Hingham Little League Board of Directors Meeting

Minutes of February 25, 2004

Hingham Recreation Center



The sixth meeting of the Hingham Little League Board of Directors was

called to order by President Rick Linehan at 7:34 pm.



Board of Directors present were: Rob Blomberg, Melissa Flanagan, Mark Igo, Bob Keyes, Mike Letorney, Rick Linehan, Owen McConville, Elliot Sherman, Rick West, Rich Magner and Mike Bynarowicz.

Joe Granatino, Bruce Corwin, Tom Golden and Steve Hughes were absent.



Secretary’s Report



It was agreed that we would table review of the Meeting Minutes from the February 9, 2004, meeting until we all had a chance to review them further. These minutes were reviewed, discussed and approved at the March 1, 2004, Board Meeting.



Treasurer’s Report



Treasurer Robert Keyes stated that as of February 25, 2004 the balance in the account was ,834. There have been bounced checks totaling 4.00. Disbursements made have been to Ryan Mailing (6.49); BBI Marketing (,372.50); Team Choice for HLL decals (1.80) and the South Shore Sports Center (,000)..



Business Related Issues



Local Little League Business Filings:



Articles of Incorporation: No change-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 all of the appropriate paperwork is still in the process of being filed.



National Little League Business Filings



Charter Application: President Rick Linehan mailed the application on January 23, 2004. Little League National has received it. Additionally, the League Charter and Insurance have been paid. The Hingham Little League Constitution was sent to Little League East and has been accepted.

In response to a question on HLL insurance it was confirmed that the insurance policy covers all volunteers including the Board of Directors for Liability and Directors and Officer’s Coverage.

The 20,000+ town population waiver has been filed and a map of the town has been sent to Don Whitman the District representative. Don has endorsed it and has forwarded the waiver to Williamsport. We await their decision.









Recreation Department Permit for the Fields:



Elliot Sherman states the paperwork is in the process of being filed. We need to finalize the insurance binder and await the completion of the CORI process.



Player Registration Process:



Results to date include 622 applications received. The breakdown includes 127 for Majors; 195 for Minors; 187 for Farm; and 113 for T-Ball.

March 6, 2004 is the deadline for registrations.



Calendar of Events:



Elliot Sherman had taken a first cut at a Hingham Little League Calendar of Events from 3/04 through 9/04. We reviewed the list as a group and made suggestions for changes for dates and topics. Elliot will revise the Calendar and forward it to the BOD. Once approved it will be placed on the HLL Website.



Major League Draft:



After much discussion the BOD voted unanimously on the following requirements for the Major League Draft:

-All 12 year olds will only play in the Major’s

-There will be a maximum of six 12 year old players and a minimum of five 12 year old players on each Major’s team

-There will be a maximum of seven 11 year old players on each Major’s team. There will be no minimum number of 11 year old players on each Major’s team.

-There will be a maximum number of three 10 year old players on each Major’s team.



Tom Coveney, a member of Hingham Little League, was in attendance and spoke to the BOD at this point of the meeting. He raised questions as to why there was a need to redraft all team major’s teams and why 12 Major’s teams were being proposed rather than 10 Major’s teams. Various BOD members responded to Tom. He also suggested that the HLL BOD needed to expand our communication on the HLL website, through the Hingham Journal on the decisions that the HLL BOD was making. Mark Igo responded that he is fielding numerous inquiries on the HLL website daily. We did agree that we will continue to communicate freely and openly though various means including the HLL website and the Hingham Journal.



Sponsorships and Donations:



Melissa Flanagan provided copies to the Board of the proposed letters to HLL Sponsors. We reviewed the content of the proposed letter, agreed with its language and voted to distribute the letters. We will look for future opportunities to tell the sponsors that their names will also be included in the future HLL Booklet. We have identified 51 potential sponsors and are asking for a commitment date of March 15, 2004. The envelopes will be addressed and letters will be mailed this week.









Volunteer Applications



Mark Igo agreed to be added to this committee and will share the extensive database that he has developed with the rest of this committee.

President Rick Linehan has applied for CORI Certification through Mass Criminal History Systems Board. The application was sent on 2/10/04 and a two-three week turnaround is expected.

We agreed that as we perform CORI checks on all HLL volunteers that we will use the "Extended CORI" process.



Manager Selection Process



Major’s-The slates for potential Managers for Major’s were proposed by Mark Igo representing the Manager’s Committee. The list of proposed candidates were reviewed by the entire BOD, endorsed by President Rick Linehan and approved unanimously by the BOD.



Minor’s-The slates for potential Managers for Minor’s were proposed by Mark Igo representing the Manager’s Committee. The list of proposed candidates were reviewed by the entire BOD, endorsed by President Rick Linehan and approved unanimously by the BOD.



