Farewell WESA Commission

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Kristopher Stevenson
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In this issue: Farewell WESA From the Vice Cee!

hitting me I m retiring from the WESA Commission!

be. There is always politics within any organization, especially those with the size and diversity of WESA.

The Commission continually works towards balancing the needs of the individual WESA Member with that of the entire organization.

Brad Allen, and Tim Beaulieu to name just a few. There are far too many more people who without question are part of many outstanding contributions over the years, too many to name here.

1 In this issue: Farewell WESA From the Vice Cee! Benefits of NAGAAA From Special Events Snapshots of Season Emerald City Classic Pac Cup Tournament Diamond & Farewell WESA Commission Well, the WESA Awards Celebration is almost here and it s finally hitting me I m retiring from the WESA Commission! I m a little sad but very excited at the same time Excited that after almost 10 years, I ll have more free time but sad to no longer be working directly for, and organizing, to make WESA all it can be. There is always politics within any organization, especially those with the size and diversity of WESA. I can honestly say that the single biggest thing I am proud about is that the Commission has debated the PROs and CONs of every decision. The Commission continually works towards balancing the needs of the individual WESA Member with that of the entire organization. What many people do not know or consider is that the Commission works tirelessly all year long, meeting at least once a month, and putting in many extra hours outside of those usually 2-3 hour long meetings to keep things moving forward. I have been lucky enough to have worked along side some great and amazing people who are super passionate and enthusiastic about softball and WESA: Art Gullett, Sydney Malcom, Justin Mui, Rob Duncan, Brad Allen, and Tim Beaulieu to name just a few. There are far too many more people who without question are part of many outstanding contributions over the years, too many to name here. I want to acknowledge them and say Thank You to each and every single one of you! A lot has been accomplished and evolved over the past decade. When I first joined the Commission as Rules and Regulations Commissioner: the C and D Divisions did not exist and all teams played as one group; we had just 12 teams which all played on one diamond; you could not sign up with a friend, only with a partner; and WESA did not send teams to the Gay Softball World Series. I am proud that WESA is in a strong financial situation; working towards Emerald City Classic Seattle maintaining a contingency fund to ensure that we can withstand any hardship. I am proud that WESA has grown to 15 teams playing on three diamonds (and will surely continue to grow). I am proud that WESA joined the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA), which enabled us to contribute to the larger gay sporting community as well as send our exceptional teams to the Gay Softball World Series (GSWS). I am proud of the technical updates WESA has made with its websites, online social networking community, and communications special acknowledgements to Rob Duncan, Justin Mui, and Sheldon Gibson! Even with those accomplishments, there is still much to do including consolidating all games to Strathcona Park where our cohesiveness will be reinforced; developing a stronger C Division within WESA; and growing the Pacific Cup Softball Tournament into a larger tournament with B, C & D Divisions. I encourage all members to give their time, whether it is helping out at a practice, volunteering as a coach, volunteering at an event, or participating in the WESA Pageant. It s time to give back; you don t have to hold a position on the Commission to participate (although that would be great!), but please give of your time whenever you can! I hope you feel WESA has enriched your life and I hope you have made Commission & Coaches in 2011 Photo: Trevor MacNeil life long friends while playing some great ball. If you are even a little better off for having been involved with WESA, then please give a little back. In closing: from raising funds for local charities to working with local businesses and organizations; and from the great games of softball that I have played in and watched to the amazing friendships that I ve made along the way; WESA has truly made my life richer, fuller and rewarding! I sincerely Thank You WESA! Scott Fullerton ~ WESA League Commissioner and Rules & Regulations Commissioner West End Slo-pitch Association ~ 34 th Season of Playing with Balls since 1978! WESA.net Page 1

The Dusty Bag Page 2 Diamond & from our Vice Commissioner Some new faces are set to join the WESA Commission for 2013, and although we'll get to meet most of them this weekend at the Annual Awards

Less than six months in, and here I am taking over the remainder of a two-year term as Vice Commissioner.

WESA career! I want to thank the entire WESA membership for making my first season a very memorable one.

