Greetings!
On behalf of the OTYA
Board of Directors I want to invite you to help us celebrate our 50th anniversary season. OTYA has meant many things to many
people, but I would like to share a few of my own memories with you. I started playing OTYA in 1968 (with current board member
John Murphy) as a seven-year-old. Even though I lived right around the corner from the ballpark, I did not know many of the
other players, but soon they would become my second family. We would meet up at Greenbriar School at noon, play a couple of
nine inning games, ride our bikes home, put on our uniforms and ride back to the school for the league games. The next
day we would brag about our accomplishments that occurred the night before, string up our laces and do it all over again.
Lifetime relationships grew from this experience. To this day, many of these players and I are still the best of friends!
And I am sure that others who played OTYA can say the same thing.
OTYA has survived so many
years because of volunteerism. From the concession workers to field maintenance, our parental involvement is what makes us
one of the finest organizations around. But to the young ballplayer, the person who has the biggest impact on their athletic
life is a person they call “Coach”. And OTYA has had some very special coaches. Way back in the beginning their
names were Marinelli, Goetz, Angell, Palcek, Swanson and Molyneaux. Later the names changed to Bartolomei, Cifelli, Fleming,
Morsovillo, Longo and Maine. Today, the ultimate responsibility to have a positive effect on a child’s life rests with
names like Friel, Mascolino, Thurston, Sandovol and Suprendant to name a few. These are just some of the fine men
and women that will lead OTYA into the future. Through their words and actions, they will teach our young athletes the true
meaning of sportsmanship through competition.
It has been fifty wonderful years since OTYA
began. From the beginning and every year since, we have had the greatest partner any baseball organization can have. We have
School District 170! We went to them fifty years ago with a request to build a baseball field on their property. Now, four
fields, batting cages and a concession stand later, we are still partners! We could have never grown into what we have become
without the help from the past and present Board of Education members of District 170. We owe you our heartfelt thanks and
sincere appreciation!
We start our anniversary with a new Board of Directors for the upcoming
season. A young, energetic group, (well, besides Murph and I) that has set several goals for making this a very memorable
season. One of our top priorities is to have better communication with the parents and players in the league. Our website
will be constantly updated and hard copies of everything will be posted at the concession stand for all to see. We will become
more competitive with other leagues and more individual attention will be given to a player’s needs when it is necessary.
And as we continue to expand, we are always looking for new board members. Please contact a current board member for more
information, and be a part of the solution!
Wow! Fifty Wonderful Years! Let’s
see if the next fifty can top the first! See you at registration.
Jeff Bohlen
President
Jeff Bohlen | President |
708-932-0590 |
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| Steve Thurston | Marketing | 708-692-3008 | John Friel | Operations | 708-825-4220 | April Evans | Secretary | 708-674-6741 | Sonia DeLaRosa | Concessions | 708-825-8540 | Jorge Sandoval | Boys Commissioner |
| Ernie Myslinski | Maintenance |
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| Susan Fox | Sponsors | 708-752-6141
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Board Meetings All board meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month during the off season (August-April)
and every Tuesday during the season (May-July). If you would like to attend a meeting, please contact one of the board members
in advance. Comments/Suggestions We are always open to comments and suggestions that
will help the league. If you have an idea or suggestion, please contact the appropriate board member. Volunteers If you have a talent/service that you think the league will benefit from, feel free
to contact one of the board members. Parking Please
park in the designated spots only. Do not park in the Custodian's spot, even on weekends. There will be absolutely no
parking or driving on the gravel service roads during games. Please be considerate of our neighbors. If you park in the streets,
do not walk through the neighbors' yards. Rain Outs In the event of inclement weather, we will attempt to prepare the fields for play as best we can. If we cannot get
the fields in a playable condition, a recorded message will be posted by 5:00 PM (weekdays). The field condition number call
is 755-8844
Field Duty Each team is required to help with field maintenance and will be scheduled on either a Saturday
or Sunday morning session. With your help, we can continue to be proud of our facilities.
Concession Stand A parent for each player will be required to serve volunteer duty in the stand in
an effort to keep costs in line and to continue to provide you with the best concession stand in the area. |
