Announcement
ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES
April 4, 2015
Meeting was called to order at 6 pm at the Bethany Town Hall. Executive Committee and Board Members present for 2016 were Bo Wood, Dick Mullins, Keith Purdy, Tom Wendorf, Dave Lovelace, Dave Sroka, Don Hillock, Eddie Sternberg, Harry Gowl, Steve Carey, and Johnny Allen
1) Bo Wood introduced the Executive Committee, then gave a brief history of the league and how the league operates for the benefit of the new players. He also reminded the league that the road going into the fields now has a street sign (Hickman Street).
2) Keith Purdy gave the Treasurer’s report. The total amount spent in 2015 was approximately $21,000, which included some one time purchases such as the lawn tractor and putting gravel down on the road. It cost about $11,000 for operating expenses annually. The registration and sponsor fees basically cover the cost of operating (shirts, hats, balls, insurance, porta-potties, etc.). Special projects come from fund raisers. This year we were not able to have the wine tasting or bowling tournament, so lost the revenue that would have been generated from them. Last year we raised $800 at the wine tasting, and about $1,400 at the bowling tournament.
3) Dick Mullins discussed several items:
a. First was a summary of the By-Law changes. Questions were asked about the elimination of the courtesy runner from home, and the possible negative impact it could have on those who were not able to run for themselves. Discussion from the Executive Committee as well as the floor and several managers addressed why this was done. The updated By-Laws and summary of changes will be on the web site shortly.
b. The Umpire Crew was discussed. It will consist of 24 regular umpires so that each team will not have to provide umpires for games. Dick Mullins will schedule the umpires up to two weeks out and notify them of the games they have. Emphasis will be placed on enforcement of the player code of conduct. Umpires will be told to issue one warning for infractions they feel violate the spirit of the By-Laws. The next violation in the game will result in that player being ejected from the game. The ejected player must leave the property and not be eligible to play the remainder of the day.
c. The annual Golf Tournament is scheduled for October 18th this year, a Tuesday, at Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club where it has been for the past several years. This is a major fund raiser for the league.
d. The idea of restructuring the Board of Directors was discussed to reduce the number of members to a manageable level. Right now we have up to 18 on the Board. When the By-Laws were first developed, there were only 6 or 8 teams, so the number was small. It can be a problem getting everyone together, so having the managers elect 4 managers and have the players elect 2 at-large Board Members will be taken to the Board for discussion and a possible vote.
e. This year is our 19th year, so next year we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary of OTS. We are appointing a committee to recognize this milestone. Anyone interested let Bo or Dick know.
4) General discussion and questions from the floor took place. Teams will receive new score books. At a MINIMUM each team is required to maintain a scorebook and include outs and runs scored. Teams do not have to keep the other team’s scorebook.
5) Bo discussed the moving of players from the waiting list to teams who have lost players during the year. Replacement players will come off the waiting list based on sign-up date and overall skill rating. Bo stressed the need for managers to notify him if their team will be missing a player for more than 1 – 2 weeks.
6) Bo announced we lost two OTS members during the off season, Tom Copp and Ken Rocks. If anyone hears of anyone else who may have passed, please let Bo know so they can be included in our opening day ceremony.
7) Johnny Walker advised that the Old Chapel won’t be available for our use on Draft Day. Eddie Sternberg is making arrangements with an alternate site. Steve Carey also noted that he could arrange for an alternate site if needed.
The meeting was adjourned by Bo Wood at 7 pm.
