From left to right, members of the Snow family are daughter Kailey, mom Lori, son Wade, father Charlie, and son Sutton.

Wade Snow, a member of the A’s, has been named the winner of the 2011 Mike Weaver Award.

The announcement was made Saturday, June 4 at Vine Ingle Little League.

Stephen Adams, Adam Dukes and Bill Adams were involved in announcing the award. The presentation was made on the Major League field in front of a large crowd. The weather — as usual — was hot and humid.

Representing the Weaver family this year were Erin Weaver (Mike’s mother), Molly Weaver Patterson (Mike’s sister), Daniel Weaver (Mike’s brother), Brad Patterson (Molly’s husband) and Mary Michael Weaver, the 11-month-old daughter of Molly and Brad. Bill Weaver (Mike’s dad) was unable to attend this year as he was out of town visiting a sick relative.

In addition to Wade Snow, other nominees for the award this year were:

Astros - George Lind #12
Dodgers - Nicholas Jones #2
Giants - Pinkney Gilchrist #6
Orioles - Luke Douglas #3
Pirates — Colby Lee #8
Red Sox — Zach Tong #10
Reds — Tyler Etheridge #9
Royals — Joshua Raffield #12
Yankees — Jacob Thornton #10

Front row, from left to right: Sutton Snow, Wade Snow, Mary Michael Patterson, Daniel Weaver. Back row from left, Charlie Snow, Lori Snow, Edyth Snow, Cubbedge Snow, Erin Weaver, Molly Weaver Patterson, Brad Patterson

Custis Donner poses with his parents, Beau and Kimbrough Donner. This photo will be used on the plaque that Custis will receive.

Custis Donner was named on Saturday, June 5 as the winner of the 2010 Mike Weaver Award at Vine Ingle Little League. He is the son of Beau and Kimbrough Donner of Macon.

Custis was selected from among 10 finalists, one from each team in the league. He was the representative from the Red Sox. The other finalists were Jacob Oates from the A’s, Parker Faircloth from the Astros, Alex Koplin from the Dodgers, Clayton Montgomery from the Giants, Tommy McCook from the Orioles, Jacob Brewer from the Pirates, Nicholas DiPonzio from the Reds, Blake Simmons from the Royals and Charles Stroud from the Yankees.

As the winner of the award, Custis receives several prizes, including a trip to Atlanta to see an Atlanta Braves game and to attend Six Flags over Georgia.

Present for this year’s ceremony were Bill and Erin Weaver and their son Dan. Their daughter Molly and her husband Brad could not attend this year because Molly is due any day to deliver their first baby. Bill Adams from Vine Ingle does much of the organizational work to select the winner, and his son Stephen — who was a good friend of Mike’s — is involved in the organization of Weaver’s Weekend, a fund-raising activity for the award.

Many of Mike’s friends often attend the award ceremony, but they were absent this year due to a friend’s wedding in South Carolina.

The weather was hot and muggy on the Vine Ingle Major League field. The Mike Weaver Award ceremony is held after the first game of the league’s season-ending tournament, and immediately following the presentation of the George Jones Award.

Finalists for the Mike Weaver Award were, from left to right, Nicholas DiPonzio from the Reds, Tommy McCook from the Orioles, Blake Simmons from the Royals, Jacob Oats from the A's, Jacob Brewer from the Pirates, Charles Stroud from the Yankees, Clayton Montgomery from the Giants, Custis Donner from the Red Sox, Parker Faircloth from the Astros and Alex Koplin from the Dodgers.

Three previous winners of the award came back for the 2010 ceremony and joined Custis for this photo. There were, from left, Brannon Hicks (2006), Chandler Lord (2009) and Matthew Maier (2005).

The ceremony will take place after the 10 a.m. game of the Major League tournament.

Ten players — one from each team in the Major League — were selected by parents on that team as their nominee. The league umpires met Thursday night and selected the winner from the 10 nominees.

