At our most recent board meeting, the Sports Boosters of Maryland approved five grants to be awarded to five organizations for their programs benefiting children in education and life through sports. Our organization is a proud supporter of each of these organizations.
Sports Boosters Awards Grant to Wheelchair Athletes
Sports Boosters recently awarded a grant to Kennedy Krieger Institute for athletes in their Physically Challenged Sports Program to attend the National Wheelchair Softball Championships.
Sports Boosters has donated to this cause in the past and is delighted to be able to do so again and afford wheelchair athletes the opportunity to participate in these championship games.
Kennedy Krieger’s Physically Challenged Sports Program provides therapeutic sports and recreational programs for children with varying degrees of physical abilities. The programs incorporate opportunities for participants to learn sports to: practice and develop skills independently, use learned skills during leisure time, grow socially/emotionally and practice problem solving. Programs are tailored to the unique needs of each child and family.
The program offers athletes a wide range of sports from wheelchair basketball and football to ice skating and boccia.
Sports Boosters 2nd Annual Golf Tournament
Sports Boosters 2nd Annual Golf Tournament
Tickets are now on sale for the Sports Boosters 2nd Annual Golf Tournament. We will be returning to Greystone Golf Course and will, once again, be joined by guest golfer and good friend of the Sports Boosters, cornerback Lardarius Webb.
Tuesday, June 25
7:30 a.m. breakfast
9 a.m. shotgun start
1:30 p.m. lunch and awards
Greystone Golf Course
2115 White Hall Road
White Hall, Md. 21161
More details and a registration form are available in the Golf Tournament Brochure or you can register below.
Kevin Byrne Brought The Trophy … And More!
Kevin Byrne brought the Super Bowl experience to the Sports Boosters in more ways than one on April 3 at Linwood’s Restaurant in Pikesville.
Not only did Byrne, the Ravens’ senior vice president of public and community relations, regale members and guests with a play-by-play of the moments following the Super Bowl, he also brought the physical evidence of all the hard work put into the 2012 season by Baltimore’s football team.
Members and guests took pictures with the trophy with a donation to the Sports Boosters prior to sitting down to dinner. Byrne walked the guests through the moments following the Super Bowl from media relations requests on the field to the locker room rendezvous after returning to Baltimore. After dinner, Byrne took questions from the crowd, many concerning the cuts and severed tied the Ravens have left in their wake following their championship season.
Byrne was forthright and honest about general manager Ozzie Newsome and his plans for this year’s team. They are clearly getting younger. Baltimore fans have a lot to look forward to next season. Baltimore will always have 2012; 2013 is a new year.
Sports Boosters Orioles Suite Raffle!
A raffle is underway with the Sports Boosters. For $10 a ticket, you will have a chance to win an Orioles suite for 14 people along with a food package. And, you get to choose the game! (excludes Yankees and Red Sox)
The drawing will be held Friday, June 14. Purchase tickets below.
Golf Camp Start-up In Need of Clubs
UPDATE: Thank you to all those who have donated golf clubs thus far. At our meeting on April 3 along, we received 20 sets of clubs that we were able to present to South Baltimore Network. That is amazing!
South Baltimore Network is starting an inner city golf camp/league, they have secured a place to play and have local pros volunteering to teach a group of inner city kids the basics of the game.
What they need and have asked Sports Boosters’ help with is golf clubs. They are looking for donations of used clubs and bags. Donations do not need to be full sets of clubs, but can be just the 2 iron that sits in your garage or that driver you could never hit with.
We will be accepting donations on their behalf through the spring. Please help us with this great way to clean out some unwanted stuff and at the same time make a difference in children’s lives though a sport we love. Below are three locations where golf clubs can be dropped off.
Thank you!
Southern Trust Mortgage
11403 Cronridge Dr., Suite 232
Owings Mills, Md. 21117
Morgan Stanley
2330 W. Joppa Rd., Suite 255
Lutherville, Md. 21093
Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic
2001 Eastern Ave., 1st Floor
Baltimore, Md. 21231
Dan Duquette Shares Weaver Stories and Looks Ahead to 2013
Dan Duquette stood in front of a Sports Boosters of Maryland crowd for the second year in a row, maybe just a slightly bit vindicated.
It was this time last year that longtime Sports Boosters member and board member, Alvin Levi, fixed Duquette with the age-old question Orioles’ fans were all-too-used to dishing out: “You say this year will be different, but we have heard that line before …”
Turns out Duquette had something up his sleeve and Baltimore did have a reason to trust in its new executive vice president of baseball operations. Duquette and manager Buck Showalter were recently signed to deals lasting through 2018, a move that shows the Orioles are committed to these guys and want to show Baltimore the Orioles can have the stability for success it has so yearned for these past 13 years.
On Jan. 23 at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Pikesville, Duquette took a look back at what went right in 2012, the decisions he made, including moving Manny Machado up and onto third base as well as picking up Nate McClouth and putting him in left field and eventually in the leadoff spot when Nick Markakis went out with his hand injury.
But the mark Duquette made on the 2012 Orioles was an improved defensive team, which is something they of course hope to carry into 2013. But he credits the energy of the team to Showalter.
“The determination of the team reflects the demeanor of the manager,” Duquette said. He said the team embraced the “blue-collar” town of Baltimore and came every day willing to give their best effort.
Duquette also talked about manager Earl Weaver and the impact the fiery yet successful Orioles manager had, and still has, on Duquette when he’s putting together a team. He refers to the book “Weaver On Strategy,” which he keeps in his office and told stories of Weaver’s passion and competitiveness.
“Earl was a treasure of the Orioles for many years,” Duquette said.
See more photos on the Sports Boosters’ Facebook page.
