The Stoneman's; Family of 6*

Why the asterisk? Two of their family members are not technically Stoneman's. Denise and David Stoneman have two sons, Alex and Andrew, but adopted two more through the Host Family process. One is a Speer, and the other, a Heller. David Speer, a 2014 Scrapper, and Ben Heller, a 2013 Scrapper, had the absolute pleasure of living with Denise and her family during their respective seasons. For the past two summers, the Stoneman's have opened up their Boardman home to ball players looking to advance their careers within the Indian's organization.

It's vital that the players have a supportive family and welcoming home to come back to after a long day or a road trip. The Stoneman's are the epitome of that sentence. They go above & beyond the call of the host family duty. David has taken both players out golfing, provided snacks and drinks for their road trips, made breakfast for the guys, and even flew David and Ben's girlfriends out to Niles for a week!

The players aren't the only ones that take to the road either. The Stoneman's take family road trips to see their other "sons" play. They have traveled to Boston, Batavia, Jamestown, State College and Williamsport to support their players and the rest of the Scrappers.

They put in the time and the effort to make their "sons" stay in the Valley enjoyable and memorable. And the players, whether they know it or not, make each summer unforgettable for the Stoneman's.

Denise and her family know the experience is short and goes by very quickly but they know how to use their time with the players to create relationships that exist beyond the summer. "Although the Scrapper players are only in our home and an integral part of our family for 3 months during the summer, we are able to build, and continue to maintain, a lifetime relationship with the players and their families. It is very exciting, as well as rewarding, to continue to follow them and support them as they advance in the Indians' organization", Denise said. A lifetime relationship stands firm in their case. Denise continues to follow her "sons" as they progress through the Indian's organization. The whole family was even invited to Ben's wedding in 2013.

We cannot thank the Stoneman's enough for their generosity, loyalty and kindness, not only to the players that they host, but to the whole Scrappers organization. We look forward to their continued support to their players and the community through the 2015 season.