Author Archives: wecsso
President’s Message
First of all, I would be remiss if I did not thank the Board of Directors for their support and hard work during the year; these people are the real “heroes”. As President I simply, along with the approval of the Board, delegate duties and responsibilities to various Board members. The Board members take their duties and responsibilities very seriously and always try to do what is best for the league. You may not always agree with their decisions but always remember that they are doing what is in the best interest of the league. The fact that many Board members have been on the Board for several years speaks volumes to their commitment and dedication to our slo-pitch league.
My past year as President has been very enjoyable for the most part. I have been President of several organizations, and I know that our Board members, me included, will be criticized from time to time for decisions that we make on your behalf. We always try to make decisions that will benefit you, the players in our league. If we find that one or more of our decisions are not well received by the players, then we adjust as needed.
Unfortunately, we have some players (luckily a very small minority) who continually like to criticize the Board for their decisions and spread their discontent to their fellow players. As President I can accept criticism of myself and that of my fellow Board members when “warranted”. What irritates me is the spreading of false information about the board and its’ members. As President, for example, I have been accused of making decisions arbitrarily without consulting the Board. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. I, as President, do not even have a vote. As president I simply carry out the decisions made by a majority vote of the Board members. The President may be the “face” of the Board but in no way the decision maker or decision influencer. The Board is the ultimate decision maker. All decisions are decided by a majority vote of the members, not just one or two members. To be told otherwise is false and misleading and detrimental to the wellbeing of our league.
I have not decided whether to run for a second term even though for the most part it has been a very enjoyable experience. I can accept criticism when it is warranted. The same is true with other Board members. The only thing that I/we would ask, that going forward, if you are told certain things about the Board in general or about any Board member including the President, please contact the President directly. Do not believe everything you hear. The President will give you the true facts and the reasoning behind the decisions made by the Board. You may not agree but at least you will have the facts not hearsay, lies or innuendos.
In closing I truly believe that the vast majority of our players are very supportive and agree with the decisions made by the Board on their behalf. These same people also believe that if decisions are not being well received, the Board will take immediate action to rectify the situation. Also, these same people realize that the Board members put a lot of work and effort into making our league the “best it can be”.
Have a great off-season and hopefully you plan and are able return to play for another season of WECSSO Summer slo-pitch. Also, remember if you want to know the latest happenings regarding our league, go to our much improved and up-to-date website.
Ron Ottogalli
President
2024 Annual Banquet
Greetings Everyone,
What a great way to end the season! We were just shy of 200 players and guests at the Ciociaro Club for our Year End banquet. What a great meal…thank you Ciociaro!
To all the businesses and members that donated door prizes, thank you for your support and generosity. Thank you to the Social Committee for organizing the evening and to WECSSO for sponsoring this event. To the members and guests, thank you for attending and we hope you enjoyed yourself.
Great company! Great food! A wonderful evening!
Have a safe and healthy off-season. See you in the Spring!
P.S. – Indoor ball starts November 5th at the Novelletto Centre. Check the website to follow the season.
October 2024 Update
Hard to believe that the season is done! A few end of year wrap-ups.
Annual General Meeting – October 2nd
Highlights:
- Elections – The following members were voted in for a two year term:
Rick Anderson Rob Ceschan
Don Balkwill Barbara Sanders
Aldo Bertucci Steve Sabina
The following members with one year remaining on their term:
Chris Brennan Patti Mouland
Tony D’Andrea Ron Ottogalli
Dave Haesler John Rudak
Past Presidents:
Brian Adlam Bob Parent
Please refer to the minutes from the 2024 AGM by clicking on the file below:
2. Constitutional Changes – None of the four proposals were adopted by the membership.
Annual Banquet – October 16th – Ciociaro Club
Approximately 200 members will be attending the Annual Banquet. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
Indoor Baseball – November 5th start date at the Novelletto Centre.
5 teams will be playing this season. Thank you to the Managers for volunteering.
Registration for 2025 – on-line registrations are available now. Hard copies will be available at the Annual Banquet and can be found on the website to print off.
Registrations are due by January 31st, 2025
Fees for 2025
One division – $75.00
Two divisions – $125.00
Cash, cheque or e-transfer to wecssobaseball@gmail.com
Tim Frederick Rounds
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tim Frederick Rounds on October 6th at the age of 77. After a long journey with Alzheimer’s, Tim joins his beloved wife Joan of 55 years, who pre-deceased him just two months ago.
