Category Archives: Indicator

2022 Combined Candidate Statements

Henry Von Jouanne

I am honored to be considered again for an NBUA Board of Director position.  I have completed two terms – four years – as a board member and I am eager to continue serving for another term. 

Why am I interested in serving on the board?  Because those that went before us built a great organization and I feel compelled to do all I can to maintain the quality and reputation of the NBUA.  I served as the Training director the past four years and I am proud of the training programs we put-together.  If selected to continue as the Training director, I pledge to continue developing high quality training programs – leveraging on the great umpiring talent we have available. 

My goal as a Board Member is simple:  to fully and enthusiastically support the NBUA mission.  That is, “We deliver the highest quality service to our customers by umpiring all games to the best of our ability and with fairness to all participants via state-of-the-art training and evaluation and demonstrated examples of inclusion.”  The NBUA has – in my opinion – always separated itself with a strong training program – so I believe our excellence and “highest quality” starts with training.  And I believe the training starts with emphasis on the basics:  superior rules knowledge and superior mechanics knowledge.  Of course, this begins with the formal pre-season classroom, field training, and cage training.  The training extends to the mentorship program and the important and valuable pre-game and post-game discussions.  A strong and comprehensive training emphasis should convince every member that the NBUA strives to support their improvement as an umpire – and their eventual promotion as a result.

What qualifies me to be a Board Member?  First of all, I believe the NBUA is an exceptional organization and I am committed to be a strong advocate for our organization.  I maintain my collection of experiences and skills serve me well as a Board member and NBUA advocate.  As a helicopter Instructor Pilot in the U.S. Air Force, I was responsible for developing and teaching the ground-school and flight curriculum.  I learned the age-old truth that instructing is the best way to learn.  As an aerospace engineer, I was expected to develop systems in a systematic manner – driven by facts and data – while also leading with energy and passion.  As a manager, I have identified seven good rules to follow:  1) it is impossible to over-communicate, 2) in all ways, be completely honest and overt in your actions – no agendas, 3) from this day forward, always do the right thing, 4) make mistakes, 5) learn from your mistakes, 6) the most important job you’ll ever have is the job you have now, and 7) sweat the details – really understand the facts – before making a decision.  These rules are not rocket-science – but they have served me very well and I intend to hold myself to these rules if elected again to the NBUA Board of Directors.

I believe the NBUA is a great organization – filled with great people.  I am proud of our members and the quality of the product we place on the field.  As an NBUA official, I take great pride in knowing I walk onto the field with a partner who 1) loves the game, 2) loves to officiate, 3) wants to be there, and 4) wants to improve. 

If elected again to the Board of Directors, I pledge to continue as a strong advocate for the NBUA.  Thank you for your consideration.

Brian Sweet

2022 marks my 15th season with NBUA. In that time NBUA has taught me plenty about baseball and being an umpire. During these past 15 seasons I’ve helped and worked on the various committees (Recruiting & Retention, Evaluations, & Training) which make NBUA a great organization. As many of us know and have directly experienced, there is a shortage of officials in all sports, including baseball. When I first joined NBUA in 2007 we had nearly 200 officials in the group. Today that number has dropped to just under 140 and yet we still officiate the same number of games and in some cases turn customers away. Increasing our numbers and retaining our members is vital to supporting the youth baseball programs in Washington.

I’ve decided to run for the NBUA Board to work with the Board leadership and our membership to reverse this trend. Unfortunately, there is no simple or single solution that will fully fix this trend. I’ve have had many pre/post game discussions on how to improve our numbers and have heard many ideas worth further consideration. As a member of the board, I will be better able to bring these ideas to the entire leadership team for action.

Earl Smith

Dear Members,

Thank you for your dedication to the vocation of Umpiring. We all have felt the mounting pressures on sports officials and we all know it is becoming a tougher environment to work in. Don’t let it tarnish your love for the game……

It has been my pleasure to serve on the board for the last four years. As the board member who oversees our By Laws, and our Policies & Procedures, my duties have included navigating these waters and implementing this content when necessary. I have served on the Evaluations Committee, as well as chairing the Elections Committee. I have had influence in our bargaining with our customers, and improving our wages and working conditions.

