Gwinnett Senior Softball, Inc.
General Membership Meeting
December 3, 2016 - Meeting Minutes

 

Date, Time, Location -  December 3, 2016 - 9:30 a.m.  - Gwinnett Senior Center at Bethesda Park

 

Call to Order -  Presiding President Bob Morrison called the meeting to order and welcomed members.

 

Opening Prayer - Bert McDade led the membership in an opening prayer.

 

Attendance

The following 2016 Board members were in attendance:
•    Bob Morrison, President
•    Ben Wiechman, Vice President
•    Doris Warpole, Secretary
•    Mike Grobman, Treasurer
•    Ron Petre, American League Commissioner
•    Gary Mastrodonato, Past President / Team Sponsorship / Shirts
•    Harvey Schulman, American League Member at Large / Legal Liaison
•    Ron King, National League Member at Large

 

Association By-Laws state that all members in good standing in the current calendar year are eligible to vote at the Annual Meeting; and 20% of the eligible membership in attendance shall be considered a quorum. Eighty-four (84) members attended representing 39% of the current active eligible membership of 215.

 

Recognition

Bob recognized the following individuals for their help with the Annual Meeting:
•    Kerri O'Kelly and Joan Salman, Bethesda Senior Center - Meeting room, microphone, screen, podium and coffee.
•    Board Members - Breakfast snacks
•    Randy Nisewonger – Projector
•    Jim Hannah/Ben Wiechman – Setting up screen and projector
•    Kathy Walker - Pictures
•    Wayne Griffin - Combat Senior Bat / Combat Hats
•    Ron King - (4) Frozen Turkey
•    Herb McCaulla – 2 Baseball Legend Tin Pictures / 2 Bar Signs
•    John Daley – 2 Custom Designed League License Plates
•    Dallas Howard - League Mailings
•    Gwinnett Braves - 4 tickets to 2017 game, GBraves hats and Cool Ray Field Blanket
•    All the individuals who came early and helped in setting up.

 

Bob stated door prizes will be given out during the meeting.  At the end of the meeting, all names will be put back in for the drawing of the top prize of $100 gift certificate from Dick’s Sporting Goods.

 

Special Guest – Gwinnett Braves

• Bob introduced Jason Wright from the Gwinnett Braves.  Bert McDade has worked with Jason to set up a GSS League Night Out to the GBraves on Friday, June 9.  Tickets will be $11 each and everyone would get a GBraves hat.  
• Depending on the number of tickets sold, Jason said members would walk out on the field, throw out the first pitch, or participate in activities between the innings.  Bert said we had 186 participants at the Friday, May 6, night out.  This year he would like to hit 400 so a league member could be selected to throw out the first pitch.  Bert stated members could bring their children and grandchildren for a great night of baseball and fireworks after the game.
• Doris will send out a flyer about the night out in early May.  Any questions about the night out should be directed to Bert who will purchase the tickets.  

Old/Unfinished Business

 

2015 Annual Meeting Minutes

Bob pointed out that copies of the 2015 minutes have been available on the league web site since January and copies were also available in the back of the room for members to review. Bob asked if members present would approve the minutes as written.  (Motion to approve minutes; motion seconded)  Unanimous Vote by Members Present – Minutes approved as written.

 

Bob asked if there was any other unfinished business to discuss.  No old/unfinished business was brought up.  

New Business - 2016

 

Financial Report

• Mike Grobman, Treasurer, went over the 2016 Financial Report.  Mike stated that we have a surplus this year.  Overall the league is in good shape financially and we could use some of the surplus for capital expenditures.  The expenses were close to last year with the exception that umpire and light fees were a little less due to fewer games.  Field maintenance included the purchase of a new pitching machine.  
• Bob stated managers can control the light expense by making sure the lights are not turned on too early (at 6:30 p.m.) when it was not necessary.  It is important that managers capture the light start/stop time so Doris can send the information to Mike and Gwinnett County.
• There was no further discussion or questions regarding the financial report.  Bob asked the members to approve the financial report as presented.   (Motion to approve financial report; motion seconded)  Unanimous Vote by Members Present – Financial Report approved as presented.

2016 League Overview

• Bob mentioned the membership demographics and the results for each league (including Run Difference Analysis and League Stats) were available in the back of the room for members.
• Tournament team results have been available on the web site during the year and copies were available in the back of the room.  

Membership Overview

• Membership Increased .5% in 2016:  215 vs. 210 in 2015.
• Overall membership is up 33% since 2007.
• Age Breakdown:  45-59 age group decreased by 3.1%; 60-69 decreased 14.3%; and 70+ age group increased 45%.
• County Breakdown - Gwinnett County 112 (52.1%); Other Counties 103 (47.9%)
  • Note:  Out of County Fee is paid based on First Half Members. League does not pay an OOC fee for new Second Half Members.
• Marketing materials (including flyers, league business cards, league magnets, league pens, etc.) were available in the back of the room.  

