The USA Wrestling Board of Directors held its semi-annual meeting at the Sheraton Northshore in Northbrook, Ill., Saturday, August 11.     It was the first time that the USA Wrestling Board meeting has been held as part of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance Convention, which was also at the Sheraton Northshore at the same time.    President Bruce Baumgartner welcomed the Board members to the meeting and thanked the national staff for its efforts over the past six months. He explained that the joint Capital Campaign with the National Wrestling Coaches Association and National Wrestling Hall of Fame was moving forward and was expected to conclude by the end of the year. He noted that some special events held during the 2001 World Championships in New York City were expected to help the campaign to reach new levels of success.     Executive Director Rich Bender introduced his staff members, and presented the Board of Directors with the USA Wrestling Strategic Performance Plan, a document that had been developed for the U.S. Olympic Committee about the organization and its activities.    Bender introduced the new Partner Membership program to the Board, which was approved unanimously. "To be involved in USA Wrestling if you are not an athlete, coach or official has been difficult," said Bender. "We've put together a plan for more people to get involved in USA Wrestling."    Board member Bill Crum provided an update on the World Championships. "The message that we are delivering is that this is our shot," said Crum. "Our sport will be center stage. NYC2012 has entrusted its Olympic bid on our sport. I urge everyone to be a part of it all."     The Board of Directors unanimously approved a by-law ammendment that would adjust the composition of the Finance Committee to include a member of the Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee.    The Board also conducted elections for open positions on a number of USA Wrestling Standing Committees. Those elected to Committee posts included:    Finance Committee: Jeff Levitetz of Florida, Frank Rader of North Carolina andVan Stokes of Tennessee.    Sport Science Committee: Bernard Feldman of Illinois, Darryl Miller of Colorado, Jim Scott of Michigan, Greg Strobel of Pennsylvania and Jackie Berube of Colorado.    Public Relations Committee: Ed Aliverti of Washington, Toby Steward of Washington, Mike Hagerty of Missouri and Archie Randall of Oklahoma.    Legislative Committee: Chuck Elvin of Kansas, Al Kastl of Michigan, Stan Dziedzic of Georgia and Bill Crum of New Jersey.    International Exchange Committee: Setrak Agonian of New York, Tadaaki Hatta of Ohio, Doug Reese of Minnesota and Fred Lehrke of Wisconsin.    Chairperson of Insurance Committee: Chuck Elvin of Kansas.    Committee chairpersons were nominated by President Baumgartner and approved by the Board. They included Strobel (Sports Science), Steward (Public Relations), Lehrke (International Exchange) and Elvin (Insurance).    The Board also approved of the 2001-02 fiscal year budget, which included $7,051,999 in total revenues and $6,744,658 in total expenditures.    Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee chairman Duane Morgan presented its committee's report for acceptance, which included a number of new programs and initiatives. A key new program is the change in the USA Wrestling membership card insurance, which will provide sports accident insurance for members who participate in non-USA Wrestling sanctioned events. Another change would be an adjustment of weight classes on the Cadet and Junior divisions to the NFSHA national high school weight classes, with some additional weights for the Cadet level.    The meeting also included reports from its standing and ad-hoc committees, as well as the active member organizations on the Board.