Commissioner's Corner

Karl Owen

Transitions

Let me start this article by introducing myself. I am Karl Owen, the new Commissioner of the Carolina Region. I inherited this job from our previous Commissioner, Chuck McCracken, when he left to join ... us. We are very fortunate to have hired Chuck as Director of Programs & Member Development. More on that in a moment. I got hooked on USA Volleyball (back then it was USVBA) as a spectator at the 1990 National Championships in Raleigh. I joined a men's B team the next season and have been playing ever since. I can currently be found playing in men's Silver.

As I mentioned, we have hired Chuck McCracken as our second full time employee (joining Kevin Wendelboe, our Director of Operations). Kevin handles much of the administration of the Region. Chuck's new job is to promote and develop volleyball in NC. He will be working to build our adult membership and to ensure that our growth in Junior Olympic Volleyball continues. We are very excited to have Chuck's energy and commitment to volleyball available full time for the Region.

All of this, of course, has an effect on how our Region is governed. We are moving from a model in which the Board of Directors performs the business of the Region to one in which the Board serves to set policy which is executed by our staff. This means that the role of Board member has changed as well. We are looking for new Board members for the Carolina Region who are willing to guide the Region during the next state of its evolution. The Board does much of its work via email, with three meetings and an annual planning retreat each year. If you are interested in promoting volleyball in North Carolina or simply in making USA Volleyball a better experience let us know. Any current Board member will be happy to talk to you about the positions which are up for election.