Generals give back

Trio share book, experiences with students at Berkeley Glenn

Story by Jenny Hypes
jenny.hypes@emu.edu
 

Never give up when things get rough. That was the moral of the story in the book Wilma Unlimited, read by three members of the Waynesboro Generals baseball team to a group of fourth- and fifth-grade students at Berkeley Glenn Elementary School.

The players, who are being hosted by the Brian and Diane Lundstrom family, came in bright and early Thursday morning to read and talk to the students. The story that they shared was about Wilma Rudolph, who was a three-time gold medalist in track, born prematurely and stricken with polio at a young age.

Coming in and reading to the children is not something the guys had to do, Mark Lamm, a junior at Vanderbilt, said.

“It’s a good cause. This was a good story, and it gives these kids a chance to hear it from someone else other than their teacher. We thought it would be good to do something to give back,” Lamm said.

After the book was read, the students had a short discussion about the meaning of the book. When giving other examples about rough times and not giving up, Diane Lundstrom, a teacher at BGES, turned to the Generals and said, “I’m sure these boys have had a hard game every now and then.”

Michael Reed, a sophomore at LSU, replied, “Story of my life!”

Following that discussion, the children were given an opportunity to ask the Generals questions about baseball, the main one being, “How fast do you pitch? Lamm answered, “We all pitch right around 90 mph, which is faster than most people drive.”

A look of astonishment came across the children’s faces as they tried to think of something else to ask.

To show their appreciation for the players coming in and talking to them, each of the children made a card, complete with a picture of a flaming baseball, for the Generals. In return the men gave a little more of their time to answer some more questions about baseball and sign the hats, bats and baseballs the kids had brought in. They also awarded all nine children with passes to get into any General game for free.

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   Anonymous says:

   July 15, 2010 at 3:40 pm

   Nice Job guy’s real role models….keep it up.