The November 2006 GCHA Board meeting was held on Wednesday, November 1st, starting at approximately 7:30 pm.

Attendance - New President David Kent opened the meeting at approximately 7:30 pm with members of the 2007 GCHA Board:

• David Kent, President
• Jack Dean, Vice-President
• Ron Rosselot, Treasurer
• Jim Krailler, Secretary/WebMaster
• At-Large: Bob Burkitt, Greg Fite, George Lehocky, Mike Reilly, and Will Straw

Chris Lazarovski was absent. Gary Cruz, Ralph Weil and Sam Ma were in attendance as guests to report to the Board.

Corrections and additions to September 2006 minutes

The minutes of the September 2006 Board meeting, as amended on the website, were approved.

Income / Expenditures / Current balance
Membership Report

Ron Rosselot
Jim Krailler

Income / Expenditures / Current balance - Treasurer Ron Rosselot reported a current balance of $ 12,807 in the GCHA checking account. Jim Krailler reported that the annual hosting fee for the website has been paid for the upcoming year, and that a significant amount of merchandise has been ordered to accommodate the needs of the Queen City tournament.

Membership Report - The 2007 Membership Drive will begin at the Annual Fall Meeting and Member Appreciation Night. Based on Ron's report of incoming memberships at the Fall Party, Jim Krailler reported that the current number of members for 2007 is 33. Discussion followed about the logistics of the upcoming mailing to those who have not renewed for the current year, with a target audience of anyone who has been a member within the last 10 years.

Fall Meeting / Member Appreciation Night
Team Tournament
3-Wall Court Maintenance
3-Wall Court Improvements
UC Handball Team
Publicity Committee
ShortLine

Board
Will Straw
Bob Burkitt
Chris Lazarovski / Mike Reilly
Board
Jim Krailler
David Kent

Fall Meeting - Ron Rosselot reported that 28 members joined the organization, out of about 35 who attended the event.

Team Tournament - Will Straw reported that no progress has been made on the establishment of team tournaments.

3-Wall Court Improvements - Bob Burkitt reported on the follow-up to his meeting with Mike Schaffer, Parks Field Supervisor for Green Township:

• Uneven surface between court floor and apron. Concrete was ground to smooth by Green Township during September and the newly exposed concrete hs been sealed. Item completed.
• Divots on floors and wall. Burkitt still intends to patch these spalls, but the work will probably not be done until spring.
• Drainage near Court #1. Drain tile will be added along court wall, with a catch near the end of court connected to nearby storm drain. Item will be handled by Green Township, and is planned for the near future.
• Concrete bench, to replace composite bench. No action.
• Drinking fountain in area, to be shared by soccer, volleyball and handball. No action.
• Rinse shower, to be shared by volleyball and handball. No action.
• One-wall court, on west wall. No action.

Bob has approached Jeff Olsen about the possibility of preparing CAD drawings. Chris Lazarovski was absent, so no update was available on his contacts with Tony Upton for Green Township support. Mike Reilly volunteered to get an estimate from the Siefert company for installing a slab for a one-wall court, but no progress was made since last Board meeting.

UC Handball Team - Sam Ma reported that the UC handball team has six new members attending regular practice. The club has been billed $400 for printing, but Sam is unsure of the source of the bill and is investigating. Practice days have changed, and are now on Monday, Thursday and Sunday, 7-9 pm. The club's faculty sponsor is Burt Huether.

Ohio State report from Ralph Weil - Ralph Weil reported on a recent visit to Ohio State to begin a handball program there. The Columbus group signed up 30 players on Friday, plus 6 on Saturday. Kevin Pape and John Barr (professor emeritus) are the coaches, and Dan Beer serves as faculty sponsor.

City Tournament - Will Straw proposed that the Board consider resurrecting the City tournament, with participation limited to local players only. The Board did not discuss at the November meeting.

Publicity Committee - Ralph Weil voiced a suggestion that the Board establish a publicity committee, charged with promoting handball via the local press and news outlets. The Board sought a volunteer committee chair at the Fall Meeting and in a posting on the website, with no responses. Ron Rosselot has volunteered to attempt to coordinate this effort with local press.

ShortLine - David Kent wants to focus more energies on publishing a web-version of the ShortLine on a regular basis, with the next version scheduled for early January 2007. Articles are being solicited.

Event

Dates

Queen City Open Tournament - Jack Dean, tournament director, reported on the tournament. Balls and gloves will be presented for awards. Alma Dupps is working on food. Greg Fite is working on a design for the souvenir shirt. Jack also intends to do a mailing of tournament entries to prospective players, along with running a phone bank for calls.

Will Straw proposed that a Juniors division, 13 and under, be added to the tournament. Board members concurred, with the stipulation that the division matches be held on Sunday, so as not to tie up courts during the tournament's busy times. Will also volunteered to sponsor the tropohy awards for that division. Juniors will be charged a $10 fee. Jim Krailler will update the tournament entry forms.

 

Inventory of Merchandise
Gary Cruz, clinics and other events
Other?

Jim Krailler / George Lehocky
David Kent
Board

Inventory of Merchandise - GCHA has approximately $3,000 worth of merchandise in regular inventory. This could be added to the financial reports, but is not regularly included because of the fluid nature of the service to members.

Gary Cruz, Share The Passion - Gary addressed the Board and stated that the USHA Development efforts are looking for networking contacts for new players. He stressed seeking local connections to players, and helping young members with advantageous deals with local clubs for reduced handball membership fees for players leaving college and entering the professional world. He suggested staging Junior events and local clubs, and suggested that owners will be generous with court time if those are held on Saturdays at 1:00 pm and later. The Board thanked Gary for the time he is spending in the area, and for holding events in a variety of clubs.

After Gary left the meeting, Ron Rosselot proposed a donation of $500 to the USHA Development Fund, and emphasized that such a move would be in keeping with the mission of the GCHA . The motion was seconded by Mike Reilly. After a short discussion, the motion passed unanimously, with 1 abstension. David Kent volunteered to present a check to Gary at Saturday's event at the Athletic Club @ Waycross, to be followed by notification on the website and in the upcoming ShortLine.

Greater Cincinnati YMCA - After contact with one of the YMCA executive team, a number of guest passes have been secured for area YMCA's. These are available from George Lehocky or David Kent; guests must be accompanied by a current YMCA member.

Next
Meeting

Scheduled date:
Wednesday, December 6th, 2006; 7:00 pm

Location:
Athletic Club @ Waycross
1990 Waycross Road
Cincinnati, OH 45240
513-742-1700

Open to all members