Morgan Rode sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader photo by Morgan Rode Nick Keszo, Diane Hartwig, Dan Hartwig, Jeremy Hodkiewicz and Dustin Beyer stand in front of of the new scoreboards.
Little League ballplayers and fans have new and improved scoreboards to look up at following a generous donation made by Twig’s Beverage’s Dan and Diane Hartwig.
The four new scoreboards were installed at the Little League diamonds at Memorial Park near the end of June, with the donation amount totaling about $14,000. The Shawano Park and Recreation Department installed the scoreboards with the help of Shawano Municipal Utilities.
Making the donation was an easy choice for the Hartwigs, who jumped at the opportunity to pitch in for their community.
“We just want to see the youth sports continue in this area,” Dan Hartwig said. “Just like when I was young, I played on this field, my kids played on this field and my dad played around the area too. It’s neat just to see it go on. Anything we can do to help out the youth sports, we are always there to help.”
The upgraded scoreboards will alleviate some of the issues fans, players and umpires had with the former scoreboards.
There is a timer on the Daktronics scoreboards that allows everyone to know the exact times tournament games are over. The new scoreboard also have LED lights instead of traditional bulbs that will not burn out and are clearly visible at any time of the day. The boards are also wireless and can be controlled through the umpires working the games.
Having upgraded scoreboards also boosts the quality of what was already one of the top Little League destinations to play at in the state. With the improvement to the scoreboards, it’s likely that the area can now host even bigger tournaments and draw in teams from across the state.
Already being put to use in some recent tournaments, the Hartwigs have already heard positive feedback about the scoreboards.
“It’s nice to help the community so that, when people come from other communities, they see how our community works together and the benefits of that,” Diane Hartwig said.
“I came to a couple games that they had at tournaments and just to watch people and see the signs, it was a great feeling,” Dan Hartwig said. “My nephew is from De Pere, and he played here, and they were mentioning how great the scoreboards look, too. It was a good feeling just to know that it’s doing its job and that everybody appreciated it.”