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 Jim McClellan fires up the grill at the concesssion stand at Packard Woods. Pilot Photo/Carol Anders By Carol Anders
Correspondent
PLYMOUTH — Jim McClellan wasn’t quite sure what his wife Lori had gotten him into when she volunteered his help with the Plymouth Youth Softball League concessions stand at Packard Woods, – but now five years later, he knows it was a perfect spot for him.
He gets to do something he loves and spend time with his daughter, Summer, who is on the softball travel league, and son, Robby, from the Men’s Softball League. Son Sean also works in the concession stand.
McClellan’s full-time job is in management at the Plymouth Ponderosa. He said, “We learn to do everything there . . . cook, clean, greet customers, bus tables . . . whatever needs to be done.” Yet, in his off-duty hours, he still loves to cook – and everything that comes with the volunteer job.
Fans and players in the leagues that meet at Packard Woods enjoy the traditional hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, corn dogs, tenderloins, chips and pretzels; but McClellan wasn’t satisfied with only offering the same items every night.
Now the menu also contains the “special of the day” consisting of anything from subs, hot ham and cheese, pizza, chili, pulled pork, shish-ka-bobs to vegetable and fruit trays.
Last week, fans were praising his chicken quesadilla. On Tuesday night, McClellan brought in a pot of homemade shrimp and sausage gumbo. He said, “I’m not sure how this will go.” But at the end of the night, the pot was empty.
League Board member Kamila Millea commented that, “From time to time, people have called the concession stand asking what the special for that night was going to be . . . “ – including herself. Millea also quipped, “I wish he was open for lunch!!!”
McClellan runs the concession stand four to five nights each week. Every-thing he does is strictly on a volunteer basis. He said, “Any profit goes right to the Plymouth Youth Soft-ball League.” With his background in food management, he is able to buy some items at cost and watches for specials at the local grocery stores.
Kids who work in the stand are paid. He said, “It gives them a little pocket change and teaches them real-life skills.”
Jim’s wife, Lori, serves on the Plymouth Youth Softball League as secretary and teaches Earth Sciences at Plymouth High School. She is well-known for her teaching skills and extra-curricular team building projects; and like her husband, the concession stand is like another home.
McClellan said, “My biggest supporters are the board members, my wife, and the fans. This is fun for me.”
Reaping the rewards of the profits from the Plymouth Youth Softball concessions at Packard Woods are the 170-plus area youths from ages 5 to 18 involved in softball.
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