Valentine's Day Volunteers for the Children's Book Harvest.

THANK YOU to the 22 volunteers who helped spread the love of books to children on Valentine's Day by helping prepare books for donation to local elementary school-aged children. Over 50 youth will have lovingly restored books thanks to your efforts! We are very grateful to the Children's Book Bank  for all of their work supporting children's literacy in the Portland area.

Photos of the day can be found here.

 

Axe portrait line update: looking at about 3-3.5 hr wait. Plan accordingly. #Timbers540 #rctid

— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) February 7, 2015

Three and a half hours for a picture holding an axe. Meanwhile, we all live in a city where you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a freelance graphic design artist with a camera and above average PhotoShop skills. So much for that DIY spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll go take my Geritol now.

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the Timbers Army.

The final tifo of the year was unveiled on October 17, 2014 at the last regular season home game when the Portland Timbers hosted RSL. 

Photo Credit: Diego G Diaz/Prost Amerika

Photo credit: Jamie Goldberg (@jamiegoldberg on Twitter)

—by Todd Diskin, on behalf of the BOOKED! team

Located at the Timbers Army Fanladen, BOOKED! seeks to promote literacy related to the beautiful game of soccer. Our library hosts literature and media from the grassroots of soccer all the way to the global influences the sport holds in everyday life.

This Booked! Drive is in partnership with the Children’s Book Bank who gives bundles of books free of charge to kids in need, increasing their chances to succeed as future readers and learners.

NEED

Children need books to be successful readers. Many homes have 4-5 books per child, however, In low income neighborhoods the ratio of books to children is one book for every 300 children…

The Children's Book Bank gathers thousands of new and gently-used books from the community, organizing volunteers to spruce up and sort donated books.

OUR GOAL: To gather 107 soccer books to put into the hands of needy children, ages 5-13, by the March 15th Timbers home match vs. LA.

HOW

Take a look the list of books below or go through your home library. Each person who donates one or more of the listed books will receive the limited edition Booked! do-gooder badge which can only be earned. Bring any of these titles to any of the follow events:

• 2/18 - Fanladen 6:30-8:00 PM
• 2/22 - Fanladen open office hours before Simple Invitational
• 2/26 - Fanladen 6:30-8:00 PM (Booked library open hours)
• 3/7 - Timbers Home Opener - Fanladen only
• 3/15 - Timbers v. LA match - Fanladen or at the 107ist table inside Providence Park

You can also contact the Booked! team to arrange other pick up options at booked107@gmail.com

Booked! values socially responsible purchasing, so whenever possible please reuse old books and support local, independant and/or union businesses. We also welcome gift cards.

THE BOOKS WE ARE COLLECTING

Ages 5-7 Grades K-2

For the Love of Soccer! Age Range: 3 - 7 years Grade Level: Preschool - 2

Franklin Plays The Game Age Range: 3 - 8 years Grade Level: Preschool - 3

Winners Never Quit Range: 4 - 8 years Grade Level: Preschool - 2

Madlenka Soccer Star Ages 5+

Hope for Haiti Age Level: 5 - 8 | Grade Level: K - 3

Ages 8-10 Grades 3-5

Saving the Team Age Level: 8 - 12 | Grade Level: 3 - 7

The Keeper: The Unguarded Story of Tim Howard (Young Readers' Edition) UNA Age Level: 8 - 12 | Grade Level: 3 - 7

Science at Work in Soccer Ages 8+

Neymar The Wizard Ages 8+

Ages 11-13 Grades 6-8

Soccer: Why Does It Matter? Easy and fun to read for kids with great illustrations. All you need to know about soccer. Master the game in a super short time. (Sports Soccer IQ book for Kids) Age Level: 5 - 18 | Grade Level: 1 - 12

Now Is The Time for Running Ages 9+

Keeper Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

—by Andrew Brawley

Every year when the MLS schedule is released, I add all games (home and away) to my calendar. For each away match, I have an instant reaction to the question:

What would it be like to travel to that one?

In five words or less, here are my thoughts to each Timbers road match for 2015:

3/21 @ Sporting KC
Not too hot, plus BBQ.

