TOMMY CHANG FOR TAEKWONDO CANADA BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015

Creating Solutions Today For A Better Tomorrow

Summary of Accomplishments and Election Platform

 

 

Message To The Voting Members To my brothers and sisters in Taekwondo, With respect, I humbly present to you my platform as a nominee for the Taekwondo Canada Board of Directors. Taekwondo Canada is at a crucial juncture and needs strong leadership and proven leadership. It commands directors who have the ability to collaborate with many different provinces who may have many different interests and visions for the organization. It also commands directors who recognize that there is more that unites us than divides us. And the organization needs to be run as a business by individuals who have a successful track record in the business world. Taekwondo has given so much to me and it is my duty to give back to the organization, as I have done throughout my time with Taekwondo Canada, but especially now at this critical point. It is my sincere belief that I am the right person at the right time to help our organization get on the right path for our athletes and our country. It is my hope that you will support my candidacy so we can all work together to create solutions today for a better tomorrow. Yours in Taekwondo, Master Tommy Chang

 

 

 

At my core, I am a small town island boy from South Korea who started from humble beginnings. At the age of eight, I arrived in Toronto, Canada with my family and, soon after, began training in Taekwondo. While I learned the art of Taekwondo, I also learned the values of Taekwondo that established my foundational values in life. Honesty, integrity, respect, perseverance and indomitable spirit are the values I live by and the values I expect others to live by as well. Most importantly, they are the values I believe we are all obligated, as leaders, to share and instill in young people.

The above values made me the man I am today, as I have achieved a great deal of success within Taekwondo and in my professional and personal life. These values transformed a small boy from South Korea who moved

About Tommy

 

 

 

to Canada and knew no one, into a successful businessman, entrepreneur and film performer who knows many people from childhood friends to international celebrities. These values have afforded me many opportunities because I practiced these values. I am a certified 7th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo. As I have said, and will continue to say, the sport of Taekwondo has afforded me many opportunities and it would be shameful for me to not give back to our sport. I have a proven history of volunteering my time to the sport we love and this includes: Leadership Positions · Past Vice President Sport, Taekwondo Canada · Past 1st Vice President Ontario Taekwondo Association · Secretary General of Federation Of Korean Canadian Association · ICG, International and Regional /Board of Directors · Member, World TKD Foundation Committee · Past Vice-Chairman of World Tae Kwon Do Association Of Canada Tournament Committee · Pan-American Tae Kwon Do Union Tournament Vice-Chairman, 2004 – 2006 · Pan-American Tae Kwon Do Union Financial Committee Chairman, 2004 -2006 Coaching and Tournament Positions · Ontario Taekwondo Association Tournament Chairman 2007-2008 · Head Of Team for Team Canada World Championship 2011 Korea · Head Of Team Canada Peru Olympic Qualifier · Head Of Team for Team Canada at Pam Am Championship 2010 in Monterrey, Mexico · Head of Team for Ontario 2009 and 2010 · Awarded Coach of The Year, 1999 Canadian Jr. Nationals · Team Canada Manager, 1998 World Jr. Championships · 1999 2nd Korea Open Team Manager

Through my involvement on a Board of Directors at the Provincial and National level, I am very familiar with Taekwondo Canada policies and bylaws as well as the operation of a Board of Directors. This experience at both levels allows me to understand the issues facing both National and Provincial organizations. As well, I know how to lead and how to build consensus. Most importantly, I understand the power that a Board of Directors wields and the responsible manner in which we must act, at all times, for the best interests of our membership.

 

 

 

In my professional life, I am a businessman, entrepreneur, actor and producer. Over my decades of experience, I have built a very strong network of people with whom I have deep and long-lasting relationships. I have developed a keen business sense and judgment that can only acquired through years of practice and refinement. In order to build any successful business or career, you must cultivate and nurture many relationships with many different people from many different parts of the world, oftentimes with different cultural backgrounds. You must also be able to negotiate in a firm, yet fair manner and make every effort to get to “yes”. You have to know when to be diplomatic, when to be tough, when to concede and when to act. All of the above is what Taekwondo Canada needs at this moment in time. These experiences are not purchased or sold – they are practiced and earned. The most important role in my life is that of being a father to my children. This role of responsibility and care has been the most rewarding source of happiness and fulfillment. This role is not limited to my own children, but to every child who is enrolled at one of my schools. I like to say that I have over 1,400 children in Taekwondo because I treat each student as if he or she were my own because that is what we are in Taekwondo - family.

 

 

 

My platform is built upon four (4) pillars that I believe are vital to the health and wellness of Taekwondo Canada. Those pillars, and my vision of success, are listed below. Governance In order for any organization to be successful it must have a system of governance that allows it to be well run, flexible and transparent. For too long, Taekwondo Canada has longed for better governance. Between internal inconsistencies in governing documents and policies, an uneven application of the policies for political gain, and a lack of understanding of good governance, our membership has suffered. Everyone wants to say that Taekwondo Canada stands for the athletes and has their best interests at heart. Those are mere words that do not align with the actions that have been taken over the recent history of the organization. My goal is to provide action that matches my words. We need a governance system that ensures the athletes are put first and ambitions of everyone else is a distant last. We need policies that reflect a commitment to our athletes in every sense of the word commitment – through training, through a high-performance plan and director, through funding and any other means necessary to raise the Maple Leaf above a gold medal in the Olympics. Our athletes can only do so much and can only control what is within their power. While our athletes are training to fight for their country, we have spent too much time fighting against ourselves, and in turn, against our athletes. The amount of money spent on legal bills alone that could have been spent on athlete development and support is staggering. We cannot continue on this path and our athletes deserve a board that will fight for them and not against each other.

