Annual Membership Meeting

Eastern PA Horseshoe Pitchers Association

March 13, 2010

The annual membership meeting of the EPHPA was held on Saturday, March 13^th at Mt. Wolf. The meeting was called to order by Pres. Dale Estep at 12:00. Approximately 40 members were in attendance.

The minutes of the directors’ meeting were provided by Sec/Treas Butch Young and approved as read. The treasurer’s annual report was provided for review. A motion was made by Sherwood Frankhouser and seconded by Walter Burtner to accept the report as presented. The motion carried.

I. Officers’ Reports:

1. President: Dale thanked the membership for their help and support during his tenure as president. He looked back on the success of the WT and is eager to have tournaments once again at Fayetteville.

2. 1^st Vice-President: Dave Holliday recognized Dale for all his accomplishments as president. He is looking forward to his opportunity as president to continue good things for the EPHPA. He reported that approval has been given to budget the construction of horseshoe courts in Limerick for 2011. He reported being contacted by the NHPA to establish internet communications for each charter. Dave would like to see someone serve as promotional coordinator for EPHPA.

3. 2^nd Vice-President: Denny Hall suggested as a way to promote the game of horseshoes that we could invite people to “pitch for fun.”

4. 3^rd Vice-President: position is vacant

5. Regional Director: Darle Esh presented a plaque to Dick Scott in recognition for his election to the PA Horseshoe Pitchers Hall of Fame.

6. Webmaster: Lee Estep thanked all tournament directors for their speedy reports last year. She announced that July and August seem to be the busiest time for website hits. Lee encouraged all clubs to update their club information. If street addresses are available for courts she would like to post them to help people who travel to tournaments via GPS devices. Lee would also like to compile an email list of all members to help disseminate emergency information.

7. Statistician: Dick Scott thanked all volunteers and pitchers for making this year’s Farm Show tournament/demonstration a success. He did inform the membership that additional safety measures need to be addressed for next year’s event. Dick feels the exposure that the sport gets is the biggest benefit of the event.

II. Old Business:

It was announced that the first Joe Rinehart Memorial Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, September 25^th.

III. New Business:

1. The election of officers was next held. Dave Holliday presented the nominating committee’s report. He nominated Ron Baker for the position of 2^nd Vice-President. There were no other nominations. Ron was elected to the position. Dave nominated Rick Hawk for the position of 3^rd Vice-President. There were no other nominations. Rick was elected to the position. Dave nominated Mike Berish for the office of treasurer. There were no other nominations, and Mike was elected. The floor was opened for nominations for the office of secretary. There were no nominations. Dale Estep volunteered. Jim Wech made a motion seconded by Darle Esh to appoint Dale as secretary. All voted yes.

2. Dale made a motion seconded by Walter Burtner that all former presidents be invited to serve as directors at large . Dale commented that EPHPA can better take advantage of the experience of former officers. . The motion carried unanimously.

3. Dick Scott presented special awards for pitching accomplishments during the previous pitching year. Receiving shirts were: Darle Esh, Jane Schrantz, Randy Zeiders, and Dillian Brown. A motion was made by Jim Wech and seconded by Walter Burtner that this be an annual presentation. The motion carried.

4. Dave Holliday reviewed the recommendation from the Board of Directors concerning handicapping. It was recommended by the board that all pitching classes in all Eastern PA tournaments(excluding state singles and doubles) be handicapped at 80%. This would be a one year trial after which time it would be reviewed and reconsidered. A motion was made by Dave and seconded by Chris Woods. After considerable discussion by the membership, the motion failed to pass by a show-of-hands vote. The vote was 14 in favor and 18 opposed. All directors will still have the option to handicap at their discretion. A motion was made by Jim Wech and seconded by Dave Holliday that item # 4 in the Rules and Regulations for EPHPA now read as follows: …”Classes with a ringer percentage spread of 15 points or more may be handicapped at 80%.” The motion carried.

5. Darle next presented the idea of combining “A” class for elder men with “A” class for women at state tournaments. This may help alleviate the problem of wide pitching percentages that occurs every year because of the low number of women pitchers. He agreed to check with NHPA to see if it would be legal. No action was taken. [note: follow-up with NHPA confirmed that mixed classes are not allowed for State Tournaments]

6. Dale announced that starting this year a “Club Championship” will be held as a fun event. He said about five clubs will participate this year with Selinsgrove being the host.

7. Sherwood Frankhouser made a motion seconded by Chris Woods that EPHPA should submit a bid to host another World Tournament. The motion carried.

8. Some discussion followed about pitchers frequently approaching the scorekeeper chair for their round robin card after each game. This becomes a safety issue as well as a courtesy issue for games that are still in progress on adjoining courts. A motion was made by Lee Estep and seconded by Dale that tournament directors should announce that players remain behind their court and wait for the card to be brought to them by the scorekeeper. This practice should be posted and announced at each tournament.

9. A motion was made by Lee and seconded by Darle that any junior winning at a tournament should receive a prize in lieu of cash. The motion carried.

Carlton W. Young

Sec/Treas