It's for the kids
An additional celebration at this year's Septemberfest in Schaumburg will mark the 45th anniversary of the Schaumburg Athletic Association, which has organized sports opportunities for generations of girls and boys.
The association's official acknowledgment of this milestone will accompany its participation in the Septemberfest Parade on Labor Day.
Mayor Al Larson is scheduled to march with the young athletes and parent volunteers in the morning parade.
The group's history has been one of constant growth, adding new sports and programs to its list every few years.
But the roots of the organization were planted in 1960 when Campanelli Builders donated land at Weathersfield Way and Braintree Drive and built a baseball field.
That year, seven boys from Schaumburg and eight from Hoffman Estates formed the Campanelli Colts, competing in the baseball league in Hoffman Estates.
The Schaumburg Boys Baseball Association was created in 1962, later becoming today's Schaumburg Athletic Association, current President Denise Anderson said.
The Schaumburg Park District was formed a year later and has enjoyed a harmonious relationship with the association as they've grown up together, park district Executive Director Jean Schlinkmann said.
The park district has provided the fields and facilities for most of the major sports the group has organized in the area, Schlinkmann said.
"It's just a wonderful organization, all volunteers -- thousands of hours a year," she said of the association.
The other major contributor to SAA is Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54, which rents gym space at its schools for the basketball program, according to District 54 board president Char Kegarise whose husband, Scott, was president of SAA for eight years.
The park district has built concession stands at four locations specifically to allow the association to raise money for itself.
For the last two years, the park district has printed a page in its own quarterly brochure devoted to the group's sports offerings.
The association runs a food booth at Septemberfest's not-for-profit day every year, sponsored by Village Tavern & Grill, which has helped the organization pay to cost of running background checks on those involved.
After its debut through its baseball league in the early '60s, the association added football in 1968, cheerleading in 1970, basketball in 1971, recreational soccer in 1979, softball and travel soccer in 1984 and travel baseball in 2002.
Today there are nearly 6,000 participants in the eight sports. Officials say the organization is devoted to sportsmanship and fair play, providing positive incentives and role models for its young athletes.
Though sports group has periodically added new sports during the past 45 years, Anderson feels the association's best hope is just to maintain its current programs through its 50th anniversary in 2012.
"Honestly, five years from now I see us basically in the same place we are right now," Anderson said. "There has been talk about adding lacrosse or volleyball to the organization, however that will be a difficult thing to do.
"We have run out of room both outdoors and indoors and adding other sports could be very disruptive to the existing sports," she added. "If any others were to be added, it will take a lot of time and planning before that can happen."
Already, with nearly 150 volunteer board members and 1,000 volunteer coaches, the work of the association is year-round to maintain its current participation levels, Anderson said.