My background as a 17 year Prevailing Wage Compliance officer / Field Representative for the Laborer’s International Union of North America has helped me in my officiating, and in my participation as a board member. Collective bargaining for 5000 members in King County alone, my participation in labor management negotiations has translated well to the same types of approaches in representing our members with our customers. We have a great association that has, and will continue to produce, the best umpires in our service area! We train better, we bargain for the best game fees we can secure, we show fiduciary responsibility with the member’s money, and we ensure that we have customers to assign our umpires to. You belong to the largest baseball umpire association in the state of Washington, and the most highly regarded one!

If it is the will of the members, I would like to continue to serve on this Board of Directors and continue to step out between the lines as an eleven year member of the Association

Greg Olmstead

Hello. 

I have decided to run for a second term on the BOD. I have previous experience on the football (PNFOA) BOD and am honored to have been given the opportunity to give back to both associations.  I feel I can bring a calm and thoughtful approach to issues that arise to help support the membership of the NBUA.

My 2 years have been spent as chairperson of the Evaluation committee.  In that role I have eliminated the task of scoring a partner after every game and replaced it with a one-time request at the end of the season.  This has yielded much more useable peer feedback in determining placement.  I have endeavored to make post-game feedback more constructive and eliminate any unnecessary in-game feedback. 

I understand the promotion process can cause great disappointment amongst members. I have tried to make this process more transparent by posting all methods online and by listening to our membership’s suggestions for improvement.

While the umpire shortage has created challenges for the committee it has also provided great opportunities for our member umpires to work at levels it used to take 5 or 6 years to be offered – often with our most experience members.

If re-elected I will continue to work hard in whatever role I take and will always look to strengthen the relationships within our membership and with our customers.

Hank Margeson

I am continually humbled to serve this fine association as a member of the Board of Directors, and it is in service of the association that I seek to be honored with an additional 2-year term. Over the past two years we’ve survived a zero-income year (2020) by managing our expenses and still putting more dollars in members’ pockets. We also solidified our relationships with Puget Sound Senior Baseball League and Seattle Elite Baseball, ensuring members are provided with opportunities to hone their umpiring skills while working the best available baseball in the area.

Over the next two years it is my goal to continue to push on the WOA to adapt their payment processes such that each contest is properly compensated. I intend to start advocate for a paradigm shift with how travel pay is handled with the goal of increasing game fees to reflect the professionalism needed to officiate each game.

Additionally, I will work with my fellow board members to address game fee increases considering inflationary pressures for our annually contracted summer ball customers. At the same time, I will work with the board to ensure the reserves we used to carry us during 2020 are replenished with minimal impact to members.

Finally, I want to make sure the association is not just on firm financial footing, but also recognize a changing demographic and adapt our processes and procedures to ensure benefit the whole association. While some processes are well grounded in our history, we should examine all to ensure the benefits are accruing properly.

I would be honored to continue to represent you as a member of the NBUA Board in 2023-2024.

Peyton Coffin

Fellow Umpires,

I’d like to thank you for electing me to the NBUA Board in 2020. After 17 years. it was about time for me to get out from behind the plate and contribute to you, our members.

Two years ago, I presented my past work and volunteer resume so there’s no need to reiterate, and for those newer umpires who didn’t have to wade through all that, I’ll trust you to rely on your current experiences of me.

Once elected, the Board members appoint committee chairmen, and I sought out the Member Services and Communication Committee. One reason was that our member communication needed an upgrade and another was that our entire training procedure was going to have to be changed to a virtual model. Somebody was going to have to organize all of that. We had a lot of help from our fellow tech-savvy members and a Training Committee that adapted expertly, and I believe we did a great job by working together.

You all also did a great job by adapting and excusing the few hiccups we experienced.

I have tried to open the communication within NBUA and have always tried to solve any issues brought to my attention by you, our NBUA members. That so many of you have felt comfortable to approach me with their issues, comments and suggestions has been one of the rewards of the job.

Our mid-season bulletins have been favorably received and I plan to continue with those, even in the off-season, as we prepare for 2023.

I trust these past two years have proven to you that your choice two years ago was the right one as I have tried to improve the communication and service to our members.

