"That was when I made the decision to do something for my community and give kids an outlet to be creative and athletic," he said. "I wanted to do something that would help get kids out of the streets and help them perform better in school."

White contacted his friend Rob Brantley, who lived in the area, and they started organizing a way to get the community together to help rejuvenate the field. The pair contacted the neighborhood association and the park board.

"We had been talking about a new field for about a year," Kuhns said. "We were unhappy with the current state of the field and with the fact that if we wanted to play baseball on a real diamond, we had to go to the south side of town."

When the park board heard about the plans, they thought the idea fit in with what they were trying to do with the area parks.

"Derek and Rob called up and had this idea of a neighborhood gathering," Jodie Adams, director of parks, said. "We have been doing a lot of improvements on the park and the field. One of our plans has been to make the fields high quality and bring some prestige to the park."

The park board got on board with the group and a new field was created. The bleachers were brought back, fences were fixed, and infield dirt became something very special.

"The infield is a new substance that is a clay type surface," Adams said. "It dries out better and it helps with drainage."

Adams said the surface is something new for the park board, and the field at Grant Beach Park is the first field to get it.

On the day of the bonanza over 500 people showed up to eat pizza, play games, and come together as a community. But the biggest thrill was the new baseball diamond.

"One lady in the neighborhood that lived near the park said, 'For the first time in five years I see people on my field playing on it,'" White said. "I think that speaks wonders on what the goal was."

Kuhns said the new field would have big positive impact on the community.

"We have a lot of children that just hang out in the summertime with nothing to do, and sometimes they get in trouble," she said. "With this event, and the new field, we have brought the neighborhood and families together to do something for kids. It will be an overall positive influence on the community and the park."

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