3/28 @ Vancouver
Japadogs. Poutine. Stupid border crossing.

4/19 @ NYCFC
Go Yankees!

4/26 @ Seattle
Tacoma traffic can eat me.

5/9 @ Montreal
Hear the strip clubs rule.

5/16 @ Houston
Might only be 110 degrees.

5/23 @ Toronto
Montreal has better strip clubs.

5/30 @ Colorado
Weed. Oregon. One month left.

6/24 @ Los Angeles
CSU Dominguez Hills in session?

7/11 @ Philadelphia
Where's the cream cheese factory?

7/25 @ Dallas
Texas in summer? No thanks.

8/2 @ San Jose
New stadium. Same thugs.

8/15 @ Real Salt Lake
Bottomless beers. Bottomless urination.

8/30 @ Seattle
Tacoma traffic still hasn’t moved.

9/26 @ Columbus
Buckeye AND Juggalo leftovers.

10/14 @ Real Salt Lake
Flares just keep us warm.

10/18 @ Los Angeles
Steven Gerrard is how old?

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the Timbers Army.

We have always made our results known as soon as possible and the election has closed. Congratulations to Scott Swearingen, Harper Morgan-Werner, Fernando Machicado to reelection on three year terms and please welcome Todd Diskin as the newest board member. Our results are as follows:

Fernando Machicado : 417 votes - 13.5%
Scott Swearingen: 539 votes - 17.4%
Todd Diskin: 499 votes - 16.1%
Kyle Jones: 199 votes - 6.4%
Mike Pacific: 328 votes - 10.6%
Stephan Lewis: 221 votes - 7.1%
Harper Morgan-Werner: 518 votes - 16.7%
Gilmer Gongora: 127 votes - 4.1%
Rob Frisina: 245 votes - 7.9%

Jumping, clapping, singing...join your Timbers Army Running Team and run for victory! Or at least a beer and a T-shirt. Sunday March 15, 2015 at Waterfront Park, join us for the Shamrock Run, the largest running and walking event in the state of Oregon! Pick your distance: 1k Leprechaun Lap for kids, 5k Walk, 5k Run, 8k, 15k, or (new this year!) Shamrock Half Marathon. All participants receive an Adidas T-shirt, and participants 21 or older get a 12 oz Widmer at the finish. 15k and Half Marathon finishes are awarded fancy medals! Team members save $4 off the registration fees for any distance.

REGISTER EARLY! The total field is limited to 35,000. Shamrock has sold out for the last five years will very likely do so again for 2015. Adult entry fees increase by $5 (by $10 for the Shamrock Half) on January 15. The Timbers Army Team number is 1077.

When we reach 75 adult team members, we will be considered a Super Team! The Shamrock Run will donate $5 for each registered member to our charity of choice, so your entry helps earn us money for our work at Jefferson HS. For example, a Shamrock Super Team with 120 participants age 13 or older would raise $600!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our team lead, Jodi (JBurckhart at gmail dot com)

—by Mike Coleman on behalf of the 107ist Board of Directors

It’s always nice this time of year for those of us on the board to look back, and think of all that the 107ist has accomplished in the past 12 months. We are always amazed and humbled by what our collective membership can accomplish, and we wanted to make sure everyone was aware of just how great 2014 was.

As you read the highlights below, remember we do all of this together, whether it’s via dollars from membership dues or awe-inspiring volunteer efforts from 107ist members.

With that in mind, if you haven’t already, now would be an outstanding time to renew your 107ist membership

So, without further ado, here are the 11 Best Things of 2014 (in no particular order)

Bless Field


In June the Timbers Army, along with local civic and business leaders, celebrated the opening of Bless Field, an all-weather soccer pitch for the children of the New Columbia neighborhood. Several TA members donated countless hours to endure the project came to fruition. With a $50,000 contribution, the Timbers Army was the largest single donor to the project. This money was raised throughout the Army, via merch sales, membership dues, special fundraisers, individual donations, etc. It was a truly a community effort demonstrating the magic we can realize together.

