NEWSLINE STORY

published November – December 2016

President's Message
Upcoming Nomination Deadlines and “Connect” with the W.T.

by Stu Sipma, NHPA President

The following NHPA Awards were presented at the 2016 Hall of Fame banquet in Montgomery, AL. The NHPA Council would like to congratulate these individuals:

· Ron Weiss (PA) – Stokes Award

· Jim and Phylis Quist (WA) - Presidential Award

· Jerry Gorton (OR) - NHPA Achievement Award

· Austin Bailey (IL) - NHPA Achievement Award

· Ken Walters (OH) - NHPA Achievement Award

· Josh Olson (MN) - NHPA Achievement Award

· Donna Bastel (MO) Regional Director Award

· Evelyn Zahorchak (VA) – League Director Award

· Judy & Herb Heesch – Game Related Sales Distributor of the Year

2016 Membership awards were presented to the following Charters:

· Nebraska – Adult Increase

· Kansas – Jr. Increase

· Missouri – Most Adults

I hope everyone had a great season of horseshoe pitching. I know many Charters hosted their State Tournament Labor Day weekend. Congratulations to all State Champions and those participants who competed. 

Just a reminder, elections are open for 2nd VP, 4th VP and Secretary/Treasurer positions. Per the By-Laws, incumbents running for a NHPA office must announce their candidacy in writing to be received by the President and the Horseshoe Pitching E-Newsline Editor no later than February 1, 2017. NHPA members who want to run must announce their candidacy in writing to be received by the President and the Horseshoe Pitching E-Newsline Editor no later than April 1st, 2017.

Each year the NHPA votes to award an individual to receive the Arch Stokes award. This is the NHPA’s most prestigious award and is awarded to a NHPA member who has done the most during the preceding three to five years to promote, foster and build the sport.  We also vote to award an NHPA Achievement award to a member who the Council feels has worked at promoting and growing the sport of horseshoes.  For Charters who feel they have members worthy of being nominated to receive one of these awards, please contact me and I will send you a nomination form or you can find it on our NHPA website. The deadline for the Stokes Award is March 31, 2017 and the NHPA Achievement Award deadline is, March 1, 2017.

One other nomination for members to consider is the NHPA Hall of Fame.  If any of you have an individual who you feel is a candidate, please contact myself or Vicki Winston at horshuvicki@socket.net for a nomination form. Nomination forms must be received by Vicki Winston by January 31, 2017.

The 2017 World Horseshoe Tournament will be held July 17th – 29th, 2017 at the Dixie Center located in St. George, UT. The NHPA trailer has already arrived from Montgomery and plans are being finalized for the preparation for this event. 

As part of my duties as World Tournament Coordinator, I attended the “Connect” Sports Marketing Convention August 24-28, 2016 in Dallas, TX. This conference is an opportunity for us to showcase our event to a wide variety of cities throughout the country. This year’s conference was held at the Grapevine Convention Center. Over 320 planners attended this conference with another 225 sponsors.

During the three-day conference, I had over 43 appointments with various Tourism and CVB groups. Throughout each day, there were also educational seminars held to train organizers in the field of planning and executing their events. Once again, the interest in horseshoes and the prospect to bid for the world tournament remains high.  It was interesting to hear stories from the various Tourism and CVB groups on how the economy has affected their budgets. Some regions of the US are doing great while others are struggling to maintain.

From this conference, I am happy to report the following locations have expressed an interest in bidding for the 2019 World Tournament.  These locations include Mobile Bay AL, Reno NV, Waco TX, Lincoln NE, and Duluth MN. We also have many other locations that have expressed a high interest in bidding.  To date, we have not received any signed contracts. Starting January 1st, 2017, Tina Hawkins will be appointed and have the duties of the World Tournament Coordinator.

For the Regional Directors, your local CVB/Tourism group may contact you, as I provided them your name to start the communication.  I have encouraged them to team up with their local horseshoe clubs before starting the bidding process as I have found that teams comprised of both horseshoe and tourism groups seem to be more successful during the bidding process.

The NHPA Council would like to thank Jerry Smith and all the others who assisted him on hosting the Sanction League Tournament at our HOF Building October 1st and 2nd, 2016. I have heard all positive comments on this tournament. Another good job from the Warden!

 In conclusion, don’t forget to start making preparations to attend the 2017 W.T. The entry form is out earlier this year for your convenience and can be found on the NHPA website. Many of you have asked me if we were planning on having the same format and schedule. It is our intentions not to change anything at this time; however each year is a challenge when working with different groups in different locations.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, stay warm and keep pitching.

Stu