2 The Dusty Bag Page 2 Diamond & from our Vice Commissioner Some new faces are set to join the WESA Commission for 2013, and although we'll get to meet most of them this weekend at the Annual Awards Celebration, one got a bit of a head start... As a rookie to the league this year, some of you might not know me all that well yet. Less than six months in, and here I am taking over the remainder of a two-year term as Vice Commissioner. Throw a Gay Softball World Series in the middle, an inaugural Fall Ball Season, and watching my first PAC Cup Tournament from the driver's seat (so to speak), and it's been a heck of a start to my WESA career! I want to thank the entire WESA membership for making my first season a very memorable one. I've played a lot of team sports throughout my life, and already this season I've been able to be a part of a couple of the best teams I can remember, on and off the field. Thanks to Joe for taking a chance and drafting a freakishly tall guy in an absurdly bright neon jersey. Thanks to team KOSS for some great times and even better parties, and of course, my first ever world series. Thanks to Greg, Rick and Morgan for the invite to team Stonehouse, and everyone who was a part of our marathon in Seattle. And that's just a few. All of these are reasons why I was quick to jump at the opportunity to take over the Vice Commissioner's role. I'm excited to have the chance to give back, and work hard to help put together more great times for current and future WESA members. I'm looking forward to hosting PAC Cup again next year, and making it another memorable weekend. Here's to another great year, meeting more and more incredible people, and maybe squeezing in a few decent ball games too!! Cheers! Kevin Bastedo ~ WESA Vice Commissioner 2013 Pac Cup Tournament BBQ Party ~ Saturday, September 1, 2012; and Pac Cup Tournament Awards Party ~ Sunday, September 2, Top Left Clockwise Craig Littlejohn & Kevin Reichmuth; Gold Medal Winners Yves Moisan, Corey Laitinen, Greg Lawton, Clay Dubé, Bobbie Lim & Tim Beaulieu; Rudy Villamin & Jordan Patterson; Dean Dawson & Wayne McIlroy; and Kevin Bastedo & Nick Mix. West End Slo-pitch Association ~ 34 th Season of Playing with Balls since 1978! WESA.net Page 2

Top 10 Benefits of WESA s Membership in NAGAAA 1. Every WESA member has the opportunity to play at the Gay Softball World Series the largest annual gay sporting event in the world. 2.

Ability to create divisions for players of equivalent skill ranges to participate in. 5. WESA gains networking ability with 50 other gay softball leagues. 6.

Further exposure to people looking to play or join a softball team/league. 9. Being part of a strong international organization adds credibility to WESA. 10.

Priscilla s on Davie GSWS Team Diamond & Photo: Jim Cash (Seattle) From back Left to Right clockwise: Rick DeHart, John Lauder, Dan Griffin, Bill Ignacio, Sil Ferreira, Aaron Brice, Basil Girgrah,

Priscilla s on Davie Regular Season Teammates who were not able to attend GSWS, but definitely contributed to the team s overall success to go to Minneapolis: Micah Gilbert, Dan Horwood, Nick Rennie,

Koss GSWS Team From back Left to Right clockwise: Chuck Frees (not on team), Jon Guolla, Shawn Courtoreille, Scott Fullerton, Matt Brandt, Kevin Bastedo, Cole Bennett, Jeremy Bohlken, Josh Metcalfe,

