IUSBC BA COUNCIL OF DELEGATES MEETING AND SUNDAY WORKSHOP
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17-18, 2009 – HOLIDAY INN CITY CENTER – PEORIA, IL
President Jim Vonderheide called the meeting to order at 10:50 am, with a welcome. Each person was asked to sign the check in sheet.
Each person was asked to stand and introduce themselves, and their association title.
President Vonderheide introduced our guests, the IWUSBC BA leaders, President Madeline Dotta, 2nd Vice President Melinda Calvert. 3rd Vice President Betty McCann and USBC President Elect Darlene Baker.
A motion was made by Dona Reinink to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the 2008 annual meeting as they had been printed in the annual report. Second made by Roger McDaniel. Motion passed.
FINANCIAL REPORT presented by Association Manager, Wm. G. Chestnut. Each person was given a copy of the financial report/budget. Our starting balance for 2008-2009 was $130,860. He highlighted the major items of our regular transactions, i.e., IUSBC BA President and the immediate Past Presidents expenses attending local association Hall of Fame events totaling $2,387; Association Manager Salary/Expenses of $17,000; Board expenses $5,700.00; Committee meetings/mileage allowance $3,794; Hall of Fame dinner $5,275; watches $280; Hall of Fame dinner subsidy to the local association $2,368; board breakfast $1,311; telephone, internet-web $2,209; supplies, equipment and toner costs of $1,882. We received $2,727 in interest. We again had our big problem, having to write off tournament checks, depriving bowlers of prize money because their checks were not given them by their team captains, in the amount of $3,260. We have done about everything to get the checks to the winners, including listing the checks on our web site. Our interest for the season was $2,465. These figures do not include our tournament operations, which most of the funds received are paid out in prize money, including a gift of appreciation to our tournament bowlers, scorers fees, etc. When all is said and done, we ended the season with a balance of $139,553. The bank statement and our records show a difference of two cents.
Gene Rogers presented the finance committee’s report, stating that the committee examined the financial records of the IUSBC BA for the season, and found them to be in almost agreement with the bank statement dated July 31, 2009. A large discrepancy was found, the association books have exactly two cents more in their account than the bank. Rather than call in the auditors and FBI, the committee recommended that the association financial records be adjusted to reflect the two cents. Motion to adopt the financial reports made by John Cruz, second by Terry Arient. Motion carried.
REPORT OF OFFICERS:
President Jim Vonderheide said that his year as President has been very busy; attended 11 Hall of Fame ceremonies, i.e., Aurora, DeKalb Area, Champaign Area, Grater Carlyle, Freeport, Rochelle, Peoria, Chicagoland, McHenry County, Princeton and Sterling-Rock Falls. Attended the IWUSBC BA annual meeting and Hall of Fame banquet at Quincy. Thanked Jerry Ulrich for attending the opening ceremonies of the IWUSBC BA state tournament. Also attended the USBC Town Hall meeting in Rosemont on March 1, and the IBA-IWUSBC BA summer workshop in Waukegan on June 27. Enjoyed the District 3 Mike Plotner Memorial Golf Outing in July and their bowling outing in September. Was at all IUSBC BA committee meetings, and all totaled, Debbie and I drove about 2,900 miles. Jim concluded by thanking all of the officers, directors, association manager and active volunteers for their hard work and support. It has been an honor and pleasure to serve.
Vice President Don Spotanski reported that this was his first year as a vice president and it has been a pleasure serving. He said he attended the Hall of Fame dinner of the DeKalb association, attended the IUSBC committee meetings, including the tournament and nominating meetings in Pontiac. Don concluded by saying that he was looking forward to trying to attend other Hall of Fame banquets this coming year, as time allows
Vice President Jim Zimmerman reported his attendance at many committee meetings as assigned, chaired the ILUSBC BA Hall of Fame dinner. Also, represented the IUSBC BA at any and all functions to which he was invited or knew about. Served as the MC for McHenry Hall of Fame, and bowled in the USBC Open Championship in Las Vegas, and there, had a 278 game, when usually that is his series. Received a plaque for 36 years of tournament participation. Jim said he is available to any Association, for their needs.
