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Wichita Falls, host site of the 2019 World Horseshoe Tournament was held indoors at two facilities the Kay Yeager Coliseum and the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall (Multi-Plex Event Center (MPEC)) July 22nd - August 3rd, 2019. Official count this year for entries was nine hundred seventy-one (971) however after all the cancellations we ended up with 931 pitchers competing for cash and prizes worth over one hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars. We had four countries represented this year. They include Germany, Norway, Canada and USA.
The NHPA Council and Staff would like to thank the city of Wichita Falls for a fine job of hosting this event. We also would like to recognize organizations involved in the success of this event which included the Wichita Falls CVB, City of Wichita Falls, Spectra Venue Management, Texas Horseshoe Pitchers Association, Pinnacle Wireless, Holcim, Wichita Falls, Ballet, and Sherwin Williams. For the record, this was the first time Texas hosted this event. Special thanks to Lindsay Barker and her staff for their extreme dedication and long hours over the 2.1/2 weeks of working this event.
Congratulations to all the Division and World Champions. The NHPA Council would like to recognize and congratulate Allan Francis (OH) for winning his 24th Men's Title. The Council could not be prouder of Allan for not only his ability to pitch horseshoes but also being an outstanding role model for our sport.
At the 2019 World Tournament, we had a few individuals who volunteered to come out early and assist the host and the NHPA staff in the setup. The Council would like to recognize and thank these folks for all their hard work. Dalton Rakestraw (Director) Brian & Melanie Poole, Jim Kinney Jr, Rob & Ann Hagman and their family, Wayne Callicoatte, Coyce Allen, Chris Callahan Sr., Dale Phelps, Barb & Alex Carson, Pep Plummer, Tina Hawkins and Roger Vogel. We couldn't have done it without all your help!
The 2019 Delegate meeting was held on Sunday July 28th there are some topics I would like to outline in my President's message.
We had voted on two (2) rule proposal changes and one By-Law change. The results are outlined in this issue of Newsline.
Two position were up for election in 2019. 1st Vice President and 3rd Vice President. Brian Poole ran for 1st VP and Jerry Smith ran for 3rd VP. Both positions were unopposed.
At the 2019 Hall of Fame Banquet, four individuals were inducted into the NHPA Hall of Fame. In the Historic Era Category was Truman Standard (IL) (deceased). In the Player category was Paul Lacrosse (CO). In the Promoter/Organizer Category were Phyllis Quist (WA) and Harry Haynes (OH) (deceased). The NHPA Council would like to congratulate all the award winners on their induction.
The following NHPA Awards were presented at the 2019 Hall of Fame. The NHPA Council would like to congratulate these individuals.
Kevin Lewis (UT) - Arch Stokes Award
Casey Sluys (CA) - Presidential Award
David Sidles (NE) - Special Recognition Award
Mel Yockstick (CO) - NHPA Achievement Award
Jim Brandenburg (AR) - NHPA Achievement Award
Becky Kemper-Holmes (KY) - NHPA Achievement Award
Larry Collette, (KS) - League Director Award
One membership award was presented this year to the Charter who had the largest overall increase in membership. This year it went to the Kentucky Charter.
The Council would like to recognize that Dalton Rackstraw (our NHPA 5th VP) will be taking over the duties of the NHPA Junior Director. Our past Director Aleena Lapek announced at the W.T. that she needed to step down.
The Council would like to recognize and give a big "thank you" to everyone involved in tearing down the courts and packing the NHPA trailer after competing in the Championship round on Saturday.
The NHPA would also like to thank the NHPA Directors, RD's, NHPA W.T. staff, and all the volunteers for their many long hours of working the World Tournament over the 2 1/2 weeks. Not many people know what goes on behind the scenes, but I want to make sure their work does not go unnoticed.
Finally, I need to recognize and thank the NHPA Council, Brian Poole, Laurie Lampkin, Jerry Smith, Rob Hagman and Dalton Rakestraw for an outstanding job of running this year's World Tournament. This team displayed great teamwork working together throughout the two and half weeks.
----THANK YOU----
In conclusion, with our declining membership and Charters struggling to maintaining their Charter status, the Council is asking every one of you to do your part and sign up one new member next year. Make a vow to yourself to continue to grow our great sport. I know we can turn this trend around.
