With free handouts of bats, balls, and gloves galore, many Senior Softball players, teams and coaches are giving away a couple hundred pieces of sports paraphernalia from the bed of a truck and 20-foot trailer entered in the Maple Valley Days Parade. On Saturday June 8, the parade begins at 10:00 a.m. Starting at the intersection of SE 240thSt and Witte Road, floats, bands and vehicular displays will travel Witte Road to the Lake Wilderness and Maple Valley Library roundabout.
The impressive truck belongs to Gene Tuffs, general manager and coach of Maple Valley II Senior Coed Softball. His vehicle is painted orange with black rails and sports banners. A live band, The Pardners, provides a musical touch. Gene’s truck has been filled with sports accoutrements – the results of gift giving from individuals, teams and local sport coaches. Several Maple Valley team members will walk alongside the truck to generously dispense the truckload, filling the desires of local parade and sport enthusiasts.
Items that will be distributed free along the parade route to children, adults and seniors include: 35 new basketballs, 15 used bats (both fast and slow pitch), four to five buckets of balls; 11 fast-pitch girls’ bats and girls’ softball pants; five slow-pitch men’s bats; a men’s softball glove; three tennis racquets; wiffle balls for the younger generation. Those who hold their hands out to the festive truck will have their requests for free items filled.
Helping to paint and load the truck were Judy Kloss and Roger Jones. Donors included Bill McCommick, Maple Valley Coed Team I; Hazen High School girls’ coach; John Knox, a Renton coach, basketball and slow pitch teams.
The second half of Senior Coed Softball season begins soon. Players must be over age 50 to participate. Those interested in playing and/or getting information about senior teams in Maple Valley and the surrounding areas can contact Tuffs, 253-632-4591. He organized the Maple Valley Senior Coed Softball team in 2004.
