Jay Trullinger, In Memoriam
Jun 7th
It is with great sadness that we share with you that our club Vice President, Jay Trullinger, recently passed away. News of his unfortunate departure shocked and dampened the spirits of all of us who knew him, and is an untimely loss to the Portland bocce community in general.
Jay was the soft spoken player who over the years put in many volunteer hours for the league, organizing registration information for dozens of teams and hundreds of players to craft the balanced scheduling that keeps the bocce season enjoyable for all of us.
His own participation in bocce extended back to the days when he played on a MAC club team competing in the PBL when there were games on only two nights a week. From those years until now, Jay was a dedicated bocce volunteer who, together with his wife Becky, performed many of the duties that keep a club like ours running smoothly. He was invariably at the work parties, sometimes even when Jay’s health was saying, “Back-off, you already do more than your share!”
Jay was the alert guy, always with a Starbucks cup in his hand, looking around for a pooch he could make friends with. Jay loved dogs. He belonged to the Tuesday night team called “Magnifico” and even more importantly, he belonged to the team of people who make bocce happen every summer in the Park Blocks of Portland.
His distinctive throwing style made him so famous, that those reading this who were unfamiliar with Jay may suddenly recall him! He was the guy who carried the banner for everyone who wanted to throw the bocce ball backhand style, but were afraid they’d be subbed out by their capo. Jay did it bravely, often making it look like a style we should ALL try (although he left enough room for doubt, that the impulse wasn’t entirely compelling!!).
Many of us knew Jay, as he and Becky were frequent visitors to the North Park Blocks bocce courts, even on nights when they weren’t match participants. If there was an interesting bocce match happening, it was a good bet that they’d show up as spectators.
Jay devoted himself to keeping our League a happy place to play. He was the PBL Vice President, which says it all about his devotion to the league and to the sport. Whoever takes up his load will appreciate how much Jay did for us.
Especially for friends of Jay, but also for all of us, his absence on the bocce court will truly be felt.
Portland Bocce League Board Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2013
May 23rd
CALL TO ORDER: 5:32 by Adam Reese
IN ATTENDANCE:
Adam Reese, President
Jay Trullinger, Vice-President
Phil Schwyhart, Treasurer
Cathy Blaszak, Secretary
Jonathan Nicholas, MAL
Josh Rich, MAL
Guest: Glenn Devitt, webmaster
TREASURER:
Phil distributed 2013 budget (on file).
OLD BUSINESS:
~ Court maintenance: The 2013 court maintenance event was a huge success, with approximately 50 league members pitching in to get the courts ready for the season. PBLA has hired Bocce e Luce, a professional bocce court maintenance and design company to maintain our courts this year. Fees are $100.00 per week for 2 weekly maintenance sessions.
~ Singles Tournament: A full tournament of 64 players was reached. Special thanks to Frank Blaszak for his efforts in growing this tournament to full capacity! Big thanks also to Sandy Koski for his personal donation of a $100 restaurant dinner certificate, in addition to the other prizes Frank secured.
~ Personal Balls in League Play: Several league members have inquired about use of personal balls during league play. A discussion of the subject ended with the board decision that personal balls were acceptable for use in the 2013 Singles Tournament. League Balls will continue to be used exclusively in 2013 League team play, with the intention of future consideration of allowing personal ball use.
~ Expansion to Friday Night: At the time of the meeting we had 7 of 8 teams registered for Friday night. Board discussed ideas for recruiting an additional team. [Note: A full 40 teams have now signed up for the 2013 season!]
~ Regular Season Schedule: The 2013 schedule was posted on PBLA website on May 13, 2013.
~ Committee Positions: 2013 Committees currently consist of the following:
- Tournament: Adam Reese (Chair), Jay Trullinger, and Bill Mallon
- Court Maintenance: Phil Schwyhart (Chair), Jack Elder, and Adam Reese
- Rules: Jay Trullinger (Chair) and Jonathan Nicholas
- Finals Party: Cathy Blaszak (Chair), Becky Trullinger, and Catherine Leedy
- Expansion: Josh Rich (Chair) and Jonathan Nicholas
Any league member who would like to join a committee is enthusiastically invited to sign up.
~ Roster Submittal: July 1 will be the team roster deadline with a limit of 12 players per team. Captains will be responsible for roster submittal. Glenn will send out a notice to all capos regarding when and how to do this.
NEW BUSINESS:
~ Ball Capos: Individuals were identified to keep track of the balls for each night, coordinating distribution of balls at commencement of the season and collection of the balls at the end of the season.
- Monday: Josh Rich
- Tuesday: Cathy Blaszak
- Wednesday: Alan Grinnell
- Thursday: Adam Reese
- Friday: Paul Jewell
~ League Expansion Path Forward: Josh and Jonathan will brainstorm ideas for a future alternate league venue and welcome any ideas from league members. During the 2013 season, they will post a status update the PBLA website.
~ Finals Week and Championship Picnic: Due to the increased number of teams for the 2013 season, the Finals Week Tournament will be expanded to four nights. Because Monday of Finals Week is Labor Day, the board determined that the Tournament will begin on Tuesday, September 3rd and culminate with the Championship Match and End-of-Season Picnic on Friday, September 6th!
MEETING ADJOURNED: 7:33pm
Submitted by: Cathy Blaszak
2013 PBL Team Match Schedules Now Available
May 13th
The full fourteen-week schedule is now available!
2013 PBL Singles Bocce Tournament Bracket Now Available!
May 13th
The match bracket is now available ! All players and capos received an email on May 7 that contained contact information for everyone participating. For obvious reasons we will not post that info publicly on the website, so please be sure to keep that email so that you can arrange your matches. Good luck!
The rules are simple:
- Game rules are the same as for team bocce. First player to score 21 points wins.
- Each player rolls 4 balls
- Players arrange a time (and place) to play their game between themselves.
- The game can be played on any mutually agreed upon Bocce court
- Game winner reports the score to Frank by the cut-off date for each round.
There will be modest prizes awarded to the two players who reach the finals. Some local businesses were kind enough to donate the prizes. Hopefully all who read this will look upon them with more favor than otherwise. They are:
BIG DAN’S WEST COAST BENTO - 2368A NW Thurman
VOODOO DOUGHNUT – 22 SW 3rd
The DRAGONFLY COFFEE HOUSE – 2387 NW Thruman
STARBUCKS COFFEE – at 605 NW 23rd
PK THAI in the Pearl – 323 NW Park Ave
KORNBLATTS DELI – 628 NW 23rd
2013 Schedule Will Be Published May 13
May 1st
For a sneak peek, come to the annual court maintenance day!
The 2013 match schedules (teams and singles) will be published on Monday, May 13. But on Saturday, May 11 they will be distributed to everyone who helps with annual court maintenance . . . along with lunch and beverages!
The season will start May 27 and run through August 30 (14 weeks). The top two teams from each night advance to Finals, the week of September 2.
