Broward: Fw: WALL Board Meeting Agenda--Weds., September 24, 2008, 8:15 p.m. BSO

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dianergrove@...; maureenacct@...; gldbear@...; chuck@...; janeliennieves@...; Halls16@...Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2008 1:52:16 PMSubject: Re: WALL Board Meeting Agenda--Weds., September 24, 2008, 8:15 p.m. BSO Let me take a crack at some specifics for those of you have not put me on auto delete. Issue 1. The appropriateness of Challenger as currently constituted for all children with disabilities. Challenger (and for that matter Miracle League, PAL Dynamite) seems well suited for a certain set of children, but too remedial for other children. Through many conversations I have had with parents, there is a need to have some facility to have something in between what Challenger is now and the typical recreaional league programs where there can be a safety issue for those kids. What needs to be placed in the mix in my

opinion is a program that teaches basic baseball skills and creates more competitive games for this population. Also, the program needs to have some mechanism for mainstreaming these kids into the general population. These issues around segregation are obvious uncomfortable, but it is better for us to be uncomfortable then to let people leave out of apathy. That is why it is critical that any program as described above be heavily informed with opinions with parents. professionals and accepted advocates of this population. Issue 2. Is Weston Area Little League (WALL) the appropriate place for some or all these programs. Before I point out the shortcomings of others, let me apologize for mine. I resigned from the WALL Board last year out of concerns for the competence, ethics, and priorities of its leadership at the League and District level in many areas. I was not effective in communicating my concerns

to you then or during the season. In my effort to move on and simply watch over my children by coaching my sons, I gave legitimacy to substandard programming. I took the assurances of the current WALL President that Challenger was handled, and did not do the appropriate follow up when I was assurred it was. I knew the previous years Challenger Director did not attend WALL Board Meetings. Equipment, outside of baseballs, were not provided until the last game of the season. The program went down 67% in enrollment, mention of Challenger was removed from the first page of the WALL website; the Game schedule was not posted on the website until the end of the season, and the City of Weston was never notified to maintain fields for the Challenger program until the last game of the season. Furthermore, although it has been said by another Weston sports league that 10% of our children have some form of disability, of the 10,000 children that participated in

sports league in the City of Weston last year, no more than 75 would appear to be special needs children. I should have been more effective in rectifying these matters at the time, and for that I apologize. In the first step in that process, I am not sure if I still a member in good standing of Weston Area Little League, as I was not afforded the opportunity to vote for the new Board when I rquested it, but apparently when the need came to support athletic 17 and 18 year baseball players I was a valued partner for the purposes of fundraising. I have laid out 5 steps that would have to occur for my family or I would need to participate in WALL, and the league can assume that until those conditions are in effect, I resign my membership. Now let's chat about WALL. Given the above, the leadership of WALL, Little League District 21, and National Headquarters of Little League International have maintained on several occasions that the 2007

WALL Challenger season was a success, and that all of the above parties supported Challenger. I have documentation supporting all of this, since I have asked all of those parties on multiple occasions. My wife was approached by a current Board member that instead of pursuing alternative programming, all of last year's problems were last years Challenger commissioner doing, and I should take over the program. The current Challenger Director has stated he will do better, but the he did not know that the Presidency of WALL had changed. All officer positions are determined at the first Board Meeting per Little League rules, and obviously if he attended the Board Meeting on September 24th, that was the first one he attended of the new League year. The families who have been out on the fields have been uniformly wonderful with our children, and are welcome to continue to develop relationships with our children for both

parties mutual benefit. Furthermore, any help is always welcome and appreciated in any communal endeavor. The people who are developing and maintaining any programming must be committed to that program in not just word, but in action and competence, and given the complex issues involved it would appear that the WALL Board does not have these current skill sets to have a succesful Challenger program. Although, I think the structure of Challlenger has its deficits for some children, I am not aware of any other Little League Challenger program that does not lean on the advice and consent of the families it purports to help.. If I may, as a proud father, I would like to brag on my son Max. As some of you know, Max is 12 year old boy with Autism Spectrum Syndrome. He is also a boy who lights up a room when he enters it, who has an ability to touch those who let him in, and to his core does not expect that he is not entitiled

to the same things as every other child. Anyone who knows him would be hard to accept him as a person who needs to be the object of pity or the condsescension of guilty good intentions. I am confident there are many similar children on this email, and a tremendous amount more who can be touched and can reach out to others in a similar matter. I am also confident that if we maintain the current status quo we will not get there. All; first I which to apologize fo my

email last week. It was sent prior to having a discussion with the new WALL President. As I can see I have made a mountain out of a mole hill. I have resended my resignation and still am and will be the Commissioner for Challeger. To date the new borard has bent over backwards to ensure that the Challeger league is a big part of Weston Little League. I have already had several people declaring their support by offering their time as coaches. We have enough coaches for 3 teams. I already have 16 volunteers to support the teams with 11 more waiting in the wings. We have begain implementing several new ideas which the new board has suggeted to encrease membership for the Challeger Division. Challeger is stronger this year then in the last three.I can promise you that I am here to stay and the new board is showing to me not in words but in action that they are

supporting Challeger in away that they can.Sorry for the rough start but my family hopes to see all our Challeger players and their family again this year.If you have any questions or know anyone who would like to play or volunteer their time please feel free to contact me. Re: WALL Board Meeting Agenda--Weds., September 24, 2008, 8:15 p.m. BSO Palacios from Pembroke Pines asked me to pass this along. For thosedoing Bambino Buddies, not a great fit in my opinion, but others might findvalue in it. The family that runs it are very nice people.> Again I see that the Challenger division is not nor is ever on the agenda> for wall. It appears to me that wall would prefer not to have a> challenger division from the lack support we had last year and with the same> lack continuing this year. With that being said I resign as the> commissioner of the challenger division effected today. I will refer the> few remaining players to Coral Springs>> >> ---------* WALL Board Meeting Agenda--Friday, September 12, 2008, 7:15> p.m.>> Dear Esteemed Board Members:>> Attached is the Agenda for the next meeting, which will be held on Friday,> September 12, 2008, 7:15 p.m., at the Weston Broward Sherriff's Office (on> the corner of Royal Palm Blvd and Bonaventure Blvd.)>> See you then,>> Ozzie>>>>>>> *Osvaldo F. *> Partner,

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