Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

 

Meeting Date, Time and Location - Wednesday, January 17, 2022 – Zoom

In Attendance – Mike Alexander, President; Tommy Wiggins, Vice President; Frank Casper, League Secretary; Ron Petre, American League Commissioner; Rick Rhodes, National League Commissioner; Gary Mastrodonato, Team Sponsorship/Past President; Harvey Schulman, AL Member at Large; Eurskine Lyons, NL Member at Large; Christine Scheurich, Treasurer; Doris Warpole, Past League Secretary
 
Mike called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.
 
Non-Profit Status / IRS Tax Issue
 
Discussion:  Mike and Christine were to have met this past Friday but postponed due to sickness. Mike will follow up.
 
League Business Address – GA Secretary of State
 
Discussion:  Mike said that Christine will be responsible for changing the league business address over to her and will file with the state.
 
Not yet resolved. We file as Gwinnett Senior Softball with the IRS and GA Secretary of State. Doris talked with Todd about changing the web site. We have text for MASSL too. 
 
Both names are valid.  Gary wants to keep Metro Atlanta Senior Softball. It’s a domain name. 
 
Gwinnett County – (Meeting will be set later) 
 
Discussion: 
 
Mike asked if we’d met with them yet. Doris sent an email and they said they are not quite ready yet. May have to wait till February. Doris will let Board members know of date to see if they want to attend.  Probably will be via a Zoom meeting
 
No increase in out of county ($90 per OCC player) or light fees ($9 per hour per field) for 2022 
 
No covid restrictions from County on play – permits to be requested
 
Discussion - COVID
 
Terra said there are no restrictions for outside activities, but masks are required in ALL County facilities. Rick suggested we proceed as we want to and deal with any actions by the County if and when they occur. 
 
Season Start Dates
 
First Half Season - Start date 1st week of April 

• Deadline to sign Friday, March 4
• Draft – AL Monday March 14
• Draft – NL Wednesday March 16
• American League – Monday April 4 thru June xx (Memorial Day – Monday May 30)
• National League – Tuesday April 5 to June xx 
• Start National League 1 week later if Spring Training tournament is held

 
Discussion:
 
Rick wants to have the 1 pitch on Tuesday March 29. The season will start the following week on Tuesday April 5. 
 
Rick wants all the forms in by Friday March 4 so that he can do his draft on Wednesday March 16.  Rick wants the registration form on the web site by the end of January or first week in February. That gives everyone a month to submit it and gives him a few days at the end of the deadline to chase the tardy. Todd said that would not be a problem.
 
Deadline for forms is Friday, March 4 which gives Frank a week to get the forms out to Rick and Ron in time for the draft.  We get Saturday and Sunday after March 4 to run down stragglers. I will need to get all data to him by the 6th or the 7th. 
 
Plan of Action (COVID)
 
There is no need for 2022.
 
Registration Form / League Fees  
 
Discussion:
 

• Change in League Fees ($30 member fee, $98 per season fee) Does anyone see a reason to change them? Decision was no changes for 2022.
• Other changes to 2022 registration form
  • Doris recommended that members should not be allowed to sign up for both seasons at the same time. It is easier for Christine and Frank to process 1 season at a time and less work. We need to make sure the form says that. Doris said she already discussed this with Todd.
• Add Online Payment as option for Registration (Todd)
  • Some players will still mail in league fees.  Checks/money orders need to be mailed to Christine.
  • Mike: We will have to deal with the one offs regardless. 
  • I’ll need to work with Christine on this as we go.  If overpaying, I need to ask if they want to donate the extra. I need to clarify if they are signing up for practice only etc or if they are submitting the $30 member fee and will pay the $98 league fee by the second week of play. It will be up to me to follow up on the details for members who sign up.
  • Harvey said we pay extra to the credit card company for each online payment. Mike said they already pay the extra fee. It’s added at the time they make a PayPal payment. They can send a check to Christine to avoid the PayPal fee.

 
Insurance (Harvey)
 
($1,095 in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 was not paid, 2021) – Any increase or changes

• SSUSA Team Insurance – $520 - 13 teams ($40/team – same as 2016-2021)
• Directors and Officers Liability Insurance – 2017-2021 $575; 2016 - $558

Discussion:

What we did last year was flexible. We could send payment later after we decide on how many teams we will have. They will send us a bill.

