January 11, 2023, SSSA Meeting Minutes 

The meeting, held at Shriners, was called to order at 1:00pm by President Ken Shepard.  Attending Board members included: VP Frank Lyons, Treasurer Mike Mahan, Secretary Ron Giovannucci, George Wacaser, Chuck Cason, Bob D’Angelo, Luis Negrete and Gary Goldberg.  Jack Zimmerman attended as the chairperson for the Amish and Venice games.  The last meeting minutes were accepted. 

Jack Zimmerman outlined the plans for the Amish games.  They will be held at 17th Street Park on February 22.  The 9 o’clock game will be against a team from Ohio and the 11 o’clock game will be against a team from Pennsylvania.  There will be a couple of food trucks that will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Gator Wilderness Camp for Boys.  Member Lou Guisto is providing speakers so the games can be announced.  Jack is looking for someone to help Lou.  Bob D’Angelo, point of contact for the Board, is seeking TV station coverage.  The Sarasota teams will consist of current Sarasota players.  Jack is looking for gifts to be given out during the games.  Jack will attend the February 8 meeting to go over the Venice/Englewood/Sarasota tournament scheduled for March 4. Jack has umpires in place. Jack would like to “pass the torch” for future games. 

Mike presented his financial report.  He listed future expenditures which included field rental, plaques, pictures, shirts and the Summer and Fall manager’s dinner.  The Board voted to continue the D & O Insurance coverage.  Pizza days (March 6 & 7) expense is covered by a donation.  Doug Smith will once again provide water and sodas.  The financial report was unanimously accepted. 

Frank and Gary will work on the manager’s dinner location scheduled for the last weekend in March. 

Ken will check on the fields not groomed recently to player satisfaction.  A motion to increase the league registration fee to $60 was unanimously accepted.  Sponsor fees will remain the same.   

A discussion on hats centered around one hat for all, hats not part of the uniform, members purchasing their own SSSA hat.  Nothing was settled in the hat discussion. 

Members who complete ½ the season will pay the full registration fee.  There was a discussion on charging a fee for players who are “Call Up” only.  Nothing concrete came out of this discussion.   

Summer league play days are Monday “B,” Wednesday “A,” and Thursday “C.” Registration for the Summer League will start on March 1.  Mike will develop an announcement about the registration changes. The Summer league draft will be held on April 4. April 17 is the start date. 

There is no “Clearly Safe” rule in SSSA. 

Nominations for the SSSA Board of Directors will be accepted by February 13. 

Member Tom Ross donated a construction storage box for the Fruitville fields to house a defibrillator, first aid kit, screens, safety and extended home plates.  The box will eliminate the need to transport equipment from 17th Street Park to and from Fruitville Park. 

There are two first aid kits stored in the !7th Street Park shed. Ken has batteries, etc. for the defibrillators.  

The meeting adjourned at 3:22pm.  The next meeting will be held on February 8 at 12:30pm at Shriners.