Association Manager Wm. G. Chestnut commented on the passing of a good friend and a vice president of the IUSBC BA, Roger Stewart. He then thanked those for their attendance, which is appreciated, but would continue the hope that we get some “new faces” for our events. Gave thanks to the Greater Peoria USBC BA for hosting this event, and their board members and wives. He gave particular thanks to their Association Manager, Ann Ogden and President Steve Hartseil. He remarked that we have our sites set for 2010 and 2011, but we are actively seeking sites beyond those years. If any associations are interested, visit our web site, where there is a section entitled “want to host the Hall of Fame”, it will give you guidelines. He said he had one major gripe, the failure of our own board and local association leaders to respond to e-mails sent them. Asked for in-put from those in attendance regarding our web site, if they had ideas for improvement or complaints, if any, let them be known. Talked about problems with the IRS, which could happen to any association, as their rules are complex, and they pick and choose associations to check, so any of us could be next. Also, remarked that the IRS is looking at associations more than ever before, especially as to the reserves of an association. The IRS feels that the reserves should be about two to two and one half times the association’s operating costs. Finally, the IRS
is starting to clamp down on reporting of prize winnings of $600, which requires the association to file the 1099 form. He again thanked all for their attendance.
President Jim Vonderheide called upon IWUSBC BA President, Madeline Dotta, for any remarks that she would like to make. She will make her comments tomorrow morning.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Vice President Jim Zimmerman gave the Hall of Fame committee report, saying that the committee met on March 7 in Pontiac to select the inductees for this evening’s ceremony. Jim said that there were 17 candidates for consideration. The committee elected David Armstrong, Mike Brooks, Thomas Crim, Jim Gochis and Earl Wirz. He thanked his committee for a fine job and the Greater Peoria USBC BA for handling the details of the weekend. He urged all in attendance to look at their area bowlers, and if they have any deserving, submit their resumes’. Applications and requirements are on the IBAbowl.com web site. Jim took a moment to comment on some potential Hall of Fame candidates, which would require follow up by their associations, such as Roger Stewart of Chicagoland BA, Donna Reinink of Suburban Windy City, and while they are not residents of Illinois, Bill and Lisa Vint of the Windy City Bowling News, as they give press to the bowlers of Illinois. The committee will next meet on March 6, 2010.
Director Dee Shonkwiler chaired the Legislative session. He said that there were three changes to our by-laws that are mandatory, with no vote required, by direction of the delegates action at the USBC National Convention. They were to remove language pertaining to performance standards and stated requirements as set forth in the USBC Association Policy Manual; eliminate the need to apply for renewal of its charter every five years; and ensuring adherence to all USBC Performance Standards. Dee then said delegates action is required to approve the following, regarding our “terms” for President and Vice President. He asked that language pertaining to a stagger system, was needed the first year under USBC change-over from ABC, be eliminated. Also, change the current language to provide that the term for the President is one (1) year. The number of terms allowed two (2). The term for a Vice President would be two (2) years, with the number of terms allowed four (4). The rationale for this change is that the President currently can have two terms, and up until now, our presidents have chosen to remain in this position for one year, but our current President had asked for another term, and the vice presidents agreed. Thus, with a president taking two terms, it places the current vice presidents in harm of serving long enough to later become President. Motion by Dona Reinink, second John Cruz to accept changes. Carried.
Steve Osenga, chairman of the Senior Committee reported that the 2008 State Seniors tournament had 701 bowlers, with several honor scores bowled. This year, we only have about 600 bowlers. We will be bowling at Bertrand Lanes in Waukegan. For the 2010 tournament, it will be held at Spare Time Lanes in Decatur. At the USBC National Senior tournament, our own Libby Hall finished in the top ten in the “C” class, and Tom Overby was fifth in the Super Senior division. We still need some help in getting bowling centers to submit bids for our upcoming tournaments.
The Tournament Committee report was presented by Wm. G. Chestnut. He said that the 2009 North Sectional was held at Woodview Lanes in Elgin, and the South Sectional, Camelot Bowl in Collinsville. We projected an entry of 900 teams, but ended with 763 teams. Losses a result of the economy. The tournament is our only source of revenue, outside of interest. We anticipated a profit of $53,000, and ended up with $44,000, enough to cover one year of our basic operating expenses. The 2010 sectionals will be held at Four Seasons in Freeport for the North Sectional, and Northgate Family Recreation in Galesburg for the South Sectional. We currently have 304 teams signed up for the North and 481 for the South. We need your help in getting entries for your tournament. The committee met on September 12 to select the sites for the 2011 and 2012 tournaments. In 2011, the North sectional will be Parkside Lanes in Aurora, and Sunset Lanes in Pekin for the South. For 2012 it will be Town & Country Bowl in Rock Island for the North and Spare Time Lanes, Decatur, for the South. Entry blanks will be mailed the first part of November. Could not conclude my report without mentioning the hard work that Dona Reinink does for us, especially me, in handling the harder chores of our tournament operations. Our committee members, Dona Reinink, Steve McIlvanie, Steve Osenga, Gene Rogers, Jerry Ulrich.
