Joe and Donna Marshall to receive service award June 5 in Crest Hill

The Rev. James E. Allen Award for Service to the Community will be awarded to Joe and Donna Marshall of Crest Hill Pony Baseball.

Project Acclaim will make the award at 7:30 p.m. June 5 at the Crest Hill Pony Baseball complex at Richland Park after two ball games that night under the lights.

Players and families associated with the couple and Crest Hill Pony Baseball are encouraged to attend the short ceremony. The Marshalls have three children and 13 grandchildren.

Perhaps 8,000 to 10,000 children and numerous families have passed through the gates of the baseball fields since the Marshalls began their organization 39 years ago.

The Marshalls moved to Crest Hill in 1977. He worked 32 years for ComEd and retired early. A friend who coached youth baseball asked Joe for assistance. He quit his paying umpiring job and “did this full time” as a volunteer.

Today, “this” happens to be three fenced baseball diamonds and dugouts, stands and picnic tables, a sizable concession stand and press box, garage and riding mower, paved parking lot, and a pair of batting cages for practice. The Crest Hill Pony League began in 1982.

The league has several divisions: Shetland (age 4-6), Pinto (age 7-8), Mustang (age 9-10), Bronco (age 11-12), and Pony (age 13-14). The DuPage River Conference includes Crest Hill, but also leagues from Belmont, Channahon, Minooka, Morris, Romeoville, St. Joe’s Park, Troy and Whiteford.

He builds the schedule for the Crest Hill teams and is president of both the Crest Hill and DuPage River organizations. Lockport Township Park District owns the land and gratefully makes the property available for youth baseball.

Donna runs the concession program and communications for the Leagues.

Although Joe is being treated for skin cancer, he cuts grass on three diamonds every other day.

Crest Hill teams have won state championships three times and have had two second-place finishes. He coaches two teams in the league and in the fall coaches for Richland School.

This is the second Allen Award in 2018, named for the founder of Project Acclaim – honoring civic pride, designed to be awarded quarterly. The award, which began in 2015, acclaims individuals who make the community a better place.