CNY Rotary Baseball Outings Were A Home Run of Fun

We recently completed a trio of visits to baseball games in cities across CNY - Syracuse, Binghamton and Troy. Each game was an opportunity to meet members from the area, promote CNY Rotary in front of the community, and raise money for our Youth Exchange Program with a portion of all ticket sale proceeds.

 

We lucked out with beautiful weather for all three games and a mix of members from clubs in the area. Many brought partners, family and friends to join in the fun. Oneonta Rotarians brought some special guests - their exchange student Karoline and her family who were here visiting the US and have now attended their first ever baseball game. We had beer, and hot dogs, and popcorn, and spiedies in the sunshine. All three stadiums are beautiful facilities with staff that put on an awesome event while the athletes play the game.

 

A special thanks to PDG Jeff Smith and PDG Larry Jones for coordinating these outings for us to enjoy. They connected with the teams to arrange for group seating, ticket discounts so we could include a little extra for Youth Exchange, and help with ensuring we had all the details to communicate to you. These are the kinds of things any member can do if they have an idea for a group outing. Reach out if you want to plan something fun for your fellow members!

 

After three nights at local, minor league baseball games, I still don't know any of the players' names and could not tell you any of the teams current standings in their... divisions? But I can tell you that Sue joined Rotary when she got bored in retirement, Lydia is from the Middleburgh Club but grew up on Long Island, Alicia and Jonathan got new cameras to keep an eye on their cats, and Pam used to coach baseball. Because it was never about watching the game - although we had some exciting plays and one game even went into overtime for the win - it was about the fellowship. It was so fun meeting new people, chatting between innings, and being together in a casual setting. I know the members who attended this year will look forward to next year's baseball nights and be more excited for other CNY Rotary group adventures. I hope everyone who couldn't be there this year will make it a point to join in the fun that's still to come and what we hope will become annual traditions for us all. 
Be sure to check out our photo slideshow on the homepage to see how much fun we had!