The Athens Township Park Board has been chosen to receive the 2007 Touchstone Energy Community Award for its leadership in building a new baseball field in Isanti County.

The award is presented annually by East Central Energy (ECE), which is a member of the national Touchstone Energy alliance and supports its principles of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community.

The commitment to community shown by the park board and Athens Treasurer Russ Mann has resulted in an impressive Little League-sized facility that will be used this summer by 42 teams and several community organizations. Among its features are dugouts, full fencing, a warning track, a concession stand, irrigation and bullpens.



Athens Township Treasurer Russ Mann is shown on the ball field site before work had started on the project. Photo courtesy of Greg Hunt, Isanti County News.


Mann, who has worked tirelessly to raise funds for the project, first saw the need for more fields in Isanti County when his son, now a 10^th grader, was in Little League.

"The conditions of the existing fields were awful, and there were always scheduling issues," he said.

With the expansion of the Cambridge-Isanti Competitive Baseball Association in recent years, the shortage of fields became more pronounced.

"When I saw there were 200 kids who didn't have something to do for the summer because there weren't enough fields to play on, I thought, ‘There must be something the community can do,'" Mann said.

Athens Township had put in a looped walking path near its town hall a few years ago, and having a recreation area in the center was part of their plan.

"I started last December to investigate what it would take to put a ball field there," Mann said.

He emphasizes his gratitude for the many Isanti County residents and the community organizations which immediately offered their support. About $64,000 has been donated for the project, and Athens Township, using funds from cellular tower rental, not tax dollars, has appropriated $35,000. Hundreds of volunteer hours have been spent at the site.

"It's kind of my mission," Mann said. "My main focus is I want to get the kids outside, out of the house, get them to the fields. Baseball seems like it brings grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles, moms and dads out. One kid can draw 10 people. They enjoy the summer, being outside."

Mann has gone as far as singing at an Isanti Lions Club meeting to raise money for the ball field. He successfully pursued a Minnesota Twins Fields for Kids grant of $5,000, which, he said, made a major difference in getting the project started.

As the winner of the Touchstone Energy Community Award at the local level, the Athens Township Park Board received a plaque from ECE and $250 to use toward the ball field. They have also been entered in the statewide Touchstone Energy Community Award contest. The winner at that level will be announced in February and will receive $1,000 for their charitable cause.




The new ball field in Athens Township has been completed and is already booked with league and community teams in 2008. Photo courtesy of Greg Hunt, Isanti County News.