Gwinnett Senior Softball, Inc.
General Membership Meeting
December 7, 2019 - Meeting Minutes

9:35 a.m.  - Gwinnett Senior Center at Bethesda Park

The 2019 Annual General Membership Meeting of the Gwinnett Senior Softball, Inc. (GSS) league was held on Saturday, December 7, at the Gwinnett County Senior Center located at Bethesda Park. The Senior Center opened at 9:00 a.m. The meeting began at 9:35 a.m. and ended at 12:15 p.m. Breakfast snacks and coffee were served.

Pictures from Meeting

Members were asked to make every effort to attend the meeting so the Board of Directors could have an opportunity to listen first hand to their concerns and thereby be better informed and able to proceed with decisions impacting league play based on the consensus of members in attendance. In accordance with the association's by-laws, a quorum was needed (20% of the eligible membership) for the election of officers. 70 members attended the meeting - quorum was met (35% of the eligible active paying membership - 212).

Special thanks to the following individuals for helping to make the Annual Meeting a success!!

• Amanda Mutt, Bethesda Senior Center - Meeting room, microphone, screen, podium, coffee.
• Board Members - Breakfast snacks and set up
• Lee VanDiver – Biscuits and Pigs-n-Blanket
• Jim Hannah - Loaning Projector / Camera
• John Gordon – Setting up Projector
• Kathy Walker - Pictures
• Eurskine Lyons – Donated 2 New Bats
• Tom Presley – Mystery Gift for Managers (he made a magnetic manager clip board)
• Anonymous - Donated a $50 Home Depot Gift Certificate
• All the individuals who came early and helped in setting up.

Bob stated in place of door prizes all members present will receive a gift card.  At the end of the meeting, all names to be put back in for drawing of the top prizes ($100 gift certificate from Dick’s Sporting Goods, 2 bats donated by Eurskine, and $50 Home Depot Gift Certificate).  Bob asked for a straw vote if members preferred the gift cards vs door prizes.  Majority of members voted they preferred gift cards.

Topics Discussed at the Meeting

• Old/Unfinished Business - 2018 Meeting Minutes - approved by members present
   
• New League Web Site was rolled out in 2019 - John Gordon did an overview of the web site functionality and asked members to provide him with their likes/dislikes.
  • John is committed to getting the web site processes (online payment option, etc.) and operations running smoothly but will need to transition responsibility to someone else in 2021. 
  • Doris would like to step down from working on web site in 2021.
  • Bob asked if any member was interested in taking over for John or Doris to send an email to Doris.
  • Mike Grobman and John Gordon are committed to having the online payment option available for First Half Sign up.
     
• 2019 Season
  • Mike Grobman, Treasurer, presented the financial statement - approved by members present. Any questions about the 2019 report can be directed to Mike via phone or email.
  • Membership Update - Membership (active paying members) decreased overall 5.7%. Membership statistics were available for members at the meeting.
    • Age breakdown:  54% - 60 or younger; 46& - 61 or older
    • County breakdown - 44% Gwinnett; 56% other counties
  • First and Second Half League Results and Tournament Team results were available for members at the meeting.
  • Recognition of League Commissioners, Team Managers, and individuals who have helped out during the year.
  • Recognition of Team Sponsors and Umpires.
     
• In Memoriam – Members present had a moment of silence for the 5 members who passed in 2019.  Special recognition for Bert McDade as past Board Member.
   
• Jim Smith Sportsmanship Award – Wesley Medford
  • Members were asked to submit nominations of players who they felt were deserving of the award.  This year we received 8 nominations and all were deserving.
  • Harvey read the nominating statement from John Adams.
  • $25 donation in Jim Smith’s name will be made to the American Cancer Society.
     
• Election of Officers for 2020
  • President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer are elected positions voted on by members. Officer term is 1 year.
  • 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 Morrison is stepping down after 5 years. He will remain in a Past President role for 1 year. 
  • Floyd Dembo, Vice President, agreed to be nominated for President.  Lee VanDiver agreed to be nominated for Vice President.  Mike Grobman and Doris Warpole agreed to be re-nominated for Treasurer and Secretary. Bob asked if there were other nominations from the floor.  No other candidates were nominated. Unanimous Vote of Members Present – Nominated Officers approved.
     
• Special Thanks to Bob Morrison
  • Gary asked the league to recognize and thank Bob for his years of service as a President.  The league will give Bob a small bat engraved with his name, position and years of years.
  • ”5 years - He gave us 5 years - Think about that.  That's a long time to give to our organization in an elected position.  In addition, he was Vice President for 5 years   that was a Team Manager.
     
• 2020 Season
  • Field Availability - Softball field (Mon-Thurs); Baseball field (Tues/Wed/Thurs); Practices - Mon and Sat (additional week day may be added through March)
  • Gwinnett County maintenance during off season
    • Add IF mix over JoxBox at home plate on both fields
    • Re-align left field foul line light on softball field
    • Update on safety net on softball field from LF to LC
    • New wind screens on both fields
    • New score brains/scoreboards
    • Make warning track larger (Bob explained that we have talked to the County about this, but we would bring it up again in our meeting.
    • Mow behind the outfield fence (Bob explained that this would not be done because of the County’s green policy)
  • Out of County Resident Fee – No increase - remains at $90 per OCC resident
  • Light Fees - No increase in per hour per field fee – remains at $9 per hour
  • League Play - 2-3 week break between seasons (depending on weather)
  • One Pitch Annual Memorial Tournament in late September
     
• Break Out Discussion Sessions - American League and National League
  • Suggestions from members were discussed and results recorded
  • Consensus of members will be presented to Board in January to prepare for 2020 season.
     
• Gwinnett Stripers Night Out - Bert McDade had been handling the league night out for the past 4 years.  Gary Mastrodonato took over this responsibility and stated he is looking at Friday, Saturday or Sunday (June 5-7).  Preferred night by members present was Friday, June 5, because of the fireworks.
  • Clif Parker proposed we rename the event as the Annual Bert McDade Memorial Stripers Night Out.  Approved by all members present.          
  • Doris will send out a flyer about the Fifth Annual Night Out. 
  • Any questions about the night out should be directed to Gary who is coordinating the event. 
     
• General Information
  • Gwinnett Senior Golden Games - March 25 to May 6, 2020
  • Door prizes were given out during the meeting and included 6 top prizes:
    • $100 gift certificate from Dick's Sporting Goods
    • $50 Home Depot gift card donated anonymously
    • 2 bats donated by Eurskine Lyons
       
• Members can contact a member of the Board of Directors if they have any questions about the topics addressed at the meeting.