WECCSO Newsletter Volume 21

WECSSO

WINDSOR ESSEX COUNTY SENIOR SPORTS ORGANIZATION

FALL EDITION Volume 21 OCTOBER 2012-10-30

SLO-PITCH REPORT -Ron Ottogalli

The slo-pitch season concluded on September the tenth; with the championship games in each division. The games were played under ideal weather conditions and the games were very competitive. In the Red Division the Dinosaurs defeated the Cavemen 6-5. The Blue Division champs were the Ancients, who defeated the Seniors 12-6. The Archaics captured the Green division by defeating the Retirees 15-13. Congratulations not only to the winners but to all who participated in our slo-pitch season. The success of our league is the result of the players who realize that our league is not about winning and losing but being active at our age and competing to the best of our abilities. It is truly remarkable that our advanced ages we are able to still play this wonderful game having fun doing it and getting much needed exercise. Let’s hope that we can all return and play next summer.

The year ending banquet was held at the Serbian Center on October 3rd. Our thanks go out to Neil McKnight who once again organized this banquet on our behalf. The banquet was well attended and it seems that a good time was had by all. This year the players planning on attending the banquet were asked for a $20 deposit. If the player attended the banquet he would get the deposit returned. The reason for this change was due to the fact; that in the past, a number of players (who indicated that they would attend) did not show up. Meals were ordered for these players and WECSSO had to absorb the cost of these extra meals. As a result of this new policy, WECSSO did not have to absorb the cost of missed meals. We owe our thanks to Neil McKnight and Don Balkwill for seeing that this change in policy came off without a hitch.

Thanks also go out to our volunteer umpires. These individuals donate their valuable time so that our games can be officiated. It should be noted that many of the umpires also play in the league as well. In essence, these particular umpires have committed to being at the diamonds four days per week. Our league should be very grateful to have such dedicated individuals. Bill Scheureman, head of umpires, is always looking for new umpires each year. Please consider donating your time to ump at our games. The more umps that Bill has to choose from on any given day, the easier it is for him to assign umpires for our games.

As you are aware, we are affiliated with NSA Canada. NSA has a program that benefits our league directly. For every case of Labatt’s products purchased, we receive $4.00 in credits that can go towards the purchase of merchandise supplied by NSA Canada. WECSSO has taken advantage of this incentive plan to purchase merchandise to be awarded to our champions. The process is simple: when someone purchases a Labatt product, he or she asks for a receipt from the retailer selling the beer. Only Labatt’s products can be listed on the receipt; if you are buying cases from different companies, you must ask for a separate receipt listing only Labatt’s products. Give the receipt to a WECSSO representative. These receipts are kept by Bob Parent and eventually used to purchase merchandise for our league. This is a year round incentive. ( cont’d Page 3)

President Bob’s Corner

As we wind down our summer activities we look back and see if the season was successful. I believe the Slow Pitch league was very successful in having a minimal number of issues that arose. The weather was a little uncooperative in having 36 rainouts. There is one thing I would like to mention is the storing of our Slow Pitch equipment during the off season and during the ball season it has been suggested that we purchase a small cube trailer and leave it at the park, the managers would not have to store it in their vehicles. We do have permission to park the trailer at the rear of the pavilion. If anyone knows of a used trailer that we could purchase please let me know. At the present time Bernie Decaire is our First Aid person. Bernie cannot be at all the games during the season; so if there is someone who would like to work with Bernie in this important activity please let me know. If some of you are wondering we are remaining at the Ciociaro Club for the 2013 season.

The Pickle Ball group are continually adding members; the Pickle Ball game is expanding all over the city with great interest. Our own senior Pickle Ball players made us proud with all the medals won at the past Ontario tournaments. Congratulations to all the participants.

We experienced and will experience in the future deaths among our fellow members we started something that I and many other members think is very thoughtful and meaningful. A number of ballplayers assembled to form an honour guard at the burial service for Bob Wilhelm; it was well received by the family and friends of Bob. Bernie Decaire was instrumental in organizing the event. If anyone is interested in helping Bernie in this very fulfilling endeavour please let us know, we would like to do this for all of our deceased WECSSO members.

