Louisville Woman Wins National Grand Prize in Ace Hardware/Little League ‘Helpful Hero’ Contest

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Ms. Kerr-Armour provides transportation for children who live in public housing complexes who need rides to the field, and is so dedicated that she has even ferried kids more than 300 miles in one day so they could play in tournaments. Taking kids home often keeps her up after midnight.

Because of her helpfulness to Metro Louisville Little League, Ms. Kerr-Armour has been named Central Region and national grand prize winner of the Ace Hardware/Little League “Helpful Hero” Contest.

Ms. Kerr-Armour will receive a two-minute shopping spree at her local Ace Hardware store, a trip for two this month to the 2004 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., $1,000 spending money, $1,000 donated to her local Little League, and will be recognized before the U.S. Championship game at the Little League World Series on Aug. 28.

Ace Hardware partnered with Little League Baseball and Softball to celebrate the helpful, dedicated people who contribute, in their unique way, to the spirit and teamwork experienced at every official Little League field. Entrants nominated their local “helpful hero” by submitting a short essay describing the person they know who is involved in local Little League activities, and how that “hero” embodies the spirit of helpfulness and community in the Little League program. Individuals from each of the five Little League regions were selected.

The four other regional grand prize winners, who each will receive a two-minute shopping spree at their local Ace store, include:

• Raymond Burton of Plymouth, Mass., who has been a Little League volunteer for nearly half a century is the East Region winner. Mr. Burton has been a player, umpire, and coach and has assisted with building dugouts, lining the field, working the concessions and performing repairs at the local diamond.
   
• Gracie Vallejo of Mercedes, Texas, is the Southwest Region winner. Ms. Vallejo volunteers countless hours making food and running the concession stand, managing funds, picking up merchandise, helping with field clean-up and much more.
   
• Michele Mukanos of Long Beach, Calif., the West Region winner, wears many caps. Ms. Mukanos is always at the field helping with the snack bar and scorekeeping, even administering first aid to injured players. She also edits the league’s newsletter.
   
• Arnold “Grandpa” Glantz of Tampa, the South Region winner, has a special love for Little League. Though his grandsons no longer play baseball, Mr. Glantz shows up every week cheering on the young athletes. He also mans the concession stand single-handedly at one of the remote fields, hauling his trailer to the games and grilling his popular hot dogs and hamburgers.

“The Ace/Little League ‘Helpful Hero’ Contest celebrates individuals whose dedication and helpful spirit benefit those around them,” said Frank Rothing, Ace advertising manager. “We’re proud to recognize Margaret and the other regional winners who are helping to make a difference in the lives of Little Leaguers.”

The Ace Hardware/Little League “Helpful Hero” Contest kicked off nationwide in April and Ace has plans to repeat the contest in 2005. Ace is the Official Hardware Store of Little League Baseball and Softball.

Ace Hardware Corp. is the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the industry and celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2004. Ace’s annual retail sales from its more than 4,800 hardware, home center and lumber and building materials retailers exceed $13 billion. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace currently operates 15 distribution centers in the United States and has stores located in all 50 states and 70 countries. More information on Ace can be found at www.acehardware.com. (By clicking on this site, you will be leaving the Little League Web Site. Little League is only responsible for the content on the Little League Web Site.)