2016 Team Sponsors

• Bob recognized the 2016 Team Sponsors and asked members to use the services or frequent their establishments, whenever possible.  
• If a member is interested in becoming a sponsor, he/she should contact Gary who is coordinating 2017 Sponsorship.

Special Recognition – Team Managers / League Commissioners

• Bob stated that the League could not run efficiently without the Team Managers and League Commissioners.  He thanked everyone for their hard work.  
• Commissioners - Bill Grimes and Ron Petre - $30 gift card
• 13 Team Managers – $20 gift card
• American League – Clif Parker, Chris Bolden, Craig Pippin, Ed McVeigh, John Gordon, Miles Bowler, Steve Morgan
• National League – Rick Rhodes, Dean Eklund, John Adams, Eurskine Lyons, Nate Henry, Jim Hannah
• Note:  Gift cards will be sent to Bill Grimes, Eurskine Lyons, Miles Bowler, and Craig Pippin who did attend the meeting.

Special Thanks

• Bob recognized 5 members with gift cards for the work they do for the League during the year and at the Annual Meeting: Jim Hannah (Practices and Pictures), Ken Packman (Practices), Jim Bennett (Practices); Kathy Walker (Resident NL Nurse); and Dallas Howard (League Mailings).
• Bob also recognized Ed Brown, Umpire in Charge, Tony Taylor, and David Birge their great work in umpiring the games this year.  Ed mentioned that Nick Gordon, John’s son, and Jim Hannah helped when he was unable to get umpires for American League games.  
• Ed thanked the managers for making sure their players were under control (good behavior – only 1 ejection this year), that bats were not left out, gates were closed and exchanging line ups so there were no issues with players batting out of order.

In Memoriam - League had 5 members pass away this year (Curtis Caldwell, Al DiFiore, Jim Messer, Charlie Banks and James Saunders). Bob asked for a minute of silence in their honor.

Jim Smith Sportsmanship Award

• All players (except Board Members) are eligible for the Jim Smith Sportsmanship Award.  A committee made up of Harvey Schulman and past Jim Smith Award winners decided on the nominees and voted on a winner.
• The winner is Sterling Poole.  Sterling’s picture will be posted on the web site and $25 will be donated to the American Cancer Society in Jim Smith’s memory. Harvey presented Sterling with the Jim Smith Sportsmanship Trophy and his individual Sportsmanship Award with his name and date.

New Business - 2017

 

Nominations and Election of Officers

• Bob announced that the Board will be reduced to 9 members in 2017.
• President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer are elected positions voted on by members.
• Two League Commissioners nominated by President and approved by the Board – Term up to 4 years.
• Three At Large Members appointed by President and approved by the Board – Term up to 4 years. At Large Members serve as an Advisory Council and will step into a mandatory position to continue operation of league.

Bob announced that Bill Grimes, Ed Davis and Ron King are stepping down as Board Members and recognized them for all their hard work on the Board over the years.

• Bill Grimes – serving as a Manager / National League Commissioner for past 6 years  
• Ed Davis - serving as President / Gwinnett County liaison for past 12 years
• Ron King – serving as President / National League Repr / Insurance liaison for past 10 years

Three new board members were presented to members for 2017.

• Jim Hannah as the nominee for Vice President.
• Rick Rhodes as National League Commissioner
• Eurskine Lyons as National League Member at Large

Bob Morrison, Mike Grobman and Doris Warpole agreed to be re-nominated for President, Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.  Ben Wiechman did not seek re-election as Vice President.  Jim Hannah was nominated as Vice President.  

 

Bob asked if there were other nominations from the floor.  No other candidates were nominated.  The officers ran unopposed.

 

The election of officers for the 2017 operating year was held as required by the association Bylaws.  There was no further discussion.   Bob asked if members present wanted to accept the officers as nominated. (Motion to approve nominations; motion seconded)  Unanimous Vote of Members Present – Nominated Officers approved.
    
President            Bob Morrison
Vice-President    Jim Hannah
Treasurer            Mike Grobman
Secretary           Doris Warpole

League Commissioners 2017 - Ron Petre and Rick Rhodes will be the American League Commissioner and National League Commissioners.
 

3 At Large Board Members 2017

•    Harvey Schulman – American League Member at Large / Legal Liaison
•    Eurskine Lyons – National League Member at Large
•    Gary Mastrodonato – Team Sponsorship / Shirts

 

Bob thanked the Board members for their hard work over the past year and in keeping the best interest of the league in their decisions.

 

Board Members do not get paid and they volunteer their time and attend several meetings as well as responding to calls and emails from members with suggestions and comments.

 

The Board welcomes any suggestions from members and stated that they will respond to all complaints, concerns, issues, etc.

