From the Front Desk: Week One as CEO
Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way.
I set a goal to get caught up on the operational side of USQ within two weeks. I’m halfway through that window, and the last seven days have been an array of meetings, forms, audits, and one very broken website.
Our outgoing interim COO, Shirley Lu, generously spent over six hours across two days walking me through the ins and outs of every department, project, and volunteer role. It was tedious, but key for my move toward making informed decisions.
While these discussions took place, I also conducted meetings with several directors and managers to better understand their immediate needs and what’s already in motion across the organization. I took a deep dive into our volunteer roster (openings coming soon!), conducting a review of the org chart and initiating some much-needed account cleanup.
In tandem with that, I sent out a form asking volunteers to share what they’re currently working on, what they’d like to do more of, and how they feel about the organization at every level. The responses so far have been incredibly helpful–thank you to those who’ve already filled it out. These responses, in addition to helping me shape the organization’s structure and action items, are also being used to bridge the existing gap between the volunteer organization and the board.
On the tech side of things, I conducted a full audit of the USQ website and our SportsEngine portal you all know and probably don’t love. It’s clear these two platforms have been working more in opposition than in tandem. Right now, we’re looking at ways to streamline them into a single, accessible hub that’s easier for players, teams, and fans to navigate.
And yes, you may have already noticed a few changes on this website. Broken links have been cleaned up (for the most part). The theme’s a bit brighter. The League Leadership page is finally accurate (minus one missing headshot. Looking at you, Rags). And the Board meeting minutes are now up to date thanks to the efforts of Board Treasurer Clay Dockery. As part of the push toward transparency, we want you to be able to review these at your leisure.
Beyond the internal work, I handled some intros to city partners, conducted some outreach for media projects, and had the chance to meet with a brand-new club team to help them kickstart their season. For the latter, we walked through dues, budgeting, and scheduling. If this is something you (or your team) would be interested in, drop Membership an email and either I, or someone else adept in the management of a team, can meet with you to help you get your season off on the right foot.
✅ Weekly Action Item
As part of the vision of building our future together, I’m going to end every blog with a quick action you can take in under five minutes to support quadball. While I would love to have a massive roster of volunteers, I recognize not everyone has that amount of time to give. However, there are little things everyone in this community can do.
For this week, head to @USQuadball on Instagram, follow the page, and drop a like and (positive) comment on a recent post. A fire emoji works. Whatever feels right–just help boost visibility and show the community a little love.
Time to go chat with gameplay,
Amanda Dallas
CEO, US Quadball