Charter leadership-The Council also needs for all of you to look at what you can do to grow this sport in your area. Feel free to call me anytime however I do need for you folks to make sure you have an "Active" Promotional Director and work with Laurie Lampkin on getting membership packages out to these new members. We can longer sit back and wait for people to come to us, each Charter needs to have a plan on reaching out to various organizations, schools, parks districts, non-sanction bar leagues, on getting the word out.
Thank You.
Stu
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2019 Rule Changes
Brian Poole,
1st vp By-laws, rules, grievance director
I would like to recap what was voted on for rule changes at the Delegate meeting in Wichita Falls, Texas.
PRC #1 was to change the Cadet age from 12-year-old to 10-year-old. This proposal did not pass
PRC #2 was to add a category for Elder Women to have the option to observe the 20 ft foul line upon reaching the age of 75. This was amended at the Delegate meeting to age 70. This proposal did not pass.
PBC #1 was to change the date for World Tournament bid submittal from March 15 to January 15 so that officers would have it before our winter meeting and have time to review all submittals and be more familiar with them before our meeting. This Proposal Passed.
PBC #2 was to change the wording for the number of members needed for a charter. The current number was 25 and the proposal was to change it to 10. This proposal passed.
That was all the new rules and By-law changes discussed at the delegate meeting in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Just a reminder to all members and charters that new rule proposals need to be submitted to me by Sept 30, 2019 for review by the Rules Committee for next year's Delegate meeting in Monroe, Louisiana.
Thanks again for all your support for me as 1st VP and being elected for the next three years. Please call or email me if you have any questions or concerns.
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From the Secretary's Desk
Jim Kinney, Secretary/Treasurer
I hope everyone's year is going great. I wanted to let everyone know about the new program we are trying to implement. It is called Eshoe. It is a program that will help charter's update and manage membership information efficiently. Starting with the 2020 membership cards we plan on using Eshoe for each charter to manage their members. You can check the program out by going to nhpa-eshoe.com on the web.
At this point we are issuing user ID's and passwords to anyone who is managing their membership, so you can become familiar with how Eshoe works to update member information. Once you have a user ID and password you will be able to add a new member, renew a player membership, edit a player's information, or delete a player from your charter. We urge everyone who manages a membership in a charter to contact me so we can get you started with Eshoe and so you can become familiar with the program before the 2020 card year. You can receive your log-in information by emailing me at sec.treas@horseshoepitching.com. If you need an immediate answer you can reach me at 816-738-0868. I will be available for any questions.
Once we have been able to update all current players we will start working on other information within the program. This is a tool that will help everyone going forward with managing and reporting the membership within each charter. I hope everyone is onboard with this new program in a short amount of time. I am looking forward to working with each and every one of you as we grow together.
I had the privilege of being the 2019 World Tournament Director in Wichita Falls, Texas. This was my first year in this position. I feel it was a great experience and I have heard nothing but positive comments from players and participants who attended the tournament.
With anything of this magnitude not everything is going to go perfect as planned. We were able to work together as a team and solve any problems before they escalated. I want to thank everyone who helped in any way during the 2019 World Tournament. This could not have been a successful tournament without each and every one of you. Pitchers, score keepers, judges, workers, coordinators, and participants. Thank you again and I hope to see you in West Monroe for the 2020 World Tournament.
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Reflections from Wichita Falls
Dalton Rakestraw, 5th VP R.D. Director
Now that world tournament has come and gone, I am glad to be back at home. I have moved back to Illinois and am going to stay here for a while. Please look for my new address and information on the website. I want to say a huge thank you to all those who helped set up and tear down. I do not want to mention names because I know I will forget someone. Thank you to everyone; from washing mats, to setting them, taping them, mixing clay, putting together pits, filling pits with clay, setting up fence, taping foul lines... EVERYTHING! It truly takes a team and I think I had the best help being my first-year in. You all are amazing. As always, if you would like to help set up in the coming years, please let me know. We need all hands-on deck in the future. Thanks to all those who helped this year! It did not go un-noticed.
If you ever wander what goes into setting it up, just come early and see for yourself. Alana Cooper, Monroe CVB, came to Wichita Falls, chalked lines, taped mats and all! So, they definitely remembered quick what it took back in 2011 and realized they would need much help! If you ever wander how things are tore down ask the Tennessee Twins, Maxine Griffith and Marlene Ray, they have stayed over the last two years after pitching, and winning awards and helped us tear down. It is much appreciated! Even Wichita Falls CVB Director, Lindsay Barker got in the tear down action late Saturday night.
