Summer 2013 Volume 5

BASEPATHSBASEPATHSBASEPATHS

The first full season on the Miracle League Field

in West Hartford is in the books and by all ac-

counts it was a huge success. Over 60 players

were registered to play in the league this season.

One of the goals of the league is to be open to

players from anywhere and it seems like that goal

is being met. Our players this year were from

West Hartford, Hartford, Bloomfield, Bristol, Bur-

lington, East Hampton, Farmington, Berlin, Plain-

ville, Manchester, New Britain, Meriden and

Avon. The players were assigned to one of the

Miracle League’s 3 teams; The Dunkin’ Donuts

FIRST FULL SEASON ON MIRACLE LEAGUE FIELD A HUGE SUCCESS

LEADING THE WAY TOWARDS A MIRACLE

Sea Dogs, The Bayer, Odlum and Hyde Rock

Hounds and The Dr. Miano Scrappers. In addi-

tion, Challenger teams from 8 other towns visit-

ed the field to play one of our teams. In spite of

a very soggy spring, we managed to get in all but

one of our games. In addition to our players, we

had over 40 “buddies” volunteer their time this

season to assist the players. All of their help was

very much appreciated. We look forward to the

fall season which will begin on September 14th.

Registration for the fall season will be open

soon. Check the website for more information.

A NOTE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

You will soon notice some changes at the Miracle League Field in West Hartford. Landscaping and

construction of a donor recognition area will begin very shortly outside of the field. In addition, the

restroom and concession facility is currently out to bid and construction will begin in the fall. Those

2 projects will complete our project in West Hartford. What’s next you might ask? We have had

folks from numerous towns contact us about building a field like our in their towns. 2 towns have

groups that are moving along quickly. South Windsor and Windsor both have groups that are actively

planning fields. We look forward to helping them in any way that we can.

We have welcomed 2 new members to our Board of Directors, Amy Molinaro and Lisa Weisinger-

Roland who served as co-chairs of our golf tournament. Both ladies are great additions to the board.

In their August 2013 issue, Family Circle Magazine identified West Hartford as America’s 10 best cities for families. The Miracle League of CT can be very proud that we played a part in the town being named to the list. Family Circle singled out the fact that “after parents realized that special needs kids wanted to play competitive baseball, they created a league just for them and make the sports field wheelchair accessible.” In the article they identified that West Hartford is an “engaged community”. The fact that we were able to build the Miracle League Field is a tribute to that concept. The entire community became engaged in the process and helped to make a “miracle’ happen right here in our town. It’s nice that the rest of the county can see how special our community is.

MIRACLE LEAGUE OF CT HAS A HAND IN WEST HARTFORD BEING NAMED ONE OF AMERICA’S 10 BEST CITIEIS FOR FAMILIES

REGISTRATION FOR FALL BASEBALL IS NOW OPEN

Registration is now open for the Miracle League of Ct fall baseball season. Players and their families may register online by clicking on the link from our website www.miracleleaguect.org. You may also download a registration form via the website if you prefer to mail in your registra-tion. The season will run from Saturday Sept. 14th - Saturday Oct. 19th. Games will be played at 3 p.m. each Saturday. In the fall, we will not have practices, just the Saturday games. Reg-istration is open to boys and girls ages 4-18 from anywhere in CT.

TRICK OR TREAT “MIRACLE LEAGUE STYLE” SET FOR OCTOBER 26TH

One of the highlights on the Miracle League Field up until now was last year’s Trick or Treat, “Miracle League Style” event that was held last October. This year’s event, promises to be even bigger and better. Over 40 local businesses, civic groups and families came together to create an accessible neighborhood right on the Miracle League Field that over 100 costumed trick or treaters visited. Everyone in attendance was complimentary about the event and we are excited to present it again. The “neighborhood” will open at 3 p.m. on Saturday October 26th, (rain date is Sunday October 27th). It is open to any child with special needs from anywhere in Connecticut. The field is wheelchair accessible, with no curbs or stairs to negotiate. Costumes are encouraged, but not required. Any business or group that would like to set up a tent in the “neighborhood” can contact us via email at info@miralcleaguect.org or call Ronit Shoham at 860 558-5313 or Mike Michaud at 860 402-4208 for more information. Look for more details on our website www.miracleleaguect.org or by liking our Facebook page TheMiracleLeagueofCT.

