SPLL Opens the 2014 Season!

Who doesn't love a parade? Especially when it's filled with kids of all ages celebrating America's great pastime: Baseball!

Why the talk of parades? The Opening Ceremonies for the State Park Little League 2014 season took place on Friday evening, and an awesome parade started the festivities. In Chesterton the parade took place complete with a police escort, firetrucks, plenty of great vehicles from Arnell Chevy-Kia, Arnie the Trunk Monkey, and most importantly the players themselves made their way to the State Park Little League Field.

"We have every team from the league out here. All of the players teams are represented, our challenger's division is out here, and our sponsors are here," Rich Arndt of the State Park Little League said. "It's an annual kickoff that gives everyone a chance to appreciate the time and effort that was put into the fields and gives the kids their first taste of the season."

State Park Little League is a state baseball and softball program that is affiliated with Little League International. Around 400 players take part from the Duneland community. As a community organization, State Park Little League makes sure to not only teach the skills needed the great games of softball and baseball, they also teach good citizenship skills, teamwork, and good sportsmanship.

Girls and boys from the very young to teenage years lined up in the field. Each team was announced individually and the announcements were met with hearty applause as the kids and parents showed support for their sluggers. The sponsors for State Park Little League were then recognized and following that, names were drawn for great prizes.

The sponsors were then recognized, one of them being Arnell Chevy-Kia.

Michael Miskus, Sales Manager for Arnell Chevy-Kia was there with Arnie the Trunk Monkey and the rest of his crew. With the generous donations from Arnell as well as the other sponsors, the fields got some work done and everything was prepared for the kids so they could play on nice fields. They were all happy to see the kids so excited for the upcoming season.

"It's nice to be able to give back to the community, to be able to help the kids and give them a field that they can play on is really cool," Miskus said. "We do this through a program with Chevy. It's a grassroots type program that gives back to little leagues and other organizations who don't have the abilities to always raise money on their own. They get help from other places and that's something that Chevy is really big into."

On top of monetary donations, Arnell donated equipment, uniforms, and other much needed items that the State Park Little League needed in order to make the season great.

Check out State Park Little League online and on Facebook!

Click here to view more photos from the opening ceremonies!

Sponsors for State Park Little League: AB Photo Shots Photography, Always A Solution Computer Services, AMT Computers, ARMM Properties, LLC, Arnell Chevrolet Auto Group, Blythes Athletics, Boilermakers Local 374, Burns Harbor Park Dept., Chesterton Firefighters Local 4600l, Chesterton Lions Club, Inc., Chesterton Moose Lodge 1623, Dean's Tire Pros & Auto Care, Dog Days Ice Cream Parlor, Dunes I.T. Consulting, Dunes Realty LLC, El Cantarito Mexican Cuisine, Fox Photography, H&R Block, Hiestand Law Office, IBEW Local #531, Jake Bristol State Farm, Jim Wells State Farm, Kenwal Steel, Kernals & Kones, L.A. Bell Motor Lines, Lakeshore Bone & Joint, Lakeshore Ford Toyota Scion, Little Caesars, M.L. McClelland Lodge #357, Monosol, Peggy Sue's Diner,Pendleton Dairy Queen, Pinkerton Oil, Porter Bank, Raffin Construction Co., Reliable Transportation Specialists, Inc., Reling Refrigeration, Heating, & Air Conditioning, Serenity Salon & Spa, Shelemey Law Office, The Chesterton Tribune, Tilden Enterprises, United Steelworkers of America #6787, VFW Post 2511, Wendy's, Westchester Medical Group, Winey Insurance Agency