Lights on: ACAC steps to the plate at Lane
The Lane League's opening day was marred by County budget cuts, but local businesses have since stepped in to help.PHOTO BY JEREMY VESTAL
The Lane Babe Ruth League’s opening day this year was a grim one, as League President Shannon Wilder told the crowd that Albemarle County had decided to stop funding the $5,300 yearly electric bill for the field’s lights on McIntire Road. The cut was part of an effort to trim the County’s $294 million budget, but while it only represented a fraction of the County’s expenditures, the $5,300 figure represented 10 percent of the Lane League’s annual budget.
Following the Hook’s April story about the Lane lights, several local businesses stepped up to the plate with sponsorships for the League, but recently one well-known business stepped up and knocked one out of the park.
“We read the article in the Hook and decided we were in a position to help,” says ACAC’s vice president of development Chris Craytor. “So we will be sponsoring the lights for the next 18 months.”
That came as welcome news to Wilder and the League.
“We were thunderstruck by ACAC’s offer,” says Wilder. “We never expected that we would find this level of support in the community and are thrilled that there is this much support for what we have to offer.”
The league holds evening practices and games from early March through the end of October. Without lights, Wilder says, the number of practices and games would have been cut by more than half.
“ACAC is happy to help. The Lane Babe Ruth League fulfills a real need in our community,” says Phil Wendel, owner of ACAC. “It is a small price to pay for keeping kids in the game.”
14 comments
Props to ACAC. Tim Brown love da kids
Anyone who thinks that ACAC did something out of line here, at least ACAC is part of the solution...........those who seem to be condeming ACAC for their donation to this cause, are the problem.
ACAC could have done nothing..........
Thanks to their ownership, shareholders and management!
Thanks Hook for letting the public know about this gracious deed on the part of ACAC. If the kids don't have lights for baseball they may have to play..gulp..soccer during the day instead!!
Free commercial for the overpriced fitness club! Why cant they have a car wash a bake sale anything to pay the bill. Oh I know A wind turbine generator Free power free lights . Nope that wont work remember the "county" doesn't allow them. So why not just play ball like its suppose to be played in the sunlight in the daytime .
Oh, so what if ACAC gets some nice press out of it? They've done a nice thing for the league--and I don't think it's "free" advertising since they're paying for the lights.
A simple "Thank You" to ACAC is all that's appropriate here. The rest is just garbage.
AGAIN ALL IS WELL IN "SHANG-RA-LA" WITH NOTHING LOST ON THE HORIZEN
Why don't you just ask ACAC how many people they fired thst later won on appeal?
What's this about the Y and poo? Are they muscling in on RSWA?
Very old timer, and everyone else,
If you have information you think the public should know about, by all means contact us here at the Hook, tell us who you are and what you know, and we'll look into it. Because when you make serious accusations here anonymously in the comment sections without saying who you are or providing any solid proof to back up your "facts" there's a good chance your comment will get "deleted by moderator."
Thanks for listening.
Dave McNair
I would like to Thank ACAC for their help with the lights for the Lane Fields. I am a person who believes it is a good idea to keep our children busy and off the streets. I'm sure the parents of the children will agree. And lets not drag our children thru the politics and insults of why they are helping, just be gratefull that they are helping. The kids are really proud of all their hardwork and practice that they put in to these games as a community let's support them and show them we care. If we don't care about them, will they care about themselves.
deleted by moderator....if you'd like us to do a story on something, and you have information to share, please feel free to contact us and we'll look into it.
Wht his tells me is that ACAC has PLENTY of money. It needs to stop whining about the YMCA pool plan. Its prices at ACAC will transfer to any other operation is manages to horn into (namely the poo that the Y is going to operate.
It's revealing to some that people can do things for the good of the community and not rely on the government trough. BTW, ACAC is not over priced. It should charge more.