Appreciation for helping Miners win baseball gold

In this time of giving thanks we would like to send our appreciation to all our sponsors, fans and volunteers that made the Mat-Su Miners 2007 season unbelievable.

We were able to pave pathways and fan areas at the field thanks to a generous grant from the Mat-Su Borough, and had numerous thank-yous from moms with strollers, wheelchair users and many others for improving accessibility. On an average, there were 660 people per game and the ballplayers said we had the best crowds in the state.

We tied for first place and were made 2007 co-champions. The decision not to go to Wichita for the NBC conference came from the board of directors, general manager and the team. We had players injured, just making it through the season to win it for the Valley. Some had not been home since December, others who had to get home to start school and our head coach had to leave right after our last game to start his new job at San Jose State.

The Mat-Su Miners are a nonprofit organization based on education working to get everyone to that next level, including our coaching staff. The cost to go to Wichita is about $30,000 and the first-place prize is $16,000. Financially, it was not something we could fund this year, but possibly in the future.

We just had our fourth-annual auction at Evangelo’s, which was a big success, and very generous donors made it the best ever. Thank you to all of those who donated and attended. It was a load of fun.

Also, we were just notified that the Mat-Su Health Foundation has approved funding for the reconstruction of our box seats to make them more accessible and youth friendly. It will be a beautiful addition to the ballpark and we appreciate the great support from the foundation. We’ll have a big ribbon cutting when the project is completed in the spring.

To do what we do takes all of those people who dig in and help us out anyway they can. We really admire your willingness to help.

Go Miners!

Denise Christopher

Mat-Su Miners