Chiefs to honor Thornhill, Merriam

The Syracuse Chiefs announced that they will honor Bob Merriam and Mike Thornhill at the team's annual Hot Stove Dinner on Friday at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool.

Merriam will be presented the Tom Higgins Bullpen Chief Award given annually by the Chiefs to a community leader who has provided exemplary support for professional baseball in Syracuse. He is the General Manager of Onondaga Beverage Corp., which distributes many fine beers and non-alcoholic products including major Chiefs sponsors Labatt and Saranac.

Thornhill will be presented the Jake Myers Great Guy Award, given annually by the Chiefs to an individual who devotes a good deal of their time to further enhance Syracuse Chiefs baseball in Central New York. He is the Sales Center Manager for Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Syracuse.

Tickets for the event are $45.00 for adults, $20.00 for children 12 and under or a table of 10 can be purchased for $400.00 and are available for advance purchase only at the Chiefs Ticket Office at Alliance Bank Stadium, by phone (315) 474-7833 or online at www.syracusechiefs.com. The Silent Auction begins at 5:30 PM and dinner will be served at 7:00 PM.

Guests scheduled to appear include former World Series MVP Bobby Richardson, Chiefs outfielder Chad Mottola, Detroit Tigers pitcher Jason Grilli, Blue Jays Director of Canadian Scouting Kevin Briand and new Chiefs manager Doug Davis.

The Chiefs will also honor local high school and collegiate softball and baseball players at the Hot Stove. The honorees are, Fayetteville-Manlius senior Cory Nelson, the Pre-Season High School Baseball Player of the Year, Jordan-Elbridge senior Colleen Ryan and Cicero-North Syracuse junior Jessica Phillips, the co-preseason High School Softball Players of the Year, Le Moyne college senior Bobby Blevins the Pre-Season Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year and Le Moyne senior Sara Reed the Pre-Season Collegiate Softball Player of the Year.