We have had D&O liability insurance for the last 5 years. It is well worth it. 
 
Softballs (Ron/Rick) 

 

Discussion:

 

More of an issue for the AL league then the NL. Harvey recalls that no one wants to go hunting for softballs. Gary recalled a meeting with Cliff and Chris and a talk about screens and so forth. We let them know it was not possible. 

 

We said the league will buy extra softballs. Ron said he has a nice healthy supply of balls and would not need too many more. The league will eat the extra cost. We also discouraged the managers from spending their own money. Mike said we are liquid and can cover this cost easily.

 

Ron: Umpires would control the softballs. Each team would hit with the same ball until they run out. Mike asked about a particular manager who will find bullet balls toward the end of the game. Ron said it would not happen anymore. Players know if they don’t like the ball they are playing with, they will need to request a ball that is already in the rack. 

 

Ron and Eurskine will discuss and come up with a solution. Where would the balls be stored between games? We might buy a decent cabinet with a lock on it to store the balls during the games. Todd provided a link to a cabinet.

 

There was a discussion with Ron about: how the American league feels about the softballs they use. He said they are generally happy with them. 

 

Last night of the last season this was discussed, and they decided the umpires would control the availability of balls and that everyone would use the same ball. One used; one new. 

 

Depending on home runs and such the umpire would throw out the next ball. Managers would no longer supply balls of their own. If they don’t like the ball in play, they can request the umpire to supply the next ball from the rack. 

 

There is an issue with the action of the ball and temperature. Eurskine and Ron will discuss this and come up with something. The balls would need to be stored and kept secure. There was a suggestion to put then in the fridge and lock that up 
 
New Equipment
 
Discussion:
 
Have heard nothing from Jim or Ken. We got the new carts. We need new extension cords - 50ft. Mike will evaluate the existing cords and buy two new ones.
 
I will follow-up with Terra about the outlet. Note: Tara said the outlet is fixed.
 
Any SSUSA Rule Changes / Disapproved Bats (Eurskine)
 
Team Sponsors (Gary)  
 
Discussion:
 
Try to keep Sponsors on the team they sponsor - to be discussed at the draft.
 
Gary solicited sponsors to see if they were willing to go 2 years rather 1 year and get the shirts up front. They all said yes except Tim Schirm.. Gary can order the shirts before the season begins. We can get their team colors; all are good with them except Rob Vanni. 
 
Doris asked if the sponsors have to pay annual member fee for 2 years ($60) if they sign up for 2 years. No. We will go with season by season. 
 
Do we want to order shirts? Yes. 
 
Final 2021 Financial Statement (Christine)

 

Christine said all that has changed financially is reimbursement for the food ($300) for the annual meeting and outstanding payment for championship shirts.
 
Suggestions / Rule Changes discussed at Annual Meeting

 

• American League
  • Add Flip Flop Rule
  • Change minimum of players before forfeiting to 6

Discussion:
 
Eurskine said there are no rule changes that apply to our league for this year.
 
Ron said the American League will put the flip flop rule into play, but both managers will have to agree with it or it won’t happen. He will get with Eurskine and discuss.
 
Ron said changing the minimum number of players for a forfeit was for a 11-man roster and problems in getting subs.  This year he plans on more players on a roster and so there is no need for a change in the 7-man minimum for a forfeit
 
 On moving the pitching screen, Ron does not like that the pitcher can move the screen according to the batter. He likes that once it is in position for the pitcher, it stays in that position for the whole inning. If there is a change in pitchers during an inning, the new pitcher can move the screen where they want it. 
 
If we change a pitcher, we need to have a rule that it can be moved at that point. Harvey will prepare the wording to this rule and send to Frank.
 
Gary said that some regard the screen as an extra fielder. Ron says no - that is only possible if the screen is moved toward first or third base etc. There was a discussion about whether the screen is merely another fielder for some of the pitchers. Both Ron and Rick disagreed with that view of the screen’s purpose. It is for safety and that is all. Whether the pitcher uses the screen by moving behind it after a pitch is up to the pitcher. It’s not something that can be enforced.

 

Forms for Review

 

Discussion:

 

We have not had any changes in last 4 years. No changes for 2022.

• Manager Rules of Conduct
• Umpire Rules of Conduct
• Player Movement Guidelines

 
2022 Nights of Play and Field Specs 

 

Permits for nights of play - Frank will request from Terra by end of January.
 
