(The following story by Justin Schoenberger appeared on the Index-Journal website on December 17, 2009.)
ABBEVILLE, S.C. — The group that helped make Abbeville High School’s nearly $1 million baseball field a reality recently got a $30,000 boost from a company that employs numerous former AHS ballplayers.
CSX railroad made the donation to the Abbeville Baseball Park Steering Committee, company officials announced during a ceremony at the field Wednesday. It will be put toward the $100,000 the committee is still seeking to pay for the project, which began nearly six years ago.
The $700,000 park – officially named after longtime CSX employee and former AHS baseball player Charles Powell – was funded primarily through donations gathered by the steering committee from businesses and residents, with the school system contributing only the 4-acre lot adjacent to the J.S. Wright Middle School, 111 S.C. 71, on which it sits.
“What we think makes this unique is this is basically a gift from this community,” committee chairman Wayne Stevenson said. “The CSX influence is very strong and we’re very proud of that in this community.”
Craig Camuso, CSX regional vice president of state government relations, said he was struck by the pride Abbeville residents have in their community. The company could eventually donate more money to the project collected from employee donations.
“Abbeville is such an important part of CSX,” Camuso said, adding about 350 of the billion-dollar transportation company’s 30,000 employees have a connection with Abbeville. “When I was given the brochure (the committee) put together, one of the first things I noticed was Mr. Powell’s career in the railroad.
“It’s synonymous – Abbeville and CSX are the fabric of each other’s careers and histories.”
Stevenson told the 20 or so school representatives, committee members and CSX employees present the park was originally projected to cost $400,000, but changes nearly doubled the price. The team moved from Hite stadium to the new facility about four years ago.
The field is professional quality, Stevenson said, with laser grading completed by the same company that does the Augusta National golf course and Atlanta’s Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves. The dugouts are designed for any player on the bench to see home plate; the remotely-operated scoreboard, officials were told by its installers, is larger than Notre Dame University’s.