The third annual veterans softball game is an event planned to honor all Sun City Veterans. Glenn Groebli began the tradition in 2016.
“I want all Sun City Veterans this year to come out to the game on June 29. We want not only to recognize our softball veterans but all of the Sun City Veterans. I am asking that they just come. Show up at the 3rd base dugout at 2:30,” he said.
Groebli explained the scope of veteran ballplayers.
“We have 52 softball players that are veterans from four of the branches of service (Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force) that are available to play on that Saturday. We hope we can get some representatives from the Coast Guard from residents here. We would love to see all our Sun City Veterans recognized here on the Field on June 29, not only our softball players,” he said.
Huntley Radio again will be on-site announcing the plays and players. Groebli will welcome the fans and veterans.
“We will have the Sun City Color Guards and the National Anthem will be sung by Kimburlee Burhans. She is a professional who sung at our first veteran’s game. The veterans will be called on the softball field by branch of service with their military song played,” said Groebli.
Each branch of military service has its own official song that is a part of its history. The military songs are played in a particular order as directed by the Department of Defense. The order of precedence is Army, followed by Marine Corps, then the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.
Groebli adds, “Each of the softball players will have a shirt that we had ordered and printed by a veteran in Elgin. We were happy to have his support in this event.”
Explaining the game plan, Groebli explained, “The players have been divided into four teams. It will be the White Sox versus the Cubs. Each player on a team will bat and then after everyone has batted, they will take the field and then the next inning the second team will take its turn batting. It will be a 4-inning game.”
There will also be food offered at the game. Groebli invites spectators to “Enjoy a hot dog along with some chips.”
In addition to food, the event will host a charity raffle.
“We again will also have a raffle with some great prizes and a 50–50 raffle. This year we are hoping to use the proceeds from the raffle to plan a memorial for the veterans. We are just in the brainstorming stage, but we have nothing here in Sun City to honor the Veterans who have served our country. It would be nice to use the proceeds from this event to create a memorial to permanently dedicate to our veterans,” he said.
“I’d like to recognize and thank the committee who has worked on putting this event together again,” said Groebli. “My thanks to Dan Quirk, Wayne Wagner, Gary Krewer, Phil Haugens and Jim Czys.”
The game will be held on June 29 at Eakin Field at 3 p.m. All Sun City Veterans please come to the field at 2:30 p.m. and join your fellow military veterans to be recognized and thanked for your service.
