The Powell Athletic Roundtable has provided financial support and volunteer hours to Park County School District 1 sports for decades. 

That’s set to continue, but under completely new leadership after the former board members resigned en masse following a meeting last Wednesday. They cited issues with not being able to connect with high school coaches in order to better support programs; concerns with the sustainability of fundraising; and issues with the conduct and accountability of certain coaches and administrators.  

“The biggest thing is just getting the coaches and administration completely bought in so we can help each other out to be more successful,” former Roundtable President Callee Erickson said in a Friday interview. 

She said she wishes the new board members all the best, but just didn’t have it in her to continue. 

“We believe it is important for the future of our students, programs, and community that greater transparency, accountability, and collaboration be prioritized moving forward,” Erickson wrote in a Wednesday letter to the Tribune. 

This news comes as fundraising could be more important than ever for sports programs, as new budgeting rules brought by the school recalibration passed in the Legislature will mean far less funding available for sports and activities than in past years. A recent Wyoming High School Athletics Association release said board members suggested ways to cut costs in future years, including reducing how many teams qualify for state in certain sports, canceling tournaments and even eliminating certain sports. 

‘A terrific organization’

The high school wasted no time in working to keep the Roundtable going. 

Powell High School Athletic Director Richard Despain said a Roundtable meeting was held Wednesday evening where prospective new members expressed interest in getting involved. 

“The board members that are moving on have helped out many kids and programs, and provided hours of service and support to kids and programs over the years,” he said in an email. “Their efforts and work have been greatly appreciated. We look forward to working with new Roundtable members and those willing to serve on the Roundtable Board to continue the supportive efforts for our kids and programs moving forward.”

Over the years, the board has headed up fundraising activities through its membership drive and other varied activities throughout the year that raise funds to help purchase uniforms and provide equipment for programs and for athletes in need. They have also volunteered at various events, and in the past have helped provide and monitor hospitality rooms for large events, including the Powell Athletic Roundtable Wrestling Tournament, L.A Kohnke Track Meet, Big Horn Basin Classic Basketball Tournament, the Gene Dozah Invitation swim meet and regional events that Powell has hosted over the years. The board also funds several scholarships for Powell student athletes.

“The Powell Athletic Roundtable is, and has been a terrific organization that has provided support, both financial and in volunteering, to athletic programs in both Powell High School and Powell Middle School over the years,” Despain said. 

Powell High School Principal Tim Wormald said he appreciated that the current board members signaled their intentions in advance and helped get out the word to get new members to fill the vacancies.

“We appreciated the time and energy that’s been put in,” Wormald said. “It’s been a really good support organization for the school over the years. As new volunteers come on board, we will hope to provide that support for students moving forward.”

‘I don’t feel it’s going in the right direction’

Former treasurer Andy Nelson, who has been on the board six years and said the organization is “invaluable,” said Monday the decision to resign wasn’t taken lightly, but stemmed from mounting frustrations with administrators over the last year. 

“What happened through this last year is, for me, personally, is just the lack of leadership and accountability of the administration at the high school,” he said. “This led me to the decision to resign. I don’t feel comfortable in having my name associated with that, and I don’t … feel right about raising money for something that I don’t feel is going in the right direction.”

Nelson said several things happened throughout the year that proved to him he was no longer in step with the direction of PHS athletics, and that he was far from alone. 

“I think it speaks volumes,” he said of the mass resignation, adding, “there’s 11 of us that all resigned at the same time. But I think there’s so many other parents out there that are extremely frustrated with the direction, and … there’s a lot of kids that aren’t going to go out for sports, so it’s pretty sad.”

Brandon Gates, who was in his second season on the board, shared similar concerns as to the athletics department no longer aligning with his vision for the future of Powell athletics. He said specifically he thinks the Roundtable spends too much time and money on the hospitality rooms that cater to coaches, officials, bus drivers and others at tournaments such as regional and state events, providing three meals a day when other schools may only have a few boxes of donuts. 

“The program’s not going in the direction I think it needs to go to help the students,” he said. “Too much is going towards other things instead of helping the kids.”

‘A lack of communication’

Gates, like the others, said if they were they able to get a meeting with all of the coaches it would’ve immensely helped both the Roundtable and the sports programs to align fundraising efforts. 

Erickson also said one of the big issues now is not having enough communication with coaches to be able to do the job of supporting the programs as well as they would like to.

“I talked to a couple (of coaches) at the track meet when I was doing the hospitality room, and those coaches are like ‘yeah, we’d be more than happy to meet with you, we can make that happen.’ I just don’t know if there’s a lack of communication, because the athletic directors come to our meetings and they’re kind of like our middleman for the coaches,” Erickson said. “So if the coaches have needs, or the teams have needs, the coaches bring it to the AD’s and the AD’s bring it to us.”

She added that they would like to find a way to meet with all of the coaches at the same time. but understands there is difficulty in assembling all 14 high school head coaches together as they have tried to identify a potential solution to meet with them.

“They typically have a mandatory coach meeting in the fall and then they meet with them at the end of the year. He (Despain) mentioned that he was meeting with them individually, just because it’s hard to find time,” Erickson said. “We’ve suggested a few other things, like their last professional development meeting, where there’s no kids there, maybe we come in for 30 minutes or something. The middle school seems to be on board and OK with that. The high school, again, I don’t know if they’re just not on board, if it’s a lack of communication, but from my understanding there’s going to be a decent amount of budget cuts.”

She said those budget cuts may cause athletics to rely more on the Roundtable, and feels that with those cuts there needs to be buy-in and proper communication between the board and schools.

‘I’m not … gonna stick with something if I can’t give it 100%’

Along with communication, Erickson felt that with the direction of Powell athletics that she herself couldn’t stay on the board if she wasn’t committed to the board 100%.

“It’s not fair to be on a board if you’re not 100% in it for the right reasons anymore, and I’m not the type of person that’s gonna stick with something if I can’t give it 100%,” she said.

In her letter, she also expressed concerns regarding the conduct and accountability of some coaching staff as well as administration. 

“I believe there have been instances where student-athletes have not been treated appropriately, and that this has negatively impacted both individuals and programs without sufficient accountability,” she wrote. 

Former board member Kim Edgell echoed the concerns of other board members, especially in wishing a meeting with all coaches could have been arranged to jointly strategize on fundraising. She also said after roughly three years, she struggled to find the time to be as involved as she wanted to be, but concluded with a silver lining.   

“I’ve talked to some of the people that are interested in coming in and being on the new board,” Edgell said. “I think becoming a completely clean slate will be a good thing, because then they can create a new persona for the Roundtable, and what their expectations are, and what they’re wanting to do with it. So I think that’s going to be a good thing, honestly.”