 

2017 Season

 

League Play

• Gary stated that Gwinnett County has given us permits for the softball field: Monday through Thursday from 6:00-11:00 p.m. for the First and Second Half seasons and Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Gwinnett County also gave us permits for the baseball field: Tuesday through Thursday from 6:00-11:00 p.m.
• Each league will play 2 nights during the week.  American League will play on Monday and Wednesday; National League will play on Tuesday and Thursday.
• Gary asked if there was any interest in changing nights of play. Straw vote of members’ present was unanimous for no change.

Practices

• Practices will be Monday and Saturday mornings.  Starting time of practices will depend on the weather – the colder the weather (i.e., December thru March 11:00 a.m.); the warmer the weather (i.e., April thru November 9:00 or 10:00 a.m.).
• When the practice time changes, the web site is updated and a blast email is sent to members with email addresses and a notice is posted on our Facebook page.  Depending on number of players who show up, practices generally last 2-3 hours.
• NOTE:  League only requests a permit for the baseball field on Saturday from mid-February through April due to the number of players who want to practice before the season starts.  
• Gwinnett County reserves the right to rent out the baseball field on other Saturdays (i.e., umpire training and other teams wanting to practice). However, if the baseball field is open, the league can practice on it.

Shirts

• Gary stated that several players have asked about getting Dri-Fit Shirts.  He said the cost of the current league shirt is $5.75 and Dri-Fit shirts would be $9.50 including screening.  He mentioned the Dri-Fit shirts are more form fitting and may not be flattering for some players.
• A straw vote was taken to see how many members would be willing to pay an additional $5.00 in league fees for Dri-Fit shirts.  It was about even in number of members willing to pay the $5.00 versus number of members that would not.
• Gary also presented the option of having 1 shirt color with all sponsors (1-line item listed on the back of the shirt). Ted Pestorius mentioned have 2 shirt colors (one for home and one for visitors).  
• Several members felt it would create an issue during play if everyone one had the same color shirt and were opposed.  Mixed review from the members present. Gary noted the one/two shirt colors would need to be discussed with the sponsors to see if they would agree with just 1 line item.  
• Some members also asked about having the year added to the Championship shirts.  Gary said that this will be done starting in 2017.
• Final decision on shirts and league fees will be made by the Board at the January Meeting.

 

Out of County Resident Fee

• The OOC fee will remain at $90 per OOC resident in 2017. 
• Bob reminded members there was unanimous decision among members when the OOC fee was introduced for spreading the OOC resident fee among the membership.  

 

Light Fees

• The light fee will remain at $9.00 per hour per night per field in 2017. Games will start promptly at 7:00 p.m.  There will not be a Sun rule or starting later.  Batting practice will stop at 6:55 p.m.  Umpires are responsible for moving the games along to minimize light usage.
• NOTE:  Lights are on a timer, but they do not come on until the league turns them on (lights automatically go off at 11:00 p.m.).  Generally, the timer is set for 7:30 p.m. and the league can turn on the lights any time after 7:30 p.m.  Later in the season, the timer is set at 6:30 p.m.

 

Meeting with Gwinnett County

Bob and Doris met with Gwinnett County on November 17 and went over the Athletic Association manual with Gwinnett Parks and Recreation officials.

 

Bob stated the following items were presented to the Gwinnett County Maintenance Team to review and decide on how to correct before the season starts.
•    Reassess the drainage problem on the softball field
•    Recheck the lights on both fields for placement
•    Look at adding a safety net on the softball field from LF to C for home run balls
•    Add a shelf in concession stand for the AED and score brains
•    Look at watering down the field at least once a week when IF is hard
•    Weeds and ants in OF on both fields

 

Doris said the new District Coordinator for Best Friend Park is Mike Peters.  Mike used to be the Park Foreman and is very familiar with Best Friend and what needs to be done.  He will work with the Park Foreman to make sure the above items are addressed.

 

Gwinnett County will continue to add foul lines and commitment lines to the fields.  They will also drag the fields and cut the grass daily during the season.  Even though they are not supposed to line the fields, they will continue to do this as a courtesy to the league.  

 

Tom Pressley asked if the scoreboards will be replaced.  Doris stated they will not, but we did get a new score brain for the softball field.  

 

Gwinnett County Improvement - New fiber optic security system has been installed at Best Friend Park to record individuals going in/out of park.  Camera feeds go directly to the Security Center at the Gwinnett Justice Center.  

 

Chad asked if anyone else uses Best Friend fields since we refer to them as “our fields”.  Bob said that there is a Gwinnett County Adult Men’s league that uses the baseball field on Monday night, a Korean baseball league uses the baseball field on Sunday afternoon, and a cricket league that uses the softball field on Sunday morning.
 
