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Bruce Penton
Take a bow, Medicine Hat. You've done it again — in spades
(and diamonds — baseball diamonds — too).
An exhaustive number of citizens took a
deep breath Monday morning after showing Canada once again that
when it comes to volunteerism, Medicine Hat takes a back seat to no
one. When the final pitch was thrown at the Baseball Canada Cup
Sunday night, it marked the end of a month that will go down in
volunteer history in the Gas City.
Volunteers 2,300 strong offered their
services Aug. 7-10 for the Alberta Summer Games in Medicine Hat,
and many of those same people put their hands up and said yes when
Baseball Canada Cup organizers went looking for 300 people to
ensure the under-17 baseball championship Aug. 13-17 went off
without a hitch.
And did it happen? Of course. This is
Medicine Hat, where volunteers have a well earned reputation of
being quick to say yes when asked to help showcase the city to
visitors from outside the province or the country.
Tonight, the volunteers who helped make
Baseball Canada Cup a resounding success for the third time in five
years will gather for a banquet and receive their 'payment'
— mere acknowledgement for their efforts and a hearty thank
you from tournament officials. Oh, some of them might win a door
prize at tonight's supper, but the big prize has already been
earned: Making sure visitors left our fair city with a favourable
impression.
From all reports, that's a slam dunk.
Visiting participants, umpires, coaches, moms and dads all reported
that the Medicine Hat committee that ran the Baseball Canada Cup
knows how to do it right. It has become known as one of the
best-run events on the Baseball Canada calendar, which easily
explains why the national organization never hesitates to award
major competitions to the Gas City.
Local tournament organizers, though, know
that it's the volunteer base that makes or breaks an event such as
the two big ones held in our city in August. This is a tip of the
cap to all those people who gave up their vacations or their
leisure time to show Canada that in the spirit of the Summer
Olympics going on in Beijing, Hatters have earned gold —
again — for their untiring and exemplary volunteer
efforts.
Bruce Penton is associate editor of The
News. Contact him at
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