Little League baseball is a very
good thing because it keeps
the parents off the streets.
~ Yogi Berra

BOSL – OUR VOLUNTEERS

"We Need You!"

August 28, 2011 - Tournament Volunteers Needed
It's already that time of year, if you can believe it. The year-end season tournament is approaching. I am coordinating the tournament this year and I am looking for volunteers to help out. There is a fair amount of setup and takedown work to be done. If we can get 6 or 7 guys early every morning and after all the action each night that should work.

If you are able to volunteer let me know which of the time slots you want below, (there is no time slot for beer testing).

B.O.S.L. TOURNAMENT - September 2011 -- VOLUNTEER LIST

Thanks, Larry Gagnon (Tournament Director)

"Thank You!"

June 20, 2011 - News
Now that the tournament is over I would like to thank the many people that helped make the tournament a success. All of the BOSL board members, especially Tom Clancy were there at all times to keep me on track and I appreciate it. Many of our members volunteered their time and helped out with the setup and tear-down duties. Your assistance turned a three hour job into 30 minutes of orderly chaos each morning and evening. Thank you.

A big thank you to Joy Clancy who ran the concession stand. You did an excellent job, and took a big weight off of my shoulders. That gave me much more time to focus on other tasks like beating Jerry's Auto in the consolation finals. Thanks Joy!!!

Thank you to our student volunteers. They kept the park immaculate, and really helped out with pop/water sales. I hope it was a positive community service experience.

Thank you to John Romano (Better Bitters) and Ted Kindos (Gator Teds). Great job with the food and beer guys. The breakfast burrito has become an indispensable part of the BOSL tournaments.

Now that we have the mid-season tournament completed I would like to hear your feedback. Did we hit the mark with what you wanted to see in a slo-pitch tournament? What did you think about the extension of the beer garden? What could we do better? Is there anything we need to stop doing? Let me know. Please email me directly at larry@bosl.ca . I’ll review all submissions and take the feedback to the board of directors.

Thank you,, Larry Gagnon (Tournament Director)

To all BOSL Players,

Hopefully everyone is off to a great start this year and enjoying the action on and off the field.  3 games in and only one team remains undefeated which is great to see as far as parity/balance goes!

As you all know, our league is what it is because of the countless volunteers that donate their time and efforts to benefit the league as a whole.  Many times it’s the familiar faces of your captains and board members that are the noticeable volunteers out there and, believe me, they all do an fantastic job week after week, year after year.  But the need for volunteers goes much deeper than just the captain and board level and, simply put, without the on-going help of the many other players, wives, etc., who donate their time throughout the year we wouldn’t be able to do many of the things we do as a league.

I just wanted to take a moment to recognize a few of your fellow league mates who have gone above and beyond the call of duty this year, those who may not always be front and centre, but who are donating their time in the back ground to help get things done. 

Steve Rowsell (Great Lakes Hydraulics) has ran our Blood Drive Contest for the past 2 years and does a great job on it to say the least.  Steve was also a big help in re-doing our league schedule to make it as balanced as possible which was a huge undertaking considering we have 4 parks, 3 different playing times, 15 opponents, home vs away, etc., to factor into the mix – not to mention a super picky President to please during the whole process!  So nice work on the schedule this year, Steve and thanks for your help overall in making our league a better one.

Lee Labonte  who despite taking this year off to heal some BOSL war wounds volunteered his time and know how to re-grip all of the league-owned bats in an effort to save us from having to go out and buy new bats in a year where that would be a luxury for sure.  Thank you Lee and also thanks for corking the Better Bitters team bats as I had requested.

Brent Craigie & Dave Gedeon (Battlefield Graphics) for their years of support when the league was in need of printed material (booklets, posters, etc.) – This year is no different as they will be donating the tickets for our upcoming raffle to raise the funds needed for the league’s new AEDs (Defibrillators).  Thank you gentlemen!

Speaking of our AEDs, this was the brainchild of Larry Gagnon (BDO Canada LLP) who both came up with the idea and left no stone unturned in his research to ensure we were doing the right thing.  Within a few weeks, all of our parks will have AEDs in the equipment bins and we are in the process of getting several captains, board members and players trained up in the use of these AEDs.  Let’s hope that we never have to see one used, but it will certainly be comforting knowing they are readily available should the need ever arise.  Also thank you to Brian Blume, Dan Robertson and John Bowers who were all helpful in the researching of potential suppliers.

Led by our Treasurer and CST Marketing captain, Dale Latendresse, a small group of BOSL players lent their expertise and time to help our friends on the Burlington Blues (Special Olympics Softball Program) during their recent Skills Camps.  There were 4 of these sessions over the last month and Dale’s team of Don Radke, Lloyd Lunan, and John Bowers, as well as youngsters Zachary Radke, Tanner Radke and Noah Porkolab all got much more out of the experience than they put in.  You all did the league proud again – so thank you!  The Skills Camp itself was put in by long-time BOSL Umpire, Ken Medland who is a big, big part of the Burlington Special Olympics program overall.

Speaking of Ken, and though not technically volunteers due to the millions of dollars they earn umping our games, I do want to both thank and say good bye to three veteran BOSL Umpires in Ken Medland, Turk Trtany and Angelo Bragagnolo.  These three gentlemen have been fixtures for years at our parks and have done a great job overall.  Thank you for your many years of service and we wish all three of you the best moving forward and definitely don’t be strangers as we’d love to see you pop by the parks for a visit whenever you get the chance.

In closing, thank you to all of our volunteers for your past and continued help – it is very much appreciated.  Larry Gagnon will soon be sending out a request for volunteers to help with the Mid-Season Tournament and hopefully some new faces will step forward to join the usual cast of characters that have volunteered regularly at our tournaments over the years and we can put on another great BOSL weekend for everyone!

Mike Porkolab, President, BOSL