Minutes of the 2018 Summit Meeting

Forest Lake  VFW  3/24/18

 

       Officers / Directors in attendance: Rick Wright, Jerry LaBrosse, Gordy Schmidt, Josh Olson, Janet Larson, Joe Mueller, April Lynch, Ann Hagman, Marlys Timm.    Robin Constance was unable to attend.

 

A nice folder was assembled for all Clubs containing:

 MN Bylaws, Media Suggestions, 2018 MGSHPA Tournament schedule, Junior promotional materials, all MGSHPA forms, RGS book, NHPA Bylaws, NHPA Redbook (sanction leagues). Thank you Ann Hagman for making up the folders.

 

President Rick Wright spoke first: He started with a statement that all Club leaders need to show initiative in finding new membership.

He declared the new slogan for 2018..."Time To Give A Damn"

Rick stated that Ann has updated the club contact list.  It will be posted on the state website. He asked that all clubs review the list and notify Ann of any changes.

 

Rick then stressed the importance of attracting new members to your club, and also got the group discussing how to retain the members we have.

 

Rick took a moment to announce that Jerry LaBrosse is being inducted into the NHPA  Hall of Fame at the World Tournament in Florence , SC. He has done a lot for horseshoes at the state and national level.

 

Ann Hagman  reported that our state funds are currently at just under $13K.  Ann requested that all new members be submitted to her on the state membership form, and also any renewing members that have changed info. Directors were reminded that for each League member the league secretary should send in $1, this money goes towards junior activity fees. For each open tournament, $1 should be sent to Ann for the state tourney prize fund.  She stated that all clubs send in their spring rosters and dues within two weeks after your league play begins. New members can be easily added when they sign up. Ann will return the cards to the league secretary along with a member list for review/confirmation that renewals were completed correctly.

 

Rob Hagman attended. He is currently the 4^th VP for the NHPA. He explained that the NHPA is also brainstorming on ways to get, and keep, people interested in HS pitching. Rob explained that the NHPA website is currently being re-written, not only to update it, but also to appeal to a non-HS pitcher.

Another current project is new banners for clubs in every charter. These are for clubs to display at their courts. There was good group discussion, and Rob will bring questions and feedback to Laurie Lampkin, NHPA promotions director.

 

 

        Marlys Timm  reviewed the print out from the folder with news media and promotion suggestions. She started a lively discussion that brought out several suggestions and ideas.

 

         April Lynch reviewed the 2 print outs about why play HS and how to attract kids.  She stated that it is a constant and ever changing challenge to attract new people. She feels very passionately that kids are a key to growth. Getting kids involved will, by extension, also involve their parents and make this a family event.  April wants it known, if anyone wants her assistance, she is willing to help out with anything to get kids involved, "I am really invested in this. I can look around the room and see a lot of people I have known since I was a young kid, and I want to get that for other kids." April announced that she and Rick are planning a new tournament called  Generation Doubles. An adult  would partner with a junior. Details forthcoming.

 

Joe Mueller, Nominations Director

            Joe reviewed the list of nomination deadlines handed out in the club folders, and discussed each one. He stated that all forms are available on the state website.

 

Door Prizes

$100 prize = Dick Dvorak

WT entry = Tom Prokop

State entry=John VanRyswyk

 

Josh Olson announced that he has assumed the responsibility as the new state Webmaster.  A lively chat ensued, and  Josh agreed to add a last updated date to the club contacts list. Question: are we going to add non-sanctioned club information on the website? The premise here is to promote HS as a whole, not just sanctioned. Josh said he could do this, details forthcoming. Two clubs asked about websites, Josh suggested making a facebook page. Using Facebook Live, you can post updates with videos. Tournament results are often posted on the MGSHPA facebook page.

Josh then discussed the procedure for submitting tournament and league results. All tournament results get sent to Josh Olson, all league results get sent to Jerry Smith, NHPA Sanctioned League Director. Problems with reporting can be avoided by using HSMaster. If you would like help, there is a website www.HSMaster.info.

 

Gordy Schmidt told a story about retaining juniors in the sport. His story was about his kids and how he got them interested in pitching when they became adults, he made it a family sport.

He stated that the current Bylaws file on the website is from 2016, and that he will get the correct file to Josh. He reviewed the simple rules that state Constitution and Bylaw change proposals need 30 days  advanced public notice, and vote by membership. Guidelines can be changed by officers.

 

Jerry LaBrosse asked if everyone was receiving the  Ringers Digest and Newsline, and that anyone can sign up online.

 He said that the Digest goes out the 1^st of the month of the issue, and that the deadline for submitting materials is two weeks prior. Things to submit: Any spring meeting notices, club/league stories, send pictures with the story, player profiles (pick a newer member, say something about them). Jerry initiated a discussion about tournament procedures and reporting.

He stated that 2019 is a court sanctioning year. One of the proposed rules is to remove the requirement that a sanctioned tournament needs to be held on sanctioned courts. Jerry stated that any court problems will be resolved on an individual basis.

He gave a recap of the 2018 World Tournament in Florence , SC.

 Elections: President and 5^th VP positions are up for vote. President candidates: Stu Sipma, Roger Vogel and Dalton Rakestraw.  The only declared candidate for 5^th VP is Coyce Allen , TX ,  the incumbent.

