Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The game of T-ball is a fun tradition for local families, and is a springtime staple for the Monticello community. For years, local businesses and organizations have opted to sponsor the teams of young T-ball players, their business names emblazoned on the uniforms of children as they learn the basics and give it their all, all season long. While the names of these businesses come and go year by year, as sponsorships change and businesses open and close, there is one name that has been displayed on T-ball jerseys for 30 years strong: Bishop Farms.
The decision for the family farm to sponsor a local T-ball team was made in 1993 by Mordaunt “Heedly” Bishop and led by brothers Benny and Marty Bishop, who together worked at Bishop Farms with their father. Benny's sons, Glen and Matt, were players on the team, and Uncle Marty served as Head Coach. Today, 30 years later, Bishop Farms is still a proud sponsor, and Glen's own twin sons, Benjamin and Wesley, age five, are members of the Bishop Farms T-ball team.
“It's incredible to see this come full-circle,” says Glen, who mentioned also that his wife, Brittany Hobbs (Bishop), played on the team alongside Glen's little brother, Matt, in 1995. Glen and Brittany celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary this May.
The Bishop family has deep roots, as they are an eighth-generation farming family, and has history leading back at least to the early 1800s. Glen mentions a photo they have of a cabin built on their property by Bishop family members that dates back to 1815.
“Our people have been in this area since it was Spanish Florida,” says Glen. “For years, the farm dealt mostly in row crops, so they grew tobacco, watermelons, corn, soybean and peanuts. These days, the farm is mostly used as a cattle farm.”
Glen says that the sponsorship of a T-ball team each year has become a family tradition, and that Bishop Farms intends to continue to uphold that legacy for the foreseeable future.
“It was started for me and my brother,” said Glen, “and it won't be ending with us.”
Glen says that not too long ago, recreational programs like Little League and T-ball were suffering in Monticello. Not only were the recreational facilities in town in need of repair and refurbishment, but the programs themselves lost funding and support.
“The county [of Jefferson] made some big investments, and we are really grateful,” says Glen. “The rejuvenation of these programs has been great for the community. It puts money back into the community, and gives the kids something to remember and look back on as they grow up.”
While some things have changed in the last 30 years, other things have endured the test of time. Photos of the Bishop Farms T-ball team in 1993 and 1996 show the grinning faces of children on the very same fields that today's teams play on. Many of these children grew up to become members of the Monticello community that eventually enrolled their own children into the program. As far as farm operations go, Benny Bishop himself is still the main owner and operator of the Bishop family farm, and although he has the occasional helping hands from Matt, Glen and Marty, he is undeniably “The Farmer” in the family. Marty, who coached the team for 13 years, retired from the role in 2007. The position of Head Coach has now been passed to Chris Tuten, who has been coaching the team for three years. This year, Glen Bishop has joined the coaching team as Assistant Coach.
While upholding the family tradition of supporting the local community recreation program is one that the Bishop family takes very seriously, at the end of the day, it's all about the kids.
“I admit, it's a great feeling when you are around town and see a group of kids all wearing “Bishop Farms” uniforms,” says Glen. “You can't help but think, 'yeah! That's our team!' But beyond that, all of the sponsorships enable these kids to play. And as an assistant coach, while we try to teach these kids all the rules and really establish the fundamentals of the game, they really just want to hit the ball and run! These kids really look forward to it, and each uniform that gets sponsored helps them feel like part of a real team.”
While this year's T-ball season is just about up, all eyes look forward to next year's teams, next's year's players and next year's community sponsors. And while the colors and styles of T-ball uniforms may change each year, there's one thing you can be sure to see, and that's that the Bishop Farms name will be proudly displayed on the jerseys of the team they'll continue to support for years to come.
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