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Annual Elections

BEND RAPIDS STEERING COMMITTEE

Every Spring elections are held for officer level positions on the Bend Rapids Steering Committee.  Positions run for 2-year terms commencing the first day of the month after the Bend Ice annual meeting. The 2025 Bend Ice meeting is in April, therefore positions will start on May 1.  Some positions are elected in even years and others in odd years (refer to the  adjacent table).
 
Elections are administered by the Secretary in conjunction with a 3rd party attorney.

Bend Rapids Elected Officers

POSITION YEAR ELECTED
Chair Odd
Vice-Chair Even
Secretary Odd
Finance Manager Even
Registrar Odd

How are elections conducted?

Our club uses the Election Buddy cloud based election platform.  It provides a secure, effective and flexible way for organizations to conduct votes and elections with confidence and transparency. Learn more www.ElectionBuddy.com

IMPORTANT DATES / DEADLINES - 2025

  • Mid February - Call for Candidate Nominations is announced. 

  • March 20 - Deadline for Nominations

  • March 25 - Deadline for candidate statements

  • Week of  April 1 - Emails sent to members with voting instructions and candidate info

  • April 5- Voting opens 

  • April 15 - Voting closes at 9PM

  • April 19 - Election results announced at the Bend Ice annual meeting of the members

HOW TO NOMINATE SOMEONE

Complete this online form to nominate someone (including yourself) for any of the open positions.

In order to be included on the ballot, nominees must provide confirmation of their willingness to serve if elected, and a short bio summary less than one page in length by the deadline. 

Links to Candidate Statements to be posted here by March 25. 

2025 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Bend Rapids Youth Hockey Club (2025)

Three positions on the Steering Committee are up for election. These are 2-year terms commencing on May 1, 2025 and ending in May, 2027

Chair

Chair will be elected by the Bend Rapids membership and will lead the Steering Committee, appoint sub-committee members and sub-committee leadership positions, as needed.  

  • Creates Steering Committee leadership positions for various roles to be approved by the Executive Board
  • Nominates/appoints individuals to serve in Steering Committee leadership positions
  • Develops agendas and serves as Chair for Steering Committee meetings
  • Leads Steering Committee operations
  • Responsible for preparing the annual operating budget in partnership with the Finance Manager
  • Performs final review of all background screens required by USA Hockey, OSHA, and/or any other governing organization
  • Approve roster changes, coaching changes and/or other special events, games, practice issues, etc. as needed in emergency situations 
  • Attends Quarterly OSHA meetings (or designate a person to attend) 
  • In any matter put to a vote by the USA Hockey NGB or state or regional governing body, casts vote on behalf of the Steering Committee
  • Presides over Steering Committee and Executive Board meetings
  • Helps recruit referees to OHOA (if necessary) 
  • Ensures Steering Committee compliance with Bend Ice Bylaws 
  • Ensures Steering Committee compliance with requirements of NGB and applicable local or regional governing bodies
  • Serves as director on Bend Ice Board of Directors
  • Attends Coaching Committee meetings as needed in the absence of the Vice Chair

Secretary

  • Attends all Executive Committee meetings monthly
  • Prepares Steering Committee meeting agendas with input from Chair and Steering Committee 
  • Organizes and keeps copies of all minutes, reports and other documents related to operations of the Steering Committee in digital formats 
  • Notifies Steering Committee members of meeting times and location at least 7 days prior to predetermined date/time
  • Works with the Communication Coordinator to distribute membership-wide announcements and notifications
  • Holds and organizes all Steering Committee paperwork (as needed)
  • Facilitates and manages steering committee elections and appointments. 
  • Manages the BRYHC guidebook.  Oversees periodic revision process. 
  • Supports the Chair in running effective and productive steering committee meetings. 
  • Supports other roles as needed

