Carney Foy

When I took over the position as treasurer from TK, I received the UPA checkbook (with about $150 in the account) and a printed list of members, along with the admonishment that the Newsletter was already overdue. From scratch, I developed the systems to manage membership information and ensure that the Newsletter (usually) got to the paying members. I also made sure that the UPA paid its bills and kept going as an organization. I responded to each new level of complication – e.g. the requirement that players be UPA members to play in the Nationals’ series, the introduction of new divisions — with a can-do attitude that found a way to actually get things to work. It was only after the UPA headquarters in Colorado had sufficient permanent staff and organizational capabilities that the finance and membership functions were transferred from Silver City in 1997.

I provided organizational skills that kept the UPA functioning in its formative years. Before there was an “official” office, my CPA firm served as the de facto headquarters. By being located in one place for as long as it was, it gave the UPA a standing presence that helped minimize problems from frequent moves that otherwise could have hamstrung it.

It is unclear whether the UPA could have survived into the late-1980s without my contributions. Again in the early 1990s after Neal Dambra stepped down as Executive Director and with the subsequent succession problems, the UPA benefited from having its membership and finance functions maintained in a steady fashion out of Silver City.

Remarkably, I responded to an advertisement in the UPA Newsletter for a new treasurer. With arthritic knees, I wanted to find a way to stay involved in the sport. Furthermore, the $150/month stipend was sufficient enough to make the finance payments for the Apple computer I was going to need to buy to do the job. As time went on, I carried on the function as a labor of love for the sport and out of a sense of duty as well.

I was the UPA Treasurer/Director of Finance from 1981-97. The job tended to be quite seasonal, as dues for much of my tenure were typically collected either at the beginning of the spring or fall season just prior to sectionals. Maintaining and updating the database during those periods was more than a full-time job over a period of around 3-4 weeks. My wife, Creta, helped out and over the years did much of the data entry required. Otherwise, as a qualified CPA, I dutifully handled the finances for the UPA and prepared the financial statements.

I helped organize La Peda Ultimate Club and the Arizona Plastic Surgeons. I also helped organize the New Year Ultimate Fest, one of the longest-standing tournaments in the country.

I am one of the pillars that has allowed the UPA to still be around 26 years after its founding. I served as the administrative and organizational backbone of the UPA for 17 years. No other individual has served the UPA for as long. I developed all the membership databases and was the main tie with the membership for over half of the existence of the UPA. I provided the financial guidance to the UPA directors (several of whom lacked financial acumen) that kept the organization solvent through its formative years. I performed the extremely important, yet somewhat tedious, tasks of database management and accounting and for very little compensation over a very long period of time.