08-24-2010

The Search Is On! Nominate a Mudville Player for the Mickey Merriam Community Service Award Today!

Mickey Merriam's Uniform Posts Proudly at Lower Woodland

Courtesy - Mudville Sports Information

The search is on! Nominate a Mudville Player(s) for the Mickey Merriam Community Service Award Today!

Sponsored by Pinnacle AMS, past honorees are Ricky Teegarden (2007), Cam Wilson (2008) and the 2009 Mudville Security Pacific team. The application deadline is September 15th, 2010. Obtain your application from your coaches, website or send an e-mail to papamudville@msn.com for the application.

Are your eligible?

This award is presented to the player(s) who best exemplifies volunteer activity within the past 36 months who have demonstrated exceptional community service, who are eager to help others, and who generally exhibit behavior consistent with good citizenship and the mission of the Mudville Youth Baseball Club (MYBC).

Criteria:

1. Each application must be submitted by a sponsor who is a non-family member of the proposed applicant and approved by their MYBC Manager/Coach and or Board Member.
2. Must be or have been a member of the MYBC for the proposed period of community service.
3. The player(s) or family member must be in or have left the club on good terms to be an eligible candidate.

The History of Mudville Youth Baseball Club's Mickey Merriam Community Service Award

In 2006, the Mudville Youth Baseball Club Board approved the concept of an annual event that celebrates and recognizes our teams, players, coaches, volunteers and families. One of the awards approved by the Board supports volunteer service within our community per the club’s mission of teaching life skills through the games of baseball and softball. The award was named in honor of Michael ‘Mickey’ Merriam. Mickey, his spouse Jana, his son Ryan and his daughter Hailey are an ‘original’ Mudville 9 family, coach and confidant. His constant enthusiasm and encouragement help spur the momentum for the creation of the original team in 1999.

Mickey’s contribution to the community was his relentless pursuit of helping kids through community giving and awareness. He worked as Senior Athletic Field Coordinator and as grounds maintenance worker for the Seattle Parks and Recreation for 22 years. As Senior Athletic Field Coordinator, he helped the Department raise more than $1 million for fields for kid’s sports, including the Mariners All-Star Field at Lower Woodland Park to which his uniform is memorialized above the first base dugout today.

He established valuable partnerships between Parks and thousands of athletic field users and groups across the city. These included Little League baseball, youth soccer, middle and high schools, adult soccer and softball, football ultimate Frisbee, lacrosse and other sports. More than any other single individual, he was responsible for public investment in both school-owned and city-owned athletic fields for kids. He organized and led a grassroots sports field advocacy group, which later became the Friends of Athletic Fields, representing more than 10,000 athletic field users, sports leagues, and teams on issues concerning the planning, development, funding and scheduling of Seattle's sports fields. This group played a key role in the passage of two major voter-approved levies that benefited ball fields; the 1998 $150 million Building Renovations, Technology & Athletic Fields (BTA) and the 2000 $198.2 million Pro Parks Levy.

Ebullient, optimistic, personable with a zest for life, Mickey was driven by a selfless passion that would frequently cause him to remark that "the kids need a place to just play ball." He approached his job with great commitment, humor, and charm. He was an inspiration to everyone he encountered. His selection of the original team colors; Navy Blue, Scarlet Red and Gold is our club’s memoriam to him each day when a Mudville player takes the field.