West Windsor Little LeagueBoard Meeting- Minutes January 15, 2008
In attendance: Executive Committee Members: Ellen Vogt, Holly Shemitz, Chris Thornton, Andy Lupo, Kevin Chapman
Others: Dan Weber, Linda DeMilt, Cliff Bradley, Bob Sacco, Nick Schrera, Mike Meduski, Tom Carroll, Suresh Jaswal, Steve Lichtenstein, Rob Bahash, Jeff Weinberg, Ron Russell, Justin Stein, Ted Phelan, Brian O’Leary, George Revock.
Meeting scheduled to start at 7:30pm.
Call to order 7:42pm by Andy Lupo.
Approval of Minutes from the December meeting: Approved without opposition.
Treasurer’s report- Ed O’Connor was absent; no report given.
Registration- Linda DeMilt made available the most recent numbers in regards to players and league. The league is currently running behind previous years numbers in certain leagues. We are hoping to register additional players in the next few weeks. One explanation for lower numbers is the loss of advertising through the schools. As of today’s date the school board is not allowing Little League flyers to be distributed to the students. Andy offered to check with the board on the status of this situation. We are looking into alternative forms of advertising; contacting former players who have not registered, advertisement in the Packet and WW local paper, an advertisement on WW channel and outdoor signs.
Player Agent- Holly reported that all is quiet. Andy did emphasize that although we do try to honor requests at the younger age groups where there is a draft involved requests are extremely difficult to accommodate and thus more unlikely to be honored.
Softball- Ron Russell reported that the clinics are up and running smoothly. Participation in the Majors clinics are on the weak side but Jeff W. has been reaching out to former Major players and encouraging them to take advantage of this opportunity. Pitching clinics have been well attended. Registration for Minors is looking good, however registration for Rookies and T-Ball are down.
Baseball- Bob Sacco reported that the clinics for the younger players are going well. He complimented Bill Bethea and his staff for doing a good job. Bob and Ellen discussed the possibility of providing a volunteer to take attendance at the Baseball clinics since Bill has a hard time doing this. Ellen has heard from several parents requesting alternative days for fielding clinics for the 10,11,12 age group.
Saturday March 15th is the Al and Al clinic. This is a worthwhile clinic and you can register via the Website. As of this date there are 50 registrations.
Tom reported on Majors. He and Rick Betz have been talking to the manager candidates and hopefully by Thursday of this week they will be able to present a slate of candidates to the Board. Tryouts/Workouts for Majors are scheduled for 1/26/08. Ellen is working with those involved to get a schedule out ASAP to all participants. Our goal is to be able to field 8 teams this season in Majors.
Website- Ellen, Justin and Andrew have been working diligently on updating our website. Justin has set aside three dates to help the coordinators with the transition to the new system. These sessions will be held at the WW public library from 7:00pm-9:00pm on the following dates; 1/22/08, 2/1/08 and 2/8/08.
Umpires- George R. reported that the registration process is underway. Kevin proposed a Youth Umpire Incentive Program to help recruit individuals. Following are the suggestions: offer of a finders fee when you refer a friend, bonus to umpires who work a certain amount of games or go to a three-tiered pay scale. The umpire clinic will be on 2/20/08.
Indoor Facility- Andy reported that a high school worker has been hired to make sure that the facility is cleaned up and to help monitor activities. Field Turf came in with an estimated price of $40,000.00 to replace the existing turf. This would include pulling up existing turf, disposing of it and replacing with a high quality turf. They would work around our schedule to lessen the inconvenience. Andy will be researching other bids. Ted Phelan pointed out that right now the existing turf poses a potential health concern. Other suggestions made were to encourage sponsorships or to go with a cheaper turf and just replace more often. Andy will be discussing the issue with Ed to get a better feel for our financial position.
Big Brother/Sister-Two individuals have signed up.
Safety- Barry Mathes has volunteered to be the safety officer again this season. Check the Website for safety clinic dates. Right now we are looking into doing the Rutgers Safety Course and possibly the Positive Coaching clinic.
FYI: Sponsorship forms have gone out and we are starting to get responses back. Merchandizing is going well. We are hosting the baseball District 9/10 Final Nine.
