In the life of any organization, there are individuals who stand out as having contributions to the success of the organization that far exceed their job title or responsibilities. Long-time MIFC Registrar Mindy Rowe is one such individual. Over the years, she registered players, answered family questions, sorted uniforms and equipment, scheduled pre-season and post-season events, recruited Recreational coaches, reserved fields and on and on. I could write a whole article on the various roles that she filled. She was literally the backbone of Mercer Island FC. But more importantly, she was the face of the club to hundreds upon hundreds of Mercer Island families over the years.
After 15 years with the club, Mindy recently stepped down as club registrar to pursue other opportunities and spend more time with her family. We asked Mindy share some thoughts and memories with us:
How long did you work with Mercer Island FC?
I started working September 2006 and continued through June 2021. 15 total years!!
What roles did you hold with the club?
I was initially hired as the club registrar. After a few years, I took on the field scheduling coordination as well.
After all those years, you must have some fond memories. What are a couple?
There are many fond memories! From working with great people on the board, to great volunteer coaches and players. A few things that always make me smile are the first day each year of Micro-Soccer for the 6- and 7-year-olds.
The build up to that first day is daunting as you get the teams formed, communications out, kits sorted, bagged and labeled, balls pumped etc. Then that Saturday morning comes and the excitement in our smallest players and their families as they take the field, many for the first time in their brand-new cleats, jerseys and shorts is so fun to watch and reminds me each year why we do what we do!
A few years back our supplier had a ball shortage. We were starting to panic that we wouldn’t get our soccer balls in time to hand out to all the players. To our excitement, they arrived the night before we needed them, but deflated! Sarah LeClercq, VP of Recreational Soccer, and I divided them up (probably over 200 each) and sat in each of our respective garages with our compressors running all night to get them ready! At one point, my garage door was open and a sea of balls went rolling down the driveway, across the street into the neighbor’s yard; that was fun collecting them all! I think between the two of us, we only broke a couple inflation tips and by morning, all players started their season with their soccer balls – fully inflated! (The following year, players got deflated new balls and the coaches were all given ball pumps!)
Click here to see the rest of the article and Mindy's comments on the MIFC website