Arlington Little League Annual Meeting Minutes ... - League Athletics
Arlington Little League Annual Meeting Minutes Thursday, September 26, 2013 Washington-Lee High School, Room 1019 Attendees: John Anderson, Adam Balutis, Shirley Brothwell, Frank Buono, Sean Carrig, Aija Moeller, Rob O’Toole, Jeremy Rosen, Craig Stronberg
Adam Balutis called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Presentation of Slate: President; three Vice Presidents: Administration, Operations, and Resources; League Information Officer; Secretary; Player Agent; Challengers Commissioner. Slate approved unanimously. Assignment of Officers: President: Adam Balutis Vice President – Administration: Aija Moeller Vice President – Operations: Jeremy Rosen Vice President – Resources: Shirley Brothwell Secretary: vacant League Information Officer: vacant (Aija Moeller to serve in interim) Player Agent: vacant Challengers Commissioners: John and Cathy Makara Chief Umpire: John Vena Officers approved unanimously. Approval of Positions Board structured as tiered system with officers on second tier and ad-hoc committees in tier three and four. For example, helping chief umpire John Vena will be Dave Maher and Diane Howard with training, and Caleb Rakestraw-Morn as scheduling coordinator. Other positions: Majors Commissioner: John Anderson County Liaison, Facilities Coordinator: Dana Dougherty Legal Counsel: Frank Buono Rookies Commissioner: Robert Hammer Fall Ball Commissioner: Craig Stronberg Minors Commissioner: Mike Romano Training Coordinator: Brian Coll Sponsorship Chair: Sherina Haideri Managers Committee Chair: Sean Carrig Vote passes unanimously.
Mr. Balutis expressed that he is willing to step down as president of ALL if a new candidate steps forward. Financial Report Treasurer John Ralyea shared the handout with summary of performance relative to budget and the month-by-month detail of the financial activity for 2012-2013. He also reported:
Bank balance was $73,557 on September 20, 2013. However, late arriving invoices of $12k for fall uniforms and $2k for baseballs still need to be paid as well as the umpires for fall ball (about $2k) Bank balance benefited from a check from Active.com (old registration system) for about $6,800 related to registration fees they found dating back to ALL registrations from 2008. We also received about $4,000 in donations through online registrations which were not budgeted. Including these, net fund raising proceeds were a little above budget, contributing a net $33,300 to the league’s coffers. On the spending side, equipment and uniform expenditures were a combined $18,000 over budget. While the cost of the online registration system, field maintenance, and printing were $5,000 under budget. Bottom line, once all the checks have been cashed, we will end up with about $60,000 in ALL’s bank account (about $6k below budget for the year). Nonetheless, ALL is good financial shape. The question remains how can we use the money to improve the baseball experience for the players.
Shirley Brothwell noted that sponsorship funds were down because last year not enough effort was put into this initiative. She suggested reviewing fundraising activities as some might not be the best way to spend volunteer time. Mr. Ralyea will seek input from other Board members in the next month to develop next year’s budget. Renewal of Constitution Mr. Balutis asked to approve the ALL Constitution as presented at last year’s annual membership meeting. There have not been any changes. Vote passes unanimously. Meeting adjourned 7:45 pm.
Arlington Little League Board Meeting Minutes Thursday, September 26, 2013 Washington-Lee High School, Room 1019 Attendees: John Anderson, Adam Balutis, Shirley Brothwell, Frank Buono, Sean Carrig, Aija Moeller, Rob O’Toole, Jeremy Rosen, Craig Stronberg
Mr. Balutis called the meeting to order at 7:45 pm. He welcomed and introduced the meeting attendees. Sex Offender Policy Executive Session ALL Star Update Jeremy Rosen reported on All Star 2013 efforts: families were informed, parents meeting was effective met goals filling four teams: two 9-10 teams and two 11-12 teams all teams were well coached observed more player and parent participation Goals for next year will include finding a designated commissioner, inform families about All Star play and opportunities sooner, find coaches earlier in the year, conduct survey about All Star experience for families/ Mr. Balutis noted that there was a renewed interest in continuing conversation with LLI about collapsing the American and National Leagues into one. Fall Ball Update Craig Stronberg’s report included these highlights: Registrant numbers were up, total 444 registrants; had to create more teams at every level. Slam Ball replaced with Jr. Tee Ball Registration cut-off enacted on time Eight scholarships awarded Planning began in summer with help from Mike Romano, David Rohrbach, Sal D’Itri, Aija Moeller, Dana Dougherty Commissioners in place for every level. Commissioners assigned players. Commissioners are o Sal D’Itri – Jr. Tee Ball and Tee Ball o Mike Romano – Minors and Rookies o David Rohrbach – AAA and Majors Administrative leadership o Dana Dougherty – scheduling o Aija Moeller – IT, scheduling, registration o Shirley Brothwell – equipment Cooperation with CRBR
o o o o o