Jefferson High School Field
With Bless Field in the books, the Timbers Army did not wait long to begin its next major project. With a donation of $50,000, the TA became the lead community donor on the renovation of the field at Jefferson High school. This insured that Jefferson would become the home field for our Timbers Army Football Clubs, as well as providing the teams of Jefferson High with a safe new playing surface for both proper football and that other kind.

Timbers Army Football Clubs (TAFC)
TAFC had another amazing year. The women’s team, Whipsaws, helped coach girls soccer at Jefferson High. Additionally, TAFC put together a futsal tournament which raised over $1600 to help fund our Timbers Army CPR initiative. None of this would have been possible without the contribution of several new members on the TAFC committee who came in, rolled up their sleeves and did work.

TA CPR
Speaking of the Timbers Army CPR initiative . . .

Dale Montgomery did an amazing job this year of leading free monthly CPR classes for anyone in the Timbers Army.  The Portland Timbers generously donated the use of their community room to allow for larger class sizes, and the 107IST supported the work with scheduling and with an initial outlay for training mannequins and the like. This is exactly the type of project we on the board love to see: member led with an assist from us, really engages our membership, and leverages existing partnerships.

All told, over 215 people were CPR certified this year through these efforts. The Timbers Army REALLY does save lives.

Tifo


The Timbers Army are the greatest football supporters the world has ever seen, and our tifo this year proved that once again. In particular the Portlandia tifo for the home opener, and the Dorothy tifo for the Seattle match, were both on another level compared to anything else done this year in MLS.  What makes all of this year’s tifo so special is we did it by involving several new project managers and designers, as well as dozens of new workday volunteers.

On the Rose City Riveters side, their end-of-season display was literally a work of art. It featured hand painted two-sticks, each adapting a classic masterpiece by featuring a Thorns player. The team was stunned by the gesture. This tifo once again showed how the Riveters are the premiere women’s SG in the world.

“Thank you!” to anyone who came out to cut, glue, paint, lift, draw, trace, haul, or clean up. These displays would not happen without you!

Seattle Away / World Cup Viewing Party
When the geniuses at MLS HQ decided it would be a good idea to schedule Seattle Away the same day as the World Cup final, many TA worried about how it was all going to play out. Not our crack travel team. They went to work immediately, and overcame several logistical hurdles to not only get 1,500 people up to Seattle for the match, but also hosted our own private World Cup viewing party. Hat tip to everyone involved in that Herculean effort.

Timbers Army Block Party


It’s not every day you get to close down a city street, and hang out with 2,000 of your closest friends.

But that’s just what we did for the Timbers Army Block Party. Featuring beers from 23 local breweries, DJ’s, food trucks, a dunk tank, a bouncy castle, and a Timbers away viewing, there were smiles for days. We can’t wait to do this again in 2015. 

The Fanladen
We are truly fortunate to have our own club house, and this year the Fanladen was the hub for both the Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters. On game days supporters exchanged face-value tickets for both Timbers and Thorns matches. Through another outstanding member-led project, it became home to Booked!, a soccer-themed lending library. And, was also the place for Riveters game day merch sales.

Supporting Local Schools
We already mentioned our work on the field at Jefferson High, but our commitment to schools did not stop there. In addition to our ongoing support of AC Portland, which helps kids excel in school through soccer-related programs, we also donated books to every Title I elementary school in Portland Public Schools, and supplied uniforms for teams at both Fort Vancouver and Kelso high schools.

Gisele Currier Memorial Fund (GCMF)
Named in memory of the Timbers Army’s matriarch, Giselle Currier, the GCMF provides funds to allow exceptional players with limited resources a chance to excel at the beautiful game. This year we took a major step forward by completing the application process to make GCMF a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Thanks to those who worked on that effort.

Rubio Rubin Earns a Cap with The USMNT


One of the first beneficiaries of the GCMF was Rubio Rubin, a young man from Beaverton. The support he received from the Timbers Army allowed him to attend the USMNT residency program in Bradenton, FL. And while we were stoked to see him get picked up by FC Utrecht in Holland’s Eredivisie, what really put a lump in our throats was when he earned his first cap last month as a starter for the senior USMNT. This is our vision for the GCMF: to help kids reach their highest potential.

