Abraham “Junior” Sorensen of Lincoln, Bob Severance of Beloit, and Ray Salmon of Salina are among the 15 Kansans selected by the state’s Area Agencies on Aging to be recognized as Keeping Seniors in the Game! honorees.
The three area seniors will throw the first pitches at feature games at the 81st National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series. The series begins at Wichita’s Lawrence-Dumont Stadium on Friday, July 24 and ends with the championship game on Saturday, August 8, 2015.
Keeping Seniors In the Game!, an initiative with the National Baseball Congress Foundation, recognizes the vitality and contributions of older Kansans and also raises public awareness of Area Agencies on Aging–the state and national network of groups that provide unbiased answers and help to seniors and family caregivers with the goal of helping seniors have happy and independent lives in their homes.
Those honored were nominated by The North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging, Inc. the group that provides real answers and real help to seniors and caregivers in Salina, Lincoln and Mitchell counties and 15 other counties in the heartland of Kansas. Those to be honored are:
Abraham “Junior” Sorensen of Lincoln. Sorensen, 84, will pitch at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. A native of Denmark, Kan, and a Navy veteran, he and his wife Essie were married for 50 years. After serving in the Navy, he returned to Lincoln County to farm. Now that he’s retired, he’s a regular at Lincoln’s Senior Center and on the golf course. He has two children, five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Sorensen loves baseball. He has great memories of 1947 when he played ball for Sylvan Grove’s town team. From 1948 through 1950 he played on teams for Denmark and also for the Lincoln Hawks and American Legion Baseball teams in the area. His favorite baseball memories include hitting the first home run at the 1949 NBC state tournament –the homer that got The Lincoln Hawks into NBC’s national tournament that year. Although the Hawks didn’t make it too far in the National tournament, it was an honor for their team to play in NBC’s World Series.
Bob Severance of Beloit. Severance, 88, a Navy veteran and former President of the North Central Technical College in Beloit and Hays, will be the Keeping Seniors in the Game! First Pitcher on Saturday, July 30, 2015 at the 7:00 p.m. feature game of the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series. He and his wife Mary Ann have five children – Jean, Sara, Rachel, Jim and Fred – and 28 grandchildren and great grandchildren! That’s enough for three baseball teams and one manager!
Bob stays young by keeping active and having a sense of humor. He is a lifeguard at Beloit’s Wellness Center pool. He has participated in five swimming events in Senior Olympic Games for the past seven years. He has been a member of Rotary International for almost 50 years. He is an active member in the Methodist church and currently serves on the North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council. Bob is still cheering for the Kansas City Royals.
Ray Salmon of Salina. Salmon, 86, will throw the Keeping Seniors in the Game! first pitch at the 7:00 p.m. feature game of the National Baseball Congress World Series at Wichita’s Lawrence-Dumont Stadium on Friday, August 7, 2015. Salmon is a 57-year member of the Lions Club, is chair of the Elks and serves on the board of Salina’s RSVP. He and his wife Lorene have two children, David Ray and Debra McGraw and five grandchildren. Ray has been an active volunteer for 57 years with his Methodist Church, the Ashbury Hospital and the Tammy Walker Foundation in Salina.
Salmon’s baseball memories include playing town team baseball for Manter, in Stanton County, Kansas for many years and coaching his son’s and grandsons’ teams, including PeeWee games and Little League games. He also coached K-18 teams in Belleville and Cuba, and other children’s teams in the region. One of his favorite baseball memories was winning the K-18 tournament as the team coach!
“We are very happy to work with the National Baseball Congress to recognize the amazing contributions that Junior Sorensen and other older Kansans make to our country, our hometowns and our communities,” said Julie Govert Walter, Executive Director of the North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging who leads the Keeping Seniors In The Game! initiative.
The NBC World Series was founded by baseball innovator Hap Dumont in 1934. Over the years, the NBC has launched the careers of many baseball icons. The 81st World Series includes teams from throughout the United States. For NBC World Series information and ticket prices go to www.nbcbaseball.com or call 316-977-9400.