Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
January 13, 2016 – Garden Plaza – 6:30 p.m.
Meeting Date, Time and Location - Wednesday, January 13, 2016 – 6:30 p.m. – Garden Plaza at Lawrenceville
Attendance – Bob Morrison, President; Ben Wiechman, Vice President; Gary Mastrodonato, Team Sponsorship/Past President; Ron Petre, American League Commissioner; Bill Grimes, National League Commissioner; Harvey Schulman, AL Member at Large; Ron King, NL Member at Large/Insurance; Mike Grobman, Treasurer; Doris Warpole, Secretary, and Ed Brown, Chief Umpire (no voting privileges)
Agenda Items
Board of Directors
· Bob presented a proposal to change the structure of the Board starting in 2017. He recommended the Board be reduced to 9 members with roles and responsibilities outlined.
o President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer are elected positions voted on each year by the membership.
o Two League Commissioners nominated by the President and approved by the Board – Term up to 4 years.
o Three At Large Members appointed by the President and approved by the Board – Term up to 4 years. At Large Members serve as an Advisory Council and shall be prepared to step into a mandatory position to continue the operation of the league.
· After discussion about the proposed change and edits to responsibilities, Board approved the new structure. It will be presented to the members at the 2016 Annual Meeting. If approved, it will be posted on the web site under the About Us tab for 2017.
· With the new Board structure, Bob stated he would like to see “new faces” on the Board for 2017. We have had to approach members and ask them about their interest in serving on the Board. But this year we have had 3 members who have contacted Bob or other Board members about being on the Board (Jim Hannah, Rick Rhodes, and Eurskine Lyons). Floyd Dembo had been approached last year for his interest but no one has heard anything further if he would still be interested for 2017.
· With Bill stepping down in 2017, Bob asked if anyone else would be interested in stepping down so we can consider Jim, Rick and Eurskine as Board members. Harvey, Gary, Ron K and Ben said they would be willing to step down. Bob said he would check with Ed to see if he would be willing to step down.
· Ron K stated he would like to see an email sent out to all members asking if they would be interested in serving on the Board. This will be discussed further in the November Board meeting.
· The 3 candidates will be looked at the NL Commissioner and other open positions. This will be discussed further at the November Board meeting. Candidates for the positions will be presented to the members at the Annual Meeting.
Bylaws
· Dissolution of GSS League added per approval by members at Annual Meeting.
· Board discussed if length of term for League Commissioner up to 4 years and being a Team Manager should be added to Bylaws.
· Decision was made NOT to make any other changes to the Bylaws.
· Any changes to the job responsibilities of Board Members will be covered in the 2017 Board of Directors structure.
Annual Meeting Feedback (89 members)
· Positive – Fellowship; Door Prizes
· Negative - Increase break out time; Cut back or speed up door prizes
· Board members discussed the feedback and what might be done to address for next year’s annual meeting. Final decisions will be made at the November Board meeting.
o Take off # of games on 2016 application – approved, Doris will only show start date
o Replace GSS sign at Best Friend Park – Gary will follow up with Dallas Howard about getting a new sign.
o Door prizes – Gary suggested having all shirts and hats at the back of the room. At start of meeting, pull out 40-50 names and direct them to go pick out a shirt/hat. Ron P suggested we have more ACC items. In November, the Board will discuss further on whether we should cut back on door prizes, go with more gift certificates, etc.
o Bob suggested for the Memorial slide that we have 30 seconds of silence for the slide rather than go through the names.
Final 2015 Financial Statement - Mike Grobman
· Mike went over the 12 months ending 12/31/15 Financial Statement.
· League has a negative balance of $97 but we have the CD with a balance of approx. $5,600.
Refund or Credit for 2015 Second Half Season
· With the majority of members voting at the Annual Meeting not to give a refund or credit for the 2015 Second Half season, the Board decided to use the extra money toward league expenses.
· First item to be purchased is a new wind screen for the baseball field.
· Ron P asked if a net or screen could be placed in left field on the softball field to keep home runs from going out of the park. Doris said she would follow up with the county if it could be done and get a quote on the cost.
Online Registration
· Based on the number of members (only 15-20) at the Annual Meeting that said they would use an online form, Board decided not to pursue it at this time.
· If a larger number of members ask for the online capability in the future, more research will be done on how to set it up and where to house the form (another server/web site vs. current web site).
Application Form
· Board members approved two 12 week seasons and keeping the League Fees the same in 2016 - $30 membership / $98 per season.
· Changes for 2016:
o Add question - “Tournament Player and level of play (AAA or Major)”
o Add statement - $30 must be paid by deadline date or player will be put on waiting list.
o Remove any reference to number of games and just show start date.
First Half Season
· Deadline to sign up Monday, February 22
· American League Draft – Tuesday, March 1
· National League Draft – Wednesday, March 2
· American League Start Date – Monday, March 21 (Memorial Day – Monday May 30)
· National League Start Date Tuesday, March 22
Play Off orOne Pitch Tournament between Seasons
· With a 12 week schedule, the League Commissioners will make the decision to have either a playoff tournament at the end of the regular season or a one pitch tournament between seasons
· Players will not be required to pay an additional fee to play in either a play off or one pitch tournament.