I ask for your vote to continue my efforts for you in 2023-4.

Thank you,

Peyton

2021 Combined Candidate Statements

Corky Trewin

I became a member of the NBUA in 2013.

It is my pleasure to offer my candidacy to the NBUA membership for consideration to be elected to the NBUA Board of Directors for the 2021 election.

I started my umpiring journey in 1967 as a 13-year-old Redmond Babe Ruth baseball player. The year before as a Redmond Little League player for the Tigers I was primarily a catcher. It was there I developed a personal relationship with my plate umpires and especially Virgil Magruder. Magruder went on to be part of the first class of NBUA umpires when the association was formed by George Eshelman in 1969.

The Redmond Little League umpires were all volunteers and all integral parts of the community with less than 6,000 residents that year. I enjoyed and looked forward to meeting the men on the field – Dr. Fisher, Dr. Way, Mr. Lawson, Chief of Police Sollito, Mayor Bud Young and Magruder. My fondness for Magruder grew that season into a wonderful friendship. He challenged me to be the best catcher I could be, especially blocking the ball as umpires rarely wore shin guards. In between innings and pitches, He had a wonderful baseball story telling style and would ask me how I liked any of his new umpire “moves.” I loved it.

Towards the end of the season, Magruder announced to me “Trewin, I’m going to make you an umpire” and he did. He tutored me for the following five years as I rose through the Redmond Baseball community umpire ranks. It was a piece of baseball heaven and again I loved it.

It is that love for the game, the love for the umpiring aspect of the game, the personal relationship part of the game that Magruder and his Redmond Little League umpires gave me that is my motivation to be considered by you for election to the NBUA Board of Directors.

NBUA is wonderful and I would like to be a member of the NBUA Board of Directors to assist the membership to become even better.

Micheal Owsiak

As an Elite sports officiating organization, the NBUA and its members are recognized by peers and customers for providing best-in-class umpiring services to the community. It is imperative that we acknowledge and maintain the core values, processes, and culture that has gotten it here. Yet, at the same time, we must be persistent in our pursuit of excellence in service to our community.

My focus would be on collecting member feedback and incorporating it into our training, evaluation, and customer relationship activities. I would prioritize connecting evaluation feedback into targeted training designed to help members learn and grow at their desired pace. To our customers, I’d like to strengthen our relationships so that we can work on the issues that frustrate our members while officiating and collectively build a more positive game-time experience for all.

David Richardson

Fellow umpires

Umpiring has been my passion for 25+ years with various organizations. I joined the NBUA in 2017. Every year I’ve worked to improve my skills. The training never stops.

I retired from my dental practice, last August and always strived at making it successful for 38 years. I know what it takes to succeed and I will bring this effort to the NBUA board. I also have lots of time. Gotta love retirement…..

Randy Venters

I have been a part of many associations amongst the sports I officiate and the locations I have worked. I come from an education and sports background and have spent time in sales training systems. I am the ideal candidate to help lead the NBUA into the future.

I believe now is the time for the NBUA to adapt and move forward. With COVID we changed our training and meeting structure and many younger umpires received their chance to officiate games they may normally not have been assigned. I believe we need to continue to look at changes that can advance the NBUA as a whole.

The virtual training was great and I think we need to expand on the platform by offering the same meeting/topic a couple of times. There are many great resources online that already exist and we need the education committee to find and utilize these clips or find members willing to help. I believe the best way for individuals to grow is to see and experience new situations. I would like to see a regular(weekly maybe) email training series with video clips and rewards for participation.

Our field clinics are good, but they can be better. We need to get clinics with real players and real situations. There are many training tools and methods that we do not use. Let’s look at what other associations in different areas of the country are doing. We also need to have drills for reacting to players and coaches.

Partner feedback is great, but often the messages can be contradictory to what another official has said and often higher tier umpires focus on very specific details. We need to train all umpires on how to provide feedback and make sure all of the evaluators have the same standards and messaging. I also believe we work better when we have some familiarity with our partners. We should develop pods of officials and when possible assign pod members to work together. This would give umpires a truer sense where others are and give more knowledgeable feedback to help each other improve. Mentors need to work with their mentees and we need to develop more mentors.