At our annual WECSSO meeting held at the Serbian Center Two amendments where brought forward; one was defeated and the other carried. The one that was carried will see a change on how we select the Slo Pitch Executive. It will be by vote and not by being appointed. It will be similar to the method we use for the WECSSO Executive. We will accept nominations and if the individual is willing to run for the executive they will be placed on the ballot. There will be 10 people elected; 5 will be elected for 2 years and 5 elected for 1 year. In the future our vote will be held at our annual WECSSO meeting held in October but for this upcoming year WECSSO Slo Pitch membership is having a meeting in order to elect a Slo Pitch executive for the upcoming year. It is very important that we have a good attendance to show support for the individuals who are willing to accept the responsibilities of the program, (they are available from our Secretary Ron Ottogalli or Myself.) Our present Slo Pitch executive who were appointed; have done an exceptional job in organizing, improving and operating the program and I am hoping that they will submit their name to run for the Slo Pitch executive. Until you hear from me in the next newsletter.

“Instead of giving yourself reasons why you can’t, give yourself reasons why you can.”

Slo Pitch report cont’d – from Pg 1

During the off-season, please remember to keep your receipts. Encourage your friends and relatives to do the same. The more we collect the more merchandise we can buy.

At WECSSO’s annual general meeting; a motion was made by Rick Anderson and seconded by Kevin Sevill to have the slo-pitch executive elected rather than appointed. For those who do not know, the slo-pitch executive governs our league and it is this body that sets up the rules and policies. Up to now, the commissioner had the power to appoint and remove members of the slo-pitch executive. This motion by Rick was passed by a wide margin and beginning with this upcoming season the slo-pitch executive will be elected by the members of WECSSO. Also this motion stated that the executive be elected for a two year term and this executive would appoint the commissioner for a two year period.

The executive had an executive meeting on October 25th to discuss the election of the slo-pitch executive. After much discussion, a motion was passed that would see the slo-pitch executive consist of ten elected members. In turn, the elected members would appoint a commissioner and distribute various duties among the executive members. The elected members must be willing to take on added duties as assigned by the executive. A list of these duties will be presented at the election meeting prior to the vote. This year there will be a special meeting to elect the ten members. In future years the executive will be elected at the WECSSO annual meeting. Members will serve a two year term. In the inaugural election year the top five vote getters will serve for two years and the next five will initially be given a one year term. This allows for some continuity of the executive. The executive will always have experienced members. If you would like to run for the slo-pitch executive have a person nominate you and relay this nomination to Bob Parent. Nominations may also be made at the election meeting.

SLO PITCH ELECTION MEETING THURSDAY NOV. 29th 1pm AT THE SERBIAN CENTER

I would like to end this newsletter on a personal; albeit, a sad note. In the past few months, I, along with many others associated with WECSSO, lost a dear friend-Bob Wilhelm. For many years, Bob was an active participant in our league (Red Division) both as a player and a manager. Bob was also a valuable member of the WECSSO executive for a long period of time. The last few months of the season were especially tough on Bob; so much so, that eventually he was not able to attend the games. I am sure that his absence was felt by all who knew him. Bob will be missed by not only players in the Red Division but our slo-pitch community as a whole. Our sympathies go out to his wife Ruth Ann and family.

INDOOR SLO-PITCH – Ron Ottogalli

Once again the indoor slo-pitch season will take place at the Noveletto Center (located next to Mic-Mac Park) from November 6, 2012 to March 28, 2013. Games are played at 10am and 11am. Presently we have openings for a few more players. After the new year more openings (especially in February and March) will come up due to several players leaving for warmer climates. If you are interested in playing now or in the new year please call Bob Parent at 519-735-3373. Cost is $50 for current WECSSO members.

WECSSO BOARD OF DIRECTORS - 2012 – 2013 Election Results - Oct 17, 2012

President - Bob Parent - Vice President – Lido Sandre – Treasurer – Jim Bridge

Secretary – Ron Ottogalli

Directors – Brian Adlam - Ken Dafoe – Phil Ochs – Sylvia Schultz – Bill Scheuerman – Tom Bois

Ex Officio – Gord Gunnell – Geoff Mc Kay – Tom Simpson – Paul Thomas

The Annual Goodfellow Newspaper Drive - 2012

Thursday, November 22 Friday, November 23

Saturday, November 24 Headquarters will be at the Lumberjack Restaurant and volunteers will be located at Tecumseh & Howard; Tecumseh

& McDougal and Tecumseh & Walker Road. The scheduled times are from 8 am to 10 am, 10 am to 12 noon, and 12 noon to 2:30 pm on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday's hours are from 8 am to 10 am and 10 am to 12 noon.

I will be contacting the baseball coaches and the Pickle Ball representatives in November for names of volunteers. Friends and families of WECSSO members are welcome to participate as volunteers.

