Our very own Ted Buehner organized the day (1/22/20) with the goal to get the word out to the greater Seattle community that there is a strong need for sports officials in the area. In addition to Ted and NBUA Recruiting and Retention Committee Chair, Brian Rooney, the WOA Executive Director, Todd Stordahl and WOA President, Dean Corcoran were present. 

The first stop was the radio studio of KIRO-FM/710 ESPN. The group met with Chris Sullivan who interviewed them for approximately 30 minutes for a segment that will air in the near future. Then, they headed to KIRO-TV where Dean and Brian were interviewed separately but will be part of a joint news story that could air as early as tonight. Then they headed to KOMO Radio for a joint interview with all participating. Finally, after lunch, they made our way to KING 5, where again Dean and Brian were interviewed but this time together. That will likely air before the end of the week.

Great job on going above and beyond the usual efforts to recruit and getting the message out to a large audience.

Be on the lookout for the airing of these segments on the TV or radio and take a look at the KIRO news feed ( https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/youth-sports-struggling-with-shortage-officials/HZKP4X6RF5D3JK6QNP5UFOCLO4/ ) and the KING 5 TV segment ( https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/dramatic-decline-in-referees-prompts-statewide-call-to-action/ar-BBZBZbz?ocid=hplocalnews ).

2018 HSVCOY Zach Habben announcement

Congratulations to the following NBUA members who also work college baseball games (for other umpire association(s)) and were/are assigned to post season series.  This is an impressive group of very experienced umpires who have taken their skill levels to a very high level.  Good luck and have fun.

North West Conference (NCAA D-III) Championship Series
Steve Hilgendorf
Chris Claflin

Great NW Athletic Conference (NCAA D-II) Championship Series
Mike Goebel
Gary Coy

NCAA D-II Regional
Mike Goebel

North West Athletic Conference (NWAC)  North Super Regional
Gary Coy
Erik Nilson
Scott Johnson

North West Athletic Conference (NWAC) West Super Regional
Chris Claflin
Jon Campbell

North West Athletic Conference (NWAC)  Championship Series
Chris Claflin
Jon Campbell

Congratulations to all the umpires that have been assigned to Regional games.

2018 REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS (May 19)
4A – Everett Memorial Stadium
Jeff Sadorus, Snohomish County
Les Martin, Whatcom County
Bill Coyne, Northwest

4A – Heidelberg Sports Complex, Tacoma
Phil Bogardus, Northwest
Kris Carlstedt, Northwest
Joseph Vanairsdale, South Sound

4A – Heritage Field, Puyallup
Brian Strege, Peninsula
Mark Clough, Northwest
Scott Buck, South Sound

4A – University High School, Spokane
Shane Kelley, KPR
Jeff Golding, Inland Empire
Carl Ramsey, Yakima Valley

3A – Sherman Anderson Field, Mt Vernon
Rich LeMieux, Snohomish County
Rich Johnson, Northwest
John Cornell, Skagit Valley

3A – Bannerwood Park, Bellevue
John Hayden, Western Peninsula
Bill Fitzgerald, Northwest
Dean Strong, Snohomish County

3A – Foss High School, Tacoma
Steve Welborn, Evergreen
Greg Olmstead, Northwest
Thomas Martinko, Evergreen

3A – Pasco High School
Kevin Wellington, Inland Empire
Lorin Kelly, KPR
Brady Lamb, Yakima Valley

2A – Joe Martin Stadium, Bellingham
Jon Brown, Snohomish County
Dane Johnson, Whatcom County
Tim Stever, Northwest

2A – Auburn High School
Regina Boyd, Snohomish County
Artis McGath, Peninsula
Josh Lobeck, Northwest

2A – Wheeler Field, Centralia
Curtus Metzger, Lower Columbia
Ron Beal, Northwest
Carlos Butler, Evergreen

2A – Gonzaga Prep, Spokane
Ben Wilson, Columbia Basin
Jeremy Burkhardt, Inland Empire
Paul Weddle, Chelan County

1A – Franklin Pierce, Tacoma
Jeremy Matthew, Peninsula
Nick Pilutik, Northwest
Bill Kosmas, Skagit Valley

1A – Castle Rock High School
Bill Reynolds, Twin City
Jim Harrigill, Northwest
David Valli, Evergreen

1A – Larson Playfield, Moses Lake
Ric Garces, Central Columbia Basin
Jeff Tower, Inland Empire
Kevin Wolfe, Colville Valley

1A – Ferris High School, Spokane
Ryan Olson, Inland Empire
Zach Browne, KPRBA
Steve Pietroburgo, Colville Valley

2B – W.F. West High School, Chehalis
Rainer Summers, Twin City
Chris Corbray, Northwest
Dan Garvey, Evergreen

2B – Adna High School
Bill Marin, Twin City
Trevon Vanairsdale, South Sound
Gary Loucks, Evergreen

2B – Wenatchee High School
Cody Preugschat, Chelan County
Keith Kladnik, Okanogan County
Steven Elder, Central Columbia Basin

2B – A.C. Davis High School, Yakima
Benjamin Dwyer, Yakima Valley
Tom Byers, Blue Mountain
Dave Johnson, Northwest

1B – Winlock High School
Bruno Jurewicz, Northwest
Ross Working, Twin City
Richard Handley, Lower Columbia

1B – Borleske Stadium, Walla Walla
Paul Sorenson, Inland Empire
Kellen Martin, Palouse
Max Melvin, KPRBA

Seattle Elite 13U Invitational – 4.19 – 4.22

Hello NBUA Members!

