those interested in running. You can nominate yourself by filling out this form.
We will provide a post explaining the needs of the organization well in advance of the election, along with the targeted dates for elections and the schedule of nominations ending. This explanatory post will be live prior to the end of the year. This will help inform both those voting, and those wishing to be voted in, know what the corporation sees as its priorities. These are the things which the elected Directors can help address. One of the most vital items to be addressed is further documentation of how various supporter functions operate so that we aren't constantly reinventing the wheel each time we try to do something to support the Loons.
Another work-in-progress is the budgetary process, which was started a few years back trying to stay on top of how to manage our resources as best as possible. This process would normally see each committee submit its first draft at the beginning of November, in order to allow all of November and December to make any necessary changes. That didn't happen this year, so our budget process has been pushed to likely being complete by the end of January. Regardless of this minor setback, we will ultimately put together a budget that allows for great tifo, supports volunteer efforts, and among other things, keeps an eye to the future.
It amazes me that Allianz Field opens so soon, after having seemed like a thing that would never happen. What great fun we will have.
COYL,
-Abe
