TAFC will be hosting Open Play at RCF East (5010 NE Oregon St) on 3/4 from 2-4PM with the visiting Minnesota Dark Clouds and True North Elite supporters groups. This location is accessible via rideshare and transit, carpooling is encouraged.

We'll have one court available, and it'll be informal, pickup-style play. All skill levels are welcome.

Play is FREE, and we'll be collecting donations for future TAFC Open Play opportunities.

RCF East has a bar/restaurant on-site, with ample space for those who want to come hang out or mingle and not play. It's also family friendly.

All are welcome. #RCTID

RCF East: http://rosecityfutsal.com/east/

TAFC: https://timbersarmy.org/tafc

Thanks to all who came out to the Mission Theater for the 2017 107ist Annual General Meeting on February 12. Thanks also to Todd Diskin for organizing the event and to Scott van Swearingen for introducing the new format, which minimized the time spent on 2016 committee reports and instead allowed us to get some great discussions going with all of you. We'll be going through all of your valuable feedback in the coming weeks and using it to hopefully make everything we do this year even better.

As we do every year at this event, each committee shared their accomplishments from the previous season, plans for the current season, and current volunteer needs -- but only for 30 minutes this time. The rest of the AGM was devoted to discussion and feedback. Our facilitators, Kevin Hiebert and Jessica Riehl, had everyone turn in answers to the following questions on notecards:

• How has the 107IST impacted your life? 
  
• What are the essential stories we need to share with the community about the 107IST?
  

We then broke into small group sessions and discussed the following topics, with each member having an opportunity to attend two sessions:

• Telling the 107IST story

• Volunteer engagement

• Building a robust communications system

• Planning for the future: A place

• Rose City Riveters

We collected everyone's responses from all sessions and will be discussing them as a board later in the month.

For those who weren't able to attend or who would like to look through the slides again, you can view or download the AGM presentation slides and notes as a PDF. Note that some sensitive financial data has been removed from this download, but the info is freely available to members by arrangement with the Treasurer.

Volunteer Signup Forms

Across the organization, we need all types of volunteers at all skill levels. Please read both the presentation slides and the following signup forms for details about what each committee is looking for. Committee chairs will be getting back to applicants within the next few weeks.

• 107IST Events Committee
• 107IST Partnership Team
• 107IST Finance Consultant
• 107IST Community Outreach
• 107IST Membership Committee
• TA/107IST Communications
• TA/Riveters Travel Team
• TA Game Day Operations
• Riveters Tifo Design/PM Team
• Riveters Communications
• Riveters Merch Sales Team
• Riveters Capos/Drums/Trumpets

This Sunday, the 107 Independent Supporters Trust will hold its 2017 Annual General Meeting from 1:00-3:00 pm at the Mission Theater in NW Portland.

As we do every year, the 107 Independent Supporters Trust holds a meeting for members before the start of the regular season. This Annual General Meeting, or AGM, is typically a chance for the 107IST Board of Directors to share information about the past year, including successes, challenges, and plans for the coming year. While we love to share the good news about the amazing team/town/TA-Riveters work that members accomplish, for several years the AGM has had the same format: board members do most of the talking, everyone else mostly listens.

This year will be different.

Much of the AGM is designed for your participation. We will have breakout conversations focused on a variety of strategic topics, including volunteer engagement, communications, Riveters & 107IST, and planning for the future. Several board members will be at each breakout session, and everyone will get a chance to rotate and participate in more than one session. Board members will take what we learn from all of you to our annual Board strategic planning session later this month. Pre-emptive thanks to our guest facilitators Kevin Hiebert and Jessica Riehl, who will be helping facilitate most of the afternoon with us.

We’ll still have a little bit of AGM “sit and get.” Board members will still give brief reports to membership on the past year’s activities and a brief look at the year ahead. But this year, most of our time together at the AGM is designed to give members more opportunities to interact, with board members and with each other. As we do every year, we’ll also provide signup forms online for you to apply to work with our various committees.

If you’ve been to the AGM before, come prepared for something different: a chance to participate. And if you’ve never been before or you are a new 107IST member, you’re also welcome and encouraged to attend. We look forward to the conversation.