If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking about getting started with your Christmas shopping and not thinking about Baseball, Taxes, or Sunscreen for that matter.  However, we all face that yearly chore of downloading our game schedule before the games get purged by Leslie to start the new season with a clean slate.

Here are some brief instructions for those of you that haven’t done it before:

• Login to ArbiterSports.com like normal
• Click Schedule
• Make sure the “List View” radio button is selected
• Select “Show All” in the Date drop down list, and click “Apply” (you should now see all of your games for 2017 – if you don’t see them, it means you waited too long and they are gone)
• Use your browser’s print feature to print the whole list
• Alternatively, you can do like I do and select the table contents with your mouse and copy/paste it to Excel and post-process it to your heart’s content

Good luck, take care & enjoy your time off the field.  See you out there again soon enough!

Thanks,
Mark Snyder, Mark Clough
Evaluations Co-Chairs

2016-2017 NBUA Board in Action

It has been way too long since I’ve updated the membership regarding their Board’s actions. That’s not to say we haven’t been busy wrapping up the 2016 season, adding outstanding new members to the Board, electing Board leadership and establishing new committees…we have been doing that and much, much more. I just have not taken the time to share all this with you and for my omission, I apologize.

On Monday the 19th of December the Board met at the home of Mickey Whitaker and got busy with our off-season work. Our agenda included a member’s appeal of improper conduct, a review of our past meeting minutes, a brief discussion on required updates to our training policies, a formal review and approval discussion of our assigning policy, discussion on how to facilitate members requesting locker room facilities for school ball games, and formal approval of game fee adjustments.

The last item will be shared in much greater detail at our General Membership meeting on January 23rd, 2017, location to be determined, save the date. As a teaser, the Board had a spirited discussion regarding the need to adjust our rates and how to balance that need against the needs of our customers. In the end, nearly every level of ball (recall that we don’t control school ball fees) will see a significant increase in 2017.

We then moved into reports from the various Committee Chairs. Here are few details from the Committees:

• Finance Director (Clough) reported on the preliminary year-end financial status. While there are a few outstanding expenses left to address, the association is assured of having the needed reserves to sustain operations until invoices for the 2017 school ball season are issued. Please know that our expenses continue during the off-season for things like our assignor, our accountant, and reserving training space. Plus, we are cognizant that members will want to receive draws starting in June each year, so having funds to cover those expenses are crucial to our existence. We also discussed the very few customers with outstanding invoices that we expect will settle up with us in early 2017. Finally, we are preparing our annual budget for Board action in January and will share the financial status at the General Meeting 1/23/17).
• Evaluation Director (Granillo) noted that he’s in the process of filling out his core committee as well as identifying evaluators for next season.
• Training Director (Coyne) shared that his committee is in full planning mode. The training schedule was reviewed and pushed out to the membership. He also updated the Board on the sign-ups for the Black & Blue Umpire Clinic (BBUC) scheduled for February 10-12, 2017. There’s still plenty of time to sign up at the reduced fee. The Board acknowledges that the cost of the clinic may be problematic for some which is why traditional training sessions will also be offered, but know that investing in the BBUC will satisfy all your training requirements as well as give you top notch training by professional trainers. The registration/waiver forms are available under the Forms portion of the Lists tab in Arbiter.
• Recruiting Director (Whitaker) updated us on three scheduled orientation meetings scheduled for December 20-22 throughout the county. While we do not yet have a firm number of new recruits, we have a start of a decent sized class, but are as always looking for more. That’s where you come in! Referring new umpires is by far our best source for members, and several have already made those referrals. Thank you to each and every one who is promoting the NBUA, keep up the great work so we can build a great class of first year umpires. Mickey also noted that he’s developing a FAQ that can be posted on our web site to address common questions. He also mentioned that his committee is contacting current members to ensure as many as possible return for another season in 2017.
• Member Services/Communications Director (Christie) provided an update on the General meeting (23rd of January) and that while he has not secured a location yet, it isn’t for a lack of trying. The Board agreed that a central location was desirable. We will update the membership once we have confirmed the location. He also noted that work on our new web site continues and is planning to preview the site at the General meeting (see, there is something to look forward to).
• Bylaws/Policies & Procedures Director (Neff) reported that the 2017 MSA is being reviewed so as to be ready to share early in the New Year. He is also prioritizing updates to section 8.5 of the Bylaws as well as incorporating the Assigning Policy in the Policies and Procedures document.
• Assigning Secretary (Fitzpatrick) thanked the Board and membership for an outstanding 2016 and is eager to start assigning games. To that end, she reported that two schools have provided their season schedules so far and will be reaching out to all schools in January.

We finished up with a discussion a tier placement reconsideration, agreed on where to meet in January, set expectations for Directors to present at the General meeting, and noted that some retiring members are willing to part with their equipment either at a reduced or no cost. As we’ve done for many years, we will collect unused equipment and clothing for our new members as a way of defraying the up-front costs involved in umpiring. While we are certainly going to miss our retired friends, we thank them for their altruism and continuing to pay it forward. Our strength is our membership and we are very strong indeed.

I would be remiss if I didn’t wish everyone in the NBUA Happy Holidays (Merry everything) and the hope for a prosperous 2017 for all.

Cheers,

Hank Margeson
President, Northwest Baseball Umpires Association
425-765-6975