SSSA BOARD MEETING MINUTES 2018 AND EARLIER

Present: Chuck Cason, Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Ron Grande, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Ken Shepard. Absent: Jack Zimmerman. Guests: Steve Rauh, Ed Exner, Kali Gadomski, Trey Altman; all from Sarasota County Parks Department.
President Chuck Cason called the meeting to order at 1pm. The minutes of the November 14, 2018 board meeting were approved 8-0. Later Dan Martin gave the financial report which was also unanimously approved. Only a few non snowbird players have not paid.
A discussion ensued between the guests from Sarasota County and our board with the emphasis on the condition of the fields at both 17th St & Fruitville Park. Our hope is better communication can be achieved between the two sides which leads to improved service from the county.
                                                      OLD BUSINESS
Bill Smith lead a discussion on improving attendance at the annual hot dog day. We picked Tuesday, February 5, and Friday, February 8, 2019 as the days.
For promoting our league Gary Olson reports our scores to the Sarasota Herald Tribune newspaper. We decided not to move forward with the appliqués. Jack was not here to discuss the “baseball card” concept.
We went over the 2019-2020 registration form prepared by George. Next month we must decide what to do with the Monday ‘68’ and Tuesday ‘Senior’ leagues.
We discussed the 2019 annual banquet. The tentative date of March 20 conflicts with the summer draft that same day. Joe will resolve that issue. The cost of the luncheon will be about $17 per person.
                                                      NEW BUSINESS
       1. For equipment needs we decided not to purchase any new pitching screens. A motion was made and approved that games can NOT be played without a screen. Joe Skelly will buy some new rakes.
        2. We discussed whether board members should enforce rules that managers ignore.
        3. While we’re interested in accepting credit card payments, we’re trying to figure out how to make the process work.
        4. New players continue to show up weekly. We try and use those players to fill vacancies on existing rosters.
Next month’s meeting is 1pm, Wednesday, January 9 at the Fruitville Library. Today’s meeting adjourned at 3:15pm.

Respectfully,

Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING MINUTES

NOVEMBER 14, 2018

Present: Chuck Cason, Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Ron Grande, Jack Zimmerman, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Ken Shepard. Absent: No one.
President Chuck Cason called the meeting to order at 1pm. Minutes of the October 10 board meeting were approved. Dan Martin gave the financial report which was approved. However, after paying for the shirts, hats, balls, and field rentals, our bank balance has gone down considerably. Yearly dues continue to come in.
OLD BUSINESS
Bill Smith said 39 sponsors were signed up, but only 34 teams are playing. The extra 5 sponsors will have a team next year, since they’ve already paid.
Jack will follow up with SSSA “baseball cards” to promote our league starting early next year. A sample logo appliqué was shown which we can also use.
NEW BUSINESS
A motion was made, seconded and approved that only sponsors who pay the $150 yearly fee + buy the shirts and hats are exempt from paying the $75 player fee. Other sponsors as well as managers will continue paying the $75 fee.
A discussion ensued on Rule 3.N “runners attempting to score.” Our rule only states the catcher can not tag the runner after the runner passes the commit line. We’ll defer to SSUSA rules which state no defender can tag the runner.
We discussed the Harry Vandermuelen pitching situation. Harry did not draft a true pitcher and wants to use a sub each week, even if it means using 13 players. The board decided that was not acceptable since gold league teams only have 12 players. Harry will need to make other arrangements but only use 12 players.
George presented a sample 2019-2020 player data worksheet. Each board member has the opportunity to make any suggested changes to the worksheet.
We’ll invite someone from Sarasota County Parks and Recreation Department to one of our meetings in the hopes of fostering better relationships.
A discussion ensued on whether someone who can not physically bat or play defense should be allowed to pinch run only. We decided no.
Our website allows credit card payments, but there is no “merchant” to get the money. We need someone to accept that responsibility.
New players continue to trickle in each week.
The cost of the shirts & hats has gone up dramatically the last 4 years. Dave will talk to the folks at Ball & Shoe.
The yearly banquet is Wednesday, March 20, 2019 & will cost $16.99 per person.
We’ll make the recipient of the Fred Frank Award known before the banquet.
Our next meeting is Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at 1pm. Today’s meeting was adjourned at 3:20pm.

Respectively, Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING MINUTES

OCTOBER 10, 2018

Present: Chuck Cason, Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Ron Grande, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Jack Zimmerman, Ken Shepard. Guest: Pete Miller.
President Chuck Cason called the meeting to order at 1pm. The September board meeting minutes were approved as well as the financial report.

OLD BUSINESS
Bill Smith said we’ll need 39 sponsors for the coming season and 38 have paid. From previous seasons we have money from 2 sponsors that has been held in abeyance and can be used as needed. Dave said uniforms have been ordered and should be ready for distribution October 24.
Our guest Pete Miller showed us possible “baseball cards” that could be used to promote our league instead of using a tri fold pamphlet, which is more expensive. The cards are action shots of our players on the front with basic information about SSSA on the back.
Player registrations continue to trickle in but we’re set with a total of 39 gold and silver league teams for the winter season.
The combine will be held Thursday, October 11. At the combine managers can discuss specific rules that affect just their league.
Dan said there are enough managers for the Monday and Friday Gold leagues. Ron said we still need several managers for the various silver leagues.
NEW BUSINESS
Managers were given the opportunity to rate their players + have input on other players in their league. Separate gold and silver committees made final decisions on players whose ratings were tentatively changed or who did not play in the summer leagues.
The decision was made not to use SSSA funds for events as non league games.
The next meeting will be 1pm November 14, 2018 at the Fruitville Library. Today’s meeting was adjourned at 3:17pm.

Respectfully,
Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING MINUTES

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018

Present: Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Ron Grande, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Jack Zimmerman, Ken Shepard. Absent: Chuck Cason
Vice President Jack Zimmerman called the meeting to order at 1pm. The August board meeting minutes were approved as well as the financial report.
OLD BUSINESS
Bill Smith said 32 sponsors have paid for the coming season and we’re waiting for a few more to respond. We’ll need 39 sponsors this year.
The proposed rule changes approved last month have been posted on our website.
The budget for the coming year was approved last month.
Jack and Dave presented a tri fold pamphlet showing the outline and format. We can now finalize, print and distribute as needed to market our league.
Registrations are still coming in. For Mondays we decided to stick with 2 gold leagues; one is 55 and older, the other 68 and older, each league having 5 teams. For Friday we’ll have separate gold and silver leagues. For Tuesday we’ll have a silver league and silver “senior” league, each having 5 teams. For Thursday we’ll have one silver league with 7 teams. Managers of the respective leagues will make decisions at the draft on specific rules that affect just their league.
We’ll buy “stay dry material” shirts for the summer league champions. The stay dry shirts cost about $3.25 more per shirt than cotton.
Dan took care of keeping our insurance policy in effect.
Dan said there’s almost enough managers for the Monday and Friday Gold leagues. We still need several managers for the various silver leagues.
NEW BUSINESS
Managers have been given the opportunity to rate their players + have input on other players in their league. Separate gold and silver committees are in place to make final decisions on players whose ratings have been tentatively changed.
Because our clocks are not being “set back” an hour this fall we need to decide when games should start.
The next meeting will be 1pm October 10, 2018 at the Fruitville Library. Today’s meeting was adjourned at 2:45pm.

Respectfully,

Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING MINUTES

AUGUST 8, 2018

Present: Chuck Cason, Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Ron Grande, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Jack Zimmerman, Ken Shepard.
President Chuck Cason called the meeting to order at 1:05pm. The July board meeting minutes were approved. There was no financial report today.

OLD BUSINESS
Bill Smith said 26 sponsors have paid for the coming season and we’re still waiting on 10 sponsors to respond. We’ll probably need 37-38 sponsors this year.
The proposed rule changes were approved as rewritten by George and Ken. George will get the new rules to Gary Olson to post on our website.
The budget for the coming year was approved.
Jack will have a 3 fold pamphlet prepared so it can be printed as needed.
Registrations are still coming in and we’ll have to decide how many teams to have in the respective leagues. Some changes will be necessary from last year.
Joe Mastrocinque created a Facebook page for our league and is the moderator for the website. I’ll contact Joe to have him prepare an email that George can send to all players to join our Facebook site.
Nothing specific will be done at this time to use our website as a revenue source.
We’ll keep buying cotton shirts for the teams this coming season, but will buy “stay dry” material shirts for the summer league champions. The stay dry shirts cost about $3.25 more per shirt.
Dan sent a check to keep our insurance policy in effect. It protects the county from lawsuits filed by players.
Manager recruitment and selection is under way for the coming season.
NEW BUSINESS
At the end of the summer season all current managers will have the opportunity to rate their players + have input on other players in their league. We’ll have a committee then look at all players and see if ratings need to be adjusted.
We discussed whether to hire umpires for our games. That would add about $25 per player for the yearly dues. For now we’ll continue to umpire our own games.
Long time player Matt Sullivan recently passed away. We’ll send a $50 check to the charity selected by his family.

The next meeting will be 1pm, September 12 at the Fruitville Library. Today’s meeting was adjourned at 3:25pm.

Respectfully,

Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING MINUTES

JULY 11, 2018

Present: Chuck Cason, Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Jack Zimmerman, Ron Grande, Ken Shepard; & Gary Olson, guest.
President Chuck Cason called the meeting to order at 1pm. Minutes of the June 13, 2018 board meeting were approved. Dan Martin gave the financial report which was approved.

                                                      OLD BUSINESS
Bill Smith reported we continue to have a very high renewal rate each year. A new sponsor pays $225 and a renewing sponsor pays $150.
George Wacaser and Ken Shepard confirmed dates for the fall drafts are October 16 and October 18. Next year’s summer draft is March 20, 2019. All drafts are at the MLK North Library and rooms have been reserved.
A motion was made and approved to move the 2019 gold league playing day from Mondays to Wednesdays.
George presented the proposed rule changes, but some board members had not seen or read the email sent last month. George will resend the proposed changes.
Chuck led a discussion on the upcoming budget, which should be about $34,000.
George led a discussion on possible changes to the Tuesday Silver & Senior Leagues. Registrations will be monitored monthly before making any changes.
                                                      NEW BUSINESS
1.      Jack and guest speaker Gary Olson led a discussion on possible ways to market and promote our league. Some ideas were to have a booth at events such as trade shows or farmers’ markets, using social media such as Facebook, using the local newspapers, preparing and distributing flyers at locations frequented by senior citizens, using the Chamber of Commerce, and public service announcements on the radio. Jack, Gary and Ken will work together to develop specific approaches. Ken will contact Joe Mastrocinque about using Facebook.
2.      Using our website as a source of revenue was tabled unit next month.
3.      Ken confirmed the meeting room at the Fruitville Library has been reserved the second Wednesday of each month at 1pm thru June, 2019.
4.      Dave said if we go to better quality material for our shirts the additional cost is about $3.25 per shirt.
5.      Ken will contact an insurance agent to obtain a policy to protect the county from lawsuits after getting information from Chuck.
6.      We discussed the selection of managers for the various leagues and ways to prevent managers from gaming the system. More next month on this topic.
Next month’s meeting is Wednesday, August 8 at 1pm. Today’s meeting adjourned at 3pm.

Respectfully,

Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION

BOARD MEETING MINUTES

JUNE 13, 2018

Present: Chuck Cason, Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Jack Zimmerman, Ron Grande, Ken Shepard. Absent: no one.

President Chuck Cason called the meeting to order at 1pm. Minutes of the May 9, 2018 board meeting were approved. Dan Martin gave the financial report which was approved. Only 2 summer players have not paid their dues.

                                                      OLD BUSINESS
Bill Smith gave a sponsor update. A second letter has been sent and we have a high renewal rate each year. A new sponsor pays $225 and a renewing sponsor pays $150.
George Wacaser and Ken Shepard confirmed dates for the drafts are October 16 and October 18 and rooms have been reserved at the North County MLK Library; both days from 10am – 2pm.
George confirmed the 2018 combine will be Thursday, October 11. A decision was made to have the fall leagues start Monday, October 29. We set Wednesday, March 20, 2019 as the date for the summer draft for next year.
Jack Zimmerman led a discussion on ways to market our league. Gary Olson has been invited to the July board meeting to share his thoughts.
                                                      NEW BUSINESS
1.      Dan Martin led a discussion on whether to change the gold league playing day next summer from Monday to Wednesday. There are Tuesday and Friday morning leagues in Venice. We believe the Wednesday morning Bradenton league plays thru mid-late April, which is a possible conflict. We’ll poll gold league players for their input. We’ll continue to use a draft for the gold leagues.
2.      George led a discussion on ways to improve the Tuesday leagues, especially the 75 and older group. We decided to still have 2 leagues on Tuesday, but not a 75 and older league. It will be “regular” and “senior” leagues.
3.      George and Ken have reviewed our rules and made some changes. They will get together, finalize their thoughts, and present suggestions to the board.
4.      We decided to get rid of the pitching machine in the shed. Chuck will contact the donor and ask that he come get the machine.
5.      We again discussed whether to make it mandatory for pitchers to get behind the screen. Everyone believes the pitcher should get behind the screen for their safety, but umpires enforcing such a rule presents challenges.
6.      Chuck led a discussion on operational changes which may affect the budget.
7.      Ken confirmed the meeting room has been reserved thru December, 2018.

Next month’s meeting is Wednesday, July 11 at 1pm. Today’s meeting adjourned at 3pm.

Respectfully,

Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING MINUTES

MAY 9, 2018

Present: Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Jack Zimmerman, Ken Shepard. Absent: Chuck Cason, Ron Grande.
Vice President Jack Zimmerman called the meeting to order at 1:05pm. Minutes of the April 11, 2018 board meeting were approved 7-0. Dan Martin gave the financial report which was approved. Only a handful of summer players have not paid their dues. As of today we have $9249 in the bank.

                                                      OLD BUSINESS
Bill Smith gave a sponsor update. We have a very high renewal rate each year among our sponsors.
Ken Shepard said rooms for the drafts have been reserved at the North County MLK Library for October 16 and October 18; both days from 10am – 2pm.
George Wacaser said the 2018 combine will be held Thursday, October 11. A decision was made to tentatively have the fall leagues start Monday, October 29.
                                                      NEW BUSINESS
1.      Ken Shepard lead a discussion on whether our rules should be rewritten to REQUIRE pitchers to get behind the screen. We’ll leave the rule as is, but ENCOURAGE pitchers to get behind the screen for their safety.
2.      The protest filed by Sands Robnick pertaining to a game on April 26 was reviewed and upheld by a 6-0 vote. That lead into a discussion on whether Rule 12 dealing with the number of players Silver League teams can call up should be changed. We voted and said yes starting with the games on May 17. Ken and George will work on simplifying the rule.
3.      We discussed whether Gold League teams should play twice a week for the 2019 summer season (no)(probably not enough players.) We’ll look at just playing on Wednesdays next year as well as assigning teams instead of using the usual draft.
4.      Batting practice before games is allowed as long as players keep the safety of the grounds personnel in mind and finishing games by the required time.
5.      We looked at allowing advertising on our website plus ways to market our league. Gary Olson will be invited to the June board meeting.
6.      We confirmed board meeting dates for the reminder of 2018.

Next month’s meeting will be Wednesday, June 13 at 1pm. Today’s meeting adjourned at 2:48pm.

Respectfully,

Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING MINUTES

APRIL 11, 2018

Present: Chuck Cason, Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Ron Grande, Dave Wulfsohn, Joe Warren, George Wacaser, Jack Zimmerman, Ken Shepard. Absent: No one.
President Chuck Cason called the meeting to order at 1pm. The minutes of the March 14, 2018 board meeting were approved 9-0. There was no financial report as Dan just returned from an extended overseas vacation.
Motions were made, seconded and passed to elect Chuck Cason as president, Jack Zimmerman as vice-president, Dan Martin as treasurer, and Ken Shepard as secretary.

OLD BUSINESS
George Wacaser reported the summer drafts overall went smoothly. At the May board meeting we’ll discuss what playing day to use for the 2019 gold league.
Joe Warren said although reservations had been made for 140 folks for the annual banquet, only 115 attended.
Joe and Chuck led a discussion on the recent board of director’s elections. All board members agreed there is to be no politicking at the voting sites.
Chuck talked about the Fred Frank Award and how to make sure recipients and family members are at the banquet.
Ron Grande led a group discussion on summer call up procedures. We’ll discuss snowbird issues further at the May board meeting.
                                                      NEW BUSINESS
       1. Ken Shepard had several topics to discuss, including separate boards for the gold
            and silver leagues, split winter seasons and playing thru the end of March to
            accommodate seasonal players, snowbirds paying a reduced rate, a plan to adjust
            game start times if Florida stays on daylight saving time, and whether batted balls
            hitting the pitching screen should be strikes. No interest in changing existing rules
            at this time.
        2. George discussed prospective dates for the fall/winter 2018-2019 and summer
            2019 drafts.
        3. George suggested October 11 as a possible date for this year’s combine.
        4. The fields are not available Thursday, April 19. We’ll use May 31 instead.
Next month’s meeting is 1pm, Wednesday, May 9 at the Fruitville Library. Today’s meeting adjourned at 3pm.

Respectfully,

Ken Shepard, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
BOARD MEETING – MARCH 14, 2018
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck declared a quorum as nine directors were in attendance. Ken Shepherd attended the meeting as a guest. The February 14th meeting minutes were approved – 9-0. The previous month’s financial report was approved – 9-0.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Election Results – Chuck Cason reported on the 2018 election results. The following individuals were elected to the new Board of Directors, convening in April: Chuck Cason, Joe Warren, George Wacaser and Ken Shepherd. Each to serve a two year term.
2. Banquet – Joe Warren updated the board on the upcoming banquet
3. Banquet Speaker – Chuck Cason indicated that the speaker will be Pat Calhoon.
4.Player Ratings – George Wacaser reported on suggested ratings.
5. Summer Registration – Draft – Managers/Teams – George Wacaser brought the board up to date on the current outlook.
6. Hot Dog Report – Bill Smith provided a detailed report on the February gathering. The event was well attended and enjoyed by all. The total association cost was $402.48
NEW BUISNESS
1. Financials – Treasurer Dan Martin reported on the current financial health of our association.
2. Sponsors – Bill Smith reported on sponsor updates.
3. Player Call-Up Problems – General Discussion
4. Move Gold 55’s to Wednesdays – Dan Martin reported on this issue and indicated that any changes would need to be moved to next year.
5. Comp Managers at Banquet – Jack Zimmerman Suggested that the board consider comping managers. No interest.
6. Spring Training lTeam Practices – This item was suggested by Jack Zimmerman. No Interest.
7. Next Board Meeting – April 11th, Fruitville Public Library.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary


SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
BOARD MEETING – February 14, 2018
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck declared a quorum as nine directors were in attendance. The January 10th meeting minutes were approved – 9-0. Dan Martin briefed the board on our current fiscal health.
OLD BUISNESS
1. Cold Weather Policy – Brief Discussion
2. Defibrillator Training – Cancelled – to be rescheduled to next Fall.
NEW BUISNESS
1. Election – Joe Warren updated the board on the upcoming election.
2. Banquet – Joe Warren briefed the board on the election to be held on Monday and Tuesday, March 12th and 13th.
3. Shirts – Dave Wulfsohn is reordering one dozen of long sleeved shirts.
4. Banquet Speaker – Yet to be determined.
5. Softball Requirements – Chuck Cason led a discussion regarding our current stock. A letter is to be sent to managers to turn in excess balls.
6. Rating Changes/End of Summer Leagues – George Wacaser outlined current plans. Rating changes must be submitted by March 6th. The upcoming Summer leagues – No games will be scheduled in August.
7. 2017/2018 Season – A general discussion took place regarding plans for the next seasons. George Wacaser updated the board on changes to the league registration form. Sign-Ups will continue to be available online.
8. Summer Draft – The draft is scheduled for March 22nd and will be held at the North Library At 10:00 AM.
9. Photographer - The board is looking for someone to be available to take Team Photos.
10. 75 Silver League – A discussion took place regarding time constraints for this league. A motion was put forth to provide for one seven inning game and one 5 inning game, with only the last inning in each game to be open scoring. A full 3&2 count will be implemented. The motion passed 9-0.
11. Next Board Meeting – Wednesday March 14th, 2018, Fruitville Public Library.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
BOARD MEETING – January 10, 2018
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck declared a quorum as seven directors were in attendance. The December 13, 2017 minutes were approved – 7-0. The Approval of Financial Reports was tabled to February, 2018.
OLD BUSINESS
Resignation of Bill Muth – By a vote of 7-0, Jack Zimmerman was appointed to fill out Bill Muth’s unexpired term of 14 months.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Cold Weather Policy – The board discussed the current policy and determined that scheduled games would be called if the temperature was below predicted to be below 40 degrees (when wind chill is applied) at game time.
2. Sarasota County Payment Policy – Chuck Cason outlined the current policy which is requiring us to pay for field use in advance.
3. Player Winter Fee Payments – Dan Martin brought the board up to date with regard to late payers.
4. Defibrillator Training – Scheduled training has been delayed because Howard Quinn is currently ill.
5. Microsoft Office 2010 – Bill Corrow discussed problems with the software which the board may have to address in the future if Microsoft no longer supports the 2010 version.
6. Next Board Meeting – February 14, 2018, Fruitville Public Library.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
December 13, 2017

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck Cason declared a quorum. The minutes of the November Meeting were approved. The financial report for November was approved.
OLD BUSINESS
1.                   Resignation of Bill Muth – Tabled to January.
2.                   Association By-Laws – Motion approved to extend election voting to Fruitville Park (Richardson Road).
3.                   Hot Dog Date – Feb. 5&6 – Rain-out Feb. 12&13
4.                   Call Up Procedures – All leagues are required to follow the established call up procedure at the end of games.
5.                   Game Times – The board voted to amend the official rules to allow games to end at 12:00 noon.
6.                   Banquet Report – Joe Warren brought the board up to date on planning for the 2018 banquet. SSSA agreed to guarantee a minimum of 150 attendees. In addition, the board set ticket pricing at $13.00 for players and guests in advance. The price at the door is set at $16.00.
7.                   Defibrillator Training – Tabled to January.
8.                   Game Cancellation – The board moved to cancel all games on December 22nd. The games will be treated as a rain-out.

