United States Table Tennis Hall of Fame
EIN:51-0669026 – Search IRS for Official Documents
MISSION STATEMENT: The U.S. Table Tennis Hall Of Fame mission is to identify and honor outstanding athletes and contributors to the sport of Table Tennis in the United States.
I. History
The U. S. Table Tennis Hall Of Fame was established in 1979 as a committee of the U.S. Table Tennis Association, and remained affiliated with that organization until the U.S. Olympic Committee required restructuring of Olympic sports in the United States in 2007. At that time the U.S. Table Tennis Hall Of Fame elected to become an independent, IRS 501c# tax exempt organization while maintaining a cooperative relationship with USA TABLE TENNIS, the current national governing body of table tennis in the United States.
II. Organizational Structure & Governance
A. Board of Directors.
The U.S. Table Tennis Hall Of Fame is governed by a nine member Board Of Directors consisting of a President, Secretary, and seven At-Large members chosen by a majority vote of the sitting board. Board of Directors serve an unlimited term unless removed by a 2/3 majority vote of the board for:
1. Failure to attend three consecutive board meetings without acceptable prior approval, or
2. Some other reason agreed upon by the board.
B. Meetings
The Board Of Directors shall meet annually during the U.S. National Championships. A quorum of six members present, or by proxy, is required to conduct business, and a majority vote of the full board (i.e. five votes) is required to conduct business.
The President may only vote in the event of a tie.
C. Amendments
Amendments, and/or repeal proposals to the Constitution must be an agenda item requested 30 days prior to the annual board meeting, and require a 2/3 vote of the full board for enactment.
Alternatively, amendments may be passed by an email vote with a 2/3 majority vote of the full board.
D. Dissolution
In the event of the dissolution of the U.S. Table Tennis Hall Of Fame, all assets including bank accounts, Certificates of Deposit, and tangibles, will be donated to an IRS tax exempt organization whose mission is the support of the sport of Table Tennis in the United States, or another sports organization approved by the Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
III. Financial
The major sources of revenue include fundraising by the board President from individual and corporate contributions, sales of tickets to the annual induction banquet, and funding from grants for specific programs (e.g. Si and Patty Martinez Wasserman Junior Classic, Mark Mathews Lifetime Achievement Award, etc. See below).
A commission of 10% of funds raised annually—with a maximum of $1000 — may be used to reimburse the President’s travel expenses incurred by the annual board meeting, induction banquet, and accommodation. Presidential travel funds not used in the current fiscal year will revert to the general fund.
The President shall prepare, and distribute to the board, an annual financial statement, and the necessary reports to the Internal Revenue Service.
IV. Committees
A. Nominating Committee.
A three-member committee appointed by the President will be responsible for reviewing nominations for induction into the Hall of Fame.
Any USATT member may recommend a nomination to the Nominating Committee. This nomination must include a supporting resume of the nominee’s accomplishments, as either a player or contributor depending on the category for which the nominee is being considered. The Nominating Committee will either reject this nomination or place the person on the ballot.
Nominees must be United States citizens who will be 40 years of age by the date of induction.
The Nominating Committee shall select up to eight players and up to eight contributors to be on the ballot each year.
Once a player’s or contributor’s name has been approved for inclusion on the ballot, he or she will remain eligible for future consideration or re-nomination.
The Nominating Committee is responsible for gathering and compiling research material on each nominee on the ballot and distributing this to all Board members.
The ballot shall be mailed to each member of the Board of Directors 4 months before the induction ceremony. Each Board member shall vote for up to three players and up to two contributors, and submit their vote at least 3 months before the induction ceremony. Six votes are required for induction. Voting may be by U.S. Post or email to the board President.
Those inducted shall receive a Lifetime membership from USATT.
Alternatively, if the Nominating Committee concludes that there are not enough qualified candidates to warrant any inductions for that year, they will mail or email this decision to the Board of Directors at least 4 months before the U S National Championships. This letter will be the formal motion to not hold an induction meeting and banquet in that year.
The Board members will then mail or email their votes on this motion to the President at least 3 months before the opening of the U S National Championships. A simple majority vote by the entire Board will pass this motion.
B. Mark Matthews Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1999, Hall of Fame member, Marcus Schussheim (aka Mark Matthews) suggested that a special award for “lifetime achievement” be created to honor Hall of Fame members whose lives in the sport have been exceptional. Mathews donated a perennial trophy for this award.
The President will appoint a sub-committee chair who then selects two other committee members. This sub-committee is responsible for selecting the recipient of this award each year.
C. Si and Patty Martinez Wasserman Junior Classic.
In 2007, the late Si Wasserman, Hall of Fame member and long-time California coach, initiated a special, annual junior tournament in memory of his brother, Nate Wasserman. The finalists in this event receive a monetary stipend for training, coaching, equipment and expenses in participating in tournaments, totaling $5000.
A committee consisting of Patty Wasserman, a Hall of Fame board member, and the tournament chair of the current year’s event will be in charge of organizing and running this event. The awards to the winners will be presented by Patty Wasserman, during the U.S. National Championships.
D. Other
The Hall of Fame Board of Directors may occasionally approve actions needed, and/or beneficial to individual Hall of Fame members, and participate in cooperative activities and programs benefiting the sport in general (e.g. distribution of donated items from estates, co-sponsoring programs with USATT such as the Dick Miles perennial award, or other sports organizations.)
In addition to the committed complimentary banquet tickets (i.e. inductees, USATT Board of Directors, Mark Matthews recipients, and Hall of Fame Board of Directors) discretionary tickets may be given to visiting VIPs.