Johnston Little League holds awards banquet following successful season

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Longevity, as it surfaced last Friday night inside West Valley Inn, is perhaps the reason for the sustained success of Johnston Little League.

On a night when the youth baseball program honored 300 kids with some sort of special award amid a fun, food and family-oriented backdrop, emcee Doug Jeffrey touted many adult leaders who have given years of selfless service to the community-oriented program during a lively and swift-moving awards banquet.

Take Ed Bedrosian, who has been with the program for 16 years and is entering his 12th season as president.

Then there’s John Simao, who Bedrosian and many other Johnstonians will tell you, “is the glue to our league and has done an outstanding job heading the administration.

Simao, who has been JLL’s vice president for the past 10 years, is also a man Bedrosian called “a great person who has become one of my closest friends, and we could never – ever – thank him enough for what he’s done for our league. We have great chemistry running this league and it’s what keeps us coming back together year-after-year.”

Jeffrey, who has been around the league for seven years or so, once coached the JLL all-stars and took that club within one game of going to the Eastern Regional in Bristol, Connecticut.

“I look forward to this night all year,” Jeffrey, who serves as Chief of Staff to Mayor Joseph Polisena, offered about his role as the annual toastmaster. “This is a lot of fun with great people; my heart is always with JLL. I’d like to see a 12-year-old state championship banner before I die.”

Jeffrey also mixed a serious side with some quick wit and also spoke volumes about Bob Guidici, who Bedrosian noted “has been an instrumental part of our league for the past 15 years. He has been a coach, a volunteer and super sponsor. He has also helped with field improvements, fundraising, you name it and he has been there for our league.”

Bedrosian, who wore a smile from ear-to-ear while watching dozens of JLL players scoot to the head table and accept a much-cherished trophy or medal, added: “But most importantly, Bob has become a very close friend on and off the field.”

It seemed as though that has been the norm with a program that many parents will attest is “run in the right way; for the kids and not adult egos.”

Take for example the fun-filled raffle, which featured a youth bike, 40-inch television, full auto reconditioning at Northeast Auto Body and restaurant gift certificates, that were mostly all won by kids.

Yet another constant that has for years figured in the JLL’s success is the unique working relationship with the Johnston Parks and Recreation Department and Director Dan Mazzulla.

The one-time JHS and Bryant College basketball standout has followed in his late father’s footsteps and always makes sure JLL has the best possible playing conditions and other necessary tools to keep the program going at full speed and keeping the kids safe.

Perhaps one example surfaced early this season when rain pounded Johnston War Memorial Park and created puddles everywhere. Yet, Mazzulla wanted to make sure the annual Opening Day Parade was a success and puddle free, so he summoned staffers to remove most out of the way at the entrance to Kennedy Field.

A well-maintained ballpark, people will be quick to say, that during the spring and summer months becomes home for men like Bedrosian, Simao, Guidici and JLL’s proud baseball family.

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