Wednesday April 9th, 2003 after 3-wall play.



In case of inclement weather, games will be moved to the Central Parkway YMCA, downtown, with the meeting to follow at Washington Platform.

Abby's
5753 Harrison Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45248

Washington Platform
Elm & Court St.

Attendance - Weather conditions moved the meeting to Washington Platform. Board members George Lehocky, David Kent, Bob Burkitt, Jim Krailler, Bob Hiance, Jack Dean and Mike Reilly were present.

Review of Minutes - The minutes posted on the website (amended by the Board since initial publication) were approved.

Income / Expenditures / Current balance
Bruce Beimesch Memorial
Membership Report

David Kent
David Kent
Jim Krailler

Income / Expenditures / Current balance - Income and expenses related to the Spring Swing Dance equaled out; additional deposits from memberships and merchandise were received. Current balance of the GCHA checking account is $8739.82. 

George Coleman Memorial - One additional donation was received in the past month, increasing the fund to $ 251.00.

Bruce Beimesch Memorial - A donation of $25 was approved and sent to the charity of Bruce's choice.  Board members will seek ideas for an additonal memorial, and will discuss the topic further at the next Board meeting.

Membership Report - Membership has increased from 120 to 123 as of the meeting date.

Reds Game
Legends Tournament
Winter Doubles League, Fitness @ Waycross
3 Wall Courts Maintenance Update
Pete Mather Tournament and Spring Swing Dance
Spring ShortLine
GCHA donor program, Hoxworth Blood Center

George Lehocky
George Lehocky
Jim Krailler
Bob Burkitt/Mike Reilly
Board
Jim Krailler
Bob Burkitt

Reds Game - Tickets are on sale now from George Lehocky, and the supply of 35 is going fast.  Date for the Reds v. Yankees game is Wednesday, June 4th, 7:05 pm start time.

Legends Tournament - Topic was again deferred to next meeting.

Winter Doubles League, Fitness @ Waycross - Official notification of the league results has yet to be received from Paul Baker.  Rumor and speculation has Richard Gregg and Bob Allen Jr. winning the A-league, while Pat Lunn and Tom Gilday won the B-league.  Jim Krailler agreed to contact Paul.

3 Wall Courts Maintenance Update - George Lehocky, Ralph Weil and Bob Burkitt were there from the GCHA, and a group from Miami U. showed up to help. The temperature hovered around 40* with a strong breeze so we had to pick and choose jobs. The Miami guys went to work on the sinking steps and restored them to full height by removing all of the blocks and adding sand to raise and level the steps. Ralph worked on one of the benches to replace a broken seat board. George and Bob rigged up 300+ feet of hose and washed the Winter's dirt from the courts. Everyone then pitched in to repair the many spalls in the court floors. We had three teams mixing mortar, applying and finishing to fill most of the irregularities. It was too windy and cold to do any painting so that was left for another time. Weed killer was applied to the court margins and the area around the steps. There was even some handball played by the younger group. Ralph capped off the morning by treating the Miami guys (and Bob) to lunch at Golden Corral.

Material and tool expenses total about $44; items included weed killer, patching mortar, trowels, mixing buckets, masking tape for painting lines, bags of sand, etc.

Observations:

Disappointing turnout of GCHA members despite several promises. Weather could have been a factor. The Miami crew was a pleasant and welcome addition.

Work remaining to be done:

Some court floor repair. Line painting was postponed for a warmer and less windy day. Additional repair needed on one of the benches; Ralph will handle. Some sweeping will likely be needed before the courts are used again, to remove dried excess patchng mortar.

Pete Mather Tournament and Spring Swing Dance - see ShortLine for details on the success of these events.  The Board commended Carl Fisher for his leadership and work on the Spring Swing Dance. Carl has submitted a financial report on the dance, showing a loss of $27.  After a lengthy discussion regarding the future of this event, the board expressed support for both the tournament and the dance, presuming that adequate time (approximately 6 months) is allowed to establish a workable date and timeline, to plan for the events in advance and include the details in a regularly scheduled publication in the ShortLine. 

Spring ShortLine - The April 2003, Spring issue of the ShortLine has been mailed and posted on the web. Board members provided no significant feedback on the publications.