3 Top 10 Benefits of WESA s Membership in NAGAAA 1. Every WESA member has the opportunity to play at the Gay Softball World Series the largest annual gay sporting event in the world. 2. New marketing ideas and contacts with companies/sponsors are acquired. 3. Organizational knowledge is advanced (i.e. WESA obtained insurance for the Commission). 4. Ability to create divisions for players of equivalent skill ranges to participate in. 5. WESA gains networking ability with 50 other gay softball leagues. 6. Fundraising for the local charity of the World Series host city. 7. Exposure to rules, equipment, and best practices for tournament/league structure. 8. Further exposure to people looking to play or join a softball team/league. 9. Being part of a strong international organization adds credibility to WESA. 10. WESA contributes to the greater good of gay softball. Priscilla s on Davie GSWS Team Diamond & Photo: Jim Cash (Seattle) From back Left to Right clockwise: Rick DeHart, John Lauder, Dan Griffin, Bill Ignacio, Sil Ferreira, Aaron Brice, Basil Girgrah, James Conklin, Corey Laitinen-McMillan, Andrew Laitinen-McMillan, Sean Gregor, Devon LaChance, & Aaron Hachey. Finished 34 th out of 48 teams in D Division! Way to go team! Priscilla s on Davie Regular Season Teammates who were not able to attend GSWS, but definitely contributed to the team s overall success to go to Minneapolis: Micah Gilbert, Dan Horwood, Nick Rennie, Mike Steen, & Ryan Wylie. Koss GSWS Team From back Left to Right clockwise: Chuck Frees (not on team), Jon Guolla, Shawn Courtoreille, Scott Fullerton, Matt Brandt, Kevin Bastedo, Cole Bennett, Jeremy Bohlken, Josh Metcalfe, Rob Duncan, Joe Roche, & Jason Wilhelm. Finished 32 nd out of 56 teams in C Division! Excellent achievement team! Koss Regular Season Teammates who were not able to make GSWS, but definitely contributed to the team s overall success to go to Minneapolis: Robert Beaulne, Martin Klovan, Josh Lewis, Yves Moisan, Shawn Newell, Scott Plenderleith, & Harry Young. Steam 1 GSWS Team From back Left to Right clockwise: Adam Garvin, Denis Laferrière, Blaine Perry, Darcy Simpson, Bryan Weir, Todd Legrée, Justin Mui, Colin Briggs, Ryan Lee, Robin Perry, Morgan McCallum, & Jim Balakshin Finished 17 th out of 48 teams in D Division! Great playing team! Steam 1 Regular Season Teammates who were not able to make GSWS, but definitely contributed to the team s overall success to go to Minneapolis: Todd Brisbin, Brent Brown, Alec Burke, Clay Dubé, Glenn Lombardo, & Cliff Thorbes. West End Slo-pitch Association ~ 34 th Season of Playing with Balls since 1978! WESA.net Page 3

WESA, What is the most unusual thing you ve heard on the bench this season? Or on the field?

! And on the field, I ve heard, That s the biggest strike zone I ve ever seen! Tis true!

sell 50/50 tickets, flip burgers, blow up balloons, etc.

Of all our special events this season, The WESA Pageant 25 th Anniversary was my absolute FAVE! The Gurls totally BROUGHT IT this year!

strutting the hell outta that Parade the MOST fun I have ever had at a parade.

! From our Draft Party to Jersey Pick-up Party; Opening Day; Picnic in the Park; Sponsor Suppers; The WESA Pageant; Fundraising BBQs (we

this season! Next season I promise to be even better! See you soon! Lance Sandover ~ WESA Special Events Commissioner 2012 Dear Mz.

Any advice for getting rid of hair in those "hard-to-reach" places?

I use that shit everywhere ;-) Then give him a "hard-to-reach" backhand for being so damn rude! Mwah, Mz. WESA 2011 Have a question?