The Miracle League of CT is teaming up with Abilities Without Boundaries for this upcoming event. Abilities Without Boundaries is a not for profit organization based in Cheshire that provides help to adults with developmental disabilities from throughout the state. AWB focuses on integrated employment opportunities for their clients and also provides day services that focus on the individ-ual needs of each client. The pairing of these two organizations seems to be a natural fit, between the 2 groups people with special needs from 4 years old and up are being serviced.

2013 MIRACLE LEAGUE OF CT GOLF CLASSIC IS BIG SUCCESS

$70,000 was raised at this year’s Miracle League of CT Celebrity Golf Classic. On Tuesday June 11th, over 130 golfers teed off at Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford to support the cause. Honorary co-chairs Jim Calhoun and Jen Rizzotti were on hand to lend their support and to enjoy a great day on the links. In addition to the 2 honorary co-chairs, many local sports and media celebrities were present to raise funds for the Mira-cle League. WTIC 1080 morning an-chor Ray Dunaway and NBC 30 sports anchor Kevin Nathan were the hosts for the evening dinner and auction.

The golfers teed off at noon following a barbeque lunch and got in more than half their round before the storms that were so prevalent in June hit at about 3:00 p.m. On the course the golfers enjoyed beverages sponsored by 2 Fly wines and Devcon. In addition there was a Bloody Mary and Screwdriver tasting featuring Mako Shark Vodka and Iced Coffee supplied by Dunkin’ Donuts. The golfers all hit their best shots on the par 3 ninth hole trying to win a Dodge Charger which was being sponsored by Bolles Chrysler Dodge and Jeep. There were a few close calls but no winner. With the excellent help from the Wampanoag staff, the evening program was pushed up after the golf had been called off for the day. Happy hour and hors d’oeuvres were en-joyed while the golfers made their best bids on the more than 40 silent auction items. About a half dozen Miracle League players and their families joined the golfers for the

buffet dinner and live auction. Just before the auction, the new Miracle League of CT video was premiered to the crowd. There weren’t many dry eyes in the house after it was played. Many of our Miracle League players and their families are featured in the video. The video highlights what has been accomplished in West Hartford and what will be happening in the future for The Miracle League of CT. The video may be seen by liking our Facebook page at, Facebook.comTheMiracleLeagueofCT.

After dinner, a raucous live auction was held with some great Red Sox, Yankees, Patriots and U.S. Open Golf experiences, a dinner for 8 prepared in the winner’s home, and unique opportunities to attend a Uconn Men’s basketball practice with Kevin Ollie and a University of Hartford Hawks practice experience with the women’s basketball team led by Jen Rizzoti.

MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS FOR THE 2013 MIRACLE LEAGUE OF CT GOLF CLOASSIC

Miracle League Teammates

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the following people

and organizations who have contributed to the Miracle League of Connecticut since our last newsletter.

(Please go to www.MiracleLeaguect.org for a complete listing of our Teammates)

Champions

West Hartford Magazine – Media sponsor

MVP

Harry E. Goldfarb Family Foundation

Please consider a tax deductible dona-

tion to the Miracle League of Connecti-

cut. Every dollar you donate brings us

one step closer to making this Miracle

happen!

We continue to raise funds for the completion of

the restroom and concession facility. We also

continue to need funding for equipment and field

maintenance.

