Ralphs Tavern

CSSA BOARD MEETING MINUTES
September 18, 2023

The meeting of the CSSA Board of Directors was held September 18th, 2023, at Wicked Wings, Kennesaw, and called to order by Norman Thiem at 6:45 P.M.

Board Members Present: Norman Thiem, Dick O’Connor, Robbie Crider, Dewey Hom, Maria Burden, Bob Werner, Marty Aftewicz, Dan Bonham, John Humeston, Leland Brown and Mike Maguire.

Board Members James Bauch, Ray DeLuca, Mike Parson, Steve Fleming and Randy Bergman were absent.
A. Minutes of the August 8th, 2023 meeting were reviewed, revised and Board approved.
B. Financial Statement: Treasurer Mike Maguire presented financials with a comparison 2022-2023 profit and loss statement and the report was Board approved. Overall the CSSA is in excellent financial shape and significant savings has been realized by the direct-from-manufacturer purchase of 80 dozen high-quality balls facilitated by DeWayne Logan.
C. of Fame Committee: Ray Deluca’s revised guidelines for the CSSA Hall of Fame (HOF) were presented and discussed. The official establishment of the CSSA HOF was voted upon and passed unanimously by the Board of Directors. There will be a nominating committee, picked by the Commissioner and Vice-Commissioner. The first group of inductees at the 2023 annual awards banquet will likely be larger than subsequent years, in which a limit of 4 nominees will be inducted into the HOF. Full details will be posted on Team Pages soon.
D. End of Year Field Requirements: Norman Thiem polled league directors on how many weeks each league will require to complete their seasons, including double-elimination tournaments where applicable so he can work out field availability with CRPA.
E. Charity Funds: $1,000 was given to a CSSA member whose child has sudden medical needs requiring extensive travel to increase her chances of a cure. Other CSSA members have volunteered to donate their airline miles to the family to ease their burden.
F. Flip-Flop Rule: The Board of Directors voted to make the flip-flop rule a league-specific rule that can be put in place at the league director’s discretion.
G. 2023 Annual CSSA Awards Banquet: Ray DeLuca, special events coordinator, announced that he has the details of the annual banquet confirmed:
-Tuesday, November 14th, at Fendley Farmstead (same as last year) at 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
-Owner of Fendley Farmstead, Dena Milner, has given CSSA a generous deal again this year.
-Tickets will be $25 per player, with spouse tickets only $20 instead of last year’s price of $25. We look forward to more spouses attending this year. The capacity is 200 people, so members are encouraged to get their tickets NOW.
-Currently the menu will consist of Pulled Pork and Pulled Chicken (sauce will be served on the side). Included is green beans with small potatoes as well as baked mac & cheese. Dessert and drinks are also included. By the way, this also includes pay for the 3 servers which we had to pay out of our CSSA funds last year.
-Final cost of the banquet is for everyone who attends to bring at least 1 unwrapped toy for the ‘Every Kid Deserves a Christmas’ charity.
-Tickets are available for purchase on CSSA’s TeamPages website with a tab on the main banner, or by clicking this link: https://www.teampages.com/forms/25278-CSSA-Awards-Banquet
-Arnold Fowler and Jeff Nichols Civic Award Nominations: CSSA members are encouraged to submit nominations in writing to Ray DeLuca for these two annual awards. Below are links to read candidate eligibility guidelines:
Arnold Fowler Award: https://www.teampages.com/organizations/2042/pages/85741
Jeff Nichols Civic Award: https://www.teampages.com/organizations/2042/pages/188400
-The deadline for nominations is October 13th. Send nominations to: djray351@aol.com
Here’s a list of past award recipients: https://www.teampages.com/organizations/2042/pages/85742
H. CSSA Fall Charity Golf Tournament: This year’s fall charity golf tournament will be held Monday, November 13th at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club with tournament fees to be $90/single – $360 /foursome. Also available for purchase….Strings, Red Bombs and Mulligans. Package Includes: Green Fee, Cart Fee, Range Balls, Tax & Gratuity, and lunch. Hole sponsors are needed! Volunteers are needed!

The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. The October B.O.D. meeting will be held on Monday, October 16th at 6:30 p.m. Location to be confirmed.

The meeting of the CSSA Board of Directors was held August 8th, 2023, at Hobgood Park, and called to order by Norman Thiem at 6:30 P.M.

Board Members Present: Norman Thiem, Randy Bergman, James Bauch, Dan Bonham, Dick O’Connor, Robbie Crider, Dewey Hom, Ray DeLuca, Maria Burden, Marty Aftewicz, Leland Brown, John Humeston and Steve Fleming.
Board Members Bob Werner, Mike Maguire, Mike Parson were absent.

A. Minutes of the July 3rd, 2023 meeting, having been emailed to all, were Board approved.
B. Treasurer’s Report: An updated report will be emailed later for approval.

