'Cats Recognized for Community Contributions

TROY, NY- The Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce has announced the 2012 winners of their prestigious Van Rensselaer Awards, and the Tri-City ValleyCats are the recipients of the Small Business Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to area communities.

Whether through their partnerships with charitable organizations or the volunteer efforts of their front office staff, the ValleyCats organization recognizes and embraces their responsibility to make a difference in the Capital Region.

To go along with community outreach at the ballpark, SouthPaw, players and the front office staff also make over 100 appearances throughout the Capital Region each year.

Appearances include reading at elementary schools and after-school programs, baseball clinics at local youth leagues, charity benefits, numerous walks and 5k's and more.

In order to be ambassadors for the game of baseball in their community, the Tri-City ValleyCats established the Field Renovation Program in 2003, with the mission of providing safe and well-maintained fields for youth sports organizations throughout the Capital Region.

In 2011, the ValleyCats undertook an ambitious project to renovate four youth playing fields in the course of a twenty-four hour time period.

This season, the ValleyCats are kicking off a season long campaign known as the Community Grounds Crew Program. With the help of BlueShield of Northeastern New York, the Community Grounds Crew will assist numerous youth leagues in the Capital Region with field maintenance projects from June through September.

The Tri-City ValleyCats are a single A affiliate of the Houston Astros, and play in the historic 14-team New York-Penn League. They begin their 2012 home schedule on Wednesday, June 20 at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. For more information, visit their website at www.tcvalleycats.com or call (518) 629-CATS.