Women's Commission, June 2003
by Alison McCaffree

MEMORANDUM

TO: USAT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
FROM: SHERRI WATTENBARGER, CHAIR, USAT WOMEN'S COMMISSION
RE: WOMEN'S COMMISSION REPORT
DATE: JUNE 2003

Tremendous developments are afoot (or, should I say, astroke, apedal and afoot!) in the Women's Commission. First, the Commission has recently reorganized its leadership structure and appointed new regional representatives. Second, the Commission has substantial plans underway to have a booth at the major Danskin races in 2003 for the purpose of publicizing the mission of the Women's Commission and recruiting women into USAT membership.
The new leadership of the Women's Commission is as follows:
Chair: Sherri Wattenbarger
Co-Chair: Ashley Rosilier
New Vice Chair Positions
Vice Chair of Membership: Co-Vice Chairs Amber Anthony & Tzatzil Willebeek-LeMair
Vice Chair Camps and Clinics: Co-Vice Chairs Allison McCaffree and Renee Macdonald
Vice Chair of Website and Articles: Co-Vice Chairs Susan Jankowitz and Denise Dillon
Vice Chair of Special Events: Jean McGuire
New Regional Representatives
Pacific Northwest: Open
Southwest: Bobbie LaPorte and Michelle Cleere
Rocky Mountain: Open
South Midwest: Tzatzil Willebeek-LeMair and Tara LaMoine (currently in KY, but moving to Dallas)
Midwest: Jean McGuire
Mideast: Deb Lister and Renee MacDonald
New England: Annie Fisher
Mid-Atlantic: Ina Nenninger and Susan Jankowitz
Southeast: Denise Dillon
Florida: Jerri Palmer
The Women's Commission will no longer have a secretary or treasurer. We are actively recruiting a regional representative from the Pacific and Rocky Mountain regions. Anyone interested should contact Sherri Wattenbarger at sherri.wattenbarger@usdoj.gov.

Attached is a Master List of all women actively involved in the Women's Commission. The contact information for the individuals listed above can be found on this list. Please note that this list is under construction with new contact information being added weekly. Anyone wishing to be added to this list should contact Susan Jankowitz at jankos@nac.net In addition, anyone wishing to be involved in the Women's Commission should ask Sue Falsey to add his or her name to the WC yahoo email group.

The Women's Commission will have it's first booth at Danskin Austin on June 8. Membership Vice Chairs Amber Anthony and Tzatzil Willebeek-LeMair are spearheading this effort with the help of Gina DeMarco, Lora Lantz, and Kristin Sullivan at USAT. The booth will have banners, be staffed with volunteers, and will have prizes and give-aways to attract attention to the booth. The goal is to educate women at Danskin Austin about the efforts of the Women's Commission to promote and support women in multisport and about the numerous benefits of USAT membership.

Tzatzil and her business partners in Austin also began a Danskin lecture series this winter to publicize the event and to educate women about triathlon. They contacted corporations in Austin and the surrounding area to allow them to speak to their employees. The lecture series has been a tremendous success. At Motorola alone, Tzatzil and her team signed up 50 new USAT members!

Vice Chair of Special Events Jean McGuire is heading up the organization of the Women's Commission annual breakfast at Age Group Nationals in Shreveport, LA. The breakfast will take place on the morning of Friday, October 3. Jean and her committee are discussing sponsorship, a speaker, and goodie bags for all participants. The breakfast promises to surpass even last year's amazing turnout of 70 women. More information will be available later this summer on the websites of USAT, the Women's Commission and Nationals.

Vice Chair of Website and Articles Susan Jankowitz is working with perennial website guru Sue Falsey to update the website and make it more dynamic and user friendly. Vice Chair of Website and Articles Denise Dillon is on the lookout for engaging topics for articles for Triathlon Times, Triathlete and Inside Triathlon, as well as for posting on the website.

Women's Commission volunteer Alison McCaffree has initiated a survey regarding the athletic background of women triathletes. Preliminary results of the survey are posted on the Women's Commission website. Anyone wishing to take part in the survey can do so on the website or by contacting Alison at alison.mccaffree@stanfordalumni.org.

Women's Commission Mid-Atlantic Regional Rep Ina Nenninger has converted the Women's Commission Clinic Handbook into a Word document, allowing it to be easily transmitted and thus making it an even more invaluable resource for anyone organizing a novice women's triathlon clinic. Attached is a report on the fabulously successful triathlon clinic put on by Ina and her cohorts in Northern Virginia this spring.