2021 Annual Meeting
The board has scheduled the WSSA Annual Meeting for March 9 at Noon. (with a back-up date of March 11).  The Youth Football Stadium field bleachers at Ogden Park were selected as the outdoor meeting location due to the pandemic’s current restrictions and guidance. Because of COVID restrictions we are limited to 50 persons in the stands and 50 persons on the field. With that in mind, please bring a folding chair in case we exceed the limit in the bleachers. Also remember that mask wearing and social distancing are still required.

The annual meeting will address three main issues involving membership approval and some key announcements.
1.  Election of officers for the open board of directors positions
     Click on the position title for details of the duties of that position.

• Deputy Commissioner  (no current nominations)
• Treasurer (nominee--Dave Reardon)
• Coastal Division President  (nominee--Tony Spataro )
• Director of Marketing and Public Relations  (nominee--Joe Newcomb)

     Candidates for any of the above positions can also be nominated from the floor.

2. Bylaw Changes

• Move responsibility of HoF Selection Committee from The Deputy Commissioner to the Commissioner. The idea was to distribute some of the deputy commissioner’s responsibility since they are responsible for reserving the fields, point of contact for game cancellations, managing & scheduling the umpires, etc. See the by-law articles below.

           i.   Article 2, Section 3 - The deputy commissioner is responsible for organizing and facilitating the annual WSSA Hall of Fame selection process. Each year, the deputy commissioner should ensure that the board of directors vote to determine the maximum number of inductees to be selected in the given year. The selection of the inductees for the year should be completed by September 1 of each year. The Hall of Fame process which has been approved by the BOD is prescribed in Section 5 of the Manual.

Becomes:
        
          ii.   Article 2, Section 2 - The commissioner is responsible for organizing and facilitating the annual WSSA Hall of Fame selection process. Each year, the commissioner should ensure that the board of directors vote to determine the maximum number of inductees to be selected in the given year. The selection of the inductees for the year should be completed by September 1 of each year. The Hall of Fame process which has been approved by the BOD is prescribed in Section 5 of the Manual.

• Change the minimum age limit of women who play in the WSSA to 50 years of age.

          Article 1, Section 2 – Association Purpose  The Association, an IRS approved non-profit organization under IRS Code Section 501(c)(7), was formed with the overall purpose of assisting in the development and promotion of slow pitch senior softball for players in Wilmington, North Carolina and the surrounding areas.  No player is excluded from joining the association based upon gender, sexual orientation, race, or disability.  Men must be 55 years of age or older by December 31st of the year to play.  Women must be at least 50 years of age.  Any deviation to this requirement may be allowed on an individual basis by the Atlantic Division president with the approval of the majority of the Atlantic Division managers and then presented to the board of directors for their approval.

3. Announcements
1. Ops Manual update for authorized bats:
Section 1.7.1 Bats.

A bat not approved by USA Softball or one that has been altered will be illegal. A legal bat requires an ASA certification stamp. 2 The use of such a bat during a game will result in the ejection of the player from the game and the team penalized with an out. Additional penalties may follow at the discretion of the division president.

New Section:

Section 1.7.1 Bats – A legal bat requires a USA Softball (formerly ASA) certification stamp or is approved by Senior Softball USA (SSUSA). A bat not approved by USA Softball or one that has been altered will be illegal. A legal bat requires an USA/ASA or SSUSA certification stamp. The use of such a bat during a game will result in the ejection of the player from the game and the team penalized with an out. Additional penalties may follow at the discretion of the division president.

2. Hall of Fame
        a.  Celebration of 2020 Inductees (Manny Brown, Sonny Wells, Dwight Crainshaw)
         b.  HoF specific apparel

3. Announcement of regular Membership Apparel that will be made available on the website store.