COMMENTS FROM THE PRESIDENT

SEPTEMBER 2009

Not much has happened in the world of Florida horseshoe since the last newsletter. At our Annual Membership Meeting in April, several By-Law changes were voted on and approved. One of the changes is how we handle elections in the future. Each year 3 council seats are up for election. A voting booth would be set up on Friday and Saturday to hold an election whether the council seat was contested or not. The council felt that this was not necessary since there was no council seat contested. We changed the By-Laws and now if the incumbent is not challenged the incumbent will be elected by acclamation. If all 3 council members that are up for election are not contested then there will be no voting on Friday and Saturday as in the past. Since I became President no council member has been contested and if the past holds true we will not have a voting booth open at next years State Tournament. We also added to the Election of Officers By-Laws section that if there are no declared candidates for a vacant office I as President shall, with the approval of the Executive Council, fill the vacancy within 30 days.

Past President Jerry Michalek will be appointing a Nominating/Election committee for this year’s election. Council members up for reelection this year are Second and Forth VP and Sec/Treas. John Peplinski, Sec/Treas has informed me that he will not seek reelection due to personal reasons. I am sure that all of you remember 2 years ago John said he would not seek reelection but changed his mind because no one would step up to the plate. I can assure you that he will not change his mind this time. I have stated before that the Sec/Treas position is the most important position on the council and I hope there is a member that is willing to fill this very important position this time around.

We had over 30 participants at the World Tournament in Springfield, Illinois. Ron Deckard finished fifth in Sr Mens Class A but defended his title as Sr Mens Champion with an 8 - 3 record. This makes it 3 consecutive years for Ron. Other class winners were Bob Moulin, Elders Class C and Glen Hoppes, Sr Mens Class C. Congratulations Ron, Bob and Glen! You always run a risk of missing someone that finished first in their class and I hope I didn’t. If I did it was an honest mistake.

I am looking forward to the upcoming season and hope to see you soon at a tournament near you.

The next Executive Council meeting will be held on October 30, 2009 starting 10PM at the Orlando Horseshoe Club.

Bob Hilpertshauser

President FSHPA, Inc