Motion to accept committee reports by Terry Arient, second Jim Bauser. Motion carried.
Motion made by John Duncan, second by Larry Tinsley, to adopt the reports. Carried.
The nominating committee chairman, Jerry Ulrich, presented his report, which
echoed their recommendations made at their September 12, 2009 meeting. He said
that applications for consideration were made known to all, including
publication on our web site. There were three applications, received to be a
director, from outside the current board of directors, David Cruz, Steve
Hartseil and Henry Vaughn. He then stated that the first order of business was
to decide who the IUSBC BA delegate would be for the 2010 USBC National
Convention. There were two bids, John Duncan and Wm. G. Chestnut. Since Wm. G.
had a proposed amendment, the committee made a motion, and accepted, to send Wm.
G. The current Association Manager’s term expires October 31, 2009, and Wm. G.
expressed a desire for another three (3) year term. The committee felt it was
the best for our Association to honor this request, plus no one else had
expressed interest, so he was selected. Note: your board of directors voted to
accept Wm. G. for a three year term at their board of directors meeting this
morning. The following actions were voted on, and presented by the nominating
committee, and earlier accepted by the IUSBC BA board of directors. The
following Active Volunteers requested another one year term: Gene Bowker, Fran
Coan, Mike Collins, Herb Doering, Carl Gustafson, Jim Hamen, Maurice Smith,
Larry Tinsley and Jerry Ulrich. President Jim Vonderheide stated that he would
like to serve another term as president, as no one else expressed an interest in
moving up this year, he was selected for another one (1) year term. Jerry said
that this was the reason for our earlier legislative action, to allow this
action for our vice president terms. On the issue of Vice President, we thought
we had no need for a change here. But, with the passing of our good friend
Roger Stewart, we had a need for someone to finish this term of office. Two
board members had expressed interest, Dee Shonkwiler and John Duncan. John
Duncan was elected to fill the remaining one year term. Directors elected:
District One – Don Evans, Tom Sieffert and Mike Thompson. Direct Two: Terry
Arient and Roger McDaniel. District Three: John Cruz, Harriet Day and Steve
McIlvanie. District Four: Bill Horn and Phil Sturgeon. Note: John Duncan was
listed, but with his elevation to Vice President, his issue was moot. District
Five: Dennis Leapley and Steve Hartseil. Former director for this district Dick
Martin, sent word to the committee that he was now living primarily in Florida,
and asked not to be considered. Jerry read a short bio about Dennis and Steve.
District Six: Darrell Rinderer. District Seven: Henry Vaughn. The current
director, Ron Adcock, was acceptable to becoming an Active Volunteer, so that
Henry could become the new director. Note: Ron Adcock will now be listed as an
Active Volunteer. Jerry thanked his committee and the IUSBC BA board for
accepting their recommendations and actions.
A call was made for any old business, with none presented.
A call made for new business. Receiving none from the audience, Wm. G. Chestnut reported some new business: The schedule for next year’s meetings will be adjusted. The board of director’s breakfast will start at 8:00 am, rather than 7:45 am. In line with this, those in the audience were asked if they would like for us to extend this breakfast to include them, with their paying for their own breakfast, since many of you arrive on Friday evening. But, this would be if the hotel would be able to accommodate a larger group for breakfast. There was a clear indication of support for this.
The IUSBC BA board of directors meeting would be 9:10 am to 10:00; the Council of Delegates meeting to start at 10:15 am. Bowling at 1:00 pm. Again asked the board and local associations to respond quickly to his e-mails. The issue of our own board members, and some from the local associations, making dinner or bowling reservations and then not cancelling them in a timely manner, makes a needless cost for both of us. The board and delegates strongly supported an action that when a commitment and payment for dinner or bowling is made, there will be no refunds if the cancellation is not made known to the IUSBC BA association manager or host Local association’s manager by Noon on the Thursday before the Saturday events, (unless mitigating circumstances prevail). Note: All agreed this starts with this week’s events, and for the future.
Motion for adjournment by John Koziol, second by Harld Rutz. Carried.
