The Miracle League of Alexandria

Miracle League of Alexandria Supports the New Miracle League of Prince William County Program – Opening August 20

As you may know, the Prince William County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism is scheduled to begin their inaugural Miracle League of Prince William County season this fall on Saturday, August 20.

Mac Slover and Bill Rivers were invited to participate in consultation meetings and offered the support of the Miracle League of Alexandria to Prince William to begin their program. The MLA and the Miracle League of Prince William County (part of Prince William County Parks, Recreation & Tourism) was able to work with the Prince William County School System to host a number of exhibition game field trips with several of the high school SPED classes this past spring. Overall, they had over 200 student’s participant and received great responses from the students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

Mac and Bill have been advisors to the new league and will continue to work with until it gets running. Mac works part-time with Prince William Recreation and is spearheading their efforts to begin the program. They already have a field (same as Alexandria’s) that was built in 2011 and was funded through a donation by Dr. Richard Tami.

We are inviting everyone to come out and support the Miracle League of Prince Williiam County’s Opening Day Ceremony on Saturday, August 20 at 9am. The Dr. Richard Tami Miracle Field is located at the George Hellwig Park, 14420 Bristow Road, Manassas, VA 20112. Mac and Bill will be part of the opening days festivities. Feel free to contact Mac Slover with any questions at [email protected].

Games will be played Saturdays, August 20 – October 1 (excluding September 3). Below is the information on how to register for their league.

Registration Opens Today – Monday, August 1 to any county and non-county residents. Attached is the program informational flyer. *The registration fee is $25 per participant ages 5 – 23 years old on the web page, however, we do allow adult participants over the age of 23 years old to participate.

*If you have an adult older than age 23, please contact Mac Slover or Trey Payne as our process to register them is handled differently.*

Online Registration for Miracle League:

www.parksandrec.pwcgov.org

*Activity Number: 340001 EB.

We hope to see you at Prince William’s ceremony on August 20.

Philip Reese (Youth) & Victor Stearns to Represent the Miracle League of Alexandria at the 2022 National Miracle League All-Star Games in Tennessee!

Philip Reese (youth player) and Victor Stearns (adult player) in the Miracle League of Alexandria have been selected to represent the City of Alexandria at 2022 National Miracle League All-Star games in September in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Philip and Victor are one of 120 participants to be selected from 25 states from across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico to attend. Philip and Victor are both original members of the Miracle League of Alexandria program and are avid baseball lovers.

The honored participants represented 60 chapters of the Miracle League who were nominated to play by their leagues. The Miracle League is a national program founded in 2000 in Atlanta, Georgia and has grown to over 300 teams from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The Alexandria program began in the spring of 2011 with the rubberized surface, Kelley Cares Miracle Field completed in November 2012. The Miracle League program is specifically for youth and adults with special needs to enjoy outdoor recreational opportunities and plays baseball in the spring and fall each year.

Due to the unsettled Covid-19 situation in Texas, Victor and his family were unable to attend this year’s event but are set to attend the all-star games this year. Victor will be accompanied by his brother, Frank, sister-in-law, Judith and Mac Slover, Chair of the MLA. Philip will be playing in honor of his late father, Townsend who passed this January and will be accompanied by this twin sister, Emma. He is also being supported by his mother Janet.

Sponsoring the Miracle League of Alexandria’s All-Star players each year is Dr. Angela Austin, owner of the Alexandria Children’s Dentistry in Alexandria. Dr. Austin has two locations in Alexandria in Del Ray and at Landmark. The Miracle League of Alexandria is very fortunate to have Dr. Austin and her staff as sponsors for their program. Check out Dr. Austin’s dental practice at www.loveskidsteeth.com or 703.942.8404 or 703.341.4418.

Mac Slover, Chair of the Miracle League of Alexandria will also be attending the games well.

Good luck to Philip and Victor at the National All-Star games.

Miracle League of Alexandria Members Selected As 2020 Living Legends Of Alexandria Honorees – Finally Getting Honored on May 18, 2022

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Living Legends of Alexandria selection of Living Legends for 2020 will finally be honored on Wednesday, May 18, 2022. These community leaders were chosen based on their having met one or both of two selection criteria as evidence of having improved the quality of life in the City of Alexandria by having led the creation or redevelopment of something which wouldn’t have existed without their involvement or demonstrated substantial and sustained contributions over a significant period of time.