4 Ask Mz. WESA Now that Mz. WESA s 2011 reign is over, we thought we d give her one last column to close off the season and answer your important questions! Hello Mz. WESA, What is the most unusual thing you ve heard on the bench this season? Or on the field? Curious Dear Curious, my coach once asked me at the bench, How do you get it to curve like that?! And on the field, I ve heard, That s the biggest strike zone I ve ever seen! Tis true!...from our Special Events Commissioner First off I wanna thank everyone who came out to help, participate, walk, lypsync, back-up dance, sell 50/50 tickets, flip burgers, blow up balloons, etc.! Without all of the help that I received from you peeps, none of our events would have happened... you know who you are! Of all our special events this season, The WESA Pageant 25 th Anniversary was my absolute FAVE! The Gurls totally BROUGHT IT this year! 80s REALNESS worked the room at Club 560, from Paula Abdul to an unforgettable Dolly Parton; I cannot thank all the incredibly talented, brave and little DRAG Stars enough! XOXOXOXOXO Let s not forget about our Pride Parade entry this year we killed it with our boys showing up in their jerseys; walking and strutting the hell outta that Parade the MOST fun I have ever had at a parade. I highly suggest joining WESA in next year s entry Thank You to all of you Boys who came out!! From our Draft Party to Jersey Pick-up Party; Opening Day; Picnic in the Park; Sponsor Suppers; The WESA Pageant; Fundraising BBQs (we had a few of those this year); our Pride Parade entry; Pac Cup events; and the upcoming Awards Celebration; WESA had a many GREAT times this season! Next season I promise to be even better! See you soon! Lance Sandover ~ WESA Special Events Commissioner 2012 Dear Mz. WESA, I'm getting on in age and I'm growing a lot of hair in odd places and my boyfriend is complaining. Any advice for getting rid of hair in those "hard-to-reach" places? Thanks, Hirsute Hunk Dear Hunk, Tell your lazy, complaining ass BF, to go fetch you a queen-size bottle of Nair! I use that shit everywhere ;-) Then give him a "hard-to-reach" backhand for being so damn rude! Mwah, Mz. WESA 2011 Have a question? them to: Communications@WESA.net Look forward to Miss WESA 2012 Nana International s exciting column in 2013! Photo: Sean Gregor 25 th Anniversary WESA Pageant ~ Saturday, June 16, 2012: Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Ms. Hot-Back-up-Dancer (Sotheby s); Ms. Cherry Aftertaste (Vancity); Ms. Latreen Biday (Pacific Spirit Therapeutics); Ms. Amanda Love (Sotheby s International Realty Canada); Group Photo: Mr. Michael Jacksoften (TRG Realty), Mr. Pleasure Kitten (bed), Latreen Biday, Ms. Pickles Poundsalot (Koss), Amanda Love, Holotta Johnson, Ms. Nana International (Priscilla s on Davie), Ms. Kentucky Frye (Score on Davie), Cherry Aftertaste (Vancity), Ms. Lucy Daslut (Steam 1), Mr. Mike Hunt (Dahl Connors Lawyers), and Ms. Helen Heels (Numbers) West End Slo-pitch Association ~ 34 th Season of Playing with Balls since 1978! WESA.net Page 4

Lance Sandover, Rick DeHart 2012 The Feud

(Robin Perry, Bryan Weir, Rhonda Hoffman,

5 Some Happenings Over WESA s 2012 Season Diamond & Ms. Pickles Poundsalot Ms. Nana International & Ms. Kentucky Frye Photo: Ken Warda 2012 Pride Parade: L to R Clockwise: Jared Keen, Sydney Malcolm, Josh Metcalfe, Scott Robertson, Shane Breakwell, Jordan Patterson, Morgan McCallum, Ryan Lee, Lance Sandover, Rick DeHart 2012 The Junction ~ WESA vs VGVA Volleyball (Robin Perry, Bryan Weir, Rhonda Hoffman, & Todd Legrée 2012 Pride Parade ~ Miss WESA 2012 Ms. Nana International West End Slo-pitch Association ~ 34 th Season of Playing with Balls since 1978! WESA.net Page 5

WESA, etc., this is the forum for it! Opinions expressed in by-lined articles or columns are those of authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the current WESA Commission.

