I was more than overwhelmed and greatly honored when I was nominated for ECSA Hall of Fame in 2007. When I first began playing softball I had no idea that it would be such a great and wonderful experience. I certainly never expected to be a Commissioner, since, as many of you know, my softball skills are not very highly developed. It has been such great fun being part of the Open Division and I feel myself lucky to have been able to work and play alongside or for many of those already in the Hall of Fame.
During this last year I have had the exciting experience to be part of the Northwest Quest Committee. As most of you know the Northwest Quest Committee organized the ECSA winning bid to host the Gay Softball World Series (GSWS) here in Seattle in 2008. Here are some of my contributions to the committee:
As I reflect on the past 12 years the one thing I do know for sure is that I will continue to keep playing softball until the time comes that I need a walker or can no longer stand for an hour. I have very much enjoyed the hundreds or even thousands of hours that I have spent on the softball field practicing and playing and even most of the hours I spent as a Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner.
Here is a short list of my involvement with the ECSA:
Of all the things that I accomplished during my tenure as Commissioner I would have to say that I was most proud of the accomplishments made to create a league that had a place for everyone. When I started playing we had three divisions A, B & C. One of the first things I wanted to do was create a new lower division so that new players and players with limited skill level (such as I) would be able to enjoy softball. With that in mind we created the C Recreational Division (now the D Division). We were one of the first cities in NAGAAA to create such a Division. The first year we went from 10 to 15 team and the 2nd year we increased to 20 teams. Almost all of our growth has come from the D Division. It makes me proud to be part of creating something that has not only been very successfully locally but has also been implemented in NAGAAA and has seen the number of softball players in almost every city grow substantially.
There are other minor accomplishments that I am proud, mostly creating processes for running the league which are still used today. One of those would be the Player Packets we give to all players at the beginning of the year. It was an idea we gleaned from the many tournaments that I have traveled and played. I thought if you get a player packet from one weekend you should definitely get one for an entire season.
This nomination would not be complete without recognizing the one person that was and is at my side to make any of the contributions I made a success. Dug Wehage was the Membership Director while I was Commissioner and he was literally my right hand man, or maybe more appropriate, my Nancy Reagan (sorry for the younger ones that may not understand the reference). Dug was always there with the greatest ideas, tons of energy and ensured that I kept on task. It was a great honor to be able to introduce him last year for his Hall of Fame induction.
I am proud to have been a part of this organizations history and growth and hope to be very involved in its future.