Respectively Submitted

Bill Corrow

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
NOVEMBER 8, 2017

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, November 8th, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck Cason declared a quorum. The minutes of the October Meeting were approved. The review of the financial report for October was tabled to the December meeting.

CONTINUING BUSINESS

Sponsor Update – Bill Smith reported that previous sponsors, Gary Moore Financial and H.R. Industries, will be utilized next winter season.
Treasurer – Bill Muth stated that he was unable to assume the duties of the Treasurer position. Dan Martin has been appointed to hold the position – motion passed 6-0.
75’s Silver League – There have been complaints from players concerning player imbalance. The board’s position is that the strength or weakness of drafted teams is a direct result of the managers’ ability to draft well.
Thursday Silver League – Teams in this league continue to have difficulty finding enough players to field a team to play. A discussion ensued as to how to address the problem.
Silver League Call-Ups – A motion was presented and approved to require Friday Silver managers at 17th Street, to report to Richardson Road for a call-up meeting. This meeting will provide for the drafting of subs from the following weeks’ bye team – motion passed 6-0. All Silver League teams are required to follow this Call-Up procedure.

NEW BUSINESS

Defibrillators – Dave Wulfsohn is to be asked to check on the units reported by Howard Quinn.
Rubber Home Plates – Many of our current rubber home plates have seen better days and need to be replaced. Chuck Cason will see to the purchase of six new rubber plates.
Next Board Meeting – The December board meeting will be held at the Fruitville Public Library on December 13th at 1:00 PM.
Meeting Adjourned – 3:00 PM

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 11, 2017

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, October 11th, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck Cason declared a quorum. The minutes of the September Meeting were approved. The August and September financial reports were unanimously approved. Vice President Bill Muth was absent.

CONTINUING BUSINESS

Sponsor Update – Bill Smith reported that we actually have more sponsors than we currently need for the 2017/2018 Winter Leagues.
Manager Report – Dan Martin indicated that we are short 3 managers for Tuesday Silver and 4 short for Thursday Silver.
2017/2018 Winter Season – George Wacaser – Nothing to be added.

NEW BUSINESS

Interim Treasurer Position – After a brief discussion, the board appointed Dan Martin to the position, to be assisted by Bill Muth.
Combine Report – Dan Martin reported on a successful Combine with 12 new players.
Call Up Procedure Following Draft – George Wacaser led a discussion on this item.
Draft Positions – Cards were drawn by board members to determine the draft selection order.
Silver Leagues Call-Up Procedure – The board voted to implement the call-up procedure currently used by the Gold Leagues with managers meeting following the second game to determine standings and select players from the bye team.
Unrated Players – There will be no unrated players in the draft. New, unseen players will be eligible for the call-up list after they have been seen and rated.
Scorebooks – Following a brief discussion, the board decided not to require scorebooks.
Gary Olson’s Email Suggestions for League Improvement – Gary’s suggestions were discussed item by item. Bill Corrow will meet with Gary regarding the board’s decision on his suggestions.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck Cason declared a quorum. The minutes of the August Meeting were approved. Approval of the August financial report was tabled to the October board meeting. Dan Martin and Ron Grande were absent.

OLD BUSINESS

Sponsor Update – Bill Smith provided the board members with the current status of committed sponsors for the 2017/2018 winter season.
Uniforms – Dave Wulfsohn reported that the uniform orders were on schedule.
Managers – Chuck Cason provided information on behalf of Dan Martin who was not in attendance. As per usual, we continue to struggle to find people willing to step up and manage a team.
Winter Season – George Wacaser brought the board up to date regarding the various league numbers of signed players. Based upon George’s input, the following decisions were made:

October 9th Draft – Monday 55’s, Monday 68’s, Friday Gold and Tuesday 75’s
October 16th Draft – Tuesday Silver, Friday Silver and Thursday Silver.
Starting Dates – All leagues start the week of October 30th and will end on March 23, 2018.
Winter League Fees – The fee for the winter season is $75 and the Pay to Play deadline is Monday, November 27th. Snowbirds Pay to Play deadline is Monday, January 22nd.
Holiday – There will be no league play the week of December 25th.
Banquet – The banquet will be held on Wednesday, March 28, 2018.
Summer Draft – The draft will be held on March 22, 2018.

Balance of Summer Season – The summer season will continue as scheduled.
Redefining Sub Policy during Summer break – as per our rules, Managers are free to secure substitute players after the final game prior to the summer break.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
AUGUST 9, 2017

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck Cason declared a quorum. The minutes of the July Meeting were approved along with the financial report for July.

CONTINUING BUSINESS

Website Design – George Wacaser brought the board up to date regarding a recent meeting on this issue. Some changes are contemplated to be introduced following the Winter League Drafts in October. One major item involves credit card registration.
Budget – The proposed budget for the next fiscal year was approved at $34,375.
Silver 75 League – John Plaskon believes that he can field four teams for this new league.
Sponsor Update – Bill Smith reported that we are way ahead of last year on the number of paid up sponsors.
Uniforms – David Wulfsohn indicated that orders have been placed for 19 sponsors.
Pick-Up Games – Ron Grande reported that the games are to be continued throughout our August recess.
Managers – Chuck Cason has asked all board members to speak to fellow players, encouraging them to take on the duties of managing a team.
Next Board Meeting – September 13th – Fruitville Public Library.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
JULY 12, 2017

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck Cason declared a quorum. The minutes of the June Meeting were approved along with the financial report for May.

OLD BUSINESS

Website Design – Tabled to the August board meeting.
Winter Season – A general discussion ensued regarding the number of leagues as well as roster minimums/maximums. This item will be discussed further at the August meeting.
Budget - Chuck Cason reported on his proposed budget of $34,375 for the next fiscal year.
55 Year Minimum Age – Rule 9, Player Eligibility, was amended with the following addition: 75’s Silver League players must be 75 years of age or older as of December 31st of the year during which play ends.

NEW BUSINESS

Board Appointment – The Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve the appointment of George Wacaser to fill out the remaining term of Jay Wolfinger.
Silver 75 League – Chuck reported on the results of his discussions with John Plaskon. It is expected that the league will consist of three teams and will play at Richardson Road. John Plaskon is continuing to recruit eligible players.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
JUNE 14, 2017

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Library. Chuck Cason declared a quorum. Director Bill Smith was ill and not in attendance. The minutes of the May Meeting were approved along with the previous Month’s financial report.

OLD BUSINESS

Website Design – Chuck Cason will speak with Pete Mancinelli.
Winter Season – Will begin on Monday, October 30th. All leagues will play a non-balanced, percentage season. The Silver 75’s will play on Tuesdays at Richardson road. Chuck/Ron will look into scheduling.
Budget – Chuck Cason will speak with Jay Wolfinger.
55 Year Minimum Age – An amendment to Rule 9 will be proposed at the July Board Meeting.

NEW BUSINESS

Resignation of Jay Wolfinger – A discussion ensued regarding a replacement. A candidate will be proposed at the July meeting.
Sponsors – Bill Smith. Bill Corrow reporting on behalf of Bill Smith indicated that Bill Smith had sent out his second letter to all last season’s sponsors. Two sponsors have already sent their checks.
75 Year League – Chuck Cason will speak with John Plaskon and will report results of their conversation at the July meeting.
Marauders Game Offer – No interest at this time.
Field Conditions – Still having problems with Field #1 which continues to hold standing water after rain.
Pizza Dates – July 10th and 17th – Rain Dates: July 13th and 20th.

Next Board Meeting – Wednesday, July 12, 2017 – Fruitville Library.

Respectively Submitted,
Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL

ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

MAY 10, 2017

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Chuck Cason declared a quorum. The minutes from the April meeting were approved. The financial reports for March and April were approved. George Wacaser attended the board meeting.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Website Design – General discussion. Recent hits on website – 10,000. We are presently looking into website operators who allow advertising. Discussions on this matter will continue.
2. Player Fee Collection – Jay Wolfinger – Everyone is up to date.
3. Winter Season Schedule – The 2017/2018 Winter season will begin on or about October 30, 2017. This item will be carried over to the June Meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Players Not Signed Up – George Wacaser provided the board members with individual spread sheets of players to contact who have not yet signed up for the upcoming winter season.
2. Budget – Jay Wolfinger – The July 1st to June 30th financial reports will be utilized to categorize income and expenses.
3. Database of All Known Email Addresses – A general discussion took place on this item. It was decided that it needs further work and would require a great deal of work inputting the information.
4. Disciplinary Policy Review – Continue current program.
5. Board Member Input on Major Concerns – Chuck Cason requested that board members give some thought to bringing forward items requiring discussion.
6. Next Board Meeting – June 14th, Fruitville Public Library.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 12, 2017

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum. The minutes from the March meeting were approved. The financial reports for February were approved. Directors Bill Smith and Ron Grande were not in attendance. Director Elect Bill Muth was in attendance.

OLD BUSINESS

Banquet Update – Joe Warren and Jay Wolfinger updated the board regarding our recent Banquet. This year we had a total of 144 players and guests attending the banquet.
Website Design – Tabled to May meeting.
Player Fees/Collections – Jay Wolfinger updated the board on the current status of our Summer League dues. Players unpaid after May 1st will not be allowed to play.

NEW BUSINESS

Election of Officers – The Slate for May/17 through April/18 consists of Chuck Cason, President; Bill Muth, Vice-President and Secretary, Bill Corrow. Jim Grams has been reappointed as Treasurer.
Sponsors/Team Photos – Bill Corrow reported for Bill Smith. All of our sponsors have been sent a letter of “Thanks” along with a photo of their team. They were also encouraged to continue as sponsors for the upcoming winter season of 2017/2018.
Director/President Gary Moore – As this was the final meeting for Gary, the board extended their “Thanks” for his dedication and support of the Sarasota Senior Softball Association during his tenure.
Winter Season Schedule – Tabled to the May meeting.
Player Personnel Duties Transfer – Director Jay Wolfinger has stepped down from this position. His previous duties have been assumed by Bill Muth, George Wacaser and Jim Gelsomin.
Rule 3j – Jay Wolfinger. The board voted to amend this rule by removing the following sentence: “There will be no running starts allowed.”
Communication to Managers/Players – Board discussion.
Pick-Up Games – Board discussion.
Next Board Meeting – May 10th, Fruitville Library.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
MARCH 8, 2017

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum. The minutes from the February meeting were approved. The financial reports for January were approved.
OLD BUSINESS
Banquet Update – Joe reported that he needed an update NLT March 24th regarding tickets sold.
Keynote Speech – Chuck Cason reported that David Reed will be the speaker at this year’s banquet.
Website Design – Gary Moore – Tabled
By-Laws/Election – The By-Laws were amended to read “voting will be held at all fields of play”. Approved by a vote of 8-0.
Player Fees/Collection – Discussion ensued; tabled.
Election Update – The winners of the annual election of Directors to the Board were announced as follows: Dan Martin, Bill Smith, Ron Grande, Bill Muth and Dave Wulfsohn.
NEW BUSINESS
Insurance – Bill Corrow advised that the League Insurance had for 2017 had been completed and the certificates sent on to the county as required. This year’s insurance cost was $1295.
First Base Obstruction – Chuck Cason will speak to both parties to a dispute.
Missing Player Sign-Ups – Jay provided the board an update along with the number of responses.
Fred Frank Award – After a discussion, the board decided that the recipient this year would be Gary Olson.
Player Ratings – Jay Wolfinger – Discussion tabled.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
FEBRUARY 8, 2017

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as eight directors were in attendance. The minutes from the January meeting were approved. The financial report for December was approved.
OLD BUSINESS
Banquet – Joe Warren provided the board with an update along with ideas for improved monitoring of tickets at the door.
Veer Rule – A motion was made and seconded to drop the veer rule. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-3 with one abstention.
Keynote Speech – A speaker had not been decided upon as of this meeting. Chuck Cason continues to work on this issue.
New Sale Shirt – Dave Wulfsohn brought the new shirt to the meeting and it was decided to sell the shirt for $10.
Website Design – After much discussion, again, this item was tabled.
Election Update – The election will be held during the week of March 13th. Six individuals are running for five positions.
NEW BUSINESS
Infield Fly Rule – A discussion ensued in an attempt to clarify how the rule is to be applied.
By-Laws Review/Elections – The board has decided that the elections will run all week including at Richardson Road fields.
Player Fees/Collections – There was a general discussion as to how to improve the collection process.
Jeff Ackerman – Due to a refusal to play, this individual was suspended by the board for a period of one year. He will be eligible to play during the summer of 2018.
Next Board Meeting – The next meeting will be held on March 8th at the Fruitville Public Library.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 11, 2017

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as nine directors were in attendance. The minutes from the December meeting were approved. The financial reports for October and November were approved.
OLD BUSINESS
Designated Pitcher Rule – Discussed and dropped.
Rerating Players – Jay Wolfinger – Gold Leagues by Committee, Silver Leagues by Managers.
Website Design – Gary Moore – Tabled to the February Meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Banquet Tickets – March 29th – Joe Warren working with Jim Grams.
Gary Olson Protest – Each team to be awarded one win each.
Veer Rule – Soriero – No action.
New Sale Shirts – Chuck Cason – Discussed, working up new shirt design.
Field Prep. – Bill Corrow – Discussed lack of field prep by County.
Screen Shot/Strike – Dave Wulfsohn – No action.
Hot Dogs – Bill Smith – Feb. 6th & 7th – (13th & 14th if raining)
Keynote Speech – General Discussion.
75 League – The board received an update from John Plascon by telephone.
Field Payments – Chuck Cason and Ron Grande advised that the county is now requiring 50% up front.
Next Board Meeting – February 8, 2017, Fruitville Library.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
December 14, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as eight directors were in attendance. Ron Grande was absent. The minutes from the November meeting were approved. The financial report for October was not available as of the meeting date of December 14, 2016.
OLD BUSINESS
Association Fundraising – Marcanthony Roman brought the board up to date on possible new ways for SSSA to raise additional income.
No Umpire – Bill Corrow advised that the new rule had been updated in our official rules as of December 28th, 2016.
Sun & Fun – Jay Wolfinger advised that Sun & Fun would not be adding any teams to our insurance program.
Missing Players – Jay Wolfinger advised the board regarding the number of players still to be replaced – 30.
NEW BUSINESS
Veer Rule – A new, amended veer rule was adopted and will be sent to all of the managers.
Designated Pitcher Rule – Chuck Cason – Tabled.
Proposed Draft Changes – Dismissed.
Rerating Players – Tabled to January.
Website Design – Tabled.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
November 9, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as nine directors were in attendance. The minutes from the October meeting were approved along with the financial report from September, 2016.
OLD BUSINESS
Defibrillator - Dave Wuifsohn reported that the replacement defibrillator has been delivered.
No Umpire in Field – The board voted unanimously to approve a new rule allowing for no penalty. Bill Corrow will incorporate the new rule into the official rules.
NEW BUSINESS
Change Thursday & Friday Play – No change to be made.
Field #4 – Field #4 is a dangerous sun field in the winter. Teams scheduled to play on Field #4 on Tuesdays will be sent to the south field at Richardson Road, (Field #2).
Winter Dues – The dues for the 2016/2017 season have been approved by the board and are set at $75.00.
Drafts – A discussion was conducted regarding the winter draft. Jay Wolfinger was applauded for his handling all of the drafts.
5. Missing Players – Jay indicated that he needs to find 20 players in order to fill missing roster slots.
Website Issues – A discussion ensued regarding changing some of the content.
Call-Ups – Jay indicated that there was a problem regarding call-ups for Monday Gold 55’s and Monday Gold 68’s.
Softballs – Per Chuck Cason, new softballs have been ordered.
Home Plates – Paul Herman has made four new wood plates.
75 & Older League – We are awaiting further input from John Plaskon.
Next Board Meeting – December 14, 2016 – Fruitville Public Library.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
October 5, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, October 5th, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as seven directors were in attendance. David Wulfsohn and Dan Martin were not in attendance. The minutes from the September meeting were approved along with the financial report from August, 2016.
OLD BUSINESS
Manager Report – Chuck Cason brought us up to date. One manager is required for Tuesdays and two for Thursdays.
Defibrillator Purchase – Dave Wulfsohn is awaiting delivery.
No Umpire in Field – To be continued.
Sponsor Report – Bill Smith reported that we are in good shape. 33 sponsors are fully paid and one more is required.
NEW BUSINESS
Screen Strike – No action.
One and One Count Tuesday/Thursday upheld by board vote of 2-1 with abstentions.
Monday Make Ups – The board voted to approve no make-up games for Monday Gold 55’s.
Combine Report – The consensus of opinion was that the combine was a success.
Schedules – The winter leagues will begin on November 1st and will end on March 24th. All leagues will play an unbalanced schedule. Monday Gold 55, 5 teams of 12; Monday Gold 68, 5 teams of 14; Tuesday Silver, 7 teams of 13; Thursday Silver, 7 teams of 13;l Friday Gold, 5 teams of 12; Friday Silver, 6 teams of 13.
Player Ratings – Jay Wolfinger led a discussion on improving player ratings.
Next Board Meeting – November 9th at Fruitville Public Library.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
September 14, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, September 14th, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as eight directors were in attendance. The minutes from the August meeting were approved along with the financial report from July, 2016. Director Joe Warren was not in attendance.
OLD BUSINESS
Updated Budget – Gary Moore submitted a new, revised budget.
Manager’s Report - Chuck Cason provided the board with the current list of 2016/2017 managers. More are needed…..
Defibrillator Purchase – Dave Wulfsohn is awaiting delivery.
NEW BUSINESS
MarcAnthony Request – The board has officially appointed MarcAnthony Roman as SSSA Chaplin.
No Umpire in Field/Rule Change? – A healthy discussion ensued regarding this ongoing problem. Gary Moore will present a new rule at the October meeting.
Gold 55’s Poll – The managers indicated their support for a five team, twelve man roster – 60 players.
Sponsor report – Bill Smith provided an update of the current sponsors.
Shirts/Caps Update – Dave Wulfsohn updated the board regarding the current status of his order with Ball & Shoe.

Submitted by Bill Corrow - Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
August 10, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, August 10th, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as all directors were in attendance. The minutes from the July meeting were approved along with the financial report from June, 2016. Stan Dacar attended the meeting as a guest.
OLD BUSINESS
Fees/Budget – Gary led a discussion on the updated budget. Due to rising costs, the board discussed raising annual dues in order to keep the association in the black. A motion was made, seconded and approved by a vote of 9-0, to raise the annual dues as follows: Winter - $70; summer $25.
75 And Older League – Jay Wolfinger – Exhibition games are planned for November, December and January in order to explore feasibility.
Gary Olson Rating Proposal – The board discussed the suggestions contained in Gary’s email message. No action was taken.
Unsigned Players – Jay Wolfinger provided each director with an updated spreadsheet of those players who have played in the past but have not yet signed up for the 2016/2017 season.
NEW BUSINESS
Stan Dacar – Stan opined on the problems associated with managing because of missing roster players. Among other possibilities for improvement, Stan suggested always having a bye team and drafting 14 players to each team.
Winter 2016/2017 Leagues – Jay Wolfinger led a discussion of possible team/player alignment. League by league. The discussion also included suggestions regarding the drafting of snowbirds.
Defibrillator – Dave Wulfsohn was authorized to purchase a factory reconditioned unit to be used at Fruitville Park (Richardson Road).
Managers – Chuck Cason reiterated the need for everyone to recruit managers for the upcoming season.
County Field Payments. Chuck Cason and Ron Grande brought the board up to date with regard to recent payment of county invoices for the use of fields.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
July 13, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as all directors were in attendance. The minutes from the June meeting were amended and approved along with the financial report from May.

OLD BUSINESS
Part Time Players – Jay Wolfinger led a discussion re this issue. No changes to current policy.
Rule 12 & 13 – Jay Wolfinger provided the board with a clean copy of subject rules.

