Thursday, October 13, 2005
Scott Johnson
Please reelect Scott Johnson for NBUA Board of Directors.
I am completing my 18th year in the NBUA and my first term on the Board of Directors. I serve as chairman of the Recruiting & Retention and Web Site committees. I also am on the training staff, working with Rookie and C Tier umpires, and volunteer as a Fall Ball crew chief to teach 3-man mechanics. Somehow, I managed to work over 180 games this year as well.
Two years ago I was elected to this board as your representative. I feel I've been your voice on the board and helped change this association for the better.
Some of my campaign goals in 2003 seemed out of reach, yet, we were able to reach them.
• Web-based assigning program (see Indicator, April 2003). There was serious board resistance to this at the time but has now become one of our most invaluable resources.
• Lower assessments for our members. It is a reality now as members are paying as little as 5%.
• Indicator and nbua.com. This continues to be a valuable resource for all members.
• Fall Ball. NBUA historically gave away our services in Fall Ball. I felt umpires should be paid or the schools need to provide field signs recruiting new umpires in exchange. This program is now in the works.
• Reimburse members for parking/travel fees. Parking fee reimbursement from Husky Ballpark and Marymoor and ferry fees to Vashon now appears on your earnings sheet.
• Greater umpire retention. One man games has cost this association good umpires. It's now our policy to send two umpires whenever possible, including high school JV.
• Stronger member support. This board is much stronger backing its members when dealing with ejections, incidents and assaults.
As new man on the board, I was assigned to the Recruiting committee. This was no easy task as we were coming off one of the lowest recruiting classes ever - 6 working rookies in 2003. In my first year as the primary recruiter we upped that total to 38. This last year I recruited 66 new members for a two-year total of 104. I believe having a healthy recruiting class each year improves the strength of the organization. We are able to attract and work more and better baseball.
I took on the full responsibility for the design, content and maintenance of nbua.com. I've spent countless hours making the web site a "destination site" for our umpires. Without fresh content it would lose its effectiveness as a communication tool. Picture of the week, u-gear, yellow pages are all features that benefit our members and drive viewers to the site. Many of our new members found NBUA through our improved web site.
Lastly, as a Director on this Board, I have not missed a single meeting during my first term. I actively participate in all Board issues and activities. Being on the board takes a tremendous amount of time and commitment. I have demonstrated both. I am your representative on this board and will not quit on you.
I would like to continue what was started two years ago. I want to continue to improve our recruiting efforts to build the association; find ways to improve our web site and make it better than ever; build our incentive program to keep assessments low; and most of all, work hard for the membership, from first year umpires to seasoned veterans. Please let me have your vote.
If you have any questions or comments I can be reached at scott5000@comcast.net or (206) 767-3313.