Our goal this year is $12,000 and 60 volunteers. Ken Dafoe can be reached at [email protected] or 519 948-4317

Windsor Best Seller Books are out.

They are still only $35.00. They are good immediately and run to the 1st of March 2014. It would be nice to see participation by most players because these books are still a good source of income for our baseball league. If we can continue to make money on this kind of sale, we could keep costs of baseball down for many years to come.

I'd also like to tell you about my experiences using the book. If you are looking for a casual night of dining, the group with which I was very impressed with VAngs Restaurant in the plaza by the Mongolian Grill in Lakeshore. It is a Chinese - Thai restaurant with a great variety on the menu. The cost is very reasonable at about $11.00 and the portions are quite good. The meals are also very tasty. I would highly recommend it. Use your coupon (2 for 1). If you have any other suggestions of places that you have tried, whether in the book or not, please give the membership a description of one of your favourite restaurants in a future newsletter. I'm the membership would be interested in good restaurants around the area. Phil Ochs

Our Umpires

I would like to thank all the umpires who volunteered their time all summer to provide umping for the three leagues. Most of them were there four mornings a week to play themselves and also to ump. As well, I would like to thank the ball players for their understanding and co-operation provided to the umps. There were few if any "incidents", witnessed by the fact that not one individual was suspended for a serious dispute. I personally find that in the ten years I’ve been involved, the "job" has gotten easier and easier.......... and for that I am grateful to the players and managers. Involved this year were Verne Meloche, John Barron, Don Trott, Brian Adlam, Ron Villeneuve, Ray Hicks, Ron Ottogalli, Jack Westlake, Neil McKnight, Rick Anderson, Bob Westlake, Joe Dupuis and Bill Scheuerman.........all to whom I owe a sincere thanks! It was a good year, and we look forward to an even better one in 2013.

Bill Scheuerman..Umpire-in-Chief

A man was telling his neighbor in Coral Springs just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect. ''Really,' answered the neighbor. 'What kind is it?'

'Twelve thirty.'

WINDSOR/ESSEX COUNTY SENIOR SPORTS ORGANIZATION

2013 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

(PLEASE PRINT THROUGHOUT THIS FORM)

NAME_________________________________DATE OF BIRTH__________________ MONTH DAY YEAR

ADDRESS______________________________________________________________ (NUMBER & STREET) (CITY) (POSTAL CODE)

TELEPHONE – home ____________cell ____________e/mail ____________________

SIGNATURE _______________________DATE OF REGISTRATION ________________

MONTH DAY YEAR

ALL MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS MUST BE IN BY MARCH 31, 2013 TO BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY WECSSO FUNCTION.

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE OF $20.00.

PLEASE MAKE CHEQUE OUT TO

WECSSO

SEND THIS COMPLETED FORM AND CHEQUE TO:

LIDO SANDRE

1867 KATELLA AVE.

WINDSOR, ONT.

N8P 0A3

2013 WECSSO & SLO-PITCH REGISTRATION FORM

(PLEASE PRINT THROUGHOUT THIS FORM)

NAME___________________________________ DATE OF BIRTH______________________ MONTH DAY YEAR ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________________ (NUMBER & STREET) (CITY) (POSTAL CODE)

TELEPHONE -home___________________cell___________________e/mail_____________________

SHIRT SIZE ( PLEASE CIRCLE ONE) S M L XL XXL

DID YOU PLAY IN 2012 YES_______ NO______ "C" "B" "A"

IF YES WHICH DIVISION - (PLEASE CIRCLE ONE) GREEN BLUE RED

WHICH POSITION DO YOU PREFER TO PLAY ____________________________________

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN MANAGING A TEAM- YES NO POSSIBLY

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN UMPIRING - YES NO POSSIBLY

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN TAKING DEFIBRILATOR TRAINING - YES NO

WOULD YOU LIKE THE SEASON EXTENDED - YES NO

SIGNATURE_____________________________REGISTRATION DATE_________________

ALL REGISTRATION FORMS MUST BE IN BY MARCH 31, 2013 TO BE ELIGIBLE TO PLAY BALL

PLEASE INCLUDE A CHEQUE FOR $50.00 WITH THIS REGISTRATION FORM

ANY REGISTRATIONS AFTER MARCH 31, 2013 THE COST WILL BE $60.00.

PLEASE MAKE CHEQUE PAYABLE TO:

SENIOR SLOW PITCH

MAIL THIS FORM AND YOUR CHEQUE TO:

ROBERT PARENT

288 RUGGABER DR.

TECUMSEH, ONT.

