St. Marys – In recognition of the thousands of hours of dedication by their volunteer members, in addition to donating more than two hundred thousand dollars towards the youth baseball fields, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum dedicated its second field as "Rotary Field" in a brief, rain-shortened ceremony yesterday.

Long-time Rotarian Dick MacPherson cut the ribbon at home plate. The Rotary Field is actually further developed than the St. Marys Cement Company Field, with concrete duguouts and sidewalks leading up to the field, as well as one hundred seats from Exhibition Stadium (former home park of the Toronto Blue Jays) installed behind the screen. The backstop has black mesh versus the traditional chain link fencing, in order to give the fans an even better view. The back drop is stunning, consisting of hundreds of trees separating the Hall of Fame from the St. Marys Cement Plant. The St. Marys Cement Company Field will eventually have a 2,200 seat stadium constructed with lights, but that is not projected until 2008.

"When this site reaches its potential, we anticipate many corporate partners and others coming on board with the Hall as well," said Rotary President Linda McSweeney. "We share the vision, and we have stepped up to the plate because we believe in the Hall's revamped business plan, and the impact it will have in the economic revitalization of the Town of St. Marys.

"Without the Rotary Club of St. Marys, we don't exist," said Hall president and CEO Tom Valcke. "They unconditionally contributed one hundred thousand dollars as seed money, and have since pledged another hundred thousand. Their volunteers have donated countless hours of time and heartfelt effort, and all of this while the weather hasn't been so fair. The dedication of this picturesque field is just a token of appreciation for the Rotary Club's generosity to us and the youth of the community."

ST. MARYS – 16 June 2004