President's Report

President’s Report – 2021 AGM

Our belief that 2019 represented uniquely “turbulent times” for the club and soccer community were radically reframed by the emergence and ongoing impact of COVID-19.  The club, sport and society in general, has been provided with a stark new benchmark for challenging times - unique to post WWII generations!

We are working diligently to guide the club through this period, understanding the mental stress, financial pressure and health impacts that have resulted. Our hearts  are with those families who have lost loved ones to the pandemic, been unable to be together or have been separated from their elders in care!  The pandemic has been a lesson in sacrifice, perseverance, shared connectivity, social inequity, perspective, ingenuity and resilience.  

We have remained steadfast in our support of the Province and Dr. Bonnie Henry, and thankful for the service of front-line workers.  Our respect and acknowledgement have been demonstrated by resisting requests for special consideration and trusting in the expertise of our provincial leaders through compliance with public health and safety guidelines. 

My admiration and respect for the commitment, dedication and service of our staff, Board and volunteers has achieved new heights!  COVID has required a special level of responsiveness, attention to detail, planning, iteration, documentation and staffing.  Our Executive Director, Sara Maglio and the staff team, along with the support of the Board (particularly Dixon Tam with Fraser Health) and volunteers have ensured that as much time on field has been provided as possible, as safely as possible.  

COVID has had a significant impact on all of us and we should not underestimate the significant stress of being responsible for our members’ family’s safety and well-being has had on our staff team and our volunteers on the front lines!  Budget adjustments, program cancellations, safety plans, equipment sanitization, equipment distribution, schedule changes, field marshals, tracking changes from PHO/viaSport/Canada Soccer/BC Soccer, communications and alerts – the last year has been all-consuming and very stressful!

Financially, the challenges have been immense: 

• revenue down almost $750K (-33%)
• unsuccessful 2020 gaming grant application (reduced by $25K & deferred to '21)
• cancellation of the annual raffle
• cancellation of technical programs (camps, clinics, etc.)
• increased staffing costs (e.g. field marshals,)
• necessary new expenses (e.g. sanitization, PPE, etc.)

Significant cost reduction strategies, which included cancelled program staff savings, reduced equipment budget (specifically uniforms), cancelling events such as Coach Appreciation and Picture Day, allowed us to reduce expenditures by just under $700K!

The unforeseen benefit of converting most contractors to employees in 2018 was the ability to retain all salaried staff through access to the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).   The resulting surplus from 2020 will serve to support our ongoing COVID recovery efforts in 2021.

As I have said previously, the pandemic has highlighted what is truly important in life – health, family and freedom!  Our time away from play, will have provided renewed appreciation for the joy of playing, coaching, officiating and watching our kids on the fields!

Despite COVID, we are pleased to present the final report on our 2016-2020 Strategic Plan (see attached report).  Overall, we have delivered on 73% of our objectives!

The greatest gap in our plan has continued to be our inability to secure a public sector partner for the envisioned indoor field sports facility.  We continue to believe that the community would greatly benefit from such an asset, however we may need to rethink such, as land costs continue to spiral in value!

Overall, we are pleased with our performance against plan, as it was ambitious, although as we head into the plan’s renewal, we have identified some keys areas of improvement:

• more compelling from a vision perspective
• grounded in club culture, values and behaviours
• living document, guiding us weekly, reviewed monthly and updated regularly
• streamlined and less detailed in nature
• anchored in easily accessible progress measures and key performance indicators

We expect that the pandemic will present new opportunities and permanent changes, which we feel we are well positioned to respond to and benefit from. We continue to be encouraged by our growth in the face of adversity and the steadfast commitment of our staff, volunteers, partners and sponsors.  

We are very appreciative of the longstanding relationships with the Magnuson (Metro Motors) and Leitch (Soccer Xpress) families.  Their support and that of our partner sponsors is critical to the successful operation and health of the club.

Recognizing that significance of our public sector partners, the City of Coquitlam and the Province of BC, who provide essential facilities and funding, the club has successfully focused on improving and strengthen our relationships, as we share a mission to benefit families and the community.

It continues to be a privilege to serve club members and the community along with your dedicated Board, including Joe Basic (VP), Kevin Lynn (Secretary), Scott Coulter (Treasurer), as well as Directors, Scott Fletcher, Rosemary Hagiwara, Sheila Silva, Andrew Veer and Dixon Tam.  

Alex Barnetson
President 
Coquitlam Metro-Ford SoccerClub