ARLINGTON – Stilly Valley Little League baseball games at Quake Field wouldn’t be the same without snacks from the concession stand and the all-star couple who serves them.
Mike and Terri Schur have run the concession stand for three years. Despite having no children in the program, the couple has donated 40 hours a week during baseball season to keep players and their families well-fed. The Schurs were recently presented with the mayor’s volunteer award at a city council meeting. When the couple heard they were nominated, they were overwhelmed, aware of how many other SVLL volunteers are equally deserving.
“My wife is the straw that stirs the drink in this,” Schur said. “Without her help, support, and being by each other’s side, there is no way this work gets done.”
The couple moved to Arlington in 1999, and retired from analyst jobs with The Boeing Co. in 2010, but little league has been a big part of their lives – via ball-playing children and grandchildren – for 25 years. One grandson is playing now for Arlington High School. The Schurs may be on the concession roster for at least eight more years. They have an 8-year-old granddaughter who is entering the softball program. “I have been a coach and umpire, but due to advancing age I had to find another outlet for my love of baseball,” Schur said.
League officials approached the Schurs to join the board and resurrect the concession stand after they had occasionally volunteered. The couple agreed. During their time as coordinators, they have worked through the new, stricter county health district requirements, updated the menu, and set up credit card payments.
Before the Schurs started, the stand typically made $2,000 a year. Last year, the stand brought in $12,000. Funds raised help keep league fees down and help supply players with uniforms and equipment.
They also opened the concession stand during the city Fourth of July fireworks show, will all profits donated to the Arlington Education Foundation. This year, they raised $910.
League president Greg Dunc said the Schurs’ dedication is unquestioned. “They are always in the stands for every scheduled game. They train volunteers to help but at least one of them always stays to assist. Their bookkeeping of all the purchases they make to stock the stand as well as the reports of income are second to none.”
“The Schurs wave the little league and youth athletics flag as hard as anyone,” Mayor Barb Tolbert said. “They always put kids first.”
That’s the Schurs’ favorite reason for running the stand. “The kids are our future, so if we can have a positive effect on them and make the sport of baseball more fun to them, we all benefit, Schur said.
