Great News from Baltimore County and Thanks

First, it was great to see about 60 of us at the banquet last night at Casey's in Parkville. Good way to end the season with good food and friends, and the best-looking, basketball-shaped cake I've ever seen. Thanks to all those who attended and to the folks at Casey's for hosting us.

Those in attendance got the first opportunity to hear the good news from Baltimore County, as relayed by President Gary Stewart. BCPS Coordinator of Athletics Ron Belinko has approved the renewal of our contract for 2009-10. So we will be officiating boys' high school and middle school games in Baltimore County next season. A round of applause followed the announcement.

In 2005, BCPS and Board 23 signed a three-year contract for officiating services that also called for two one-year renewals at the option of BCPS following the original three-year term. At a meeting yesterday morning with Gary and me, Mr. Belinko praised Board 23 and our quality of officiating and thanked us for a great year. We thanked him as well, and he said he is exercising his option for the one-year renewal for 2009-10. This is the second of two one-year renewals, so we will obviously be looking at developing a mutually beneficial new contract with BCPS following the 2009-10 season.

Congrats, thanks and keep up the good work in Baltimore County.

-PK

Banquet Approaching Sellout

There are approximately 10 tickets remaining for Thursday's IAABO Board 23 banquet at Casey's Restaurant and Bar, 1742 E. Joppa Road, Parkville, MD 21234. Tickets for Board 23 members cost $15 each. For guests, the price is $40 per ticket.

If you are interested in purchasing a ticket, please contact President Gary Stewart at garyastewart@verizon.net.

Tip-off time for the banquet is 6 p.m. Hope to see you there!

-PK

Loading up the Camps

As winter turns into spring, many educational opportunities and camps for officials are publishing information on their dates, sites and costs. We'll be compiling a list on the Current Members page of the Board 23 Web site. Check that site periodically for information as it is compiled. Thanks for Al Bundy and Lee Carter for passing along some of the early info.

Here's the full URL if you haven't already bookmarked it:

http://www.iaabo23.org/currentmembers/currentmembers.htm

-PK

Relay for Life

Just a quick summary of how to participate in the Relay for Life, a worthy cause brought up by Luvear Owens at our March 9 annual meeting:

Step 1: Go to www.howardrfl.com.
Step 2: Click "Donate."
Step 3: Click "Search for Team" and type "Nite Rascals II" in the search field. Then select the name "Luvear Owens."
Step 4: Choose: Donate, Team Page, Join My Team, Luminaria

Or, you can print a donation form that's linked to near the bottom of the page.

Officiating Opportunities March 20-21 and 27-29

Patrick Gregg of Board 23 has passed along a note that Don Johnson is looking for basketball officials to assist with tournaments in Northern Virginia (March 20-21) and at the Capital Sports Complex (March 27-29). If interested, e-mail Patrick at pgregg34@yahoo.com.

Season Wrap-Up: Odds and Ends Part I

Great to see everyone at the annual meeting on March 9. Hope to see as many of you as can make it to the banquet on March 26 at Casey's. Tickets are $15. If you're interested, contact President Gary Stewart (his e-mail address is on Arbiter).

Someone asked about our membership numbers for 2009-10. They are getting better by the day. As of tonight, we have 121 dues-paying members in good standing for next season. That includes several dual members and a few active/non-officiating (commonly called "inactive") members. I will update that figure again when registration with the IAABO national office is done, which happens in early April.

If you know anyone who's traditionally been a member but hasn't re-upped dues for next year yet, it's not too late. A link to the 2009-10 membership form is available on the Current Members page of www.iaabo23.org.

A reminder for those of you who are dual members. If you paid $68 in dues, please do not show up to the Board 23 test date in the fall for the annual NFHS exam. I'll stop you at the door. If you're only paying $68, that's fine, but you'll need to take the NFHS exam and get registered with the MPSSAA through your home board. But, if you paid $90, Board 23 can give you the NFHS exam and register you with the MPSSAA in the fall. If you paid $68 and want to go through Board 23 for this, all you need to do is pay the additional $22 to bring you up to $90 before the fall test date.

I'm sure there will be some more odds and ends that come up over the next several days and weeks, so be sure to check in with your Board 23 Blog from time to time. The MPSSAA boys' and girls' semifinals and finals begin tomorrow (Thursday) at UMCP and UMBC, respectively. Congrats to those officials selected to represent Board 23 and good luck!

-PK

March Madness - Weather Edition

March Madness is here with the MPSSAA Tournament moving into the regional quarterfinal round beginning March 2. It's also here with the arrival of a winter storm that is predicted by people with alleged degrees in meteorology to dump anywhere from 3 to 10 inches of snow in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties. Who knows?

What we do know is that the MPSSAA has posted the following statement on its Web site (www.mpssaa.org) with respect to the weather and the tournament schedule. Boys' games are scheduled for March 2, "weather permitting." Girls' games are scheduled for March 3. Here is the rest of the statement:

"Please note postponed regional basketball games shall be made up on the next available date. All games shall be played on consecutive days until teams are able to resume playing on the originally established schedule."

If you are working on the floor or as the table official for MPSSAA regional quarterfinal games, be sure to check the media for school closings and your e-mail/The Arbiter frequently for rescheduled games. Stay in touch with your partners.

-PK