This last season has definitely taught us we need to improve our recruiting and listen to our current members. Often voices feel like they are not heard or given enough support. We need to change this.

I thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you

Terry Granillo

Fellow umpires,

Thank you for the work you do on the field, for the teams we serve, and for the sport we serve. It’s been a unique couple of years and as we move into the 2022 season and beyond, the stewardship, support, and leadership of your board of directors will be critical to the NBUA continuing to thrive and lead amongst umpire associations nationwide.

I would be honored to serve on your board of directors. I have been with the NBUA since 2007, and it’s the absolute truth that I’ve learned all I know about umpiring from the men and women in this association over that time. The greatest service we can give is to help others improve and grow as officials. I have served in that capacity as Evaluations Chair and on the Training Committee in the past. I am a CPA and have worked as a CFO for the past twenty years, and I bring those skills into board service as well.

This association, again, is a national leader; in training, in performance on the field, in umpire development, in customer service, and in consistency of service. As we return to a more normal way of doing business we’ll need strength, experience, and wisdom on the tiller. I don’t know what role the board will need me for over the next two years, but I am happy to serve where our association’s needs are greatest. Thank you for your consideration.

Incumbents

Dale Wilson

I am Dale Wilson and I started with NBUA in 2016. In 2020 I was elected to the NBUA board. My two years on the board has been very rewarding and exciting at the same time with COVID, no games in 2020, and adjusting to the new world of officiating in 2021.

As a member of the NBUA board I have been the Chair of Member Services & Communication in 2020 and then was voted to be on the Executive Committee as the Secretary. I am currently part of the Member Services & Communication and Evaluations Committee.

My goal when I started on the board was to focus on looking forward and how we can get better as a board and an organization. I believe that I have helped make steps in that direction with better communication to our members as the Member Service Chair. I will continue to bring new ideas and being the voice of our members to the board and executive committee.

If reelected, I will continue to work on what members share as potential issues, help to build the member base and to have the NBUA members best interest with changes that affects officials on and off the field.

Thank you to all the NBUA members for building a best in class umpiring organization. The desire for each of you to get better every game is what makes this a great organization.

Thank You

Brian Rooney

Brian Rooney

It has been an honor to have been on the NBUA board for the past four years. During that time, I have actively contributed my time and energy as the Chair of the Recruiting and Retention committee. In addition, I have also been a member of the Evaluation and Training staffs.

As the R&R Chair, we have streamlined our efforts and are actively pursuing leads that come our way. I have either emailed or spoken with everyone that has come to the recruiting committee’s attention and stayed in touch with them throughout the process. These future members of the NBUA are coming through a variety of sources whether it is Facebook, LinkedIn, WIAA, or our own website. However, the biggest recruiting tool we have is you, our members. I have greatly enjoyed being the conduit for those that you introduce to the NBUA.

It is an honor to wear the NBUA hat and represent the best Umpire’s Association in the state. Our principles of customer service, teamwork and excellence guide me as a member of the Board and an umpire on the field. I ask for your support and vote for the NBUA Board of Directors.

Member Liaison

Reams Goodloe

Reams Goodloe

I have provided services to members of NBUA as the Member Liaison since the position was created. I have assisted members in protecting their interests before the Board of Directors. I would welcome the opportunity to continue such service.

As Member Liaison, I have been able to bring many items to the attention of appropriate Board Members or to the Assignor, to express the members’ view of difficult situations or seemingly unfair positions, or to give voice to the frustration that various members have experienced with certain events, action, or disciplinary procedures. And, where asked by an affected member, such issues have been effectively raised on an anonymous basis.

As a member since 2004, I can bring the experience of working my way up through the association to understand situations that members encounter, and thus effectively advocate with Board Members, or before the Board as a whole, for explanation, adjustments, and changes as members believe appropriate given their situation.

Now that this position is a member elected position – a change which I supported before the Board – I am seeing members open up with more difficult issues. Hopefully, the Member Liaison role will enable me to enhance the visibility of problems and lead to increased scrutiny of issues which need the attention of the Board of Directors. I would appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve all members of NBUA in the Member Liaison role.

Mark Clough – Stepping Down

Lane Loland -Stepping Down