Hello Buddy Baseball Fans,
What a great season we had! Wonderful weather and no rainouts. Thanks to all of the buddies, coaches, volunteers and sponsors that made it a success. We appreciate those who completed our Buddy Baseball survey. We value your suggestions and are gratified by the nice comments.
Congratulations to our three Sarah Otteson Buddy Scholarship winners: Anna Ames, Mattie Lindley and Maria Miller. Each of the winners received a $1000 scholarship.
Our fall season will start on September 28th. Registration will open in early July. Watch your email and Facebook for updates.
Have a great off season and we will see you in the Fall.
Russ Oberbroeckling
Executive Director
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Sarah Otteson
Buddy Scholarship Winners
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Congratulations to Anna Ames from
Berkeley Preparatory School, Mattie Lindley from
Middleton High School and Maria Miller from
The Out-of-Door Academy
as this year's Sarah Otteson Buddy Scholarship winners. Anna, Mattie and Maria each received a $1000 check for their college expenses.
Anna has participated in 15 seasons of Buddy Baseball and will be attending the University of Central Florida. Maria has participated in Buddy Baseball for 6 seasons and will be attending Northwestern University. Mattie will be attending
Florida Southern College
and has participated in 10 seasons.
Scholarship applicants submitted essays and responded to questions describing their extracurricular activities, community service involvement, why they chose to participate in Buddy Baseball, a highlight of their Buddy Baseball experience and how they thought their Buddy Baseball involvement will help them in the future.
For the third straight year, Dr. Howard and Donya McLeod donated generously to the scholarship fund. Their donation enabled us to award all three winners a $1000 scholarship. In addition to the three main scholarship winners - we awarded $100 to five other worthy Buddy scholarship applicants who received an "Honorable Mention."
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What a turnout for our end of season party. We had 285 in attendance, a new record! We had a great time at the party with bowling, the balloon artists, face painter and our "Instant Strike Challenges." The first person to get a strike when we announced our Instant Strike Challenge received two free Chick Fil A meals from the Temple Terrace restaurant and five free games of bowling at Pin Chasers. Thanks to Chick Fil A and Dick's Sporting Goods for the raffle prizes. Also, thanks to Pin Chasers for hosting us and the bowling party prizes. They always do a wonderful job for us.
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Player Spotlight
Stephen Gueterman
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Stephen is a long time Buddy Baseball player. He is 16 years old and attends Pepin Academies. Buddy Baseball is his favorite activity. He is a huge World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fan and when he grows up he wants to be a WWE commentator. It's no surprise, that if Stephen had $1000, he would buy Wrestlemania tickets. His favorite thing about summer is spending time in the mountains.
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Buddy Spotlight
Alexandera
Schaffer
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AlexanderaSchaffer
Alex attends King High School and is 16 years old. Other than Buddy Baseball, a few other things that she is involved with is the King High School - Relay For Life and the Temple Terrace Juniorettes. She has a dog named Nash after the city, Nashville. Alex's favorite subject in school is English and would like to be an English Professor. Her favorite restaurant is Pollo Tropical.
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Rookie Spotlight - Jacob Sanders
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JacobSanders
This was Jacob's first season with Buddy Baseball and he absolutely loves it. He often asks his Dad when he gets home from work to go outside for some batting practice. He is 10 years old and attends Twin Lakes Elementary. Jacob
likes watching videos on YouTube, riding on elevators, playing with his big sister Ava, and going to the beach. His favorite food is goldfish crackers and his favorite candy is Skittles.
vorite restaurant is Popeyes.
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Coach Spotlight - Sandy Blade
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Sandy Blade
Sandy was born in Rockford, Illinois, moving to Florida with her husband in the early 80's. She enjoys spending time with her two grown children when they are home to visit.
Sandy has two nephews with Autism and one niece with Downs Syndrome and heard about Buddy Baseball through her nephews that played in Rockford. Sandy has been with Buddy Baseball since the very first pitch.
Her favorite food is Liver and Onions, LOL! She loves reading, crafting and enjoys making wreaths to decorate halls and doors for the holidays.
"I truly love that Buddy Baseball has become an extended family, seeing the children grow season after season, accomplishing so much year after year."
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Volunteer Spotlight - Pilot Bank
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Pilot Bank
Thanks to Pilot Bank for the hamburger and hot dog cookout. All the donations collected from the cookout were donated to Buddy Baseball.
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Parent Spotlight
Paul and
Josefina
Vilchez
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Paul and Josefina Vilchez
Paul and Josefina were both born and raised in Ybor City. They will be celebrating 32 years of marriage with their two children Veronica (30) and Joseph (14) and two beautiful granddaughters Gabriella and Gianna. Paul has been working for Hillsborough County Schools for 34 years and is looking forward to retiring in June 2021. Josefina is a stay at home grandmother after working with an orthopedic group for over 20 years. Joseph has been with the Sharks for at least seven seasons and is always happy to play baseball. He enjoys the camaraderie of his buddy, Brandon as well as his teammates. He appreciates the precious time in the dugout with his coaches and his buddies.
"As parents of a child with special gifts it has been a blessing to participate with Buddy Baseball. There is a special bond between the families, coaches, players and buddies that is absolutely beautiful to watch. Out in the field there is no disabilities. What we see is children enjoying being part of a team. We are so appreciative of these wonderful memories, friendships and experiences."
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Sponsor Spotlight
Temple Terrace Firefighters Benevolent
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The Temple Terrace Firefighters Benevelont is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was founded in February 2015. The mission of their organization is to help Temple Terrace firefighters in times of need, including: family illness, catastrophic emergencies, and unforeseen circumstances. They are funded by dues paid from the members of the organization as well as funds from the State of Florida Firefighter License Tag Fund. They use the accumulated funds to support organizations in our surrounding area such as Buddy Baseball and the Boys & Girls Club. They host several events throughout the year to support their charitable causes, such as their annual "Battle of the Bags" Cornhole Tournament held every April and the Temple Terrace Fire Department Open House concessions in October.
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On Wednesday, May1st at 6:30 pm at the Lightfoot Center in Temple Terrace, attorney Elizabeth Allen will give a presentation on Special Needs Trusts, Social Security basic, Medicaid and ABLE accounts. This is our fourth time that we have offered this informative program. Feel free to invite anyone you know that may benefit from this information. Doors open at 6:00 pm
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When: Wednesday, May 1st, 6:30 pm
Where: Lightfoot Center - (where we have the Meet and Greet)
10901 N. 56th St. Temple Terrace, 33617
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Until next time... PLAY BALL!!
Russ Oberbroeckling
Executive Director
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Tampa Bay Rays Clinic
Spotlights
4th of July Parade
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