Mint City's Leadership in 2020
by Johnny Wakefield
I want to start this by saying how weird it is to be writing about anything related to sports in April of 2020. And I admire sportswriters who are able to continue writing through this pandemic. We're all certainly looking for Coronavirus-free content to read when we're not consumed with worry, and there are plenty of interesting questions about the future right now, but I can barely keep up with my kid's new homeschooling schedule, the wife's work schedule, our two younger kids, and not losing my mind altogether.
It's just a weird time, and some things suddenly seem so trivial.
But here we are, and we do have some Collective news to share... all with the hope that we'll soon, or at least someday, be able to get back to the fun stuff like MLS and our supporters' group and tailgates and hating on Atlanta.
As mentioned in the newsletter intro, a few of us got together on March 11 to plan the future of the Collective. We were working with a plan to host events at least once a month in 2020, laying the foundation for the launch in 2021. We also knew that the team would add events to that calendar throughout the year. Most of that plan is obviously now scrap.
However, our first few events – the Street Soccer night at Project 658, the Checkers night with the Red Eye Rowdies, the trip to Nashville, and a Hornets watch party – all made it clear to us that the Collective needed a more formal structure for leadership, one with more members involved in roles that would tap into their skills and give them a chance to contribute. They were great events, but they would've been even greater with more of us leading the way.
Modeled after the structure of other supporters' groups around the country then, this is where we landed at the end of our discussions:
- A seven-member "Mint City Board," led in 2020 by Rob Dawkins, Kendall Jackson, Jay Landskroener, Zack Luttrell, Sarah Nesbitt, Chico Sanchez, and Johnny Wakefield. Board members serve three-year terms, staggered, with the first three spots up for election in December 2022.
- Six "Mint City Officers," elected in December to serve a one-year term for the following year. The first six officers will be elected this summer and will serve 18-month terms.
The Board will be a constant, a culture-shaping body, one that oversees the direction of the organization while executing on big-picture needs, fulfilling specific roles, and supporting where needed. The Officers include the roles of President, Vice President, Treasurer, Communications Director, Field Team Leader, and Tailgate Coordinator. They will execute on day-to-day operations, social media accounts, game day needs, press interviews, and more.
Others roles may be created by the 13-member body by appointment or for election at any time, but these 13 will be written into the MCC bylaws. All 13 will also be elected positions by the members of the Mint City Collective, with the exception of the inaugural board. Anyone can serve multiple years in any position, but they must stand for re-election at the end of their term. And finally, a board member cannot serve simultaneously as an officer, and an officer cannot serve simultaneously as a board member.
That's the basic structure. It'll land on the website soon, and details on elections will come once we get through April and May. Have questions? Let us know, preferably in the MCC Slack. Want to run for an office? Yes. Please. Look towards what we hope will be the inaugural season opener in February 2021 and ask yourself what role you'd like to play to get us there.
I cannot wait to see our supporters sections packed, hopefully donning mint and blue, and waving flags, lifting our tifo, and leading Uptown Charlotte in a chorus of whatever ridiculous chant we land on that night. "Yo si le voy, le voy al Charlotte" works for me.