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Two guiding principles I have centered myself on as your president have been to respect and honor the legacy of our founding members and the history of our Club, but at the same time to improve upon what they and all of the previous administrations and members have built. I think we have some great examples of both in this newsletter edition.

Let’s start with one of our founding members, the late Mario Massa. When the President of the the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (NIASHF) came to our Club during Nationals and asked us to help them secure a nomination for the first bocce player for their Hall of Fame, our members responded with a resounding and unanimous response -- Mario Massa. Mario's undeniable legacy and contributions to the sport of bocce will be recognized this December when he will be the first bocce player and dignitary ever inducted into the NIASHF. His tireless work to advance and promote the sport of bocce in the US and internationally will now be showcased along with other great Italian American sport legends such as Franco Harris, Joe DiMaggio, and Mario Andretti. See below for details.

While we honor the greatness of one of our own, we also look forward to improving upon the amazing legacy that Mario and many others left for us. First, our growing and active membership has given us both additional funds to reinvest in the Club and increased demand for our leagues. With the memberships' input and support, we will explore the renovation of our bar, card room, and restrooms to address some functional issues and modernize the space. We have ideas only at this point but look forward to sharing conceptual drawings and plans with all of you soon. We are also working to meet the increased demand for bocce play by both adding leagues and developing a comprehensive, coordinated league calendar for the next year, making it easier to ensure all of our members have the opportunity to participate. Finally, we are thrilled to announce we will now be providing bocce instruction to our members. Club champions and National medalists Miles Russell and Anthony La Barbera have put together reasonably priced options to provide instruction for all skill levels for individuals, groups, and events. Think of them as our official Club Professionals, working with you to raise your level of play and enjoyment of this wonderful sport.

As always, thank you for your support and membership.

Tom Holleman, President

2023 HBC Election Update

The HBC 2023 elections will not be required as the current incumbents are all running unopposed, as there were no additional candidates that submitted their names by the deadline.

Congratulations and thank you to the following members for their continued commitment and dedication to our club, as they will serve another 2 years in office.

President - Tom Holleman

Recording Secretary - DeeDee Niebling

Trustees - Bruce Bertucci, Lenny Innocenzi, and Miles Russell

Facility Renovation Being Explored

The Highwood Bocce Club has contracted CVG Architects to explore options to improve/renovate the bar entry area, bar, and women's restrooms, as well as to add storage and reconfigure the kitchen to improve efficiency and ensure compliance with county health codes. Work is not contemplated in the courts, basement or office areas.

A site survey has been completed, and conceptual drawings are expected in November. The Board hopes to share information or conceptual drawings at the January membership meeting.

The work being done is purely conceptual at this point, and moving forward with any plans would require membership approval.

"We are in a strong financial position, and we want to continue investing in our facilities," said Tom Holleman, President. "We have had a 'wish list' for years, and this exploration is designed to give us a more realistic look at what is possible within our financial constraints. We're excited about the possibilities and look forward to sharing them with the membership, hopefully early in the New Year."

Any construction would be scheduled during the summer months in order to conduct as much work as possible during the quieter periods at the club.

Club Champions Crowned

Congratulations to Anthony La Barbera and Courtney Strickland, our 2023 Men's and Women's Club Champions! Courtney battled Lauren McDermott in a 3-game match and emerged the victor. Anthony won the last two games of the best of 3 series to beat Tom Holleman. Congrats to Lauren and Tom for a well-played final and tournament.

A special thank you to Steve Thornberry, this year's tournament director. Steve raised the tournament to new levels and dedicated a lot of time so 70+ members could participate, enjoy some premier competition, and share some wonderful camaraderie.

Also a special thanks to Dave Hoffman and Milan Tomic from BBN-Midwest for the camera setup and livestream, and Lou Santello from Media Designers for the on-site support. Thank you to all of our commentators, including Steve Thornberry, Brigid Reidy, and Miles Russell. Thank you to our finals referees Vanessa Garippo and Danko Dykyj. And lastly, thank you to all the members and guests who turned out over the last 2 months of this tournament to participate, ref, or just enjoy some great bocce.

November

17 | Member Dinner and bingo night with Polenta dinner

December

3 | Children's Christmas Party sponsored by the Highwood Bocce Club and the Modenese Society

9 | 4-Person Open Tournament

15 | Christmas dinner and holiday sing

31 | New Year's Eve Gala

Mario Massa's Induction in National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

The Club's legendary member, player, and President Mario Massa will be honored when he is inducted posthumously into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony on December 15, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at the Belvedere Banquets in Elk Grove. Massa will be the first bocce player to receive the honor. The cost for the evening is $250 per ticket. If you are interested in attending, please email info@highwoodbocce.com so we can arrange a table of Club members.

League Updates

Due to the continually increasing demand for our leagues, the board has approved some changes for 2024 in order to better enable access to our leagues by all of our members.

• Members will be limited to participate in no more than 2 leagues at any one time. This will only affect a handful of members, but it will help free up some spots for others. Exceptions will be made when there are no other members to fill a league spot.
• When there is more demand than spots for a league, those with less current league participation will generally be given priority.
• We will create and publish a full-year league calendar so members can better understand when leagues are scheduled throughout the year.
• League-related announcements will be made more holistically, so members can better understand their choices when determining which league they'd prefer to participate in.
• Schedules for mixed leagues (e.g. Tuesdays and Sundays) will be synchronized, making it easier to manage the member participation between them.
• We will begin collecting league payments in advance of the league start date through an online system beginning in 2024

Green Text = Open to Membership, Fills shortly before league

Red Text = Full, limited spots by team invite only

Thursday Afternoon Pick-Up League Rolling

Our afternoon pick-up bocce games are up and running on Thursdays. No need to sign-up in advance, just show up and play! Schedule: Check in and warm up at noon and games start at 12:30 PM. The league is open to [layers of all skill levels. The cost is $5 for members and $10 for non-members.

Club Rule Reminder

As a reminder to members bringing your own liquor to the Club is not allowed due to liability risks. This is true regardless if the bar is open or closed. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

The Club recently welcomed the following new members:

Michael Kaulentis

Chris McCarney

Noreen Ori

The Club honors the memories of our members and their loved ones.

The bulletin board in the card room has space to place memorial cards, and

news of a loss can be shared with Peter Pieracci who will share the information with our members.

Terrance Desmond

Rena (Palandri) Vannii

Officers

President

Tom Holleman

Vice President

Mary Ann Pedersen

Treasurer

Heidi Peddle

Recording Secretary

DeeDee Niebling

Trustees

Frank Bacci

Bruce Bertucci

Lenny Innocenzi

Frank Lomoro

Peter Pieracci

Miles Russell

Steve Thornberry