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The 2024 annual Dizzy Dean baseball parade took place during a successful baseball season, with so many of our children playing! Well over 300 boys and girls played on 30 teams ranging from the 4-year-olds’ clinic to the 10-11-year-old teams.
The parade started at the Fairyland School parking lot and proceeded down Lula Lake Road and Scenic Highway to the Commons. Firetrucks with sirens on full-blast, police cars, decorated floats, pick-up trucks packed with entire teams and golf carts full of candy-throwing children were a treat for spectators who lined the streets and cheered the players on to their great season.
Once at the playground, the teams and their coaches gathered around the big field where Scott Shell, director of parks and recreation, thanked everyone for coming and congratulated the teams. The Firecrackers 7-9 girls’ softball team led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Brooke Pippenger, the town manager for Lookout Mountain, Tenn., said a prayer about how blessed this mountain truly is and how lucky we are to have so many young ones. David Paschall thanked Scott for 30 years of service before he introduced the teams, their sponsors and their coaches. Coach Shell threw the first pitch and instructed the kids to have fun and “Play Ball!”
This entire program could not be possible without three key elements. The recreation board, consisting of John Tugman, Bo Butler, Peter Lindquist, Kate Boschi, Eddy Hilger, Jack Silberman, Keith Davis, and Stephanie Wharton, spends countless volunteer hours meeting and discussing what needs to be done for the afternoon sports for our elementary students. It is a thankless job, but they do it well. The next essential element to all the sports programs is Scott Shell, who manages all the behind-the-scenes paperwork, game schedules, make-up games, umpires and score keepers and playing fields for the many games. It is a job that many of us take for granted because we don’t realize how hard and time consuming this is. And lastly, of course, are the children, their parents, and their coaches who put their heart and soul into their efforts. There are seldom tears because the children know they have done their best. All of this makes for another stellar season of baseball on our mountain!
I’m here to report that on a recent beautiful Saturday morning, the fields looked perfect, and games were underway everywhere, thanks to Scott Shell. Stephanie Wharton and Starr Hoover stayed very busy in their concession stand, The Munchery, selling hot dogs, popcorn, drinks, and candy. It was the kind of day that exemplifies what a fantastic and special community we all have. I think we can agree that we wouldn’t live anywhere else!
by Gwin Tugman
The parade started at the Fairyland School parking lot and proceeded down Lula Lake Road and Scenic Highway to the Commons. Firetrucks with sirens on full-blast, police cars, decorated floats, pick-up trucks packed with entire teams and golf carts full of candy-throwing children were a treat for spectators who lined the streets and cheered the players on to their great season.
Once at the playground, the teams and their coaches gathered around the big field where Scott Shell, director of parks and recreation, thanked everyone for coming and congratulated the teams. The Firecrackers 7-9 girls’ softball team led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Brooke Pippenger, the town manager for Lookout Mountain, Tenn., said a prayer about how blessed this mountain truly is and how lucky we are to have so many young ones. David Paschall thanked Scott for 30 years of service before he introduced the teams, their sponsors and their coaches. Coach Shell threw the first pitch and instructed the kids to have fun and “Play Ball!”
This entire program could not be possible without three key elements. The recreation board, consisting of John Tugman, Bo Butler, Peter Lindquist, Kate Boschi, Eddy Hilger, Jack Silberman, Keith Davis, and Stephanie Wharton, spends countless volunteer hours meeting and discussing what needs to be done for the afternoon sports for our elementary students. It is a thankless job, but they do it well. The next essential element to all the sports programs is Scott Shell, who manages all the behind-the-scenes paperwork, game schedules, make-up games, umpires and score keepers and playing fields for the many games. It is a job that many of us take for granted because we don’t realize how hard and time consuming this is. And lastly, of course, are the children, their parents, and their coaches who put their heart and soul into their efforts. There are seldom tears because the children know they have done their best. All of this makes for another stellar season of baseball on our mountain!
I’m here to report that on a recent beautiful Saturday morning, the fields looked perfect, and games were underway everywhere, thanks to Scott Shell. Stephanie Wharton and Starr Hoover stayed very busy in their concession stand, The Munchery, selling hot dogs, popcorn, drinks, and candy. It was the kind of day that exemplifies what a fantastic and special community we all have. I think we can agree that we wouldn’t live anywhere else!
by Gwin Tugman
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