The City of Vernon, Florida has seen varying levels of success over the past several years, and the Vernon City Council, along with recently-hired Recreation Director Brent Gibson are working to improve the entire sports program as well as the facilities and playing fields.
‘We are talking to vendors right now, exploring our options and the cost of replacing our scoreboards’, said Gibson at a recent Vernon City Council meeting. ‘It’s not inexpensive to do this but we are looking at a long-term program to elevate the quality of our facilities an attract new children into the programs’.
Signups are now being held, and you can do so at the Vernon City Hall, registering for Dixie Youth T-Ball, Baseball and Softball programs between 9AM and 5PM Monday through Friday.
A special signup day will be held on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at the Vernon SportsPlex, from 10AM-2PM. Lunch will be provided and an opportunity to meet the 2018 coaches will be made possible at the event.
‘We are going to revive the sports programs in Vernon’, said City Councilperson Joey Brock recently. ‘It’s not going to be easy, because we are woring from a deficit and we have some issues to resolve from the past, but we want parents and students to know that we are committed to making this happen, and we have the support of the full City Council, the County Commission and the community’.
The support of the Washington County Commission to which Brock refers is a recent grant given by Washington County to each municipality in Washington County, earmarked for their respective Sports Program.
‘As a parent I am passionate about kids, and I am passionate about sports’, said Hawkins. ‘Our kids are our future, and sports is just one of the many ways in which we can engage our children, keeping them safe and on track to be responsible young adults’.
The grants have allowed Vernon to reduce their signup fees to be competitive with neighboring communities and allow more families the opportunity to afford playing the sports.
T-Ballers must be 4 by 5-1-18, Baseballers must be 7 by 5-1-18 and Softballers must be 7 by 1-1-18. (Please bring a birth certificate)