Tim was a loving husband, caring father and grandfather and a dedicated educator. Left to mourn are his children Laurel (Jon) of Glen Allan and Will (Anthea) of London; his grandchildren, Betty, Nancy and Georgia; his sisters Pat Graham and Nancy Joachim and his brothers-in-law, Don Wither (Donna) and Bruce Wither (Joan). Tim will also be missed by extended family, many friends and teammates from his world travels and athletic pursuits.
Tim was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Mike and Arlene Rounds on a winter’s day in December 1946. He was the baby of the family and doted on by his big sisters. Tim’s family loved to hear his stories about his warm and unique childhood growing up in Tecumseh, Hamilton and Windsor.
Tim had a great sense of humour and fun coupled with a deep sense of responsibility and respect. This made him a valued principal, a good teammate and a great dad. He will be missed in school gyms, on golf greens and at baseball diamonds everywhere.
Tim’s family is grateful for the care and attention he and Joan received at the McCormick Home in London. All families should be blessed with such care for their loved ones in their twilight years. If desired, donations in Tim’s memory can be directed to the McCormick Care Foundation. IN MEMORY | mccormickcarefdn (mccormickcarefoundation.ca)
A celebration of Tim and Joan’s lives will be held at the Kingsville Golf Course on November 2nd from 2 to 5 pm. All who knew and loved our parents are invited to attend.
President’s Message-Sept 27, 2024
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Unfortunately, another season of WECSSO slo-pitch is in the books. Two teams have been declared winners, a third team was rained out. In my mind and probably others as well, we are all winners to a certain degree. We are winners since, at our advanced ages, we can continue playing this wonderful game of slo-pitch. We should “count our lucky stars” that we continue to have good health that enables us to get up every morning in the summer and look forward to going to the diamonds at Ciociaro. You may not have the skills that you once had but that does not stop you from enjoying the game and having fun at the same time.
We have three divisions of play- Red, Blue, and Green. Not all the players have the same athletic abilities for a variety of reasons. Players want to have the chance to play with players that they feel that they would be competitive with. Our three-division setup is unique in this regard. The Board of Directors strives to make sure that all three divisions are successful. No one division is more important than the other. We, as a Board, realize that players want to play with players of similar abilities and talents. Our three division setup enables this to happen. The Board also realizes if our league wants to remain successful, we must ensure that we keep and support the concept of three divisional play. No ifs, ands, buts or maybes!!!!!
The ball season may be over, but our league still has two important events- our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday Oct 2nd at 1pm at Ciociaro Club-Salon F and our Annual Banquet on Wednesday October 16th at the Ciociaro Club at 5pm (doors open at 3:30 pm)
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting is a good time to find out what the elected board members have done on your behalf. It is also a good time to say thank you for all the work that the Board does on your behalf. The Board of Directors are very committed and dedicated to providing the best league possible. Your presence at the AGM shows that you support their efforts. You may not agree with everything they do but at least you respect their efforts. Nothing would be more discouraging than having just a handful of players attend the AGM. I urge you to attend the AGM in support of your league.
You can go to our website and see the agenda for the AGM, our year-end financial statement, Minutes of the WECSSO 2023 AGM, several proposed changes to our constitution, along with the current Constitution. This will allow you to compare proposed changes to the current constitution. Come out to the meeting to have your say and vote on each proposal. It is very important for the board to hear what the membership thinks of these changes to our constitution. A vote will be taken on each proposal.
Another important part of the meeting is the election of six members to our Board. Six members currently have a 1-year term left to serve on the Board. If you have an interest in joining the Board, have someone nominate you at the meeting to run for the board.
One last point, even though you can now register online to play, registration forms will be available for those who do not have a computer.
ANNUAL BANQUET
If you have not yet purchased a ticket for the banquet, the AGM will be your LAST opportunity to do so. Cost is $25, with players only, getting a $10 refund at the door. NO tickets will be sold at the door of the Annual Banquet. There will be door prizes available and a share of the wealth draw. Contact Jack Bump if you have a door prize to donate or simply bring it with you to the banquet.
AGM Information
Dear members,
Our Annual AGM is on October 2nd, 2024 at 1 pm at Ciociaro, Salon F.
Please find below the documents you need to be fully informed.
WECSSO Financials AGM Sep 2024
CHANGES TO THE WINDSOR AND ESSEX COUNTY SENIOR SPORTS ORGANIZATION (Submitted by Bill Magone-Dated August 29, 2024)
- Article 3 B. The Board of Directors shall be made up of 12 members elected from and by the general membership at annual meetings. It will also include any Past Presidents who will have voting rights.
