Diamond Club Meeting

March 4, 2008

Members present:  Jessica Hagemann, Dave Stacy, Mark Rosin, Randy Reichert, Ben Gallagher, Gordy Eicher, Dan Nickols, Marquetta Nickols, John Hoffman, Joe Bothwell, Dion Wikstrom, Jim Szymanski, Diane Hershey, Bob Harris, Bette Plumb, Gary Peterson, Coach Downey, Karin Wessberg

Meeting location-Paninos Restaurant (North Oaks).  Meeting called to order by Randy Reichert. 

Minutes from February meeting:

No record of who motioned for approval.

Treasurer's Report:

John Hoffman reviewed the checkbook activity for February.  The balance on February 13 was $11,718.47.  Deposits totaling $9,131.26 encompassed proceeds from all 3 grocery bagging events as well as a final deposit of payments for the Florida trip, and monies from the fundraising dinner.  The lone expenditure was $1,500.00 that the Diamond Club will send with Ben Gallagher for meal expenses on the spring break trip.  The current balance is $19,349.73.

Coach Downey's update:  (his complete report can be found on the website)

The following items were shared by Coach Downey: spring trip, informational meetings, clinics, captains practice, new field, SAYB summer baseball.                 

Spring trip

            One schedule change for the scrimmage on Friday with St. Anthony.  This will be an "unofficial game" with umpires and an additional 30 minutes.  Game time moved to 9:00 PM.  The Saturday 7:00 AM batting cage session will be optional. 

Informational meetings

20 students attended the informational meetings held today.

Clinics

            92 kids, ages 9-14, attended the 2 day clinic at MVHS on March 1-2.  Close to 20 others had to be turned away.  Every available space in the school was utilized, and the equipment purchased for the clinic was donated to MVHS baseball.

The "Summer Fun" programs are finalized and brochures are available.  With the addition of a new program for 1^st-5^th graders, there is the potential for 80-100 kids participating, compared to 40 last year, made up of 6^th-12^th graders.

Captains practice

            There is an interest in having additional gym time next week to throw.  Wednesday and Friday are available from 8:30 PM-10:00 PM.  The captains will need to schedule this with Bob Madison.  Time before school is also available.

            New field

            A Steering Committee, whose purpose will be to raise funds for additional field components, is being formed.  This will be a working group requiring a 2 year commitment.  The group will be directed by Bob Madison.  Randy Reichert has agreed to fill a spot and additional members are needed.  Funds need to be raised for such items as batting cages, bullpen mounds, scoreboard, bleachers, outfield windscreen, and storage.  As Randy commented, this group will not be decision makers.  Rather, they will present their ideas to the school board or others that will make the final decisions regarding the use of the funds.

            SAYB sponsorship of 16-18 yr old summer ball

Tri-City will sponsor 2 legion teams this summer, one for MVHS students and one for Irondale students.  Private school students are eligible to play as in the past.  Irondale students who played Tri-City Red last summer will have the option to play on either team. 

The Senior Babe Ruth program will be sponsored by SAYB for MVHS players not chosen for Tri-City Red. 

The Spring Lake Park VFW will again sponsor 2 16-yr old teams, one for MV and one for IR.  They will be coached by the respective high school varsity coaches, Coach Downey and Coach Fink.

Old Business:

1.  Spring trip update:  Ben Gallagher reported that all money has been collected from players, all fees have been paid, all waiver forms are in, and a telephone list has been compiled with all the kids' cell phone numbers.  Everything's ready to go.

2.  Grocery bagging:  John Evangelist reported that the event on March 1 went well, bringing in an additional $950.

3.  Pizza pals:  Gordy Eicher has not purchased coupons yet.  He anticipates getting 500 to begin with.  They will be good from April-September (6 months).  They will be purchased for $6 and sold for $11, netting a profit of $5/coupon sold.

4.  Fund-raising banquet/silent auction:  Final numbers on profit made came in at $16,245!  Coach Downey has received very positive feedback from the Twins organization.  There's talk of inviting Harmon Killebrew to speak next year.

5.  Game day experience:  John Hoffman will be instructing the announcers on the PA system so that things will be ready to go for the first varsity home game, April 7.  Karin Wessberg will be putting together "programs" for each home game.

6.  Captains practice update:  nothing new to report.

7.  Year-end banquet:  The banquet will be held Tuesday, May 20, at Jimmy's in Vadnais Heights, from 6:30-8:30 PM.  Diane Hershey and Karin Wessberg are co-coordinators of the event. 

8.  Player apparel:  Joe Bothwell reported that some orders are in.  Once teams are finalized, new orders will be available in early April.  It will take 3-4 weeks to get those orders in.  There are extra shorts and t-shirts available now.

New Business:

There was a brief discussion concerning the tax status of the Diamond Club.  Both the football booster club and the Mustang club are 501c3 organizations.  It's unclear at this time what's necessary for the Diamond Club.  The question was brought up as to whether or not we could come under the umbrella of the Mustang Club.  The discussion was tabled with the sense that this is something that we need the advice of a tax professional about.

Meeting adjourned at 8:05.

The next regular Diamond Club meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April, 1^st, at 7:00 PM in the Mounds View Forum.

Your attendance is welcome and highly encouraged!