A statement on behalf of the 107IST Board of Directors

As the engine that fuels The Timbers Army and the Rose City Riveters, the 107IST board represents a growing and disparate group of supporters. As we have mentioned before, we know that as supporters we will disagree about many things, large and small, in person and online. In case it isn’t already abundantly clear, this is a reminder that as an organization there are some things on which we all agree.

• We support team, town, and TA/Riveters.
  
• We support soccer in and around Portland, Oregon, from the grassroots to the highest professional level.
  
• We have zero tolerance for hate.
  

We stand by our Muslim brothers and sisters, and by our friends in the immigrant and refugee community. We’re taking donations for immigrant and refugee families, and we’re gathering donated tickets so that we can take immigrant and refugee youth to preseason games. Our community outreach this year will focus on supporting the most vulnerable among us, including support for immigrants and refugees, participation in the Portland Pride March, support for homeless youth, and more.

There is no room in the Timbers Army or Rose City Riveters for hate. None. We reject hate and discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or country of origin. Some things change as our organization grows: but our core values do not. This is not a political stance: it is a stance that respects basic rights and dignity for all humans. Regardless of world events and politics, we will stand against hate and discrimination, every time.

(Cross-posted from rosecityriveters.org)

“To support soccer from the grassroots to the highest professional level”

Chances are that if you’re at all familiar with the 107 Independent Supporters Trust (107IST), you recognize that as our mission. Those words have been the guiding force behind everything we’ve done as organization since we were formed in 2009.

The 107IST was born out of the Timbers Army with the purpose of doing the heavy lifting on behalf of a vibrant supporters’ culture that was in the midst of a transition to MLS and the associated stadium renovations. The establishment of the non-profit organization was necessary to provide a stable point of contact to the Front Office on all issues facing supporters, be accountable for the management of all finances, house the intellectual and physical assets, as well as build on our already established record in the community.

The 107IST was founded to be the engine that drives the Timbers Army.

In the early days there really was little distinction between the Timbers Army and the 107IST. The 107IST Board of Directors supported the operations of the Timbers Army, and the two entities were viewed by most people as being synonymous.

However, in 2012, a change occurred with the announcement of the National Women’s Soccer League and the news Portland would have a team. When the Portland Thorns FC announcement was made official, supporters were already working to come together, organize, and plan for showing their dedication to the new team. The Rose City Riveters supporters group was born out of passion, anticipation, and civic pride, and quickly joined the 107ist community. From the beginning, in accordance with our mission and the wishes of the 107IST members, there has been a close relationship between the 107IST and the Rose City Riveters. This has included everything from knowledge sharing, to organizational support, to sharing the 107IST infrastructure. The Riveters have supported the Thorns from day one, and have set the standard on a global scale for what it means to support a women’s soccer team. Their tifo is second to none, they travel across the country to support their club, and they share this knowledge freely with other burgeoning SGs.

To be sure, there have been growing pains over the past few years, but there has also been much work done to identify problems and work through them.

Even though this relationship is now entering its fifth year, we still see a lot of confusion amongst members of the Portland soccer community. We thought that as we head into the 2017 seasons for both teams, it would be a good time to put out a succinct statement that clarifies the relationship between the 107IST, Rose City Riveters, and Timbers Army.

The 107IST is the umbrella under which both supporters groups live. It supports both groups as equal peers. Today the 107IST Board is still the de facto board for the Timbers Army, while the Rose City Riveters have their own steering committee. Lexi Stern sits on the steering committee as a 107IST Board member, and the rest of those positions are filled by core Rose City Riveters volunteers who oversee Riveters subcommittees.

As our work has evolved, we have incorporated both Rose City Riveters and Timbers Army work on the 107IST Community Outreach committee. We are looking to continue to evolve this cooperative participation at the 107IST committee level in several other areas, such as in travel and membership.

Over time we expect this “cross-pollination” to grow. We also expect that certain committees will work closely together, but remain separate as it makes the most sense. Game day is a good example here: we use the collective buying power of the 107IST to the benefit of both groups, but the actual day-to-day management of stadium operations are handled by two distinct teams.

