THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008
Meadows Girl Steps Up To Plate At White House T-Ball Game
By DENISE FLEISCHER
LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Rolling Meadows' own Kelsey Brauer did it!
She participated in "Tee Ball on the South Lawn" of the White House on July 16. She braved the 95 degree heat, slammed the ball hard and met the President of the United States.
President Bush introduced the Tee Ball All-Star Game in 2001 to encourage fitness among America's youth and to promote one of the nation's favorite sports. The All-Star Game featured one player from each state and the Nation's Capital. They were chosen through an essay submission. Serving as Honorary Commissioner was Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. Country singer Kenny Chesney performed the National Anthem. To the players' surprise, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg coached first base and eight-time MLB All-Star John Smoltz coached third.
Kelsey's special trip to Washington, D.C. began with a 7 p.m. flight, which was nice and short, according to her father, Marc Brauer. When the family took a cab to the hotel they found themselves gazing at some of the nation's most familiar monuments, including the Washington Monument.
"I pointed it out to Kelsey and she said she wanted to visit it. So we did on Thursday," recalled Marc.
Kelsey had a huge bed all to herself at the hotel. She also had a lot of nervous energy, her dad noticed. As he watched the All-Star game she sat wide-awake in her bed. Her clothes were already laid out for the next day - white pants, socks and a T-shirt. Game jerseys with the state's seal on the pocket and their numbers on back were going to be provided at the game, along with a hat and wristbands.
"The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and grabbed a cab to the pre-game luncheon at the Marriott. It's two miles from the White House," Brauer explained. "All 51 kids and their guests where there. We were served sandwiches and fruit, a typical benefit. Then the Senior Communications Executive, Lance Van Auken, the man we've been communicating with all this time, gave a speech along with the CEO of Little League International, Steve Kenner."
Kelsey and her parents sat with a family from West Virginia and a Subway restaurant representative. Subway was one of the sponsors of the event. After the luncheon, everyone walked as teams over to the White House, which is about a mile away.
"It was a real hot day," Brauer recalled, sighing with the memory. "After we went through security we were split up into two groups per team and were given a tour of the East Wing of the White House where all the paintings of the presidents are." The players and their families were then led out onto the south lawn. Brauer couldn't get over the size of the lawn and its bright green grass.
When they walked down to the field there were three sets of bleachers. In one set, the family sat, another was for friends of the White House, and the third, friends and sponsors of the little league.
"We sat two rows and six people away from President Bush," said Brauer. When the game began, Kelsey played in right field. There were 13 players on the team made up from the "Central" states. They played the "East", batting in the order of their numbers. High fives were exchanged with Ryne Sandberg.
"She swung and nailed the first swing out to right field, a line drive. It was beautiful!" recalled her dad. "I was kind of hoping she wasn't going to hit it because what they did was introduce the player and if you swung and missed they had more to say."
Brauer said his daughter is "all business out there." She got her stance and was ready to move on to second base. Confirming her professionalism was the little league president. He noticed that Kelsey was the only one to run to third base, while everyone else was distracted.
A new stamp commemorating the centennial of the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" was unveiled between games of the doubleheader. Afterwards, Kenny Chesney, President Bush and Frank Robinson sang the song.
With this type of game, there was no scoring. Everyone was a winner. Both games together were an hour long. Through the whitehouse.gov website, others were able to view the game. There's also a photo gallery of the Little League All-Star Game.
When the games were over, the kids and their families enjoyed a picnic on the South Lawn. Cool drinks, hot dogs, fruit and cookies hit the spot. President Bush also talked about the importance of the game.
"They gave everyone 21 baseball cards of themselves so they could trade with the kids on their team," said Brauer. "Kelsey also received an autographed baseball from the President."
After the picnic, they went back to the hotel and had dinner. The next day was dedicated to sightseeing. The Brauers explored the Smithsonian Institute, considered the world's largest museum complex and research organization. Within its massive campus are 19 museums, nine research centers and the National Zoo.
"It's way cool," said Brauer. "We saw the Jim Henson exhibit, the Air and Space Museum, lunar vehicles, airplanes, rockets, sky lab. We also went to the Natural History Museum and then on to the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial. We walked by the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and saw the Lincoln Memorial."
"We had a flight that night. We were exhausted. My wife and I had to go back to work the next day and we were hoping for a quiet flight," Brauer said. "But Kelsey was so excited that she recapped the whole day...throughout the flight home."