NEW BUSINESS
Call Up Players - Jay Wolfinger – See #1 above.
Fees/Budget – Gary Moore – Gary presented his budget proposal and the board weighed in on projected expenses as well as estimated income. Gary will take the discussion into account and rework his budget.
Field #4 – Chuck Cason – Chuck suggested using Field #4 on Mondays during the summer when another field is unplayable due to standing water.
Make Up Games – Jay Wolfinger – No changes, games will be played as scheduled.
75 And Older League – The board must make a decision at the January board meeting regarding this proposal. We could possibly schedule two fields on a Wednesday for exhibition games, two in November and December and one in January.
Gary Olsen Proposal Re League Ratings – We need a clean copy of email message in order to discuss this matter.
Health Issues – Gary Moore has posteed forms at the fields regarding health and heart issues.
Pizza – Summer Pizza days are scheduled for July 18th and the 21st.
Next Board Meeting – Scheduled for August 10th at Fruitville Public Library.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
June 8, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as eight directors were in attendance. Director Dave Wulfsohn was absent. The minutes from the May meeting was amended and approved along with the financial report from April.

NEW BUSINESS

Fields/Groundskeeper – Chuck Cason brought us up to date regarding the current status of our relationship with Sarasota County. This issue will be monitored.

Player Sign-Up – Jay Wolfinger provided updated email lists to each director.

Changes to Rule 3 were approved.

Changes to rule 12 and 13 were approved - Jay Wolfinger to provide a clean copy for inclusion and publication.

Part Time Player Fees – Jay Wolfinger led a discussion with regard to this issue. This item was tabled to the July board Meeting.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
May 11, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as six directors were in attendance. Directors Dan Martin, Joe Warren and Ron Grande were absent. The minutes from the April meeting and the financial report from March were approved unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS

Field Conditions/County Relationship – Chuck Cason led a discussion of the current status of affairs with the county and how it effects our organization. We are seeking help from county staff in order to improve field conditions.
Unsigned Players – Jay Wolfinger provided each board member with a spreadsheet listing unsigned players who had played previously. The deadline for these people to sign up is October 1, 2016.
Mercy Rule – Jay Wolfinger. Jay provided the board with a proposed new rule. This item was tabled to the June Meeting and will be added to the agenda for that meeting.
Monday Gold 55’s – Jay Wolfinger led a discussion relating to allowing a replacement player to be used on a consecutive basis.
Call Up Procedures – This item will be added to the agenda for the June meeting.

The next board meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 8th at the Fruitville Public Library.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
April 13, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the Fruitville Public Library. President Gary Moore declared a quorum as all nine directors were in attendance. Ken Weinstein attended the meeting as a visitor. The minutes from the March meeting and the financial report from February were approved unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

John Plaskon’s survey of the need for a 75 and older league was discussed. Jay and John will continue to discuss this matter and this item will be brought up again in October for a possible league in 2018.
An election for Association Officers was held and the following individuals were confirmed for the next 12 months: President, Gary Moore; Vice President, Chuck Cason; Secretary, Bill Corrow.

NEW BUSINESS

Banquet Finances – Jay Wolfinger reported on the breakdown of income vs actual banquet expenses. The total expense amounted to $2931.87. A discussion followed regarding ticket prices for March of 2018. In addition, a committee was appointed to oversee planning for the 2018 banquet. The committee consists of Ken Weinstein, Joe Warren and Jim Grams.
Fall Action Items – Jay Wolfinger led a discussion of problems identified during the just finished winter season. Namely, a lack of managers and sponsors. Both items will attract more attention over the coming months.
2017/2018 Schedules – Following a discussion concerning problems experienced over the 2015/2016 seasons, a motion was made by Bill Corrow for all leagues to play an unbalanced schedule in 2016/2017. The motion was seconded by Joe Warren and adopted by majority vote.
Combine – To be held on Tuesday, October 4th.
Gold Leagues Draft Date – 10:00 AM, October 11th @ the N. Library.
Silver League Draft Date – 10:00 AM, October 18th @ the N. Library
Winter Season Opening Date - Monday, October 31st, 2016.
Sponsors – It has been determined that we will need 37 sponsors for the 2016/2017 season. We will require a final sponsor list NLT October 1st.
Players Not Signed UP – As of the April board meeting, 118 former players have not signed up for the winter/summer seasons. Jay Wolfinger will assign each board member a list of players to be contacted by telephone.

The next board meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 11th, at the Fruitville Public Library.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
March 9, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, March 9th at 1:00 PM in the conference room of the North Library. Director and Secretary Bill Corrow was excused from the meeting as he’s moving his family so Gary Moore recorded events and submitted this report. Dan Martin, Jerry Vaccaro and Ken Weinstein were visitors. A quorum was declared. The minutes from the February meeting and the financial report were approved unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
Chuck Cason discussed the rainout situation. The board authorized him to survey affected teams and make appropriate scheduling changes.
The tabled motion to institute a “walk and sit” was discussed and passed unanimously.
The board approved a $20 fee for the summer season.
Jay reported on John Plaskon’s survey of the need for a 75 and older league. Jay and John will continue to discuss this matter and this item will be brought up at our October meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
The board discussed the recent confrontation between John Annis and Rick Cockill. It was determined that both parties were out of line and Chuck Cason should reprimand both players. It was also recommended that in the future, the rule about the touching of another player during a confrontation should be more strictly enforced with a suspension of one game or more at the discretion of the board. No further action is required.
The board voted for the “1-1” rule to be used in the Thursday Silver League during the summer.
The board voted to amend the by-laws so that elections will be held the last full week before the March board meeting. Teams having byes that week will be afforded an opportunity to vote the previous week.
Nominations for the board are therefore to be submitted to the president by the last Monday of January.
There was a discussion about the grounds keeper holding up play in the bottom of the 7th inning.
Gary Moore proposed that the manager of batting teams be held responsible for getting field umpires in the field with the manager of fielding teams being given the option of continuing or restarting an inning if umpires are not provided. This proposal died for lack of a motion.
The board chose the winner of this year’s Fred Frank award, to be announced at the banquet.
Gary Moore belatedly announced the results of the election as some ballots had not been turned in. Incumbents Chuck Cason Jay Wolfinger, Joe Warren and Bill Corrow were reelected. Dan Martin received the next highest amount of votes so the board asked him to take the seat vacated by Bill Muth who has had to return to work.
The next meeting will be held on April 13th at the Fruitville Library.

Respectively submitted,

Gary Moore, President

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
February 10, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, February 10th at 1:00pm in the conference room at the North Library. Director Bill Muth was absent. A quorum was declared as eight directors were in attendance. The Minutes from the January meeting and the Financial Report for the month of December were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS
Storage Shed – Dave Wulfsohn – The rent is paid to 3/1/16. Following that, the shed will be cancelled.
Meeting With County – Chuck Cason/Ron Grande – Both gentlemen updated the board on discussions with a supervisor at Sarasota County and steps taken to improve customer service pertaining to the league.
Rainouts/Scheduling – Chuck Cason – The Friday Silver League will be polled regarding possible makeup games, perhaps to be held on Wednesdays.
Summer Schedule – Jay Wolfinger – Projected to be April 4th through July 28th and resuming on September 8th. The projected Winter schedule is October 24th to March 24th.
Board Nominations/Election – The following incumbents are seeking new two year terms: Cason, Corrow, Warren and Wolfinger. The following individuals are seeking a seat on the board: Dan Martin, R.J. Johns and Jerry Vaccaro. Players are to vote for four candidates. The election will be the week of March 7th, 2016.
Review Rules – Discussion – Changes will be made to the following rules: 3a, 3d, 3f, 4, 10 and 12.
NEW BUSINESS
Tax Situation- Gary Moore – The $65 annual Florida fee has been paid. Gary will look further into our legal status as it pertains to taxes.
Widen The Plate/Walk & Sit – No action taken.
Banquet – Jay Wolfinger – The banquet will be held on March 30th. The fee for players is $12 and guests are $15.
Fees – The new fee for Summer players will be determined at the March meeting. Gary Moore has asked for help in collecting League Dues from those players who have not paid.
75 Year League – This item has been tabled for further discussion. John Plaskon has been appointed to begin development.
Next Board Meeting - The March meeting will be on the 9th and will be held at the North Library.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
January 13, 2016

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, January 13th at 1:00pm in the conference room at the Fruitville Library. Director Bill Muth was absent. A quorum was declared as eight directors were in attendance. The Minutes from the December meeting and the Financial Report for the month of November were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS
Tweak Rule 3b – Bill Corrow read the revised rule pertaining to a player arriving after the first game has begun.
Approving Wording of 1st Base Rule – The board added language regarding runner interference.
Renewal of Shed Rental – Bill Corrow, on behalf of Dave Wulfsohn, asked the board to approve the rental on a month to month basis. The board so moved.
NEW BUSINESS
Review Rules – Chuck Cason asked that each board member look over rules to what needs to be changed.
Relationship With County – Chuck Cason will arrange a meeting with senior county people to air our concerns.
Rainouts - Due to the number of rainouts, the two Gold Leagues will now be on a percentage basis as regards Wins and losses. This issue has been tabled.
1-1 Rule – Jay Wolfinger presented a motion to have the Tuesday/Thursday Silver Leagues adopt this rule. The motion was seconded but failed due to a vote of 4-2. A new motion was presented to try the 1-1 on Tuesday only until the end of the winter season. This motion passed with a vote of 4-3.
Identification of Call-Up Players – Jay Wolfinger moved to require all Managers to write up missing players and substitutes. Motion was seconded and passed 7-1.
Summer Schedule - A discussion ensued regarding summer play with the leagues beginning in April and playing in May, June and July with no play in August and September. Tabled.
Board Elections - Nominations for seats on the Board Of Directors must be received in writing to the President no later than February 8th.
Hot Dogs – This item has been scheduled for February 8th and 9th.
Website – All of us need to review all content on the website and look at the By-Laws as well.
Suspensions – Butch Weir and Jimmy Calka were suspended for a period of one year for refusing to play after being drafted. These two individuals may petition the board after one year for reinstatement along with payment of dues.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
December 9, 2015

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, December 9th at 1:00pm in the conference room at the North Library. Director Bill Muth was absent. A quorum was declared as eight directors were in attendance. The Minutes from the November meeting and the Financial Report for the month of October were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS
Sponsors – Bill Smith reported a total of 37 sponsors have paid.
Managers/Lack of – Chuck Cason. Continuing Discussion.
Promotional T Shirts – Dave Wulfsohn reported that he has taken delivery of 72 of the newly designed shirts. He also indicated that he needed help in selling and distributing.

NEW BUSINESS
Review Rules – Chuck Cason. Discussion to be continued.
Rollin Powell Email – This was a complaint regarding problems relating to rainout notifications. Our procedures will be reviewed and tightened. Also, someone must be designated to visit Fruitville Park to check on the playability of the fields following rain.
Switch Monday And Tuesday Leagues – A discussion ensued regarding this matter and the consensus was that approximately 125 Silver League players would be inconvenienced in order to address the concerns of less than 10 Gold League 55 players. This matter was dropped.
Tweak Rule 3.b – Chuck Cason. The rule as rewritten by Bill Corrow is as follows: A player arriving late for the first game must bat last in the batting order if he arrives after the first pitch to his team. The batting order may be changed for the second game. The wording is to be reviewed and/or approved at the January meeting.
Review Runner/1st Base Interference – Chuck Cason/Ron Grande. The board voted 4-0, with 3 abstentions, to approve a new rule. The wording is as follows: If any part of the defensive player’s body at 1st base crosses the foul line, other than with the glove on a thrown ball, it is considered to be interference, possibly causing the runner to break stride or veer. In this case, the runner will be declared safe based upon a judgement call by the umpire.
Renewal or Cancellation of Storage Shed Rental - Dave Wulfsohn was authorized to handle the rental on a month to month basis.
January 2016 Meeting – The January meeting will be held on January 13th at Fruitville Public Library – 1:00pm.
Adjournment – the meeting was adjourned at 3:00pm.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
November 3, 2015

Vice President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, November 3, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Chuck Cason declared a Quorum as six directors were in attendance. No guests were present. Directors Bill Smith and Ron Grande were not in attendance. President Gary Moore arrived later in the meeting.
The Minutes from the October Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of September 2015 were approved by a vote of 6-0.

OLD BUSINESS

League Shirts – Dave Wulfsohn brought a sample of our new league shirt which was well received. The new shirts will be sold at $8.00 each.
Sponsors – We have one new sponsor – Gordon Hoffmeister. The league is still short two to three sponsors.
Managers/Lack of – Tuesday/Thursday Silver Leagues – One player from one team in each league will have to assume the duties of manager.

NEW BUSINESS

Roster Difficulties – Including all the leagues, we have 23 open slots after the various drafts. 12 slots have been recently filled. The Friday Silver league has 5 open slots.
Motion To Suspend – Motion made by Jay Wolfinger to suspend Sheldon Clements for refusing to play after the draft. The motion was seconded and approved 6-0. Mr. Clements was suspended for a period of one year and will have to apply to the board for reinstatement along with prepaid annual dues.
Roger Yaffee Email – Roger suggested that the game start time during the winter be moved to 10:00AM in order to eliminate the sun problem on fields 1, 2 and 3. It could also possibly eliminate cold weather start problems. The board will check with Sarasota County re this issue as well as to check with the membership for their thoughts.
Call-Up Process – Due to abuses, a subcommittee will be appointed to brainstorm this problem.
Winter Draft – The draft went off very well in spite of computer problems.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 7, 2015

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Gary Moore declared a Quorum as eight directors were in attendance. No guests were present. Director Joe Warren was not in attendance.

The Minutes from the September Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of August, 2015 were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS

League Shirts – Dave Wulfsohn reported that Ball & Shoe were working on the new shirt designs and he expected to have samples at the Silver League Draft.
New Shed Keys – Bill Corrow reported on the currents status of keys distributed to managers.
Combine – Chuck Cason indicated that approximately 35 new, prospective players attended the combine. A discussion ensued regarding the overall success of the combine. Each year it gets a little better. We hope to make improvements for the next one.
Softballs – Chuck Cason reported that he had ordered 48 dozen Trump softballs at $37 per dozen.
Sponsors – Bill Smith provided us with an update of the current situation regarding sponsors for the winter season. As of this date, we are short seven sponsors.

NEW BUSINESS

Winter Draft – Jay Wolfinger – The Tuesday Silver League will be reduced to nine teams from ten. Jay put a motion on the table to increase the Monday Gold 68’s rosters to 13 players. The motion was seconded and approved by a vote of 4-3 with one abstention.

Jay also reported on the makeup (number of teams/roster players per team/byes etc.). The slotting of manager for the upcoming Silver League draft will take place following the meeting.

Draft Help – Managers needing help at the Silver League are to contact Chuck Cason.
Managers – Chuck Cason indicated that additional managers are needed for the number of teams playing in the winter season.
Step-Up Rule – Gary Olsen submitted a proposal suggesting that this not be allowed this winter due to some managers gaming the system. The Step-Up Rule will continue to be allowed in the Tuesday/Thursday Leagues.
Players Rated 3 and 4 – After a brief discussion, the board decided to allow players rated 4 to play in the Tuesday/Thursday Leagues.
Next Board Meeting – Fruitville Public Library – November 3, 2015.
Adjournment – 3:15 pm.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Gary Moore declared a Quorum as all nine directors were in attendance. No guests were present.

The Minutes from the August Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of July, 2015 were approved by a vote of 9-0.

OLD BUSINESS

League Shirts – Dave Wulfsohn reported that Ball & Shoe were busy on a rush order but were working on our shirt design.
Player Behavior – Gary Moore. A discussion took place wherein two versions were incorporated into one. Gary will provide the Secretary with the new version.
New Shed Keys – Bill Corrow reported that there were 16 keys out to players and a record of same has been kept.

NEW BUSINESS

Bill Welsh Email – This matter was reviewed and the board elected to keep the Monday Gold 68’s at five teams of twelve players. Prospective managers were reviewed for this league.
Combine – Chuck Cason reported that the Combine is scheduled for Monday, October 5th, with a rainout to be held the following day if necessary. The Combine will begin at 8:00 AM on Field #1.
Players Not Signed Up – Jay Wolfinger led a discussion on this matter and requested a final follow-up by board members who had missing players.
Winter League Organization – Friday Gold 55 and Friday Gold 68 will be comprised of 5 teams each with 12 players per team. These two leagues will play a balanced schedule and each team must draft one Snowbird. There will be one bye team each week. Tuesday Silver will be composed of 10 teams of 13 players. Each week two teams will have a bye and the league will play an unbalanced schedule from start to finish with no Mini Season.

Each team will be required to draft two Snowbirds. Thursday Silver will consist of 7 teams of 14 players playing an unbalanced schedule. Each team will have to draft two Snowbirds. There will be one bye team each week. Friday Silver will consist of 6 teams of 13 players, playing an unbalanced schedule. Each team will be required to draft one Snowbird and there will be no bye team in the schedule.

Winter Draft – The Gold Leagues will draft on October 13th and the Silver Leagues will draft on October 20th. Drafts will begin at 10:00 AM at the North Library on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Next Meeting – The October Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 7th at the North Library
Meeting Adjourned – 3:15 PM.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
August 12, 2015

The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Director Bill Muth was absent. The Minutes from the Board Meeting of July 2015 were approved by a vote of 8-0. The June Financial Report was reviewed and approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS

League Shirts – Chuck Cason – Dave Wulfsohn bringing Sample.
Players Not Signed Up – Jay Wolfinger – Working.
Ratings Discussion – Board – No need to change system. Managers to walk away when they are being rated.
Sponsor Report/Receipts – Bill Smith – Bill provided a spreadsheet to the board showing current receipts.
Shirts/Hats/Ordering – Gary Moore – Dave Wulfsohn provided input.
Budget – Gary Moore – Gary provided the board with a proposed budget.
Player Behavior – Gary Moore – Two papers to be merged and rewritten by Gary Moore.

NEW BUSINESS

Field Payment – Ron Grande reported on the recent payment.
Internet Service Provider – Gary Moore – After discussion, the board suggested that Gary Moore move forward with replacement of the current ISP and web design.
Web Site Design – Gary Moore – See #2 above.
New Shed Keys – Bill Corrow to keep an electronic record.
Combine – The Combine is to be held at 8:00 AM on Oct. 5th.
Next Board Meeting – August 12th, Fruitville Public Library.

Respectfully Submitted: Bill Corrow

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
July 8, 2015

The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Bob Howes was present as a guest. Directors Gary Moore and Joe Warren were absent. The Minutes from the Board Meeting of June 2015 were approved by a vote of 7-0. The June Financial Report was reviewed and approved by a vote of 7-0.

Guest Bob Howes provided the board with his views regarding the makeup of the Monday Gold 68’s pertaining to the number of teams (5) and the roster per team (13). The board thanked Bob for his presentation.

OLD BUSINESS

Design/Style/League Shirts – Chuck Cason. Working/Tabled/August.
Monday Gold 55’s – Jay Wolfinger – Dropped.
Ratings Discussion – Board – Tabled.
Players Not Signed Up – Board – Ongoing Program.

NEW BUSINESS

Discussion Re Old/New Sponsors – Bill Smith – Letters being sent out to prospective sponsors. Currently looking for 34 sponsors.
Sponsor Receipts – Gary Moore – Tabled.
Shirts/Hats/Ordering – Gary Moore – Tabled.
Budget – Gary Moore – Tabled.
Website – Board – Discussion re needed improvements/Updates.
By-Laws – Jay Wolfinger – Motion approved 7-0 to amend.
New Shed Keys –Discussion regarding “Do Not Duplicate” keys.
Player Behavior – Tabled to August Meeting
Next Board Meeting – August 12, 2015.
Meeting Adjourned – 3:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted: Bill Corrow

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
June 10, 2015

The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. No guests were present. Directors Gary Moore and Joe Warren were absent. The Minutes from the Board Meeting of May 13, 2015 were approved by a vote of 7-0. The May Financial Report was reviewed and approved by a vote of 7-0.

OLD BUSINESS
Shed Update – Chuck Cason reported that the new shed would be delivered and set up in approximately two weeks
One Walk Rule – New Rule 3n, subject to Rule 3k.
Gold 68’s 2015-2016 – A motion was made, seconded and approved by a vote of 5-2 to limit the Gold 68’s to a maximum of five teams of twelve players.
Batting Practice – Practice during the summer months of July and August will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Pick-up games will be organized for Monday mornings at 8:15.

NEW BUSINESS
Pizza – Scheduled for June 22nd and 25th.
Design/Style of New League Shirts – Chuck Cason will confer with Pete Miller and Dave.
Batter’s Box – No Action taken.
Monday Gold 55’s – Tabled.
Ratings Discussion – Jay Wolfinger – Tabled to July meeting.
Trader’s Page – Now limited to softball items only.
Players Not Signed Up – Jay Wolfinger – Players not signed up by the October 1st deadline will not be included in the draft.
Players rated less than a 4 (Tuesday/Thursday) – The board currently discourages those players from playing. Tabled for further discussion at the July board meeting.
New Softballs – Dave Wulfsohn has been authorized to order new softballs for the Winter Season.
October Board Meeting – Jay Wolfinger suggested that we explore the possibility of reserving a conference room for October 7th instead of the 14th in order to plan for the draft.
July Board Meeting – July 8th – Fruitville Public Library.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:15pm.

