SNB Minutes 2009-01 - League Athletics
Southington Northern Baseball, Inc. Southington Northern Little League Southington Northern Babe Ruth
P.O. Box 125 Southington, CT 06489
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Wednesday January 7, 2009 Mulberry Gardens Attendees (Board) Tom Carroll Mary Etter Steve Fabian Carlos Gil Bill Queen John Rogalski John Susi Al Tomasco Jeff Van Kirk Steve Viviano
Guests Bob Borkowski John Cole Greg Gorr Butch Gray John Hayes Patrick Mulholland Brian Ranagan Dave Sirois Mike Spooner Greg Szyszkowski Chris Topper
Opening Remarks (Steve Fabian) • Steve welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for coming out in the inclement weather. Babe Ruth (Bill Queen) • Bill Queen was able to secure some money from Fall Ball as well as some umpire money that was returned. • The hill at the Babe Ruth Field was cleared and mulch was spread. The end result is excellent and should significantly reduce the number of baseballs lost next season. • At the December meeting, there was some interest expressed in replacing the Orioles with the Brewers for this coming season. This issue was discussed and it was decided that it would be more appropriate to continue to use the Orioles name. Majors (Al Tomasco) • Al Tomasco has been working to set up the Winter Clinic at Baseball City. The focus of the clinic will be on hitting and skill development. The cost to SNB for the clinic has
•
•
gone up from $3,000 to $3,600. The only time slot available is Sunday afternoons. The tentative start date is February 22nd. Al Tomasco will attempt to negotiate down the price. Al will also inquire as to whether Baseball City will reduce the price if we are unable to fill all of the slots available. Al Tomasco has secured equipment bids for the 2009 season. Herbs has the most competitive pricing at this point, has provided excellent service, and does not require payment until equipment arrives. Prices appear to be up 15% - 20% over last year’s prices from most of the vendors that submitted bids. Al is still waiting for a bid from Screen Tech. John Susi will also secure a bid from a vendor that he has used in the past that may allow the league to save some money. There are 38 openings in the Majors for 2009. There was discussion about whether we should maintain 8 Majors teams for the season or contract to 7 teams. Complicating the issue is the fact that there are 71 9-year olds that will put pressure on expansion in the future if we contract in 2009. There were also six 11-year olds in the Minors in 2008 that will be entering the league this season. One proposed compromise was to reduce team size to 11 players but this would require a waiver from Little League. John Hayes expressed the opinion that a child will play to the level presented to them. Al Tomasco recommended that we remain at 8 teams in 2008. This recommendation was approved.
Minors (Carlos Gil) • There do not appear to be 8 Minors Manager candidates for 2009 as of yet. Carlos Gil feels that there will be others who will express interest in managing as the season gets closer. T-Ball & Farm (John Susi) • John Susi also mentioned that we do not yet have enough T-Ball and Farm Manager candidates for the 2009 season. We will attempt to solicit volunteers at registratio n. Booster Club (Mary Etter) • Mary Etter recommended that we enlist a new photographer for the 2009 season. To date, Mary has had an excellent experience with the Photo Center. (They presented to the Board at the December meeting.) The Board agreed to move forward with Mary’s recommendation to select the Photo Center. • Embroidery A-Z will be handling the blanket fundraiser for this year’s registration. • Mary Etter has sent out an email looking for volunteers for the Booster Club for the 2009 season. The first meeting will be held on either January 19th or January 22nd. Safety Officer (Jeff Van Kirk) • No major updates at this time. Finance Report (Tom Carroll) • Al Tomasco mentioned that we should not be paying any from Waste Material Trucking Company for the next few months. They will leave the dumpsters in place for use in the spring but will not be emptying them for the next few months.
• •
Tom Carroll recommended eliminating the Booster Club checking account this year. This will allow Tom to register transactions on a real-time basis. Mary Etter was supportive of Tom’s request. Tom Carroll will set up a cash box for our upcoming registration events.
Player Agent (Steve Viviano) • Steve Viviano has secured DePaolo School for registration and for tryouts. • Steve Viviano will be having registration flyers printed shortly and will have them distributed at the town schools on January 20th . • Steve Viviano has asked George Casner to remind the Challengers players to register for the upcoming season. • Steve Viviano reported that George Casner mentioned that the Knights of Columbus would like to make some type of contribution to the Challengers program. Secretary (John Rogalski) • SNB received first semester grades and the second semester bill from Matt McNicholas, one of our Bator Scholarship winners. John Rogalski will hand-delivery the scholarship award to Matt prior to the next meeting. • John Rogalski confirmed the number of teams in each division for 2009. John will be filing the Babe Ruth and Little League Charters during the month of January. New Business • Steve Fabian discussed the Manager selection process for 2009. Each candidate was given the opportunity to say a few words on their own behalf. Tom Carroll, Steve Viviano, John Rogalski, Al Tomasco, and Jeff Van Kirk, all expressed interest in managing in the Majors in 2009. • The January District 5 meeting has been moved to Wednesday, January 14th @ 6:30 P.M. • The Majors concession stand was vandalized over the New Year’s holiday. The P.A. System was stolen, there was also approximately $1,300 in equipment stolen/damaged, and the window that faces the field was broken and required $350 to repair. The police have identified suspects and the league will be pressing charges. A police report will be filed on Friday, January 9th. John Rogalski will begin the process of filing a claim with the insurer for SNB.
