First of all, the man who gathers, organizes, and provides these game results to the Journal is Frankie Burney, a volunteer in the Bladen County DYB program. Frankie probably spends 10-15 hours every week doing this service for our league, and that's all VOLUNTEER hours. This isn't all Frankie has to do with his time. He also works a fulltime job, is a wonderful husband, spends the maximum amount of his "free" time with his two children, supports all of the many activities his children are involved in, coaches a Minor League DYB team in Clarkton, serves as the Clarkton DYB Fundraising Coordinator, is on the voting delegate board to the Bladen County DYB league, organizes and implements the Bladen County DYB Pitch, Hit, and Run competition, fixes the fields at the Harriet and Henderson DYB complex before EVERY single Clarkton home game, started and has organized the Bladen County Fall Baseball league for the past two years, and volunteers as the secretary of the N. C. Farm Fest of Clarkton committee.
Somehow, he still finds the time to volunteer to do a lot of little things, too. At the beginning of this season, I asked for a volunteer to get our game results in the paper. When no one spoke up, I asked Frankie to continue to be the Bladen County DYB media contact (as he had done for the previous two seasons).
At the Bladen County DYB's first FOUR organizational meetings this year, Frankie gave out his phone number and his email address and asked the other coaches in our league to call or email the results of their games to him and he would see to it that they were published.
Also, Frankie includes a reminder with the game results he sends to the Journal for coaches, parents and fans to contact him so he can get the children's names in the paper and keep the Bladen County DYB standings up-to-date. Neither our league nor the Journal pays Frankie to do all of this; like so many other things in his life, Frankie does this because he wants to help a good program and make kids feel special. (The kids love to see their names in the paper.)
The comments that I have heard about Frankie have been malicious and absurd. "He purposely only puts Clarkton's game in the paper" is one comment I've heard. Well, have you stopped to consider that he only sends the game results to the Journal that are called in to him? Would you like for him to make up scores and stats for the other games? All the coaches and parents have to do is call Frankie, and he'll get their games printed, too. Apparently, the Clarkton teams are good about sending their stats to him. You have the same opportunity, do don't whine when you don't take advantage of it and another team does.
I've also heard, "He only lists the Clarkton children's names and not the other team's names." I keep the scorebook for the Coach-Pitch team in Clarkton (which my husband, Marvin, coaches), and you wouldn't believe the lineups I get from our opponents. When I write out Marvin's lineup to give to the other team, I include Marvin's players' first and last names, their numbers, and usually their positions on the field. What I often get in return is a lineup that looks like this: Lee, George, Bubba, Hank, Fred, Pumpkin, Charlie, Sam, Shorty, and Clyde (sometimes only nicknames and never any last names).
Since I'm good about sending Marvin's game results to Frankie, you will see a lot of his players' names in the paper. Why do I sent the Clarkton players' names? Because I have them listed in my book. Why don't I send the other teams' names? Because I DON'T have them in my book because the other coach didn't give them to me. The remedy to this is to provide full names (to the other scorekeeper) or to send in the results yourself!
I've also heard, "Frankie learned how to be partial to Clarkton from his momma-that mean, old, hateful Marsha Burney." Well, let me set the record straight there, too. I'm not Frankie's mother; I'm his aunt. (I'm only five years older than he, so I don't think it's biologically possible for me to be his mother). I would have been honored to have been his mother, but I'm not. The rest of this statement I will not refute; it's probably true.
To the other coaches, parents, fans, grandparents, friends, relatives, and neighbors of the children who play in the Bladen County DYB league: If you want your game results included in the paper, turn them in like the Clarkton teams do. And if you don't choose to call them in, don't complain when they are not printed. If you don't see your child's name in the paper, it's because someone affiliated with YOUR CHILD's team chose not to have your child included. It wasn't Frankie.
To the man who does send in all the results he gets from the Bladen County DYB league (few though they are): Thanks for doing this most important job. Thanks for doing this job that nobody else in our whole league offered to do. Thanks for ALL you do for the Bladen County DYB and for Clarkton DYB. I wish I had more volunteers like you, and I love you, Frankie Doodle!
Marsha Burney
President,
Bladen County DYB
(and Frankie's aunt)
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