ANNUAL REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY FEBRUARY 2006

Advanced Single-A Affiliate of the • A Division of Capitol Broadcasting Co. 1251 21st Avenue North • Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29577 • 843-918-6002 Pelicans lend a helping hand

On September 9th, the Pelicans (Left) Anne Frost gives the newly creating six “game cube” desks front office staff broke out their drills, made game cubes a fresh coat for the children, re-sodding the of paint. (Right) Mike Junga paintbrushes, hammers and sand paper and Neil Fortier show off their outside of the homes, painting and joined nearly 200 volunteers in an effort carpentry skills. and cleaning the bedrooms, to renovate the Horry County Shelter Home. landscaping the property, and The all-day project was part of the United more. When the day came to a Way’s “Day of Caring.” close the shelter had received a total makeover. “Total Transformation! A Day with The outside looks totally different and the insides of the homes the Players The Pelicans look tremendously different,” hosted a quick said Julie Kopnicky of the United meeting and In June Way of Horry County. breakfast at Coastal Federal Field, after of 2005, the “It’s good to put the Pelicans stamp which the volunteers made their way to Myrtle Beach on any community event. The United Way the shelter home. The volunteers went to Pelicans and is a tremendous organization and we are work on the complete transformation of the the Autism proud to be a part of their shelter, which houses abandoned, abused, A d v o c a t e family,” added Mike Junga, and neglected children in Horry County. Pitcher Brian Digby enjoys Foundation Sales Manager and Public Pelicans staffers were responsible for some fun with a w o r k e d Address Annnouncer. lucky youngster. t o g e t h e r to put on event for children in the area with Autism. Five Pelican players Pelicans respond to Hurricane participated in helping children in a friendly game of t-ball and enjoyed In response to the Pelicans player. Third baseman lunch with the youngsters after all of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina Van Pope grew up in the Gulf action. A total of 15 children took part in the Gulf Coast, the Myrtle Coast, and decided to go participated in the event and each one Beach Pelicans raised funds home early from the season to of them had a great time. Throughout for much-needed medicines, lend a hand with relief efforts. the t-ball game the children received nonperishable food items, To show support from his fans, lessons on hitting, throwing, and running and water for victims of the the first “pass the hat” effort the bases. At night, the kids were invited disaster during their last four netted more than $1,000. Van

back to watch their favorite Pelican play home games, September Pelicans player Van Pope loaded up his truck with water, in a game. 2-5. During each of the heads home to Mississippi to batteries, food supplies and help in hurricane relief efforts. Building off of the success from this games, fans joined the relief more before heading home to year’s event the Pelicans hope to host effort with cash donations in a “pass the Mississippi, courtesy of generous Pelican fans. another “Day with the Players” in 2006 for hat” format. One-hundred percent of the During the last games of the season, the Autistic youth. It was a truly unique day donations went to the relief efforts in the Gulf team continued to “pass the hat” for Katrina for the Pelicans and for the youngsters Coast. victims. As a result, more than $2600 was sent who were able to experience such a The hurricane touched all Americans to the Gulf Coast to help in the rebuilding thrill. but hit particularly close to home for one efforts. Team hits home run Nelson Mullins with "Help 4 Kids" & Pelicans The poverty level across America is People Inc. The group collects non- growing at an alarming rate, but no- perishable, “kid friendly” food items. thank local where more than in the Horry County Every Friday, they pack the food into educators area. While national poverty levels are donated backpacks for the children estimated to be around 17 percent, to take home with them on the week- local rates top 23 percent. With such ends. Not only does the school child disturbing figures, children are usu- receive nutritious snacks for the week- ally the ones hardest hit. Often times, end, but they are also able to share children are provided with reduced or with their younger siblings at home. free school lunches and after school When Pelican employees learned snacks. But these same children might about the plight of local kids, they face going hungry over the weekends stepped up for the first annual “Em- due to circumstances beyond their ployee Food Fight”. Front office and Superintendent Gerrita Postlewaite joins school board chairman Will Garland, NMRS representative control. seasonal employees filled bins with Tom Moran and Pelicans GM Matt O’Brien to food throughout the baseball season. accept a check for local education Placed in conspicuous locations, the Teachers and school district support em- bins caught the attention of fans as ployees shape the future of the next generation, well. The program, which only could but often are the last ones to be recognized for provide around 50 backpacks in early their dedication and hard work. A local law firm 2005, now supplies almost 500 back- and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans stepped up in packs a week to needy children. 2005 to change that. According to Barbara Mains, co- On Tuesday, May 24th, teachers, principals ordinator for Backpack Buddies, the and school district employees were invited to a Local children look forward to taking home team’s involvement is a success. “The backpacks each weekend chockfull of special night at Coastal Federal Field, thanks to involvement of the Pelicans from the nutritious, “kid friendly” food items. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough law firm and beginning has been crucial to our suc- the Pelicans. Horry County School Employee After learning of this issue, the Pelicans cess. Not only do they collect snacks Appreciation Night recognized the 2005 “Teach- front office and fans decided to do at the box office, A lot of baseball fans er of the Year” Amber Borgman and members something about it. The team “adopt- bring us snacks because their team is of the school board. Nelson Mullins, as in years ed” Help 4 Kids as their charity for 2005. involved, Back Pack Buddies is very past, also presented a donation check to the This organization is a grassroots effort, happy to be involved with such a win- school district at this time. organized by Conway Medical Center ning team”, said Mains. Pitching Coach Bruce Dal Canton took a Healthreach and Churches Assisting few minutes from his on-field duties to speak to the employees. Dal Canton taught school in Pennsylvania before signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a pitcher in the late 1960’s. As he How to request stated, “I know how hard they work and I would be honored to say a few words to acknowledge a Pelicans donation that fact”. The Pelicans took on the Winston Salem Requesting a donation from the Pelicans is as easy as Warthogs that evening in a match-up on the filling out a form. The form can be found on the website at: diamond, but that wasn’t be the only action http://myrtlebeachpelicans.com/community/donations.html. on the field. School district employees were in- The information can then be mailed to: volved in everything from singing the National 1251 21st Avenue North, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 Anthem to participating in on-field games. or faxed to (843) 918-6001. Fans break World Record