The Mike Weaver Award winner receives a weekend trip to Atlanta to see the Braves and spend a day at Six Flags over Georgia.

From left to right: Will Argo from the Bon Hommes, Adam Dukes and Stephen Adams from Weaver’s Weekend, Erin and Bill Weaver, Jimmy Thwaite from Vine-Ingle Little League, and Chandler Penn from Bon Hommes.

The net proceeds from two fund-raising events — Weaver’s Weekend and the Bon Hommes organization golf tournament — were donated to Vine-Ingle Little League in a ceremony at the Major League field on Sunday, Oct. 18.

The fund-raising golf tournament, organized by Will Argo, Chandler Penn and other members of the Bon Hommes organization, was held in May at Idle Hour Country Club. The group donated the proceeds, about $1,500, to the memory of Mike Weaver.

The second annual Weaver’s Weekend event was held in August at the Armory Ballroom in downtown Macon. Adam Dukes, Stephen Adams and Rachel Phillips were the chief organizers of this event. The group contributed proceeds of about $3,500 to Vine-Ingle Little League.

The final amount given also includes an additional $13.13, as Mike’s number when he played at Vine-Ingle was the number 13.

Thanks go not only to the organizers of these events and those who attended, but also to the companies and individuals who became sponsors, or who contributed money directly to the league in Mike’s memory.

Jimmy Thwaite, president of Vine-Ingle, said a group from the league’s board of directors will put together a list of projects that the money could be used for at the Vine-Ingle complex. He said members of the fund-raising organizations would be consulted before the money is committed to any particular project(s).

Bill Adams has been instrumental in the process of selecting the winners of the Mike Weaver Award at Vine-Ingle. This photo shows Bill and his wife Cheryl, who has also helped with Weaver’s Weekend. From left in this photo: Chandler Penn, Adam Dukes, Stephen Adams, Cheryl Adams, Erin Weaver, Bill Weaver, Bill Adams and Will Argo.

Sponsorships and donations are now being accepted. All money received beyond expenses for this event will be used to support the Mike Weaver Award at Vine Ingle Little League, as well as to support the league or charities that Mike would have supported. More than $4,000 was contributed to the league from the 2008 event (see VIDEO at bottom), so organizers are hoping for an even bigger event this year.

The 2009 event, like the inaugural event, will at the Armory Ballroom in Macon. Tickets are $35 each, or two for $60, and they will be on sale at the door. Sponsorships are available for as little as $100, which also gets you two tickets to the event. Details of what you get for various sponsorship levels are found in this sponsorship flyer (click here). Please review the flyer for additional information. Contact information is found on the flyer, so if you have any questions please let us hear from you, either by email or by phone.

EVENT DETAILS

WHEN/WHERE - Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009 at the Armory Ballroom, 484 First Street, in Macon (click for photos)

TIME - The event starts at 8 p.m., which is when the dinner line will be opened.

FOOD and DRINK - Dinner is being catered by Callaway Catering. Your ticket also entitles you to soft drinks, beer or wine. If you prefer, a cash bar will be available for you to buy other drinks.

MUSIC - Live music that is fun and 100 percent ”danceable” is being provided by John Dunn and the Jazzmen.

RAFFLE - Each ticket to the event comes with a raffle ticket for some good door prizes. Extra raffle tickets will be available for purchase.

ACCOMMODATIONS - If you are coming in from out of town, a special discount rate is available at the Ramada Plaza Macon. Mention “Weaver’s Weekend” to get the special rate.

RSVP - To make adequate preparations for the number of people attending, an RSVP is requested. You may do so by replying to the email you may have received as a member of the Facebook group, or you may get the details in the flyer available below. Also, there are email addresses and phone numbers for you to call if you seek additional information, or if you would like to purchase tickets in advance.

Event details flyer

Sponsorship details flyer

Map to 484 First Street, site of Armory Ballroom:

View Larger Map

Thanks for your support and we look forward to hearing from you, and seeing you on Aug. 29!

