TRENTON, NJ…Vermont State Commissioner Norman Messier of
Lyndonville, Vermont, was chosen as the recipient of the 2005 Babe
Ruth Baseball “Lefty Gomez Volunteer of the Year Award”.
This award was established in 1991 to continue the great name
of the late Lefty Gomez, who served as a member of the Babe Ruth
League,
Inc. Board of Directors for 25 years. Gomez was extremely fond
of the many volunteers in Babe Ruth Baseball who put so much
of their time and effort into making the total program successful.
Lefty always said it was the volunteer who was the backbone in
making Babe Ruth Baseball the number one amateur baseball program
in the world.
Selected from over 1 million volunteers throughout the United
States and Canada, Messier was chosen to receive this prestigious
award because of his outstanding contributions to the Babe Ruth
Baseball program and the youth it represents.
Under Messier’s leadership, Vermont continues
to grow in leagues and teams. His enthusiasm for the program
is highly contagious. Messier is committed to making sure all potential
baseball
participants
in Vermont are given the opportunity to play. He continually
reminds the leagues and commissioners in his state that the most
important
level of play is local league play.
“The ‘Lefty Gomez Volunteer of the Year Award’ is
the highest award bestowed in Babe Ruth Baseball,” said Babe
Ruth President/CEO Steven Tellefsen. “Its recipient must
embody the spirit of the Babe Ruth League philosophy, which is
to provide the best possible sports experience for every child
that has the desire to play. Norm Messier certainly exemplifies
this philosophy.”
Babe Ruth League, Inc. is a non-profit, educational organization
dedicated to developing better citizens by providing properly supervised
baseball and softball competition for 5 through 18-year-old players.
It is the basic intent of Babe Ruth League, Inc. that every candidate
be given the opportunity to play in the program.