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CSSA BOARD MEETING MINUTES
May 2, 2022
The monthly meeting of the CSSA Board of Directors was held May 2, 2022, at Gameday Grill in Woodstock, and called to order by Norman Thiem at 6:30 P.M.
Members Present: Norm Thiem, Maria Burden, Dewey Hom, Leland Brown, Randy Bergman, Mike Maguire, Dan Bonham, Dick O’Connor, Bob Werner, Mike Parson, John Humeston, Robbie Crider, Ray DeLuca and James Bauch. No Board Members were absent.
A. Minutes of the April 4, 2022 meeting, having been emailed to all, were Board approved.
B. Treasurer/Financial Report, showing projected assets of $15,000 by the end of the Spring season, was Board approved.
C. 2022 Sponsors: All CSSA sponsors have either already paid or have committed, and we have enough sponsors to cover the Skip Wells League for the first time.
D. Jerseys: Most teams have their new jerseys and the rest are in the works. 2021 championship shirts, which will be produced free of charge to the CSSA, are being designed and will be ready by the end of the Spring season.
E. Possible Replacement for TeamPages and Constant Contact: Dan Bonham is still exploring alternative options and will have more to report soon.
F. Collection of Old Jerseys for Charity: CSSA will be collecting as many old CSSA jerseys and used softball equipment as possible, to be donated to Gloves for God and other organizations that sponsor baseball and softball teams for those in need. A collection box could be established for the jerseys to be kept at games. This will be posted on the TeamPages site.
G. 2022 Golf Tournament: Plans for the 2022 CSSA Charity Golf Tournament, which will take place Thursday, June 23, 2022 at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club are coming along well. Twelve of the eighteen hole sponsorships have already been secured at a rate of $100 per hole. More than one sponsor may be accepted per hole if interested sponsors exceed eighteen. This needs to be finalized ASAP to allow time for printing of signs, etc. City of Refuge, which focuses its efforts on ending human trafficking and homelessness, will be an additional beneficiary of this year’s charity golf tournament. All members of CSSA are encouraged to recruit foursomes to sign up for the event and to bring awareness to this event.
H. Player Injuries from Batted Balls: Some recent injuries have brought to light the need to establish a concussion protocol to be employed, and a set of instructions to be used in the event of a possible concussion during a game. The BOD decided to establish a set of instructions and procedures for Managers to use in identifying a possible concussion situation requiring intervention and action to protect that player, as an injured player is not not able to assess their own level of injury. Maria Burden will research and draft a concept document for review at the June 1st BOD meeting.
I. First Aid Kits: The BOD discussed the need for a new set of First Aid Kits to be created and kept in the scorekeepers booth at every game in case a player is in need of an instant ice pack, wound cleanser, antiseptic, coverage for abrasions, etc. While kits were purchased in the past, they became depleted and eventually lost. Leland Brown was nominated to be the Safety Director in charge of establishing the new first aid kits and conducting a monthly inventory/audit of the new kits during the season. Kits will be purchased by the start of the 2022 Fall season, and the Safety Director will get them resupplied before the start of each subsequent season. Maria Burden will assist.
J. Pinch Runners: The BOD voted to uphold the rule which states that in order for a player to be eligible as a pinch runner in a game, that player must be in the lineup.
K. Field conditions: Field conditions were discussed, with emphasis on recent injuries to infield players from excessively hard-packed dirt with serious undulations causing bad hops off batted balls. The home plate area has also become hollowed out and hardened and is potentially hazardous to runners approaching home plate and having to step into a deep recess to hit the plate. The board discussed what can be done to level out the home plate area for batters and runners. James Bauch volunteered the possibility of bringing his skid steer to level off the infield (if the CRPA allows it). Members also discussed the possibility of obtaining a comprehensive home plate mat that has integrated right- and left-handed batters boxes. Some members felt that unless the home plate area is leveled out, the flexible mat will follow the topography and dip into the hollow areas, potentially creating a new trip/pitching hazard. Mike Parson will research the mat concept and report back to the BOD at the next meeting.

Norman Thiem reminded league directors that all team managers must collect the new jerseys from players at the end of the Spring season so they can be reused for future seasons. Players who do not return their jerseys will be required to pay for them.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 P.M.
The next BOD meeting will be Monday, June 6, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.

