Oklahoma City welcomes ASA/USA Softball members

November 8, 2013

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Oklahoma City welcomes ASA/USA Softball members from across the country for 82nd Annual Council Meeting

 

OKLAHOMA CITY —The city of Oklahoma City, the home of the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball, welcomes over 225 ASA/USA Softball council members November 9-16 as ASA/USA Softball hosts its 82nd Annual Council Meeting at the Renaissance Hotel/Cox Convention Center.  During the weeklong event, administrators, players and tournament hosts from around the country participate in a series of meetings to evaluate the needs of the association along with proposed rule and code changes for all divisions of ASA/USA Softball.  In addition to the business side of the organization, ASA/USA Softball also presents several awards during the Annual Council Meeting, including the Complex of the Year, presented by Stabilizer Solutions, the Bright Light Award presented by ASA and Musco Lighting, Years of Service, the James Farrell Certificates and Awards of Excellence for excellence in conducting ASA National Championships. In addition, ASA/USA Softball will also be honoring Executive Director Ron Radigonda, who is retiring at the conclusion of the Council Meeting after serving as Executive Director for the past 15 years.

 

Click here for more information on the ASA/USA Softball Council Meeting.

 

While the majority of the council meeting will consist of breakout sessions for the different committees and regions, several special events will be held throughout the week.  On Saturday, the “Swing for a Cause” golf series kicks off the Annual Meeting at Lincoln Park Golf Course, located just down the road from the ASA/USA Softball National Office.  All participants and non-golfers are also welcome to attend the dinner and auction, which will include items signed by current and former USA Softball athletes.  All funds collected will benefit the Special Olympics National Games and ASA/USA Special Programs. 

 

Sunday, November 10 marks the first General Council Session, where the 2013 Complex of the Year and the 2013 Bright Light Award recipients will be presented with their respective accolades in front of over 300 Council Members and guests.  The Council will also have the opportunity to go over all Rule and Code Proposals before voting takes place on Thursday, November 14.

 

Five individuals will be forever enshrined into the National Softball Hall of Fame as the 33rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Banquet will be held in Great Hall C at the Cox Convention Center on Sunday evening. Members of the 2013 ASA Hall of Fame class include: Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) – Fast Pitch Player, Lisa Fernandez (Long Beach, Calif.) -- Fast Pitch Player, Randy  Melvin (Dowagiac, Mich.) - Umpire, Shirley Simmons Snell (Shreveport, La.) - Slow Pitch Player and Margie Wright (Clovis, Calif.) - Meritorious Service.  The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be streamed live and links will be available on Sunday at USASoftball.com. 

 

The Wilson Sporting Goods Awards Luncheon, which honors Council Members for their Years of Service and ASA/USA Softball National Championship sites, will be held on Wednesday, November 13.  The annual ASA/USA Trade Show will be held Wednesday evening at the Exhibit Hall at the Cox Convention Center.  More than 70 exhibitors from throughout the United States are expected to attend members the Trade Show, which features exhibits from cities bidding on the ASA National Championships, equipment manufacturers, softball suppliers and the ASA/USA Softball National Office staff.  More than 800 council, association delegates and visitors will be in attendance.

 

The 6th annual “Fun Walk”, organized by Missouri ASA Commissioner Joey Rich, will be on Thursday morning and features a walk around the Oklahoma City Underground.  Later that day, the final general council session will take place as all code and rule changes will be announced. The ASA/USA Softball Council Members will also decide which cities will host the 2015 ASA/USA National Championships, which is one of the most anticipated decisions made by the council as each ASA National Championship has the potential to have thousands of dollars in economic impact for the host city.  In addition, the Hall of Fame Class of 2014 will be announced following the Hall of Fame Selection Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 12.  The deadline to submit nominations for the 2014 Hall of Fame class was September 1. Capping off Thursday evening and the Council Meeting is the reception for retiring Executive Director Ron Radigonda, which will be held in Great Hall D & E at the Cox Convention Center.

For further information on the 2013 ASA/USA Softball Annual Council Meeting, please visit USASoftball.com.  Photos and live updates from Oklahoma City will be posted on the ASA/USA Softball Facebook and Twitter  pages.

 

The 2014 ASA/USA Softball Council Meeting will take place November 8-14 in Reno, Nev. at the Nugget Hotel.

 

About ASA The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 200,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.   About USA Softball USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles as well as claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.

 

 

Codi Warren

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball

Office 405.425.3431 | Cell 405. 420. 2817