Additionally, as time goes on, you’ll see the 107IST and the Timbers Army becoming more distinct from each other when appropriate. This started with the 107IST newsletter (which has always included both Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters news) as well as with Green Weekend (where both SGs have participated for the past few years).  As we continue to grow and evolve, you’ll likely see some messages come from 107IST, some from Timbers Army, some from Rose City Riveters, and some from combinations of the three, as appropriate.

In the end, the best summary of all of this is with an updated tagline that we’ve actually been using for a while:

The 107 Independent Supporters Trust: The engine behind the Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters.

Respectfully Signed,
The 107IST Board of Directors and Rose City Riveters Steering Committee

For several years now, 107IST members have been the people who fund the engine that fuels the Timbers Army and the Rose City Riveters. In addition, 107IST members have had the chance to acquire an additional "thank you gift" (sometimes affectionately referred to as "swag") each year they sign up or renew. From enamel pins to bottle openers to tote bags to keychains, we've had a variety of different 107IST membership gifts in the past.

This year, 107IST members who say "yes, I want a membership gift" will get a challenge coin when signing up or renewing for 2017. (Local members get a voucher they can redeem for a challenge coin at the Fanladen; members who live further away will get their challenge coins in the mail.)

What the heck is a challenge coin?

Challenge coins have several origin stories, all military in origin. In the Roman Empire, coins were sometimes used to recognize a soldier's achievements. Modern challenge coin origin stories include tales of a flying squadron in World War I; stories of the OSS in World War II; and still other accounts of the 17th Infantry Regiment in the Korean conflict.  Regardless of the origin, the general notion of a challenge coin is to commemorate membership in a particular military group, and is also often associated with special achievements or visits. A coin can be a source of pride, a memento of a special event, a morale booster, and/or proof of membership in a group. 

The "challenge" part of the name refers to coin holders being challenged to present their coins. As in origin stories, the rules for coin challenges vary, but most have a similar theme: upon being challenged to present coins, all coin-holding members of a group must physically present their coins. Any member who cannot produce his/her coin is generally responsible for buying other members present a beverage. If all members in attendance are able to produce their coins, the person who challenged others to present coins must instead buy all members present a beverage.

The 107IST challenge coin for 2017 is a beautifully crafted commemorative coin. On one side, there is a representation of a 107IST member doing volunteer work with Operation Pitch Invasion (thank you, Nicole Barker, for the photo it comes from). On the other side are the logos of the 107IST, the Timbers Army, and the Rose City Riveters.  Around the edges of the coin are the mission of the 107IST, along with some of the many things 107IST members do.

If you are a local member, check your packet for the voucher with the picture of a challenge coin on it. Bring that voucher to the Fanladen during office hours (usually Wednesday nights 6:30-8:30) or on match days before home matches. You can exchange the voucher for your own challenge coin.

We know we aren't the first supporters group to create a challenge coin. Heck, we aren't even the first Timbers Army people to do so. We have both Eastern Bloc & TA:CO (Timbers Army:Covert Ops) challenge coins on display at the Fanladen, for example. But we thought these would be a wonderful way to commemorate the work you support with your membership, as well as a reminder of what we're all about.

No, we don't have any dictates about "rules" for coin checks. As with most other things we do, we're sure that people will come up with their own variations. As a 107IST member in 2017, enjoy your challenge coin as a reminder of what your membership supports. Whether it's tifo and other game day operations, community outreach, or any of the activities associated with our core mission, your membership in 107IST supports Team, Town, and TA/Riveters: supporting soccer in and around Portland, Oregon, from the grassroots to the highest professional level.

Update 2/3/17: We have reached our goal for both games! Thank you to everyone who donated - we no longer need tickets. If you wanted to donate but were unable to, we'll be taking up collections for future games so hopefully you can contribute then. 

Update 2/2/17: We have reached our goal of 30 tickets for the game on 2/9! We are now only looking for tickets on 2/15 against Vancouver. See original post below.

