Academy fundraiser nearing

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It is that time again as the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball prepares for its eighth annual awards and scholarship fundraising banquet on March 1 at the Vauxhall Community Hall which will be headlined by guest speaker Sandy Alomar Sr.

“It’s probably as highly acclaimed of a personality as we’ve had. Sandy played 14 years (in Major League Baseball). He played with a bunch of teams and coaches in the Major Leagues and obviously did a pretty good job of raising a couple of sons (Robbie and Sandy Jr. ) who were pretty quality players themselves,” said Les McTavish, head coach of the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball Jets. “It’s pretty exciting. He brings multiple facets to it as a player, coach and as a parent (of baseball), he brings a lot of different things to the table. I’m excited to hear from him as a parent in how he raised his boys, there must of been certain things as a parent that helped him mold his two sons, as well as baseball players, apart from the genetics.”

Apart from the glitz of the guest speaker is the celebration of the kids and the community that help power the baseball academy.  

“Ultimately it’s a fundraiser, but at the same time it is a nice celebration to reward our guys and their families in all the hard work and time they’ve put into getting ready for the spring season. It’s also a good way for us to celebrate everybody who has been involved in the program whether it’s the school, the school division and our local community members and billets. There are so many people involved who make the academy what it is today, it’s nice to get together and celebrate,” said McTavish.

As the Jets continue to flash the leather in the field and leg out triples hit into the gap, sometimes the word student in student-athlete gets lost in the translation which McTavish noted the fundraiser enforces as athletes as complete citizens of the town.

“There are three major areas that we use as pillars, obviously one is athletic ability. Academic performance is another and it’s not just grades, but effort level. If you work your butt off to get a 65 (per cent), we find that just as much of a success as if you work your butt off to get 90,” said McTavish. “And the third one is community involvement which has just as much weight as anything when it comes to our awards and scholarships.”

The evening will once again be highlighted by the Reno Lizzi Scholarships as well as several other awards and scholarship presentations.

A silent auction, live auction and raffles will be going on throughout the evening with Marty Baceda leading the charge as MC. Items up for bid include a Joe Montana limited edition signed jersey, a Magic Johnson signed jersey, a Joe Torre signed jersey, and a game-worn Brett Lawrie signed jersey. There is a variety of signed baseball from Greg Maddux, Jason Bay and Michael Saunders. For the women there is a pearl necklace that has been appraised at over $1,000.

You can contact Shannon Mossey at shannon.mossey@horizon.ab.ca for tickets.

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