Task force to assemble Wednesday night

MOSES LAKE — With the 2009 16-18 Babe Ruth World Series baseball tournament less than a month away, the Babe Ruth World Series Task Force will assemble Wednesday night to discuss the event to be held at Larson Playfield Aug. 15 through Aug. 22.

The task force will meet Wednesday night at the Holiday Inn Express in Moses Lake to discuss housing options, volunteer opportunities and tournament scheduling.

Teams will begin arriving for the 2009 Babe Ruth World Series Aug. 14 and housing co-Coordinator Eileen Martinez said she still needs to find homes for tournament participants in Moses Lake.

“I still need about seven homes,” she said. “We have four weeks left.”

Martinez has worked diligently to place tournament teams but still needs volunteers in the Moses Lake community.

“I have lost some (homes) and gained some (homes),” he said. “That is what is happening right now. I gain and then I lose. I still need about seven more homes to be secure in Moses Lake.”

Although Martinez still needs homes in Moses Lake, she has already placed teams in the Columbia Basin.

“I have my teams in Othello and Ephrata,” she said. “We just need homes in Moses Lake.”

In addition to needing homes for tournament participants, the task force needs to secure volunteers to help make the tournament successful, said tournament co-Director and World Series Task Force Chairman Randy Boruff.

“We are welcoming anybody who would like to help,” he said.

Wednesday night’s meeting marks the first of weekly meetings being held to prepare for next month’s tournament and volunteers are welcome to attend, Boruff said.

While the task force still needs volunteers to work at the tournament and house participants, Boruff said tournament preparations are coming along smoothly.

“As we get down to the end here, we will be double checking to make sure all of our I’s are dotted and our T’s are crossed,” he said.

To volunteer to house a World Series participant, contact Eileen and Roger Martinez at 509-765-1052.

Advertising space is still available in the Babe Ruth World Series program.

To volunteer to help at the World Series tournament or to advertise in the 2009 Babe Ruth World Series program contact Kerry Garbe at 509-750-4575.

Tickets for the 2009 Babe Ruth World Series went on sale July 1 and are currently available in Moses Lake at the Columbia Basin Herald office, the Moses Lake Parks and Recreation Department, and the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Tickets are available at The Bookery and the Grant County Journal in Ephrata.

Wednesday night’s Babe Ruth World Series Task Force meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.