Six directors shall be elected annually for 2-year terms; which means that there will be a carryover of 6 directors each year for purposes of continuity on the board. In the event of vacancies on the Board before any term of office is up, replacements shall be filled according to the votes at the previous general election.
To be eligible for election to the Board of Directors, candidates must be in good standing and in attendance at the annual meeting, or have submitted a signed letter of intent.
Proposed changes to Article 3 B: The Board of Directors shall be made up of 13 members elected from and by the general membership at annual meetings. There shall be no grandfathering of Past Presidents.
Six directors shall be elected annually for 2-year terms; which means that there will be a carryover of 6 directors each year for purposes of continuity on the board. In the event of vacancies on the Board before any term of office is up, replacements shall be filled according to the votes at the previous general election. The new position of President shall be the 13th member of the Board. This position will be elected annually by the general membership at annual meetings. This position will oversee the running of the Board of Directors and WECSSO in general. There is no limit on the number of years a person can run for President, this shall be decided by the general membership.
To be eligible for election to the Board of Directors, candidates must be a fully registered and full-time playing member of WECSSO. Full time means the candidate must prove that they played a vast majority of games during the season in the year of the annual meeting. Injury shall be considered a valid reason for missing games. Illness, work and vacation time will not be considered as valid reasons for absence.
- Article 3 D. Officers of the Board of Directors shall be elected annually from and by the members of the Board and the Past President(s) and shall consist of a:
Proposed changes to Article 3 D: Officers of the Board of Directors, excluding the President, shall be elected annually from and by the members of Board. Only the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary shall be entrusted with handling amounts of money exceeding $250.00.
The position of Registrar will be changed from a Position of Responsibility to an Officer of the board. This position will also be entrusted with handling amounts of money exceeding $250.00 to facilitate the collection of monies from players, coaches, etc. at various functions.
Past President: shall be for a term of one year, in an advisory capacity to the incoming President. The Past President position shall NOT have any voting rights.
Article 4 A. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be called by the President as he or she deems needed.
Proposed changes to Article 4 A. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held on the same day of the week and time monthly. This day and time will be discussed, and the calendar set at the first meeting of a newly elected board to be decided on. Should any meeting be deemed unnecessary a vote of the Board by email and/or phone will be needed to cancel a scheduled meeting. Nine votes will be necessary to cancel a meeting.
- Proposed change: Any and all proposed changes passed by the general membership at the annual meeting October 2, 2024, shall go into effect immediately when passed.
Our Constitution can be found under the “About Us” section on the menu.
League Championship Results
Talk about dramatic!
In a WECSSO Blue division championship final for the ages, Steve Sabina’s Broncos defeated Terry Renaud’s plucky Relics 19-18 on Tuesday – when Glen Gedge cranked an inside-the-park, grand-slam home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
With misty rain drizzling all morning at the Ciociaro Softball Complex, the Broncos had just rallied with six runs in the (open) top of the ninth, to turn a 15-12 deficit into an 18-15 lead in the back-and-forth final.
It took the blue-topped Broncos only five batters in the bottom of the ninth to snatch back victory from the grey-clad Relics. Al Setterington led off by reaching first on an infield error. Mickey Hergott singled, and Jody Baynton advanced only Hergott on a fielder’s choice. Al Raeside then singled to load the bases.
Gedge’s hefty blast barely cleared the glove of a Relics outfielder in left-centre, and rolled nearly to Diamond No. 2’s fence. Hergott, Baynton, Raeside and Gedge all scored before the Relics could relay the ball home.
Is softball a game of inches? You betcha. Had Gedge’s blast been inches shorter, and been caught by the Relics outfielder, there would have been two outs. Even had Hergott tagged up and scored from third on the fly out, the Relics would have been up two, one out away from the championship.
Baynton was the only player on either team to score five runs; he hit two doubles and a single and walked once. Afterward he said the Broncos’ clutch comeback – only minutes after the disappointment of seeing the Relics burst ahead in the top of the ninth – was emblematic of his team’s late-season hitting heroics.
“All year we’ve bounced back,” Baynton said. “We’ve had games where we scored 25 runs. We never give up, never quit – no matter how bad it looks. We just keep coming, and coming. It’s a total team effort. Different players rise when needed.
“Once we got into the round-robin, we really stepped up. We believed. I mean, the first three games of the round-robin we scored 58 runs.”