C. Hall of Fame: Ray DeLuca, representing the Hall of Fame (HOF) committee presented a first draft of requirements and guidelines for the CSSA HOF. The draft was discussed, revisions proposed, and it was agreed that at the next B.O.D. meeting, the details and procedures would be confirmed and voted upon so that the first inductees could be nominated and voted in before the 2023 banquet where HOF inductions will take place.

D. Fee Waiver for 80-UP Club Members: It was discussed and approved by the B.O.D. that members of the 80-UP club will each be granted a waiver of fees for one league per season. The waivers became effective for the fall 2023 season. Funding comes from the CSSA charity fund.

E. Rule Update: Pitching Around the Screen: This proposal is to make the rule consistent with the “Pitcher must remain behind the screen” rule to help ensure player safety, and not allow an unfair advantage to the pitcher. Several proposals were presented and discussed at length, with the following rule update agreed upon:
First violation (pitching around the screen) in game:
Penalty: Dead ball, ball on batter, warning to pitcher.
Second violation:
Penalty: Dead ball, ball on batter, all runners advance ONE base. Pitcher removed from pitching position for remainder of game.
The rule update was voted upon and was approved by the Board of Directors.

The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. The September B.O.D. meeting date and location will be determined later.

Hello Players, Managers and League Directors!
Our 2023 fall season is off to a good start, but unfortunately COVID 19 is making a bit of a comeback. As seniors, we need to all do our part to keep each other safe from spreading this serious virus around.
CSSA will adhere to the CDC’s up to date COVID 19 protocols. We need everyone to be familiar with this information and follow it if or when you may have been exposed. Let’s honor those we lost during the height of the pandemic by keeping each other safe now!
For further information click here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/isolation.html

Good news, CSSA members, Randy Bergman has ordered a new batch of CSSA hats and they are available now! We have them in stock (two options: mesh back and solid gray fabric). These high-quality lids are the same as our previous hats, minus the 25th Anniversary logo. See Randy Bergman at Hobgood Park most Monday mornings, Tuesday nights, Wednesday mornings and Wednesday nights. $10 each.

The meeting of the CSSA Board of Directors was held July 3rd, 2023, at Wicked Wings, Kennesaw, and called to order by Norman Thiem at 6:40 P.M.

Board Members Present: Norman Thiem, Dick O’Connor, Robbie Crider, Dewey Hom, Maria Burden, Mike Parson, Marty Aftewicz, John Humeston and Mike Maguire. Craig Pearson was a visitor.

Board Members James Bauch, Ray DeLuca, Bob Werner, Dan Bonham, Leland Brown, Steve Fleming and Randy Bergman were absent. Jerome Willingham was a guest.
A. Minutes of the June 5, 2023 meeting, having been emailed to all, were Board approved.
B. Financial Statement: Treasurer Mike Maguire presented financials and the report was Board approved.
C. League Headcounts: League directors reported their current headcounts and roster needs for the upcoming Fall season.
D. CSSA Golf Tournament: This year’s summer tournament (having been rescheduled due to thunderstorms) will be held on July 24th, 2023 at the Fairways of Canton Golf Club 400 Laurel Canyon Pkwy, Canton, GA 30114
More foursomes are still needed.
Fees: $90/single – $360 /foursome. Also available for purchase….Strings, Red Bombs and Mulligans for $5.00 each! Package Includes: Green Fee, Cart Fee, Range Balls,Tax & Gratuity, and a buffet lunch including hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans and coleslaw. Register and pay at : https://www.teampages.com/forms/25013-Charity-Events Hole Sponsors: Hole sponsors are also still needed.
E. Evaluations: Fall Evaluations will be held Saturday, July 22nd from 12-2 p.m., Sunday July 23rd from 12-2 p.m., Saturday, July 29th from 12-2 p.m. and Sunday, July 30th from 12-2 p.m. The Board again discussed evaluations and how to better screen new players trying out to determine when they are not available to play and make the tryout/draft process even more seamless. New players will be assigned a league or leagues based on the results, and can only be drafted to teams within that league (or leagues). It was decided that an additional “interview station” will be set up at check-in manned by Norman Thiem to be sure that the right questions are asked of new players so they are not drafted to a league that plays when they might not be available for scheduling reasons. There will be an all-managers meeting prior to the beginning of the draft to review the rules and ensure a smoother draft process. Yard signs promoting evaluations were picked up for posting by board members.
F. Hall of Fame Committee: A list of the first four inductee candidates will be brought to the August board of directors meeting.
G. Double Elimination Tournaments: The possibility of establishing double elimination tournaments for the Patriots and Masters leagues was discussed.
H. Fall Player Fees to be Payable at TeamPages: Pending a few adjustments to the menus and wording in the League Fees section of TeamPages, players will be able to pay their fall fees at this link: https://www.teampages.com/forms/25010-League-Fees :
I. Championship Shirts: Spring 2023 Championship shirts are now ready and available to the winning teams.

The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. The August B.O.D. meeting date and location will be determined later.