Barbara Patton: Make your Miracle Field dream a reality

It’s officially open! The Billy Hitchcock Miracle Field Complex, that is. If you missed the articles on the front pages of the Opelika-Auburn News titled, “Miracles Really Happen” and “Opelika dream becomes reality,” you must have been out of town.

The ribbon cutting was on Jan. 8 and was a terrific event hosted by Rob Cox, Chairman of the Miracle League of East Alabama, with special words for the occasion from Mayor Fuller, Danielle Tadych and Mike Hilyer. There were also great pictures in the paper, and my favorite was Cox kissing Danielle Tadych. Danielle has been a part of the project from the beginning of the fund-raising for the complex and is gearing up to be an announcer at the games.

Now that the ribbon cutting is behind us, the focus is on getting the word out to everyone that missed the newspaper articles and to let them know that registration is taking place right now. Surely you have heard either the radio and/or the television advertisements, seen the newspaper ads, the posters, the flyers, or received a letter that has gone out to schools, churches, and various other entities for distribution.

There is a full blown media blitz happening to make sure the word gets out alerting everyone about the opportunity to play baseball on this newly constructed field, built especially for those facing physical and mental challenges. There are even billboards. A special thank you goes to all who have participated in getting the information out there and an extra special one to Cox who is spearheading the blitz.

If you are reading this article and know someone that would just delight in the opportunity to play baseball on this field, please tell them or their parents/guardians about it. We all know word of mouth does more good than any other form of advertisement.

There is also a Web site to access. You can go to http://www.miraclefield.org and see photos, read about it, and also find a downloadable registration form to mail in. For other information, you can email or call 705-5138 or Rob Cox at 749-3371.

Registrations are coming in, but we don’t want to miss anyone. The deadline for registration for the spring season is Feb. 20. Just as an aside, no one will be turned away if they should miss the deadline, but logistically it is best if we know by that date how many shirts, hats, and what sizes of those are needed and also the number of coaches, umpires, and other volunteers.

If you haven’t visited the complex, it is located in West Ridge Park at 1600 Covington Avenue in Opelika. The location was chosen so that this field would be alongside everyone else playing baseball. There is also a wonderful playground in the complex and picnic tables with a pavilion to enjoy.

The movie “Field of Dreams” advocated “build it and they will come”. The field is ready! Opening day is Sunday, March 29. Please spread the word.

Barbara Patton is executive director of Envision Opelika and writes a column for the Opelika-Auburn News.