Attention all golfers!! It’s time to register for the 2022 CSSA Charity Golf Tournament June 23rd at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club! Let’s get together and make this our most successful event ever.
Register Here: https://www.teampages.com/organizations/2042/pages/187047
Proceeds will go to benefit the following charities:
• Circle of Friends – This group works with mentally challenged young adults and offers them employment in a coffee shop in Woodstock. They have a website for more information:
https://circleoffriendsinc.org/wp-content/cache/all/coffee-with-purpose/index.html
• Cherokee Family violence Center – CFVC provides a variety of free services to domestic violence survivors and their families in our community and beyond. Their website is https://cfvc.org
In addition, a small percentage of the proceeds will go to the CSSA Fund for member’s special needs.
BE A CSSA HERO AND SPONSOR A HOLE THIS YEAR!
You can also make a special impact and show off your business for only $100 by sponsoring a hole at the tournament! Only 18 sponsorships are available. Contact Tom Cameron or Norman Thiem today to secure your sponsorship of a hole in this prestigious event.

We need Hole Sponsors for the 2022 CSSA Charity Golf Tournament June 23rd at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club! This is your chance to show off your business for only $100 and make a big difference in our community. Only 18 sponsorships are available. Contact Tom Cameron or Norman Thiem today to secure your sponsorship of a hole in this prestigious event. Proceeds will go to benefit the following charities:
• Circle of Friends – This group works with mentally challenged young adults and offers them employment in a coffee shop in Woodstock. They have a website for more information:
https://circleoffriendsinc.org/wp-content/cache/all/coffee-with-purpose/index.html
• Cherokee Family violence Center – CFVC provides a variety of free services to domestic violence survivors and their families in our community and beyond. Their website is https://cfvc.org
In addition a small percentage of the proceeds will go to the CSSA Fund for member’s special needs.

Tom Cameron: tom.cameron60@gmail.com
Norman Thiem :nthiem@aol.com

CSSA BOARD MEETING
April 4, 2022
The monthly meeting of the CSSA Board of Directors was held April 4, 2022, at Ralph’s Tavern/Zucca Pizza in Kennesaw, and called to order by Norm Thiem at 6:35 P.M.
Members Present: Norm Thiem, Maria Burden, Leland Brown, Randy Bergman, Mike Maguire, Dan Bonham, Bob Werner, Mike Parson, John Humeston, Robbie Crider and Dick O’Connor.
Absent: Dewey Hom, Ray DeLuca and James Bauch
A. Minutes of the March 7, 2022 meeting, having been emailed to all, were Board approved.
B. Treasurer/Financial Report was Board approved.
C. 2022 Sponsors: All CSSA sponsors have either already paid or have committed, and we have enough sponsors to cover the Skip Wells League for the first time.
D. Jerseys: Norm Thiem gave an update. Orders are underway, although button shortages have delayed production somewhat. The Patriot League jerseys are complete, with exception of Premier Collision, which will be ready for the current week’s game. Some teams in other leagues have their jerseys already, and the rest are in the works.
E. League Fee Collection: Norm asked for feedback on the method used for the Spring season fee collection. Issues were discussed, particularly the challenge of assigning payments for multiple teams when a player has given one check to one manager for fees for all teams he is playing on.
F. Possible Replacement for TeamPages and Constant Contact: Dan Bonham presented the cost figures for current website and database services. He is exploring alternative options and will get quotes/proposals for further review by the BOD.
G. New Facebook Page for CSSA: Dick O’Connor has created a new Facebook page featuring photos, videos and writeups on players. There is a link on the “Links” page of TeamPages and an announcement banner at the top of CSSAs TeamPages home page with links to the Facebook page. All players, sponsors and fans are encouraged to join the page.
H. 80 UP CLUB: This special group of better-than-80 year-old CSSA players will soon be featured on TeamPages with a list of members, and articles by Marty Aftewicz as well. An anonymous donor has purchased deluxe carry bags for all members of the 80 UP CLUB to honor their continued participation in CSSA into their eighties. The current members are: Ron Wakefield, Bob Maranghi, Bill Hanzlick, Jerry King, Nick Scivilli, Ken Toy, Pete Berger, Bill Degitz, Steve Scully, Benny Hendricks, Howard Gunn, Carl Brown, Les Taylor and Howard Schoen.
I. 2022 Golf Tournament: The 2022 CSSA Charity Golf Tournament will take place Thursday, June 23, 2022 at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club. The tournament will be a 9:00 a.m. shotgun start. Tom Cameron will take charge of the event. The board recommended volunteers to assist with in securing some hole sponsorships in advance, at a rate of $100 per hole. We will also need help with sign-in and the putting contest on the day of the tournament. There will be a 50/50 raffle. The tournament is expected to gross $14,200, with expenses of $7,450 for a net profit of $6,750. Flyers will be posted on TeamPages as soon as online registration form and online payment capture are established.
The meeting adjourned at 8:02 P.M.
The next BOD meeting will be Monday, May 2, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.

