Archives for June 2010

Squirrels Salute the Troops!

On Saturday, June 19, the Flying Squirrels partnered with Budweiser to honor the troops for Military Appreciation Night. Hundreds of soldiers and military personnel enjoyed a game at The Diamond.

Support US Armed forces collected donations by offering acorn cut outs to fans to show their support of the troops and raised over $1200 dollars that was used to make care packages for the troops overseas!

The Squirrels also held a “Camo Jersey off the Back” Auction raising over $1,390 with all proceeds benefiting the Robert E. Lee Chapter of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) that supports soldiers at Fort Lee and throughout central VA.

Fans were entertained by WWE Hall of Fame Wrestler Sergeant Slaughter and were given a camouflage baseball cap as they entered the gates, courtesy of Budweiser.

SGT. Slaughter leading the crowd in Take me out to the Ballgame!

Pulaski Mariners Join Fine Arts Center Benefit Concert

On Friday, June 18, the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley presented a benefit concert by Elvis impersonator Ryan Pelton. The Pulaski Mariners concession staff manned the concession area and donated their time and the profits from sales to the Fine Arts Center. An estimated crowd of 2,500 people watched the show in the downtown Jackson Park.

Pulaski is a town of only 10,000 population. The benefit to the Fine Arts Center from Pulaski Mariners was thirty-five man hours and $750 cash. A return visit has already been schedule for “Elvis” which deems this initial concert a success.

ONEOK Field Adds Computerized Recycling Kiosks

The Tulsa Drillers announced today that they have partnered with PepsiCo and Waste Management, Inc. to locate two Dream Machine recycling kiosks within ONEOK Field. Dream Machines are computerized receptacles that include a personal reward system that allows consumers to collect and redeem points for each plastic bottle or can they recycle in the kiosks.

At ONEOK Field, one kiosk will be located on the main concourse behind home plate, while another will be placed in the outfield plaza in centerfield.

As part of the program, each item that is placed for recycling will help to provide funding to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a national program offering free, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post 9/11 veterans with disabilities.

In addition, fans that recycle through the computerized kiosks will receive coupons for valuable discounts and offers.

The Dream Machines are provided by GreenOps, LLC, a subsidiary of Waste Management , and operated by Greenopolis, the first interactive recycling system that brings together online and on street technologies and rewards people for recycling their beverage containers in kiosks by allowing them to receive awards when they visit Greenopolis.com.

PepsiCo and Waste Management are placing Dream Machines in high-traffic public venues such as stadiums, gas stations and public parks to capture the maximum amount of beverage containers from consumers. The goal is to increase the U.S. beverage container recycling rate from 34% to 50% by the year 2018.

At ONEOK Field, one kiosk will be located on the main concourse behind home plate, while another will be placed in the outfield plaza in centerfield.

Star Wars Night Benefits Make-A-Wish of Wisconsin

Saturday, June 12 was Star Wars Night at Time Warner Cable Field.

Several Star WarsTM characters were present from the 501’st Legion of Stormtroopers and their friends in the Rebel Legion, a group hailing from midwest states including Wisconsin and Illinois. The group is dedicated to raising money and awareness of children’s charities around the world, and does so with the blessings of LucasFilm.
The characters spent time in front of the main entrance before the game greeting fans with autographs and photos. They made a grand entrance on-field between the two games of the double-header and then wrapped up on the third base picnic deck, for additional fan interaction, the remainder of the evening.

For the second major element of the event, Timber Rattler players wore specially designed Stormtrooper jerseys for both games of the double-header. A select number of these game-worn jerseys were up for bid via silent auction through the 4th inning of the 2nd game. Proceeds from the auction, which totaled over $1,200, were donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin.

Manager Jeff Isom and Darth Vader pre-game, including a close up of the jersey logo.
Stormtroopers escort Darth Vader to the plate conference prior to the game.

Missions donate $5,000 to Missions Rookie League

The San Antonio Missions presented a $5,000 check to the Missions Rookie League before Thursday’s game, a result of a successful charity golf tournament held on May 25.

The Missions Rookie League is an organization that provides baseball opportunities to underprivileged kids and student athletes in San Antonio. The Missions Rookie League also offers scholarships for youth athletes, and is partnered with the Police Athletic League.

2010 Fisher Cats Foundation Scholar-Athletes Recognized June 4th

On Friday, June 4, 2010 the Fisher Cats Foundation awarded its annual Fisher Cats Foundation Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. Each year the foundation awards $2,500 scholarships to ten New Hampshire and two Massachusetts college-bound students. The twelve scholar-athlete scholarship recipients are selected based upon their academic success, athletic achievement and active citizenship.

The 2010 recipients and their families were invited out to the Fisher Cats game where they were recognized down on the field before the game. Fisher Cats President, Rick Brenner, presented each the Fisher Cats Foundation Scholar-Athlete with a certificate as his/her name was being announced.

After the pre-game ceremonies the scholar-athletes and their families were treated to a barbeque buffet out in left field in the Poultry Products Dinner in the Den, where they had the opportunity to meet members of the Fisher Cats Foundation as well as past scholarship winners.

“The Fisher Cats would like to congratulate the 2010 Fisher Cats Foundation Scholar-Athletes and their families,” said Fisher Cats President, Rick Brenner. “We would also like to thank all those who support the Fisher Cats Foundation and their continued efforts in making this night possible.”

Since 2007, the Fisher Cats Foundation has awarded over $110,000 in scholarships.

Fisher Cats President Rick Brenner with the 2010 Fisher Cats Foundation Scholar-Athletes

Students “Go Nuts for Reading!”

In the Flying Squirrels Inaugural Season, we also launched our inaugural reading program, “Go Nuts for Reading!”. Elementary school students throughout the Greater Richmond Area participated by reading eight books over two months to earn a ticket to a Flying Squirrels game this past spring. While at the game, students were recognized by participating in a pre-game parade around the warning track led by Nutzy!

To encourage the children to read, Nutzy and his friends went out to the schools and put on assemblies talking to the students about the benefits of reading, our reading program and Nutzy even acted out “Casey at the Bat”! The classroom that read the most books total from each school district was rewarded with a pizza party and visited by a Flying Squirrels player and Nutzy!

In our first year, over 32,100 students participated within nine school districts!

Nutzy and kids after on-field parade to celebrate reading program
Nutzy at a reading assembly acting out “Casey at the Bat.”

CPR “Certified” Fun at The Diamond!

On Saturday, May 29, the Richmond Flying Squirrels teamed up with the Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross for CPR Grand Slam!  Residents in the Greater Richmond area took an online class and then finished their CPR certification training in the outfield at The Diamond! Participants were greeted by Nutzy as they checked in, then taken down on to the field to finish training.  Once the course was completed, the newly certified patrons earned a ticket to that night’s Squirrels game and were recognized for attending the life saving training! The youngest participant certified was 13 years old–he tossed out the ceremonial first pitch!

Red Cross CPR training on the outfield
Nutzy and our first pitch winner after completing CPR training at only 13!