The Champeny Athletic Complex was dedicated, and officially opened, Friday at Oxford High School. The baseball and softball teams opened their seasons later in the day.
The Champeny Athletic Complex was dedicated, and officially opened, Friday at Oxford High School. The baseball and softball teams opened their seasons later in the day.
The Champeny Athletic Complex will feature a baseball and softball field when completed. It will also feature a new concession stand, parking, and several other features when completed. Currently the baseball field has been completed.
This project has been more than 10 years in the making. Life long Oxford resident Wallace Champeny donated the land for the complex. Each one of the fields will be named individually. The Softball field has not been named yet.
The baseball field will benamed Kenny Thomas Field. Kenny Thomas is an OHS grad and has donated a lot of time, effort, and money to this project. Kenny and his wife Judy are very strong supporters of Oxford High School and OHS athletics.
This truly has been a community project which has been built with donated time, money, and equipment. It will be a tremendous facility for our kids going forward and it's a testament to how close this community is. They will always do what's best for kids.
"This is a beautiful facility and when completed will be one of the best in our league and in the area. I know the baseball boys and myself are very appreciative of all the community efforts that made this come to fruition. We are very humble and honored to be the first Oxford baseball team to play in this new facility. This was truly a total community effort. " Baseball Coach Kyle Green said.
MAJOR DONORS (financial support)
Wallace Champeny Kenny & Judy Thomas
Wesley Totten Family Corner Bank
Oxford Lions Club Class of 2012
General Electric Local GE Union
Oxford Reunion Run Committee Metz Farms
Norman and Veloris Chamberlain Oxford Baseball Assoc.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS (labor, materials, and equipment)
Kenny Thomas Keri Shimkus
Totten Farms Wade Metz
Slack Farms Larry Book
John Pasman Mike Dowers
Jr. Wege Bill Ward
Jackie Dennett Bob Hendricks
Del Parsons E.P. Nel
Tommy Lowry Robert Spoon
Phil Kreidler Sonny Crile
Paul Nash Byron White
Adrian Colonnese Thane Buss
Don Short Kirk Ives