All Stars

Joan & Thomas Gugliotti

Susan Metcalf in honor of Chuck Halpin’s 60th

Birthday

Dr. Steven A. Fischman Orthodontics, LLC

AUCTION DONORS 2 FLY WINES BACK 9 NETWORK BOB’S DISCOUNT FUNRITURE BOSTON CELTICS BOSTON RED SOX BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP BEARDSLEY ZOO DUNKIN’ DONUTS FARMINGTON MINI GOLF HANDS FOR HEALTH JARMOC FARMS JILL & MARK BARAL JOEY’S RESTAURANT GROUP LAKE COUMPOUNCE LYNNE & TIM O’KEEFE MARY-LYNN & MIKE MICHAUD MOE’S SOUTHWEST GRILL MOOYAH BURGERS MYSTIC AQUARIUM MYSTIC SEAPORT NEW YORK RANGERS OLD STURBRIDGE VILLAGE PAUL PENDERGAST QUASSY AMUSEMENT PARK RUSSEL SPEEDER’S CAR WASH SIX FLAGS OF NEW ENGLAND THE COUNTER CUSTOM BURGER THE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD WAMPANOAG COUNTRY CLUB WH LEISURE SERVICES WHOLE FOODS WINE CELLARS 4 THE KRAFT FAMILY FOUNDATION CHEF SEAN FARRELL DUNKIN’ BRANDS JEN RIZZOTTI KEVIN OLLIE PREMIER LIMOUSINE UCONN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UCONN MEN’S BASKETBALL

TEE SIGN SPONSORS A & L REFRIGERATION AIRPORT ROAD AUTO BODY ALLEN MOLIN LANDSCAPING BMF INSURANCE CONSULTING LLC CHERISH THE CHILDREN CRABBY AL’S SEAFOOD REST. & BAR E. HABERLI ELECTRIC LLC EMPLOYERS REFERENCE SOURCE INC ENERGY SOLUTIONS LLC FARMNIGTON BANK J & J COFFEE SERVICES JACKSON LEWIS JEANNE & DICK MCCARTHY M.E. O’BRIEN AND SONS MILTON C. BEEBE & SONS NUTMEG INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS PENSION CONSULTANTS INC REID & REIGE P.C. SHOP RITE SOLINSKY EYE CARE SUBURBAN STATIONERS THE KROLL FAMILY THE WOLF FAMILY TOLLAND COUNTY SAFE & LOCK WEST HARTFORD SEPTA

TITLE SPONSOR GREAT AMERICAN DONUT INC.

DINNER SPONSOR JOHNNY’S JOG FOR CHARITY

LUNCHEON SPONSOR MDC

BEVERAGE CART SPONOSORS 2 FLY WINES COHN REZNICK

HOLE IN ONE SPONSORS BACK 9 NETWORK DEVCON RETIREMENT VISIONS LLC TURBINE CONTROL INC

PRINTING SPONSOR MERRITT GRAPHICS

CONTEST SPONSOR CARMON FUNERAL HOMES

SUPER FOURSOMES DUNKIN’ BRANDS “FRIENDS OF JAMIE” GREAT AMERICAN DONU MAY, BONEE & WALS H TD BANK WELLS FARGO ADVISORS. LLC

CONTIBUTIONS SUSAN & BERNARD APTER JUDITH BAYER MARSHA HUBBARD BETH & STUART KATTEN FRANK A. LEONE MANAFORT BROTHERS MERIT INSURANCE SERVICES NANCY & JOHN PELEGANO JAMES SHANLEY KATHERINE & VICTOR WORRY

Come Join Us

Chili-Palooza

Saturday Sept. 7th

Winding Trails, Farmington

Noon-5 p.m.

Fall Miracle League Season

Sept. 14th—Oct. 19th

See website for details

Trick or Treat Miracle League Style

Saturday Oct. 26th

See website for details

Miracle League of Connecticut PO Box 331223 West Hartford CT 06133-1223

Visit our website:

www.miracleleaguect.org

ALL THEY NEED IS A PLACE TO PLAY

Like us on Facebook at

Facebook.com/TheMiracleLeaugeOfCT