Play Ball! Weekend Special Olympics Benefit a Labor of Love for Volunteers

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A chance meeting on the campgrounds at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds has turned into a life-long friendship between Special Olympics girls softball benefit tournament founder Bill Asbury and his family and Bill and Conner Nipper of Festus, Mo.

The Nippers are coming back to Du Quoin this weekend to volunteer for the 24-team tournament that will again raise over $40,000 for the Special Olympics program in Southern Illinois.

The Nippers had hoped to be in Du Quoin as preparations began Wednesday to groom the cavernous Southern Illinois Center for this weekend's tournament, which will see over 50 games played in a span of three days.

The first pitch will be thrown out at 6 p.m. tonight. Opening ceremonies will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

An army of volunteers will be on site starting today for the tournament.

Asbury says the list of volunteers is an honor roll of people who want to contribute to kids with special needs.

There is no way to name all of the 20-25 field officials and umpires and the names Jo Dodd, the Asbury family itself, Danny Sizemore, Jenny Schneider, Jacob Emling, Gordon and Alice Swetland and Kelly Boss only scratch the surface of people who are contributing their time to make the weekend a success.

Danny Sizemore was raking out the dirt floor of the Southern Illinois on a four-wheeler Thursday to take out the wear from last weekend's motor sports event in the SI Center. The night before Mathis & Sons Excavating was donating a crane to hang the fencing between the two softball diamonds. (This year's curtain is a little taller to stop some of the power hitter's homeruns from going into the next field).

Teams of women athletes are coming from as far away as Clarksville, Tenn. to play in the tournament.

Opening ceremonies at 1 p.m. Saturday are the best ticket in town. Raven Gauch, age 8, will surprise everyone with an original solo. Brenna Asbury, the Asbury's very courageous daughter, will sing "God Bless America." Honor guards and special introductions and entertainment will mark the opening of a very selfless weekend.