by Israel Association of Baseball
Members of the Israel Association of Baseball elected the organization’s new Board of Directors and Officers at its Annual General Meeting, held at Kibbutz Gezer on June 23, 2013.
Peter Kurz, from Givatyaim was chosen to serve as the new President, replacing outgoing IAB President Haim Katz, who had served in the position for eight years. Kurz had served as Secretary General of the IAB for eight years. Margo Sugarman from Tel Mond was elected Secretary General, and Dan Rothem from Tel Aviv was chosen as the new Vice President. Incumbent Treasurer Yaron Erel, also from Givatayim, was re-elected unopposed.
The members of the new IAB Board, which will serve for the next two years, are: Alan Abbey, Jerusalem, Jordy Alter, Bet Shemesh; David Brief, Modiin; Baruch Bochnik, Modiin; Arye Klein, Bet Shemesh; David Leichman, Gezer; David Levy, Ra’anana; Louis Miller, Rehovot; Brian Polin, Jerusalem; Nathan Pomerantz, Rehovot; and Lee Siegel, Gezer.
Nate Fish from New York, has made aliyah to Israel to serve as the IAB’s new National Director. Nate offers vast playing and coaching experience. He coached the Israel National Team in the 2011 European Championship Qualifier and played for Team Israel at the 2012 WBC Qualifier. In the past, he played baseball at the University of Cincinnati; coached for the Yorkville Youth Athletic Association in New York; and represented the gold-medal winning US team at the 2005 Maccabi Games. He also played for and coached the Munich Disciples in the Bundesliga, Germany’s top pro league. Nate will work closely with the Board to expand all baseball activities in Israel.
The meeting was an opportunity for the members of the IAB to bid farewell to outgoing President Haim Katz, whose eight years as president were marked by his deep dedication and service to the IAB; his outstanding work with youth and children; as well as his successes in promoting Israel baseball in Israel and around the world. “These are exciting times for the IAB with new blood and new energy both in the lay and professional leadership,” Katz said.
On his election as president, Kurz stressed that one of the IAB’s main priorities is to significantly expand baseball in Israel. “Our first mission is to grow the organization by at least 20% in the first year. We are also going to invest heavily in increasing our levels of professionalism in our coaching and other aspects of our organization, in a process to be spearheaded by our new VP Dan Rothem.” “One of our focuses,” added Secretary General Sugarman, “will be on increasing our visibility and transparency, including more effective communication with all our members.”
The new board’s first order of business will be to host and run the baseball at the Maccabi Games, which kicks off on July 18.