N8N 4N8

PICKLE BALL REPORT – Barb Dean

Everyone would like to thank WECSSO and Club 55 for assisting in getting our successful Pickleball program running.

We have had an extremely busy and successful year….. as we go into our third year at the Riverside Sports Center. Presently, we have over 120 players registered this year. Now that golf and tennis and baseball are almost over and the Snowbirds haven’t left, we’re finding a packed house with everyone wanting to play PB…. In fact, we had 39 last Tuesday and we can only play 20 at a time in the 2 gyms with 5 courts.

Several of our advanced players went to the Senior Games in Brantford in August and came home with medals in their age division. They were: Mike and Kathy Root with gold. Wendy Sabo and Jill Jacob with gold, Linda Bordeau and Sharon Getty with gold, Dave Smyth and Dave Young with silver and Mike and Barb Girard with silver.

Then, at the first Ontario Provincial games in Oshawa in September, these players won in their age division: Mike and Kathy Root won gold, Mike Girard and Mike Root won gold and Mike and Barb Girard won silver. Congratulations to all the players.

Some of our players also venture over to play in Michigan tournaments and do well there. This September, the BOOM magazine had a super article about Pickleball with a photo of Joanne Dimaio, Owen Jones and Wendy Sabo and a good interview with these players.

All of our players enjoy and socialize at the pizza parties which we hold twice a year.

Currently, we play Pickleball 6 times per week. The advanced players play on Monday and Friday afternoon from 1-3PM. The recreational players are able to play Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10-12 noon. All times are well attended.

Tomorrow, we are holding our Second Annual In Club Pickleball Tournament and we have a lot of players signed up to compete in their level of ability. Our Pickleball committee donated the trophy for this tournament and it’s hanging in the hall of the Riverside Sports Center.

Pickleball has become a contagious, progressive and is incurable disease. It’s not fatal but has an enormous impact on the lives of infected individuals and on society. Most who have the pickleball bug don’t want to be cured. There is no known cure for Pickleball and the best prevention is to stay away from anyone associated with Pickleball.

Here's a synopsis of the P-Ball tourney. We had 48 players, divided into six divisions of eight players each. Two men's, and four ladies. Each division was given the name of a Canadian hockey team. All games were played on our three courts at Riverside Baseball complex. Play started at 9:00 AM and we finished play at 12:30. I thought this was remarkable, given that a total of 84 games of nine points were played in under four hours on only three courts! This truly reflects on the fine caliber of our players and how organized the bench was! After, we all went to "Just Your Average Joes" on Lauzon for wings and wraps and of course, drinks. While there, we gave away fifty door prizes plus awards for the top players in each division. The winners were as follows, "Canadiens" 1-Vic Piccolo, 2-Dave Smyth, 3-Ken Grondin. For the " Leafs"; 1 -Sharon Getty, 2 -Wendy Sabo, 3-Kathy Root. For the "Jets" 1- Gene Moscicki, 2- Gary Ruckle, 3- John Prieur. For the "Oilers"; 1-Regina Corriveau, 2- Flo Grondin, 3- Wanda Faccer. For the "Flames", 1-Carolyn Gagnon, 2- Artis Ingram, 3-Helga Mousseau. For the "Canucks"; 1-Claudette Nadeau, 2-Martha Heath, 3-Marie Takman. Big thanks to the committee and volunteers who made this event such a big success! Thanks to Regina Corriveau, Jim McMartin, Dee Vildhaas, Alice Bell, Barbie Dean and Jo Dimaio. Fun was had by all!!! Sylvia,

Report on Charity Sponsorships by Brian Adlam

WECSSO was very fortunate to be able to once again sponsor a number of local youth, sport related organizations this year. As reported in the August Newsletter, Lou Dupuis and his volunteer crew raised $8400 at their annual bowling fund raiser in May. They have now raised a total of $43,230 over the past 8 years. We are very thankful to Lou, Tom Bois, co-chair, and the rest of the crew for all the work they put into this.

This year the money was donated to 10 organizations. These organizations sponsor youth related sport activities for special needs and underprivileged kids. As of today we have received a thank-you from 7 of those organizations. Work has already begun for next year, 2013. This past August Lou put on Texas Scramble golf outing in Michigan with a meal and door prizes back here in Windsor at the Moose Lodge. This was a new venture for Lou and he had a great turnout.- 92 golfers and he raised $2500. This money goes toward the 2013 fund raising efforts. Lou enjoyed the event and is already planning for the next one where he hoping to get more than 100 golfers out to have a great day.

