Hi everyone, I’m Kathy Frank (FrankK43). I live in LeRoy, NY, a small town between Buffalo and Rochester. LeRoy’s claim to fame is that Jell-O was invented here. We even have a Jell-O museum. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area. After working for over 20 years at the Genesee County Youth Bureau, a local government agency in nearby Batavia, I’m currently a free-lance grant writer. While at the Youth Bureau, I served as the director of our local AmeriCorps program. Over the life of the program, I recruited and placed more than 400 AmeriCorps members, who completed a combined 300,000 hours of service activities at community agencies.
Kathy Frank & Bill Dougherty
I also have the Youth Bureau to thank for two wonderful baseball-related experiences. The first began at a recognition luncheon for volunteers. I struck up a conversation with the gentleman sitting next to me and discovered we were both baseball fans. Bill Dougherty was a successful business owner with a passion for local baseball history. Over the years he had researched and written stories about the baseball buddies of his youth, local baseball standouts, town teams and the history of professional baseball in Batavia (an original franchise in the PONY League, now known as the NY-Penn League). Bill told me he had always wanted to put his stories together into a book but needed help organizing and updating them. I was excited to help Bill with his project and was pleased when he was able to self-publish and sell locally a compilation of his stories entitled Batavia Baseball, A View from the Bleachers. We were working on a second volume but, sadly, Bill passed away in September of 2017. I am proud to have helped him fulfill a dream and preserve a piece of local history.
Dead Guy Fantasy Baseball
The second baseball-related outcome from my job was my introduction to “dead guy” fantasy baseball. Debbie Rosenbeck was my boss and I soon got to know her family Her husband Jim and I bonded over our mutual love of baseball. I started playing back at ESPN. Jim bought my first team as a birthday gift and recruited some of his sim friends to play in my league. One of his friends, Larry Macdonald, happened to be visiting Batavia so Jim and Larry helped me put my first team together. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the game. My first team did fairly well and almost made the playoffs so I was hooked.
Imagine Sports Team Owner
I’ve played at Imagine Sports since it began. I’m a middle of the road owner, with an overall winning percentage of around .500. My teams are usually competitive and I’ve managed to win enough World Series titles (14) to keep me coming back for more. I enjoy putting teams together and learning about the lives of the players. I don’t use a specific formula for constructing my teams but I prefer leagues with a restricted player pool or theme. I am a Braves fan and am known in some of my leagues for my obsession with Chipper Jones.
Diamond Mind Online Leagues
I’m currently in three fun and challenging ongoing leagues. I joined 3 Penny several years ago and feel like a part of their family. It’s a great group. After being in random leagues with some of its members, I was invited to join the Uncle Bob’s league a couple of years ago. It’s tough to win against those guys but the leagues are always interesting. Most recently, I joined the Who’s Your Daddy group, which is cool because it includes two other female owners.
Team Owner Excursions
I’ve interacted with many interesting people through this game, mostly online but there are a few who I’ve been lucky enough to meet in person, including Chris Visser and Terry Leu. On one of our excursions to Boston, Jim and I attended a gathering at the famous Horseshoe Pub where I got to hang out with a great group of guys including my long-time phone friend, Steve Goyette. The next day, Mike DiPalma served as our Boston tour guide then Mike Murphy joined us for a Red Sox game. Last, but certainly not least, is my friend Paul Mowrey, who showed me true Texas hospitality when I met up with him and his son for two Astros/Braves games in Houston. It was Chipper’s farewell season and we saw him hit a home run! My brother and I also joined Paul and his two sons for their first visit to Cooperstown. I’ve been to games in Toronto, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, and Anaheim. I have a few more stadiums on my bucket list so who knows, maybe I’ll get to meet some of my other sim friends.
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