Will you have any spare Timbers Army tickets for the preseason games on February 9th and/or 15th? We would like to have a group of kids from the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) join us in the TA and we're looking for your unused tickets. Maybe you'll be out of town or you can't make a weeknight game, or maybe you just want to give up your seat for a good cause. Whatever the reason, your ticket will bring a lot of joy to a child and help them feel more a part of this community, which they need now more than ever. 

Don't have season tickets but want to help? That's ok! You can buy Timbers Army tickets here - that's sections 101-208 (doesn't matter which) or choose the Timbers Army option under "Purchase By Price" - and then donate them! 

Please email tickets as PDFs to ticketdonation@107ist.org with the subject "IRCO Donation". We are looking for the 9th (against Salt Lake) and the 15th (against Vancouver) only -- NOT the 12th. Please note we are only looking for Timbers Army (general admission) tickets so that we can keep the kids together. We will update this post when we have received enough tickets.

-by Brian May

I have been a part of the Special Olympics Polar Plunge as a plunger for the last 4 years, with the last three being part of the SUPER PLUNGERS team. Those are the crazy people that plunge once every hour for 24 hours straight and each has different backgrounds. This year I will be leading the Timbers Army plunge team, and luckily for us, the Timbers Army team will be performing a single plunge on the 25th of February.

The Polar Plunge is a fun event to help raise money for the Special Olympics.

Where does the money raised by the polar plunge go? I’m glad you asked.

• $50 - Provides an athlete with training equipment for one season
  
• $100 - Provides uniforms for one athlete for the entire year (3 sports seasons)
  
• $250 - Provides training and equipment for an entire basketball team for one season
  
• $500 - Allows an entire youth soccer team to compete for one season
  
• $1000 - Allows an entire team to travel and compete in Summer State Games
  

There will be a special Merritt Badge for the people who plunge in the frigid waters of Broughton Beach.

I’m hoping to get at least 107 of my fellow Timbers Army members to take the plunge with me on February 25th, 2017. No need to worry about missing any of the preseason tournament action at Providence Park, as there are no matches scheduled for the plunge day.

To join the Timbers Army Polar Plunge Team, please visit the following URL: http://soor.convio.net/goto/TimbersArmy

I hope to see you at the plunge!

Brian May

The Plunge Details

The Portland Polar Plunge is located on Broughton Beach on Marine Drive.

Tips for a great plunge:

• Arrive early! Registration will open at 8:30am. We have been working hard to make things move faster, but be sure leave yourself enough time to get parked, take the shuttle/walk to the plunge site and get checked in. The plunge will start at 11am!
  
• We will have Starbucks onsite serving coffee and hot chocolate. We will also have hot soup for the plungers!
  
• Don't forget that you can wear a robe, a towel or something to keep you warm while you wait. You'll be able to drop it just before the plunge, and come back to it right after.
  
• Bring an extra pair of shoes to plunge in.
  
• Bring a towel.
  
• You can turn in cash and/or checks on-site.
  
• Bring a bag for your wet clothes, as well as a change of clothes. We will have changing tents!
  
• Wear a costume!

As Portland continued to thaw this past weekend, 1/14-1/15, a couple hundred people descended on Rose City Futsal's new Westside location for the 2017 Winter Classic. Featuring three divisions - Men's, Women's, and Coed - 23 teams played 25 minute matches, with the winner determined by the team receiving the most points, Premier League-style.

Saturday's matches started out with the coed and women's teams leading things off, followed by the men's matches later in the evening, and things seemed to get chippier as the night went on making for some great competition and entertainment. Sunday's matches reversed that format, starting off with the men and finishing up with the women's and coed teams.

The Winners (all were undefeated):

• Men's Rec - Buckman United
• Women's - Back That Pass Up
  
• Coed - Team X
  

In the end, a lot of great futsal was played, new friendships were forged, a number of new players and teams made their debut (and we hope they stick around!), and a little over $3,600 was raised for TAFC's Open Play.

A big thanks to all of our volunteers for making this event a success, especially our organizers Clifford Eiffler, Michelle DeFord, Emily Hausenauer, Bill Packwood, Oliver Mooÿman, Ray Terrill, a team of fantastic event-day volunteers, and Dawn Bauman, who celebrated her birthday with us at RCF on Sunday and had the entire facility sing Happy Birthday to her before the matches started.

