Halsey Hall Chapter SABR
Fall 2004 Business Meeting Minutes
October 23, 2004.
Community United Methodist Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota.
President Stew Thornley opened the meeting after the lunch break, ca. 12:30.
Stew congratulated events chair Howard Luloff, Bob Tholkes for arranging the meeting hall, and members of the board of directors who pitched in to help made this meeting a success.
Minutes of the previous business meeting (May 1, 2004) were printed and distributed and approved. Copy attached.
Consent report for this meeting was printed and distributed. Copy attached.
Stew mentioned a few items: Procedures for chapter officers (president, events chair etc.) have been posted on the chapter’s web-site for use by future members of the board of directors.
The next chapter breakfast will be held on November 13th; not November 6th as had been originally announced.
Stew mentioned that the 2006 national SABR convention has been awarded to Seattle. The 2005 convention will be in Toronto. So our proposal to host another national convention, when it is acted upon, will be for the 2007 convention at the earliest.
Newsletters: Editors Rich Arpi (Holy Cow) and Bob Tholkes (The Holy Cow Extra) will not be seeking re-appointment so anyone wanting one or both of these positions should contact the board of directors. While no change is contemplated before July 2005, it is possible that the monthly newsletter will be entirely web-based (with monthly notices to members that it is available) and that paper mailings to members without e-mail would occur two to three times per year. The national will reimburse the chapter for these mailings and thus no subscription fee will have to be charged.
Jim Wyman mentioned that he would like to see a calendar of chapter events on the web-page rather than the e-list. It was mentioned that is currently is....but that Dean Thilgen should be instructed to give a few more details (time and place of course).
By-Laws amendments: The motion for the first by-law amendment to create a nominating committee (see attached) was made by Bob Tholkes. Seconded by Winston Wood. Passed by a voice vote of members present.
The motion for the second by-law amendment changing appropriation of chapter funds over $ 100.00 (see attached) was made by Winston Wood. Seconded by Rodger Godin. Passed by a voice vote of members present.
Stew said he will update the chapter by-laws to reflect these amendments.
Upcoming Events: Date for the Spring chapter meeting was set for May 21st with the Milwaukee Brewers in town vs. the Twins. Howard said he will invite the Ken Keltner chapter from Wisconsin to attend and hold a joint meeting.
Hot Stove meeting is set for Jan. 22, 2005. Howard will confirm with Kevin
Hennessy about the availability of using his home again. A hat will be passed around to reimburse Kevin for his expenses.
Howard also mentioned the possibility of a chapter outing to a Northwoods League game in Eau Claire in June.
Other: Rich Cohen brought some Twins t-shirts in and donated the proceeds collected to the chapter ($ 10.00 so far) and Joe O’Connell donated some World Series videos ($ 10 raised). Joe also brought in some posters, which were free for the taking.
Proposal to amend Article III, Section 1 of the by-laws, which now reads:
At the spring chapter meeting the membership shall elect to the board of directors three members in even-numbered years and four members in odd-numbered years. The seven members of the incoming board of directors shall meet to elect, from among them, a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. The Vice President shall appoint all committee chairpeople and serve as an ex-officio member of all committees.
Propose to delete the last sentence and add:
The President shall appoint a chair for the nominating committee. The Vice President shall appoint chairs to all other standing committees in addition to serving as an ex-officio member of these commitees.
ARTICLE V: APPROPRIATIONS
Section 1-Approval Process
Appropriations of chapter funds exceeding $ 100.00 must be subject to approval by the membership at a spring or fall chapter meeting or by a majority of chapter members responding within such period as the board shall specify if submitted to a written poll.
Propose to replace “membership at a spring for fall chapter meeting or by a majority of chapter members responding within such period as the board shall specify if submitted to a written poll,” with “board of directors.”
Treasurer’s Report
Rich Arpi, Treasurer
The balance in the account at the present time is $650.56 with all outstanding bills paid except for the balance due newsletter editor Rich Arpi ($30.76). Rich pays the Kinko’s bill every month with his personal credit card and reimburses himself ($ 0.37 a time) by taking stamps for personal use from the stamps bought with chapter funds for newsletter mailings. A final accounting will be made after the December Holy Cow is mailed and should be between $45.00 and $50.00 or so.
Expenses for the chapter meeting are expected to be $150.00 for rental of the church (we should get our $50 deposit back) and around $125.00 to $150.00 for food and other expenses. So an attendance of 25 to 30 (at $10.00 per person) will be a break-even point.
Convention Proposal
Submitted by Stew Thornley
On August 14, 2004, we submitted a proposal to host the SABR convention in 2007 or 2008. Cecilia Tan, chair of the National Convention Committee, acknowledged our proposal and said they do not yet have a timetable for making decisions on future conventions. She will keep us informed about the status of our proposal.
