WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (July 31, 2007) – Kenny Mull has been a volunteer in the Mountaineer Little League since the late 1970s, has sat on the league’s board of directors for 25 years, and was appointed North Carolina assistant District 5 administrator 20 years ago. For his years of dedicated service, Mr. Mull will be honored as Little League’s Volunteer of the Year during the 61st Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pa., this August.

Kenny Mull

The Little League Volunteer of the Year award recognizes the selfless efforts of more than one million volunteers at the grass-roots level of the Little League program. Mr. Mull has displayed a tireless commitment to the Mountaineer Little League by taking on whatever tasks needed to be done.

“Kenny is a man of character, courage, and loyalty,” Chuck Jenkins, fellow assistant district administrator for North Carolina District 5, said. “The things Kenny has always talked about are teamwork and putting kids first. Every day he walks this walk, and it encourages me to follow this same path. The parents, children and communities in our district are lucky to have Kenny teaching sportsmanship and the love of the great game of baseball.”

Mr. Mull has served as a coach, board member and umpire. He currently is responsible for the purchase and distribution of the league’s uniforms and securing league and team sponsorships.

“He is instrumental in everything that happens in our league and throughout our district,” Roger Hampton, Mountaineer Little League president, said. “It would be hard to have our league without him because he’s honest, accommodating, and involved in so many ways. It takes a lot of dedication to be a Little League volunteer and he’s shown that commitment day in and day out. He is an ambassador for Little League.”

The Little League Volunteer of the Year Award, established in 1989, was designed to provide local leagues an opportunity to honor a deserving individual with this prestigious distinction. This honor is recognized as the most important and visible of the Little League Baseball and Softball award programs.

“Being a Little League volunteer can be many things, but the common tie is the willingness to get involved and give freely of one’s time without expecting even a ‘thank you,’” Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball and Softball, said. “Leading by example as Mr. Mull has, and having those experiences resonate with former players who are now Little League coaches themselves is the ultimate compliment. Little League salutes Mr. Mull for his unwavering commitment to the Little League program, its players and volunteers.”

Little League Baseball and Softball is the world’s largest organized youth sports program, with nearly 2.7 million players and one million adult volunteers in every U.S. state and scores of other countries.