GCHA donor program, Hoxworth Blood Center - Nine GCHA members and friends participated in the George Coleman Memorial Blood Donor initiative. The prize drawing was held at the Board meeting. Winners of a can of handballs (GCHA donations) were Al Claymon, Charles Rolfes, and Jack Wilson, an employee of Jack Dean Construction. Bob Lohmueller and Ralph Weil each won a pair of glove formers. (courtesy of Bob Burkitt) The blood donor program, using the "HDB" code, continues as an on-going GCHA community service program.

Akron Open
USHA Four-Wall Nationals
Caples 3-Wall
World Handball Championships, Ireland

March 21 - 23
June 2 - 8
July 26 - 27
October 17th - 26th

Akron Open - Jack Prather won the Masters Singles division at this tournament; notice was posted on the website.

USHA Four-Wall Nationals - USHA National 4-wall tournament will be held in East Lansing from June 2nd through 8th. The deadline for entry submission is Monday, May 12th.

Caples 3-Wall - Sponsorship is still being sought for the tournament. See "sponsorship" item, below. Jim Krailler will prepare entry forms and forward a copy to the USHA for posting.

Regional update
Summer Singles League, Fitness @ Waycross
Other?

Jack Prather
Jim Krailler
Board

Regional update - Jack Prather did not attend the meeting.

Summer Singles League, Fitness @ Waycross - Paul Baker has announced his intent to host a summer singles flex-league at Waycross during the summer. Additional details will be posted as they become available.

Other:

3-Wall Courts - Mike Reilly will contact Green Township regarding George Coleman's flag being flown at the park, about the cost of the memorial tree, and the GCHA desire to install a rinse shower near the 3-wall courts.

Sponsorship - George Lehocky presented a contact letter for potential GCHA tournament sponsors, including a list of sponsors for the year will be contacted for donations.  

Email from Irene Trunick - Jim Krailler received the message below from Irene Trunick:

"I wanted to let you know that I am working on the quotes. First I tried a 7 nite London and Scotland. The price was thru the roof... because the British pound is in play, not the Euro. In addition, Edinburgh and London stay expensive year round. So, I have asked for a quote on a 5 nites in London package for March '04. "I also got a quote back on Spain which was very pricey. I have called another tour operator for Spain and am waiting for a pricing. With the war going on, no one is going to think about signing up for a tour right now. I am leery of the Australia option because of the time and cost level it would require. With the news on that SARS virus coming out of Asia, I think people are going to be less likely to do Australia. It isn't Asia, it's true, but tourism and business travel between Australia and Asia is very high AND there is a huge Asian population there who travel to Asia frequently. So, let's see how that virus issue -- and the war --- plays out before considering that destination further. "So, what do you think? If you think there is really a high level interest in Australia, I will go ahead and pursue it. "I finally got those videos mailed out to George and Nancy and to Pat Poire. Pat left me a voice mail and was so pleased to get the video. She had had breakfast with Dottie that morning. That was nice to hear."

After discussing the options and the factors related to international travel, the Board decided not to pursue further travel opportunities at this time. Jim Krailler will reply to Irene with this information.

 

Report from Miami University's Jason Headings - The following was received regarding the 2003 Collegiate Nationals, Feb. 18-23, Multnomah Athletic Club, Portland, Oregon.

"Five members of the Miami University Handball Club (Jason Headings, Jon Kreyer, Isaac Laughlin, Amanda Smith, and Doug Williams) recently ventured out to Portland, Oregon for the Collegiate National Handball Tournament. It was held at the Multnomah Athletic Club, which will also host the National 4 Wall Championships in 2004. The facilities were absolutely gorgeous! They were just simply amazing. We had a great time out there. It was an experience that none of us will soon forget. As a team, we finished 3rd in Division II, which we thought was pretty good considering we only had five members scoring points compared to 12 members for each of the schools who placed ahead of us. We placed 13th Overall including the Division I schools. All five members of the club recorded at least one victory, with a few members advancing to the Sweet 16 of their respective divisions. The doubles team of Williams/Headings made it to the “B” quarterfinals before being ousted by a team from the University of Arizona. We are all very excited and looking forward to participating in the 2004 Collegiate Nationals which will be held at Southwest Missouri State University. "The club would once again like to extend thanks to all those who so graciously donated time and funds in order to make this experience possible for us. There is no way that we can ever convey how thankful we are. We just can’t thank you all enough."

Next
Meeting

Date/Time, Location

Board

Next Meeting - The date of May's meeting is Wednesday, May 7th. The meeting will be held at Abby's, after 3-wall play. 

Open to all members