Brian Sweet

2024 marks the end of my first term as a member of our NBUA Board of Directors. I’ve truly enjoyed being able to serve our membership these past two years and with your vote, I would be honored to serve another two. In the two years, it’s been my privilege to serve as the Director of Training and also member of the Evaluation Committee. As Director of Training, I’m proud of the improvements we’ve made to our training program including the use of live scrimmages for our field work and the opportunities we’ve added for live 3-man training for all tier levels.

As a member of the NBUA Board, I truly have listened to the membership when approached with ideas or concerns. I will continue to do so for the next two years. As a member of your Board of Directors, it is my goal to continue to work and help recruit and retain new umpires to improve our numbers and seek ideas to improve our already top tier training program.

Brian Tschumper

I am honored to be part of this incredible association—a place where I have had the privilege to hone my umpiring craft. My journey began as an apprentice in 2015, and over the years, it has led me to the tournament tier. Along the way, I have built lasting friendships and learned invaluable lessons from the talented umpires within our organization.

Serving on the NBUA Board of Directors is my way of giving back to an association that has enriched my life. I firmly believe in the power of collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement. If entrusted with this role, I pledge to advocate for our umpires, promote professional development, and uphold the integrity of our beloved game. While I am not currently a board member, I have actively contributed to the association in various capacities:

1. Since 2018, I have been a dedicated member of the Training Committee.
2. Since 2020, I have served on the Technical Committee.
3. Since 2022, I have been part of the Evaluation Committee.

During the challenging times of the pandemic, I played a critical role in transitioning our training programs from offline to online formats. This adaptation allowed us to maintain excellence and provide the best training experience for our membership. Additionally, for the last few years, I’ve been the co-training lead (with Bill Fitzgerald) for our apprentice and C-tier umpires, establishing a solid foundation for our newest NBUA members. This experience has reinforced my commitment to nurturing the growth of our umpiring community.

Beyond the NBUA, my career path has led me to senior leadership positions at both Microsoft (approximately 19 years) and Amazon (approximately 12 years). Managing diverse teams of over 150 people, I have gained valuable experiences and skills that I believe will benefit the NBUA. As a board member, I will consider critical topics such as customer needs, membership evaluations, compensation, training, and long-term planning. My passion for the NBUA centers on our collective growth. In the coming years, I see two key areas of focus:

1. Effective Membership: We must ensure a cohesive and functional organization to serve our members well.
2. Effective Training: Our umpires are our product, and continuous improvement in our training program is essential. I aim to tailor our training to meet the diverse needs of umpires, from rookies to seasoned veterans.

I am committed to listening, acting, and driving positive change. Let’s maximize the value we provide to our customers and continue making each other better.

Henry Von Jouanne

I am honored to be considered again for an NBUA Board of Director position.  I have completed three terms – six years – as a board member and I am eager to continue serving for another term.
As a board member, I served as the Director of Training, the Chair of the Bylaws, Policies & Procedures Committee, and most recently as President of the Association.  My time as an NBUA umpire and board member has confirmed a few realities:

.         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.
·         We have a great Training program that leverages on the great umpiring talent we have available and strongly supports the quality of the product we place on the field.
·         As an NBUA official, I take great pride in knowing four things about my partner:  1) my partner loves the game, 2) my partner loves to officiate, 3) my partner wants to be there, and 4) my partner wants to get better. 

My primary 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 supports the quality of the product we place on the field. 

As President, I’ve experienced first-hand how the quality of our product has significantly increased the demand for our services.  We recently increased our coverage for the Pacific International League (PIL) and the Puget Sound Senior Baseball League (PSSBL).  And the High Schools have more teams than ever when accounting for the Varsity and various sub-Varsity levels.  So it’s easy to be happy about our success.

But our success leads directly to some of our primary challenges.  We are often over-extended as an organization.  We have had turn-away games, and we have used umpires from other regions to cover busy weekends.  A primary objective of the next board should include improving recruiting and retention.  This was the primary challenge identified at the Baseball breakout at last week’s Washington Officials Association conference.  The NBUA is in the same situation as most other baseball officiating associations – we need to grow our ranks.  I want to note that our Recruiting Chair – Brian Rooney – has done a great job with recruiting.  Every year, Brian brings our organization 20-to-30 new apprentices.  But our current size does not support the demand for our services.