As fans approached Coastal Fed- eral Field before the game between the Pelicans and the , they were greeted by three tables with log Pro Am Hits books awaiting their signatures. Within the crowd of over 2,500, nearly 1,900 fans Hole in One donned the funny looking glasses during the record attempt. In the third inning fans were instructed to put their glasses on at in 2nd year Pelican fans don’t miss a moment of the baseball the same time and to wear them for a action while wearing their Groucho Marx nose and glasses during the world record attempt total of 15 minutes to break the previous record of 937 set back in 2003 in East Lan- sing, Michigan. Myrtle Beach Pelicans fans entered the After verification, the Pelicans history books in 2005 as 1,827 fans simul- received the official stamp of approval taneously donned Groucho Marx glasses, from Guinness World Records in England. breaking the World Record for the “Most The 1,827 Groucho Marx glasses worn at People Wearing Groucho Marx Glasses At Coastal Federal Field on Tuesday night The Same Time.” Pitching coach Bruce Dal Canton and his nearly doubles the previous record. foursome were just one of 25 groups to tee off in the 2nd annual tournament.

Golfers gathered in June 2005 Going Once... Going Twice... to make the 2nd Annual Pelican Pro Am another smashing success. Sold to the Dylan Fan! More than 125 golfers joined Pelican coaches, players and other Online auctions are the sey benefited the Help sports notables on the links to help newest way to find that spe- 4 Kids program of Horry benefit the local Youth Diamond cial item, but nothing could County. This organiza- Fund. Team manager Randy Ingle, match the “P-Bay online tion has been an out- coaches Bruce Dal Canton and auction” from the Pelicans in reach for local children Franklin Stubbs, CCU football coach 2005. Bids flew in from fans and sponsors such pro- David Bennett and local news hoping to win an authentic grams as Clothe A Child, celebrities teed off on a beautiful Pelicans jersey, signed by Backpack Buddies (a summer day. none other than Bob Dylan! campaign to feed low Budweiser came through for a The bidding started at $300 income children on second year as the naming sponsor and has quickly climbed to $1100. All of weekends), a local food warehouse for of the event, with San Francisco the proceeds from the auction benefit- emergency situations and holiday gift oven providing an Italian feast ed the Youth Diamond fund. This char- distribution programs. In addition, Help for the after party. Burning Ridge ity, which is the main focus of fundraising 4 Kids provides books for literacy pro- golf Course was the site of the efforts by the Pelicans, raises money to- grams, school supplies and awards for tournament and several of their ward the construction and development good grades. The poverty level of Horry golf pros joined in the fun. Other of baseball and softball fields, purchase County is approximately 23 percent and local businesses helped the effort of equipment and funding of athletic Help 4 Kids provides programs to ensure by donating raffle prizes and with programs for the children of Horry Coun- success with these children. The organi- foursomes and hole sponsorships. ty. This organization has been helping lo- zation has been working in Horry County Almost $6,000 was donated to the cal children play baseball since 1999. for 15 years. Youth Diamond Fund as a result of Also on the bidding block was a Wil- Both of the musical legends signed the day-long event lie Nelson autographed Pelicans jersey. the jerseys during a concert in June at The 2006 tournament is Like the Dylan jersey all proceeds from Coastal Federal Field. scheduled for Monday, June 19th. the auction went to charity. Nelson’s jer- Reading Club Fiesta de Beisbol helps children win welcomes In the hopes of sparking young