MAY 20, 2015
Kiwanis Club of Carefree Cactus Foothills North Little League scoreboard inauguration
Pictured l - r: Bob Swan (President, Carefree Kiwanis), Mark Fossey (President, Cactus Foothills North Little League), Ron Ireland (Carefree Kiwanis) and members of the Cactus Foothills North Little League before a game at the Black Mountain Ballpark on May 2.
Photo by Vickilyn Hussey
NORTH VALLEY – The players warmed up, the umpire dusted off the bases, the snack shack opened and the parents picked out choice spots in the shade. It was “America’s Favorite Pastime” on Saturday, May 2, and a special day for the Cactus Foothills North Little League because it was the inauguration of their new scoreboard, the icing on the cake of a recently refurbished field.
“Kiwanis Club of Carefree is proud to be the Name Sponsor for the Cactus Foothills North Little League baseball field's scoreboard,” said Bob Swan, President, Kiwanis Club of Carefree. “Club members and volunteers are proud to support young athletes striving to be the best they can be, their dedicated coaches, and their parents or guardians. Kiwanians are all about helping kids and local communities.”
The scoreboard was a donation from the Kiwanis Club of Carefree Benefit Foundation. The cost of the scoreboard was $7,000.
“We are very grateful for the generous donation made by Carefree Kiwanis to Cactus Foothills North Little League,” said Steve Fair of the Cactus Foothills North Little League.
Mark Fossey, Cactus Foothills North Little League President wholeheartedly agreed, “The thing I love about Little League is that it’s all about community. Thanks to the support of our community partners, the kids are meeting people, being social, leaning how to win and lose, and sportsmanship.”
Fair described the benefits of the new scoreboard and provided details about the other recent major improvements to the field. “The new scoreboard replaced a scoreboard that was originally installed when Sonoran Trails Middle School used the field for their baseball games. The old scoreboard used incandescent light bulbs that were very inefficient, required frequent maintenance and was very difficult to see during day games.”
“The new scoreboard has been moved 30’ closer to the field so it is more visible by all the fans during games no matter what time they are played. We recently had an umpire comment that with the changes we’ve made, we have the best dedicated Little League field that he has been to in Phoenix.”
“Our league has been around since 1984, and consists of 225 boys and girls playing baseball and softball. We really wanted to give our children the best and safest facility to play and enjoy the game of baseball. I think we’ve accomplished this goal with the help of Kiwanis and Sonoran Landesign.”
“Our work is not yet complete though. We are the only Little League that offers both baseball and softball in our community. We really want to give our softball girls a dedicated field for their needs as well.”
“We are very proud of our league and we work had to make it about the community. We believe that Little League is not all about wins and losses. It is about teaching our children the game of baseball, encouraging them to support and help each other, and hopefully make them better people in the end.”
Renovation and replacement of the infield began in January. It included new turf in the infield, additional turf in the area behind home plate between the dugouts and in the outfield (to more closely match Little League outfield specs), new infield dirt and new irrigation for both the turf and infield dirt.
Jeff Reuter, a parent in the Cactus Foothills North Little League, and his company Sonoran Landesign donated all of the work and materials. The inauguration of the Carefree Kiwanis scoreboard at project completion was a proud moment for everyone.
The ball field is located at the north end of Cave Creek Unified School District (CCUSD) education complex south of Carefree Highway, between 56th and 60th Streets. Cactus Foothills North Little League information and registration is available at www.cfnll.com. For information on Kiwanis Club of Carefree, Kiwanis Club of Carefree Benefit Foundation, Inc. and Desert Foothills Key Club, call 480-488-8400 or visit www.kiwaniscarefree.org.