Tournaments During Year
 
One Pitch Annual Players Memorial Tournament  

• Stay with third week in September

National League One Pitch Spring Training Tournament Before First Half Starts

• Spring Training Night – First Tuesday before season starts – Tuesday, March 29

American League Playoff Tournament between Seasons or end of Season - top 3 teams and bottom 3 teams

• Hard to schedule between seasons if we have a lot of rainouts 
• Ron will work to put together a 24-game schedule. Last 4 games will be playoffs.  Will do for both halves. Ron will deal with this as weather permits. 

Annual Bert McDade Gwinnett Stripers Night Out (Gary Mastrodonato)

• June xx (Friday or Saturday)

Discussion: 
 
Per Gary, they no longer require the $100 deposit. Gary said that the Stripers were sold to another entity along with the team from Rome. We will need to verify their structure before sending any money. Gary said they are going to set it up online for people to pay. Harvey said Diamond Baseball Holders bought the Stripers and they will continue to be the associated with the Braves. Gary said we will let this slide until we see what kind of season we are having and then check to see what interest the players have.
 
Senior Resources – Links added to web site (Rick Rhodes)
 
Rick sent email out about this. Most of the feedback from the board was to reserve our League web site for league business and marketing. 
 
Facebook vs League Web Site 
 
There was some discussion about the virtue of Facebook. Rick asked if we could do on our web site what we do with Facebook. Doris said that it is difficult, and Todd said this would be exceedingly complicated. Facebook has 385 members vs 185 or so Members on the league web page.
 
Facebook is valuable for many reasons, particularly when we need to notify folks of cancelled games, announced practices, members wanting to sell equipment, etc. Rick wanted to know if we could remove the Facebook page and fill its services with our league web site. Todd said he woould look into it and let us know what he comes up with.
 
Facebook Postings regarding helping out members (Ken Packman/Wesley Medford)
 
Doris had a real issue with what Packmen did for Wesley on Facebook.  He set a precedent and exposed the Board to other potential requests for help. It could have been a blast email. The point is Facebook has purposes but not for that kind of thing.
 
Umpire Performance / Pay
 
Discussion
 
Mike talked with Ed and, it is not an issue of pay but of availability. Ed did not want to poach umpires from another association. Ed recognized that Dave is not reliable.
 
Ed will look for a better standby. Other associations pay $26-27 per game, and they ump 3 games. They would make more money working for the county. Incentive pay will not solve this problem. 
 
Mike will see if Ed has made any progress on this. Until then, we can table this issue. Maybe Ed can find someone. Mike said he would continue to be in touch with Ed to see what can be worked out. 
 
Registration Process
 
Mike asked Doris to bring me up to speed on the registration process. He would like to get our registration numbers back up to pre-COVID days. 
 
Doris will send Mike the statement he usually makes to kick that process off so that he can approve it. When we get a date for the meeting with the county, Mike will let the board know so they can participate if they want to. 
 
Ron wants clay added to the batter’s boxes. Doris said this will be added to the agenda for the meeting with the County. 

Keys for Best Friend Park

 

Mike had a question about the code to the lockbox on the equipment room. Too many people have the combination, and the keys tend to walk away.

 

A few weeks ago, Eurskine found the lock box was open and the keys were gone. No doors were open, and nothing was missing from the equipment room. Hannah and Packman have their own set of keys. Eurskine talked to both, and they did not know anything. 

 

No one knows who accessed the lockbox and disappeared with the keys. No one has put the keys back. Rick said that nothing was missing from the equipment room, so he feels it had to be someone from the league who had the code. Packman, Hannah, Doris, and Ron have keys. 
We cannot duplicate the keys. We may have to change all the locks. Rick suggested sending out a blast email asking if someone had the keys to return them.  (I did this 2 days after the meeting)

 

If the keys are returned, change the lockbox code and limit who gets it. If keys are not returned, Doris will follow up with the county about what our options are:  changing the locks, get new set of keys, etc.

 

Final To Do Items

 

Eurskine will send Ron and Rick a summary of the rule changes and forward to Frank to add to the 2022 Rules. 

 

Harvey will order copies of 2022 Rule books. 

 

Gary will start ordering the shirts for the sponsors who want the 2 year option.

 

Meeting adjourned about 8:00 PM.