The July GCHA Board meeting was held on Tuesday, July 6th, at approximately 7:00 pm after 3-wall.

Attendance - Board members George Lehocky, Bob Burkitt, David Kent, Jim Krailler, Jack Dean, Bob Hiance and Mike Reilly were present. Ralph Weil also attended the meeting.

As a courtesy to Ralph, the New Business section of the agenda was moved to the beginning of the meeting.

Corrections and additions to June minutes.

Review of Minutes - The June minutes, as posted on the website, were approved.

Income / Expenditures / Current balance
Membership Report

David Kent
Jim Krailler

Income / Expenditures / Current balance - Current balance of the GCHA checking account is $ 10,812.

Jim Krailler distributed a detailed financial report from the Bob Caples Memorial 3-Wall Tournament, listing income, expenses and a net profit of $901.30. Based on input from some tournament participants, discussion followed on the "early registration" discount and the $40 base entry. Early entry fee met with limited success, as only 6 took advantage of the discount. Jack Dean whined about the high cost of entry fee. Jim Krailler whined about the lack of entry forms submitted; less than 50% of players submitted either paper or electronic forms. Bob Hiance whined about the vitamin supplement representatives at the tournament. Concensus of the Board is that the entry fees will be re-visited in January when planning for the 2005 tournament, and that people should stop whining.

Membership Report - As featured in the July website, Jim Krailler reported that the current membership roster has risen to 128 members. It was later reported that Chris Seal was inadvertently not listed as a current member, which brings the total to 129.

Ireland Handball Tour
Ohio Hall of Fame
Reds Game
Summer 3-wall league
Summer ShortLine
Golf Outing

Board
Mike Reilly
George Lehocky
Jim Krailler
Jim Krailler
Jack Dean

Irish Handball Tour - The deadline for deposits has been set for July 26th. Vern Roberts included a story on the upcoming trip in the June 2004 issue of the USHA's "Handball" magazine. He has also included a web link on the USHA's main page to the GCHA's Ireland 2004 page. Thanks to Rick Stevens, a link has been added to the Toledo Handball Club's main page and flyers were displayed at Toledo's "Under the Lights" tournament. Flyers were distributed in the July ShortLine. Nine deposit checks have been received to date, out of the twenty needed by the deadline. Personal emails with attachment to members and others on the mailing list will be sent during the month.

Ohio Hall of Fame - Mike Reilly reports no progress in the attempt to establish a timeline for Cincinnati-area nominations.

Reds Game - (repeated) George Lehocky has acquired tickets for the Reds versus the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, July 27th. Right field bleacher tickets will cost $15 and the event has been publicized on the website and in the ShortLine.

Summer 3-wall league - Playoffs for the top four teams in each division have been posted, to begin July 7th.

Annual Meeting - Bob Hiance proposed that Joe Nuxhall be solicited as a speaker for the GCHA Annual Fall Meeting and Membership Appreciation Night, currently scheduled to by held at the Washington Platform, downtown Cincinnati, on Monday October 11th. In exchange for speaking, the GCHA would make a contribution to Nuxhall's scholarship fund, and would encourage those in attendance to make individual contributions. Some board members expressed concern that the total contribution would not be adequate to meet Nuxhall's expectations. Bob Hiance will continue to pursue the possibilities.

Summer Shortline - Jim Krailler reported that the summer edition of the ShortLine was mailed out on July 5th and distributed paper copies to Board members. He also repeated that beginning with the January 2005 issue, the ShortLine format will be on-line only. (For the past four years, the ShortLine has been produced in both online and printed formats.) Printed copies of the web version will be mailed only to active members, and only upon request.

GCHA Golf Outing - Paul Baker has confirmed that the GCHA Golf Outing will be held on Friday September 17th at the Green Crest Golf Course. The sign-up deadline is Friday September 3rd. Prices and all other details will be the same as in the past two years.

Caples 3-Wall
USHA 4-Wall Nationals; Portland, OR
Toledo "Under the Lights" 3-Wall
Michigan State 3-Wall Singles
Columbus 3-Wall; Columbus, OH
Michigan State 3-Wall Doubles
USHA 3-Wall Nationals; Maumee, OH
Cleveland Memorial; Eastlake, OH
Queen City Shootout
State of Ohio Championships; Cleveland, OH

June 12th - 13th (Sat.- Sun.)
June 26th - 27th (Fri.- Sat.)
June 21st - 27th (Mon.- Sun.)
July17th - 18th (Fri.- Sat.)
August 14th - 15th (Sat.- Sun.)
August 14th - 15th (Sat.- Sun.)
September 2nd - 6th (Thr.- Mon.)
October 22nd - 24th (Fri.- Sun.)
December 3rd - 5th (Fri.- Sun.)
February 18th-20th, 2005 (Fri.- Sun.)

