Bilanski Sued by Bend FC Timbers

[Guest]

This is crazy!

https://www.bendsource.com/bend/a-cl...AdlTUvRWUt2EgU

Bend FC Timbers soccer club fired its executive director Tara Bilanski, on Aug. 19 over its board of directors' concerns around her leadership skills, collaboration with the board and transparency. Earlier this month a lawsuit alleged Bilanski skimmed money from summer soccer camps since she took the executive director position of the competitive soccer club in 2015. In an interview with the Source Weekly, Bilanski denies that claim.

The lawsuit claims Bilanski earned over $80,000 through an improper profit-sharing agreement that netted her 85% of profits from the camps, giving the club 15% without disclosure to or approval from the board. The lawsuit additionally claims that Bilanski used trade secrets from her time at BFCT to build her new club, Apex FC, and that the profit-sharing agreement puts the BFCT's nonprofit status at risk. The lawsuit is seeking a total of $380,648 in damages. Bilanski denies any wrongdoing and says the profit-sharing agreement was approved in 2014, before she was executive director, and continued as normal while going through typical financial oversight.

[Guest]

The entire situation is a joke. Why was a director in Bend making 120,000 in the first place? Regardless, I would avoid both clubs like the plague. Bet Cascade Surf ultimately benefits here. No al
ost zero about that club but at least the news isn’t running stries about lawsuits with them involved.

[Guest]

$120k is a lot of scratch for a soccer bum. Does that include camps and privates and all the other side hustles?

[Guest]

You would be surprised how many DOC are making over 100K in oregon. But regardless of this, seems more like a way to try to stop her from opening here new club than any actual wrong doing. Especially if you read the article and the club treasurer at the time said they included those payments every year in the financial documents signed off on by the board, so it wasn't like it was hidden costs or anything

[Guest]

$120k per year in Bend is not that much. Bend is extremely wealthy, expensive and real estate is California crazy.

The profit sharing issue is more a problem for the club. If their board approved, then they will have to answer to the IRS. The IRS likely will not care. There are much bigger fish out there.

If she was running soccer camps using the club branding and sharing 15% of the proceeds with the club, that doesn’t sound out of line. She could have instead just paid herself additional salary instead of profit sharing and the net would still be the same. Six or half dozen.

Lawsuits like this rarely yield net benefits, other than for the legal professionals, in my opinion.

[Guest]

You would be surprised how many DOC are making over 100K in oregon. But regardless of this, seems more like a way to try to stop her from opening here new club than any actual wrong doing. Especially if you read the article and the club treasurer at the time said they included those payments every year in the financial documents signed off on by the board, so it wasn't like it was hidden costs or anything

Totally sounds like they’re just trying to hurt her new club with a nothing burger.

[Guest]

But doing a side hustle through a non-profit organization that you run sounds a bit sketchy. A sweet no bid contract that makes you a big bag of money for few weeks work.

[Guest]

But doing a side hustle through a non-profit organization that you run sounds a bit sketchy. A sweet no bid contract that makes you a big bag of money for few weeks work.

If you want good people to do good work you have to be willing to pay very well. Especially in Bend. The population is limited and the cost of living is astronomical. The board approved the director to run camps and the profit split.

This sounds like politics. My guess is that some powerful person was unhappy and stirred things up, leading to a break up. She wound up starting her own soccer club that was supported by the pool of top coaches in the area almost unanimously. The old club was left out in the cold so they sued to try to stop her.

Every single person that I know that knows her thinks extremely well of her.

The losers in this are the soccer community.

[Guest]

If you want good people to do good work you have to be willing to pay very well. Especially in Bend. The population is limited and the cost of living is astronomical. The board approved the director to run camps and the profit split.

This sounds like politics. My guess is that some powerful person was unhappy and stirred things up, leading to a break up. She wound up starting her own soccer club that was supported by the pool of top coaches in the area almost unanimously. The old club was left out in the cold so they sued to try to stop her.

Every single person that I know that knows her thinks extremely well of her.

The losers in this are the soccer community.

100% this!! The soccer landscape is constantly changing. Let her have her new club and those that choose to go with. If we squash any competition, the old club doesn’t have to worry about doing anything right by the coaches & players. Monopolies aren’t good, even monopolies by the Timber’s.

[Guest]

The parents of one boys team hijacked the board and tried to make the club work for the benefit of their own kids. The majority of the coaching staff, not including their new DOC who was installed by the parent/directors, went on strike. There was a mediation that failed. Now all the good coaches are at Apex FC and that sound you hear is feet beating a path away from Bend FC Timbers to Apex. BFCT will fold or become irrelevant. Apex will be the dominant club in Bend. The parents’ handpicked DOC is finding hard to direct coaches if there aren’t any coaches. Moral of the story? Excessive involvement by parents in youth soccer always ruins youth soccer.

[Guest]

Pretty funny Bend Timbers are basically suing someone who they felt did such a poor job at their club for opening up a rival club. I would think they would be happy to be in competition with someone they think sucks at their job. Who is doing the books at Bend Timbers anyways not to notice 85% of the camp receipts where not coming in, like on day one. This sounds like most business conflicts except in this case the looser is kids.

[Guest]

It does not sound like the 80k is from 1 year, it's all years since 2015, so 5 years assuming that 2020 was skipped due to COVID. That's 16k a year which is not an exorbitant amount to pay someone to run soccer camps all summer.

[Guest]

It does not sound like the 80k is from 1 year, it's all years since 2015, so 5 years assuming that 2020 was skipped due to COVID. That's 16k a year which is not an exorbitant amount to pay someone to run soccer camps all summer.

It isn't really. Plus all payments of any decent amount are supposed to be scrutinized by someone, if not multiple someones, at any club. Non profits need a sign off by accountants as well. It definitely looks like an attempt to tarnish her reputation and not operate another club, but unless there was a non compete clause she's free to open one anywhere she wants

[Guest]

It isn't really. Plus all payments of any decent amount are supposed to be scrutinized by someone, if not multiple someones, at any club. Non profits need a sign off by accountants as well. It definitely looks like an attempt to tarnish her reputation and not operate another club, but unless there was a non compete clause she's free to open one anywhere she wants

Sadly, it’s pretty obvious that this is the case. Ironically, it’s backfiring because their attempts to smear her are actually causing soccer folks to support her more.

[Guest]

While I have no opinion on who is right and wrong in this little pillow-fight, there's an argument to be made that allowing parents on the board is a recipe for disaster. Clubs whose board is consisted of community leaders, disinterested in the performance of any particular player or team within the club, tend to experience far less of this sort of drama.