Benicia Little League: Welcome

 All Junior Division Fall Ball members were told to be available this coming Saturday, 9-4-10 for a 1 pm practice and game at Fitzgerald Field.  That practice and scrimmage is now CANCELLED.  

Teams will be formed and a schedule announced on this site by next Monday, 9-6-10.  Please check back for an update.

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

 Background
 
In past years, Benicia Little League has elected its board of directors by the majority vote of those present at the annual meeting during which all who attended could cast a ballot.  This process has, at times, been confusing and chaotic as some people simply appeared at the election meetings, cast a ballot, and disappeared.  It was possible for total strangers who had no idea of how Benicia Little League operates to determine the members of the board for the next season. 

Immediately after last year's election, Jim Sperring, District Administrator for District 53 advised the board that our process was neither in compliance with Little League International guidelines nor our own individual Constitution and should be changed immediately.  .He recommended that the board initiate a review of the election procedures to fix the problem.

Consequently, during the past season, the board has reviewed Little League International manuals and guidelines as well as the Benicia Little League Constitution (which was last updated on January 2, 2001 and a copy of which is available at this link:

 Link to Benicia Little League Constitution

The procedures described therein and further reviewed below have been discussed at length during the monthly meetings held this past season. Any who have attended the montly meetings should be familiar with those procedures.

Based on this review, the board has determined that the past policy of allowing anyone who shows up at the annual meeting to vote shall be discontinued immediately as it is NOT in compliance with Benicia Little League's own Constitution.  For the forthcoming election, the board will comply with the process described in the Constitution and further clarified by BLL International's recommended procedures for the upcoming fiscal year.  Therefore, the changes outlined below were NOT invented by the board; instead, it is the board's implementation of the procedures as outlined in our Constitution which, regrettably, have been overlooked in past years..

Per the Constitution, those who are eligible to vote at the annual meeting to elect the board members for the upcoming season and other membership meetings are called Regular Members.  The purpose of this article is to explain the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of a Regular Member, how to become a member and how such a member differs from other league participants.  Further, Benicia Little League is hereby conducting a Membership Drive to solicit those who wish to become Regular Members of Benicia Little League and therefore participate in the upcoming election.  All who are interested are invited to apply.

It should be emphasized that for those who choose not to become Regular Members there will be no change in the rights and privileges associated with participation in the league.  League particiipants who do not choose to become Regular Members may continue to enjoy the programs and benefits associated with Benicia Little League.

The only difference between league participants and Regular Members is that the Regular Members will acquire additional rights and responsibilities.  Those rights include the right to vote at the annual meeting which will determine the next board of directors plus other special meetings.  The responsibilities will be described later in this article.

What special meetings?  For example, after the annual meeting, the board anticipates that the Regular Members may be asked to vote on possible amendments to its Constitution.  The responsibilities include the duty to contribute time and talents to further the goals of Benicia Little League.  In essence, Regular Members become "Super Volunteers."  For example, the board may call on the Regular Members to prepare updates to the Constitution, to be the project director of a specific field maintenance project such as was recently done at Liberty Field or to organize volunteers for the All Star tournaments.  In essence, the Regular Members are the "go to" people who are willing to take on tasks essential to the day-to-day operations of the league. They are the muscle required to further the goals of Benicia Little League.

Due to the sheer size of Benicia Little League, many volunteers are needed to properly run its programs.  Due to time constraints, the board is unable to manage those programs without additional help.  The board will rely on its Regular Members to fill any gaps.

How to become a Member?
 
First, and most important, a prospective Regular Member must be one who actively participates in activities to further the objectives of the League.  Per the Constitution, prospective regular members include all current managers, coaches, volunteer umpires, board members, team parents, volunteer maintenance workers, and any other persons over the age of 18 (age limit imposed by Little League International) who are interested in furthering the objectives of the League.
 
