In Ventura County, the Santa Paula Little League is wrapping up another home run of a season.
“We schedule our regular games from March to mid-May, with the playoffs after that,” says Mark Chisholm, a commercial pilot whose own son plays in the league.
Still in the running for the pennant are the Santa Paula Rockies. FGS sponsored the team this year, continuing a beloved tradition of supporting teams in agricultural communities. It’s the company’s own way of giving back. Chisholm, who helped secure the sponsorship, has a similar desire to help. Whenever he’s not in the cockpit, there’s a good chance you’ll find him at the ballpark, where he’s been spending multiple months supporting Santa Paula Little League as a board member.
“I grew up here,” he says. “My uncle played the first year of Santa Paula Little League in 1956, on the same field we still use today. Back in my day, you wouldn’t have a team called ‘The Rockies’ — instead, teams would be named after their sponsors. You’d go to a game, and it would be ‘Harry’s Car Care’ playing against ‘The Knights of Columbus.’ It really involved the community, and in an effort to get some of that back, I began hitting up more local businesses for team sponsorships. We still have the Rockies, but this year, it’s the Fruit Growers Supply Rockies.”
At the Rockies’ games this season, attendees could look toward the outfield and see an FGS banner hanging on the outfield fence. It’s not just about advertising and name recognition, though. Sponsoring a team in a small town like Santa Paula can make a big difference for the players. “It helps keep costs down and improve the fields,” Chisholm explains. “We’re a non-profit organization, so every bit of money we raise goes right back into the league itself. We’ll use that money for uniforms, the snack bar, and equipment like baseballs and catchers’ gear. The kids still pay a registration fee, but with these sponsorships, we try to keep that low.”
$20,000 was raised from all sponsorships this year. Many of those sponsors, including a soil-sampling company and an avocado farm, also work in agriculture. Chisholm says that money helps fund an inspirational experience for the young ballplayers.
“Team sports can teach so many life lessons,” he notes. “Maybe these kids won’t play in the major leagues, but they’ll still learn how to win, how to lose, how to go through adversity, how to get hurt and get back up.”
Similar lessons are being taught in Tulare County, where FGS is also sponsoring the Woodlake Tigers. The high school baseball team recently climbed to Number 1 in the East Sequoia League, with the championship several weeks away.
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