Baynton said a crucial ingredient in the Broncos’ success was that they prided themselves all season on never sniping at one another. That attitude paved the way for their championship run, once eliminations began last week, he said.
“For the entire season, nobody on the team has gotten down on anybody. Everybody has been positive, and I think we all feed off that positive energy. It’s been a great season.”
Setterington’s pitching was no small factor in the Broncos’ 2024 championship. His usually well-placed reverse-spinners continually forced opposing batters to pop up, fly out or mis-hit grounders for easy outs. That said, Relics batters – to their credit – on Tuesday scrounged enough good hits off Setterington to have beaten most teams.
“Good pitching always beats good hitting, right?” Baynton said. “That’s the secret. Al struggled a little bit today, but he puts that little twist on it and gets the hitters off a little bit, and that keeps them from driving the ball deep. About 95% of the Relics’ hits today were in-betweeners – over our infielders, in front of our outfielders.”
The Relics had placed only sixth in the seven-team Blue-division’s playoff-seeding round-robin (truncated by rainouts) from late August to early September. But they won their two elimination games to reach the championship game.
On Tuesday the Relics jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first, and led 7-4 after three innings, before the Broncos’ bats got hot. The Broncos took their first lead in the bottom of the fifth, 12-11. A three-run seventh gave them a 15-12 lead heading into the decisive, dramatic ninth.
“There are no superstars on this team,” Baynton said. “It’s a good group of guys who gelled at the right time.”
Story by John Kryk (Green/Blue Division)
Congratulations to Broncos for winning the 2024 Blue Division Championship
2024 Blue Division Finalists: Relics
Green Division Championship rained out. No final was determined.
Congratulations to Leisures for winning the 2024 Red Division Championship
2024 Red Division Finalists: Vikings
Irwin Philip (Casey) Jones
Gone to be with the Lord on September 2, 2024 at 89 years of age.
Loving husband of Rita for 66 years. Cherished father to Chris (Helen), Keith (Laurie), Brian (Julie), Tim (Kim) and Terry (Sheila). Loving grandfather to Ashley (Eric), Ryan (Melissa), TJ (Meg), Christopher (Jenn), Lucas, Brayden, Morgan, Hayley, Melina, Evie, Elise and great-grandfather to Hazel, Matthew, Jeremy, James, Kelly, Peyton, Penelope, Levi, Isabella and McKenzie. Son of the late Forrest and Sarah Jones. Dear brother of Doris Robak (late Frank), Ken (Freda), Patricia Colwell (Tom), Alvin (Florence), Richard (Marylin), Larry (Linda), John (Tracey) and the late Ron (Mary Rose). Also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Irwin travelled to Calgary at the age of 18 to join the Canadian Forces. He became a member of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (RCAC) and was stationed in Germany for two years peacekeeping post Korean War. Retired from Ford Motor Company in 1995 with 30 years of service. Over the years, Casey involved himself in the LaSalle community including the Turtle Club baseball, Slo-Pitch in both LaSalle and Windsor-Essex, Sandwich West Hockey, LaSalle Parks and Recreation Board, and Boy Scouts Canada. Member of Parkwood Gospel Church, being involved in various leadership roles and expressions of ministry. Irwin and Rita cherished the healthy years spending time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lived life to the fullest with determination and courage. To say that he will be missed is an understatement.
Special thanks to the PSW’s, Nurses and team at Extendicare Southwood Lakes, and all those caregivers who came to the family home over the many years before Irwin entered long term care.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Alzheimer Society of Windsor-Essex County or the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County would be appreciated.
Visitation on Friday, September 6, 2024 from 3-5 & 7-9 p.m. and Saturday, September 7, 2024 from 10 a.m. until time of Funeral Service at 11 a.m. at Families First, 3260 Dougall Avenue, South Windsor (519-969-5841). Interment Heavenly Rest Cemetery.
Door Prizes for Wednesday October 16th Annual Banquet
Greetings everyone,
Our Annual Banquet is just around the corner. How is it already September?
As in years past, anyone wishing to provide a door prize for the banquet, your generosity is welcome.
Over the next several weeks, Patti and Barbara will be collecting door prizes at the ball park before and after the games. Bringing the donation to the AGM on October 2nd also works.
Anyone wishing for a letter from WECSSO, that states you are collecting for our banquet, can get one from me, upon request. Should an organization request a receipt, we will provide it.
Thank you for your generosity, it is greatly appreciated.
Any questions. comments are concerns, let us know. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the banquet on Wednesday October 16th at Ciociaro.
Social Committee