Another HUGE thank you to those RDs and staff who stepped up to help in shoe check and shift directing. We had two lines at shoe check, and it seemed to go a bit faster. Also, we had two separate buildings this year and the shift directors enjoyed it and had great amounts of successful feedback. Thank you to ALL who stepped up this year. It was GREATLY appreciated.
A poll was conducted on the NHPA Official Facebook page to see if the membership would be interested in seeing a new patch for the tournament winners. A staggering over 65% said yes, a new patch would be interesting. The NHPA has re-ordered the same patch for the last 30+ years and I addressed the council to see if we would like to see something new and fresh as opposed to the same thing every year. So, look for the new design to be posted on the Facebook page, and I hope you can be a winner in 2020, and receive one of these patches. Patches are ordered mid-September every year, and they are shipped by the end of September and to the according VP house by then. The VP should count them to ensure accuracy of the order and then wait for additional patches if any are missed. Then orders start going out mid-late October in time for the RDs to send to TDs by some charters first week of January tournaments.
I do not have much more to say for this issue of Newsline. I wish to thank all of my RDs for stepping up this year and helping me through it. It was smooth, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I look forward to the next two years and seeing about bringing new ideas and change. I did want to mention that Ethan Glass, Ellyn Ohms, and Quinn Ohms, from Southern Utah, have brought this new concept of clapping and cheering when someone pitches. It is really neat, and I enjoy it. Hey, Seth Ohms and those cheering even organized a Gatorade splash after Ethan pitched his last game one evening. It was super awesome! Kuddos to those Juniors and Seth for making that such a joy to watch! Maybe something new to start?
Signing off for now, I leave you all with this thought, they say "wisdom is meant to be shared," so what is the wisest thing you have ever heard someone say?
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Minutes: Officers & RD Meeting
submitted by Phyllis Quist
The meeting was called to order by Dalton Rakestraw at 2:10 p.m. 23 states were represented by an officer or RD.
Dalton started the meeting addressing the RD's. There are 6 new RD's this year and 12 have resigned and will need to be replaced next year. Possibly charters could combine under one RD.
Court sanctioning was discussed. The grandfather clause was brought up. Right now, in order to host State tournaments, courts must be fully sanctioned. Very few have full sanctions. Many parks will not allow upgrades, some parks require city permits and a contractor to do any work. Most courts have been in for many years and it's not feasible to upgrade. If one court is bad it can be covered or removed, and all other courts could still be fully sanctioned.
It was brought up that some RD's and officers have refused to sanction a tournament in their area. The parties involved can appeal to the NHPA and they will make a final decision. Any club wanting to hold tournaments should never be denied.
Dalton has patches for RD's, Pres., Sec., and Assist RD's.
Laurie Lampkin talked about the banner program. You can still order additional banners for $16.00 with any info you request. Let Laurie know. She reported that in 2018 there were 384 new members in 14 states. She has the new membership bags and just needs to be notified. They need 2 tournaments to be eligible - one tournament and one sanctioned league will count.
Wayne Callicoatte asked that all check the stats carefully.
Casey Sluys asked for continued support for the NHPF.
Rob Hagman will be talking to the State secretaries individually on the new H.S. Master updated program.
Ideas for promotion: MN is waiving state dues for 1 year, but they need to buy their NHPA card; $20. If you bring in someone twice; Utah has 5 high schools involved - kids keep their own scores; Texas has a high school championship; LA has a league for kids and Barry Webster from Neb. is a new director and is sanctioning leagues for diabetes.
Jerry Smith reported on Sanctioned Leagues. October is the tournament in Wentzville. Jr's need a 3. Average to earn a scholarship. The form to apply is on line. Last year there were 291 leagues. In 2017 there were 5291 who pitched in leagues, 2018 saw 4571 in leagues. He has a $13,000 budget for awards.
Rob Hagman talked briefly about the 3-year program of the new H.S. Master.
Meeting was adjourned at 3:25 p.m.