Gwinnett County Items – Stacy Fowler

•    Tobacco Free Fields – No smoking or tobacco products will be allowed on the fields or dugouts.  If members want to smoke or chew, they need to go out in the parking lot.  
•    Alcohol Free Park – If caught drinking in the park, members could receive a fine up to $150.
•    Dogs - All dogs must be on leash in the park.  Only service dogs are allowed on the field and they must have on a service vest.

Breakout Sessions by League

Bob stated we always have suggestions for league play or rule changes from members to be discussed each year.  Copies of the suggestions for both leagues are available on each table.   

 

Breakout Sessions

Members were asked to break out into league groups to discuss what was brought up to the Board this year – 45 minutes was allowed for discussion.  Ron Petre led the American League; Rick Rhodes led the National League. Members were asked to review and discuss each item and come to a consensus for their league and provide the Board with their decisions for their league.

 

Final decision on all items will be made by the Board at the January meeting.

 

American League Decisions (Ron Petre / Harvey Schulman)

• SSUSA Rules: Ron stated up front that the SSUSA rulebook will be the highest priority when considering rules.  
• Pitch Count:  Change back to 1-1 with the addition of a courtesy foul.  Straw vote was yes for the change.
• Additional Penalty for Walking HR Hitter:  Straw vote was not to add an additional penalty.
• Penalty for Batter Hitting Pitching Screen:  Straw vote was not to add a penalty.
• Penalty for Pitcher Not Getting Behind Screen:  Straw vote was to leave the current rule as it stands and not remove the penalty.  
• Unsportsmanlike Conduct:  Ron made everyone aware that bad behavior could get you tossed “without a warning” and managers should control their players.
• Suggestions regarding fair playing time, batting order, alternating players entire game:  These suggestions will continue to be left up to the managers.  However, Ron will mention at the draft meeting to let all managers know that some players would like to see a change.  Some of the top players chimed in that they would not have a problem with sitting out some of the game on defense.
• Playoff at End of Season:  Ron said he was considering a 3-team or possibly a 7-team playoff at the end of the season.  As far as the Memorial Tournament, it will continue to be held on a weeknight with league players only.  He said he has some ideas on how to improve it.

National League Decisions (Rick Rhodes / Kathy Walker)

• Penalty for Batter Hitting Pitching Screen:  Players voted to leave the current rule as it is.
• Penalty for Pitcher Not Getting Behind Screen:  NL pitchers voted to leave it alone.  This vote was directed to the pitchers only since it directly affected them.  It is the pitcher’s choice to get behind the screen or not when a ball is batted.
• No Shows for Games:  Not voted on.  Rick said he will bring it up in the managers draft meeting since it is manager’s discretion.
• Unsportsmanlike Conduct:  An Umpire can eject a player out of a game without warning whenever he deems necessary. Rick made everyone aware that bad behavior could get you tossed “without a warning” and managers should control their players.
• Fees for Playing in Both Leagues:  Nate Henry had a question he would like to be brought up to the Board.  Does a player have to pay the full amount if they want to play in both leagues or can there be discount for choosing to play in both leagues?  
• Substitutes:  Matt Robbins asked about subs.  When a team needs a substitute, make sure the player picked to replace the player that is out, be equal in their abilities or lower to that regular player, but never better. Rick will discuss substitutes and how they will be selected at the mangers draft meeting.

 

2017 Application Form:  There was discussion about adding the following 2 items to the application:  Question asking who is CPR trained and a statement that fees are non-refundable.  The Board will make the final decision on the application form at the January meeting.

 

CPR Training:  Sterling Poole and Larry McDaniel both said they would be willing to do CPR training for managers and any players that might be interested.  
 

General Information/Discussion

 

Annual Players Memorial Tournament - The 2017 One Pitch Memorial Tournament will be on a Thursday night between seasons at Best Friend Park. Date to be determined by Ron Petre and Rick Rhodes.  Members can contact Ron and Rick with any questions about the tournament.

 

Gwinnett County Sports Expo - Saturday, January 28 – Bogan Park Community Center.  Stacy Fowler will send a flyer to Doris to send out to members.
 
Gwinnett Senior Golden Games - Gwinnett Senior Golden Games Olympics that will be held at different venues from March 29 through May 10.  Flyers were available at the meeting.

 

Door Prizes

Gary Mastrodonato, Harvey Schulman, Ron King and Ben Wiechman gave out door prizes during the meeting to the members that were present.  
o    Bob Brown won the top prize of a $100 gift certificate from Dick’s Sporting Goods.
o    Steve Hartshorne won a Senior Bat from Combat donated by Wayne Griffin.
o    Herb McCaulla won the 4 Gwinnett Braves infield box seat tickets.
o    Sam Clemons won an autographed baseball by Javy Lopez.

 

Meeting Closed - President Bob Morrison declared the meeting adjourned at 12:00 noon.