Mostly successful interleague play in 2012; continue with “MLB-style” interleague play with CRBR in 2013 This weekend will be first all interleague weekend Scheduling partnership with county – Ms. Dougherty scheduled games for both leagues, proved to be logistically easier Sharing of umpires Majors Mets joint team with CRBR
Mr. Stronberg encouraged the league to use Fall Ball as laboratory for trying out new things. Aija Moeller noted the benefit of having schedules and team rosters set up in the league management system and requested that it is made a requirement for commissioners to create team rosters in www.arlingtonlittleleague.org. Vote passes unanimously. Adopt a Field Rob O’Toole shared his and a few other Taylor Elementary School parents’ experience with adopting the fields near the school as part of Arlington County’s Adopt a Park program. It’s been positive, with visible improvements to the field. Among the Board member comments were Recommendation for ALL to adopt up to four fields in different areas of Arlington Create matching fund program: ALL matches community funds 1:1 It is $1200 per year to maintain the field Adopting the field does not mean priority use rights More information about the county’s Adopt a Park program can be found at http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/ParksRecreation/scripts/parks/AdoptAPark.aspx Mr. Balutis and Mr. O’Toole will present an initiative proposal at the next month’s meeting. Russia-Arlington Baseball Exchange Mr. Buono has been approached by parents Alexander Krupenchenkov and Ekaterina Varley about a possible youth baseball exchange program between Arlington and Moscow. Mr. and Mrs. Krupenchenkov would like to facilitate establishing a long term relationship between Moscow Cardinals and Arlington Little League. They propose bringing 20 players ages 9-12 to Arlington. Suggestions from Board members included: Ms. Varley should take lead role on logistics coordination, finding host families for players and coaches as well as organizing sightseeing She might want to reach out to Sister City Association for guidance ALL would assist with organizing some practices and up to eight games Suggested timing for visit in late March is not as desirable as during public schools spring break (April 12-20) or at the end of the season in early June New Business: More storage space at Shirlington Storage Registration to open late October, early November; rates to approve at next Board meeting Joint play with CRBR at Tee Ball level--tabled Special issues committee: Shirley Brothwell, Sean Carrig, Aija Moeller, John Ralyea, Jeremy Rosen
Meeting adjourned 9:30 pm.
Adam Balutis called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Presentation of Slate: President; three Vice Presidents: Administration, Operations, and Resources; League Information Officer; Secretary; Player Agent; Challengers Commissioner. Slate approved unanimously. Assignment of Officers: President: Adam Balutis Vice President – Administration: Aija Moeller Vice President – Operations: Jeremy Rosen Vice President – Resources: Shirley Brothwell Secretary: vacant League Information Officer: vacant (Aija Moeller to serve in interim) Player Agent: vacant Challengers Commissioners: John and Cathy Makara Chief Umpire: John Vena Officers approved unanimously. Approval of Positions Board structured as tiered system with officers on second tier and ad-hoc committees in tier three and four. For example, helping chief umpire John Vena will be Dave Maher and Diane Howard with training, and Caleb Rakestraw-Morn as scheduling coordinator. Other positions: Majors Commissioner: John Anderson County Liaison, Facilities Coordinator: Dana Dougherty Legal Counsel: Frank Buono Rookies Commissioner: Robert Hammer Fall Ball Commissioner: Craig Stronberg Minors Commissioner: Mike Romano Training Coordinator: Brian Coll Sponsorship Chair: Sherina Haideri Managers Committee Chair: Sean Carrig Vote passes unanimously.
Mr. Balutis expressed that he is willing to step down as president of ALL if a new candidate steps forward. Financial Report Treasurer John Ralyea shared the handout with summary of performance relative to budget and the month-by-month detail of the financial activity for 2012-2013. He also reported:
Bank balance was $73,557 on September 20, 2013. However, late arriving invoices of $12k for fall uniforms and $2k for baseballs still need to be paid as well as the umpires for fall ball (about $2k) Bank balance benefited from a check from Active.com (old registration system) for about $6,800 related to registration fees they found dating back to ALL registrations from 2008. We also received about $4,000 in donations through online registrations which were not budgeted. Including these, net fund raising proceeds were a little above budget, contributing a net $33,300 to the league’s coffers. On the spending side, equipment and uniform expenditures were a combined $18,000 over budget. While the cost of the online registration system, field maintenance, and printing were $5,000 under budget. Bottom line, once all the checks have been cashed, we will end up with about $60,000 in ALL’s bank account (about $6k below budget for the year). Nonetheless, ALL is good financial shape. The question remains how can we use the money to improve the baseball experience for the players.