Next, prospective members should apply to become a member by completing the membership application form by clicking on the link below:

Regular Membership Application Form

or, on request, from any member of the Membership Committee.  Upon completion of the form, the candidate should submit it to

Benicia Little League

 340 East I Street

Benicia CA  94510

or, alternatively, to any member of the Membership  Committee.  The Constitution states that the Membership committee is to be comprised of 3 board members and 1 other Regular Member.  Although we do not currently have any Regular Members as yet, for this membership drive, the board has appointed Tom Daniels (ams4te@prodigy.net), Denten Eldredge (nyystink@yahoo.com), Padraig O’Connor (pjoconnor73@gmail.com), and Jon Wood (jonwoodcpa@hotmail.com and postal address of 683 Knight Drive, Benicia) to act as the Membership Committee.  This committee will review membership applications, investigate as needed and recommend those qualified for membership to the board.

The deadline for processing applications is Saturday, September 4, 2010.   This date was chosen to allow the Membership Committee adequate time to review all applications and to comply with the 10 day dues payment specified below prior to the election meeting on September 14th.  Applications may be delivered by US mail or other delivery service, by email or in person.  All mailed applications should be postmarked by that date.  E-mailed applications should be dated by midnight of that date.  Hand-delivered applications should be delivered to 1 of the committee members by midnight of that date.

Again, per the Constitution, to complete the process of becoming a member in good standing, candidates will then pay a nominal amount of annual dues.  The board has set the dues amount at $5.  Prospective members who fail to pay their dues within 10 days of application and approval will be dropped from all rights and privileges of membership.  If payment of dues represents a hardship for candidates, the Membership Committee reserves the right to wavie said dues.  Candidates who are thus approved by the Membership Committee shall then be deemed to be members in good standing.  The Secretary of the league, Denten Eldredge, shall then issue a sequentially numbered identification membership card to the member.  The Secretary will compile and maintain as necessary a roll of all qualified members.  The Secretary will use this list to identify members eligible to vote and, at all membership meetings, to determine whether a quorom of 20% of members in good standing necessary to transact business. 

Meetings and Voting
 
A General meeting is any meeting of the Regular Members of the league.  The Constitution states that notice of each General Membership Meeting shall be delivered personally, electronically, or by mail to each Member at their last recorded address at least 7 days in advance of the meeting, setting forth the place, time and purpose of the meeting.  Notices posted on the league web site shall be considered to comply with the notice requirement.

The meeting to elect next year’s board of directors is scheduled for Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at the LDS church at 1130 Southampton Road at 7:00 pm.
 
Per the Constitution, at the beginning of any general membership meeting, the Election chairman (who is appointed at the meeting) will determine if the quorom of 20% of its Regular Members in good standing is present either in person or by absentee ballot as determined by those on the Secretary's membership roll.   If a quorum is not present, no business shall be conducted.  Assuming the presence of a quorum, the members may conduct such as business as is necessary.
 
Only Regular Members shall be entitled to make motions and vote at General Membership Meetings.

Absentee Ballots Explained

To accommodate a Regular Member in good standing who cannot be in attendance at the Annual Meeting or any General Membership Meeting at which new board members will be elected, an absentee ballot may be requested and obtained from the Secretary of the League, Denten Eldredge.  The absentee ballot shall be obtained from the Secretary, properly completed, signed and returned in a sealed envelope to the Secretary prior to the date of the election.  The Secretary shall present all absentee ballots to the Election Chairman on the date of the meeting, prior to the voting portion of the election process.

Please note that this process is NOT being implemented to manipulate the process of electing the board of directors.  Instead, it is a response to the direction given to the board by Jim Sperring, District 53 Administrator and is mandated by the League's Constitution.  The current board of directors endorses the process and is making every effort to inform all involved with Benicia Little League so that no interested party will be left out.

The board would like all those interested to become Regular Members.  To reach out to candidates, the board has or will send a recorded telephone message to all those for whom we have valid phone numbers, an email message to all those for whom we have email addresses, a recorded message on our league hotline number, a newspaper article, as well as this web site.  The board further encourages all those contacted to share this information with other potentially interested parties.

Those interested in becoming a Regular Member of Benicia Little League are hereby invited to complete the application process described above.  Benicia Little League needs the support of those who can contribute their time and talents to help further the goals of Little League.  For more information, contact Jon Wood at 707-319-5621 or jonwoodcpa@hotmail.com.