P.O. Box 125 Southington, CT 06489
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Wednesday January 7, 2009 Mulberry Gardens Attendees (Board) Tom Carroll Mary Etter Steve Fabian Carlos Gil Bill Queen John Rogalski John Susi Al Tomasco Jeff Van Kirk Steve Viviano
Guests Bob Borkowski John Cole Greg Gorr Butch Gray John Hayes Patrick Mulholland Brian Ranagan Dave Sirois Mike Spooner Greg Szyszkowski Chris Topper
Opening Remarks (Steve Fabian) • Steve welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for coming out in the inclement weather. Babe Ruth (Bill Queen) • Bill Queen was able to secure some money from Fall Ball as well as some umpire money that was returned. • The hill at the Babe Ruth Field was cleared and mulch was spread. The end result is excellent and should significantly reduce the number of baseballs lost next season. • At the December meeting, there was some interest expressed in replacing the Orioles with the Brewers for this coming season. This issue was discussed and it was decided that it would be more appropriate to continue to use the Orioles name. Majors (Al Tomasco) • Al Tomasco has been working to set up the Winter Clinic at Baseball City. The focus of the clinic will be on hitting and skill development. The cost to SNB for the clinic has
•
•
gone up from $3,000 to $3,600. The only time slot available is Sunday afternoons. The tentative start date is February 22nd. Al Tomasco will attempt to negotiate down the price. Al will also inquire as to whether Baseball City will reduce the price if we are unable to fill all of the slots available. Al Tomasco has secured equipment bids for the 2009 season. Herbs has the most competitive pricing at this point, has provided excellent service, and does not require payment until equipment arrives. Prices appear to be up 15% - 20% over last year’s prices from most of the vendors that submitted bids. Al is still waiting for a bid from Screen Tech. John Susi will also secure a bid from a vendor that he has used in the past that may allow the league to save some money. There are 38 openings in the Majors for 2009. There was discussion about whether we should maintain 8 Majors teams for the season or contract to 7 teams. Complicating the issue is the fact that there are 71 9-year olds that will put pressure on expansion in the future if we contract in 2009. There were also six 11-year olds in the Minors in 2008 that will be entering the league this season. One proposed compromise was to reduce team size to 11 players but this would require a waiver from Little League. John Hayes expressed the opinion that a child will play to the level presented to them. Al Tomasco recommended that we remain at 8 teams in 2008. This recommendation was approved.
Minors (Carlos Gil) • There do not appear to be 8 Minors Manager candidates for 2009 as of yet. Carlos Gil feels that there will be others who will express interest in managing as the season gets closer. T-Ball & Farm (John Susi) • John Susi also mentioned that we do not yet have enough T-Ball and Farm Manager candidates for the 2009 season. We will attempt to solicit volunteers at registratio n. Booster Club (Mary Etter) • Mary Etter recommended that we enlist a new photographer for the 2009 season. To date, Mary has had an excellent experience with the Photo Center. (They presented to the Board at the December meeting.) The Board agreed to move forward with Mary’s recommendation to select the Photo Center. • Embroidery A-Z will be handling the blanket fundraiser for this year’s registration. • Mary Etter has sent out an email looking for volunteers for the Booster Club for the 2009 season. The first meeting will be held on either January 19th or January 22nd. Safety Officer (Jeff Van Kirk) • No major updates at this time. Finance Report (Tom Carroll) • Al Tomasco mentioned that we should not be paying any from Waste Material Trucking Company for the next few months. They will leave the dumpsters in place for use in the spring but will not be emptying them for the next few months.
• •
Tom Carroll recommended eliminating the Booster Club checking account this year. This will allow Tom to register transactions on a real-time basis. Mary Etter was supportive of Tom’s request. Tom Carroll will set up a cash box for our upcoming registration events.
Player Agent (Steve Viviano) • Steve Viviano has secured DePaolo School for registration and for tryouts. • Steve Viviano will be having registration flyers printed shortly and will have them distributed at the town schools on January 20th . • Steve Viviano has asked George Casner to remind the Challengers players to register for the upcoming season. • Steve Viviano reported that George Casner mentioned that the Knights of Columbus would like to make some type of contribution to the Challengers program. Secretary (John Rogalski) • SNB received first semester grades and the second semester bill from Matt McNicholas, one of our Bator Scholarship winners. John Rogalski will hand-delivery the scholarship award to Matt prior to the next meeting. • John Rogalski confirmed the number of teams in each division for 2009. John will be filing the Babe Ruth and Little League Charters during the month of January. New Business • Steve Fabian discussed the Manager selection process for 2009. Each candidate was given the opportunity to say a few words on their own behalf. Tom Carroll, Steve Viviano, John Rogalski, Al Tomasco, and Jeff Van Kirk, all expressed interest in managing in the Majors in 2009. • The January District 5 meeting has been moved to Wednesday, January 14th @ 6:30 P.M. • The Majors concession stand was vandalized over the New Year’s holiday. The P.A. System was stolen, there was also approximately $1,300 in equipment stolen/damaged, and the window that faces the field was broken and required $350 to repair. The police have identified suspects and the league will be pressing charges. A police report will be filed on Friday, January 9th. John Rogalski will begin the process of filing a claim with the insurer for SNB.