If the CSSA ever invites a paratrooper to descend from the skies carrying the stars and stripes before a championship game, perhaps we can ask for Mike McFarland. I’m not sure parachuting is akin to riding a bike, and it has been over fifty years since he’s floated from the sky, but he has the expertise. He spent two years of Airborne training in Panama with the 8th Special Forces of the U.S. Army.
Born in Canton, GA, he rarely strayed far from home beyond his military commitment. His early exposure to baseball was pitching and playing infield for a Little League team. After that, he didn’t take part in organized sports for many years.
Mike grew up with a desire and need to be independent and succeed on his own. He began working at 12 as a caddy at the Canton Golf Club. At age fourteen, he accepted his second job at Etowah Bank near his home as a janitor. Twenty-four months passed, then he worked for Baker Flower Shop. He was soon asked to help at Baker’s Funeral Home, which also provided ambulance service, since there was no EMS in the county at the time. Because of the demands of this work, his employer asked him to move into an apartment at the funeral home, where he lived his last two years of High School.
He kept working on his baseball interest by playing on weekends against Industrial teams throughout North Georgia.
In 1966, shortly after high school graduation, he married Dianne, his high school sweetheart. A short breath later, the Army called him to duty.
Upon his return to civilian life, he began a long career in the communications industry. This started with Western Electric, subsequently to become AT&T. He settled into multiple assignments in an IT environment, surviving the divestiture of AT&T. He then worked for Lucent Technologies, then returned to AT&T where he retired after 32 years on a Friday and then started work with IBM on the following Monday, where he worked another 14 plus years. His career was always in the technology sectors, including management stints in Disaster Recovery and an IT support group.
But he and Dianne spent a significant amount of time watching their daughter Michele, who was a much better athlete than Mike ever was, and that’s impressive. She was a three-sport letterman, where she played softball, basketball, and track. Michele excelled at softball at Cherokee High School, then at Kennesaw State University (KSU) for four years. She was an MVP shortstop at Cherokee High and then KSU. Upon gaining her BS degree from KSU, she became an assistant coach with KSU to allow her to complete her Master’s degree.
Today, Dianne and Mike are the proud grandparents of five grandchildren, with two who display the athletic gene passed down to them. One granddaughter is active in travel softball, while a grandson competes on a travel baseball team. Future CSSA players? Far too soon, but certainly a possibility.
In 1996, after a softball game where Mike watched his daughter play, the coach mentioned a new league for mature guys, which had recently formed at Hobgood Park. Mike joined the crew of Arnold Fowler, Lowell Lawson, Les Taylor, Bill King and Jerry King, and has never considered stopping. Back then, he even became a part of a senior basketball league started by Lowell Lawson.
Softball has remained his recreational love. Over the past twenty-five years, he’s played second base, short-field, and the outfield. John Perkins got him started in tournament ball and Mike stuck with it for fifteen years. He enjoyed playing on Ray McClure’s teams, where he earned two tournament All-American selections, and several all-tournament MVP awards.
On one occasion, Mike was a member of Ray’s team, which played in a national tournament in Ft. Myers, FL, sponsored by the Softball Players Association (SPA). Twenty-four teams competed in the 60+ division, where Mike and his teammates emerged victorious in every game, not a single loss throughout the competition!
Tournament play can be grueling with long uninterrupted hours and no breaks between games. Mike recalls one incident where he glanced over at the right-center fielder and noticed the player had secreted a hot dog in his sock and munched on the protein treat between batters. That only made Mike’s stomach growl even louder!
He is most proud of his years in the National and American Leagues, where he earned batting titles in each of his decades of play, 50s, 60s, and 70s, an amazing feat, and a record unlikely to be matched or surpassed.
He most admired former manager Barney Greene, who inspired him in many ways. Barney’s passion for softball was legendary with a strong devotion to his players, who always came first. While Barney was gravely ill in the hospital, he asked Tom Ballard and Mike to coach the team for him. That was vintage Barney, more concerned for his players than himself. Tom and Mike coached the team through a successful tournament season, but the team just wasn’t the same to them without Barney.
Pleasant memories of family and softball fill Mike’s life, and he and his wife just celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary! Everyone appreciates a player like Mike: humble, hard-working, and supportive of his team. It seems he’s quiet in the background, but you still might see him parachute into second base to highlight a special event, just for old-time’s sake.

Written by Marty Aftewicz