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News

Eric Johnson, Business Director - An Introduction

Date Posted: 10/24/2012

Letter from Eric Johnson, CUFC Business Director

Greetings from Nations Ford Road! I am honored to be welcomed into the CUFC family, and hope you will allow me to take a few minutes to introduce myself and to share some thoughts about the club and the job I have undertaken.

I like many of you got involved in soccer because we wanted to be a part of our son’s or daughter’s interest in and passion for soccer. While I coached my sons when they were young, they grew in the sport far faster than I did, so I headed to the referee side of the game while one of my sons excelled, eventually playing club, high school, college and professional soccer. Over the past twenty years I have marveled at the joy and spirit and just plain fun that seems to surround soccer venues and competitions. Parents become surrogate parents of team members, mini-vans carry soccer families near and far, and wonderful life-long relationships develop.

Like most good aspects of life, organized soccer isn’t free or easy to provide. Your sons and daughters are a part of a complex organization of clubs, leagues, national organizations and authorities. Charlotte United is like most soccer clubs offering a vast array of playing and team opportunities while at the same time following core beliefs of player development, professionalism and the importance of families. In support all these activities is the Charlotte United Futbol Club Board of Directors, a team of talented and well trained Directors of Coaching and Coaches, and the office support staff. We all work together and we all work for you and your children. Paying for this structure and support comes from three principal sources: First and most important are the Club Dues. These are the dues you pay in a staggered payment plan. Second and very important are the three CUFC Tournaments: Under Armour Cup, Julian Brown Memorial Cup, and the Family Cup. And third and very important are the various supporting sponsors and club fund-raisers. It would very difficult to provide your son or daughter a team, coaches and competition without all three sources of income. These are the club’s principal sources of operating income.

Club Dues
Club dues begin at tryouts and are staggered over the next six months. The due dates are the actual final date that portion is due without late fees. That means the next final date is November for the November payment. We have not done a good job of alerting you about upcoming payment dates and for that I am apologizing. We will do a better job in the future, with a very gentle reminder of an upcoming deadline. Also, many of you have suggested interest in an automatic withdrawal setup, and we are working on such a system currently. But we absolutely must have your club dues payments submitted on time to continue your son or daughter’s participation. Please go online at www.charlotteunited.com to review your account on a regular basis. November dues are payable November 1st.

Team Dues
Each individual team has team expenses that are covered by team dues. These dues cover match referees, tournament registrations, and other activities that are different for each team. Team dues are paid directly to the team manager and not to Charlotte United.

Principal Sponsors
Charlotte United is blessed to be sponsored by the Levine Children’s Hospital and by Under Armour. Each provides valuable support for all the club’s teams and activities. Each provides financial support and services, as well as tournament support. And both organizations are consistent with Charlotte United’s “Family Club” image and presence. We would welcome additional sponsors as long as they are similarly family oriented.

Fund Raisers
Another way Charlotte United keeps club dues as low as possible is through fund raising programs. We will be announcing our participation in the very popular AutoBell Charity Car Wash Program this week. This campaign will be conducted by the CUFC teams with each team benefiting directly, as well as the club. Each team will be free to decide on its own how to spend its proceeds. Teams in the past have elected to reduce team dues, buy special uniforms, and sign up for an additional tournament.

Your Board of Directors is also examining a brand new fund raising program and is very excited about its possibilities. Watch for more news in November.

Tournaments
Charlotte United puts on three important tournaments: August, Charlotte United Family Cup, November, Charlotte United Under Armour Cup, and April, Charlotte United Julian Brown Memorial Cup. The Family Cup is an internal festival for our youngest players and teams. This past August I experienced the joy and happiness of 700 players and families enjoying soccer, water activities, and great barbecue – all in a family fun atmosphere. The other two tournaments are large regional events attracting teams from around the southeast and even internationally.

All three tournaments need volunteers and sponsors. Not only are volunteers vital to the success of each tournament, each volunteer becomes a spokesperson for Charlotte United. Mark your calendar now for November 17-18, 2012, and watch for sign-up instructions. I still remember fondly my first tournament as a volunteer; it was easy work and a lot of fun being around parents and players from faraway places.

Each tournament has special activities leading up to the actual weekend. This fall’s Under Armour Cup Week will feature a popular competition called Striker Wars, for our U09 – U10 and U11 – U12 players. Preliminary matches are scheduled for the weeks leading up to the tournament week, and the semi-finals and finals will be held at our second event – The Charity Benefit Coaches Match, Thursday, November 15th. This special match will be held as a benefit of the very local and very important charity Operation Christmas Child. We are pleased that FCCA will be providing the visiting team and their club & coaches are in complete support of this charity effort.

Final Thoughts
I hope you have learned a little about our club, and I promise to shorten future correspondence. In fact, I will be exploring new and exciting ways of communicating with each of you about your club, its activities, the successes of its players and teams, and yes, about its finances. We are, after all, a member non-profit organization!

See you on the fields!

Best Regards,
Eric Johnson, Business Director
Charlotte United FC