Registrar

  • Attends all Executive, Committee meetings monthly
  • Participates in home tournaments under guidance from the Tournament Director
  • Management of USA Hockey and SportsEngine rosters
  • Registers teams/players/coaches thru USAH Portal
  • Ensures organization’s compliance with all USA Hockey requirements for registration
  • Ensures that all participants meet necessary criteria for registration, and are properly registered 
  • Ensures that participants have completed all required forms, waivers and releases
  • Provides the Steering Committee and Coaching Committee with actual and projected participation numbers for past, current and upcoming seasons 
  • Partners with the Communications Coordinator to improve registration experience
  • Partners with Finance Manager to insure all members fees are reported and paid in a timely manner
  • Helps compile registration information for Team Manager books
  • Partners with SafeSport Coordinator to ensure organizational compliance with USAH requirements

BEND ICE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTIONS (2026)

Every OTHER year elections for the at-large positions on the Bend Ice Board of Directors are held. The next election for Bend Ice will be held in the Spring of 2026.
 
Individuals who are eligible to vote in the Bend Rapids elections are ALSO eligible to vote in the Bend Ice elections.  The seven-person Bend Ice Board is comprised of four at-large positions and the committee chairs of Bend Curling, Bend Figure Skating, and Bend Rapids Hockey. 
 

The at-large positions are also voting members and are able to assist the Board in the following areas:

  • Corporate Governance
  • Financial and Fiduciary Oversight
  • Special Projects that may arise including but not limited to the Bend Ice Annual Fundraiser and scholarship programming
  • Budgeting
  • Social Media/Website Development/Google Suite Administration
  • Administrative

ELECTIONS FAQS

Where's my ballot? 

Ballots are emailed only to eligible members of the Bend Rapids. Ballots are sent approximately 2 weeks before the Bend Ice annual meeting. 

Ask yourself.  Which email is connected to your USA Hockey account that was used to register your athlete as a player, yourself as a parent volunteer, a coach, etc...?

  • Ballots are emailed from the ElectionBuddy.com platform (@mail.electionbuddy.com) to the email address of the parent who registered their athlete at USA Hockey. 
  • Other eligible voters without athletes in the club receive election emails to the account on file with USA Hockey. 
  • Election notices are emailed from our SportsEngine (@mailer.sportsengine.com) database, posted to social channels, and to our newsletter database.

-----------------------------------

  • Check with a spouse. Maybe they received the ballot. 
  • Check your junk/spam folder if you haven't received it. Still nothing? Then let us know.  

Who is Eligible to Vote?

For purposes of voting you must be a Bend Rapids member, registered with USA Hockey for the current season, in good standing (good standing means you have no outstanding financial obligations to the club), and not on any disciplinary path such such as suspension from the club, OSHA, or USA Hockey. 

Bend Rapids members are defined as:

  1. Rostered Player.
  2. Bend Rapids Rostered Coach (including practice and bench coaches) who completed the season as an USAH Certified Coach.
  3. Steering Committee member. 
  4. Coaching Committee member.
  5. Team Manager.

NOTE: Solely being a parent/guardian of a player does not entitle the parents/guardians to cast their own votes. However, because rostered players are usually minors(under 18), the parents/guardians may cast one vote on behalf of their rostered player. 

Vote Allocation

Votes are allocated as follows. 1 vote per Rostered Player. 1 vote for serving as a Coach, member of the Steering Committee, member of the Coaching Committee, or Team Manager. An individual serving multiple volunteer roles such as Steering Committee and Coach does not receive 1 vote per volunteer role, but 1 vote total.

Common 1 and 2 Vote Examples:

  • A parent of a rostered player who does NOT serve on the Steering Committee, as coach, or as team manager, that parent is allocated 1 vote.
  • If the member serves on the Steering Committee AND is a parent/guardian of a rostered player, that individual is allocated two votes (one vote as a steering committee member and the other for the rostered player). 
  • If the member is a coach or team manager AND the parent of a rostered player, that individual is allocated 2 votes. 
  • If the member is BOTH a coach, a Steering Committee member, AND the parent of a rostered player, that individual is still allocated 2 votes. 

Other FAQs

Is my vote anonymous? Yes. The election administrator can see who voted, but not the contents of your vote.  

Elections Archive

Candidate Statements by Year