To All Newington Families:

First and foremost, let me take this opportunity to introduce myself:  My name is Eyvonne Parker-Bair, and I am the new president of the Newington Travel Basketball Association (NTBA).  You may know me as the overly enthusiastic fan at basketball and football games.  Heck, you may even know me as the queen of You Go's!). With that said, I am writing to let you know that I look forward to working with you, your children, and all of the families in our town, as we embark upon an educational and fun-filled basketball season.

Next, let me start by saying that one of the reasons that I ran for this position, is to work with our kids, and to find ways to improve not only their experience on the basketball court, but also to assist them in becoming great functioning citizens within our community. To me, basketball isn't just about what happens on the court. As such, our players need to also understand the importance of community service, and giving back, which is why I requested, almost seven years ago, that a community service position be added to the board.

Some of the things that I'd like to do this year are the following:

 *Host a kickoff cookout to get all of the players, families, coaches, and board members together, to join in an evening of fun. (This initiative is well underway, and has been scheduled for October 13, 2017, at John Wallace Middle School, from 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.). Flyers and additional information will be posted on the website; 

* I want to bring more camaraderie to our program, players, families, and our board, ultimately eliminating the "us" and "them" mentality. Thus, I want more families to get involved with NTBA!;

 *Establish a basketball movie night at one of our schools, geared toward bringing our players closer together, and allowing them to have fun;

 *Have our players participate in basketball camps to help build their skills;

 *Have our kids perform more community service, such as, collect for Hurricane Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria victims, participate in the upcoming breast cancer walk, help at a local shelter, or food pantry, or serve Thanksgiving meals at a local shelter;

* Add music, and fun to all of our home games, including having each team establish a special clap, or handshake (This also creates a sense of "togetherness" and team bonding);

*I want to listen to the players, and obtain an understanding of what they would like to do.  In other words, I want to hear the voice of our players, and seek their input regarding what we are doing, or what they think we should be doing, as an organization;

* Re-establish a can food drive at all home games;

* Have a parent, player, and coach meeting with referees to explain the rules, fouls, conduct, etc.; and

* Have our referees established as our sargent-at-arms; so to speak, and allow them to do their job.  

In closing, these are just a few of the ideas that I would like to implement. With that said, after tryouts, and selection of teams, there will be an upcoming mandatory meeting for players, coaches, and parents, wherein we will have our league's referee coordinator provide relevant and pertinent information to all. So, please stay tuned!!

Finally, I'm excited and anxious to work with you, your children, and all of the families in our town.

Eyvonne Parker-Bair, Esq.

NTBA President