More Info:

If you came out this weekend (as a volunteer, player, or spectator) - We're looking for feedback on how we did, and we'd appreciate your input on this survey: http://fluidsurveys.com/surveys/timbersarmy/2017-winter-classic/

If you want to play futsal or indoor soccer, and don't yet have a team to call home, take a second to fill out this form, and we'll try to match you up with a squad (or form a new one!): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkgVQBdNtIGktmxTXDR5QjGkZqBs-gxwiQ6kXy1WeL9KoGZw/viewform

If you already have a team, but want to join the TAFC umbrella of teams - shoot us an email at tafc@107ist.org.

Event Photos:

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/rayterrill/albums/72157675407378674
  
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/98425004@N00/sets/72157677766894990/
  
• https://corriannephotography.smugmug.com/Events/Sports/TA-Winter-Classic-2017/
  

— By Jason Young

Most people don’t get two chances to see their child stand for the first time. I did. A text came through on my phone with a picture of my then-5-year-old daughter standing, balanced against a wall, unassisted by nothing but her own body. And, just like when I saw her take her first wobbly steps, I cried.

Many of you have heard about Kylee by now: You’ve seen us sitting in the ADA section above 108 and stopped to say hi, or you read her story when you bought tickets for the scarf raffle for her. You’ve heard about the food-borne illness she contracted just before she turned 2. You’ve heard about the stroke that soon followed. But most of you don’t know just how resilient my little girl is. She spent a lot of a year in Doernbecher Hospital, up the hill at OHSU, while a combination of surgeries, procedures and medications attempted to keep up with the damage done to her brain, bowels and kidneys. Her heart almost stopped, but that didn’t stop Kylee. Neither did the coma, induced to give her tiny body a chance to heal. Her kidneys decided to stop working, but Kylee never did, toughing it out through months of dialysis until her mother could donate a kidney of her own. (Nothing I ever give to Kylee can compare to that gift.)

Good timber doesn’t grow with ease, and neither do good TA, apparently. Her favorite scarf says “Got Born In,” and she was. Her first lullabies were set to the tune of TA chants — I had to stop that when she’d start to cry whenever “Onward Rose City” started, thinking we’d have to leave the match and go to bed. She was a regular in 107 and loved clapping along to “PT-FC.” We started taking her back to Timbers matches as soon as she was well enough to handle it, wanting to immerse her in as much family, love and soccer as we could. We found a new home just above 108, where she has a great view of Sunday, her favorite capo.

Kylee will miss a bit of the 2017 season, but she’s got a good reason: We’ve started a new treatment that has her traveling to Los Angeles on a regular basis. She’s made the trip a few times already. She now has electrodes implanted in her brain, powered by batteries implanted in her chest. (Yes, my daughter is a cyborg.) The hope is that all this hardware will help her brain communicate better with her muscles, giving her back as much of the motor control as possible that she lost after her stroke. This treatment is in the clinical trial phase, so for us, it’s a first. But it has me looking forward to so many potential second chances. The second chance to hear my daughter speak her first words. The second chance to watch her take her first steps. Taste her first foods. Stand with her arms up, chanting at a match. I’ll treasure each and every one, even more than I did the first time around.

We have always considered the TA to be Kylee’s second family, and now we are humbly asking that family for help with her second chances. By now, we’re used to finding ways to cover medical care for Kylee; however, her trips to L.A. include extra expenses above and beyond the care she receives in Portland. These expenses include airfare, baggage fees, taxi or Uber fares, hotels and more.

We’ve included a link to her GoFundMe page if you would like to help this little North End Ultra get back on her feet. (Honestly, it has some adorable pictures of Kylee on it, so you should take a look just for that.) If you would like to donate hotel loyalty points, car rental loyalty points, or Alaska Airline miles, we would be incredibly appreciative. If you have any suggestions or connections that might help us, don’t hesitate to get in touch. If you just want to say hi, don’t be shy. Kylee would love it!

We’ll see you March 3^rd!