January 2005
Registration Information
The World Series is over, Football is in full swing, Hockey is taking an unfortunate hiatus, and South Portage
Little League is announcing registration for the 2005 season!! For your convenience, we have both walk-in and
on-line registration options available. Walk-in registration dates will be held at the Portage Senior Center (320
Library Lane) as indicated below. Please mark your calendar with these important dates!
Wednesday
Saturday
Saturday
January 19
January 22
January 28
6:00 – 8:00 pm
9 am to 12 pm
9 am to 12 pm
If your child is a first-time player in our league, you must register in person so that we can verify age and
address. All late sign-ups for returning players will be charged a $25.00 additional fee.
You may register on-line by visiting the SPLL home page www.eteamz.com/southportagell/ and proceeding as
directed. Please note that a transaction fee of 6.5% is automatically added to your bill to cover the fees
assessed by the web site provider.
If you have questions, you can contact either John Skoug (329-2670, johnskoug@aol.com) or Michelle
Shinevare (327-2574, TheShine4@aol.com).
Introducing the 2005 SPLL Executive Board
If you have any questions about the league, or would like to provide feedback on how SPLL can improve, please
contact any of the following elected board members.
Position
Name
Phone
E-mail
President
Steve Graham
323-8543
Vice President
Dusty Ruthven
323-9485
DRJ12@sbcglobal.net
Treasurer
Rik Zelenock
375-2228
rzelenock@yahoo.com
Secretary
Michelle Shinevare
327-2574
Theshine4@aol.com
Baseball Director
Rex Webb
323-9649
Webb_rex@yahoo.com
Softball Director
David Harrison
324-5138
canessb@msn.com
Properties Director
John Kounelis
323-8521
jkounelis@charter.net
Got Ideas? Attend a Board Meeting
Many volunteers are needed to make the league run smoothly, so please contact a board member and make
your ideas AND your skills known! Also, now is the time to make suggestions for changes to league policies,
local rules, capital improvements, fan/player conduct, etc. in order to implement ideas for the start of the 2005
season!
The SPLL Board meets on the Third Thursday of the month from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Portage Schools
Administration Building. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 20 th!
SPLL Needs Your Support:
Our goal at SPLL is to provide, with the help of the community, the best possible environment for our kids to
learn the values and ethics of teamwork, sportsmanship and fairplay that they will carry with them the rest of
their lives. Unfortunately, this goal is sometimes overshadowed by the “Win at all cost” mentality. When we
cross that line with insults or gestures towards the umpires, coaches and opposing players or even our own
kids, we disrespect these values as well as ourselves. No single play, error or missed call will have any bearing
on our kid’s future, but our words and actions are their foundation for life. SPLL needs your help to lead by
example. The Little League Parent/Volunteer pledge is as follows:
I will teach all children to play fair and do their best.
I will positively support all managers, coaches and players.
I will respect the decisions of the umpires.
I will praise a good effort despite the outcome of the game.
Respect all those involved and we will achieve our goals!
Help Needed for Improvements at Kounelis Park!
Steve Graham and John Kounelis are in need of some volunteer workers for making improvements at the ball
fields. Plans are in the making for building small block buildings (about 12’ x 12’) for storing batting cages and
equipment, and crafting several new picnic tables for the convenience of visitors at the park. A mason is
needed for setting the block buildings, and a carpenter or woodworking enthusiast is needed for constructing the
picnic tables. Contact Steve Graham (323-8543) for further details and to offer your service to the league!
2005 – Year of the Umpire at SPLL
Last year was a great season with one huge exception, a lack of volunteer umpires. SPLL is in desperate need
of umpires for our 2005 season. No past experience is needed. We provide all of the training necessary. One
of the main objectives of the league in 2005 is to ensure that all baseball and softball leagues ages 9 and above
have umpires scheduled for regular season games. Your commitment can be as little as a couple of hours a
week. Help us to make 2005 another great season for our kids and our community, volunteer to be an umpire.
Any one interested or if you have questions, please contact Dave Bourbeau (Director of Umpires) at 327-3407
or via email at dabourbeau@sbcglobal.net .
We’d like to say thank you to those that carried the load as our volunteer umpires last year: Joanne Wilson,
Kyle Crow, Tim Glidden, Josh Powers, James Britton, Nick Dumler, Greg Nazomious, Mark Fricke, Bill Whitlock,
Ken Debault, Virginia Smith, Greg Schuh, John Bird, Jim Hagey and Brad Overacker.
Sponsor a Team in 2005 ….
We are looking for sponsors for our 2005 season. Sponsorship fees are $300.00 per team. You will have your
company’s name printed on the back of your team’s uniform. Each sponsor will receive a 4’ x 2’ banner placed
on a SPLL field, a plaque with your sponsored team’s photo and will be noted on our SPLL website and
newsletters. If you are interested in sponsoring a SPLL team, please contact Mike Hickey at 321-8384 or by
email at portagehickeys@chartermi.net .
SPLL Scrip Program
What are scrips?
SPLL continues to offer the
SCRIP program to raise money
for our league. SCRIP is a term
that means, “substitute money”.
When you purchase scrip, you’re
purchasing negotiable gift
certificates and prepaid gift cards
that are used just like cash. You
can use scrip to purchase
everyday items, like food,
clothing, gasoline, movie rentals
and other essentials. With every
purchase, you earn revenue for
SPLL!
We appreciate your support of
the scrip program. That is why
we return 50% of the profit from
your scrip purchases directly to
you. Every time you make a
scrip purchase, you earn free
certificates. Once you’ve earned
$10.00, you may withdraw your
earnings in any gift certificate that
SPLL offers.
You must make a scrip purchase
at least once in two calendar
months to keep your free scrip
account active. Freebies from
inactive accounts are donated
back to SPLL.
JCPenney & Kohl’s allows
payment of their credit cards with
SCRIP!!!
What’s in Stock?
Neighborhood Scrip
Volunteers
Retailers
Grocery Stores:
D&W
Harding’s

