• Those who worked in the concession stand – for taking orders, restocking, taking it upon yourself to go home to precook some frozen brats, making quick decisions, counting end-of-day money

• Those who helped by repeatedly asking kids – "Please don't hang on the overhead nets" (Give me a dollar for every time I said it, and I could take you all out for pizza!)
• Those who 'closed' and would clean out under the bleachers every night
• Those who rushed in to clean out the dugouts between games
• Those who kept scores on the scoreboards
• Those who remained calm and collected during the big "Grill Fire" – the person manning the grill at the time shall remain nameless to protect his identity <wink> -- but at least we all now know where the fire extinguisher is if we need it J
• Those who drug the diamonds at night
• Those who lined the diamonds between every game
• Those who let me use their cell phone
• "Grill Man" – a silly little plastic figurine that sat on the grill all weekend and became our grill expert and mascot. And to those of you who weren't present for the grill fire, rest assured "Grill Man" heroically took a dive for cover, but returned promptly, unscathed, to offer his support for the remainder of the tournament.

• Those men, women and youth who helped rake the diamonds between every game
• Those who ran out to get rolls of quarters, buns, 7-8 cases of water, pop, ice, etc.
• Those who sold T-shirts
• Those who did a garbage run – definitely not one of the more glamorous jobs, eh?
• Those who stopped on the way to the diamonds to pick up donuts to sell in the a.m.
• Those who brought plastic to put on the picnic table to insure that the T-shirts we laid on it wouldn't get wet and dirty from the previous night's rain

• Those who stayed past their shift or started early because someone scheduled wasn't able to be there, or just because they enjoyed helping out
• Those who helped unplug toilets, fix water pressure, and restock the bathrooms
• Those who jumped in to help where needed
• Those who walked around the bleachers to pick up litter constantly
• Those who retrieved foul balls from overhead nets
• The "Cell-Phone Mamas" (my goodness, I walk into the concession stand and ask if I can use someone's cell phone and like clockwork all four women produce their cell phones at the same instant!)

Since most of the parents who worked this tournament were either on Coach Felton or Coach Hoffman's teams, it was the first time I met many of you. Although I often ended up doing a garbage run, raking fields or grilling, I did enjoy the camaraderie and getting to know many of you when I took a break or was able to work in the concession stand. Thank you SO much, every one of you, for your help. It was greatly appreciated. You were all wonderful workers and we could NOT have done it without you. Just a reminder that the concession stand is the sole way we bring money into the program, which goes into an account and is used exclusively for uniforms, personal equipment, helmets, ump fees, tournament fees, stock for the stand, field equipment such as rakes and bases, softballs, lime for the fields, trips, and much more. The money generated from that concession stand keeps YOUR fees at the barest minimum possible – (in fact, we usually work 'in the red' until we have the tournament).

And a very special "thanks!" to Coach Dave Felton who helped keep the tournament flowing while Coaches Beckham and Frankart were in Hilliard with their team. You put in some very long hours, often being one of the first to the fields and among the last to leave – preparing the fields, umpping, fielding questions, explaining the schedule, making sure the field attendants were around, and much more. Your help did not go unnoticed. Thanks a million. Nah… make that a "bazillion" J

Thanks again, everybody!

Shelly Beckham – a.k.a. "The Coach's Widow"