NY State DA Association Meeting
Treadway Inn,
September 26. 2009
Meeting called to order by Danny Cavallo, State Director
East Region Rep: Patrick Holden
Roll call showed 27 Districts
represented, which is seven (7) more than needed for a quorum.
Five (5) Districts had proxy votes.
Treasurers report read by Pete Pennelle.
Opening balance: $8,112.74
Expenses:
$3,870.10
Balance:
$4,242.64
Balance does not reflect expenses (breakfast, lunch)
incurred at this meeting. They will be
shown on the June report.
Motion made by Dan Salmon-37 and seconded by Chris
Amarosa-22. Report accepted as read.
Dan Salmon-37 made a motion that dues be raised to $150.00
per year. Seconded by
Marilyn Maccio-34.
Discussion: Nick Gantner-16 said we had excess funds last
year so we could give each
District hosting a State Tournament some help with
costs. Danny commented that we also gave
the 911 fund $3,000.00 and donated $2,000.00 to East Region for their new
concession stand.
Dan Salmon withdrew his motion, discussion ended.
Danny reminded Association that
the start date for new DA’s term of office is October 1st. Danny contacted East Region, stating that new
DAs are already in place
by
then, however, they said, the date was October 1st.
Danny introduced Jim Hammer of DPH pins who said, he would
have a three (3) pin set for 2010 Congress in
Danny suggested that when you have your District meetings
have a Vendor there and charge them a fee for presenting their products.
New DAs present: Ron Wehrle-10,
Ken Liesegang-4, John Lacey-19. Not present: Dawn Hone-21.
Retiring DAs presented with a
wall clock/plaque: Mike Mahoney, John Ward, Diane Noga.
Constitution: Six districts missed June meeting,
each was sent an e-mail notifying them of the rules. Districts were 16, 21, 25, 26, 29 &
30. The second missed meeting removes
voting and hosting privileges and will require an appeal to the board of
directors prior to next meeting.
Districts 16 and 29 were present for the Fall
meeting.
Elections: Committee
of John Godfrey, Mike Coghlan and Joe Sagaria polled all DAs and results were Dan Cavallo
nominated for State Director and Don Jordan nominated for State Secretary. There were no nominations from the floor.
Dan Salmon-37 made a motion that the secretary cast 1 vote
to accept the nominees, seconded by Chris Amarosa-22.
Motion passed. Don and Danny both gave brief acceptance
speeches.
Section Coordinators meeting from Friday evening:
Sections can use single elimination, double elimination or
pool play for sectionals. Each section decides which they want to use.
Pete suggested making Big League Baseball and Softball
double elimination. Earl Berry-33 talked
about problems with Big League teams leaving early and throwing entire schedule
off. These kids have cars and jobs and
it is tough to get them to stay past the weekend. They need to get in and out, as soon as
possible.
Nick Gantner-16 made a motion that Big League State Baseball
and Softball tournaments be double elimination.
Seconded by Chris Amarosa-22.
Vote was 23 for, none against, no
abstentions. Motion passed.
Multi-year sites: It
is difficult getting leagues to host upper level (over 12 years old)
tournaments. Everyone wants the younger
ages, but not the older kids. They don’t
have the drawing power that the younger ones do. Guy Madsen-15 volunteered to
host the Junior Softball States for 3 years at
Nick Gantner-16 made a motion
that we accept Chatham (Junior Softball) and Haverstraw
(Senior
Softball) for the next three years.
Seconded by Steve Neithardt-32.
Vote: 24 yes, 0 against, 0 abstentions. Motion
Passed.
Danny talked about ways to cut tournament costs. A lot of the kids don’t stay around for free
food after the games. Eliminate the free
food after each game. Also, most don’t
attend the banquet, so why have one.
Free shirts and plaques/trophies for all players can be another huge cost.
Internet use: Danny
reminded us that the internet is a big money and time saver. You can send a letter to all DAs with a few
strokes on the keyboard. Remember to
always ask for a reply that recipient got the e-mail.
Danny suggested a field evaluation be done for each State
Tournament site. Charlie Fitzpatrick-12
suggested the section coordinators do this for their own sections. Guy Madsen-15 agreed with Charlie. Joe Sagaria-18 suggested that districts
wanting to host should send the form to the section coordinator. Steve Neithardt-32 said, put a form in place
and use it. Nick Gantner-16 said most
of us are going to use the best field we have and that Section Coordinators
should be using this form already.
Agenda items:
Diane handed out format for 5 team pool play for 12 and
under using double headers. This has to
be approved for each division, each year, by East Region.
Mike Kelsey-5 made a motion that all 6 team and 5 team pool
play for age 12 and under (pending East Region approval) be followed. Seconded by Jim Demmer-3.
Vote 20 for, 0 against, 0 abstentions. Motion
passed.
First round Pool Play games can be moved if an emergency
arises. This already exists in Pool
Play guidelines.
Charlie Fitzpatrick-12 has a 6-pin set from his State Tournament
if anyone is interested.
Diane made a motion that any check over
$200.00 have two signatures on it.
Seconded by Jim Demmer-3.
Vote 11 for, 10 against, 0 abstentions Motion
passed.
Pat Holden reminded of us of dates for East Region events.
DA Clinic,
Umpire Clinic,
Softball Clinic,
Umpire school, 3/24 to 3/28/10
Tentative dates:
Regional in
World Series, 8/20 to
Election report needed from Districts 13, 19, 25, and 28
Conflict of interest form needed from 13, 19, 25, 28 and 37
Please mark your calendar for the 2010 NYS DA Association
meetings dates.
June meeting date:
Fall meeting date:
Section Coordinators will meet on Friday
evening at
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Don Jordan
Secretary