I’ve been thinking of how best to report the results of our Annual General Meeting of last Wednesday, but how do you report on a meeting that never got off the ground? Admittedly, this is not the time of year one normally associates with slopitch, but we only have 4 meetings each year – and only 1 at which we maintain our Constitution and adjust our Playing Rules – and our hands are tied if we don’t have a quorum to allow us to vote!
This from one of the attendees:
I should’ve brought this up last night but I was a little annoyed that I left overtime at work to go to the meeting and there was not enough people to make a vote …
So, instead of wasting more time reporting on what we could have accomplished (and now will be deferred to the opening meeting of the 2010 season), I’ll bow out gracefully from my role as League President with a little journey down memory lane …
The year was 2005 …
And word from the President of the time was that he had his fill and didn’t want to continue running the league. If you were part of the council at that time, you’ll remember we had gone through about 5 years where the President was pretty much on his own running the league. As the Statistician, I had already assumed most of the responsibilities for creating and maintaining the league schedules and website, but everything else related to the maintenance of the league was in the hands of one person – and that’s a LOT for one person to have on his shoulders.
Without commenting on the individuals involved, suffice to say the league was in trouble when no one was willing to step up. I was asked to consider running the league (since I was already so involved with the scheduling and website – not sure I understand the logic there) and, after much consideration, I agreed to give it a shot. My only provision – I would NOT do it on my own!
That First Season
I came into that next meeting with a PLAN:
- I went over what we had done right in previous years to make us THE men’s slopitch league in town.
- I looked at where we had strayed from that path and why we were now in the state we were in.
- I shared my “Vision of the Future” of how we could get the league back on track.
I had recruited an Executive from council members I had dealt with over the years as the Statistician, and I had an inspirational speech all prepared to light a fire under the council and let them know that the responsibility was THEIRS to make this work.
Things didn’t go exactly as planned, but at the end of the year we had used our FULL Executive to:
- Bring our divisions back in line to make them competitive.
- Change our league affiliation to NSA Canada and make them work for us.
- Re-institute the Awards Banquet.
- Most important – regain control of our financial situation:
- Bring back the 2-man system it was always supposed to be.
- Reduce diamond costs by close work with city
- Invest league fees short-term to make our money work for us.
The More Things Change …
We had 19 teams in our league at that point, but we managed to grow over the next couple of years to the 28 we currently have. Part of that growth can be attributed to the creation of the Masters 45 Division, which brought in a couple teams from another league.
We’ve made changes to help improve the safety of our game in the form of Magnetic Release bases, the implementation of equipment (ball and bat) standards and close work with the city to improve the diamonds.
We reduced our league fees by $400 per team – while at the same time giving back money to returning teams, increasing the money spent on prizing and bringing back the Opening Tournament (at no extra cost to teams) to kick off our season.
We’ve made strides with our Constitution to clearly outline our policies and procedures. This includes adding guidelines for Scheduling, Divisional Alignment and Masters Divisions, as well as implementing our league specific Bat Policy.
The More They Stay The Same.
When I took over the Presidency of the league, the league was faltering because nobody wanted to take their time to help make it work. This year, when the call went out to council members to step up and be a part of the Exec, it went largely unanswered (1 willing individual – and he’s already got a full plate!). We have had a dedicated Executive that has worked tirelessly over my time as President to help make this league work the way it was meant to and, while there are certain aspects of it that now work quite well with minimal oversight, the only way it all comes together is if EVERYBODY does their part.
Looking Forward:
In case you didn’t pick up on it, we will have a new look to the Executive for next season. Subject to ratification at the next meeting:
- President:
- Jon Hebden
- Vice-President:
- Marc Bender
- Treasurer:
- Bob Nelson
- Secretary
- Brad Mitchell
While I was reluctant to step up in that 1st year, I must admit to having (mostly!) enjoyed my experience as the leader of this team. They’re a good bunch of guys to work with, and they are always looking to what is best for the league. I can step back and help out in my own way with full confidence that this is what is best for the league.
Thanks to everyone for their efforts to make this league the best game in town, and hope to see you in the new year with new fire in your eyes!
