Eastern Pennsylvania Horseshoe Pitchers Association:

EPHPA Director’s Meeting

Selinsgrove Indoor Facility

November 17, 2017

Rick Hawk opened the meeting @12:05pm.

There were 16 members & guests present.

The minutes from the April Membership’s meeting were approved as published on a motion from Dale Estep & 2^nd by Lee Estep.

Denny gave a detailed treasurer’s report supplied by Rob Dietz which was approved with one correction on a motion from Tom Reuther 2nd by Dave. The increased tournament entry fee resulted in $2,229.00 added to the general fund. [743 entries @ $3.00 each]

Rick stated the Club Challenge was a success again this year. The competition was vastly different with Carlisle bringing a “loaded” team. Congratulations to the Carlisle team for taking first place this year. As a reminder the Spring Fling Club Challenge will be held on Sunday April 29^th at the Carlisle Courts.

Lee Estep presented a report regarding the website. Up to November 5, 2017 there has been an average of 94 total visitors per week with the average visitor spending just under 5 minutes on the page. Lee has given Denny Hall and his wife Dorothy the password information in case for some reason she is unable to maintain the site. Lee requested a volunteer to review the club pages to bring them up to date. Dale Estep volunteered to complete this task. Lee congratulated Dave Fisher for receiving both a 10 year World Tournament Patch & a 10 Consecutive Year World Tournament Patch from thee NHPA.

Denny stated the facebook page is still receiving likes and comments. He would like clubs to please send him more pictures and information to add to the page. Denny has found with the Lions Pages he manages, the more often items are added the more interaction and comments are received from people visiting the page.

Tom Reuther stated the indoor facility is in need of some general maintenance and repairs. The directors agreed we should keep the facility in good repair while keeping expenses as low as possible. Tom suggested scheduling a work day in the spring to accomplish needed maintenance.

Dave Holliday spoke regarding the indoor tournament fees. Currently the fee is $20 with $2 going to the State Fund, $5 going to the Selinsgrove Give Back Fund and $13 going to the prize payout. Dave suggested changing the split to mirror the outdoor entry split. After discussion a motion was made by Dave and 2^nd by Lee to leave the entry at $20 but change to the following division; $2 to the State Fund, $3 to the Selinsgrove Give Back Fund and raise the prize payout to $15. This motion was approved.

The Spring Membership Meeting and Farm Show Style Tournament will be held Sunday April 22^nd. At this meeting we will need to elect a new 3^rd Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Rob Dietz is willing to serve another term as Treasurer; Karen Connelly is willing to serve a term as Secretary. The directors were asked to consider and speak with qualified willing candidates for 3^rd Vice President.

Denny stated the WPHPA’s new officers are all from the HOPE Club. The new President sent a detailed e-mail regarding her thoughts for the next two years.

The next court sanctioning will be done in 2019. The Eastern Courts have all been checked along with part of the Western Courts. As a reminder the 2018 World Tournament will be held July 9^th through July 21^st in Florence SC. We will need 2 delegates to attend the meeting.

A total of 163 players pitched in at least one tournament in 2017. The points championship winners were Ray Yoder in 3^rd place, Bev Barger in 2^nd place and a tie between Brad Barger & Maynard Bowman for 1^st place. The winners have received their checks and the plates will be distributed. Denny suggested a slight change in how points are earned. Currently a 1^st place pitcher earns points equal to the number of players in their class. [8 person receives 8 points, 7 person receives 7 points, etc.] This system has worked well but puts players in small classes at a disadvantage A 4 person class winner playing a double round robin only gets 4 points even though they play the same number of games as a bigger class. After discussion the directors decided a 5 person or smaller class that plays a double round robin will be awarded points based on regular games played.

The NHPA raised their dues from $17 per year to $25 per year. The directors discussed different options regarding increasing our dues. After discussion a motion was made by Dave, 2^nd by Dale and approved to increase the EPHPA dues to $33.00 per year reflecting the NHPA increase. The breakdown of the $33 is $25 to the NHPA and $8 to Eastern PA. 2018 membership cards are available at this meeting.

The Hall of Fame committee had no report at this time.

Due to a scheduling conflict Rick Hawk will be the director for the New Year’s Open Tournament in January and Butch Young will now be the director for the Valentine’s Open in February. This change will be posted on the website.

The Farm Show Tournament date is set. The tournament will be held Tuesday January 9^th from 6pm to 9pm in the Large Arena. We will be using ½ of the arena. Since this arena has a dirt floor, boxes should not be needed as the stakes may be driven directly into the ground. This should save time in setup and tear down. Dick Scott sent word he will not be able to attend the tournament due to health issues with the dust. The directors present will step up to fill the role Dick normally plays. Ron Baker will be attending planning meetings with Dick and the Farm Show committee. The Farm Show will again be providing funds for wrist bands, prize money and other needs. A suggestion arose to have a banner of the state made with all the horseshoe facilities marked.

There is a possibility we may be provided with parking spaces near the building for easier access. A suggestion was also made to make signs directing the public into the pitching area. More details will be presented when they become available.

Butch Young questioned the awarding of longevity patches. Denny and Rob have worked to get the missing years up to date and Rob has ordered the patches needed. These will be distributed when they become available. An updated list of member’s longevity will be posted on the website.

A suggestion arose regarding the monies remaining from the 2008 World Tournament. One thought was mentioned to allow clubs to use part of this money for repairs to their courts that are needed for sanctioning. The directors will discuss ways to accomplish this task. One option was setting up a committee with a vice president as chair to review requests for funds. These funds then could be paid back over time by the club through raffles or 50/50s. More details will be presented after the directors discuss different plans.

Justin Foster is assuming the role of Tournament Director at Carlisle. The Carlisle Club also will host the 2018 State Singles Tournament on Labor Day Weekend.

The directors set a preliminary 2018 pitching schedule. This schedule will be posted on the website as soon as the dates and details are finalized.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:45pm.

Members Present

Rick Hawk Lee Estep Tom Reuther Butch Young

Dale Estep Mike Taylor Justin Foster Denny Hall

Ron Baker Ray McConnell Dave Holliday Dave Fisher