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Manta Airmen score home run with community

  • Published
  • By Maj. Chris Hemrick
  • 478th Expeditionary Operations Squadron Public Affairs
MANTA, Ecuador (AFNEWS) --  Volunteers from the 478th Expeditionary Operations Squadron here recently donated more than $5,000 worth of baseball equipment to the Manta Baseball Academy.

More than 100 people attended the ceremony at the academy, including the mayor of Manta, Jorge Zambrano.

"I'm very happy. We've wanted this equipment for a very long time and now it's finally come true," said Raynier Rabelo, academy director.

Randy Tate, a sports team representative for Sports Chalet in Roseville, Calif., led the effort in donating high-quality used equipment. Working with Rachelle Manning of Wilson Sporting Goods near Sacramento, they donated more than $5,000 worth of new equipment for the academy.

"It was a great opportunity for us to help out the Manta Baseball Academy with this much-needed equipment. It's fantastic to see the children out there playing ball, and we're excited to be a part of it," said Alfonso Ribot, the 478th EOS representative to the academy.

Once the donations were secured, 478th EOS Commander Lt. Col. Javier Delucca worked with Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento to deliver the equipment to the forward operating location on a C-130 Hercules. The equipment was then moved into a warehouse and inventoried before being transported to the academy.

"This is just one of the aspects of the partnership between the (local community) and the FOL. I hope the FOL can continue to support this worthwhile cause," said Mr. Ribot.
 
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