2010 Keynote Speaker: Les Norman
Les Norman was born in Warren, Michigan. He was a high school all-state outfielder and state champion. A two-time NAIA college All-American. Some of his achievements include gold medal winner on the U.S. Junior Olympic ‘North’ Team and member of the 1989 U.S. Olympic Team. Les enjoyed a 12-year professional baseball career. He was drafted in the 25th round by the Kansas City Royals in 1991. In 1993, he was named the "Minor League Player of the Year" and also the AA All-Star MVP. In 1995, he made his grand debut with the Royals as an outfielder. He is now the owner of "The Swing Builder" in Lee’s Summit, MO. "the swing builder" is an indoor baseball and softball academy.
2010 Honorary Speaker: Chuck Deeds
Chuck has been directly involved in the financial services industry for twenty-six years since graduating from Colorado State University. His career has included a broad range of experience in many levels of the investment industry. Chuck served as Vice-President of Institutional Marketing and Client Services at Waddell & Reed Financial from 1998 to 2007. He founded Deeds Select Advisors, Inc. in 2007 to market institutional investment management services and launched an independent advisory service business for individual clients in 2009. He currently serves on the board of directors for two non-profit christian faith-based foreign missions organizations Advancing Native Missions and Asia Heartbeat
A little more about our Program...
Youth Excited about Sports is a Warrensburg youth sports organization dedicated to teaching the fundamentals of sports by incorporating Christian values such as sportsmanship, teamwork, cooperation, fair-play, and character-building all the while teaching youth to have fun in sports. Our vision is to create an atmosphere where kids love to play the game and learn life-long lessons in the classroom of sporting fields. Our focus is on the youth teaching them, coaching them, encouraging them, building them, and mentoring them.
We really need your help at this critical time in our program. We need your help to share the joy and love with our children and youth using sports as a platform. We try to maintain low registration fees for the quality program that we run. However affording uniform, equipment, and program fees is harder and harder for our average family with two or three children involved. Worse yet, fees keep many more youth and families out of our program. Our sports program MUST NOT be reduced to availability "only for the rich" and yet we are allowing as many with waivers as we possibly can at this time. John 3:16 says, ". . . whosoever believes . . ." This open invitation is foundational to the church. How can it not apply to a "Christian sports ministry?" Jesus Christ himself said, in no uncertain words, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me . . ." (Matthew 19:14). I cannot accept that our Lord had meant all the children except the poor, disadvantaged youth.
Y.E.S. has kept up with demands well but we are facing an increasing amount of pressure because of program, equipment, and infrastructure needs. Please consider coming to this Gala and supporting the youth of the area. We need your one-time gift, your ongoing support, or anything that you can do to help us share Jesus in a BIG way with the at-risk and disadvantaged group of youth in the Warrensburg area and their families.
Youth Excited about Sports, Athletes in Action, and supporters from the community are helping to bring this message and opportunity to Warrensburg in order to assist in the generation of funding for the youth of our area! Your support and help is greatly appreciated for future sports such as baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, and bowling.
And Thank You, from the bottom of my heart, for supporting the youth sports programming in Warrensburg!
Serving the youth of the Warrensburg area with you,
O.J. Rhone
