Sponsors Help Make BLWS A Success

Tuesday's Business After Hours event brought a bit of the ballpark to Dunburks Premier Events.

Dunburks hosted the event, which featured officials with the Big League Baseball World Series giving an update on this year's event.

“Get some food, get some Cracker Jacks and feel like you're at the ballpark,” Tournament Director Jon Humphrey told Chamber members.

This year's Big League Baseball World Series is slated for July 24-31 at the J.B. “Red” Owens Complex in Easley.

“We're fortunate enough to be able to host this in the City of Easley,” Humphrey said. “We showcase this area throughout the world. The Championship Game's on ESPN.”

Humphrey said the BLWS is all about the players.

“220 young boys come to play baseball in the Free World,” he said. “Some of them come from places not so fortunate as we have it here.”

Humphrey encouraged Chamber members to consider becoming BLWS sponsors.

“There's sponsorship opportunities available, so you can be part of the World Series," he said.

Two past sponsors of the BLWS spoke to chamber members.

Mike Dosher with Dosher Physical Therapy said his business was a BLWS game sponsor last year.

“It was a tremendous experience for us,” he said. “It was a great experience for our employees. Some of our patients came out and watched us. It was really good.”

Dosher said one of the things he loves about Easley is how involved small business owners were in the community.

“We want to talk about being involved in this event, not just writing a check, but being involved in this event,” he said. “This is the number one biggest event in Easley. And you know what? We look good. The town looks good. It's a fabulous experience, and we look good.”

The event not only draws visitors from outside the state and country, but brings residents out in huge numbers.

“They're happy, and we're proud and excited to be a part of that as a sponsor,” Dosher said. “We shake a lot of hands. We see a lot of old friends, reconnect, folks we haven't seen in awhile. It's a really good boots on the ground opportunity to promote our business.”

Dosher said there's a “cool factor” to baseball.

“The best baseball in the world is played right here in Easley,” he said. “It is. People come with an appreciation for baseball and they feel really good about what they see. And that's a good place as a business, as a support of this.”

Baseball changes young people's lives, Dosher said.

“We give them an experience that they'll remember the rest of their lives.”

Kelly Hunt, owner of Kelly's Family Pharmacy and First Choice Pharmacy, agreed.

He said he knows firsthand through his involvement with youth sports how important sponsorships can be.

“I'm always amazed about, just right around us, how many kids don't have opportunities,” Hunt said. “When we were going through sign-ups, it was amazing to me how many people would come up to me and say, 'I'd really like my child to play, I can't afford the registration, is there a sponsorship?' To be able to those people is a really neat experience that I love.”

Hunt is grateful he and his businesses had a chance to help make the Big League World Series.

“The fans that come to Easley love Easley,” Hunt said. “I cannot tell you how many times people would come up and say, 'We really appreciate you. We love your hospitality, we love who you are and what you do and how you talk.'”

Hunt remembered watching one particular team.

“They came early, they played on fields that weren't being used, they played anywhere,” he said. “These were pretty much grown men, bigger than I, muscular men – and they were playing with kids, and they were playing with whatever they could find. They were throwing and hitting and playing.

“They would have their uniforms on - and this was hot,” Hunt said. “The team from Canada looked like they were melting. But these kids on this team, they were playing every chance they got. They'd play whoever was around. They just wanted to play.”

After watching the team for a couple of days, Hunt wondered what was going on.

“How could they have this much stamina in this kind of heat?” he asked. “What is the deal? Finally someone said, 'The reason they're doing this is this is a chance of a lifetime. This team has nothing. Uniforms are unique to them. Cleats are unique to them. Bats, balls, gloves, all that is unique to them. This is their chance of a lifetime, so they want to play 24/7.

“That was the reward and blessing for me,” Hunt said, adding that he remembers the times someone gave him a chance or an opportunity. “Maybe I had an impact on that team, by giving them an opportunity to come and do that, to see the opportunities we have in America. The fact that I can invest in the possibility of a child or a young man to do something with his life, to make a difference, to improve his life in some way, form or fashion is worth every penny.”

Sponsors will have an opportunity to bid on a set of baseballs signed by each 2013 BLWS team.

“But you can only get your name in the raffle if you're a sponsor,” Humphrey said.