Side-notes: There were 95 persons at the Council of Delegates meeting, and 94 at the Sunday workshop. There were 26 associations represented, including associations of our IUSBC BA board members, who do not count in the awarding of a free five person team entry for associations having their people attend the council of delegates meeting and Sunday workshop. Unfortunately, only 17 of the 26 met this requirement, thus the following associations have a free entry: Greater Aurora, Lake County, Greater Peoria, Mt. Vernon, Rock Island-Milan, Sterling-Rock Falls, Greater Springfield, Tri-County Illinois, Riverbend, McHenry County, DeKalb, Suburban Windy City, Decatur, West Frankfort, Joliet Area, Greater Carlyle and Kankakee. (Champaign and Bloomington Associations had delegates attend the Saturday session, but not Sunday).
Jim Zimmerman served as the master of ceremonies for the Hall of Fame ceremony, attendance was 220 for the dinner, including these 24 Hall of Fame members: Sam Pica, Jack Parriott, Bud Lawyer, Roy Barnwell, Wm. G. Chestnut, Herb Doering, Peter Gurskis, Paul Egbers, Mike Myslinski, John Brown, Fran Coan, Frank Clay, Robert Rowland, Dennis Campbell, Gary Palas, Jim Zimmerman, Thomas Kouros, Larry Tinsley, Allan Markle, Pat Cornell, Ron Adcock, Rich Moores, Tom Adcock and Mike Collins.
The bowling tournament had 68 entries, with Pete Gurskis the scratch winner with 778, and Ray Ogden, the handicap winner with 780. The Greater Peoria USBC BA provided the championship plaques. Pete Gurskis and Ray Ogden each had 299 games.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2009 WORKSHOP
The workshop started at 9:00 am, with
each signing a check-in sheet.
President Jim Vonderheide opened the session with a few remarks, then asked our vice presidents, Don Spotanski and Jim Zimmerman for comments they wished to make. Don again thanked the members for attending and asked that they join in on the discussions. Jim Zimmerman re-iterated the importance of getting resumes’ from local associations for consideration for the state bowling Hall of Fame. He also asked for their in-put.
President Vonderheide called on Darlene Baker, President-Elect of the USBC. She will be the first female President of the USBC. Mrs. Baker thanked the board for the invitation and said she had a few items she wished to share with the audience. She said that the USBC is constantly working to improve all facets of the operations, especially working with the local associations and bowlers, especially in the way of communications. It was acknowledged that some recent changes could be considered as bad, due to not being tested fully before being put out to the field. USBC is striving to reduce expenses, hopefully with the intent to not press for a dues increase. Spoke of the possibility of having about five Regional Managers, something akin to our previous Field Representatives, to serve associations thru out the country. They would be based in Arlington, TX. She will be responding or joining in on some of the topics, as needed.
President Vonderheide called on IWUSBC BA President Madeline Dotta. Madeline
started her opening remarks with a cute story. Madeline then proceeded to
highlight the success of her organization and ours, in our first joint workshop,
attended by 68, held June 27, in Waukegan. She gave a brief outline of the
program, and the co-operation of our two associations in sharing the workload.
She said she looked forward to our next workshop, which everyone is invited to
attend, at Rock Island, on Saturday, June 26, 2010. The 2011 workshop will be
held June 25, in Joliet. Details will be published on the IWBAUSBC BA and IUSBC
BA web sites, later this year.
The workshop was then turned over to Association Manager, Wm. G. Chestnut. He stated that there would be no questionnaire this year, instead there were several hot topics, which he hoped the audience would address. He asked that a number be called out, to start the discussions. The first question was:
1. How would you feel if the USBC eliminated lane dressing requirements? This was a lively topic, with some saying it is needed for control and integrity of the sport. Some said that while the conditions are conducive to scoring, it still takes some luck, as you can hit the pocket twelve times and still not have a perfect game. The zero game inspections are somewhat ineffective, as the conditions change, between that inspection and when the leagues bowl. Most complained about the difference between dressing applied to the lanes for league play and what they have at the USBC National Tournament. The National’s conditions are not for the regular bowler and only the “elite” bowlers have a chance at the top money, with many here, calling for a more favorable dressing for the regular bowlers.
