2013 Welcome Letter

MARCH MADNESS

2013 NCAA BASKETBALL POOL

Once again, spring is near and March Madness is here! Welcome back friends and contributors! I must say this has been a challenging year. If we pull this one off with success, then the road is clear and the future bright for pool lovers all! I assume by now you have noticed (otherwise you might not be reading this cover letter) we have a new web site address. Formerly gurtcheff.com is now garygurtcheff.com. Suffice to say their was some mischief in the cyber world and domain holders can be nefarious figures. As of last week, if you wanted to check out the site at gurtcheff.com, you were privy to a European in-auto coffee maker not yet ready for purchase in the U. S. of A. Sounds like a great idea. I guess if they sell any products off gurtcheff.com from March Madness participants, it was worth their effort to steal our website? Nonetheless, and not to be outdone, nor to spoil anyoneʼs fun this year, our new web site address is garygurtcheff.com. Repeat after me and donʼt forget it, garygurtcheff.com Itʼs simply a rework with a new address,

Neither your pool master nor your web magician have departed. It just took awhile, and we are sorry for the inconvenience. However, rumors that we purposely changed the web address without notifying some of the slackers from years gone by is an interesting conspiracy theory, and perhaps there is a grain of truth to the rumor!! So with that in mind, think long and hard what is important to you and the kids in our community. Send us a check, a big check, over and above your $ 20 dollar entry fee. Our goal someday is 100% participation with additional money sent. Whether itʼs $ 5 or $ 500, or maybe donate your winnings, this is what itʼs all about. Believe me, if we didnʼt raise six or seven thousand dollars each year, we wouldnʼt be stressing ourselves out over this project. And realistically, what more fun can you have for your generosity?

There are NO format changes to this yearʼs pool! NCAA basketball tournament selections and seedings will come out Sunday evening, March 14th. Ummm, yes thatʼs today, or perhaps yesterday! Entry into the tournament closes with the tip off of the first round games beginning Thursday morning, March 18th. For each entry, fill out the form all the way through to the finals, selecting the winner of each game. Donʼt worry about the play-in games. They donʼt count to the standings. Just see the entry. You know how it works. No surprises.

Each entry donation is $20 (twenty dollars). $4 (four dollars) of every fee will be donated to charity. Again, we encourage you to make an additional contribution, (as the majority of you so kindly do). Remember any additional moneys donated qualify as a tax-deduction, so if you desire proof of such, enclose a separate check made out to the charity (The March Madness Endowment Fund or Friends of Warrick County CASA, or Dream Center of Evansville). I will forward the check (as is) with the rest of the donations.

The remainder of the pool will be distributed to the winners as follows:

1st --- 40%          6th --- 4%

2nd --- 20%        7th --- 3%

3rd --- 10%          8th --- 3%

4th --- 7%              9th --- 2%

5th --- 5%           10th --- 2% 

Last Place --- 4%

$ 100 bonus for the place finish of the total score of the championship game

(Final score Ohio State 82 Indiana 59 means 141st place takes home $ 100)

Also: new bonus for 2013. (Judges discretion and no disputes!)

$ 100 bonus for the GOAT. He (or she) who has the worst bracket who actually tried to win, not tried to come in last place)

The website has been updated. (Annual thanks goes to Gary Gurtcheff, our webmaster.) Additionally, we will maintain an index page for you to review rules, interim letters, charity information, periodic updates, and other items of interest, in addition to the standings. We hope you will take the time to peruse the site. Please especially review our charity page.

2013 Charity Information

Sixteen years, $ 64,000 to charity, and our recent endowed fund which has a value currently well over $ 20,000. Through this fund, we are able to make small cash contributions to local endeavors in need. This year, in addition to the March Madness Endowment Fund, we will be making two additional contributions. These two charities are:

Friends of Warrick County CASA and

Dream Center of Evansville (through Media Ministries)

The first of the two is Friends of Warrick County CASA. This organization is a nonprofit fundraising arm of Warrick County CASA. It was originated as a way to raise funds for the CASA program. The funds are used to help train and retain volunteer advocates who serve children in need. Additional funds are used to purchase clothing, shoes, and everyday essentials a child may need. Warrick County CASE is a state and nationally affiliated program that trains and maintains volunteer advocates who serve as a voice in for children who have been abused or neglected, and as a result, find themselves in the court system. CASA volunteers serve as their advocate in the judicial system. 155 children were represented in 2012. Additionally, CASA volunteers also keep up with therapy progress, doctorʼs visits, school progress, developmental services, and parental services such as drug treatment, drug screens, visitation, counseling, housing, employment, and any other factors that directly affect the well being of the children. Warrick County CASA volunteers present this information as well as solid, objective, and fact based recommendations to the judge as a court report. WCC volunteers are able to take the place of court appointed attorneys saving the county over $ 160,000 in attorneyʼs fees last year alone. Friends of Warrick County CASA help provide financial assistance, provide media awareness, engage in public speaking, and provide essentials and clothing for these children in need. Additional information regarding CASA can be found by visiting their website at warrickcasa.us

Our second charity for which you may directly contribute additional money, is based out of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, and is called Media Ministries Dream Center of Evansville. The mission of the Dream Center is to assist at-risk youth and their families in becoming responsible and selfsufficient members of the community. The organization provides educational programs, homework assistance, report card incentives, and substance abuse programming. Also they take part in nutritional, recreational, transportational, and youth-to-youth programming. They also provide food baskets during holiday times to children of families that live at or below the poverty level. Many are single parent homes or have one parent incarcerated. This organization helps approximately 300 families and ensures families have food during holiday times when they otherwise may not. Additional information regarding Media Ministries Dream Center can be found by visiting their website at dreamcenterevansville.org



© Gary M. Gurtcheff 2013