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
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
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