Respectfully Submitted: Bill Corrow

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
May 13, 2015

The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. No guests were present. Directors Jay Wolfinger and Joe Warren were absent. The Minutes from the Board Meeting of April 8, 2015 were approved by a vote of 7-0. The April Financial Report was reviewed and approved by a vote of 7-0.

OLD BUSINESS
Shed Update – Chuck Cason reported that Sarasota County has signed the agreement with SSSA regarding the placement and ownership of the new shed.
Tuesday Pick-Up Games. - Due to lack of interest, it was decided that the last date for pick-up games in May will be May 19th.
Shirts/Shed – Dave Wulfsohn recommended that the board increase the annual player fee in the amount of $5 to cover letting players keep their shirts. A motion was made and seconded to order new shirts every year and increase the player fee to $70 was approved 7-0.
Defibrillator Pads – Dave Wulfsohn reported that new pads were ordered and received.
First Aid Kits – Gary Moore to follow-up and report at the June meeting.
Player Code of Conduct – Ken Weinstein presented a “Player Code of Conduct” to the board.

NEW BUSINESS
One Walk Rule – Gary Moore will write up an insert to the present rule and submit it to Chuck Cason.
Gold 68’s 2015-2016 – Bill Corrow moved to limit this league to a total of five teams of twelve players, 60 in total. Motion was seconded by Bill Muth. After discussion, Bill Corrow withdrew the motion. This matter will be placed on the agenda of the June meeting.
Pick-Up Games July/August – Bill Corrow suggested that we again promote pick-up games during July and August as there will be more interest due to the absence of regular season play. Chuck Cason suggested that we look into a Gold and Silver pick-up game to be held on Mondays
Next Monthly Meeting – June 10th, Fruitville Public Library, 1:00pm.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:45pm.

Respectfully Submitted: Bill Corrow

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 8, 2015

The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. No guests were present. The Minutes from the Board Meeting of February, 2015 were approved by a vote of 9-0. The February and March Financial Report were approved by a vote of 9-0.

OLD BUSINESS

1. Shed Update – Chuck Cason - The document between SSSA and Sarasota County was signed and turned in to the county on 4/8/15.

2. Summer Managers – Chuck Cason – Board Members are to recruit managers.

3. Banquet – Gary Moore reported on a successful 2015 Banquet with 175 players and guests attending. Although there was a delay at the door of the banquet room (due to a prior occupant), Jay Wolfinger reported that the process at the door went smoothly. Everyone agreed that the guest speaker was a big hit.

4. Field Behavior – Discussion continued on this important matter. Jay Wolfinger requested that we purchase the official U.S. Senior Softball Association rule book. Both chuck Cason and Bill Corrow indicated that they had tried to do so in the past but were unsuccessful in doing so. A fresh attempt will be made.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Summer Draft – Kudos to Gary Moore, Jay Wolfinger, Chuck Cason and George Hawley for a well-run Summer Draft. Also, Call-up players are available through the end of May. Some players will not finish the season. Replacement players will be allowed for Thursday Silver players.

2. Pick-Up Games – Tuesday pick-up games will begin on April 14th. Mention to be made before the start of play on Thursday, April 9th.

3. Shirts/Shed – Dave Wulfsohn reported on possible savings if we were to allow players to keep their sponsor’s shirts, while the SSSA saves rental on a larger shed. Dave will conduct a study.

4. Defibrillator Pads – Dave Wulfsohn reported that the pads on the original defibrillator have expired. The board gave him permission to purchase one new set of pads to replace the expired ones.

5. Managers - Non-Draftable – There was an open discussion regarding this matter. This item was tabled until the August meeting.

6. Gold 68’S – A discussion took place regarding the cut-off point for the winter draft. In recent history, the league was capped at five teams of twelve (60 players). This matter was tabled for further discussion.

7. First Aid Kits – Gary Moore directed that the First Aid Kits be refurbished.

8. Donation – The board voted to donate $50 to Hospice of Bradenton as a memorial for Bob Vandergrift.

9. May Board Meeting – The next board meeting will be held on May 13, 2015.

Respectively Submitted, Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
MARCH 11, 2015

The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. No guests were present. The Minutes from the Board Meeting of February, 2015 were approved by a vote of 9-0. The February Financial Report will be reviewed at the April meeting along with the March report. Lou Giusto attended as a guest.

OLD BUSINESS

1. Shed Update – Chuck brought us up to date on the continuing saga of the future approval of the shed/location.

2. Summer Managers – Chuck gave us a rundown on manager commitments for the Summer Leagues. Chuck, Gary and Ron will slot managers for the upcoming draft.

3. Post Season Games – A discussion ensued regarding the format.

4. Banquet – Advanced ticket sales were discussed. Money to Jim Grams, listing of advanced ticket purchasers to Jay Wolfinger.

5. Field Behavior – Continuing Discussion.

6. Shirts – 2014/2015 Winter Season shirts are to be turned in.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Lou Guisto – Lou was given the opportunity to address the board regarding his dissatisfaction with the lack of communication between some players and their managers. The main bone of contention surrounds players not showing up and not notifying their manager in advance of their upcoming absence. Lou believes that there should be some kind of penalty for those players.

2. Bill Muth – By a vote of 9-0, Bill Muth was appointed to fill the board position vacated by Ken Weinstein. Ken was thanked for his many contributions to the efficient operations of the Sarasota Senior Softball Association; he will be missed.

3. Ratings Process – A discussion ensured regarding possible changes to the current ratings system. Tabled for future discussion.

4. Fred Frank Award – The board was polled and the decision was made to give the 2015 award to George Hawley in recognition of his service to the association.

5. Richardson Road Field Prep – Bill Corrow reported that the county failed to prep both fields on two occasions in spite of the fields being reserved. Chuck/Ron indicated that we would not pay the county for the use of the fields on those two dates.

6. Next Board Meeting – Gary Moore set April 8th as the date of our next board meeting.

7. Adjournment – The March meeting was adjourned at 3:15pm.

Respectively Submitted, Bill Corrow, SecretaryMARCH 11, 2015
The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. No guests were present. The Minutes from the Board Meeting of February, 2015 were approved by a vote of 9-0. The February Financial Report will be reviewed at the April meeting along with the March report. Lou Giusto attended as a guest.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Shed Update – Chuck brought us up to date on the continuing saga of the future approval of the shed/location.
2. Summer Managers – Chuck gave us a rundown on manager commitments for the Summer Leagues. Chuck, Gary and Ron will slot managers for the upcoming draft.
3. Post Season Games – A discussion ensued regarding the format.
4. Banquet – Advanced ticket sales were discussed. Money to Jim Grams, listing of advanced ticket purchasers to Jay Wolfinger.
5. Field Behavior – Continuing Discussion.
6. Shirts – 2014/2015 Winter Season shirts are to be turned in.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Lou Guisto – Lou was given the opportunity to address the board regarding his dissatisfaction with the lack of communication between some players and their managers. The main bone of contention surrounds players not showing up and not notifying their manager in advance of their upcoming absence. Lou believes that there should be some kind of penalty for those players.
2. Bill Muth – By a vote of 9-0, Bill Muth was appointed to fill the board position vacated by Ken Weinstein. Ken was thanked for his many contributions to the efficient operations of the Sarasota Senior Softball Association; he will be missed.
3. Ratings Process – A discussion ensured regarding possible changes to the current ratings system. Tabled for future discussion.
4. Fred Frank Award – The board was polled and the decision was made to give the 2015 award to George Hawley in recognition of his service to the association.
5. Richardson Road Field Prep – Bill Corrow reported that the county failed to prep both fields on two occasions in spite of the fields being reserved. Chuck/Ron indicated that we would not pay the county for the use of the fields on those two dates.
6. Next Board Meeting – Gary Moore set April 8th as the date of our next board meeting.
7. Adjournment – The March meeting was adjourned at 3:15pm.
Respectively Submitted, Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
FEBRUARY 11, 2015

The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. No guests were present. The Minutes from the January Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of January, 2015 were approved by a vote of 9-0.

OLD BUSINESS

Shed Update: Chuck Cason reported that the wheels of progress at Sarasota County are turning ever so slowly.
Summer Managers:  Chuck Cason is speaking to players to generate   interest in managing.
Board Elections:  There will be no need to hold an election as current board members, with the exception of Ken Weinstein, have agreed to continue serving. Only one individual, Bill Muth, has agreed to serve on the board and will replace Ken Weinstein.
Player Absences: No suspensions are necessary at this time.
Player Fees: Six individuals have been identified as non-payers and are being pursued.
Rule 12c: Bill Corrow reported that the rule has been dropped and the website has been updated.

NEW BUSINESS

Touching Bases Upon A Home Run:  The board decided by a vote of 7-2 that no further action is required with regard to this issue.
Board’s Philosophies Re Various Leagues:  Chuck Cason reported that the current leagues will play up to the date of our banquet. Further discussion is tabled.
Banquet Prices/Discounted Tickets:  By a vote of 9-0, the board raised the price of player’s advance tickets to $12 with guest tickets selling at $15. All tickets at the door will be sold at $15.
Sun N Fun Luncheon:  Gary Moore is handling.
Next Board Meeting:  Gary Moore has set the date at March 11th, 2015.
Team Photos: Gary Moore to buy frames and arrange for plaques. Bill Smith will mail sponsor photos. Dave Wulfsohn is ordering championship shirts.
Unpaid Call-up Players Not On Roster:  Tabled.
Additional Summer Silver League on Tuesday:  The board determined that there was not sufficient time to arrange for an additional summer league at this time. There was also a lack of funds for the additional expense. Arrangements have been made to have pick-up games on summer Tuesdays in 2015. An additional summer Silver League for 2016 will be explored.

Respectively Submitted, Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 14, 2015

The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Several guests were present to observe/take part in the discussion regarding a rules protest.

The Minutes from the December Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of December, 2014 were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS

Reviewed Snowbird Substitute Protest. The determination was revised and both teams are awarded one each. Approved 8-0.
Protest lodged by Jay Wolfinger Re Scoring. Protest Denied, precedent established and new rule to be developed. Approved 9-0.
Missing Players – See rule 12h. After two consecutive missed playing dates, the manager is to notify the board. Approved 9-0.
Summer Softball – Sign-up sheets discussed.
Ratings Meetings – Monday/Friday Gold, Monday Gold 68’s – 2/16.

Tuesday,Thursday, Friday Silver – 2/17/15.

Draft Date – Summer Draft 3/26/15 at the North Library.
Start Date – April 6th through July 2nd.
Summer Managers – Need managers for Gold (5), Silver (7).
Board Election – Nominations to be sent to Board in writing by 2/9.
Hot Dogs – Bill Smith & Committee – Monday/Tuesday 2/3.
March Games Tuesday/Thursday – Board intends to play through the first three weeks in March.
Player Fees/Delayed Payments – Discussed.
New Players – 39 dropped, 32 new – 7 open slots.
Banquet – March 25th – Der Dutchman.
Missing Player – If the player in question decides to quit, motion      to suspend for one year is approved 9-0.
Next Board Meeting – February 11, 2015.

Respectively Submitted, Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
DECEMBER 31, 2014

An emergency Board Meeting was called to discuss the problems associated with conflicting rule language between Rule 12 Gold League and Rule 12c. A quorum was reached as there were seven board members in attendance.

A motion was made, seconded and approved, 7-0, to drop rule 12c.

    Respectively Submitted, Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL

ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

DECEMBER 10, 2014

The regular, monthly was called to order on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Hank Young was present with regard to a filed protest.

The Minutes from the November Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of November, 2014 were approved by a vote of 9-0.

OLD BUSINESS

Shed Update – Chuck Cason brought us up to date regarding this issue as it pertains to the County. We are awaiting final approval.
Batting Machine – Tabled – pending a review of Association finances following payment of unbilled invoices by the county for field use.

NEW BUSINESS

Complaint filed by Lou G. – No Action
Protested games filed by Max Jackson/Hank Young – Protest upheld and team standings to be adjusted accordingly.
John Milford – A discussion took place – No action.
Rule 12 – A general discussion took place. Further study is needed.
Obligation To Manage – A general discussion took place led by Ken Weinstein.
Discussion – Require managers to notify each other regarding subs picked up. Tabled.
Discussion – Encouraging managers to promptly call in scores.
Health Emergency – The board will officially thank the county employee for his help in locating a player during a family health emergency.
Next Board Meeting – January 14, 2015
Meeting adjourned – 3:10 PM.

Respectively Submitted, Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Vice President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Gary Moore was not in attendance. No guests were present.

The Minutes from the October Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of October, 2014 were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS

Shed Update – Tabled
Batting Machine – Tabled

NEW BUSINESS

1.Travel Team – A motion was made, seconded and approved (8-0) to allow the Travel Team to operate under our banner. SSSA will reserve and pay the county for the field. The Travel Team will reimburse SSSA. Ron Grande will be the “go between” and will arrange for one dozen of softballs.

2. Call Up Penalty – Any manager asking a player to commit to play earlier than the 8 day rule will be subject to a penalty. Said penalty to be determined by the Board of Directors up to and including a forfeiture of both games. Motion made, seconded and approved (8-0).

3. Photo Story – Gary Moore has been designated to work with Rachel O’Hara, Staff Photo Journalist, regarding stories on Military Veterans.

4. Thanksgiving Week Call ups – A discussion took place regarding call ups for the Thursday and Friday Leagues.

5. Player Trades.  The Board of Directors voted 8-0 to disallow player trades in future.

6. Next Board Meeting – December 10th, 2014 – Fruitville Public Library – 1:00 PM.

7. Meeting adjourned – 3:10 PM.

Respectively Submitted, Bill Corrow, Secretary

13.Next Board Meeting – November 12, 2014.

14.Meeting Adjourned – 3:10 P.M.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 27, 2014

Vice President Chuck Cason Called an emergency meeting of the Board of Directors on October 27th. The meeting was held at 17th Street. Gary Moore, David Wulfsohn and Joe Warren were not in attendance.

The most pressing item discussed was a fair and balanced decision regarding the problem which arose due to a player trade which took place at the Silver League draft between Jack Ivins and John Dickenson. Ultimately, it was worked out to everyone’s satisfaction. Player trades will be discussed at the November Board Meeting.

A decision was reached at this meeting regarding the number of bye teams for the Tuesday/Thursday leagues.

The Board, based upon a unanimous decision, agreed to allow Gold League 55 caliber players to sub on Monday’s during the winter season at no charge.

The November 2015 board meeting which would normally be held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, has been moved to Tuesday, November 3rd. The 2nd Wednesday falls on November 11th, a national holiday.

The Board agreed unanimously to allow Tuesday/Thursday League managers to call up players one rating better during the winter season.

Respectively Submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 8, 2014

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. All nine board members were present. No guests were present.

The Minutes from the September Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of August, 2014 were approved by a vote of 9-0.

OLD BUSINESS

Designated Hitter Rule – Chuck Cason – The board has authorized a change of the rule by a vote of 9-0. Chuck Cason will write the change and provide it to Bill Corrow for incorporation into our official rules.
Rule #12 – Bill Corrow – The board voted 9-0 to change Rule #12 Silver Leagues, to allow managers, at their option, to call up to 12 players for scheduled games. Should they opt to not do so and end up with less than 11 fielders, they may not request the opposing team to provide them with a catcher.

NEW BUSINESS

Combine – A discussion ensued regarding the combine which was held on Monday, October 6th. In spite of some no-shows, a portion of the infield somewhat wet and some players who showed up unannounced, the general consensus was that it went off quite well.
Shirt Misprint – Dave Wulfsohn will check further to determine what to do with the championship shirts.
Batting Maching – Following a general discussion, Gary Moore indicated that he would confer with Roger Yaffee (his original suggestion) regarding a possible purchase.
Shed Update – Chuck Cason has provided the county with an aerial view of the area between fields #1 and #2 with our first and second choices for the final resting place for our new shed. We await their decision.
Round-Robin Tournament - Silver League – Chuck Cason will canvass managers in order to determine the level of interest.
Pick-Up Games – Will commence on Monday, October 13th and run until the beginning of the Fall/Winter Leagues in November. Ron Grande will speak to Gary Olson in order to put a notice on our website.
Website Policy – Ron Grande has been given permission to decide what personal notices are appropriate for the website. Should he be unsure of a possible listing, he will confer with Gary Moore.
Defensive Catcher – The board voted 8-1 to definitively stipulate that under no circumstances will an opposing team supply the defensive team with a catcher. The team on defense must supply their own catcher.
First Aid Kits – Ken Weinstein will provide one or two new kits.

10.Softballs – Dave Wulfsohn will order the appropriate number of “Trump” softballs.

11.Sponsors – Bill Smith – There are 37 teams slated for the Fall/Winter season and currently there is a combination of 35 who have either paid or provided shirts and hats.

12.Scheduling – Chuck Cason and Gary Moore will work on the scheduling.

13.Next Board Meeting – November 12, 2014.

14.Meeting Adjourned – 3:10 P.M.

Respectively submitted,

Bill Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Vice-President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, September 10 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Gary Moore was not in attendance. No guests were present.

The Minutes from the August Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of July, 2014 were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS

Shed Update – Chuck Cason – The county has said “NO” with regard to putting the new shed at the current location. They have suggested putting the shed between fields 1&2 or 2&3. Jay moved to place the shed between 1&2, in front of the batting cage. Motion approved 8-0.
Sponsor Report – Bill Smith/Dave Wulfsohn – We need a total of 36 sponsors and we have 29 in harness at present.
Shirts – Dave Wulfsohn – New shirt orders to be placed as required. Alan Roberts is donating 36 free golf shirts.
Designated Hitter Rule – Chuck Cason – Chuck will rewrite rule #4 to provide for a designated hitter.

NEW BUSINESS

Rule #12 – Bill Corrow – Tabled to October meeting.
Advertising – Jay Wolfinger – Bill Corrow has been designated to arrange advertising in the local paper for the upcoming Combine.
3. Combine/Draft – Chuck Cason/Jay Wolfinger – The Combine will be held on Monday, October 6th. The drafts are to be held on October 14th (Monday and Friday Gold) and October 21st (Friday, Tuesday and Thursday Silver).
Next Board Meeting – Wednesday, October 8th, Fruitville Public Library.
Adjourned – 3:15 P.M.

Respectively submitted,

William Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
August 13, 2014

President Gary Moore called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, August 14th, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Ron Grande and Ken Weinstein were not in attendance. George Hawley attended the board meeting as a guest. There was a Quorum as there were seven directors in attendance.

The Minutes from the July Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of July, 2014 were approved by a vote of 7-0.

OLD BUSINESS

Shed Update – Chuck – The County may possibly take over the wooden shed at the front gate. Our purchase of a new shed is temporarily tabled.
Sponsor Update – Bill Smith/Dave Wulfsohn – Nine sponsors have currently paid and seven more have done shirts and hats. Six more sponsors are in the wings. Final commitment for sponsors is Sept. 10th.
Fall League Age Brackets – Tabled as there may be no need to make adjustments.
Website Discussion – George provided the board with an overview of how the website works and how changes, deletions and additions are handled with the software editor.
Basic Manager Primer – Joe Warren – Joe submitted a one page primer which he developed along with his committee.

NEW BUSINESS

Shirts – Dave Wulfsohn – Roberts Realty has offered the association free polo shirts. Dave indicated that we can have the SSSA logo added for $1.50 per shirt.
Parks/Rec. Quarterly Meeting – Chuck Cason – Chuck indicated that The County has decided to require field reservations to be paid in advance.
Designated Hitter Rule – Chuck Cason – Chuck led the discussion regarding this issue which will continue at the September meeting.
Next Meeting – The September meeting will be held on the 10th.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:25 pm.

Respectively submitted,

William Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
July 9, 2014

Vice-President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, July 9th, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Gary Moore was not in attendance. There was a Quorum as there were eight directors in attendance.

The Minutes from the June Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of June, 2014 were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS

New Shed – A motion was made and seconded to authorize Chuck Cason to order a new aluminum, 8’X6’ shed from Superior Sheds, Inc. at a cost of $1400 plus tax. The price includes delivery and installation. The motion passed 8-0.
Monday Pick-Up Games were deemed a success as enough players were in attendance to field two complete teams. There were no injuries and everyone appeared to enjoy the opportunity to play. There were a few wrinkles with the team selection process which were discussed and an improved process will be implemented on the following Monday.
Non-Profit Status – Tabled indefinitely.
New Website – Ron Grande has been appointed to work with Gary Olson re cleaning up of old data. George Hawley and Gary Olson will be invited to attend the August Board Meeting to discuss the status of the current website.
Summer Silver League Team Selection – It has been decided to try a different approach in order to achieve a more balanced league. A committee of 5-7 players will be appointed to oversee player assignments in October.
Fall League Age Brackets – Tabled until fall.
Player Calls – Reported to Jay Wolfinger.
Player Threat – No further action necessary.

