The Rotary Club of Enid partnered with a youth baseball team to “sponsor” a college baseball team from Maryland for the NJCAA World Series. Ten teams from across the nation come to Enid for the junior college year-end tournament. Enid Rotarians met with the Maryland players and coaches, provided “welcome” signs and snacks at their motel when they arrived, fed them pizza, cheered them on during games, and provided leisure activities when the teams were not playing. Only one of the 28 college players had been to Oklahoma previously, most had never been west of Pennsylvania, so the Enid Rotarians showed abundant Oklahoma hospitality during the Maryland team’s six-day stay in Oklahoma.
Enid Rotarians Randy Hamm and Carrie Sanders, at right, join youth baseball players in giving welcome fist bumps to college players from Frederick, Md., as they get off their bus.
Enid Rotarian Jeff Funk, standing, chats with college and youth baseball players during a “welcome to Enid” pizza party held at David Allen Memorial Ballpark, site of the NJCAA World Series.
Enid Rotarian Randy Hamm visits with a Frederick (Md.) Community College baseball player during an informal meal Rotarians hosted for the Maryland team, one of 10 teams qualified for the junior college World Series in Enid.