It’s hard not to swell with a bit of pride when you read this list. Take a moment to savor all that you’ve done these past 12 months. Now, realize that NONE of this is possible without the support of 107ist members.

We’ll say it again: if you haven’t already, now would be an outstanding time to renew your 107ist membership.

Once again, on behalf of your 107ist Board of Directors, THANK YOU!

—by Andrew Brawley

No, really, are they? I'm not necessarily talking about next month's election. I'm speaking in more general terms.

We've all heard grumbles here and there about how the people "running" the Timbers Army are the usual suspects, seen at every event, with four scarves saving their one front row seat in section 107 at every home match so they can avoid the Oklahoma Land Rush for seats and stroll in five minutes prior to kickoff. How they do everything together (parties, away game buses, weddings, bar mitzvahs, front yard gardening, back yard chicken coop construction, etc.), vote in blocs, and look to be inseparable.

OK, so maybe the Board can come off as a bit clique-ish now and then, but what they do for this thing we love truly is a thankless job. Case in point: have you, the reader, actually THANKED them for doing this job? That's what I thought.

The point I'm trying to make is that the Board of XI (as they're known in the 107ist Bylaws) has some consistency to it, and that might not always be the best thing. New blood for the sake of new blood is not what I'm pushing here. So let's go back to my original question:

Is the Board of XI prepared to be replaced?

As in, have they taken the steps needed to ensure this great thing known as the Timbers Army can maintain such a legacy after they're gone? Or are they clinging onto a seat at the table because they're not comfortable with who might fill the seat once they leave? I hate to break it to folks, but people can't do one thing forever. Even the most dedicated member of the Timbers Army (you know...scarf kilt, patch vest, USL-era everything, etc.) will eventually have to pass the torch, usually due to things like jobs, marriage, kids, illness, etc. It happens.

Is the Board of XI prepared to be replaced?

Have you, Mr./Ms. Board Member, taken the time to document and share your learnings with potential future Board Members? Have you identified younger Timbers fans (ideally late teens through late twenties) that appear to have a brain and be capable of manning the ship after your time is up?

One of my great fears for the Timbers Army is that a large number of Board Members (who may or may not associate with each other outside of Timbers-related events) just decide they're fed up and suddenly abandon ship all at once. They're certainly within their right to do so, but where would that leave the ship? I don't care how much money is in the bank account, if you replace a large number of capable people with a large number of less-than-capable people, the results won't be great.

Is the Board of XI prepared to be replaced?

As a youth, I belonged to a youth organization. The keyword there is "youth." Once I turned 21, I was ineligible to call myself a member anymore. So as I approached that age, I was constantly asked this question: "what did you do to replace yourself?" Did I do everything in my power to ensure that the organization was in capable hands as I left the building?

One thing I'll be looking out for in the next couple election cycles is a quality related to ensuring that this Timbers Army will continue its legacy of high standards among supporters groups well beyond our time in this realm. If it's only going to deteriorate down the road because we didn't solidify the foundation during our time in charge, then what's the point?

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the Timbers Army.

As a board member, you can help guide everything from how we interact with the front office, to organizing our work in the community, to inspiring new ways to get our merchandise into the hands of soccer fans. Board members participate in all board/FO meetings (currently the second Tuesday of each month). Additionally, they lead subcommittees including membership, game day operations, merch, partnerships, communications, etc. Board members also assist with special events and other tasks as they arise. They typically spend about 15 or so hours per week on their duties. This is a huge commitment of time and energy, not to be taken lightly.

• There are four open positions in this election.
• Elected terms will run from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2017.
• You must submit your intention to be a candidate by midnight on November 30, 2014 to get onto the ballot.
• The election of the board of directors will take place from December 13, 2014 to December 20, 2015.

More information and the application form can be found at the board member candidate portal. The email address for all questions and feedback in relation to the 107ist elections is elections@107ist.org.