Long-time Chemainus & District Baseball Association president Larry Hopwo is concerned about getting enough volunteers in place for the 2022 baseball season.
The first step in that process is for a strong attendance at the association’s annual general meeting Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Chemainus Ball Park clubhouse.
“We need volunteers for the executive,” said Hopwo. “If we don’t, we don’t know if we’re going to amalgamate or disband.”
No one’s certain yet what next year will bring with COVID, of course, but planning still need to be undertaken.
Hopwo, 82, a member of the North Cowichan/Duncan Sports Wall of Fame for his volunteer work, has served 51 years as president of the association minus about two months during that time for a very short-lived break. People have come to assume Hopwo will continue to do the job, but he won’t be doing it forever.
He’s already remaining non-committal about next season. “Maybe,” he said when asked if he’d be continuing in the position.
Regardless what Hopwo decides to do, people are needed for a variety of roles: vice-president; secretary; treasurer; registrar; umpire-in-chief; concession manager; field coordinator/maintenance/umpire allocator; T-Ball/Tadpole coordinator; coaching coordinator; fundraising director/trophies; photos/tournament director; director at large; and a person to do security and criminal record checks.
It takes a lot of people to run even a small organization like Chemainus. Jim Jaggers has been the vice president the last several years and may also consider returning to that position.
The bottom line for Hopwo is to cover all the bases at the meeting. Voting for the federal election one day will hopefully be followed by some voting for baseball executive positions the next day if enough names are put forward.
“Hopefully, we get a good turnout,” said Hopwo, whose own family members are no longer playing in the association.
“I’ve got nobody playing here. I just want to see the kids play.”
There’s a special incentive for those who serve on the executive. “Anybody who’s on the committee gets a free registration,” Hopwo pointed out.
