Eastern Elementary student wins 'Hit the Books' contest
Fifth grade student Kim Macanang, age 10, designed the winning entry. She will receive a Legends prize pack, including Legends merchandise, a framed "Hit the Books " poster featuring her artwork and a free membership in the 2012 Little Legends Kids Club. She also will be invited to throw a ceremonial first pitch at a designated Legends game for her school. Bookmarks featuring her artwork will be distributed to students at every school that participates in the "Hit the Books" program. More than 18,000 students from central Kentucky are expected to take part in the program, which runs through April 1.
Makayla Davis, age 11, a fifth grade student at Eastern Elementary; Jackson Gonzales, 8, a third grade student at Liberty Elementary in Lexington; and Abbi Davis, 10, a fourth grade student at Peaks Mill Elementary in Frankfort all received honorable mention for their designs. They will receive framed posters and Legends merchandise.
"The Hit the Books program has been a staple of the Legends community outreach since day one of our existence," said Legends General Manager Seth Poteat. "I personally love every chance I get to go to all the participating schools in our community and meet the kids. The importance of childhood literacy cannot be underscored enough and this program allows us to hopefully develop readers and Legends fans for life."
In "Hit the Books," a baseball diamond is used to record credit for a student's reading. For every book a student reads, a teacher places his or her initials on a base. When the student has all three bases and home plate initialed by the teacher, the student may bring a "Hit the Books" bookmark to the Legends' box office at Whitaker Bank Ballpark to exchange it for two tickets to one of four Legends home games - April 13, 14, 27 or 28.
The school with the most bookmarks redeemed on its designated night will win a luncheon assembly provided by the Lexington Legends and Chick-fil-A.
The 2012 season is the 12th for Legends baseball, and also marks the 12th year that the Legends have been associated with the "Hit the Books" program. About 125,000 central Kentucky students have participated.
The Legends, a class A affiliate of the Houston Astros, open the home season Thursday, April 12 at Whitaker Bank Ballpark against the Kannapolis Intimidators, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. For more information, visit www.lexingtonlegends.com.
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The Legends were voted number one in family entertainment in 2011 by readers of the Lexington Herald-Leader.