Dec. 19, 2004

NORFOLK, VA-- Local dentist Dr. Patrick Baker will be honored as the 28th recipient of the Bud Metheny Award at the "Meet the Stars" Banquet, Friday, Jan. 28, 2005 at the Sheraton Norfolk-Waterside as part of the annual Greenwich Kitchens/ODU Baseball Clinic weekend. The banquet begins with a social at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. This year's keynote speaker will be New York Met pitching great and baseball Hall of Famer Tom Seaver.

Tickets for the banquet are $50, and on sale at the Old Dominion Athletic Ticket Office in the Athletic Administration Building ( 683-5484). The Greenwich Kitchens Baseball Clinic will be held Saturday, Jan. 29 in the Old Dominion University Fieldhouse. Tickets at $5 for the session, beginning at 9 a.m. Proceeds from the dinner and clinic support baseball scholarships at Old Dominion.

"This is very, very gratifying," said Baker. "Playing baseball at ODU was one of the highlights of my athletic career. I felt like it was an obligation to help in fund raising to give kids the same opportunities that I had."

Pat has served on ODU's Athletic Medical staff as a volunteer since the early 1980's. He has been involved with the ODU Baseball Clinic for almost 20 years as a member of the Clinic's Planning Committee. Baker has served on the ODU Intercollegiate Foundation's Board of Directors for the past 15 years.

In the community, Baker was a moving force in helping develop youth baseball on the west side of Norfolk. He helped to organize and develop the Naval Base Little League at Fleet Park in the 1980's. Baker helped establish Youth Fall Baseball at Fleet Park and coached youth teams in both the spring and fall for many years. In addition, Pat founded a youth basketball program at Norfolk Collegiate Schools 12 years ago and is currently Chairman of the Norfolk Collegiate School's Athletic Committee.

Baker is a 1973 graduate of Norfolk Academy where he played baseball and was an All-Tidewater Conference selection his senior year as a pitcher. He was a Norfolk Sports Club Scholarship recipient. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1978 and from the School of Dentistry at the Medical College of Virginia in 1982. He received his certificate of general practice residency from East Carolina University School of Medicine in 1983.

For more information about the clinic and banquet, please contact the Athletic Ticket office at 683-5484.

PREVIOUS BUD METHENY WINNERS
1978  Dave Rosenfield	General Manager, Norfolk Tides
                        Co-Founder of ODU Clinic
1979  George Kotarides 	President, Milton=s Pizza
1980  Ed Nagourney	 Rices Nachman Dept. Store
                        Co-Founder of ODU Clinic
1981  Bud Metheny	Former Old Dominion baseball coach
1982  George McClelland	Former Executive Sports Editor
                        The Virginian Pilot/Ledger-Star newspapers
1983  Charlie Sugg	Real Estate Assessor, City of Norfolk
1984  Don Fett	        President, Waymar, Inc.
1985  Clyde McCullough	Former major league scout
1986  Abe Goldblatt	Sportswriter, The Virginian Pilot/Ledger Star
1987  Richard J. Davis	President, Tidewater Professional Sports, Inc.
1988 Harry Postove	Major League Scout
1989 Hank Foiles	Foiles Insurance, former major leaguer
1990 Lewis D.Hirschler	Hofheimer=s Inc,
1991 Richard Alexander	Umpire
1992 Bob Rathbun	Former sports anchor,WTKR TV WTAR Radio
1993 Sandra Pickin	Founder of the Peninsula Muscular
                        Dystrophy Benefit Baseball Tournament
1994  John T. Callahan	Former President of Tidewater Baseball League
1995  Gary Wright	Tidewater Summer League, AAU
1996 Paul Fraim	        Mayor of Norfolk
1997 Roy L.Burton,Jr.	Founder of Willard-Lakewood Athletic
                        Association & the Granby Booster Club
1998 Paul Vestal	President Greenbrier Athletic Assoc.
1999 Ken Young	        President, Norfolk Tides Baseball Team
2000 Lester Bangs	Local Baseball Scout
2001 Warren Spivey	President Spivey Rentals
2002 Bill Swan	        Former Head Baseball Coach at Virginia Wesleyan
                        Former Assistant Baseball Coach at ODU.
2003 Tim Miller		Chairman ACS Systems & Engineering
2004 Luke Newman	President of Greenwich Kitchens Center