2. What type of re-action, if any, have your bowlers said about the USBC Awards program? The magnet awards were heavily discussed, with the consensus that about 50% agree or disagree as an award. Some said that after they are given to the person at the bowling center, you can go around and pick them up off the table, as bowlers rather leave them, then take home. Some asked, what are the bowlers getting for their money. A comment made that a women bowler gets a better award for their $1 state dues than what you get from USBC for your $10. Some said that the targeting of awards for low average bowlers is good. The IUSBC BA, has, a couple of times, sent a questionaire to all of our Illinois local associations on a variety of issues, one of which involved awards. In sum and substance, with or without awards, almost all associations reported that this was not the prime factor for sanctioned bowling, i.e., if all awards were eliminated, bowlers would still bowl in leagues and sanction. Someone stated, instead of complaining, what is the solution and what would be “good” awards, in their opinion. This really opened the discussions, with ideas from: give a deck of cards, sticky decals which could be placed on bowling ball bags, have the pin points program, provide certificates for an achievement. It was stated that bowlers in his area, with an honor score, liked receiving a bowling pin, rather than a ring. It was also said that his bowling center gives a jacket for an honor score and the USBC gives the person a ring that the person has to pay for. Another comment was that the lower average bowler would like to be presented the award, even if not an honor score, in front of their peers at the bowling center. This covered the jest of discussions.
3. We have all heard from bowlers that all the USBC cares about is the Olympics. Comments received was how does this get more sanctioned league bowlers, what will it do for our youth bowlers, and that the picking of teams for the Olympics should be with amateurs, not professionals. It will be a long time before bowling is in the Olympics, with golf and rugby selected for the 2016 Olympics. Darlene Baker came to the podium and spoke to this topic, stating that many factors enter into how teams are selected for the Olympics, that it is determined by that body, which they feel they want the very best, even if it means the team members are “Pro’s”. There is much more support, via newspaper and tv in other countries than in the USA, which makes bowling a more popular sport there, than here. She said we are in an uphill battle with our chances, not only for getting in the Olympics, but for popularity and communicating to our own people, on the sport of bowling.
4.
On the topic of youth bowlers, there was strong support to continue with
the programs, not to interfere with the operations. One comment was that when
USBC came into being, it was for the purpose of one organization for adult and
kids, and questionable how effective it has been, associations and bowling
centers still battle.
5. The USBC National Championship tournament, is a third tier on averages needed, for bowlers with averages of 181-199? This was a real hot topic, with almost unanimous support for a third tier, as there is no way a 190 average bowler can compete with “pro” bowlers. It was suggested the USBC go back to the days when they had a classified division for these higher average bowlers and Pro’s. To the argument from USBC, that prize money for the higher average bowlers would be reduced with a third tier, a suggestion was made by someone in the audience, to increase the entry prize fee for the 200 plus average bowlers, for their higher prize fund. Off this subject, but still relating to the tournament, thought is being given to having several levels of lane dressing, which may help bowlers fine tune their games for when they go to the Nationals. This invoked a few comments, that all this would do is provide the “cheaters of the game” another opportunity to sandbag. We who operate tournaments already have a problem with bowlers averages, they bowl in leagues with “tough” conditions similar to sport bowling, and not sanctioned as a sport league. This provides them a lower average to report for the tournament, which enables them to basically “clean up” in the prize money, when using their true ability. Further, if one center used a tough tier of dressing, their bowler’s average would likely be lower, and when they go to another center’s tournament with a soft condition, then again those tough condition bowlers would “clean up. Finally, it was made known that while an amendment could not be made to the USBC for a third tier, there is a way to possibly get it into the limelight, start a grassroots campaign via petitions, in your area, and across the country. Make it known to the USBC, average bowlers are serious on this issue, a need for a third tier at the National Championships. With enough support, there can be success.
The topic discussion ended, and the people were thanked for their participation. Wm. G. stated to the group that this forum was the best ever, in getting their re-actions. We will do this again next year, with more controversial issues.
Wm. G. said he had a few item before closing out this workshop. He asked if anyone had any complaints or suggestions regarding this weekend’s activities, especially if they had anything they thought would make the weekend even better. There were none, and it appeared that almost all seemed to like the current procedures, with one exception, try to have the hotel provide “hot” meals at the dinner. Several times, including last night, the dinners were cold or on the verge of cold. Have hotels try to improve in the future.
He again, wanted assurance that you people were in agreement for a “no refund” policy regarding dinner/bowling reservations not being fulfilled. Again, mass approval.
Finally, since yesterday, we have received interest from four associations on hosting future Hall of Fame events, with them being: Greater Aurora, Lake County, Decatur and Joliet. Note: We suggest that these associations visit our web site, “Want to Host a Hall of Fame”. If still interested, send in your written request between now and September, 2010, to your writer. If there is more than one bid received, the board will make their selection, with the remaining associations in the running for other years.
Respectfully,
Wm. G. Chestnut
Association Manager
IUSBC BA
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