6 The Dusty Bag Page 6 WESA s The Dusty Bag 2012 Editor & Photographs (except where noted): Justin Q. Mui Contributors: Scott Fullerton, Kevin Bastedo, Lance Sandover, & Scott Robertson If you have an announcement, are interested in writing an article, contributing photographs, have feedback for WESA, etc., this is the forum for it! Opinions expressed in by-lined articles or columns are those of authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the current WESA Commission. WESA 2012 COMMISSION Scott Fullerton League Commissioner Commissioner@WESA.net Kevin Bastedo Vice Commissioner 2013 ViceCommissioner@WESA.net Miguel Mondaca Rules & Regulations Commissioner 2012 RulesAndRegulations@WESA.net Morgan McCallum Membership Commissioner Membership@WESA.net Sheldon Gibson Technology Commissioner Technology@WESA.net Lance Sandover Special Events Commissioner 2012 SpecialEvents@WESA.net John Lauder Treasurer Treasurer@WESA.net Justin Mui Secretary 2012 Secretary@WESA.net Yves Moisan Member-at-Large C Division 2012 CMemberAtLarge@WESA.net Greg Elzinga Member-at-Large D Division 2012 DMemberAtLarge@WESA.net Commission: Commission@WESA.net Regular Season Coaches: Coaches@WESA.net Fall Ball Coaches: FallBallCoaches@WESA.net 2012 Emerald City Classic Seattle Vancouver sent a respectable six teams to the 2012 Emerald City Classic softball tournament in Seattle over the Canada Day long weekend. Hellfish, the B Olympic Division Sportsmanship Award, 2nd in the Consolation Olympic Division, Team MVP - Daryl Schroh Batmen, D Sunrise Division Spirit Award! Heat, D Sunrise Division Sportsmanship Award! Team MVP - Doug Lee Maple Briefs, D Paradise Division Spirit Award! Team MVP - Sheldon Gibson PumpJack Drillers, D??? Division, Team MVP -??? Stonehouse, D Paradise Division 1 st Place Winners! Team MVP Collette Nadon and D Paradise Division MVP (voted by the Umpires) - Collett Nadon 2012 Pacific Cup Tournament Vancouver Stonehouse Tournament Team From back Left to Right clockwise: Greg Davidson, Kevin Bastedo, Mike Steen, Alan Berda, Basil Girgrah, James Conklin, Conor Topley, Kristopher Maxwell, Rick DeHart, Morgan McCallum, Denis Gour, Greg Carey, Collett Nadon, Tyler Pentland,& Alec Burke. Winners in Seattle and at the Russian River Rainbow Classic the weekend before the GSWS, playing against 11 other D Division teams, and triumphing to Gold! Way to go Stonehouse! Who s house?! STONEHOUSE! WESA s 33rd Annual Pacific Cup Softball Tournament hosted 11 teams over the Labour Day long weekend under amazing weather and lots of fun at our sponsor bars The PumpJack Pub for the Registration Party on Friday night; and The Junction for a BBQ Party on Saturday, and the Awards Celebration on Sunday. Three teams from Portland (i.e. Pirates, Villains, & Martinis) and two teams from Seattle (i.e. Buzz & Fat Cats) battled it out against five Vancouver teams (i.e. Batmen, Drillers, Maple Briefs, Stonehouse, & Heat). Special thanks go out to Sheldon Gibson, Tim Beaulieu, Lance Sandover, and Kevin Bastedo for producing another great tournament for WESA. After seven exciting games, Heat succeeded in winning Gold! HOT! HOT! HEAT! Heat Tournament Team From back Left to Right clockwise: Tim Beaulieu, Darcy Simpson, Sil Ferreira, Brent Brown, Clay Dubé, Aaron Brice, Corey Laitinen-McMillan, Greg Lawton, Thomas Williams, Bobbie Lim, & Yves Moisan. Missing: Doug Lee, Denis Laferrière, & Justin Mui Website: WESA.net General Contact: Info@WESA.net Newsletter Submissions: Communications@WESA.net 2012 Annual General Meeting 7pm ~ Tuesday, October 16, The Park (formerly Checkers) at the Sands Best Western Hotel 1755 Davie Street If we have missed anyone in any pictures in this newsletter or spelt names wrong, etc. we sincerely apologize! West End Slo-pitch Association ~ 34 th Season of Playing with Balls since 1978! WESA.net Page 6

A WORD FROM OUR COMMISSIONER. The Commission is excited about this year.

A WORD FROM OUR COMMISSIONER. The Commission is excited about this year. NEWSLETTER APRIL 2005 www.wesa.net A WORD FROM OUR COMMISSIONER Welcome to the 27 th season for WESA! The Commission is excited about this year. This is the second year with 2 divisions and allowing people