Carol Bailey and Ryan Bailey – As the mother of a son with special needs, Carol Bailey has worked for over 25 years with various organizations supporting individuals with disabilities. She and her son Ryan have been longtime volunteers in the Del Ray community.

Donald Simpson Jr. – A third-generation Alexandrian, Donald Simpson Jr. has continued the legacy of his father and grandfather with a commitment to the youth of Alexandria through support of numerous educational and athletic programs and local nonprofits.

Lindsey Swanson and Katy Swanson – Lindsay, Katy and the Swanson family formed the Kelley Cares Foundation in the wake of the tragic loss of Kelley Swanson in 2005. The foundation has continued Kelley’s passion to help the special needs community with numerous projects, including the building of the Kelley Cares Miracle Field.

The 2020 Legends will be formally recognized and introduced to the public at the 13th annual Meet the Legends reception on May 18, 2022, at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. The mission of Living Legends of Alexandria, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is to identify, honor and chronicle the lives of individuals who have made significant contributions to improve the quality of life in Alexandria.

For information, to volunteer, become a sponsor or nominate a future Legend, visit www.AlexandriaLegends.org or contact [email protected]

The full list of honorees can be found at
http://connectionarchives.com/PDF/2020/011520/Alexandria.pdf

The Miracle League of Alexandria’s Board, players and parents congratulate Carol, Ryan, Donnie, Katey and Lindsey on their selection. They will be joining Bill Rivers and Pat Miller of the MLA, who was selected for the Living Legends a few years ago.

Congratulations to our own Miracle Living Legends!! The Miracle League of Alexandria players, parents, volunteers, staff and board members are proud of you.

Miracle League of Alexandria Living Legends Award Winners (Past & Present)

Living Legends of Alexandria (alexandrialegends.org)

INDUCTION YEAR 2020

Ryan and Carol Bailey — Ryan & Carol Bailey

Lindsey and Katey Swanson — Lindsey & Katey Swanson

PREVIOUS INDUCTIONS

Bill Rivers — William “Bill” Rivers – Induction Year: 2013

Miracle League of Alexandria Morns the Loss of One Its Biggest Supporters and Father To One Our Players

The Miracle League of Alexandria is morning the loss of Townsend Reese, father of Philip (youth player), Emma (daughter) and husband of Janet on January 13, 2022.

Townsend was a huge supporter of the Miracle League of Alexandria and loved to watch his son, Philip play. The Reese family is one of the original families on the MLA. Townsend was a big Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals fan. Townsend will be missed at the Miracle League games.

In his honor, the MLA will be planting a tree near the Wall of Fame at the Kelley Cares Miracle Field in the coming months. It is with honor the MLA will be dedicating the tree in Townsend’s memory.

Miracle League of Alexandria Celebrates its 10th Anniversary!

The Miracle League of Alexandria just completed its fall program, celebrating its 10th Anniversary! Due to Covid-19, the league was unable to play the 2020 spring and fall seasons as well as the spring 2021 season. The Miracle League completed the season in October with overwhelming support of so many youth and adults returning to participate made the season a huge success.

On Saturday, October 23, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson came out to throw out the first pitch. Other special guest included staff members from the Prince William County Parks, Recreation and Tourism who will begin their own program in the spring of 2022. Capping off the final day, a cookout for everyone who attended was provided by the Psi Nu Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, who have been supporting the program since 2011. The Recreation Department/MLA provided a special cake to everyone also.

The Miracle League of Alexandria, which formed in 2010 and began play in 2011, have had wonderful support from the players, parents, staff and the community volunteers for over 10 years coming out each week to the games.

On behalf of the MLA Board Members and Recreation Department staff we say: thank you to all our volunteers, parents, donors and supporters for supporting our youth and adults for 10 wonderful years! We look forward to seeing lots of smiling faces, laughter, exciting hits, home runs, and catches in the upcoming spring 2022 season and beyond!