Club sets date for softball battle
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on October 12, 2012 1:46 PM
Local doctors and lawyers will find themselves in the same arena next week with the uttering of two words -- Play ball!
Rick Sumner, board chairman of the Boys & Girls Club, said the idea for a fundraiser pitting the two professions against each other in a softball game "kind of evolved" over the summer.
"I was contacted by (attorney) Geoff Hulse and he said he would love to get the attorneys and doctors together to play softball," Sumner said.
The notion had been a successful one in the past, he said, producing results for several area causes, but hadn't been done in some time.
The event will be Thursday night at the Goldsboro unit, 1401 Royall Ave., kicking off with a dinner at 6 p.m. featuring the center's new teen director as guest speaker.
Anthony Teachey, a 1980 graduate of Goldsboro High School, was recruited to play basketball at Wake Forest University and in his senior year there, was picked No. 40 overall in the 1984 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks.
"He will speak about his background, what brought him back to Goldsboro, about the teen center, which is undergoing a lot of renovations, and we'll be able to see those," Sumner said.
George Whitfield, a former baseball coach at GHS and East Carolina University, will be emcee for the evening.
The softball game will start at 7 p.m.
"There will be a two-hour time limit or six innings, whichever comes first, under the lights at the Boys & Girls Club, weather permitting," Sumner said.
Should it rain, however, the event will still take place, even if other concessions have to be made -- "we'll have an intense Wiffle Ball game in the gym," he said with a laugh.
Admission for the event is based upon sponsorships. There will be 25 tables of eight, with different sponsorship levels.
The grand slam, which includes sponsor recognition and two tables of eight, sell for $1,000. The $500 home run includes sponsor recognition and one table of eight.
The $200 double play purchases tickets for one table of eight.
"We do have a few left," Sumner said. "We would love to see the tables sell.
"It's a great opportunity to see what's going on in the club, see the teen center."
And of course, the entertainment value can't be beat, he noted.
"Please come out and see the local attorneys and physicians who have come out to step up to the plate," he said.
Two teams have formed and have been warming up for the match.
Sumner said the players are a guarded secret, partially to maintain the element of surprise and in part because the roster keeps changing.
He praised the efforts by the doctors and lawyers in supporting the Boys & Girls Club.
"Dr. Bryon Geer was one of the first people trying to get the team together, and Dr. Peter Roethling, also," he said. "I appreciate them helping assemble the teams.
"Physicians and attorneys are very busy people. I think it's good these guys are taking time from their schedules and it's also a good cause."
For more information on the event, contact Jo Heidenreich at jheidenreichbgcwayne@nc.rr.com or call 919-835-2358.