Long Valley Baseball Club to Memorialize Late Youth Coach at Palmer Park

He meant as much to Long Valley as it meant to him.

John Gutowski lived in town for nearly his entire life, and when he grew into adulthood, gave as much back to the community as it gave to him.

Because of his legacy, his friends and former coaching counterparts want to make sure those remember him always.

At the Washington Township Committee’s regular meeting recently, Long Valley resident and local attorney Michael Selvaggi spoke on behalf of members of the Long Valley Baseball Club, who felt it was only right to keep Gutowski’s name prominent in town.

Gutowski died at age 51 in April.

“[John] was dedicated to service and was a terrific coach,” Selvaggi told the committee. “The baseball club wants to pay their respects to John for all he’s done.”

The group asked for approval from the township to erect a monument behind the backstop of a baseball field at Palmer Park, as well as designating that same field – with signage – the John Gutowski Memorial Field.

The committee, lead by Mayor Bill Roehrich, who was a classmate of Gutowski’s at West Morris Central High School, unanimously approved the idea.

All fundraising will be done by the baseball club and the group hopes to have the monument and signage in place by the start of next season, which begins in April 2016.