NEW BUSINESS

Basic Manager Primer – Joe Warren will chair a committee to include Chuck Cason, Jay Wolfinger and Ron Grande who will develop the contents. Ken Weinstein will develop a Player Code of Conduct.
Softball Gear – The home team (team listed 1st on schedule) is responsible for bringing the screen, plates, etcetera to the assigned field prior to the game. The visiting team will be responsible for returning the gear to the shed at the end of the second game.
Reporting of Scores – the winner of the first game will be responsible for reporting the game results.
Combine – The Combine date for new players is set for Monday, October 6th – Field #1
Sponsor Update – There are nine paid-up sponsors so far for the 2014/2015 season. There are also six potential new sponsors.
The next board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 13th at the Fruitville Public Library beginning at 1:00pm.
Chuck Cason adjourned the meeting at 3:00pm.

Respectively submitted,

William Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
JUNE 11, 2014

Vice-President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, JUNE 11, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Gary Moore was not in attendance. There was a Quorum as there were eight directors in attendance.

The Minutes from the May Board Meeting as well as the Financial Report for the month of May, 2014 were approved by a vote of 8-0.

OLD BUSINESS

New Shed – The softball association which owns the wooden shed at the gate has again refused to sell it to SSSA. We have moved on to obtain 3 quotes on new prefabricated wood sheds. A committee consisting of Chuck Cason, Joe Skelly and Harry Vandermuelen will evaluate the products.
New Defibrillator – A Philips Heartstart unit was purchased at a final cost of $1175.82 and is currently on site and in use. Hats off to Dave Wulfsohn.
Fall Leagues – President not to manage – This motion was approved by a vote of 6 to 2 and will be in effect for the winter leagues.
Rule changes – Association rules under 12 Gold and 12.b were amended by a vote of 8-0. Rule 12.i will not be changed. Rule 3.b will not be changed. Rule 10 (Selection of Players to Leagues) – was amended. The number of roster players per team will be left to the discretion of the board – approved 8-0.
Non-Profit Status – Tabled.
New Website – A committee will be appointed to study the options; time frame, November/December. Item tabled.
Pizza Day – This activity went off well. Thanks go to Ron Grande.
Ken Weinstein suggested that Thursday, Summer, Silver League managers be canvased for suggestions. Jay will send out an email.
Fall Leagues Age Brackets – Tabled.
Player Calls – Board members will telephone individuals who have not signed up for the upcoming Winter Season.
Monday Pick-Up games for July/August will begin on July 7th. Ken Weinstein and Ron Grande will supervise along with Chuck Cason.

NEW BUSINESS

Summer League Draft Committee – Tabled.
Summer Schedule – Rainouts, Holidays and Byes have limited play.
Complaint of Player Threat – There was a discussion and general agreement that Managers must take control of any situation regarding bad behavior before things get out of hand. An email will be sent to all Summer Managers by the Association Secretary indicating expected cooperation.
Next Board Meeting – July 9th, Fruitville Library – 1:00pm.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:00pm.

Respectively submitted,

William Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
MAY 14, 2014

Vice-President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, MAY 14, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. Gary Moore and Joe Warren were not in attendance. There was a Quorum as there were six directors in attendance.

The Minutes from the April Board Meeting as well as the Financial Reports for the months of February and March, 2014 were approved by a vote of 7-0.

A motion was made and seconded to appoint Ron Grande to the Board of Directors as a replacement for Sam Soriero who had resigned at the April meeting. The motion was passed by a vote of 6-0

OLD BUSINESS

USS SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION RULES – A motion was moved and seconded to amend SSSA SOFTBALL RULES to add the USS Softball Association as the official rule book for rules not covered by SSSA. The motion passed 7-0.
New Shed – Chuck will continue working with the county. In the meantime, three quotes will be obtained for the purchase of a new shed.
New Age Brackets – Discussed and tabled.
Tuesday/Thursday Leagues – Discussed need to speed up games.
Jay developed new forms to be used for Annual Fees and Banquet.
Dave Wulfsohn advised that the best price for a new defibrillator was with Amazon.com at a price of $1099. The board voted 7-0 to authorize Dave to proceed with the purchase.
Directors Insurance (D&O) – Not required.
Fall Leagues – President not to manage – deferred to Gary Moore.
Veer Rule – Discussed – Managers to enforce the rule.

NEW BUSINESS

Board Appointment (Ron Grande), See above.
Rule Changes (3.b) check USS Softball Rule Book. (10) amend rule to reflect that roster size to be left to the discretion of the board. Strike reference to Silver League. Rule (12), Jay to work up new rule. (12.b) Jay to rewrite and get back to board. (12.i) to be rewritten. Changes were approved by a vote of 7-0.
Dave Wulfsohn mentioned that he had new balls in stock.
Bill Smith reported that Select Storage is under new management and that SSSA is paid up to May 2015.
Non-Profit Status – The I.R.S. questioned our charitable status. Gary will check further.
Advertising – This duty has been transferred to the Secretary.
Batting Practice – June – BP will continue in June at Richardson.
Pizza – to be held on Monday, June 16th (rain date – 6/23). Thursday pizza will be held on June 19th (rain date – 6/26). Ron Grande will coordinate/work with Sam Soriero for pizza days.
Board members to be identified on website along with photo.

10.Ken Weinstein will conduct a survey with players asking for suggestions.

11. The next board meeting will be held on June 11 2015 at the Fruitville Public Library.

12. The meeting was adjourned at 3:15pm.

Respectively submitted,

William Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 9, 2014

President Chuck Cason called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Public Library Conference room. There was a quorum as all nine directors were in attendance. Chuck Cason recognized Ken Weinstein and Bill Corrow as new members of the board and thanked John Dickenson who was in attendance for his service and great contribution to the Association.

As the financial statement was not available, a motion was made and carried to review them at the May meeting. The motion was carried 9-0.

Jay Wolfinger read the minutes of the March 12th, 2014. A motion was made and the minutes were approved/accepted by a vote of 9-0.

OLD BUSINESS

The next order of business was the election of new officers. The slate of new officers is as follows: Gary Moore, President; Chuck Cason, Vice President; Treasurer Appointee, Jim Grams; Secretary, Bill Corrow. A motion was made to accept and approve the slate of new officers. The motion carried by a vote of 9-0. The following items were discussed:

Jay brought us up to date re the Summer Draft.
The Association’s Base Rules will be reviewed by Chuck Cason.
Banquet: As a result of the raffle and Raffle Challenge, a total in excess of $2500 was raised.
New Shed: Chuck brought us up to date regarding this issue. Our offer to purchase the building adjacent to the entrance was rejected by the current owners. More on this issue at a later date as we require at least double the space which our present shed provides.
New Age Brackets: Briefly discussed and tabled.
Tues/Thurs Leagues: Item tabled.
Vets Game: A good time in general although there was no recognition of the Association. The program listed the vets under the name of Manasota Veterans.

NEW BUSINESS

Task Assignments: Ken Weinstein will assist Jay with Player Personnel duties. Gary Moore will take over the scheduling of the fields with the county. Bill Corrow will be assuming the duties listed under Secretary, previously performed by Jay Wolfinger.
Jay Wolfinger will develop new forms for Annual fees as well as for Banquet fees.
Rain Men: Ken Shepard and Joe Goff.
Sponsors: A discussion ensued regarding current and new sponsors. A motion was made to keep the fee at $150 for current sponsors and require new sponsors to pay a first time fee of $225. The motion was carried by a vote of 9-0.
New Defibrillator: Dave Wulfsohn will research/report to the board.
Director’s Insurance: Bill Corrow will research/report to the board.
Run Rule: Discussed – no change.
Fall Leagues: President not to manage? Tabled.
Sam Soriero announced his resignation from the board due to schedule conflicts. Sam indicated that he would still be involved in the Combine as well as the pizza lunches.

The next board meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, May 14th at the Fruitville Library.

Chuck Cason adjourned the meeting at 3:00 PM as Gary Moore had left the building.

William Corrow, Secretary

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
March 12, 2014

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Library Conference room. A quorum was established. There were two guests in attendance. Gary Moore, Bill Smith, and Sam Soriero were not in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. Chuck made available the treasury statement and a motion was passed to accept the report. Both motions were passed 5-0

Ron Alexis attended and wanted to discuss ways to improve the over all balance of the Tues/Thurs leagues. Questions were raised on the ratings system and management selection and how those managers performed in the drafts. Ron suggested that key players that know the players select the teams, and then, the Board would assign managers to teams. This will be an ongoing discussion at Board meetings in the future.

Linda Gould, of The Patterson Foundation, also attended the meeting and shared with us the Legacy of Valor program to honor Veterans in the County. We have been selected to field a volunteer Veterans team to participate in a celebrity softball game at Ed Smith Stadium on April 6th. We are honored to be there as we have a large number of Veterans in our association. We will also support the game with balls, equipment, and umpires.

OLD BUSINESS:



A.Ratings and Managers Meetings: Jay opened this discussion by informing us that the ratings discussions are completed in all leagues. The managers also discussed how to improve their leagues and the following are recommendations that the Board has adopted:                                                                                                                                    -It was decided to allow managers in the Gold leagues to play with 11 players, but they can call up a player to get to 12 if they want to. Playing with 10 will be an out for the missing 11th player. The Silver leagues will play with no call-ups after 11, and no out penalty for playing with 10.                                                      -The call up process will be changed to allow call-ups to occur at 12:00 noon, 8 days prior to the game date for all leagues.                                                                                                                                                   -We will have a balanced schedule and if needed, cut weeks off the schedule to allow this. Those weeks will be used to make up rainouts and possibly hold mini tournaments.                                                          --The Tuesday/Thursday leagues will again have no “Bird” team. The Board will schedule more bye teams during the “mini season” (Nov and Dec) so managers will have more players to call up to replace missing players. They will not be able to call-up players if they have 11 of their own players on game day.              -The Friday Silver league will have no changes.

B.Summer Season: The draft will be March 27th. There are 20 or so players that have played in past summers that have not yet signed up. The list was passed out to Board members to call players to get them to commit and sign up for this summer season. Based on current sign ups, the Board decided to have the Monday Gold league consist of 5 teams with 12 players and the Thursday Silver league consist of either 7 or 8 teams of 13 players. The Thursday numbers are not yet fixed as players are still signing up.

C.Base Rules: Will be discussed at the next meeting

D.Banquet: Art Kusnyer will be our speaker. Lunch will again be $10 per player and $10 for a guest. John Plaskon will generously match all funds taken in from the raffle and would like to challenge other players to do the same. An anonymous player has matched the challenge and he beat John’s challenge by $1.00. Anyone else want to beat the challenge??? The doors will open at 11:45 and food will be served at 12:30. Chuck will work with Gary to make sure we have framed photos and plaques ready for distribution at the banquet.

E.Veer Rule: We are still seeing some issues, mostly at 2B, with players not veering, or infielders not giving half of the bag to runners if the play is very close. We discussed having a “muff” rule that would allow a runner who has veered, and the baseman drops the ball, to be automatically safe. This motion was defeated 6-0. Managers need to continue to train their players, runners and fielders, how to correctly avoid potential interference. Common sense needs to be applied with a runner going one way and the infielder going the other. Infielders cannot take the whole base.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.Screen Rule: Jay presented the pitching screen rule adopted by the Wednesday night Venice league. The Board decided to remain with our rule as written.

B.Playoffs: There are several leagues that are tightly contested. Due to scheduling, or rainouts, these teams play a different number of total games, which affect the winning percentage. Because the Board decided at the beginning of the season to use winning percentage as the basis to determine league champions, we will stick with that decision. The vote was 6-0. But, if the winning percentage is minimal, and both managers agree, the Board will schedule a playoff game. Basically, win it on the field, not the calculator. We will fix this issue by going to a balanced schedule this summer to test the change.

C.New Balance: Chuck is working with New Balance to have a table set up at the Banquet to talk with interested players about their products.

D.Shed: Chuck is talking with the night leagues to attempt to purchase the wooden shed next to the entrance to 17th Street playing fields. The Association would rebuild the existing structure and fit it out to use as our new shed. Our existing shed is rapidly deteriorating and we are outgrowing the current shed’s size, which is fixed.

E.Age Brackets: The Board tabled a discussion on whether to adjust the Monday 68 league’s minimum age from 68 to 65.

F.Should the Assoc. President Manage?: The Assoc. President needs to, on occasion, make a spot decision that could affect his team. The Board decided to allow this discussion to be tabled for the new Board to discuss in April.

G.Championship Shirts: Dave has ordered the shirts and they will be ready next week. The Gold league shirts will be a gold with dark blue lettering and the Silver league shirts will be a light grey with dark blue lettering.

H.Tues/Thurs Pitching: This discussion was tabled to a future meeting.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday April 9th, in the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:10 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
Board of Directors Special Meeting
17TH STREET PARK
February 17th, 2014

Chuck Cason called the special meeting of the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order at 11:53 AM at 17th Street Park on February 17th, 2014. A quorum was established and there were no guests in attendance.

The purpose of the meeting was to decide the filling of the open spots on the Board of Directors. The elections slated for March 10th and 11th have 4 spots to fill. There were three incumbents running and a fourth candidate, Bill Corrow, running for the fourth spot. As there are 4 candidates running for four spots, there is no need for an election. Bill Corrow is a new Board member.

John Dickinson has decided to remove himself from the Board, mid term. Since Ken Weinstein also showed interest in being a Board member, the Board voted 9-0 to place Ken on the Board to fill out John’s term.           Ken is also a new Board member.

Congratulations to both Bill and Ken.

Chuck called the meeting to a close at 12:03 PM. The next regular schedule Board Meeting will be on March 12th, 2014, at 1:00 PM at the Fruitville Library.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL

ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

February 12, 2014

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday February 12, 2014 at 1:05 PM in the Fruitville Library Conference room. A quorum was established. There were no guests in attendance. Pete Mancinelli and Sam Soriero were not in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. Chuck made available the treasury statement and a motion was passed to accept the report.

OLD BUSINESS:



A.Home Plate Rule: The new rule concerning home plate was adopted with a 7-0 vote.

B.Summer Drafts: The draft will be March 27th. Ratings meetings will be held March 3rd, 4th and 10th. Managers will be notified February 13th. Manager’s meetings will also be held immediately after the ratings meeting to discuss ways to improve the 2014/2015 season.

C.Hot Dog Days: The players that attended all enjoyed the feast. The turn out was less than expected and the Board will attempt to make the “Day” more convenient for all players next year. Thanks to Bill Smith, Dave Wulfson and their crew. Due to inflation, the cost was about $60 more than last year. Thanks to Doug Smith and Fruitville Physical Therapy for donating sodas.

D.Base Rules: Will be discussed at the next meeting

E.Player Dues: Chuck, working with Jim Grams, has collected outstanding player fess from all but 5 players. It was decided to allow players to keep the shirts this year. This decision means we will buy new shirts next year. This also means that player’s fees may go to $70 next year.

F.Banquet: Art Kusnyer will be our speaker. Lunch will again be $10 per player and $10 for a guest. John Plaskon will generously match all funds taken in from the raffle and would like to challenge other players to do the same. We may adjust the starting time to better accommodate our sponsors.

G.Elections: At the time of the meeting, we had two candidates and three incumbents running for 4 open spots and one spot as a member is leaving prior to completing his term. Wednesday the 12th, at midnight, marked the close of accepting applications. Should no one else submit an application, there will be no need for an election in March. There will be a special Board meeting at 17th Street Park on Monday the 17th to determine how the Board will fill the open spots.

H.401c3 Application: we are in a holding pattern waiting to hear from the Government.

I.Veer Rule: We are still seeing some issues, mostly at 2B, with players not veering, or infielders not giving half of the bag to runners. Managers need to continue to alert their players, runners and fielders, how to correctly avoid collisions. Common sense needs to be applied with a runner going one way and the infielder going the other. Infielders cannot take the whole base.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.New SSSA Tee Shirts: The Board will be buying 100 more new tee shirts with a new color and logo. They will be available for sale at the banquet.

B.County Input: Chuck attended a meeting put on by the County Parks and Rec. The County is looking for some kind of mission statement and a list of improvements that we want on the facilities. He will feed the information back to the County.

C.Gary Olson’s E-mails: The Board decided not to change the rule about calling up a player rated one higher than the lost player for Tuesday and Thursday leagues in Nov and Dec. We will insure proper communication is passed on to the managers when the rule is in effect and when it is not. Bill, Dave, and Chuck are working on cleaning up the website as some of the sponsors are no longer sponsoring teams. Chuck has added the directions to find 17th Street Park to the web site. There will be meetings with Managers in early March on how they would like to see the leagues run next year. The Board will have the final say, but the Board wants to have discussions with Managers to get their input as a group.

D.Defibrillator Training: Dave will work with Howard Quinn to set up training in early March at the Sun-N-Fun. Dates will be sent to managers to pass on to their players.

E.Summer Batting Practice: Chuck will get with Joe Skelly and determine when BP will be for the summer. Because the summer leagues will take off from July, thru Labor Day, there was some push back from players saying that is too long a break. The Board may decide to play pick up games on Wednesday’s at BP.

F.Team Photo’s: Gary and his son have been taking photos and the process is moving along nicely. Please help him when it is your turn to smile.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday March 12th, in the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:08 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
January 8th, 2014

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday January 8, 2014 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Library Conference room. A quorum was established. There were no guests in attendance. Bill Smith was not in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. Chuck made available the treasury statement and a motion was passed to accept the report.

OLD BUSINESS:



A.Summer Draft: Jay led a discussion on the upcoming summer draft. It was decided to begin the season on April 7th and 10th. The draft will be held on March 27th at Fruitville Library at 11:45. Based on having 5 teams on Monday and 6 teams on Thursday (last years leagues), John will do a preliminary schedule to determine when the season should end using a balanced schedule. It will end in October, we are just not sure when. July and August will be off months.

B.Speed Up Play: It appears that the efforts to speed up play have been effective on Monday’s and Friday’s. Tuesday and Thursday leagues are still having difficulties in finishing two 7-inning games. The Board voted 8-0 to start games at 8:30 AM starting the week of Jan 20th. Ending games will still be “no inning starting after 11:45 AM”.

C.Call Up Time: The Board has looked at the 1:00 PM day after game call up time. Some managers are not reaching potential call up players at 1:00 for whatever reason, and having to call someone else, or, waiting for their 1st choice to call them back and potentially losing the opportunity to call up a 2nd choice. The Board decided to leave the call up time alone and to poll the managers as to what they feel is effective.

D.Managers Controlling Games: There are still incidents of games going out of control when an umpire makes a “bad call”. First of all, remember that umpires make judgment calls, not “bad calls”, and, they are voluntary umpires. When there is a disputed call, the manager MUST remove all his players from the area and keep them quite. Then the manager can discuss the call with the umpire. Once the manager and the umpire reach a decision, that needs to be the end of the discussion. Should further verbal interference occur toward the umpire, the umpire has the right to remove the player from the game and the manager must report the incident to the Board.

E.Insurance: Jay reported that the county was sent the new liability insurance documents on Dec. 31st. The county did not acknowledge receipt.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.Elections: Elections for new Board members are coming up in March. Players planning on running for the Board must have, in writing (e-mail is OK) to Chuck Cason, the President, the player’s intention to run for the Board prior to February 12th, 2014. At this time, there will be one opening on the Board.

B.Hot Dog Day: Bill and his host of volunteers will again be serving hot dogs on Feb 3rd and 4th. If you wish to help out, contact Bill Smith.

C.Tuesday/Thursday Fall Champions: Congratulations to Team 7, Robert’s Realty on Tuesday and Team 4, Florida Cardiac Consultants on Thursday, in winning the fall mini season. The players will receive a SSSA Fall “winners” shirt.

D.Dues collection: John Dickinson will work with Jim Grams and Chuck Cason to identify players that have not yet paid their dues for the season. We hope to have all monies collected in January.

E.Managers Bending Rules: The discussion revolved around some managers getting together with their opposing managers, prior to game time, to “bend” a rule. This usually is done to work around a game time situation and the intent is to “play the games”. The Board voted 6-1-1 to allow managers to “bend” any rule to suit the situation. We then discovered the error in our ways and voted on a second motion, 8-0, to override the prior motion. So, we will allow managers to “bend” a rule, like we always have, but warn that the outcome may not only affect their games. Their decisions may have impact on league standings and that could certainly affect other teams. Certain rules should not be bent.

F.Basic Senior Softball Rules: Sam and Pete will identify which set of rules the SSSA wants to use to cover any rules “issue” that our rules don’t cover. ASA, ISA, and USSSA are some of the national sets of rules that include Senior Softball sections.

G.Banquet: Chuck has put the word out that we need a speaker for the banquet. Jim Grams will again be in charge of facilitating the arrangements at Dutch Heritage Restraunt. It has come to our attention that John Plaskon, long time player and Manager in our association, has generously offered to match all monies collected from the raffle that we hold each year. He also would like to throw out a challenge to any and all players to do the same. This money would be used for equipment that the Board needs to buy, and would not go into the general funds that buys shirts, hats, balls, fields, etc.