Tommy’s Platform

 

 

In order to achieve good governance, everyone needs to know his or her role. Everyone is important, but everyone needs to understand what their strengths are and what they are not. Perhaps this is a symptom of the individual nature of our sport. Whatever the case may be, we need to think, work and act as a team so that our individual athletes can compete and win. Finance The financial wellness of Taekwondo Canada and the state of our financial affairs is not good. And, as a result, our membership and athletes suffer. As alluded to above, the legal bills over the last several years have really taken a toll on the organization. Compounding the matter is the fact that previous boards have not done a good job identifying inefficiencies in the organization and removing them; identifying opportunities to improve current revenue streams and generating new streams of revenue. As a businessperson, with decades of experience solving these challenges, I know I can do a great job resolving these issues. I will have no problem identifying inefficiencies and making tough decisions for the greater good of our organization. Likewise, I have a mind that is acutely aware of how to improve current revenue streams and creative in identifying new revenue streams. Add to that the fact that I love new ideas and am always willing to listen to new ideas and view different perspectives. As the saying goes, knowledge speaks and wisdom listens. While Taekwondo Canada is a not for profit organization, it needs to be run like a business in every sense. In a for-profit business, you owe a duty to your shareholders to make as much money as possible so they get a return on their investment. We owe the same duty to our shareholders – the athletes – to make their investment of time, blood, sweat and tears pay dividends down the road. And, let’s not forget the coaches, parents, medical teams, officials and the entire Taekwondo Canada community that devotes countless hours and dollars to our athletes and our organization. We owe a duty to our entire community to increase revenue to reinvest in all these areas. We need to raise the green to get the gold.

 

 

 

Promotions & Marketing This pillar dovetails nicely into finance, as promotions and marketing are integral to improving our finances. We need to do a better job promoting our sport and our organization. Highlighting the benefits of being registered with Taekwondo Canada; promoting the programs we have and creating new and exciting programs to enhance our offerings are all ways we can generate more interest and more revenue for our organization. More taekwondoists, practicing more taekwondo more often will not only enhance our athlete development but also enhance our revenue. We also need to do a better job promoting our athletes so they can be more visible and have more opportunities to receive sponsorship based funding from the private sector. Thanks in part to the Pan Am Games in Toronto this year, and the results on the podium, some of our athletes gained some positive exposure. We need to build upon this success and keep the momentum going and create more opportunities for exposure so our athletes can position themselves for sponsorship opportunities. We need to explore various social media medium and opportunities as a means of promoting our athletes. Canada needs to build a stronger relationship with the Pan Am Taekwondo Union (PATU), The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and Kukkiwon. I currently maintain a strong, positive relationship with all three organizations. Finally, we need to do a better job positioning our organization for sponsorship opportunities so we can increase our finances and reinvest in our community. My knowledge, skills and experience in promotions coupled with my network of individuals and corporations with deep pockets and charitable hearts and minds is

 

 

 

exactly what Taekwondo Canada needs to increase opportunities and revenue. By promoting our athletes, telling their stories and highlighting our events to sponsors and donors, we will position ourselves to raise funds like never before. Community Building The final pillar is building our community to be a better, bigger and stronger Taekwondo Canada. We are a collection of individuals who come from different backgrounds, expertise, cultures, ethnicities, religions and races. But the one thing we all have in common is our love of taekwondo. For too long, our leaders have focused on our differences and not our common interests. We all want our children, our athletes, to achieve the highest levels of success. I had the honor of attending the Pan Am Games to watch taekwondo and I can tell you that what I witnessed was a strong community. I had chills listening to the chants of “Canada! Canada!” when our athletes were competing. When we all get in a room together and watch the athletes we know and love, there is harmony. We need to capture that harmony whether we are in the arena or the boardroom. Whether it is my taekwondo or our taekwondo is immaterial – the common denominator is taekwondo. It may mean different things to us individually, but it is the same sport and martial art. There is a lot of space between the coasts of Canada and we need to do a better job creating a closer network. We can achieve this by running training sessions and holding more events which will allow our community of athletes, coaches, officials, parents and medical professionals to get together and create the bonds that will bring our community closer together though we may be, literally, thousands of miles apart.

 

 

 

We need to work hard with those that have expertise and the will for positive changes. The athletes need to train hard. But we need to have fun. If we are not having fun, then what are we doing? My vision of the taekwondo community is one where we may not be close geographically, but in terms of being close as a community we are inseparable. Which is why I will work on developing events to bring us closer together. In Summary and Conclusion To summarize the above, I have four pillars that I believe are vital to the success and well being of our organization. Governance – Defining roles and optimizing skillsets. Finance – We need to raise the green to get the gold. Promotions & Marketing - More taekwondoists, practicing more taekwondo more often. Community Building - Be a better, bigger and stronger Taekwondo Canada within the world community Thank you for taking the time to read about my platform and for considering my candidacy for the Taekwondo Canada Board of Directors. It has been an honor to serve Taekwondo Canada in all the capacities I have over the years and it is my sincere desire to continue to serve the community I care so deeply about. I hope that I have earned your vote and that we can work together towards a stronger Taekwondo Canada. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at master@taekwondo.ca