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World Records
Mel Yockstick, The Statman
The 2019 NHPA World Tournament held in Wichita Falls, TX was a hotly contested event
with 971 pitchers participating. (See my car outside temperature gage). I want to say "thanks" to all the World tournament participants, leaders and workers for making this a real Texas (Bigger and better in Texas) event. Texas players (153) cashed in on 23 of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, place wins. Colorado (53 players) came in second with 20 and Missouri (68 players) came in 3rd. with 16 wins. Some interest facts: The Men's Championship finals had 2 previous Boy's World Champions seeded in their class. The Women's Championship finals had 5 previous Girls World Champions seeded in their class.
Inside the Air-conditioned arena pitchers threw a cool fourteen 90% games. Five players tossed their first 90% game. Penny Steinke from Wisconsin had 1 missed ringer game (23-24 95.83%). Way to go! Those 90% patches will be handed out at the 2020 world Tournament.
Five players received participation patches for pitching in world tournaments: Dale Stephenson (IN), Jennifer Reno (OH) and Donald Parkes (VA) received their 20-year patches. Ken Schaver (IL) and Jim Quits (WA) both received their 30-year patch.
Three players received their 90% patches for pitching in the 2018 world tournament:
Tyler Howard-NY (90.63%), Theresa Howe-MA (90.63%) and Dayton Campbell-VA (91.67%)
Two players received Perfect Game patches:
(1). Derek Reynolds (AR), pitched 14 ringers out 14 shoes at the 2018 Arkansas State Tournament.
(2). Jim Ellison (AL) pitched 20 ringers out of 20 shoes at the 2018 Alabama State Tournament.
The 2019 NHPA Hall of Fame and Awards banquet was a highlight for me. I had the honor of presenting Paul
Lacrosse, from Colorado, the NHPA Hall Of Fame Player-Pitching Excellent award.
After careful thought, I have decided to resign as the NHPA World Statistician. My health and other commitments make it impossible for me to keep up with the work load. I am glad I was able to bring NHPA World pitching Records to the NHPA internet website. My biggest accomplishment is that I have realized my goal of compiling horseshoe history from 1909 to current date for the NHPA website. The last ten years demonstrated to me that gathering pitching records was challenging and yet rewarding. I will continue to track the State Champions results and help out with the Hall of Fame website.
Stan Griggs has accepted the position of NHPA Statistician going forward in 2020. As the Missouri State statistician, he has the back ground to fulfill the job.
Be sure to review the NHPA website to view "2019 World Tournament Stats" coming soon.
Congratulation to all open class and championship winners!
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Van Sant Memorial Award
submitted by Dalton Rakestraw
Debby Michaud started pitching in 1970. She was named to Massachusetts Horseshoe Pitching Association Executive Board in the early 70s as Women's Representative then club representative progressing to State Secretary, including newsletter editor and then State President. All in Massachusetts. Debby is currently serving as State Secretary for the second duration and she continues to be the newsletter editor. Debby has also served as New England Horseshoe Pitching Association Secretary. Debby was the first woman named to the Massachusetts State Horseshoe Pitching Hall of Fame in 1978. She was won multiple state championships. Debby was the first woman named to the New England Horseshoe Pitchers Hall of Fame in 1987, having won the New England Championships 14 times! Debby has even won the Women's World Championship title in 1977 and again in 1985. Deb was inducted into the NHPA Hall of Fame in 1990. She has pitched in a total of 36 World Tournaments. In those world tournaments she has pitched a total of 33,320 shoes and pitched 22,255 ringers! Overall average of 66.79%! A true horseshoe pitching advocate.
In The early 1980s, Debby was a co-founder of the Women's Professional Horseshoe Pitching Association. This was incorporated for the purpose of advancing women's rights in the sport of horseshoes. Deb directed a few "women-only" cash prizes horseshoe tournaments. She had speakers at the NHPA convention, them with her, she continually fought on many fronts for changes and equality for women in the sport of horseshoes. This group is now inactive after measurable progress.
In 1984, Deb began the Raynham Horseshoe League, sanctioned in 1985, still active today in a new area with 16 horseshoe courts. Now named Loon Pond Horseshoe Club. She has served and currently serves in many capacities for this league.
She has served as assistant regional director first, under George St. Pierre and the Leo Michaud, from late 1990s-2012. Debby is currently the New England Regional Director covering six states; Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. She has done all this since 2012, however she does have an assistant in Maine. Debby served in my position as NHPA 5th Vice President from 2010-2013. She enjoys MOST the interaction with clubs and formerly with RD's from all over the country. She appreciates all the RD's hard work and dedication to the sport of horseshoe pitching.