Farm-The slates for potential Managers for Farm were proposed by Mark Igo representing the Manager’s Committee. The list of proposed candidates were reviewed by the entire BOD, endorsed by President Rick Linehan and approved unanimously by the BOD.



T-Ball-The slates for potential Managers for T-Ball were proposed by Mark Igo representing the Manager’s Committee. The list of proposed candidates were reviewed by the entire BOD, endorsed by President Rick Linehan and approved unanimously by the BOD.



An issue that arose was the potential drafting into Major’s of some of the 10 year old sons of Manager’s that were approved for Minor’s. We reviewed the list of the Minor Managers and their children and identified five potential 10 year olds who might be drafted. As a result Mark Igo will review the list for potential back up Managers for Minor’s in the event these 10 year olds are drafted, moved into major’s and their fathers no longer wish to manage at the Minor level.



Tryouts and Draft Rules:



Mile Letorney provided a handout on the HLL Tryout process which the BOD reviewed. We confirmed that try-outs will be held at the South Shore Sports Center on April 3, 2004 from 8:30 am-2:00 pm and on April 4, 2004 from 12:30 pm-4:00 pm.



On April 3, 2004 the schedule will be:

8:30 am-9:00 am-12 year old registration

9:00 am-10:00 am-12 year old tryouts

9:30 am-10:00 am-11 year old registration (A-L)

10:00 am-11:00 am-11 year old tryouts (A-L)

10:30 am-11:00 am-11 year old registration (M-Z)

11:00 am-12:00 pm-11 year old tryouts (M-Z)

12:30 pm-1:00 pm-registration for 9 and 10 year olds that can’t make it on Sunday, April 4

1:00 pm-2:00 pm-tryouts for 9 and 10 year olds that can’t make it on Sunday, April 4



On April 4, 2004 the schedule will be:

12:30 pm-1:00 pm-registration for 9 and 10 year olds (A-L)

1:00 pm-2:00 pm-tryouts for 9 and 10 year olds (A-L)

1:30 pm-2:00 pm-registration for 9 and 10 year olds (M-Z)

2:00 pm-3:00 pm-tryouts for 9 and 10 year olds (M-Z)

2:30 pm-3:00 pm-registration for 11 and 12 year olds that didn’t make it on Saturday, April 3

3:00 pm-4:00 pm-tryouts for 11 and 12 year olds that didn’t make it on Saturday, April 3



Each player will be identified by number.

There will be a maximum of 25 points for each player with grades from 1 (low) to 5 (max).

Each Manager will complete their evaluation sheets, will give them to Mike Letorney who will summarize them for all managers and return a copy to the Manager.

Draft nights will be on 4/12 (Major’s); 4/13 (Minor’s) and 4/14 (Farm) at Plymouth River School. Melissa Flanagan will confirm the times. A 7:00 pm or even a 6:30 pm start is desired.

The Major’s Draft will follow the serpentine process. Other requirements have been included previously in these minutes.

Options for sons, daughters and siblings will need to be forwarded to Mike 48 hours in advance of the draft. Age requirements will be Age 12 by round 3; Age 11 by round 4 and Age 10 by round 5.

Trading was discussed further. The deadline for trading will be the conclusion of the evening on the night of the draft. Additional trades after draft night can be made up to 14 days after the draft and are subject to review by Mike Letorney followed by full BOD review.



Mike Letorney will update his handout and will forward it to the entire BOD.





Playing Rules/Local By-Laws:



This was tabled to the 3/1/200 BOD Meeting.





Umpire Committee



Rich Magner agreed to serve on this committee.

Mark Igo has a list of prospective umpires. We will use adult and youth. Training will be coordinated by Mark Igo, Rich Magner and Rick West. We will attempt to recruit up to 22 umpires though various sources including Hingham High School, ads in the Hingham Journal and previous experience.

Following each game the umpires and Manager’s will jointly complete a "game sheet" report listing the pitcher’s used, the score and any other comments about the game itself.





Equipment



We reviewed the spreadsheet provided by Rick Linehan, the results of Rick West’s contact with Rockland Sports and the results of Elliot Sherman’s contact with Beacon Sports. After discussion of all options Beacon Sports was selected as the equipment supplier for HLL. Elliot Sherman will contact Beacon for a purchase order.



We discussed and agreed upon the following requirements for uniforms by group:

-Major’s-shirt, hat, sox, LL patch and sponsor name up to

-Minor’s-shirt, hat, sox, LL patch and sponsor name up to

-Farm-shirt, hat, LL patch and sponsor name up to

-T-Ball-shirt, hat, LL patch and sponsor name up to



We will not supply pants but for Major’s and Minor’s are requesting white pants with belts. We will attempt to get pants to sell them as a fund raiser at tryouts.



It was agreed to keep the next BOD Meeting date for Monday, March 1, 2004, at 7:30 pm at the Hingham Rec Center.



The meeting was adjourned at 10:33 PM



Minutes submitted by Rob Blomberg, acting Secretary.