There will be 9 Rules changes to be voted on at the annual convention. These proposals are posted on the NHPA website for review, and will be shared with our MN membership soon in a special Eblast for review and discussion.

 Jerry ended his presentation by stressing the 2018 slogan

"Time To Give A Damn".

 

Janet Larson, North VP, started by jokingly sharing the following quip,

I found out, I am not as famous as I think I am, being 6 time state champ. I joined the Upsala League this year. 5 of the players had no clue who I was, it's good to branch out and try new places and get to know new people. I have 2 clubs that do not have e-mail access. I will work on that.

 

Rick closed by announcing his new tournament called the Minnesota Mixer . He explained it will be a doubles event and that each team will consist of a current member and a non member, to make him/her a new member. He will then offer to have them play in the Bud Nelson Open the following day.  The details are still being fine tuned, so watch for special announcements. Variations of this idea have been used around the country with varying degrees of success. He said again that it is time for all of us to "give a damn" to grow our membership.

 

Meeting adjourned 2:30 pm

Thank you to Ann Hagman for taking the meeting notes

 

 

North VP     

Janet Larson

    I would like to thank all the clubs that took the time to participate in the summit meeting, we had a great turnout. I hope you were able to take home something positive from the meeting. If there was anything you wish we would have covered that we did not, please let us know so that we can get that information to you in the future.
     I have attempted to reach all of the leagues that are north of I94 via email. If you did not receive that email, please check your spam. If it is not there, please contact me with an email that might work better. I did not have a working email for the Morrison, Upsala or Wright clubs, so again if you could please give me an email contact I would greatly appreciate it. I want to be your first contact person if you are having any issues that need to be addressed or questions about anything. If I cannot answer your question, hopefully I will be able to get you in touch with someone who can.
     Besides having an email contact for each club, I would love it if each league would appoint a media person who would be willing to submit articles for the Ringer Digest. Please let me know who this person is for your league. It will be great to hear what is happening in your leagues. I hope you are all getting in gear for your summer pitching season and I want to wish you all the best of luck in your games. Hopefully I will get a chance to see many of you on a court somewhere throughout the summer.
Janet Larson

From the Nominations  Director

By Joe Mueller

    Here are the MGSHPA nomination deadlines:

Hall of Fame - May 1st

Junior Honor Roll - May 1st

MGSHPA Scholarship - June 15th

Edi Holland Sportsmanship Award - August 1st

Rookie of the Year - August 1st

        Click here for printable nomination forms          Forms

Please submit all nomination forms to me at       [email protected] 

April Lynch

Even though most Americans have pitched horseshoes at some point in their life, most kids (and parents) are surprised to learn that Horseshoes is also an organized sport.  Once they do, they are pleased to also learn it is one of the most affordable, fun, simple yet challenging, healthful, and engaging lifelong competitive sports.  Your key to attracting youth is taking the most productive steps to access potential participants and their parents, and then sharing how they can benefit from participating in a youth league or tournament.

1- Family.  The quickest and simplest place to find kids is among current horseshoe pitcher families.  Not only is Horseshoes a lifelong sport, it is also a family sport and promotes higher levels of family satisfaction.  If there is a horseshoe pitching organization in your area, the kids and grand-kids of that group should be your first target.  They are already familiar, if not experienced with the sport.  Give youth league information fliers/registration forms to the adults to take home to their kids and to share with others they may come in contact with.

2- Friends.  If there are already some youth in your area pitching horseshoes, give them youth league invitations to share with their friends.  As a highly social sport kids will have more fun and fulfillment if some of their friends are also participating.  Be sure the kids share a social media announcement about the league with their friends online.

3- Schools.  Ask your local schools if the youth league can be added to a send-home flier about sport activities in your area.  You may be able to provide a full flier to the school that can be sent home with kids as well.  Many high schools can use Horseshoes as part of their "Lifetime" sports curriculum.  Provide teachers of this class with promotional information about your youth league to pass out to their students (you may be allowed to personally present  to the class).  If there is a home school group in your area, you may find that they are very interested and supportive.

4- Community.  Most cities and towns have bulletin boards, social media pages, mailing and/or email lists, with the purpose of providing notice to community members about community events.  They should be very accommodating in publicizing your youth league.  Additionally, some communities provide after school and 4-H clubs and for youth and are regularly looking for opportunities for their participants.

5- Churches.  Some church groups are already pitching horseshoes, many others are always on the lookout for wholesome activities for their youth.  Ask the church leadership if they would allow you to tell their youth about your league, and/or provide informational fliers.

6- Doctors.  Because horseshoes provides safe, moderate, non-impact exercise it is perfect for kids who may have become sedentary who need to put down the video games, get off the couch, and start getting more active.  Family Doctors and Pediatricians who understand the immense benefit organized horseshoes can provide will be very supportive and can recommend joining a youth horseshoe league to their patients as a means to improve health.  They may also allow you to leave fliers or a poster at their office (don't forget to ask of sponsorships ).

7- Businesses.  Some business have public bulletin boards where you can post a flier about your league, or they may allow you to leave a stack of fliers at a checkout counter or other heavy traffic areas in their business (don't forget to ask of sponsorships).

8- Online.  You can create an online presence to attract potential participants.  Social media outlets such as Facebook may help spread the word about your league over the internet. A website or page that provides general information including registration is highly recommended.