I chose Debby because she has done this job for over 23 years. I have appreciated her hard work. She has done this job, 5th VP of NHPA, in the past, and I have called on Debby many times on help with patches, court sanctions, or just general questions I have had. Unfortunately, Debby is unable to be with us tonight, however she would like Teresa Howe, Massachusetts State President to accept this award on her behalf.
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NHPF: Charter Challenge Results
Casey Sluys, NHPF President
What a fantastic response we received from the charter challenge. We had an abundance of unique gifts that were either handmade or specific to a certain charter. We mentioned that the charter bringing in the most dollars from either the auction and/or the silent auction would win an engraved brick. Well if you can believe it the winner was Norway! Inge Byrkjeland brought a number of smaller items that brought in a total of $335.00. Nebraska was 2nd with $275, 3rd was Missouri with $248, 4th Minnesota $234, 5th California with $181, 6th Colorado with $171, 7th Oklahoma $155, 8th Kentucky $135 and 9th was Canada with $100. The remaining charters, that donated items, totaled to $405.00. All in all, a very nice success story and a huge thank you goes out to the many fine artisans we have in our group. Inge's items ranged from Norwegian horseshoe club hats, shirts, a pair of Norwegian horseshoes, 4 homemade puzzles etc. Very innovative and unique gifts of course being from Norway they were sought after items and the bidding was heavy. The total income for the 9 days we were open was $6,601, $2277 of that was from the 50/50 raffle, the remaining amount was from cash donations, sales of items, brick orders, HoF auction and the silent auction items. We appreciate everyone's participation with the NHPF annual fundraiser and remind all of you to visit our website at https://nhpf.info and simple scroll a third of the way down the page to use our convenient "DONATE" button.
We may try something different next year...stay tuned for details. By popular demand though we may bring back the money raffle at the banquet. The banquet is generally set up with round table of 8-10 people. Each table receives a number and is asked to donate ANY sum the participants at the table agree to. One of your NHPF directors or their assistant will collect the money, count it, divide in half and draw a number out of a hat for the winning table. That table will receive 50% of the money collected to be split among those who participated in it. Generally, we have collected in the neighborhood of $700.00, that means the winning table will receive $350.00 to split with the participants. If this is something that interests you, we can use some help please contact Phyllis Quist at phylquist@openaccess.org.
We also need to remind everyone that with the shopping season nearing for us all that AmazonSmile is available to anyone that uses Amazon.com to shop. To date we have received $530.20 from this partnership with Amazon. All you have to do is go to http://smile.amazon.com/ch/62-1671910 and shop Amazon in the normal way. When you are finished, .5% of your total will be donated to the NHPF. The number 62-1671910 ties the purchase to the NHPF. Initially this began slowly, but I have convinced relatives and friends that this is a worthy charity and it costs you nothing to participate. Please tell your business associates about AmazonSmile and our charitable cause. Please try it and if you have any questions of concerns let me know at kcslus@sbcglobal.net
If you'd like to take a turn at becoming a director for the NHPF let me know please at the email above. I'd be happy to speak to you to answer any questions you have. Thank you all for your continued contributions we look forward to remaining on solid financial footing, thank you for your generosity.
Special Thanks to Our Donors
We express our sincere thanks to the following who have donated as reported in
the SEP/OCT 2019 issue of Newsline.
Donating $10-$99
Goldendale Horseshoe Club, WI
Charles Bunner, WV
Anonymous
Donating $100-$300
Sodbusters Horseshoe Pitching Club, VT
Bayou Horseshoe Pitchers Assn, LA
Vermont Horseshoe Pitchers Assn, VT
Donating $500-$1000
Emerald (Eugene) Horseshoe Club, OR
Bricks Purchased By
Jon Martin, WA
Lions Park Horseshoe Club, MO (2)
Do Drop Inn Horseshoe Club, IL
Phil DiBlasi, FL
Arie Schaly, Ontario Canada
Other Income
Gold Country HC, CA $500.00
Grant Repayment
World Tournament Report
Sale Items $1514.00
50/50 $2270.00
Quilt Raffle $240.00
Grant Payment $ 100.00
Brick Orders $240.00
Silent Auction $ 965.00
HOF Auction $971.00
Cash Donations $ 140.00
Total $6601.00
Less Expenses $76.00
Uncollected Items $120.00
(Silent Auction)
Total Deposited $6405.0
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