Adam, Stephen and Rachel

This video of the 2008 Weaver’s Weekend was produced by Torrence Wilson.

Wearing an Atlanta Braves hat and jersey, Chandler received his plaque and posed for the picture above. He also received his 4 tickets to the July 16 Braves game, 4 tickets to Six Flags, money to buy tickets for a tour of Turner Field and to buy food and souvenirs, and his reservation at an Atlanta hotel.

Chandler’s maternal grandfather, Ron Howell, brought Chandler to Macon State College, where Bill Weaver works, to receive his gift package. Ron was a stand-in for Chandler’s parents, Pam and John Lord, who had to be out of state on family business.

We invite you to see a larger picture and more information about Chandler on this page.

Chandler, who was named just 10 days earlier as the winner of the 2009 Mike Weaver Award, got at least two hits, but his biggest contribution came in the 5th and 6th innings.

The Dodgers were playing the Giants in the best-of-3 playoff series for the league tournament trophy. The Giants won Game 1 on Saturday, but the Dodgers came back to win Game 2 on Monday, setting up the deciding game Tuesday night.

The Dodgers jumped out to an early lead and were ahead 11-3 going into the 5th. But the Dodger starting pitcher began to tire and the Giants started to tee off. They scored four times and had runners on first and third when the Dodgers manager lifted the pitcher for second baseman Chandler.

He retired the next three batters without allowing a run on a strikeout, a ground ball and a popup. That sent the Dodgers, the visiting team, into the top of the 6th hoping to score more runs. Chandler came up with runners on first and second and two outs. He lined a single to center, but the runner on second was held at third to load the bases. The threat ended, however, with no runs scoring, so the Dodgers headed to the bottom of the 6th with Chandler on the mound, needing only three outs.

The first Giant reached first base on a grounder, but the second man up struck out. The third man flied out to center field for the second out. Chandler bore down and got the next man to hit a grounder to short, and the shortstop fielded the ball and stepped on second to end the game.

The Dodgers swarmed Chandler as he headed toward the dugout, the manager was doused with a shower of ice and water from the cooler and the celebration was on.

It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful week for Chandler. And we must admit we were gratified to hear so many people say so many nice things about Chandler, as well as to his parents, about the honor of winning the Mike Weaver Award.

Chandler poses with his parents, Pam and John Lord, after the ceremony was held at Vine Ingle Little League.

Chandler Lord, a member of the Dodgers at Vine Ingle Little League, was named Saturday, June 6, 2009 as the winner of the 2009 Mike Weaver Award. Chandler is 12 years old (for a few more days) and attends Covenant Academy in Macon.

The award was presented under overcast skies before a large crowd at the field. The ceremony followed the presentation of the league’s annual George Jones scholarship award.

Bill Weaver, Mike’s father, thanked Bill Adams, Jimmy Braswell and league president Ed Muse for their support of the award. He also thanked Stephen Adams, Adam Dukes and Rachel Phillips for their efforts to organize fund-raising events, including Weaver’s Weekend last fall, and also a recent golf tournament. Weaver also extended thanks to Terry Smith of AT&T and Rosie Bailey of the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Atlanta for their corporate support of the award program.

Nominees for the award each received a $30 gift card and a certificate. For winning the 2009 award, Chandler will receive a weekend trip to an Atlanta Braves game and a visit to 6 Flags over Georgia.

Following the announcement of the award, Bill Weaver read from a letter the family gives to the award recipient. The letter concludes: “Since Mike had so many wonderful memories of Vine Ingle, we thought it would be appropriate to give a boy his own special memory, compliments of people who liked Mike. We hope we’re giving you such a memory, but more importantly we want to honor you for being the kind of friend that your teammates and friends look up to. May you build upon, and never lose, the wonderful traits you’ve been honored for here today.”

Then Weaver asked Chandler, “Will you try to do that?” And Chandler responded, “Yes, sir.”

Following that came a few words from the manager of Chander’s team, the Dodgers, and the taking of many pictures, some of which appear below.