Another point of emphasis for the board should be clearer communication on the path to promotion.  What does it take to get to the next tier?  I believe our organization is eager to promote our deserving umpires and I think we can better explain the process.

These are some of the areas for improvement as I look forward to another term as a member of the NBUA Board of Directors.  And if elected again, I pledge to continue as a strong advocate for the NBUA.  Thank you for your consideration.

Jeffrey Borgida

Hello Fellow Blue!!!
My name is Jeffry Borgida and I am a candidate for the NBUA Board of Directors. Following 10 years with the association (and 10 previous years in Softball and Little League), I thought it was time to give back to NBUA.

I am currently the Director of HR and Revenue Operations for a local mid-size manufacturer of electric heaters. I have previously worked for large companies across the US and have led teams as large as 750 people and was responsible for $85M P&L’s. I have previously served on 3 boards (North Bothell Little League, Bellevue YMCA, and Leadership Eastside) and was Board President for LE. I am now at a point in my life where I have the time and capacity to give back to organizations and causes that I value.

I have been impressed and have the utmost respect for the NBUA Board and what it has done for the organization during the past 10 years. We have seen our pay increase, our training improve, and our reputation grow. I do not come to the table with dramatic new ideas or a contrary vision for the organization. I will be an advocate for the continuity of the association and the continued growth and development of our programs. Even though we have experienced significant pay increases over the past few years, I still believe we are underpaid for the level of service that we provide. I would like to see us continue to improve our training program and identify ways to incorporate video into our training and feedback. Lastly, I would like to see us continue to expand our in season training and development so that we can increase our knowledge base through actual game experiences from our fellow umpires.

Our association is something special and it would be an honor and privilege to represent you.

Thank you.

Michael Owsiak

I joined NBUA in 2020 after umpiring in Wisconsin and Washington for several seasons. Since 2021, I have served on both NBUA’s Finance Committee and Recruiting and Retention Committee where I have reviewed association budgets or financials, developed recruiting materials, and enhanced NBUA’s new hire orientation presentation. 

I also volunteer for my local Little League – Queen Anne for two years and Mill Creek for one year – where I support recruiting, training, and development for new umpires and parent volunteers. I view this as a great recruiting tool for those interested in taking on higher level, paid games. Of course, I refer them to NBUA!

Outside of NBUA, I work as a Program Manager for an industry leader where I am responsible for taking new products from ideation to launch, including how to train over 30,000 sales reps on the product and how to work with customers. In addition, I run a small CPA practice providing accounting and tax services to individuals and businesses across the United States. This 15+ years of experience has taught me about running an organization, focusing on the customer experience, and navigating stakeholders with various requirements to get things done.

If elected, I would emphasize further improvements to member training and advocating for further increases in member pay. I would also keep a watchful eye on the emergence of body cameras as there are many questions the association needs to think through (e.g., who pays for the cameras, who owns the equipment, who owns the video content, how can the content be used) for the benefits of our members. I would appreciate the opportunity to join the NBUA Board and serve its members.

Peyton Coffin

I’d like to thank you for electing me to the NBUA Board of Directors and giving me the
opportunity to positively influence our progress.

I’m asking you to put your faith in me to continue, by voting for me in the upcoming election. I’ve had many jobs over the years, including 5 years as the Assistant Director of the Singapore National Parks Board (that was fun and a little intense), but this one you voted me into has been one of the most interesting and rewarding.

We now have a distinct procedure to handle any flagrant and/or abusive improper conduct directed toward our members, we have clarified our member status and the use of guest umpires, we’ve clarified assigning parameters and award proposals and cleaned up preseason jamboree games — with the dedicated involvement of our assignor. Just some of the proposals I have made that have been put in place.

I also added an incident report portal to our website that communicates any member reports, good or not-so-much, that are apart from ejections, to all board members. You report something, your board takes action. At the moment, one thing we’re focusing on is restroom and porta-potty facilities. I mean, we all have to take a lea… … priorities.

This is my 19th season with NBUA (and several with Little League – which we should give more credit to) and last year I was honored to receive NBUA’s highest honor: The Brian Gooch Distinguished Service Award. Thank you.

From my responsibilities in 2020 converting our training to virtual, to re-writing much of NBUA’s Policies and Procedures, including indexing them for ease of reference, it has been an opportunity I’ve enjoyed. Enjoyed because of you, my brethren umpires and friends. We support each other on the field and behind the scenes as well.

I ask for your vote to continue my efforts for you for the next two (+) years.