Hingham Little League Board of Directors Meeting

Minutes of January 26, 2004

Hingham Recreation Center



The fourth meeting of the Hingham Little League Board of Directors was called to order by President Rick Linehan at 8:20 PM following a two-hour registration period on January 26, 2004 at the Hingham Recreation Center.







1. Secretary’s report



Secretary Joseph Granatino presented the minutes from the January 12, 2004 meeting to the Board of Directors. A motion was made and accepted to approve the minutes as is.



2. Treasurer’s report



Treasurer Robert Keyes addressed the Board and stated that as of January 26, 2004 there was approximately ,000.00 in the treasury of Hingham Little League Inc.



Treasurer Keyes and Vice-President Elliot Sherman informed Board members that if they had occurred any out of pocket expenses to date that they should submit a request for reimbursement with an itemized receipt.



Business Related Issues



1. Local Little League Business Filings:



Articles of Incorporation: Vice President Sherman stated that all paper work has been filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State office for Hingham Little League Inc.



Public Charity Filings: Vice President Sherman stated that al of the appropriate paperwork has been filed.









2. National Little League Business Filings



Charter Application: President Rick Linehan addressed this issue and stated that the Application approved at the last board of Director’s meeting was mailed on January 23, 2004. Additionally, President Linehan stated that we need a map for the town boundaries and a census report with the town population showing the senior citizen population in the town to be granted a waiver for a twelve-team league and one tournament team for the Major League level.



3. Player Registration Process:

Membership Committee: Joe Granatino and Melissa Flanagan



Results from Saturday/Monday and mail in registrations: There are approximately 250 applications in house prior to the January 26, 2004 meeting. This count does not reflect registration forms received by mail after 1/23/04 and the Monday night registration on January 26, 2004.



Additional registration promotion required: After an open discussion it was agreed to place one more reminder ad in the Hingham Journal reminding residents of the January 31, 2004 mail-in registration deadline. Additionally, there was discussion of having one more registration period prior to the April tryouts. The board felt that this was a good idea but would address it again at a later meeting.



4. Board Vacancy:



After an open discussion it was voted and agreed upon that President Rick Linehan would recount the ballots from the membership meeting for the original Board of Director’s. After determining the candidate that received the sixteenth slot Rick would contact them and offer the person a position on the board if they still wanted one.



5. Major League Player Retention Issue:



This was an open discussion after additional information was received by Vice President Sherman regarding Little League’s President’s Manual Provisions addressing first year Leagues. It was determined that there was two ways to handle a Little League Program draft and tryout process. The question was is Hingham Little League an existing league from their prior involvement with Hingham Youth Baseball or are they in their first year of operation.



This topic was discussed for approximately one hour with each board member giving their opinion and feelings into the topic. Board member Granatino stated that the board had previously voted to treat this upcoming year as a new league and that this was one of the options available through the Little League’s President’s Manual so the only option left was to determine if we would follow plan A or plan B. President Linehan then made a motion to table the vote as he and Vice President Sherman would be attending a Little League Conference in Connecticut the last weekend of January and that they would ask for clarification on this matter. Vice President Sherman seconded the motion and by a vote of 6-5 it was opposed.



At this time Player Representative Mike Letorney made a motion that Hingham Little League Inc., would follow the first year operation Plan A of the Little Leagues Presidents Manual and then in the following year follow existing league Plan A for tryouts and the draft. Secretary Granatino seconded this motion. Vice President Sherman requested a roll call vote. In a vote of 8-3 to accept the motion the following members approved the motion: Bynarowicz, Canepa, Flanagan, Granatino, Igo, Keyes, Letorney, and West. The following members opposed the motion: Blomberg, Hughes, and Sherman.



6. Sponsorships and Donations

Auxiliary and Sponsorship Committee: Mike Bynarowicz, Melissa Flanagan, and Bob Keyes



Mike Bynarowicz spoke with Frank Capano who was in charge of sponsorship for the Hingham Youth Baseball program to see if he would be willing to meet with us and assist us in our sponsorship program. Frank is wiling to meet with the board and assist us in any way he can. He was going out of town but would be willing to arrange to attend our next meeting. The board agreed that Mike should call him back to arrange a meeting.



The issue of restructuring the Sponsors fees and contacting sponsors was discussed and was agreed to be tabled until additional information was obtained through neighboring leagues and discussions with Frank.

New Bussiness: It was agreed upon to cancel the February 2, 2004 meeting and the following dates were set for upcoming meetings: February 9, February 23, March 1, March 15, March 29, and every Monday in April. The tryouts will be held on April 3rd and 4th. The season will begin on May 1, 2004.



The meeting was adjourned at 10:49 PM



Respectfully, submitted by Secretary Joseph K. Granatino