MGSHPA President Cathy Ziemann

Happy Fall Everyone!

First off, I would like to thank everyone who has congratulated me and offered support as I assume the role of President of the MGSHPA!  I am overwhelmed by the good wishes. I know I have big shoes (really BIG shoes) to fill and want to THANK Rick Wright for all he has done for our association during his nine-year reign. He has truly made the MGSHPA an association to be proud of and one who leads the way for other states.  

We have some new regional vice-presidents joining the Board this year and I welcome them and look forward to working with them. I am confident we have a good mix of people on the board. Please feel free to contact any of us with comments, concerns and ideas. Our association will only be as successful as our least engaged member, so I challenge/call upon all members to become involved with your local club and our state association.  

The 2014 State Singles Tournament was a great success. Thank you again to the Alexandria Club for hosting this event. Some highlights during the Championship Classes  were: Sig Armitage pitching an 88.88% game; Janet Larson & Sara Otto playing a 70 Show game where they both pitched over 65%; and Dale Lipovsky winning his 31st Men's Championship. The banquet was pretty emotional also. Jerry Werk presented his father Glen with the Hall Of Fame award in the Founder's Division. Dick David from Montgomery was elected to the Hall of Fame as a promoter and Dale & Lenny Lipovsky were awarded their 50-year membership patches. Great Achievements!

Please remember to sign up for the fall & winter tournaments in Upsala, they always seem to fill up quickly. The 2015 World Tournament will be held close (relatively speaking) in Topeka, KS. I am hoping we have a large MGSHPA contingent, so be sure to get qualified early!  

Hope you have a great upcoming Holiday season.

The 2014 MGSHPA Fall Membership Meeting was held Sunday August 31, 2014 during the State Singles Tournament at the Runestone Arena in Alexandria. 

At 1:50pm, President Rick Wright welcomed approximately 71 members.

A motion was made by Dick Dvorak, seconded by Robin Constance to accept the 2014 MGSHPA Spring meeting minutes as published in the 2014 June-July edition of the Ringer Digest.  The motion carried.

Officer reports

Financial Report - Bonnie Holland prepared a report that was available to all present.  Current balance is $4,833, there are still a few minor tournament expenses to pay and raffle ticket sales will be added to balance. Current membership is 676 Adults, 83 Juniors and 3 Lifetime Members. A motion was made by Dick Dvorak, seconded by Erwin Tischer to accept report, the motion carried. For all league secretaries: please submit and delinquent membership information and dues to Bonnie as quickly as possible. 

Constitution & Bylaws - Gordy Schimdt reported that the NHPA has proposed a rule change in the language regarding suspension of members. (See the Constitution & Bylaws article (located directly to the side of this article in the Digest for more information.) 

Regional Vice-Presidents - reported on successful seasons for clubs around the state. Many local clubs held summer tournaments, many of which were held at the West St. Paul courts due to inclement weather. A reminder was made to all Tournament Directors to get results turned into the State Statistician in a timely manner.  

Junior Director - (Josh Olson) and his family hosted the Junior Party at Casey's Amusement Park and all thought it was a great success. Josh is working towards a Junior's only tournament in 2015, and is anticipating holding it in Forest Lake. Look for more information in an upcoming Ringer Digest.

Regional Director - Dustin Dahl reported that Minnesota had 3 Class Champions at the 2014 World Tourney held in Buffalo, NY.  The 2015 World Tourney will be held in Topeka, KS, and 2016 was awarded to Montgomery, AL.

Promotions Director Shawn Warnemunde presented the $100.00 new member incentive award to Marlys Timm, who recruited 11 new MGSHPA members for 2014.

Ringer Digest - Kayla Yaeger has assumed the E-Digest (Ringer Digest) duties. She reported that currently we have 926 active e-mail accounts receiving the Digest. If you haven't done so already, please get your e-mail address to Jerry LaBrosse (jlabro6186@aol.com) so you too can receive our state and national horseshoe publications. 

State tournaments

2014 State Singles Tournament - Janet Larson will submit final report to the Board during the fall/winter Board Meeting. 

2014 State Doubles Tournament - Sylvia Burggraff will submit a final report to the Board during the fall/winter Board Meeting.  

2015 & 2016 State Singles Tournaments were awarded to Morrison County & Ringers of Rice to be held at the Genola Arena. 

The 2015 & 2016 State Doubles Tournaments were awarded to the Bloomington Horseshoe Club.

New business

Jerry LaBrosse reported that October will be the first "Horseshoes in the Valley" event in Prim Valley, NV. These events will be similar to the "Dakota Magic Tournaments".  The venue will rent the MGSHPAs portable courts at a charge of $1,000 per event. The money from the rentals will go to the MGSHPA to pay for electronic scoring equipment. Check your e-mail for more details and entry forms.  

State Electronic Equipment - currently the MGSHPA has purchased 7 lap-top computers that can be refurbished to use for tournament scoring. The Board plans to purchase small numbers of lap-tops each year until we get the desired quantity.  

2014 officer elections

By acclimation the following officers were installed:

President - Cathy Ziemann

North East Vice President - Shawn Warnemunde

South East Vice President - Denny Keogh

East Metro Vice President - Jim Woods

Offices due for election in 2015: 

Secretary - currently held by Bonnie Holland

West Metro Vice President - currently held by Robin Constance

Open forum

A proposal was prepared and presented on behalf of Bonnie Holland. Bonnie made a motion that volunteer positions for the MGSHPA - as listed on the back page of the Digest - be given an annual stipend of $50.00. This motion was seconded by Dick Dvorak and the motion passed. 

Sara Otto reported that the Senior Games are coming to Bloomington, July 3-7, 2015. There are about 200 Horseshoe pitchers expected to participate.  Volunteers will be needed for scorekeeping and court preparation. Please let Sara know if you are interested.  

A motion was made by Dick Dvorak and seconded by Rob Hagman to adjourn the meeting.  The meeting adjourned at 2:50 pm.

First, thank you to all that supported our tournament. I must say we had some beautiful weather to start the day. In the morning classes Phil Rodenberg tore through class E by posting a 5-0 record and pitching a hefty 16.4% which was 8.73% over his entry. Class D was won by Isanti club newcomer Gordy Andersen who went 4-1 and pitched 9.4% over his average to end at 34.40%. In the afternoon my sister, Jody Nelson, beat out Rick Wright on ringers to win class C. Al Zimmerman in class B pitched a perfect 5-0 and had a ringer percentage of 46.8% to outlast cadet Colton Williams' 38% and in the championship class Mike Demars became our latest tournament champ by going 4-1 and edging out heavyweights Sig Armitage and Bob Knudtson. Congratulations to all place winners.

I would personally like to invite everyone to our pits next year. We aren't too far from either the cities or St. Cloud and don't be too shy to pitch in some dirt/clay mixture. We can moisten it to your liking. Hope to see you next year.