For the love of Stacey
Stacey's Field of Dreams softball tournament will be held on Saturday, September 19 beginning at 8 am at the Tamaroa Community Park. This is the third year of the event, which began in the fall of 2012 after the Tamaroa Summer League Board gained approval from the Village of Tamaroa to build an additional baseball/softball field.
The new field was needed to accommodate the growing league and to honor and remember long-time former league president Stacey Heck Fox. The new field has been named - Stacey's Field of Dreams. A group of volunteers have been hard at work for the last few months in hopes of having the field and memorial ready for the event, however, the fence installation will not be complete until later this fall.
On May 19, 2011, Stacey Heck Fox was killed in an accident as she was crossing highway 51 to assist other passengers of another vehicle that wrecked just minutes before.
Stacey, a compassionate and devoted nurse at the SIUC Student Health Services and Fairview Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center - died doing absolutely what she did everyday - responding to others in need.
Stacey's compassion for others went beyond her nursing - she spent most of her adult life devoting countless hours to the Tamaroa Summer League - as a coach, a board member/officer and lastly as President for over 10 years. Her contributions touched hundreds of children - in the Tamaroa, Pinckneyville, DuBois, DuQuoin and surrounding areas - and the league grew to record size during her tenure and that continues still today.
Mayor Curtis Stube will be conducting the memorial dedication at 9:30 am on Saturday, September 19. There are many other activities planned throughout the day. An All-You-Can eat breakfast buffet starts at 7 am at Lively's Bar & Grill in Tamaroa. The breakfast includes scrambled eggs, sausage links, bacon, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, fresh fruit and coffee for $8. The softball tournament will kick off at 8 am. There will be a Home Run Derby at 1 pm. Age groups include 8-11 year olds; 12-14 year olds and 15 & older. Entry fee is $5. Cash and other prizes will be awarded. The Bag Tournament begins 4 pm. The entry fee is $20 per team and cash prizes will also be awarded. Chicken Kabobs, Pulled Pork, Bratwurst and Hamburger meals will be available all day. There will also be t-shirts, a raffle and 50/50.
The fundraising event will allow us to complete the new field, but is also a day where family, friends and community members come together to remember Stacey and her contributions to the community, and to keep her memory alive for years to come.
For more information, please contact Mary Nippe at 967-9829 or Kerri Schoenbacher at 534-6874.