Judy Carroll
7635 Wendy Lane
323-4362

Vickie Crowe
10444 Lloy Street
329-1846
Disc%
Denominations
3%
5%
$10
$50
Retail Stores:
Barnes & Noble
Bath & Body
Best Buy
Celebration Cinemas
Hollywood Video
Home Depot
JC Penney@
Kohl’s @
Lowe’s
Menard’s
Office Max
Putters
9%
13%
3%
4%
15%
3%
5%
5%
3%
3%
4%
40%
$10
$10
$25
$10
$10
$25/$100
$25/$100
$10/$25/$50
$25/$100
$25/$100
$25
$5
Gas Stations:
Marathon
Shell
Speedway
3%
2%
4%
$25
$25/$50
$10
Restaurants:
Applebee’s
Asiago’s Deli
Bennigan’s
Brann’s
Burger King
Carrabba’s
Chili’s
Damon’s
Erbelli’s Pizza
Finley’s
Little Caesar
Logan’s Roadhouse
Olive Garden
Outback
Panera Bread
Pizza Hut
Qdoba
Red Lobster
TGI Friday’s
Wendy’s
8%
10%
13%
9%
4%
4%
11%
9%
10%
10%
9%
8%
9%
4%
9%
9%
8%
9%
9%
9%
$20
$5/$10
$25
$10
$5
$25
$10
$10
$5/$10
$10/$25
$2/$10
$25
$25
$25
$10
$5
$2/$10
$25
$10
$10

Sheri Goodman
7475 Capri
329-1574

Kathy Irwin
2205 W. Osterhout
329-4985

Tammy Ridenour
10901 Weaver
327-4965

Michelle Shinevare
9706 Corduroy
327-2574
Please see a neighborhood scrip volunteer to
purchase your scrips and obtain a brochure for
additional and/or special order inventory such as
Krispy Kreme, MC Sports, Toys R Us, Chuck E.
Cheese and many other area businesses.
Earn Money for SPLL through Meijer Community Rewards
As a non-profit organization, we are always looking for ways to help fund our organization to keep registration
costs down and without putting a large burden on the members of our league. We are enrolled in Meijer
Community Rewards program. To participate, apply for a Meijer Guest Card. It’s free and can be done online
at http://www.meijer.com/rewards . When you receive your personal Meijer Guest Card, simply scan it at the
register whenever you shop at Meijer. SPLL will automatically receive a percentage of your purchase totals. If
you are already enrolled in the Meijer Community Rewards program, be sure to add SPLL as one of your
distribution choices. Our six-digit Meijer code is 509082.
Open Volunteer Positions:
The league is looking for volunteers to help with the 2005 season. Positions are open as follows:
-- Candy Sales Chairperson
-- Baseball/Softball Manager
-- Opening Day Volunteers
-- Baseball/Softball Coaches
-- Registration Day Volunteers
-- Tournament Volunteers
-- Concession Stand Managers
-- Pig Roast Coordinator
-- Kalamazoo Kings Fundraiser
It takes many volunteers to help make the league successful for the 700 children that participate in the league.
As always, any volunteer time or service that you can provide to our league is greatly appreciate. Please
contact a Board Member if you can help in any way.
Mark Your Calendars!!!
Our 2005 Opening Day will be on Saturday, April 30th. We look forward to seeing you at the fields!!