Opening: The 64th annual meeting of the Wisconsin Baseball Association was called to order at 1:05 PM on April 14, 2012 at the Blue Moose Bar & Grill in Bloomer, Wisconsin by Wisconsin Baseball Association (WBA) President Joe Juza.
WBA Directors Present: Joe Juza, Jamie Ziembo, Mike Roiger, Chris LaBreche, Steve Salmi, Herb Scheithauer, Gary Isensee, Burt Ekern, Scott Sorenson, Dave Hanson, Tim Lee, Jim Nikolay, Ed Pufall, and Josh Eidem. (Director Steve Truttman was unable to attend the meeting due to commitments in Bay City.)
League & Host Site Representatives Present: Paul Juza (Haugen Hornets), Mark Ellingson (Osceola Braves), Dick Bender, Jon Bergum, and Matthew Jungbluth (Hayward Hawks), Rich Lindsey (Haugen Knights), Hans Soukup and Josh Briggs (Chippewa Falls Lumberjacks), Paul Pehler and Dave Timmons (Whitehall Wolves), Aaron Vold, Kyle Kittleson, and Luke Anderson (Osseo Merchants), Art Zwiefelhofer (Tilden / CRBL / WBA Umpire In Chief).
A. Roll Call 1. Leagues present—Chippewa River (represented by CRBL President Josh Briggs), Dairyland (represented by DL President Herb Scheithauer), Independent (represented by league President Rich Lindsey), Mississippi Valley (represented by Gary Isensee & Burt Ekern), St. Croix Valley (represented by league President Chris LaBreche & Secretary Josh Eidem), and Upper 13 (represented by league Preside Tim Lee & Secretary / Treasurer Ed Pufall). 2. League & Team Verification‐‐ WBA Secretary Chris LaBreche verified the leagues and individual teams scheduled to compete in 2012.
League size was reported and scheduled as follows:
League Teams Chippewa River 12
Dairyland 12
Independent 10
Mississippi Valley 8
St. Croix Valley 13
Upper 13 8
Total 63
B. Officers Reports
1. President Joe Juza congratulated last year’s WBA champion, the River Falls Fighting Fish, and additionally lauded the excellent job Burt Ekern and the ChaseburgCoon Valley Blues did in hosting the state Finals. Brief mention was made of two incidents from last year’s semifinal tournaments, which was later discussed in detail, specifically those involving a complaint by Chippewa Falls about the Hayward Hawks at Hayward, and one made by Elmer Allen, the Dairyland League Umpire In Chief, regarding the conduct of players from the Spooner Cardinals and Ashland Merchants at the Rib Lake tournament site.
2. Vice President Jamie Ziembo did not file a formal report, but reiterated his congratulations and thanks to the directors for their work at the state finals last year.
3. Treasurer Mike Roiger submitted the WBA financial statement for 2012, reporting a starting balance of $1418.01, with a total income of $10,581.66, and total expenses of $10,031.95. Playoff team shares in 2011 were $125. The Association’s cash balance on hand as of April 1, 2012 was reported as $1,967.72. Motion was made to accept the treasurer’s report by Jamie Ziembo and seconded.
4. Secretary Chris LaBreche reported on the state of the WBA, thanking member leagues for submitting their team manager and umpire information in a timely fashion. A manager & league contact listing will be mailed (paper & electronic) to all directors and league secretaries. Leagues without a secretary shall receive copies for each team.
C. 63rd Annual Meeting Minutes Secretary LaBreche read the WBA minutes from last year’s meeting as reported (and additionally posted on the Association’s website at: wisconsinbaseball.org.) Motion to accept the minutes as read made by Mike Roiger and seconded.
D. Tournament Committee Report & New Business
1. Discussion of the complaint by Chippewa Falls regarding Hayward Hawks (Hayward hosted a tournament site, and was hitting/practicing on-site, which has been discouraged / banned in previous years by the committee specifically at the seeding meeting.) Since no bylaw existed to address this problem, a motion was made to amend WBA Constitution Article 14, adding a bylaw that would ban all onsite batting practice during tournament play. The motion was seconded, but was struck down the Chippewa River, Dairyland, Independent, Mississippi Valley, and St. Croix Valley leagues voted no, the Upper 13 league voted yes. Following further discussion, a revised motion was made by Josh Eidem to ban all onsite hitting with a baseball during tournament play. The motion was seconded, and approved by a vote of 5 to 1, with the Upper 13 league disapproving. The amendment will be added to Article 14 of the WBA Constitution & bylaws reading: All teams competing in state tournament play must not conduct batting practice at a tournament site (with baseballs). Failure to comply will result in a penalty to be determined by the board of directors, possibly including forfeiture of team playoff shares and / or suspension from tournament play.
2. Discussion of the complaint by Dairyland League Umpire In Chief Elmer Allen regarding the misconduct of several Spooner Cardinals and Ashland Merchants players at the Rib Lake tournament site. Copies of the letter sent by Elmer Allen to Mike Roiger were distributed to attendees, with a thorough discussion on player etiquette. A motion was made by Chris LaBreche to additionally amend Article 14 to address player misconduct during state tournament play. The amendment shall read: Players reported to tournament or regional directors for gross misconduct shall be penalized at the discretion of the tournament committee, possibly to include suspension from tournament games. Motion seconded and unanimously approved by member leagues.
E. Election of Officers The directors terms of Gary Isensee, Chris LaBreche, Steve Salmi, Herb Scheithauer, and Jamie Ziembo had run out this year. Motion made by Paul Juza to re‐elect all the directors for a 3 year term was made and seconded. Motion was approved and carried.
F. Tournament Site Bids Nine separate representatives bid to host a WBA semi‐final playoff tournament site in 2012. The winning sites were as follows: Haugen (hosted by the Haugen Knights), Hayward (hosted by the Hayward Hawks), Osceola (hosted by the Osceola Braves), and Rib Lake (hosted by the Interwald Woodticks). Each site bid $2800. The state final tournament will be played at Osseo, and will be hosted by the Osseo Merchants. As previously determined, the finals bid shall be $2000. As is customary, all bid proceeds must be submitted to Mike Roiger prior to the WBA seeding meeting.
G. Future Scheduling (2012 Seeding Meeting, 2013 Annual Meeting, 2013 Playoffs) The date for the 2012 WBA Seeding / Tournament Committee meeting will be Tuesday, July 31st at 7 PM, at a site to be determined in the Chippewa Falls / Eau Claire area. The next scheduled annual meeting of the WBA will be Saturday, April 13th, 2013, to be held once again at the Blue Moose Grill & Restaurant in Bloomer. Dates for the 2013 WBA Playoffs will be as follows—August 9th‐11th (semi‐finals) and August 16th‐18th (finals, to be hosted by the St. Croix Valley Baseball League).
Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 3:05 PM by Joe Juza. Minutes submitted by: Chris LaBreche, WBA Secretary