This photo includes all 10 of the 2009 nominees, as well as four of the five previous winners of the Mike Weaver Award. Front row, left to right, nominees Joseph Slappey of the Giants, Marshall Lyles of the Astros, Chandler Lord of the Dodgers, Charlie Holmes of the Royals, Jackson Burgess of the Orioles, Jabin Smith of the Pirates and 2008 award winner Adam Barth. Second row, nominees Spencer Williams of the A’s, Kyle Brooks of Reds, Danny Adams of the Yankees, Regan Green of the Red Sox, and 2006 award winner Brannon Hicks. Back row, 2005 award recipient Matthew Maier and 2007 award winner Greer Smith.

Five of the six winners of the Mike Weaver Award are, from left, 2007 winner Greer Smith, 2009 winner Chandler Lord, 2005 winner Matthew Maier, 2008 winner Adam Barth and 2006 winner Brannon Hicks. The first winner of the award, Spencer Maxwell, could not attend the ceremony as he was out of town.

Chandler Lord poses with members of the Weaver family, from left: Brad Patterson, Molly Weaver Patterson, Erin Weaver, Daniel Weaver and Bill Weaver.

Those of you who have visited mikeweaver.org no doubt will notice a significant change to the look of this website. We’ve done this for a couple of reasons.

First, the old site was created in a program that no longer is supported by its manufacturer (Microsoft), so many web hosting services don’t like pages created with that program. Second, one of Mike Weaver’s first cousins, Tyler Roach of Illinois, has his own web hosting service and graciously agreed to host mikeweaver.org. Thus, we have moved the site to his computers, and we thank him very much.

There are still some kinks in here, as we aren’t fully knowledgeable about the new program being used to maintain this site, which now is pretty much an open access blog. You are free to post comments and, in the future, we’ll see what else we can add.

But for now, with the approach of the 2009 ceremony, we wanted to get this site up and running.

As always, we appreciate everyone’s support and for you continuing to remember Mike Weaver.

Mike would have enjoyed this one — a box lunch, a day of golf with friends at a nice location, followed by a few friends gathering for dinner and drinks.

That’s what happened Monday, May 18 when the Bon Hommes organization (of which Adam is a member) sponsored a golf tournament, with proceeds to benefit either the Mike Weaver Award or some other improvement to facilities at Vine Ingle League (yet to be decided).

About 60 golfers participated in the golf scramble event, which was held at Idle Hour Country Club. Adam and Stephen were joined by Bill Weaver and Ben Dukes to make up a foursome. Though they didn’t win the 18-hole tournament, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Thanks, once again, to Stephen and Adam for all they’ve done and continue to do to remember their friend Mike.

Proceeds from this event will go to support the Mike Weaver Award at Vine-Ingle Little League, as well as — perhaps — improvement to the grounds.

Many thanks to everyone who made the 1st Annual Weaver’s Weekend a huge success last year!!! Due to all of the support Weaver’s Weekend 2008 received, the Mike Weaver Award has been set in place to give one young ballplayer the dream weekend for years to come.

With the success and outpouring of support last year we can’t wait to do it again. The Armory Ballroom is  booked and we are looking forward to another great weekend honoring our great friend, brother, and son!

We are hoping to continue to enrich the community in which Mike loved through the generous donations that are given in his honor. Following last year’s Weaver’s Weekend we were able to make a $4,000 donation to The Mike Weaver Award, via Vine-Ingle Little League. If we can continue the success of last year, we are hoping to broaden the scope of the donations made in Mike’s honor.

A copy of the sponsorship form that we will be passing out this year is available at this link. If there is anyone you know who is interested in becoming a sponsor/donor feel free to pass along this form, or tell them where they can get it on this website.

Watch this location for additional updates for this year’s events as they become available.

Thanks again for everyone’s support! We can’t wait to see you all on August 29th!!

Adam Dukes
adamddukes@gmail.com
478.361.2352

Stephen Adams
stephenhadams@gmail.com
478.960.1373