Message from Steven Locke

Message from Steven Locke, new Executive Director of USA Water Ski, now on board at Headquarters full time.

Dear Board Members, principals of the sport, and staff,

Thank you to everyone for the very positive welcome that has been extended to me as I enter this new responsibility as executive director of USA Water Ski. From my past perspective as an interested individual from the outside looking in, USA Water Ski has always been a positive role player within United States Olympic Committee circles, and certainly offers a great diversity of sporting opportunities from within its family of disciplines. For me personally, its aquatic nature is very appealing, and I will be buying a membership as a competitive member in 2008 and beyond.

There are several items of importance that I would like to bring forward as we begin this new relationship together. None of the items will be of a surprise to you.

Over the years, USA Water Ski has been operating as a bigger business than it actually is. It has regularly spent more than it developed in revenue. As a result, the reserve fund of a little over $800K of a few years ago has eroded to $331K. There may be further erosion as we complete the 2007 year. These numbers do not entirely paint a bleak future, but instead point out the need to be very careful in the expenditure of resources. To that end, and as we prepare the budget for the 2008 year, our direction will be to operate with a balanced budget. The baseline of the budget will be based upon revenues actually developed during the 2007 year. If we are fortunate to develop additional funds in 2008 beyond those predicted, we will devote those monies to replenishing the reserve fund. A basic principal I have always exercised in the operation of a not for profit organization was to strive for at least 6 months of operational money (as identified within the operational annual budget) to be saved in reserve in the event of unfortunate times for the organization.

Another item of priority will be the development of membership. Building competitive and affinity membership will be a challenge, will be a long term effort, and will be do-able. Several of us in the HQ offices have already been in contact with Dave Clark and others regarding this effort, and in 2008 we will initiate a test effort to determine which target groups we should be mining.

Finally, any good organization needs to invest in their employees if the organization is to be successful. Investment means providing educational opportunities and rewarding performance financially. As we develop resources, we will place more of an emphasis on employees to help better develop the business of water skiing and grow the sport across all disciplines.

I am thrilled to be here, and look forward to learning of a wide range of points of view of our community.

Steven M. Locke
Executive Director
Ext. 134