Greenwood Exchange Club Youth Baseball Foundation 662-453-0000 | info@greenwoodbaseball.org
Stribling Park
Greenwood, MS 38930
The Greenwood Exchange Club was chartered in 1947 and has been as active civic club in Greenwood, MS ever since. Affiliated with The National Exchange Club, the Greenwood club has worked to follow the Exchange goal of being "America's Service Club" through service to the community by striving to improve the quality of life for local citizens. Exchange Clubs are perhaps best known for their role in child abuse prevention.
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Gayle Stribling Flautt and Betty Ann Stribling, whose father had long ago envisioned a park at the site, reached an agreement with the Foundation whereby in exchange for the Foundation's purchase of forty acres for $240,000.00, they would donate an additional thirty acres. After the land was acquired, the Johnson-McAdams architectural firm donated its services to design and engineer what is now STRIBLING PARK.
Financial contributions from the following area businesses make it possible for the Exchange Club to operate the baseball and softball programs. Most of these businesses contribute annually in order to show their support for this community and its youth. Please show your appreciation by doing business with them and also by telling them thank you for their support of Exchange Club baseball and softball.
Greenwood Exchange Club is a Dizzy Dean League.
The Greenwood Exchange Club was chartered in 1947 and has been as active civic club in Greenwood, MS ever since. Affiliated with The National Exchange Club, the Greenwood club has worked to follow the Exchange goal of being "America's Service Club" through service to the community by striving to improve the quality of life for local citizens. Exchange Clubs are perhaps best known for their role in child abuse prevention.
Since 1954 the Exchange Club of Greenwood has provided the opportunity for boys and girls in Greenwood and surrounding communities to participate in America's favorite past time. During the first season, games were played behind the National Guard Armory on Elm Street. 1957 saw the games being played at a new field on Henry Street behind the present Youth Center. This field, and others to come later at the Henry Street site, were constructed by Exchange Club members. As the program continued to grow, fields at nearby Whittington Park were pressed into service. In 1995 the Exchange Club took over the operation of the girls fourteen years old and under softball programs.
For many years, Exchange Club members envisioned a baseball complex that would include enough fields to allow all the leagues to play at the same location. In 1995, the Greenwood Exchange Club established the Greenwood Exchange Club Youth Baseball Foundation, a non-profit foundation, in order to actively pursue the creation of a new multi-field sports complex. The Foundation was granted 501(c)(3) (IRS Letter) status by the Internal Revenue Service which made donations to the foundation tax deductible.
The next year, after reviewing the Foundation's plans, Gayle Stribling Flautt and Betty Ann Stribling, whose father had long ago envisioned a park at the site, reached an agreement with the Foundation whereby in exchange for the Foundation's purchase of forty acres for $240,000.00, they would donate an additional thirty acres. After the land was acquired, the Johnson-McAdams architectural firm donated its services to design and engineer what is now STRIBLING PARK.
Later, the portion of the park on which the soccer fields was located was conveyed to the Greenwood Youth Soccer Organization. The first baseball and softball games were played at Stribling Park in 2000. In addition to the purchase price of the land, the Exchange Club Youth Baseball Foundation borrowed $250,000.00 from the Valley Bank (now State Bank and Trust Co.) to pay for the lights and fences. Through the extreme generosity of a number of local businesses and individuals,(Contributors) this debt has been satisfied. Approximately $115,000.00 of the original indebtedness on the land remains to be paid over the next seven years. Members of the Exchange Club hold an annual raffle, and man the concession stands at Stribling Park during baseball season to raise the money necessary to service the debt on the park.
In 2005, the Greenwood Junior Auxiliary made a significant contribution to Stribling Park by donating the money to purchase overhead nets for the baseball field area to protect spectators from foul balls coming out of the fields. These nets have greatly reduced the number of foul balls landing among spectators and this contribution was greatly appreciated.
In 2009, the Exchange Club voted to affiliate with Dizzy Dean baseball http://dizzydeanbbinc.org/ . Dizzy Dean places emphasis on providing a recreational outlet for as many youth as possible, a position consistent with that of the Greenwood Exchange Club. More improvements to Stribling Park are planned for the future, money permitting. Donations of money, time, and material that can be used for improvements to the park are greatly appreciated.
Greenwood Exchange Club Youth Baseball Foundation