Presidents Message
Submitted By Hamilton Cardinals on Mon 12 03, 18
Good Morning! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself, as the newly elected President of the Hamilton Cardinals Rep Baseball Association, as well as Steffanee Barnes, newly elected Vice President. Before I do that, I first want to thank Alaina Snow, Bruce Underwood and John Hashimoto for their service to the association. Both Steffanee and I stand firmly on the shoulders of those that have come before. Their dedication, passion and tireless work ethic was instrumental in the success of the association. For all they have done, we thank them sincerely
So who am I? I am a 51-year old husband; father of four - including three daughters and one son; a twenty-eight year entertainment executive and an owner of the Hamilton Cardinals IBL team. My eleven-year old son, Dublin, plays shortstop for the Minor Pee Wee Cardinals team, coached by Jeff Knapp. My twenty-eight year career includes running the FirstOntario Centre and FirstOntario Concert Hall (Copps Coliseum and Hamilton Place) from 2013-2018. In this role, I established important relationships with the City of Hamilton, including Facilities, Parks, Recreation and Capital Projects departments as well as close relationships with the Mayor and City Council. My family and I moved from the States to Hamilton six years ago and have applied for Permanent Residency. My son, Dublin, has played baseball since he was three years old, in the States. Moving here at the age of six, he began playing for West Mountain, then moved to the Ancaster Diamondbacks for two years and this will be his fourth year with the Cardinals.
Now I’ll have Steffanee introduce herself:
“Who am I? Well, my name is Steffanee Barnes, I was born and raised in Hamilton and I am a lover of sports since a young age and Baseball is one that I have been passionate about for over 30 years. My love for Baseball has lead me to enjoy it as a player in my youth and as an adult currently still playing as a member of the Ancaster Women’s League. I was a head coach with another association in 2011 and since 2012 I have managed several teams within the Cardinals organization. I am happily married for over 20 years with 2 boys ages 14 and 11 who have both played in the Association since Rookie Ball; my husband is also part of the Association as an assistant coach for our youngest sons team for the past 3 years. Outside of Baseball, I’ve held management positions for several companies for over 20 years. I also have volunteered for many years within our son’s schools including being on the Parent Council.
I am passionate about youth sports and in 2016 I joined the Cardinals board to help in any way I could. The past two years have provided me with valuable insight into the operations of the Association, insight that will help guide me in my new role as Vice President. I am excited what lies ahead and can’t wait to get started”.
When Steffanee and I were elected, most of the congratulatory handshakes came with a cautious, hesitant, almost defeated “good luck”. While we certainly have challenges to overcome - field allocation, field conditions and timeliness of permits, just to name a few - we are committed to improving the Cardinals experience for players, coaches, volunteers and families. In other words, we aren’t blind to the challenges, we just believe that we will have a positive impact and make this great association even better.
So what do we envision for the association? We see:
- An association that is respected and made a priority by the City of Hamilton.
- An association that is looked at as the example of excellence by all the other baseball associations.
- An association that champions baseball diamond/complex construction in Hamilton so that we can establish tournaments at home and be instrumental in driving sports tourism revenue generation for the City of Hamilton
- An association that has such tremendous support from volunteers and parents that we need to move meetings to bigger establishments to accommodate us.
- An association that has amazing community support including resources derived from corporate partnerships.
- An association that believes strongly in player and coach development and has the resources and tools to support those efforts
In just the first four days of our tenure, we have already set up meetings with the City, began sponsorship talks with FirstOntario Credit Union and other companies and began filling key positions within the association. But we need your help!
We are currently seeking enthusiastic members who would like to join us on this new chapter of the Hamilton Cardinals Rep Baseball Association. We have 2 voids that we are looking to fill as soon as possible, we are in need of a Secretary and Treasurer. We are also looking for more directors to sit on the board and participate actively in bringing forth positive change. We intend to run an Executive that allows all members to provide input and feedback and to work collaboratively towards one main common goal which is building a strong program that provides equal opportunity for players in minor rookie and up to the 18U+ to develop, grow and compete in the game we love all while representing our great city.
Thank you, in advance, for your heart, skill, passion and commitment to this game and these players. We believe the future of this association has never looked brighter. Go Cards Go!
Respectfully,
Scott Warren & Steffanee Barnes