posted August 19, 2008
Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Division Director Bob Saylors and Sports Area Manager John Allen will present 15-year-old Grant Barry
with a special award for outstanding community service for the huge donation of baseball equipment he provided for the city's youth baseball program.
Grant will receive this award and throw out the first pitch at Friday's Lookouts Game at AT&T Stadium at 7 p.m.
Grant Barry is a member of Boy Scout Troop #60 on Signal Mountain, and for his Eagle Scout Project, decided to make equipment available for young baseball players in inner city neighborhoods by holding numerous donation drives and working to collect used equipment from many different baseball communities throughout the city.
Grant said, "The Eagle Scout project is designed to be something that will give back to the community and leave a lasting impression. Because I have been playing baseball since the age of five, you can imagine the amount of baseball equipment that I have accumulated.
"My father and I began to think about all the kids in the same position who probably had a lot of unused equipment lying around in their garage. We thought it would be a great idea to collect this equipment and give it to someone who really had a need for it."
Recreation Department Area Manager John Allen said, "When Grant and his dad Rick contacted the City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department, the timing could not have been better, because we had just started a baseball program for youth at our recreation centers."
From there, Grant contacted the appropriate people for the Signal Mountain (Moe Galbraith), Red Bank (Chip O'Neal) and Hixson (Ron Bailey)
youth baseball programs. He asked if he could hold donation drives during their sign up days and throughout the playing season to collect used equipment.
Grant said, "These associations were very cooperative in letting me hand out flyers and set up collection boxes during this time. I could not have collected the amount of equipment that I did without their help and support."
"This generous effort on Grant's part enabled us to provide cleats, gloves, uniforms, balls, helmets, bats, catchers' gear, and even trophies for kids who would not have been able to purchase all of this equipment themselves," Mr. Allen said.
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