H.401c3 Status: Chuck will contact George Hawley to check on the status of our request to become a 401c3 organization.

I.Home Plate: There have been several discussions during games what to do if a player running from 3rdbase inadvertently steps on the wooden plate. The Board decided that the player is out if he touches the wooden plate, even if he realizes his error and goes over to touch the runners plate. This decision falls in line with most, if not all, other national senior softball rules. A new rule will be drafted and presented to the Board meting for approval. Prior to this new rule being adopted, the decision is that the runner is out, effective immediately.

J.Team Photo’s: Gary Moore will be around to start taking team photos. Please help him in his endeavor.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday Feb 12, in the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:08 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
Board of Directors Special Meeting
17TH STREET PARK
December 2nd, 2013

Chuck Cason called the special meeting of the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order at 11:53 AM. A quorum was established and there were no guests in attendance. Sam Soriero, John Dickinson, and Joe Warren were not in attendance.

Old Business:

A.Bill stated that all sponsors have now paid. Pete was still making sure that all the sponsor’s links to their web sites were working, and, at this writing, Dec 4th, they are up. Thanks Pete and George.

New Business:

A.Speed Up Play: It appears that all the leagues are having difficulty in finishing games by 11:45.           -After discussion, a motion was put to the Board to adopt a rule that forces the Silver Leagues to play a 7-inning game and a 5-inning game. It was defeated 5-1. A second motion, to change the existing summer rule that allows Managers, at the conclusion of game one, to decide to play game 2 consisting of only 5 innings, was put to the Board. This motion passed 6-0. The rule will be rewritten and will be submitted to the Board for an e-vote to approve. This will be for all games in all leagues.

-The Board wants to re-emphasize that games can be played faster if Managers have umpires ready, only allow 3 warm-up pitches between innings, only one warm-up throw per infielder, know who courtesy runners will be prior to the hitter reaching a base, and make sure the batters are ready to hit when they are due up. All these actions will make a difference in speeding up play and if you follow all these items, you will probably save 5-10 minutes per game.

B.12 Man Rule: There has been some complaining that managers are having difficulty locating call up players. The Board is aware that more players are injured this year and they want to rest on their bye dates, thus reducing the call up pool. Many managers are able to fill their rosters without issue. When the Board established the 12-man rule, it was to attempt to make an even playing field at all games. Too date, there have been many close games and no team has had to take an out because they could not find a player. The Board wants to mention again that you may not find a super star to replace your player, but you will find a player. The Board decided to leave the 12-man rule in place thru this season, and revisit it prior to the start of the summer season draft.

C.Call Up Times: The Board vote 6-0 to change the call up time from 7:00 AM one week prior of the playing date, to 1:00 PM the day after your playing date. This will require a rule change and the rewritten rule will need to pass the Board with an e-vote. The rule will become effective the week of Dec 16th, for games being played starting in January.



Chuck called the meeting to a close at 12:31 PM. The Board will not meet on Dec 11th. The next regular schedule Board Meeting will be on Jan 8th, 2014, at 1:00 PM at the Fruitville Library.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
November 12, 2013

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Tuesday November 12, 2013 at 12:57 PM in the Fruitville Library Conference room. A quorum was established. There were no guests in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. John made available the treasury statement and a motion was passed to accept the report.

OLD BUSINESS:



A.Sponsor Update: Bill reported that we are still waiting for one check to be received. We have two sponsors that Bill is having difficulty getting contact information about. Pete will help Bill work through this issue. Pete will also check to make sure all the sponsor’s links are working on the web site. He will work with George if there is an issue.

B.Draft Post Mortem: All winter drafts were held and with few issues. The one change that will be implemented next year is to hold the Gold leagues on one day, and the Silver leagues on a second day. Holding both Monday’s and Friday’s drafts on the same day made for a long day and the Friday Silver league managers would have liked more time to prepare their strategies.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.Protest Filed: A Friday Silver team Manager filed a protest that stated the opposing Manager called up a player rated higher than the player missing. The Board discussed the protest and voted 9-0 to uphold the protest. The Board felt the opposing Manager thought he was taking the right action, but, he confused the call up rules used for Tues/Thurs Silver leagues and the Friday Silver leagues.

B.Tuesday/Thursday Silver Leagues, Less Teams: John wanted to discuss the possibly of having fewer, larger teams next winter, to minimize the many call ups that we encounter during Nov/Dec. After the discussions, the Board realizes that there is a need to remedy the situation and will further discuss ways to improve the issue prior to the winter drafts in 2014.

C.Field Usage: Chuck has been in contact with the foreman of the team updating the 17th Street lighting. It appears that the crew will complete the process the week of Nov. 18th. Games on the 18th and 19th will be moved. Chuck will notify Managers and the changes will be posted on the web site.

D.Call Up Rules: There have been several occurrences of Managers calling players up too early. The rules that were passed out to every Manager clearly states how and when to call up players. In all the occurrences, the issues were resolved prior to any games being played and protests being filed.

E.Screen Protection: It has come to the Boards attention that pitchers are not stepping behind the screen for their own protection. The Board cannot force a pitcher to move behind the screen. We have already had a pitcher get hit in the head by a line drive. The good news is he is OK, but it could have been much, much worse. Several other pitchers have been hit as well. We, the Board, want to emphasize to pitchers, for your own protection, USE THE SCREEN.

F.Data Sheets: George Hawley has found a way to import new, on line, sign up sheets right into a spreadsheet. This would save the board many hours of manually inputting the data into a spreadsheet. Jay and Pete will meet with George to see if the process will work in our environment.

G.??? (unrated) Players: The teams that have ??? players need to get the ratings for these players to Jay as soon as possible. It affects call-ups for the entire association.

H.Sponsors: There was discussion about do we need sponsors. Can we achieve the same benefits of shirts, hats, balls, and fields without raising the fees too high and losing players? Sponsorship, and all that entails, is a very time consuming effort. The Board would like input from players this winter about this idea. Please talk with a Board member if you have suggestions/ideas/opinions on what sponsorship means to the Association.

I.Summer Ball: the Board voted 8-0, Sam had to leave prior to the vote, to begin summer ball in mid April, and complete the season in mid October. We would have no playing dates from the July 4th week thru the Labor Day week.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday Dec 11th, at the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 2:47 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
October 9, 2013

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 12:58 PM in the Fruitville Library Conference room. A quorum was established. There were no guests in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting, and, John made the statement that there were only two financial activities during the prior month and they were both approved expenditures.

OLD BUSINESS:



Sponsor Update: Bill reported that we have received more checks and that it appears we will have enough committed sponsors for the 36 teams this winter. Great job to Bill and his helpers.
Call Up Rules: Three new rules were introduced to the Board. One was a rewrite of the 12/12, 12/13 rules that was already Board approved. The second was a rule allowing managers to be allowed to draft players that will not be in town for half of the season. The third rule better defines the situation when a call up player and a roster player show up at the same game. All 3 rules were passed 9-0.
Managers Selection and Guidelines: Chuck brought the final selection of managers to the Board and the Board approved the selections 9-0. Sam took the action to finalize the guidelines for Managers and have the final copy ready to be distributed on opening day.
Friday Winter Leagues: Jay announced that the final player sign ups for Friday determined that a 5 team, 12 player, Gold league, and a 4 team 13 player silver league would give both leagues good balance and hoped for parity.
Ratings: Jay announced that all the rating meetings were finally completed and the new ratings were entered into the database. Also included in the database are ratings for some of the unrated new players seen at the combine.
Umpiring: Sam volunteered to have guidelines on umpiring ready to pass out on opening day.
Field Maintenance: Chuck announced that the county has raised the infield on field 1 and that the water now drains out to the outfield instead of creating large puddles on the infield.
Players Not Signed up: Jay announced that only one player remains not signed up. Thanks to all that assisted in calling players to get signed up.
Combine Post Mortem: Despite record turn out, and some rain, the combine was successful. The Board will look into maybe splitting gold and silver combines next year if the turnout is expected to be as heavy as this year’s event.

NEW BUSINESS:

Tuesday/Thursday 3 rated Players: When the Board talked with managers from Tuesday and Thursday about allowing 3 rated players in those leagues, the managers overwhelming thought we should allow them in. It was brought up to the Board again as several more players rated 3 wanted to play in those leagues. The Board again affirmed that as the managers thought it would be OK, then the Board had no problem with it.
Tuesday/Thursday Idea: Dave suggested that in order to hopefully make the leagues more competitive, that we should have an initial draft of players that will be in town prior to Dec 20th and play the first mini season with those players. Immediately after those players are drafted, then the players in town after Dec 19th would be drafted in reverse drafting order. The Board approved Dave’s suggestion 9-0.
Schedules: John is ready to make up the schedules. It was decided to play an 18-week schedule for the Monday and Tuesday leagues, and a 17-week schedule for the Thursday and Friday leagues. We will play Monday and Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving, and be off Dec 21st thru Jan. 5th. All leagues will use a winning percentage to determine the championships. Ties will be decided in a playoff game on March 24th and 25th, if necessary. The Banquet will be on March 26th, 2014.

The next Board meeting will be on Tuesday, Nov 12th, at the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:10 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
Board of Directors Special Meeting
17TH STREET PARK
SEPT 23RD, 2013

Chuck Cason called the special meeting of the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order at 11:46 AM. A quorum was established and there were no guests in attendance. Bill Smith was not in attendance.

New Business:

Chuck and Dave gave us the sponsor’s update. Several more checks were received. Due to several sponsors dropping out, and an increase of teams from 31 in 2012 to 36 in 2013, more sponsors are required. Jay sent out an e-blast to his softball player database and received back 5-6 leads for potential new sponsors. Bill and his committee will call these leads. Bill will have more data at the Board Meeting on Oct 9th
Monday Playoffs: There will not be a need for make up of rained out dates as Ken Shepard/Jerry Vaccaro’s team locked up the championship. The potential mini tournament for Sept 30 was cancelled due to a lack of enough interested players and managers.
New Rules: Jay passed out several rewrites of new rules to be discussed on Oct 9th
Drafted Unrated Players: For call up purposes, players that are drafted with no ratings will be given the average rating of the league that they are playing in until the manager gives that player a rating.
Managers Status: Chuck, Dave, and Sam are still working on finding managers and there is still a ways to go.
Schedules: John will have a list of potential playing dates for all leagues on Oct. 9th.
Monday 60 Draft Handicapping: The Board voted 7-1 to abide by the luck of the card draw to establish drafting order and not handicap 2 of the teams that have 4 of the top 6 or 7 players as managers.

Chuck called the meeting to a close at 12:10 PM. The next regular schedule Board Meeting will be on Oct. 9th at 1:00 PM at Fruitville Library.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
September 11, 2013

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Library Conference room. A quorum was established. There were no guests in attendance. Sam Soriero was not in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting, and, John made the statement that there was no financial activity during the prior month.

OLD BUSINESS:



Sponsor Update: Bill reported that 20 of the sponsors had mailed in money. Bill and his team have called the remaining sponsors to expedite the process.
Call Up Rules: Sam was not in attendance, but Pete opened the discussion on the new rule and will take the action to finalize the Rule. The Board voted 7-2, Sam voting in absentia against the rule. It was decided to have a 13 player roster on Mon 60 and Mon 68 and the team must play with 12, and it would be the managers discretion to add the 13th player if he wished. Pete also volunteered to write the new veer rule after some discussion.
Managers Guidelines: Pete took the guidelines that Sam had written and modified them slightly. There was discussion and some fine tuning was added. Pete will e-mail out the rewritten guidelines. These guidelines will be passed out to all managers at the combine.
Rescheduling Rain-outs: The Board decided to wait one more week to determine if rainouts would be made up.
Veer Rule: This was discussed in item B. above.
Player Idea: The discussion to play summer league in mid April thru Oct, taking July and August off, will be discussed in a future Board meeting as we have until Jan to decide.
Friday Winter Leagues: We have still not decided how to split the Friday league. We will finalize the decision the week of Sept 20th. We still anticipate having two leagues. If you would like to change your playing dates, request one league or the other, please contact Jay at jrwolfinger@hotmail.com before Oct 4th.
Ratings: The summer ratings discussions will be held, weather permitting, on Sept 16th and Sept. 19th
Umpiring: Sam was not in attendance, so this was tabled until next month. The Board needs to finalize written guidelines prior to opening day in Nov.
Field Maintenance: Chuck, John and Jay met with several of the County’s Park and Rec employees, including Pat Calhoon the new head of Parks and Rec. We expressed our concerns about several of the fields and were assured that the County is aware and taking steps to remedy many of our concerns. Pat expressed his belief that many of the issues should be remedied in a six month time frame.
Players Not Signed Up: In early July, Jay distributed to the Board members, lists of players, to be called, that have not signed up. Currently, 31 of the 62 players have signed up, or responded saying they would not be able to play this season. The 31 players not signed up is the equivalent of two teams. This places the Board at a disadvantage in planning for next year. We just don’t know how many teams of how many players, how many sponsors that will be needed, how many fields we need to reserve, the number of managers that are needed, etc. Please sign up now before Oct 1st to get in.   www.sarasotaseniorsoftball.org

NEW BUSINESS:

Non Rated Players; Call up process: The discussion was how to incorporate new players into the league after the leagues have started. Ideally, we would like to see new players for several batting practices and rate them, before putting them onto teams. The Board decided that depending on the situation, we will attempt to do this, but, if a league has teams of uneven roster numbers, players will be assigned as quickly as possible.
Rich Cobin: Rich has requested that the Board discuss his playing status. He has an elbow injury but can still run, base coach, and umpire. He wants to contribute in this way, but not play the field or bat. The Board decided that should a manager draft Rich, he is due back the first of the year, he would take a roster spot and contribute until he is ready to play.
Tuesday and Thursday Mini Season: The Tuesday and Thursday leagues will hold a mini season that runs from opening day until the December break. The winning team will receive an award for having the best record. The season, when it resumes in January will determine the overall champion and receive championship shirts. The mini season records will not count in the second season.
Schedules: John will look at the calendar and the potential playing dates for all the leagues, to attempt to determine the best scenario to achieve a balanced schedule. We expect to have 5 teams on Monday’s, 8 teams on Tuesday and Thursdays, and Friday is still undecided.
Board Member Presence: It was brought up that it may be a good thing if there was a Board member present at batting practices. It appears that there is usually one or more members at BP’s, and if not, Joe Skelly is there, and he is the Board’s appointed representative.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday, October 9th, at the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:10 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
August 14, 2013

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Library Conference room. A quorum was established. There were no guests in attendance. Gary Moore and Sam Soriero were not in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting, and, a motion was passed to approve the treasury report submitted by the Treasurer.

OLD BUSINESS:



Sponsor Update: Bill reported that more of the sponsors had mailed in money. He and his committee will start calling those sponsors who have committed, but not yet mailed in checks. Bill will also clean up the spreadsheet so it is more current. The sponsors committee will also investigate new sponsors, as the number of teams this year may be 34. As a side note, Dave has met the new manager of Select Storage and he is eager to work with us. He also talked with Ball’N’Shoe and they are willing to place our shirt/cap orders in separate boxes and store them until we need them. This is a huge time saver for Dave and Bill.
Manager’s Selection Process: Sam was not in attendance, but the Board is working on writing a set of guidelines for managers to follow. The Board is also looking at not allowing players that may not be drafted in a given league being allowed to manage in that league as a player. We plan on meeting with the managers to go over the guidelines at the Oct 7th combine.
Tuesday/Thursday Winter Leagues: Some of the Board members and some of the T/TH managers met and worked out the guidelines for those winter leagues. It was decided to have 8 teams of 13 players. Each team would have no less that 2 snow birds. Due to the need to add players in Nov/Dec to have 11 players on the field, the leagues will again allow the opposing team to supply a catcher. The managers will also be able to call up a player rated one rating better than the player being replaced, no better than a 4 rating, unless, your 3 is gone, then you are allowed to call up a 3. These rule changes will only be for Nov/Dec as the birds will be in town in Jan. The committee also decided to start the official season in Jan, but, the games being played in Nov/Dec will have a champion and that winner will get winners mementos. Thanks to the managers that contributed to the decision process.
Walk Rule: The Board voted 7-0 to incorporate a walk rule limiting the number of walks per batter, per game. Jay rewrote the rule change that is now in the rules and will take affect when the leagues start play in Nov. The rule will be for all leagues.
Player Idea: Jay submitted an analysis of what it would mean to prepare for the summer/winter drafts if we started summer play in mid April and played thru Oct, taking July and August off. We will again discuss this in a future Board meeting as we have until Jan to decide.
Friday Winter Leagues: The Board tabled this until next month, as there is not enough data to decide. There are still 41 players that have not yet signed up and that affects the decision process on the size of the league. The Board is strongly looking at having a “Gold” and a “Silver” league. If you would like to change your playing dates, request one league or the other, please contact Jay at jrwolfinger@hotmail.com before Oct 4th
Budget Activity: Chuck submitted a budget for the next year and it was approved 7-0 to accept it. Several assumptions were discussed. These are: number of sponsors that contribute, and number of players that sign up. Jay will put the budget on an excel spreadsheet.
Umpiring: Sam was not in attendance, so this was tabled until next month
Pizza Day: A complete success. Thanks to Sam and his volunteers. We came in under budget and we were able to use one of our new sponsors to supply the pies. The Board feels that all attendees enjoyed themselves.
Players Not Signed Up: In early July, Jay distributed to the Board members, lists of players to be called that have not signed up. The list had 62 players on it. To date, only 21 players have either signed up, or told us they would not be playing this year. Sadly, 2/3rds of the players contacted have not yet signed up. This places the Board at a disadvantage in planning for next year. We just don’t know how many teams of how many players, how many sponsors that will be needed, how many fields we need to reserve, the number of managers that are needed, etc. Please sign up now.

NEW BUSINESS:

Call Up Rules Change: The Board tabled this until next meeting
Veer Rule: Pete looked up what some of the Senior Softball Assoc.’s have in their rules and the Board will add some of those principles to the guidelines that will be distributed to Managers in Oct. Basically, if a runner does not veer, the umpire can call interference and call the trailing runner out as well. And, if a runner scores on the play, he will be sent back to third base. The umpire can call the trailing runner out even if the baseman does not attempt a throw to first.
George’s Essay: The Board voted 7-0 to include a page on the web site to add George’s pitching essay and essays in the future. We are thinking that every three months we will change out the current essay. George has agreed to this and we are looking forward to his next submission. Jay will submit the current pitching essay to Gary Olson to add it to the web site.
Pass Word Protection: Chuck led a discussion on whether or not we needed to pass word protect the minutes on the web site. The thought was that possibly there is sensitive info in the minutes that should only be read by players. We decided to control the body of the minutes to not include sensitive information and leave the minutes available to all players on the web site.
Rainout Rescheduling: Jay reminded the Board that we need to not forget to schedule rained out playing dates if the missed game affect who the summer champions will be. It was decided that if no reschedules were necessary, then we would hold a mini playoff, not affecting the final standings, on Sept 30th and Oct. 3rd. The first place team would play the 4th place team, and the 2nd and 3rd place teams would play. Winner plays winner and loser plays loser in game 2. Players from teams not in the play offs would be asked to be a call up player, or an umpire.
Ratings: It is time again to rate your players. Jay will be e-mailing out the current rosters to managers to rate their own players. Rating meetings with all the managers will be held on Sept 16th and 19th.
Combine Date: October 7th will be the date of the combine. If you know of a new player that is currently playing, or see new players at BP, please inform them of the date. After the combine, Gary Moore will hold an orientation for new players, and the managers that are in attendance will draw cards to determine draft positions in the winter drafts. Make sure you attend, or I will draw cards for you, and I am very unlucky at this.
Field Maint: Chuck will again talk with the county on the status of field 2, and, the apparent dead/dying grass on other fields. We will need all four fields this upcoming season, T/TH/Fri for sure.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday, September 11, at the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:03 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
SPECIAL BOARD MEETING
JULY 22, 2013,
17TH STREET PARK

On July 22nd, 2013, at 12:15 PM, President Chuck Cason called the special meeting to order. A quorum was established. Not in attendance was Joe Warren.

The meeting was called to further discuss the discipline and suspension of the player that was suspended during the July 10th Board meeting. More evidence has come to light regarding the situation involving the player and his manager. It was determined that a number of players did in fact witness that the player did threaten physical violence upon the manager. Because the perceived threat was credible, there was a motion placed and seconded that the player receive a one-year suspension, effective immediately, rule # 2.b. The vote was 8-0 for suspension.

The player will be reimbursed for his league summer fees and not be able to return until the winter league of 2014 when he will be placed on probation for the 2014-2015 seasons.

The special meeting was adjourned at 12:35.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
July 10, 2013

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 1:00 PM in the Fruitville Library Conference room. A quorum was established. There were no guests in attendance. Gary Moore and Dave Wulfsohn were not in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting, and, a motion was passed to approve the treasury report submitted by the Treasurer after a minor adjustment.