2016 Proposed Changes voted on by members at Annual Meeting
American League
· Change - Shorter Season(s) - Straw poll result was to shorten each half-season to 10 or 12 weeks with an end-of-season tournament and longer break between halves was well received. 12 weeks approved
· Change - Pitch Count – Change to 4-3 full count, no extra foul; foul after 2 strikes is out
· No Change - Mercy Rule – No change – 15 runs after 5 innings
· Change - Time Limit – Remove hour limit / play full 7 innings
· Change - Substitutes - Substitutes can play any position, be a courtesy runner and will bat at the end of the batting order
· Change - Line Up Cards - Give lineup cards to umpires before games start. Decision was to add to Manager Rules of Conduct - Give line up cards to the other Team Manager before games start.
· Change - Courtesy Runner - Pinch runner may run only once an inning, even if the player that was pinch-run for bats a second time in an inning.
· No Change - HRs – No limit on HRs
· Change - Tie Breaker (Ron) – Change rule to state “tie breaker starts the first extra inning (8th) with runner on second base”.
National League
· Change - Shorter Season(s) - Straw poll result was to shorten each season to 12 weeks with no change in the fees. 12 weeks approved
· No Change - Pitch Count – 4-3 count
· No Change - Mercy Rule - 12 runs after 5 innings.
· Change - Time Limit – Remove hour time limit / play full 7 innings
· Change - Flip/Flop Rule – If in a flip/flop situation it becomes a tie game, continue as a regular game. No switching back.
Pitcher Screen Breakout Session
· American League Vote – No change - Keep Mandatory
· National League Vote – Change to Optional – umpire places screen, pitcher must get behind screen or receive a penalty (batter awarded first base, foul ball, etc.)
Board discussed the feedback from the breakout sessions and the pros and cons of making the screen optional in one or both leagues or keeping the screen as mandatory in one or both leagues. Harvey reminded the Board that family members can sue the league and Board members even though a player has signed a waiver. One attorney will say you can have a screen mandatory in one league and optional in the other but another attorney will say you need to have the decision the same for both leagues.
After much debate and careful deliberation, it was decided that the wearing of pitcher facemasks and use of pitcher screens will remain mandatory in both the National and American Leagues for the 2016 season.
With the adoption of fortified softballs hit with composite senior bats, more and more players are able to drive the ball harder than in the past, resulting in the ball arriving at the pitcher in less time than ever before. Given the changes in reaction times and eyesight that we all experience, it was deemed most important that the protection afforded by the facemasks and screens continue.
Harvey will prepare a memo on the Board’s decision for the League Commissioners to share with members when asked.
Letters from President
· Bob reviewed the letters and made his changes.
· Doris will update the letters with the changes and send to Dallas Howard for mailing.
· January Membership Application Letter from President (Mailing includes Application/Waiver)
· February Letter to Team Managers and Umpires (Mailing includes Rules, Manager Rules of Conduct and Umpire Rules of Conduct)
· March Welcome Letter to Players Who Sign Up for First Half.
Emergency Contact Form
· Since implemented in 2014, only 70 players have responded with health issues and/or medications.
· Board decided since the participation is low, there is no need to send the Emergency Contact Form this year asking about a player’s health and/or medications.
· A statement will be included in the player letter encouraging players to have their medical information available at the field (either on their person, in their bat bag or in their car) in case of an emergency where the player is unconscious or unable to communicate with emergency medical personnel.
· Team manager letter will also have a statement asking them to encourage their players to have their medical information with them.
Manager Rules of Conduct
· Board discussed the following items and whether to add to the Manger Rules of Conduct.
o Will Add
§ Bats will remain in the dugout. No bats leaning on the fence.
§ Managers will provide a Line Up Card to the other team manger before games start.
§ Managers will ensure the correct batter is in the on deck circle
o Will Not Add
§ Batting Order of Second Game – Team managers will decide batting order of second game.
Umpire Rules of Conduct
· Board reviewed the Umpire Rules of Conduct
· No changes were made.
SS-USA Insurance(Ron King)
· Ron will follow up with SSUSA about purchasing League Insurance and Directors/Officers Liability Insurance and report back to Bob and Doris with invoice and copy of policies.
Memorial Tournament – Saturday, May 7
· League already has the permits for all 3 fields.
· Ron P and Bill will be responsible for recruiting teams for the tournament.
· Since there is a tournament before and after May 7, we may not be able to get too many out of town tournament teams to participate so we will recruit players from within the two leagues
2016 Expenses – No Changes from Gwinnett County
· OOC Resident Fee - $90 per player per year
· Light Fee - $9.00/hour
League Commissioners
· Bill and Ron P already have their Team Managers identified.
· Both leagues will use the same softball in 2016, and they have already been ordered.
· Doris will provide shirt sizes to Gary for all the teams after the draft.
Team Sponsorship Updated
· Gary reported that we have 12 sponsors with 2 new ones on the waiting list (Colby Home Remodeling and BiBa Restaurant).
· Garden Plaza and Tommy Coker will not be sponsors this year
· Mike stated if we get 13 teams, he will not sponsor so the league can have another paying sponsor.
· American League
o Alan - 4/5
o Peter - Mariolis S/W
o Lee - Roofing
o Clif - 3D
o Price - Health
o Tim – DigiPrint
· National League
o Steve - Net Move
o Will Arroyo - Law
o Mike - FMSI
o Larry - Manente HVAC
o Bert – VFW
o Eurskine - Travel