Vienna Little League Park Gets Facelift Ahead Of State Tournament

VIENNA, VA — As Vienna Little League prepares to host Virginia's Little League Major Baseball State Tournament in July, George C. Yeonas Park is getting a facelift with the help of two dozen sweaty and hard-working volunteers.

On Thursday, around 25 volunteers who work for Dominion Energy showed up at Yeonas Park to tackle projects to improve the fields and other facilities.

Yeonas Park is owned by the Vienna Little League, not the Town of Vienna or Fairfax County, so maintaining the field is the league's responsibility.

Mike Jreige, president of the Vienna Little League, said a district official notified him of a volunteer program through Dominion Energy and asked him to identify a list of needs to fix. After an initial to-do list was created, the district official and a Dominion Energy representative joined Jreige to assess the park, encouraging him to add other improvements to the list.

Without the volunteer work from Dominion Energy, the not-for-profit Vienna Little League would not have been able to afford all the improvements happening to the park.

"We were getting ready for the state tournament, and we were looking for ways to scrape together funds," Jreige told Patch.

According to Dominion Energy spokesperson Peggy Fox, volunteering is a key part of the culture at the company. The 25 volunteers who showed up at Yeonas Park pitched in of their own accord.

On Thursday, the Dominion Energy volunteers worked on painting the entrance sign and other areas, stripping and re-coating the floor of the clubhouse, installing gates on dugout entrances, installing a new door on the Crabtree Field Press Box, adding solar lights on three flag poles, adding lights to the entrance sign, and spreading mulch.

Jreige, who has been president for about four years and a board member for at least 13 years, said the most meaningful improvements weren't necessarily the most costly. For instance, brush was cleared allowing viewers on the adjacent bleachers to see the lower field. Now viewers can see the upper field and lower field from that spot.

He also highlighted the significance of the solar lights installed on the flagpoles to allow American flags to be illuminated at night.

Volunteers also cleaned and buffed the floors inside the clubhouse, which Jreige says can create a better impression with people visiting for the state tournament. On the field, a door deemed unusable because of vandalism was also replaced.

Jreige also recalls that the sign in front of the park was too dull to read. That sign is being repainted, and solar lighting is being added to make it visible at night.

Thursday wasn't the only day of work that the Dominion Energy employees volunteered. The effort involved finding materials amid a steel shortage and preparing other projects. For weeks, some volunteers have been creating wooden boxes in the workshop that will store team equipment near dugouts. Two boxes each will go in the park's three fields, Jreige said.

D.J. Uffelman, a lineman at Dominion Energy, said the diverse work crew brings a variety of skill sets to their volunteer work. The most important thing for the volunteers was engineering so none of the installations come off the wall or fall onto a kid.

Uffelman acknowledged despite any negative perceptions Dominion Energy carries, the crews work hard to get power restored as well as help the community in other ways. During recent days with storms causing power outages, workers would often work at night to restore power and come back to work on the improvements for the Little League.

"To be able to offer my assistance means the world to me," said Uffelman.

Separate from the Dominion Energy volunteer work, Jreige said the artist who created the Yeonas Park mural came back to retouch it and add other new paintings, including a state tournament logo.

State Tournament Approaches for Vienna Little League

The state tournament will be hosted in Vienna starting on July 22 through the rain date of July 28. District champion teams from the 15 districts around the state. After the state tournament, a tournament for the southeastern United States is scheduled to start Aug. 5, and the World Series starts Aug. 19.

Vienna had actually been chosen to host the 2020 tournament, but it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the emergence of the Brood X cicadas, the chance to host the tournament only comes around every 17 years. While the 2021 tournament could have gone to the other location, district administrators agreed to let Vienna host the state tournament in 2021.

Jreige expects anywhere from 800 to 1,000 people in Vienna for the week of the tournament. Preparing for the state tourney involves getting the park ready, preparing registration for district champion teams competing in the state tournament, preparing the website, hosting a hospitality tent for umpires out in the hot weather, and coordinating with the town, fire department and police department.

The Vienna Little League president praised the assistance from Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert, parks and recreation officials, and the police department and fire department. The fire department is lending its antique fire truck for a parade down Patrick Street to the park and will have an ambulance stationed on site. Vienna Police will also have a presence there.

With people arriving from all over the state for the tournament, Vienna Little League is coordinating marketing with the Vienna Business Association to encourage support of locally-owned businesses.

After all, Vienna businesses are a crucial part that keeps the Little League engine running. Registration fees cover operations, while other fundraising covers other things like maintaining the fields. Jreige said residents and businesses are generous in their support when the league asks for help. He highlighted the support of Vienna Inn owner Marty Volk, whose generosity often goes without publicity. Other businesses old and new also support Little League to get their name on jerseys, on signs, or even for nothing in return.

"We can keep our registration prices reasonable because of that," said Jreige, noting that scholarships are also provided to players who need them.

Jreige said there is no guarantee a Vienna Little League team could be the district champion and get to compete in the state tournament. Nevertheless, he hopes the home team gets to compete.

Even if a Vienna team doesn't compete, Vienna Little League is recruiting volunteers to help with the state tournament. Interested volunteers can contact the Little League.

"We're going to need all the help we can get to get through the tournament," Jreige said.