Attendees – Ken Shepard, Frank Lyons, Chuck Cason, George Wacaser, Ron Grande, Jack Zimmerman.  Luis Negrete and Ron Giovannucci attended via telephone.  Bob D’Angelo was absent.

1. Call to order-  12:10 PM
2. Review and Approval of meeting minutes from August 18, 2021 with one exception.  Jack Zimmerman stated the dates for the Lakewood Ranch Famers Market were not correct.  They correct dates are the last week of September and first week of October.
3. Review and Approval of Financial Report – Money is available for field rental and uniform purchase.

Old Business

Officer Liability Insurance- A motion was made and carried 7 to 1 no vote for     purchasing Liability Insurance.  The coverage is $1million dollars for misuse of funds, and frivolous lawsuits.   Frank Lyons emphasized that in all cases of potential liability members should carefully document all actions.  He noted we should not violate our own rules.

 Medical Equipment and Form:   It was approved that a message on the home page of the website would state the following:  Each player may keep a sealed, confidential red envelope containing a Vial of Life form. The Vial of Life form would contain pertinent health information in case of an emergency. The vial of life form will be sent to Bill White for any edits.  Players or managers can print the form off of the website.  The red envelope would distributed by the managers and players would keep it in their bat bags. The front of the red envelope should have the player’s name, emergency contact information, and Sarasota Senior Softball.

Player Performance Measures:   This proposal was not approved in a vote of 5 -3.

Softballs:  Chuck Cason purchased softballs for remaining summer league games and Ken Shepard distributed them to the Summer League teams.  Another order will be made in early October for the Winter League.  A final order will be made in mid-December.  Jack Zimmerman agreed to store the softballs.

Shirt Sales:  There are no shirts available for sale at this time.

Field Reservations and Cancellations:  Ron Grande reported that he has received money from the County on cancellations.  RG1 was concerned that he had to ask for the refund.  He will monitor any future refunds on cancellations.

Registration Progress Players and Managers:  George Wacaser reported there a 150+ players registered.  Currently, there are 39 in the Monday “A” league.  There are 38 players in the Monday “B” league.  The Tuesday “C” league has 48 players registered.   The Thursday “C” league has 44 players registered.  The Friday “A” league has 32 players registered.  The Friday “B” league has 39 players registered.  George is expecting more registrations.  George requested a text message from any manager or board member who receives registration money from a player.  George will send out a list of potential managers and would like to add to his list.

Combine and Drafts:  Dan Martin and Roger Yaffe will conduct the Combine on October 6 starting at 8:30am.  The Gold draft will be held on October 11 with “A” teams drafting starting at 9:00am.  “B” teams will draft starting at 1:00pm.  The “C” leagues will draft be October 12.  The draft will be held at the 17th Street fields.

Sponsor Payments:  Frank Lyons reported that 11+ sponsors have paid.  Frank sent out follow-up letters to past sponsors who did not respond to his earlier letters.  A discussion was held among board members to contact sponsors they are familiar with.  Frank encouraged the board to look for more sponsors.

Player Behavior:  Ron Grande reports he has observed an increase in players yelling at umpires.  He stated the managers should intervene to stop the abuse.  Ken pointed out that managers and board managers have the right to remove a player from a game for abusive behavior.  Ron Grande recommended that board members become more visible at games to deal with this type of behavior. 

Ron Grande was concerned that Jay Wofinger was involved in player ratings since he is on probation.  Ken stated that Jay has performed this task in the past and is not related to his probation status (position of authority).

 A discussion was held about Mel Hoffman’s behavior during a game.  The main point of his behavior was statement “I’m quitting.”  The board agreed that his managers should contact him via email for documentation.  The manager’s email should state that they are adding a player to the roster due to his departure.  The board will consider further action based on the results of the manager’s email.    

New Business

Covid Policy Discussion:    Ken received an inquiry about the concerns for Covid precautions.  It was agreed that the message on the home page is sufficient. NATIONAL SENIOR SOFTBALL RECOMMENDATIONS (COVID), RETURN TO PLAY

New Grounds Keeper:     Chris Clifford is the new groundskeeper.  He does want to help us.  There is a concern about notifications about field conditions.

Next Meeting:   The next meeting will be held after the October 6th combine at the 17th Street fields.  The combine starts at 8:30am and usually concludes at 10:30am.