readers’ interest, volun- Hispanic fans teers took to classrooms and school libraries in the winter and spring 2005 for Dingers Home Run Reading Club. In its fifth year, the program is designed to excite schoolchildren with the possibilities of reading. In Horry County, more than 14,500 Nearly 30% of consists of play- children in kindergarten through fifth grade participated in the ers born outside of the USA, with an overwhelming majority program. from Latin-American countries. In 2005, the Pelicans roster Pelican sponsors Wendy’s, Dillard’s, Golden Corral mirrored that statistic, as 30% of the ball club was made up and Pet Dairy joined the team to make the program a hit. Adult of players that hail from Latin-American countries. To rec- readers went to area schools one morning a week to read ognize that fact, the Pelicans hosted “Fiesta de Beisbol” aloud to the youngsters for ten weeks. Concurrently with the – a celebration of Latin-American heritage on the Grand in-class volunteers, the kids had a chance to win prizes by read- Strand. ing on their own time and earning points for each book they “I think it’s great that the Pelicans are recognizing the finished. The prizes included unique Home Run Reading club achievements of Latin Americans. I really think that profes- visors, buffets, sional baseball has certainly changed over the last 10 years kid’s meals, and the Hispanic player definitely has a greater presence. game tick- The Braves organization has expanded its efforts to scout ets and ice Latin players and we are concentrated in Latin America. cream bars. Take a look at our Major League roster and within our Minor More than League system and you’ll find that we have quite a few. I 6,300 children want to say that there are close to 40 Latin-American play- won prizes ers in the Braves system alone,” said Marco Paddy, the At- during the lanta Braves Director of Latin American Operations. campaign. Hundreds of school children proudly took the field Fans had the opportunity to enjoy authentic Spanish As part over three Reading Club nights in June as Pelican fans food and multicultural music throughout the night at the of the reward cheered their accomplishments. ballpark. Spanish was the primary language of the day in- program, chil- cluding the public address. For those who do not speak dren winning Pelican tickets were also invited to attend games Spanish, English translations and subtitles were provided on on special “Reading Club nights”. Hundreds of children had the scoreboard. The evening was so favorably received the chance to get their pictures taken on the field before the that a repeat is planned for 2006. game and meet Dinger the Home Run Dog. According to school district spokeswoman Teal Brit- ton, “Dinger’s Homerun Reading Club supports literacy by pro- moting reading among elementary school students. The pro- gram helps students to set goals and they are really motivated by the rewards.” Ovations community contributions Ovations, the food concessionaire for the ballpark, showed it's heart by giving back to the community. Not only did the food vendor contribute $83,000 to its program that allows non-profit organizations to man concession stands, but also hosted several charitable events. Some of the programs and organizations benefiting from the non-profit opportunity at Coastal Federal Field were:

Ocean Strand Soccer Club Boy Scouts of America Local Masonic Lodges Coastal Soccer Club High School Cheerleader Squads Habitat for Humanity Pawleys Island Masonic Lodge Local High School Booster Clubs Civitans

2006 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY Published by the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, A Division of Capitol Broadcasting Co. 1251 21st Avenue North • Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 • 843-918-6002 www.myrtlebeachpelicans.com