Shirley Brothwell noted that sponsorship funds were down because last year not enough effort was put into this initiative. She suggested reviewing fundraising activities as some might not be the best way to spend volunteer time. Mr. Ralyea will seek input from other Board members in the next month to develop next year’s budget. Renewal of Constitution Mr. Balutis asked to approve the ALL Constitution as presented at last year’s annual membership meeting. There have not been any changes. Vote passes unanimously. Meeting adjourned 7:45 pm.
Arlington Little League Board Meeting Minutes Thursday, September 26, 2013 Washington-Lee High School, Room 1019 Attendees: John Anderson, Adam Balutis, Shirley Brothwell, Frank Buono, Sean Carrig, Aija Moeller, Rob O’Toole, Jeremy Rosen, Craig Stronberg
Mr. Balutis called the meeting to order at 7:45 pm. He welcomed and introduced the meeting attendees. Sex Offender Policy Executive Session ALL Star Update Jeremy Rosen reported on All Star 2013 efforts: families were informed, parents meeting was effective met goals filling four teams: two 9-10 teams and two 11-12 teams all teams were well coached observed more player and parent participation Goals for next year will include finding a designated commissioner, inform families about All Star play and opportunities sooner, find coaches earlier in the year, conduct survey about All Star experience for families/ Mr. Balutis noted that there was a renewed interest in continuing conversation with LLI about collapsing the American and National Leagues into one. Fall Ball Update Craig Stronberg’s report included these highlights: Registrant numbers were up, total 444 registrants; had to create more teams at every level. Slam Ball replaced with Jr. Tee Ball Registration cut-off enacted on time Eight scholarships awarded Planning began in summer with help from Mike Romano, David Rohrbach, Sal D’Itri, Aija Moeller, Dana Dougherty Commissioners in place for every level. Commissioners assigned players. Commissioners are o Sal D’Itri – Jr. Tee Ball and Tee Ball o Mike Romano – Minors and Rookies o David Rohrbach – AAA and Majors Administrative leadership o Dana Dougherty – scheduling o Aija Moeller – IT, scheduling, registration o Shirley Brothwell – equipment Cooperation with CRBR
o o o o o
Mostly successful interleague play in 2012; continue with “MLB-style” interleague play with CRBR in 2013 This weekend will be first all interleague weekend Scheduling partnership with county – Ms. Dougherty scheduled games for both leagues, proved to be logistically easier Sharing of umpires Majors Mets joint team with CRBR
Mr. Stronberg encouraged the league to use Fall Ball as laboratory for trying out new things. Aija Moeller noted the benefit of having schedules and team rosters set up in the league management system and requested that it is made a requirement for commissioners to create team rosters in www.arlingtonlittleleague.org. Vote passes unanimously. Adopt a Field Rob O’Toole shared his and a few other Taylor Elementary School parents’ experience with adopting the fields near the school as part of Arlington County’s Adopt a Park program. It’s been positive, with visible improvements to the field. Among the Board member comments were Recommendation for ALL to adopt up to four fields in different areas of Arlington Create matching fund program: ALL matches community funds 1:1 It is $1200 per year to maintain the field Adopting the field does not mean priority use rights More information about the county’s Adopt a Park program can be found at http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/ParksRecreation/scripts/parks/AdoptAPark.aspx Mr. Balutis and Mr. O’Toole will present an initiative proposal at the next month’s meeting. Russia-Arlington Baseball Exchange Mr. Buono has been approached by parents Alexander Krupenchenkov and Ekaterina Varley about a possible youth baseball exchange program between Arlington and Moscow. Mr. and Mrs. Krupenchenkov would like to facilitate establishing a long term relationship between Moscow Cardinals and Arlington Little League. They propose bringing 20 players ages 9-12 to Arlington. Suggestions from Board members included: Ms. Varley should take lead role on logistics coordination, finding host families for players and coaches as well as organizing sightseeing She might want to reach out to Sister City Association for guidance ALL would assist with organizing some practices and up to eight games Suggested timing for visit in late March is not as desirable as during public schools spring break (April 12-20) or at the end of the season in early June New Business: More storage space at Shirlington Storage Registration to open late October, early November; rates to approve at next Board meeting Joint play with CRBR at Tee Ball level--tabled Special issues committee: Shirley Brothwell, Sean Carrig, Aija Moeller, John Ralyea, Jeremy Rosen
Meeting adjourned 9:30 pm.
