Last week the Mineola Athletic Association hosted the 2001 New York State Little League Championship series, which was held at the Willis Avenue Field complex. At this time I would like to thank and commend the employees of the Mineola Department of Public Works (Superintendent Tom Rini, Asst. Superintendent Ron Ciesinski, Giacomo Ciccone, Rob Arena, Peter Saia, Giovanni Cavezza, Amilcar Lopes, Leonardo DeRisi, Frank Temperino, Sean McCrave, Jose Carvalho, Bill Klein, Dennis McCrave and Alex Ramahlete) for all their hard work, dedication and effort put into the baseball complex at Willis Avenue. You men did a great job!

I have been involved in the MAA and in the community since 1984 and have never felt a pride and sense of community that I felt during that championship series. This was truly a community effort. There were scores of MAA volunteers (too many to mention) who came forward to be involved. It was the support of Mayor John Colbert and the Village of Mineola trustees, the Mineola Fire Department, the Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the Mineola Auxiliary Police, the Mineola Pool directed by Kyle Teemsma and her employees, multiple community sponsors, and the many Mineola residents who came to watch, that made this tournament such a success. They were all part of this festive event. People traveled from as far as Orchard Park and East Greenbush and as close as Massapequa and the Bronx to come here to play in the tournament. They all said the same thing, "This is the best Baseball Complex and Tournament we've ever played at." Hearing those words made me feel proud to be from Mineola and to be part of the Mineola Athletic Association. Thank you all for that.

I would also like to thank Ken Weiss. His efforts brought this prestigious tournament to our community. Ken spent many hours the past 18 months putting this together. Through his efforts, the MAA was able to generate revenue through sponsorships and from operation of the concession stand. A big thank you also goes to Maryann Siwinski who was the force behind that operation of the concession stand.

The Mineola Community should be proud of the representation that was displayed by all the organizations, people and businesses from Mineola that were associated with this tournament. I know I am.

Fred Wachter

President

Mineola Athletic Association