This time last year, Dover Little League was at a crossroads. The former president had embezzled funds from the league, and the new leadership had the task of re-establishing the league and restoring trust in the community. Based upon the successful spring season of 2016, it seems the leadership of Dover Little League is well on its way to re-establishing the league to the benefit of the community of Dover.
Successes can come in many ways to many different people. For the board of directors of Dover Little League, success is defined as attracting, coaching, and retaining as many kids as possible playing baseball and softball throughout their youth to their young adulthood while providing a safe, pleasant and enjoyable atmosphere for the parents, caregivers, fans, and spectators who come to the ballpark — all the while teaching the kids the values associated with a team sport such as sportsmanship, working with others and triumphing through adversity.
Jim Pappas
While success on the field is important, even as a nonprofit organization, the league must have funds to pay the expenses associated with administering a league. Due to the many safeguards set in place after the theft of league funds previously, the league has much more transparency and accountability of all funds associated with the league.
Systems such as a point-of-sales system for the snack bar to account for all money and inventory were purchased and implemented by the board of directors. Other measures, such as board approval of all expenditures and monthly reporting by the treasurer, ensure the board of directors are fully aware of the financial condition of the league.
On the field, over 440 boys and girls participated in the spring season of baseball and softball while also fielding all stars for all divisions through the summer. Dover Little League also played host to Little League tournaments for softball and baseball throughout the month of July, along with the annual hosting of the Big League Eastern Regional Baseball Tournament, which saw teams from as far away as Connecticut play on the fields at Dover Little League.
Through hard work and long hours of very dedicated board of directors members, by all accounts, the tournaments were a success, and boys and girls were able to play the games on beautiful fields into the summertime evenings.
Though much was accomplished by the board of directors this past year, they all know the work is not complete. There were many lessons learned and experiences gained that will be used in the future to further strengthen the enjoyment of playing baseball and softball at Dover Little League.
Elections were recently held for the 2016-2017 board of directors, and most key members stayed on the board to continue the re-establishment of Dover Little League to its proud tradition.
On behalf of the Dover Little League, the board of directors wants to thank the parents and caregivers of the children in the League, along with the many community sponsors and donors such as PPG, Diamond Materials, Tri-County Materials, and Pioneer Materials, who have contributed to the re-establishment of Dover Little League.
We thank you all for your support this past year and look forward to working with and partnering with you in the coming year, as well to continue the growth of baseball and softball in the Dover community.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jim Pappas is president of Dover Little League.