Events Committee
Howard Luloff, Chair
There are a couple of potential dates for the Hot Stove Meeting, January 22 and February 6. (January 29 is TwinsFest). I contacted Kevin Hennessey about holding the meeting at his place and he said that either date is fine.
Also, a potential date has been set for the 2005 Spring Meeting, May 21. We chose that late May date since the Brewers are in town that weekend.
Membership Committee
Stew Thornley, Chair
Dan Forstner of Bloomington is the newest SABR member in our chapter area and received a welcome letter as do other new chapter members. We receive a regular report from the SABR office of new members and contact those from our area.
Book Club
Tom Swift, Chair
The Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club met on Saturday, Oct. 9, to discuss “The Numbers Game” by Alan Schwarz, a senior writer of Baseball America magazine and a frequent contributor to The New York Times. Regulars and semi-regulars present at the meeting included Rich Arpi, Art Mugalian, Stew Thornley, Bob Tholkes, Jim Wyman and Tom Swift. As usual, a lively discussion ranged from various themes in the book to topics related and not.
The book club’s next meeting will be at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Barnes & Noble Galleria coffee shop in Edina, located one block south of Southdale shopping center. For directions, call 952-920-0633. The book to be read is “Nine Innings” by Dan Okrent.
From the book’s cover: “A timeless baseball classic and a must-read for any fan worthy of the name, ‘Nine Innings’ dissects a single baseball game played in June 1982—inning by inning, play by play. Okrent, a seasoned writer and lifelong fan, chose as his subject a Milwaukee Brewers-Baltimore Orioles matchup, though it could have been any game, because, as Okrent reveals, the essence of baseball, no matter where or when it’s played, has been and will always be the same. In this particular moment of baseball history you will discover myriad aspects of the sport that are crucial to its nature but so often invisible to the fans— the hidden language of catchers’ signals, the physiology of pitching, the balance sheet of a club owner, the gait of a player stepping up to the plate. With the purity of heart and unwavering attention to detail that characterize our national pastime; Okrent goes straight to the core of the world’s greatest game. You’ll never watch baseball the same way again.”
Book Club 411
The Halsey Hall Chapter book club meets bi-monthly, usually on the second weekend of even-numbered months.
The book club was started in August 2002 and has drawn anywhere from five to 12 members at any event. The club meets either in a coffee shop or at the home of a book club regular.
The first book selection was “Hitter,” a biography of Ted Williams written by Ed Linn. The club has since read an eclectic mix of baseball nonfiction and novels, including “The Great American Novel” by Philip Roth; “The Power and the Darkness,” a biography of Josh Gibson by Mark Ribowsky; “Walter Johnson: Baseball’s Big Train” by Henry Thomas; “Play for a Kingdom” by Tom Dyja; “Moneyball” by Michael Lewis; “The Duke of Havana” by Steve Fainaru; “A Whole Different Ball Game” by Marvin Miller; “Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy” by Jane Leavy; and “Paths to Glory,” co-authored by chapter member Dan Levitt.
The book club is open to all chapter members, whether or not they have read the book (there are no quizzes). Future book selection suggestions are always welcome.
Looking Ahead
A tentative 2005 schedule for the Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club:
9:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 12
9:30 a.m., Saturday, April 9
9:30 a.m., Saturday, June 11
9:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 13
9:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 8
9:30 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 10
Thanks to skillful help from Webmaster Deano Thilgen, the book club has its own page on the chapter Web site — http://www.halseyhall.org/bookclub.html. Firm dates and times will be published at this Web page, which is updated at least once every two months, as well as in chapter newsletters and the e-list.
For more information about the book club, contact moderator Tom Swift via e-mail or phone, information found in the online SABR directory at www.sabr.org.
Quicksteps
Bob Tholkes, Chair
The Quicksteps finished their season on September 19. The nine played 12 events before an estimated 1,275 spectators, probably a record. The roster lists 23 participants of greatly varying degrees of activity, including 15 local SABR members. An unusual number of match fees, management’s frugality, and the splendid availability of volunteer help enabled the treausry to also reach a record $1,211.24 at season’s end.
The Quicksteps will hold their 2005 planning meeting on October 23 at 4 p.m. (or following the chapter regional) at either my house or at the church. As usual, membership input will be sought through sending an advance agenda/questionnaire.
Holy Cow Extra
Bob Tholkes, Editor
No contributions or inquiries received in several months. I suggest dropping it from the list of current activities. Assuming that the editorship is an annual appointment, I will not accept reappointment.