Due to the unfortunate passing of Steve Bellagamba, a Board member, Pete Mancinelli has graciously volunteered to serve out Steve’s term that ends in April, 2014. The Board voted 6-0 to add Pete to the Board. We would like to thank Pete for helping out and we feel that Pete will be a valuable contributor to our Association, much as Steve was.

Pete joined us for the rest of the meeting.

OLD BUSINESS:



Sponsor Update: Bill announced that the sponsor’s letters were mailed out in June. He has already received several checks and responses. He will follow up on several new sponsors that were brought to his attention.
Manager’s Selection Process: After discussions on how to improve our selection process for league managers, several ideas came forward. Sam has taken the responsibility to form a draft, of guidelines for managers. We will also hold a meeting for all winter managers right after the combine in early October to go over expectations and the guidelines that we would like to see our managers follow. For the most part, our managers do a great job and we want to let them know that they are being recognized for their volunteer work. We are looking for a little more consistently, not in the game-to-game aspect of managing, but in the following of the Association’s guidelines.
Tuesday/Thursday Winter Leagues: Jay opened a discussion that will be followed up on in future meetings on not having bird teams this winter. We need to find a way to incorporate the “Birds” onto teams in January. John mentioned that he would like to see the Tuesday/Thursday leagues adopt the temporary rule of requiring managers to pick up a player if they are missing one, not having to wait to for their playing date roster to fall below 11 players. This would work only if there is a bye team to call up players from. As we get closer to October, we will have a better idea on the number of teams and make the decision then on both topics.
Walk Rule: The Board voted 7-0 to incorporate a walk rule limiting the number of walks per batter, per game. Jay submitted a rule change that was sent back for a rewrite that will be submitted at the next Board meeting. At this time, it will only affect Monday 60, and possibly Friday Gold leagues, should we have one. Should other leagues see the need, it could easily be incorporated into those leagues as well.
Player Idea: Jay brought to the meeting an idea brought forward by several players that we play games in April and October. After more discussion on this, the Board thinks it is a good idea. Jay will put together a time line on what it would take to hold the summer draft and player signups earlier in March so the summer season could start in early April.
Friday Winter Leagues: The Board talked about splitting the Friday leagues into two leagues. Last year we felt the league was a little watered down, and most managers felt that 14 players was too many. We also turned down 17 players that wanted to play Friday last year. If the signups allow us to form two leagues, we may have a Friday Gold league of 5 teams of 12 players, and a Friday Silver league for the remaining players that sign up. We won’t know until September after all the signups are in.
Budget Activity: Chuck will work with Gary and have a written budget ready for discussion at the next Board meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:

By Laws Update: When the Board voted to change to age from 58 to 55 years old, the by laws needed to be updated. Jay submitted the update.
Players not signed up: Jay passed out lists of players not signed up yet for winter, to the Board members. Each Board member will call 9 players to attempt to get them to sign up, or, let us know if they have decided not to play in the upcoming year.
Pizza Day: The dates were selected for pizza day. Sam will organize the activity. Chuck supplied the last years’ data for Sam to work with. The dates are July 22nd/25th and July 29th/August 1st if either of the first dates are rained out. Jay will send out an e-blast to alert managers.
Monday 70’s League: With the advent of having a smaller Monday 60’s league and a larger number of players (not yet 70) not being able to play on Monday if not drafted in the 60’s league, the Board voted 7-0 to change the Monday 70 to Monday 68 and adding a fifth team. This will accommodate 13-14 more players into that league and would also give them a bye team to call up from. As we get closer to draft time, we will finalize the numbers.
Bye Team Umpiring: Sam will try to facilitate getting the bye team on Monday Summer League to umpire the games. He also suggested that if the bye team can’t/won’t supply umpires, then each manager would submit to the opposing manager, prior to the start of the game(s), a list of players that he does not want to see umpiring. Sam will be contacting the managers before the 22nd of July. We will try this for the remainder of the summer, and then make a decision on whether we will adopt this process for the winter.
Umpiring: There have been several instances recently where “discussions” have ensued after an umpire has made a call. These “discussions” have included umpires, managers, and/or players. Jay will send out an e-mail hi-lighting what the Board feels should be the appropriate action in a disputed call situation.
Player Discipline: A player found himself in a situation that he felt was not handled well by his manager. The manager told the player what position to play and the player refused. It was voted on by the Board, 6-0, with one member abstaining, to suspend the player one playing date for his refusal to play where the manager assigned him. Rule # 4.
Bill took the initiative to draw up a flyer that could be posted around town. If any player has a spot that this flyer could be posted, please let a Board member know and we will get a copy of the flyer to you, or post it ourselves. Thanks

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday, August 13, at the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:08 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
June 12, 2013

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 1:00 PM in the Selby Library Conference room. A quorum was established. Steve Bellagamba was not in attendance. There were no guests in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting, and a motion was passed to approve the treasury report submitted by the Treasurer.

OLD BUSINESS:



Sponsor Update: The committee of Bill, Dave, and Joe are working on revising the letter to sponsors. It was suggested that the letter also include some type of mission statement/logo. Chuck has the team photos that will be included with the letters. The Board decided to keep the new sponsor fees at $150 for the upcoming year. We need to make sure that the sponsor links to their web sites still work, and make sure we add the new links with addition of new sponsors.
Ratings Discussion: In an effort to improve our ratings system, the Board kicked around many ways to make the system better. At the end of the discussion, it was decided that we would not change the current system, only to impress on the Managers the importance of rating not only their players, but those of other teams as well. A player was brought up that warranted discussion on what his rating should be and the Board voted 8-0 to change the rating. Jay will adjust that players rating the next time the call up list is sent out.
New Player Marketing: It was voted on 8-0 to reduce the age of players to 55. Bill will make up a flyer to be placed in the gym at Lakewood Ranch. We will attempt to place other flyers in the future. Tribune ads will be run again.
Managers selection Process: Several players have mentioned that the Board needs to attempt to better match managers to the leagues they are managing in. In the past, there have been managers that probably would not have been drafted in that league. There are also managers that historically draft poorly and that affects some of the players on those teams. This topic will be an on going discussion as we select managers for the winter leagues.
Lightning Awareness: Chuck announced that George Hawley/Bill Palmer on Monday, and Dave Wulfson/John Dickinson on Thursday have apps on their phones that can be utilized to alert managers when lightning is in the area. If lightning is within 5 miles of the playing fields, games will be halted until the lightning has left the area for 30 minutes.
Excel Options: Jay is still looking at options to acquire software so that various Board members with more ease can work with the player data sheet.
Meeting Room Schedules: Jay has booked the Fruitville Library conference room thru December. The dates are as follows; 7-10, 8-14, 9-10, 10-9, 11-12, and 12-11.
Tuesday/Thursday Winter Leagues: Jay opened a discussion that will be followed up on in future meetings on not having bird teams this winter. Also the Board needs to speed up games, or lengthen the playing times as too many games didn’t finish, or were really pushed to complete 5 innings.
Walk Rule: The Board decided to incorporate a walk rule limiting the number of walks per batter, per game. Jay will write up a rule that will be presented next Board meeting for a vote. At this time, it will only affect Monday 60, and possibly Friday Gold. Should other leagues see the need, it could easily be incorporated into those leagues as well.
Drag Rake: Sam purchased a large landscaper’s rake that can be used between games to level out the base paths. It is being stored in the shed. Make sure it gets returned to the shed at the end of the games.
Uniforms: Dave did an excellent analysis on costs for uniforms and hats. The Board will use his data for the upcoming budget cycle and in determining sponsor/player fees in the future. It appears that player fees will return to $65 per player this winter season.
Mailing Address: Information/bills that need to be mailed to our Association will be mail to John Dickinson’s and Jim Gram’s resident addresses.
Player Idea: Jay brought to the meeting an idea brought forward by several players that we play games in April and October. He asked Board members to think about ways to accomplish this and the Board will discuss this in more depth at the next meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:

Storage Shed Insurance: Bill alerted us that our storage shed manager is now requiring insurance to keep materials in their storage unit. They offer insurance for $9.00 per month. Because we need to keep the storage unit, and don’t have time to investigate getting our own insurance, we opted to purchase their insurance until a later date.
Rainout Credits: John will assume the task of making sure that the county does not charge us for games that are rained out. If we pre pay for reservations, John will also insure the County credits us for those cancelled playing dates
Rainout Discussion: The Board decided to handle rainouts as we have in the past. They will be addressed at the end of the season, if we have open playing dates they may be made up if the games affect the championships.
Budget Activity: Chuck and Gary will get together and write a new budget for the next fiscal year to be presented for approval at the next Board meeting.
Friday Winter League: Jay asked the Board to plan on discussing the possibility of having two Friday leagues, a gold and a silver, this winter. There are enough players that signed up last year to have 9 teams.
Shed Keys: It was determined that several more sets of shed keys are needed. Chuck will get the keys to the appropriate players.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday, July 10th at the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:00 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
May 22, 2013

President Chuck Cason called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 1:00 PM in the Selby Library Conference room. A quorum was established. Steve Bellagamba was not in attendance. There were no guests in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting, and a motion was passed to approve the treasury report submitted by the Treasurer.

OLD BUSINESS:



Summer draft post mortem: The director of player personnel reported that the 2013 Summer draft was completed flawlessly. Thanks to George Hawley for the use of The Founders Club and his time and equipment.
Sponsor Update: The committee of Bill, Dave, and Joe will get out the letter to sponsors. It was suggested that the letter also include some type of mission statement. Chuck will assist with the writing of the letter. The secretary will forward a copy of the letter written, last year, to Bill so the rewriting process can began. Sponsor letters usually go out in June. Sponsor pictures need to be added if they have not yet received their picture from last winter.
Score Placards: It was decided that the placards were not needed.
17th Street Update: Chuck updated us on the status of Field 2. It appears that the schedule has slipped to late April, but the scheduled completion date is now end of August.
Scorecards: The secretary announced that there are 100 new scorecards in the shed. He will alert all the managers that they are there.

NEW BUSINESS:

Supplies: Sam thought that purchasing magnetic white boards would be a good idea so managers could post lineups in the dugouts. Each manager would have a board. After discussion, the board decided to not make the purchase and use the paper scorecards that are available in the shed.
Task Assignments: Chuck led the discussion of assigning tasks to Board members. The list of assignments is attached.
Rules Change Concerning Runners: Ken Shepard suggesting changing several of our base running rules to match what Bradenton/Tournaments are doing. The Board discussed the rules changes and determined that we would not modify our rules.
New Players; Marketing: We discussed how to better market our leagues to attempt to attract new players to our leagues. Ideas were kicked around but nothing definite was put in place. The secretary will continue to post free ads in the Tribune announcing batting practices. This will be discussed again at the next meeting.
New Billing: Chuck alerted the board that the County is now billing us monthly.
Managers Discussion: We will add this item to the next meeting agenda. Chuck
Pledge Class: Gary had a great idea to do an orientation for new players to fill them in on how our association runs, as well as some of the unique rules and phrasing we do during games. Gary was out of town, so Chuck, and the director of players, held the first session. Players that attended thought the session was informative. The Board thought that we should hold these sessions before each new league starts play.
Lightning issues: John and Dave will be the players that decide whether we play if lightning is in the area on Thursday’s. Chuck will identify a player that can perform the same duties on Monday’s.
Deceased Player Contributions: The Board voted 7-0 (Gary had to leave the meeting prior to the vote) to donate $50.00 to the charity of the player’s choice. The Board also decided to award donations on a case- by-case basis.
Docs Software: the secretary mentioned that in looking into Docs, it would not be as user friendly as Excel. He will determine the cost of purchasing Excel and several licenses so that Board members that need to work on data spreadsheets are working off the same version.
Meeting Room Availability: The Board decided to hold future meetings on 2nd Wednesday of each month. The secretary will schedule the Fruitville Library conference room to accommodate the schedule, if possible.
Tues/Thurs Draft issues: This will be added to June’s agenda. Speed up games, snowbirds, and drafts.
DH and Walk Rule Change: This item will also be added to the next meetings agenda.
Drag Rakes: Sam thought that if we had the ability to drag our infields prior to the second games, we would have fewer bad hops. He will take the action to check into costs, and how we would store, size wise, the drag rakes.
Uniform Procurement: Dave will do a cost break down of shirt costs for the next meeting. We still need to finalize if we are going to purchase new shirts every year, or every other year, and fill in a few if needed.
Playing Times: There was a discussion with the groundskeeper as to what times we need to be off the fields. Chuck will talk with the County and work this out.
PO Box: Mail correspondence needs to be directed from George Hawley’s personal postal box to somewhere else. John will take the action item to resolve this issue.
Player Ideas: This will be forwarded to the next meeting. Playing April/October.
DH Rule: Catcher rule if 10 players. Next meeting agenda item.
New Player Contact: We will remove George Hawley from the web site as well as the new player registration sheet and add Chuck Cason. The secretary has the action item.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday, June 12th at the Fruitville Library conference room at 1:00 PM.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:03 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
April 9th, 2013

President George Hawley called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 1:00 PM in the Locker Room at the Founders Club. A quorum was established. Gary Moore was called away out of town.

George handed out a packet of info that included an agenda, a financial accounting, an updated copy of the sponsors spread sheet, an updated set of the Association rules, a draft summer calendar, and a copy of the SSSA Master Calendar.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting, and a motion was passed to approve the treasury report submitted by the Treasurer.

As the last act of the out going President, George opened the floor to nominations for a new President. Chuck Cason was nominated, it was seconded, and Chuck was voted in unanimously. George turned over the gavel to Chuck as well as 2 boxes of documents.

The first item for the new President was to fill the offices of Vice President and Secretary. Jay Wolfinger was nominated and seconded to become Secretary. John Dickinson was nominated and it was seconded to become Vice President. Both nominations were voted on and the candidates were elected unanimously. Congratulations to the new officers of the SSSA.

OLD BUSINESS:

Pitching Screens: Chuck has received the new screen and we now have enough to supply every game with a screen. We need to engrave the screens and paint the engraving so we can identify them if they get misplaced.
Sponsor Update: George gave the Board the updated sponsor spread sheet and discussed where we stood in regards to sponsor collections.
Ratings Review: The “Director of Player Personnel” announced that all ratings meeting were held and that the master players list has been updated.
Awards Luncheon: George announced that the luncheon was a success and well received by all. Thanks to Jim Grams and his volunteers for their effort
SSSA Shirts: Dave, Bill, and Chuck told us that the sales were brisk and we are selling down the inventory. The Board believes that we have enough supply to last the summer, but will have to re order for the winter season.
Team Photos: George has all the team photos distributed except one. The last photo will be completed soon.
17th Street Update: Chuck updated us on the status of Field 2. It appears that the schedule has slipped to late April. The County has recently cleaned up the infield edge on all the fields.
Hold Harmless Agreement: After a discussion, the Board determined that the “Hold Harmless Agreement” that the bylaws required was basically worthless. The Board voted 8-0 to eliminate the Agreement from the by laws. George volunteered to rewrite and distribute the new by laws.
Skete Atkinson Charity Contribution: The Board voted 8-0 to contribute $75 to a charity in Skete’s name. Chuck will determine the appropriate charity. Skete will be missed by all the players that he played our game with. A loss to the SSSA.

NEW BUSINESS:

Summer League: It was decided to open the summer season on May 6th and 9th. We will play thru Aug. 1st, take a break, and return Sept. 9th and play until Oct. 3rd. We will hold the draft on April 15th and George has reserved the dinning room at the Founders Club. The Monday league draft will start at 9:00 AM, with the Thurs. draft starting at 11:00. It was decided to have 5 Monday teams and 6 Thursday teams. Each having 13 players. Chuck has, as of this writing, filled all the managers spots for both leagues…Great job. George volunteered to due the schedules and again, as of this writing, they are complete. Balls for the summer have been ordered and will be in soon. John volunteered to learn from George the scheduling of fields with the County and that will happen this week.
Call Up Rule Change: The Board discussed changing when a manager is allowed call up players for the summer Monday season only. The change is to lengthy to incorporate here. Briefly, a manager can call up a player of equal rating if his game day playing roster drops below 12. The caveat is, he must call up a player, or lose an out each batting order rotation. He must play with 12.

Several items not discussed were assignments to Board members, and summer batting practice. These will be added to the next meetings agenda.

The next Board meeting will be on Tuesday, May 21st at the Founders Club at 2:00 PM in the Meeting Room. The Board said it’s final goodbyes to George Hawley. He is leaving the board after serving many years, the last two as President and was instrumental adding new concepts to take Sarasota Senior Softball to the next level. We appreciate all he did and he will be missed.

Chuck adjourned the meeting at 3:15 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
Association Meeting Minutes
March 13, 2013

A Board meeting was held at the Founders Club on Wednesday March 13 and was called to order at 1:30 PM by President George Hawley who was also acting as Secretary. Jay Wolfinger,Bill Smith, Joe Warren, Dave Wulfsohn, and Chuck Cason were present. In addition newly elected Board members John Dickinson and Gary Moore were present as guests.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

The financial report was approved.

Old Business:

1. George welcomed the new Board members who will officially take office at the April Board meeting.

2. George reported the IRS has now forwarded our application for Section 501 (3) (c) status to a subject matter expert for review.

3. Chuck reported that an additional pitching screen and several home plates have been purchased.

4. Jay reported that ratings would be reviewed by managers during the last week of the season.

5. George reviewed the status of the Awards Luncheon. Everything was on schedule. Chuck secured the services of former major league pitcher Ken Frailing as the keynote speaker.

6. Chuck reported brisk sales of the new SSSA T-shirts. He plans to sell them at the awards luncheon. He will also sell the few remaining shirts of the previous version at a discount.

7. George reported that Gary Olson and Jay Wolfinger would help him complete the taking of team photos.

8. Bill Smith reported that we have already moved into a smaller storage space, saving about $400/year.

9. George reported that all sponsors who supplied hats and occasional shirts in the past in lieu of money have been contacted regarding our new policy of having new shirts every year. Ball and Shoe agreed to supply two sets of hats and shirts gratis. Fruitville Physical Therapy plans to do so also. Captain Curts plans to supply one set of hats and shirts as in the past. D. Tiberii will supply hats only. Smith Insurance will recycle this past year’s shirts because they are made of a special wicking fabric and will supply new hats.

10. Chuck reported that Pat Calhoun of Sarasota County Parks and Recreation will attend the awards luncheon to tell us about the County plans for field improvements.

New Business

1. Draft for the summer leagues will be at 9 AM for the Monday league and 11 AM for the Thursday League on April 15 at the Founders Club. The first games will be played on Monday, May 6. Chuck Cason and Jay Wolfinger will work on finding managers.

2. The By-laws require that each player sign a Hold Harmless agreement before playing. This has not been observed in recent years for unknown reasons. The sentiment of the Board is that such agreements may not be enforceable. Legal opinions will be sought before further action is taken.

3. The Board voted 5-1 to make the use of pitching screens mandatory beginning with summer league play. The official rules will be revised by George and presented at the next Board meeting for approval.

The next Board meeting will be at 1 PM Tuesday, April 9 at the Founders Club. This will be the first official meeting of the newly reconstituted 9 member Board.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
Association Meeting Minutes
Feb. 13, 2013

The meeting was called to order at 1:25 PM at the Founders Club. Chuck Cason, Joe Warren, Bill Smith, Dave Wulfsohn, and George Hawley were present and constituted a quorum. There were no guests at the meeting.

The minutes of January 9 Board meeting and the minutes of January 18 Special Board meeting were approved unanimously.

The money finance report was reviewed and approved unanimously.

Old Business

Nonprofit status: George Hawley reported that he renewed the Association's registration as a not for profit corporation with the state, a requirement for IRS 501(3)(c) tax exempt status with the IRS. The cost was $61.25.
Hot dog social report: Bill Smith was congratulated on a very well managed and successful two day event at which almost 60 pounds of Boars Head hot dogs were consumed. The total cost was $312.66 which was very close to budget. Bill presented a written report with details of the event.
Board election status-George Hawley reported that there are five candidates for the five open Board positions: incumbents Dave Wulfsohn and Bill Smith and new entrants John Dickinson, Gary Moore, and Sam Soriero. Nominations are closed. The Board voted voted unanimously to declare the five aforementioned candidates as being elected by acclamation which obviates the need for a formal election. The new candidates will take office on March 27 at the Awards Luncheon.
Pitching screen and home plate purchases-Jim Grams purchased new home plates.   Chuck Cason expects to complete the order for a pitching screen on Friday, Feb. 15.
Roster issues-Mike Tyrrell, a Monday 60s and Friday player unexpectedly has recovered from a broken finger in time to be reinstated. The Board voted unanimously for Mike to return to his original Friday team and that his replacement on the roster be used to fill a vacancy on another team if possible. Mike will return to his original Monday team.
Awards luncheon planning-Jim Grams has reserved space for 164 attendees at the Der Dutchman restaurant from noon to 2:30 PM on Wednesday, March 27. The cost will be $10 each for a player and one guest. Additional guests will cost $15 each. George and Chuck will work together to round up a guest speaker. George has requested Bruce Howard, a former major league pitcher, to speak but has not received a confirmation. The Board voted unanimously for the recipient of the Fred Frank award, to be named at the luncheon.
Official SSSA T-shirts- 72 shirts have been purchased to be offered to members for $8. Dave Wulfsohn wore one of the shirts to the Board meeting. They will be offered for sale to members in the coming weeks.
Dues collection status-George reported that collection of dues is complete.
Team photos-Bill Palmer will be taking team photos again this year and should be doing so shortly.

