Anna Lea Matysek Joins USMS Staff

On November 30, 2009 U.S. Masters Swimming added a staff member to assist and guide you, our volunteers and LMSCs. Anna Lea Matysek will be focused on providing support for our LMSCs and their officers. Most of you know Matysek, a long-time member of USMS and volunteer in the Missouri Valley LMSC for twenty years. Her knowledge, experience and passion for Masters swimming make her a perfect fit for this position, which will include:

• Educating and assisting LMSCs with meeting the new U.S. Masters Swimming LMSC Minimum Standards

• Revising, publishing, and maintaining the USMS Guide to Operations (formerly known as the LMSC Handbook)

• Providing guidance to the LMSCs on submitting annual financial reports and writing bylaws

• Establishing a better, single-source database of LMSC officer contact information that can be updated by the LMSCs

• Working with the end-to-end event management task force to develop a web-based system that will oversee an event from the sanction application to results submission.

More about Anna Lea…

In addition to her extensive history in Missouri Valley Masters as a registrar and treasurer, Matysek has directed numerous swim meets during her time in Missouri Valley Masters, “so many that I've lost count,” she says. She was one of the founders of Missouri Valley’s annual All-Relay Meet, which she believes is still the only Masters meet in the country where all of the relays (200s, 400s, 800s) in all three courses (SCY, SCM, LCM) are swum in the same meet.

Nationally Matysek has served on the Finance and Registration committees, including a four-year stint as the Chair of the Registration committee. She served on the USMS Board of Directors from 2005 to 2008, and she has attended the annual USMS convention every year since 1993.

Matysek holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas and spent 25 years working as a manufacturing and process engineer. This background is invaluable in her new role. “Engineering is all about problem solving,” she says. “In my previous jobs I focused on improving and streamlining processes, reducing errors, and writing clear procedures and work instructions. I anticipate doing the same thing for USMS.” USMS is not only excited to welcome Matysek to the staff, which has grown from two members to seven over the last two years, but we are proud to have such a extraordinary member, former volunteer and swimmer at the National Office to help the organization continue to grow and evolve. If you have questions regarding LMSC business or other information relevant to LMSC officers and meet directors, you may contact Anna Lea Matysek directly at 941-556-6279.