Suns Announce 2007 "Casey Challenge" Schedule
Published on March 31, 2007 under Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Jacksonville Suns' annual "Casey Challenge" event will begin on Tuesday, April 3. Suns President Peter Bragan, Jr., will visit numerous First Coast schools through the end of April, reciting the popular baseball poem "Casey at the Bat" as part of the Suns' ongoing "Catch Reading Fever" program, presented by Publix Supermarkets.
Bragan, Jr., begins his presentation with a stern lecture on the importance of reading. A Suns staff member follows with a short story which uses challenging vocabulary. Bragan, Jr., quizzes the students on their comprehension and awards prizes. Then he recites "Casey at the Bat" and proposes his annual challenge: If a child can memorize the entire poem, Bragan, Jr., will reward them with a Suns replica jersey or a genuine Louisville Slugger bat. The children are encouraged to study and learn the classic poem to expose them to the joys of reading. Southpaw often accompanies Bragan, Jr., at the schools.
"This is the one program I'm most proud of," Bragan, Jr., said. "I do it to honor Miss Sparks, my third-grade teacher. On the playground, she'd grab me by the ear and insist I read my books. She inspired me to become a voracious reader."
The premise of the "Catch Reading Fever" campaign is to encourage the importance of reading and to strengthen reading comprehension to fifth-graders. The Suns' signature community program reaches approximately 2,500 students a year and has affected more than 40,000 Jacksonville area elementary school children since its inception.
The Casey Challenge began in 1989 when Bragan read at Brown Elementary School. The program began at the insistence of Carolyn Kantor, then the Duval County director of media specialists. Kantor, now the principal at Timucuana Elementary, helped start a tradition. Now, some of the first schoolchildren who memorized the poem years ago have children of their own who could face the Casey Challenge soon.
"The first time I went to Brown, I was scared to death," Bragan, Jr. said. "But 16 years later, the Casey Challenge has become one of the highlights of my year."
Catch Reading Fever also extends to Reading Day. The Suns motivate kids to read by offering a free ticket to the game, held this year on Sunday, June 4. If children read 10 books before then, their bookmark serves as an admissible ticket.
Southern League Stories from March 31, 2007
- Suns Announce 2007 "Casey Challenge" Schedule - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
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