Bob Caples Memorial 3-Wall Tournament - Complete results with photos and story have been posted on the website. An abbreviated version was included in the Summer ShortLine, and will be included in the October issue of Handball. (August issue has already gone to the printer.) For more information, see Treasurer's Report, above.

Toledo "Under the Lights" Tournament - Toledo hosted a 3-wall tournament on Friday, June 25 and Saturday, June 26 at the Lucas County Recreation Center in Maumee, site of the USHA National 4-Wall tournament. Greg Fite won the C-Singles championship.

Other Tournaments - Information, entry forms and/or links will be added to the website calendar when appropriate. Mario Dolciato has also forwarded tentative dates for 4-wall tournaments to be held in 2004 and 2005.

Queen City Shootout - The Queen City Shootout is scheduled for December 3rd, 4th and 5th. (First weekend in November conflicts with dates for the Ireland trip.) Location for the tournament was again discussed at length. Location has not yet been determined, but will be decided via email vote after price proposals have been solicited by Jack Dean. It was later noted that both sponsors and a tournament director are also needed.

USHA Masters Tournament
Other?

Ralph Weil
Board

Other - Ralph Weil addressed the Board on two New Business agenda items.

Kendler Award - Ralph first suggested writing the USHA to nominate Toledo's George Miller Jr. for the USHA's Kendler Award. The following is taken directly from the USHA website:

Robert W. Kendler Award:

The criteria for nominations for the Robert W. Kendler Award are outstanding, unselfish service to the game of handball on a regional level.

Nominating Procedures:

1. Any current USHA member may nominate a person for consideration for induction to the Hall of Fame. 2. A nominating form for Players may be obtained from the USHA national office. There is no official form for nominations to the Hall of Fame for Contributors or the Kendler Award. Nominators are simply required to submit the qualifications for their nominee in a detailed and documented fashion. All nominations must be received by the Hall of Fame Committee Chairman with supporting documentation at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting which is conducted at the national championships. 3. The documentation must include the players tournament record in singles or doubles play at every major/prestigious event, including the Juniors, Collegiates, Pro Tour, AAU, AHU, YMCA, USHA, Canadian, Irish, World, or other competition in one-, three-, or four-wall. The year and site of all semifinal or higher finishes should be indicated, as well as the other three players in the semis. The documentation for a contributor's nomination must also be in writing, but the content is the responsibility of the nominator. 4. When a nomination is submitted to the committee, it will be considered the "First Reading," and will be approved by a simple majority vote of the committee members present. 5. A "second reading" will take place at the next annual meeting following the first reading. A recommendation for induction will be made to the USHA Board of Directors when three-fourths of the committee approve the nomination at the second reading. At least eight committee members must be present at this second reading. A two year nominating moratorium is imposed on any rejected second reading. 6. Nominations for the Kendler Award are to be submitted to the Chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee and will be considered at the annual meeting. A recommendation to the Board for their consideration requires a simple majority by the committee. 7. The Hall of Fame Committee recommendations are sent to the USHA Board for its approval at its annual winter meeting. Hall of Fame inductees and Kendler Award recipients are then honored at the annual banquet at the national four-wall championships.

USHA Masters Tournament - Ralph also presented preliminary information concerning the possibility of the GCHA hosting one of the USHA National Masters tournament in the spring of 2005.

Below is the text of an email sent to Jack Prather from Vern Roberts, Executive Director of the USHA, with copies to Ralph and the gcha@gcha.org mail account.

Dear Jack, I was happy to hear of your interest in a masters event from the board meeting report. We have quite a bit of interest in next year's events. Can we confirm the GCHA wants the masters singles or doubles in early April of '05. We're trying to firm up at this time. Attached is a sample agreement and I'd be happy to answer any questions. Sincerely, Vern

After lengthy discussion, the Board agreed to host the National Masters Singles in April 2005, tentatively scheduled for Thursday March 31 to April 3rd. This four day tournament will be hosted by the Athletic Club @ Waycross and typically can draw over 100 participants. Immediately following the board vote, President George Lehocky phoned Vern at the Tucson USHA headquarters to extend the offer.

Future meetings will be held to address the details associated with hosting a national tournament: hotels, sponsors, food for all meals, including a banquet on Saturday, with guests, preferably at an off-site location, souvenirs, awards, transportation, etc.

Board Membership - Board members agreed to solicit new members prior to the annual Fall meeting. George Lehocky agreed to talk with Dave Laxton; Mike Reilly will contact Chris Lazarovski and Steve Kehoe; Bob Burkitt will approach Don Meyer and Mike Spagnolli; Jim Krailler will contact Will Straw; Jack Dean will contact both Greg Fite and Glenn Gartland.

(back to agenda)

Next
Meeting

Scheduled date: Wednesday, August 4th, 7:30 pm (after 3-wall)
Location: TBD

Board

Open to all members