"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that's teamwork." - John Wooden What a ride it has been with @mitchhooten , @jmjarecki and the entire @wmwhitecaps organization. We started our partnership in November 2021 with the club's ideal end in mind: "The original field lasted 30 years. We need the next one to last just as long and be state-of-the-art." Along the way we worked through the ups and downs of project no one likes to talk about. We had long conversations, at all hours of the day, about worries, hopes, and details that others don't usually have with their project partners. People often talk about the other companies, many of whom Mitch mentioned below, as the great players who helped design or build the project. I want to talk about a few people in the club who made up a big part of the team and put their faith into us. Jim Jarecki, Vice President and General Manager, has been with club for over 30 years, since its inaugural season, and has quite literally seen it all. This was a legacy project for him. After tens of thousands of hours of his professional life spent in this ballpark, this was a chance to help take it to the next level. Early on in this journey, Mitch Hooten proved to me he was an elite professional baseball Head Groundskeeper. Truly one of the best in all of baseball right now. He showed vision by knowing much of what he wanted, sought wisdom by asking the right questions about what he wasn't sure about, and displayed conviction in his belief of doing whatever it took to do things the right way. His trust fueled us to go far beyond any "typical" approach of consultant you might see in a project like this. Behind them was a leadership team and ownership group who pushed us to be better at every step of the project. I can think of no other way to describe it becuase, deep down, it was imperative for us that everyone in the organization and the project team be successful. Those people made this one of the most fulfilling projects we've done in 7+ years of being in business. Everything came together to form a fantastic partnership because the Whitecaps put us in the position we like to be in the best: making everyone better in the process of making a dream into reality. And that's the way it went for @ganobleberries, me, and the rest of the @fieldsourceohio team on this one. Busting our asses to be a player who made the team great instead of simply being a great player. Thank you, West Michigan! ⚾️🌊♥️ #PrepareToPlay

Last game of the year in 2024 to opening day this year. Many thanks to everyone who made this dream a reality. Here is to the next 30 years @TheMotzGroup @PayneSodFarm @fieldsourceohio @waupacasand @DuraEdge @AdvancedTurf @SiteOneSupply @HIWSolutions @wmwhitecaps @ErhardtCC