Baseball season may be over, but the Men’s Guild of Morgan
Hill’s St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 17740 Peak Ave. in
Morgan Hill, will hold a special event Saturday that may intrigue
fans of the sport.
Baseball season may be over, but the Men’s Guild of Morgan Hill’s St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 17740 Peak Ave. in Morgan Hill, will hold a special event Saturday that may intrigue fans of the sport.
At 6 p.m. Saturday, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” will offer a chance to hear unique baseball insider information, share a simple meal of pizza and salad and support some worthy charities during this time of need.
The guest of honor for the event will be Gabe Paul, Jr., a longtime baseball executive, whose father, Gabe Paul, Sr., served as president of the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees.
After graduation from Cornell University, service in the U.S. Army and three years in the minor leagues, the younger Paul went on to an illustrious career as an executive in Major League Baseball.
He was traveling secretary for the Seattle Pilots during their only season of operation.
When the franchise moved to Milwaukee, he became vice president of stadium operations for the Brewers, in charge of broadcasting, advertising and many other aspects of stadium operations. He later was intimately involved in the planning and design of the team’s new stadium, Miller Park.
More recently, Paul was executive director of the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority, leading the effort to lure the Montreal Expos to relocate to a planned baseball stadium in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.
This experience will be particularly interesting for local sports fans awaiting the planned construction of a new Athletics stadium in downtown San Jose and a 49er stadium in Santa Clara.
There is no charge to attend the evening’s program, but guests are asked to bring gift certificate cards good at Target, Walmart or Safeway. These donations will be used to support the parish’s Christmas Outreach projects.
Paul recently moved to Gilroy to be near his children. This will be an ideal opportunity for local residents to meet him and hear some interesting anecdotes about our national pastime.
There are three nonprofit organizations being supported by the evening’s donations:
– La Isla Pacifica Women’s Center is operated by Community Solutions. This shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence offers free housing for up to 45 days and supportive services leading to independent living, including legal assistance, counseling, food, clothing and referrals to other agencies.
– The Boccardo Family Living Center in San Martin is operated by EHC Lifebuilders. It is more than a simple homeless shelter. It offers comfortable transitional housing as families get their lives together and find permanent homes. Clients receive individualized case management including classes on life skills and English improvement. Children are offered recreation opportunities and tutoring.
– Santa Maria Urban Ministry is a multi-faceted agency sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real in the Willow Glen area of San Jose. Among its many programs for low-income residents are a food pantry (distributing groceries to 1,800 people monthly), ABC Playtime (kindergarten preparation for children ages 3 to 5), Studio 17 (afterschool opportunities for students ages 6 to 17) and English as a second language classes.
For more information, call 779-9510.