In addition to the big bowling event we hold in April or early May we have 2 raffles with the senior bowlers at the Bowlero, one in the fall and one in the winter on Wednesday morning. We had our first raffle on October 17th and raised $850. Thank you to all the bowlers. We have a number of WECSSO members that bowl on that day too.

We will keep you updated on our next raffle and the big bowling event which WECSSO has named the Lou Dupuis Bowling Fund Raiser in honour of Lou.

Report on Child Sponsorship - 2012

We are sponsoring a young boy, Jerson Gabriel Gonzalez Rodriguez, from Nicaragua. This is our third year sponsoring him. He is 8 years old and is in grade 1. Jerson lives with his sister and parents in the small community of Oscar Turcios in the city of Esteli which is 150 kilometres north of the capital, Managua. His mother is a homemaker and his father is an agricultural worker.

We received a letter from Jerson’s mother in October updating us on Jerson’s progress in school and at home.

Our sponsorship is $456 per year. Money is used to buy school supplies, clothing, and anti-parasitic, anti-louse medicine. We also sent a $50 gift for Jerson and his family for this Christmas.

We can continue to sponsor Jerson until he is 18, provided he stays in school.

WECSSO WEBSITE – COMING SOON

WECSSO will soon have a WEB Site of its own. Over the course of the next few weeks we will have our own WEB Page which will provide WECSSO members with information to include the newsletter, baseball schedules, Pickleball info and other information about banquets, etc. For those who still wish to receive a hard copy newsletter we will continue to mail them but we would prefer to minimize all mailing in an effort to reduce costs. Please enter your email address on your membership form for 2013. We want to develop an email group list so we can inform as many as possible when the website is available. The Sportfest Website will also be linked to ours when completed.

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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are looking for two individuals who would like to participate in the WECSSO WEBSITE, helping to manage the website by updating the information on the site. Training will be provided by our developer and web designer. Please contact Bob

Parent (519-735-3373) or Tom Bois (519-735-3922) if you are interested.

Bob Wilhelm loved life and was enthusiastic about everything he did. He left us with his love on September 10, 2012. He was born in Windsor on July 28, 1936. Bob enjoyed his retirement often saying he was busier than when he worked. He loved bowling and played for 15 years in the men's senior league at Bowlero. On an equal par was his summer involvement in baseball through WECSSO where he served on the Board of Directors for 12 years. As a man of many passions, he loved his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his special cat, his god-daughter, bowling, baseball and cars. He married the love of his life, Ruth Ann, 25 years ago. They enjoyed family, travelling, nature, walking and quiet evenings together.

Bob will be remembered by all of his

Here are the names and phone numbers of contact people for each of our activities:

WECSSO: Bob Parent - 519-735-3373

WRSA: Gerry Mayea - 519-739-2283

WECSSO NEWSLETTER: Tom Bois - 519-735-3922 [email protected]

SLO-PITCH: Jack Westlake - 519-944-4330

VOLLEYBALL MEN: John Barron - 519-735-5236

VOLLEYBALL WOMEN: Carol Malewicz 519- 990 – 8709

PICKLE BALL: Barbie Dean 979-8644, Alice Bell 735-1097,

JoAnne DiMaio 735-5142, Suzanne Piercell 979-8732

BEST SELLER BOOKS – Phil Ochs 519-726-6974

Member Discount List : Bring your membership card.

Restaurants:

Faces on College - 902 California (10%)

Legends Diner - 12150 Tecumseh Rd. E., Tecumseh (10%) Mon - Friday

Montana's - 5011 Legacy Park Drive (15%)

The Whistling Kettle - 11700 County Rd. 42 (15% - Monday's only)

Sports Equipment:

Nantais Source For Sports - 2020 Tecumseh Rd. W. (no GST/PST)

Bob Reaume Sports - 4275 Tecumseh Rd. E. (no GST/PST)

The Trophy Boys - 1540 McDougall (20%)

Miscellaneous:

Friendly Tech Computers - 1279 University Ave. W.

Argyle Manor Bed & Breakfast - 1138 Argyle Rd. (15%)

AERUS Air Purification - 5428 Tecumseh Rd. E. (15% discount)

SLO PITCH EXECUTIVE ELECTIONS MEETING NOTICE

NOVEMBER 29 – SERBIAN CENTER – 1:00 PM

COME OUT AND VOTE FOR YOUR NEW BASEBALL EXECUTIVES