Joint Board Matter with Supervisor Herrity
January 29, 2013
Honoring Eddie Garretson
Madame Chairman,
On December 13th, 2012 Eddie Garretson was honored by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and named the 2012 Hebert C. Hunter Citizen of the Year. Eddie’s service to Fairfax County truly is remarkable. In the early 1990s, Eddie started the Springfield Division of the Little League Baseball’s Challenger Division, a Division dedicated to helping kids with special needs enjoy the game of baseball. The first season of Springfield Division saw just nine players. In a few short years, however, the Division grew to over 200 players and became the largest in the world. In 2001, the Springfield Division even got to play at the White House.
After years of managing the Springfield Division of Challenger Baseball, Eddie started Eddie’s Club, an organization dedicated to providing additional recreational activities to kids with special needs, so that they can remain active and engaged year-round.
Since the inception of Eddie’s Club in 1997, thousands of kids have been able to participate in regularly scheduled activities and socialize with others their own age. Recently, they have even begun a Young Adult Baseball program, to provide young adults, ages 19 to 35, graduating from the Springfield Challenger Baseball division an opportunity to continue playing baseball with their peers in a fun and safe environment.
- several times per month, Eddies Club involves over 80 kids with more than 150 adult volunteers. Kids experience movies, games, sporting events, theater shows, luncheons, bowling, parties, and more. The experiences that many of these kids would otherwise not be able to have are invaluable and are all thanks to the work of Eddie.
Madame Chairman, Supervisor Herrity and I move that we invite Eddie Garretson before the Board to receive a resolution honoring him for his service to Fairfax County.