New Business

Uniforms-The Board voted unanimously to alter the policy regarding team shirts for the fall winter leagues. At the end of this season all players will keep their shirts and hats. All unused shirts currently in storage will be disposed of. Bill Smith will arrange for a smaller storage space at lower cost to the Association. At the beginning of next season the Association will purchase 15 new shirts for all teams with the exception of Captain Curts and Ball and Shoe which sponsors provide new shirts every year. Sizes will be based on the current standard mix of medium, large, X-large and XX-large currently in use. Dues will be raised to $65 to help defray the costs of the new shirts.
Follow up on County budget discussions-Chuck Cason will continue his dialog with Pat Calhoun of Sarasota County Parks and Recreation to determine what additional actions the SSSA can take in support of improvements in field conditions and maintenance.
The next Board meeting will take place at the Founders Club at 1:30 PM on Wednesday March 13, 2013. The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
January 9, 2012

President George Hawley called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, January 9, 2013, at 1:05 PM in the Meeting Room at the Founders Club. A quorum was established. All seven members were in attendance.

We had one guest Sam Soriero who spoke about considering a twelve man playing roster. Allowing a team to call up players to fill the 12 positions on the roster. The Board members will study the pros and cons of this proposal over the summer..

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. The statement submitted by the treasurer was also approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

            A. The IRS has acknowledge receipt of our application 501 (3) (c) non-profit status and nothing more. .

The manager is supposed to report to the Director of Player Personnel if player is going to be out for more than two weeks due to injury. George and the Board will try to come up with a solution for a penalty for noncompliance.
Two umpires are now the rule If an umpire is missing at any time, play will halt until the two umpires are in place. Any pitches thrown before this takes place will not count.

D. A game must ordinarily go three and a half innings to be official. The Board voted to validate George’s        awarding of victories to two teams that were ahead by more than 5 runs after 3 innings of play.

      The Board discussed on several ways to speed up the games.

E. The liability Insurance Certificate has been received and a copy has been sent to the Risk Management.

NEW BUSINESS

            A. The Hot Dog Social will be on Monday February 4thand Tuesday February 5th.

B. The elections of new Board Members will be March 4thand 5th. The new candidates must call or email     George by February 12th, 2013.

            C. New Sarasota softball shirt will be order. A total of 60 white shirts with navy logo will be ordered.

            D. The Board decided on not having bye teams to umpire.

            E. Jay will take care of the dues.

            F. A discussion was made on replacing shirts and hats for each season.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday February 13 at 1:30 PM at the Founders Club Clubhouse

George adjourned the meeting at 3:10 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL

ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

November 14, 2012

President George Hawley called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, November 14, 2012, at 1:00 PM in the Meeting Room at the Founders Club. A quorum was established. All seven members were in attendance.

We had two guests in attendance Bob Vandergrift and Gary Olson.

Gary spoke about the shortage of players for the Tuesday and Thursday Leagues and not having enough players to fill the rosters in November and December. The Board discussed upping the rosters to fifteen players to resolve the shortage, reducing the League to five teams and adding a sixth team when snowbirds show up. This was tabled until League organization is discussed for the 2013-2014 season.

Gary also suggested a rule to have two umpires on the field before a pitch is thrown. Using two umpires is currently still in an experimental stage as it has not been included in the formal rules. The understanding is that no pitch should be thrown until there are two umpires in the field.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. The statement submitted by the treasurer was also approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

Ken Shepard helped George go over the IRS Non-Profit forms. Everything checked out and George has sent $850.00 check to the IRS along with the formal application for nonprofit status under section 501(c) (3) of the IRS code.
League now has 29 paying sponsors and there is an opening for one more sponsor. All sponsors have paid except for one whose check has not yet been processed.
Chuck helped arrange for managers for the Friday League.
A draft rule was proposed for injured players. When a player is injured and unable to play for two weeks or more, the manager must notify the Board member responsible for roster management, currently Jay Wolfinger. After a discussion with the manager about the injured player, the Board member will determine if the manager will need a replacement player, and if so, he will notify the rest of the Board. The manager must encourage the injured player to return to play as soon as possible regardless of his rating. George will draft wording for the new rule. All games will start at 8:35 a.m. no later the 8:45 a.m. and no inning will start after 11:35 a.m. George will also draft up a two umpire rule.
The Board members decided to leave the Summer League schedule as is.
No information has come back from the County Park and Recreation on field issues.
The winter drafts went very well. It was thought that it would be a good idea for the Board to place managers in the draft order for Monday and Friday Winter Leagues and Monday Summer Leagues.

NEW BUSINESS

            A. The Liability Insurance forms will be coming in mid-December.

            B. Board will ask Paul Hermann make up new home plates.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday January 9th at 1 PM at the Founders Club Clubhouse

George adjourned the meeting at 3:10 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
October 9, 2012

President George Hawley called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, at 1:10 PM in the Meeting Room at the Founders Club. A quorum was established. All seven members were in attendance.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. The statement submitted by the treasurer was also approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

George Hawley has filled out the 1023 non-profit Form and will be sending it out with a $850.00 check to the IRS.
Chuck Cason is still trying to find managers for the Friday winter leagues.
The board will be working on a proposal for a rule covering the prompt replacement injured players on a team roster, should their absence be of long duration. Joe Warren will be working up a proposal on replacing players for the next meeting. This is in response to a manager not replacing one of the lower rated players on his team, thus effectively removing him from the roster without a replacement of like rating. As a result the team batting lineup was reduced by one below average hitter.
A discussion was held on whether to add two more weeks of play to the October schedule and maybe    taking two weeks from the July schedule. This will be discussed further in the future.
George has received all of the sponsor’s money for 2012-2013 season.
For the Winter Season all draft lists have been sent out to the managers. All teams will be assigned a sponsor and balls after the draft. The managers will receive schedule for day the fields are reserved.
The combine went pretty smoothly for all the rain we had the day before. It would good to have some “loaner” bats for the new players to try out at the combine before they make a purchase decision.
Drafting of pitchers: For the applicable leagues each team must select one of the players designated as pitchers up front to ensure that no team is left without a pitcher. The Board would like to thank the following for positioning the managers in the draft for the Monday’s 60’s Gold League: Chuck Martin, Jay Robertson and Bob Vandergrift.

NEW BUSINESS

            A. The Board passed a motion on giving out Championship shirts for the Summer Leagues starting in 2013.

            B. Opening day speeches will be given by Chuck Cason on Monday at 17thStreet Park and George Hawley                  will to Richardson Park and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

The Monday’s 60’s and 70’s Gold will be using the new Tattoo ball for winter play. The rest of the leagues will use the normal balls.
A meeting with the County Parks and Recreation Director Carolyn Brown and members of her staff :Pat Calhoun, Jack Colligan and Ed Exner, was held to discuss improvement of all softball fields to tournament standards, including the leveling of the Field 2 outfield in order that more revenue can be brought from Tournaments and field 2 can be made safer.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday November 14th at 1 PM at the Founders Club Clubhouse

George adjourned the meeting at 3:00 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
September 27, 2011

President George Hawley called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Tuesday, September 27th, 2011, at 1:08 PM in the Meeting Room at the Founders Club. A quorum was established. Joe Warren was back and looked great. Welcome back.

The minutes from the last meeting were approved. The treasury accounting was also approved

OLD BUSINESS

Player Call-up: All the summer rosters are at full strength with the exception of team 6 on Monday when Phil Neely dropped off with back issues. Team 6 will finish the season one short.
Summer season: The summer ratings discussion will be held on Sept. 29th, and Oct. 3rd.
Winter Draft Status: The Director of Player Personnel went through the various leagues and the Board decided the best configurations are as follows: Mon. 60’s, 6 teams of 13 players (6x13), Mon. 70’s, 4x14, Tues., 7x14 with a snowbird team, Thurs. 6x14 with a snowbird team, and Fri., 7x13. The drafts will be held on Monday Oct 17th, and Monday Oct. 24that the Founders Club, east of I75 on Fruitville Road in the Dining Room. On the 17th, Fri. combined league will draft at 9:00 AM, Mon.60’s will draft at 11:30 AM, and Mon. 70’s at 2:00 PM. On Oct. 24th, Tues. league will draft at 9:00 AM and Thurs. will draft at 11:30 AM.
Winter managers: Due to a change in the league structure, Chuck had to modify his list of Managers for the winter. The only league that still needs tweaking is the Thursday league because we added a snowbird team. Nolan Shepard has volunteered to manage that “Bird” team as well as Tuesday’s “Bird” team. Thank you Nolan.
Combine: Chuck is lining up helpers for the combine scheduled for Oct. 12that 17thStreet Park, 8:15 AM. There are currently 41 new players coming into the leagues, and we expect about 30 to attend the combine. This will be a chance for all the managers to see the new players prior to the draft. George requested a list of non-rated players that have currently registered for the winter leagues. Many of these players will be at the combine.
Sponsor update: Bob presented the latest analysis and all but 2 of the 30 sponsors have paid. We again have sponsors for every team, 30 for 30. Excellent work Bob.
Uniforms and Balls: Dave is ready to order new uniforms. Ball-N-Shoe has requested to hold off until early October and that is OK with us. Dave negotiated a new price for SSSA shirts and we will order 30 more shirts and have them available on opening week. We will again sell them for $7.00 and break even on the sales. Dave will place an order for balls to cover the winter season.

NEW BUSINESS:

Web Site: We had some issues with player sign up sheets getting to the Board, but all is good again. We believe we lost no one.
Snow Bird Teams: In an effort to balance the snowbird teams in roster size and in relative ability with the rest of the league, the Board will determine the players that will be placed on the teams. Remaining snowbirds will be placed in the draft and all players will be drafted.
Herald Tribune ads: The secretary placed two ads in the Trib. One announcing the combine, and the other alerting players to the Batting Practice schedules for Wed/Fri thru Nov. 4th.
New Zealand: Bill Smith mentioned to the Board to drop the notice on the web site about the tournament being held in Christchurch in April. It appears there was some interest, but no commitment.
With the Monday leagues having 10 teams, there will be a need to use Richardson for games. George has taken on the scheduling issues that using two facilities cause. George will also look into procuring equipment needed so Managers don’t need to pick up and return equipment to 17thStreet Park. Bob will supply an inventory to George of wooden and rubber home plates.

The next Board meeting will be on Tuesday, October 25th at the Founders Club at 1:00 PM in the Meeting Room.

George adjourned the meeting at 3:11 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
May 22, 2012

George opened the meeting to accept nominations for the office of the President. George ran un-opposed and will be President for a second year. Chuck Cason was nominated and ran un-opposed for Vice President. Steve Bellagamba was nominated and ran un-opposed for the office of secretary.

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. The statement submitted by the treasurer was also approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

Field Issues: George and Chuck meet with Jim Wormley and Larry Sandifer from Sarasota County Parks and Rec. at the fields and they walked the fields to discuss issues. A copy of the meeting notes will be attached to the minutes. George proposed a change in hours of play to put us more in line with our permit with the County. A motion was passed 7-0 for the summer season to have the gates open at 8:15 AM and games to begin when both Managers are ready. No new inning is to start after 11:35 AM. George will communicate with the County to insure that we are now more in compliance with our permit.
Luncheon Wrap-up: It appears that all who attended, about 180 total, had a good time. Thanks to Jim Grams for putting it all together. Thanks to Shane Rawley for his insight into baseball from his professional experiences. Barry DeChant did a masterful job as MC. A special time was devoted to have a question and answer segment with Regis McCurry, our most senior player. Thank you Regis for the contribution to our Banquet and to the many years of giving to our Association. Hopefully there will be more years to come. Jim Grams, long time treasurer, player, and Manager is the 2012 recipient of the annual Fred Frank award. Congratulations Jim, well deserved.
Summer League: The Director of Player Personnel passed out preliminary copies of the summer draft. He recommended Monday to have 6 teams of 13 players and Thursday has 4 teams of 14 players. The Board agreed. Chuck passed out a list of Managers for the leagues. George has the schedules completed.
Shirt Returns and Softballs Allocations: Dave and Bill stated that most of the shirts have been returned, but a few are still dribbling in. They greatly appreciated the larger storage space. Softballs will be passed out at the drafts to the managers. Dave passed out a copy of the “Payment Receipt” showing we are paid thru May 4, 2013.

NEW BUSINESS:

Web Site Issues and Non Profit Status: George proposed that we file for 501C3 status. The advantages are more than the negatives. A motion was passed 7-0 to fill out the application. George will take care of filing the paper work. Along with the 501C3, George will apply for a debit card that will be tied to our bank account. This will allow the Association to pay for our domain name and our hosting service rental fee through the bank account, not a player’s credit card. This debit card could also be used to purchase items such as shirts, balls, County field rental and other purchases. As a 501C3, we may be able to declare a tax exempt status on any Florida State tax we pay. The Board recognizes the need to control how the card is to be used. We will discuss and adopt a process in future meetings.
Fritz Tournament: A motion was put to the board to sponsor a team in the tournament that Len LoCasto is putting together for Bob Fritz, one of our players. We decided that a request of this type should be discussed on a case-by-case basis. The motion passed 7-0. Chuck and Steve will attempt to find 13 players to fill out a 60+ team. The entry fee is $150.00.
Sponsor Communications: George will handle communicating with sponsors until a replacement is found to replace Bob Vandergrift who acted in this role last year.
Rule Adjustment: Behavior: George passed out a preliminary copy and lead a discussion on strengthening a rule that better defines what constitutes abuse of a player. This new modification will also include the penalty associated if this rule needs to be enforced. The Board will read over the proposal and make recommendations to the existing rule at the next Board Meeting.
Tuesday/Thursday Winter League Ties: Dave proposed that when we have a “Bird” team, we divide the season in half. The first half ends prior to the arrival of the “Bird” team with a champion, determined by winning percentage, and the second half champion, including the “Bird” team,, if they are different, will have a one game playoff at the end of the season. We will discuss this further at a future Board Meeting.

The next Board meeting will be on Tuesday, May 22nd at the Founders Club at 1:00 PM in the Meeting Room.

George adjourned the meeting at 3:06 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
March 21, 2012

President George Hawley called a regular meeting of the Board of Directors for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association to order on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, at 12:58 PM in the Meeting Room at the Founders Club. A quorum was established. All seven members were in attendance.

We had four guests in attendance; Nolan Sheperd, Snowbird Team Manager, Steve Bellagamba, new Board member, Jim Wormley and Jack Colligan from Sarasota County.

Nolan had two items to discuss; how the Board was going to resolve a very close pennant race with the Thursday league, and, a need to strengthen the rules against player misconduct. The Board told Nolan we would take up his issues later in the meeting. We thanked him for his suggestions and he left.

Jim and Jack were in attendance to discuss field issues which we will cover under “Old Business, item A.”

A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the last meeting. The secretary asked to approve the treasury report as he had just gone over it with the Treasurer. It was approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

Field Issues: Chuck lead a discussion on issues we had with the field preparation. Mentioned were the consistency of the infields and the unevenness of Field 2’s outfield. Chuck also mentioned that on holidays, we had no prep and still paid full price. Jim informed us that the field charge of $10 per hour is 80% reservation fee and 20% for labor to prep the fields. On days the fields are not prepped, the County will refund us the 20%. Regarding the unevenness of Field 2’s outfield, Jim mentioned he had turned in a work order to level the outfield. This would take Field 2 out of play for some time. Jim will also work with field prep personnel, John, to try to get the infields to a better playing consistency. We reminded him that we were willing to forego having batter’s boxes drawn in if John could use the time saved to get a little water on the fields prior to game time if they needed it. Jim brought up that we historically play past 11:30 AM and that our permit stated we would be off by 11:00 AM. He has allowed us in the past a grace period after 11:00 AM. We acknowledged that indeed we were occasionally on fields past 11:30 AM. We told Jim, during the next season, we would not use field 4, unless 2 was down, giving the field prep personnel a head start on prepping fields, and, we saw no reason why we could not be off the fields by 11:30 AM. One last issue was the fact that we can’t open the big gate to allow emergency vehicles closer access to the playing fields. Jim realized the need for access and will allow John to unlock the gate. We all thought that having a County representative occasionally at our Board meetings helped instill better communications between both groups and we look forward to having them back in the future. Jim asked us to make him point man on any issues we have and that the best way to reach him was through e-mail. Jim and Jack were thanked for the time they spent with us and they left the meeting.
Sponsor Update: All sponsors have paid except Gastroenterology. They will be dropped next season unless they pay for this season. George will attempt to contact Gastroenterology, as other attempts have failed.
Luncheon planning: It appears that everything is under control. Championship shirts are ordered, plaques are on order, and George is working on frames for the team pictures.
Player Dues Collection: The secretary announced that we are at 100% player dues paid. Thank you Jim Grams and all the Managers for their assistance.
Elections: Thanks to Joe Warren and his team of volunteers. The elections were conducted very smoothly with no issues. Congratulations to Steve Bellagamba, a new member, and to Chuck Cason, Joe Warren, and Jay Wolfinger on their re-election.
Defibrillator Status: Dave Wulfsohn organized a training session on Wednesday March 14 at the Founders Club. Howard Quinn is a certified trainer for use of the defibrillator, thank you Howard. After completion of the training session, Dave will make available a list of trained volunteers and George will have it laminated and placed with the defib. unit.
Pitching Screen Maintenance: Chuck Cason and Joe Skelly looked at the screens we have and decided that they are in usable condition with a minimal amount of repair. They are all OK now to use. Chuck has found a contact to order parts if we need to.
April Batting Practice: Joe Skelly has volunteered to hold BP on M/W/F starting March 26 and run through May 5th. The secretary has run an ad in the Herald Tribune and George has added it to the web site.
New Storage Unit: Bill Smith closed negotiations on the larger unit and he and Dave are very happy with the larger space.
Final Winter Rosters: the secretary offered to e-mail final winter rosters to any Board member who wanted one and no one asked for one.

NEW BUSINESS:

Summer League: It was decided to open the summer season on May 7thand 10th. We will play thru Aug. 2nd, take a break, and return Sept. 10thand play until Oct. 4th. We will hold the draft on April 23rdand George will try to reserve the dinning room at the Founders Club. The Monday league draft will start at 9:00 AM, with the Thurs. draft starting at 11:00. It is looking like 6 Monday teams and 4 Thursday teams. Registration sheets are coming in a little slowly at this time. Please get them in ASAP. Chuck Cason currently thinks he has enough Managers, but won’t know until we finalize the number of teams. Games will again start at 8:30 AM for the summer and the gates will open at 8:15. We need to be off the fields at 11:30.
Ratings Discussion: We held the ratings meetings the week of March 12thand the new ratings have been incorporated into the player database. We talked about having the managers rate only their players. Several other ideas came forth and we decided to try a new system after this summer. Managers will rate their own players prior to the meeting and supply that list to the Director of Player Personnel. At the meeting, all the managers will discuss those manager’s ratings. It should move the process along quicker and the managers will have more say in the ratings.
75 & Older League: Several players asked about a 75 and older league. The Board will revisit this at a later meeting. It is already too late for this winter’s season.
December Tournament: The Board also tabled a player’s idea to hold a small tourney between Christmas and New Years to a later meeting. What do some of you players think??
Equipment Shed Issue: Again the shed was not closed properly. The slide bolts on the left door were not slid into place and someone pried the door open, breaking the hasp. Joe Skelly repaired the hasp and lock and we are back to a lockable shed. Thank you Joe. It is very important that the last manager out takes the responsibility to always check to see that the shed is locked. So far we have been lucky and nothing has been stolen. It would be very expensive if someone took the screens.
Logo Shirts: We have the new logo shirts in and will be selling them at the Luncheon, $7.00 each, or 2 for $14.00. We will also raffle off the remaining old shirts.
Richardson Field: We would like to play all the Monday 70’s games at Richardson next winter. This would free up Field 4 at 17thStreet to take some of the pressure off John to prep the fields for the night leagues, and, it would eliminate us playing on a potentially dangerous field. Another positive is that the 70’s league players would be all together.
Nolan’s Suggestions: The Board voted 6-1 to call the Thursday League a tie if Nolan’s team lost both games to Gary Olson’s team on the 22nd. There would be a one game playoff on Tuesday the 27thif that occurred. The Board tabled Nolan’s other suggestion until the next Board meeting.

The next Board meeting will be on Tuesday, April 17th at the Founders Club at 1:00 PM in the Meeting Room. The Board said it’s final goodbyes to Bob Vandergrift. He is leaving the board after serving many years and was instrumental in taking Senior Softball to the next level. We appreciate all he did and he will be missed.

George adjourned the meeting at 3:15 PM.

SARASOTA SENIOR SOFTBALL
ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES
February 15th, 2012