(3-26-23) Prior to the presentation by the Mariners John Dorner, the Celina Kiwanis conducted a brief business meeting. The members are preparing for their annual chicken dinner fundraiser in June. Scholarship winners will be selected in April. The club began selecting gas card winners in February. These drawings will continue through January of 2024. Finally,an update of the club’s bylaws was recently approved by Kiwanis International.

After the business meeting, Kathleen Brown introduced John Dorner, General Manager of the Grand Lake Mariners. A collegiate baseball team, the Mariners come from schools all around the U.S. They’ve even had a player from Australia who was attending an American college. The team often includes students from the general area. Teams can have up to 32 players, but the Mariners stay at 30 with a large number of pitchers due to restrictions on number of games pitched. Home games are at Montgomery Field at 6:35 on week nights and 4:05 on weekends. The team has a 40 game schedule this season and often play 6 days a week. They’re coached by Neal Shaffer. In addition to their hectic game schedule, the players participate in the community by visiting senior citizens centers, holding youth baseball camps, and reading to children at libraries or schools. Since most of the team is not from this area, they always need host families. Michelle Rockwell is the host family chairperson.

For more information about the Mariners or to host a player, contact them at grandlakemariners@gmail.com. or  find them on Facebook.

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