The Corydon Democrat
Wednesday, May 2, 2001

Foundation's Grants Help Youth Leagues

The Harrison County Community Foundation is a diamond in the eyes of many after a pair of donations to youth baseball in Lanesville and North Harrison.

The North Harrison Babe Ruth baseball league honored members of the Harrison County Community Foundation on Saturday in appreciation for the $31,350 in grant money it received for the purchase of new bleachers and the concrete pads poured to set the bleachers upon.

The ceremony began with Laura Goins singing "The National Anthem" and NHBR President Gary Byrne thanking the foundation for its donation and the volunteers who helped assemble the bleachers.

Surrounded by approximately 80 players and coaches, Qudsia Davis, Earl Book and executive director Steve Gilliland threw opening-day pitches from the mound to catcher Michael Dean during the ceremony.

Book said he was pleased with the turnout and thanked the administrators, coaches, assistants and everyone involved in the donation of time to the program.

NHBR board members and volunteers have been improving the baseball complex at Morgan Elementary. Earlier in the day, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the opening of the new T-ball field. More than 300 players age four to 12 participate in the North Harrison Babe Ruth baseball program, which got underway Monday with league games.

The Lanesville Youth Baseball League received a $40,000 grant from the Community Foundation, which paid for a new concession stand and a $6,000 playground. Pat Conder, president of the Lanesville Youth board, said many changes have come in the past few weeks, with the concession stand and a large, fenced-in playground being the crown jewels of a community project to upgrade the three fields west of town.

"We had one of the poorest fields in the county, to be honest," Conder said. "Now that's all changed. It's unbelievable how much has changed.

"(The board) is getting the credit but the community has done so much and The Community Foundation grant was amazing. Then, when you get coaches and parents to come out and volunteer their time to doing all this work, it means a whole lot. It's scary how much we've gotten this year from local support."

Scott Teeter, Jeremy Caldwell and Chip White have devoted the past several weekends (from 7 a.m. to dark) to doing much of the construction work. With more good weather, the stand should be just about finished in the next week or two, just in time for the first game of the season.

In addition to the concession stand and the new playground equipment, four wooden bleachers have been installed, sod was removed from the infield of the No. 3 field and placed around the concession stand and the No. 1 and 2 fields. "Hit-Me" signs will be placed in the outfield, with winners receiving a $100 savings bond.

A deal with Pepsi helped fund an electronic scoreboard and many other businesses donated various materials to the cause as well.

"What makes it even more amazing is that every single board member (11) are all first-year servers," Conder said. "We were just fortunate enough to have a group of folks all focused on doing what's best for these fields."