2006
Lincoln Rebels Exemplary
Service Award
Leslie Gordon
Each year, the
Lincoln Rebels organization honors an individual who has made an
outstanding contribution and provided exemplary service to the Rebels
program. This year’s 2006 award recipient is Leslie Gordon.
For the past
fourteen years, Leslie has had at least one son on a Rebels team.
It all began in 1993 when her oldest son, Eric, and second oldest son,
Alex, each participated in Rebels tryouts and were selected for the 1994
teams: Eric to the 13’s team, and Alex to the 11/12’s. Following
the two oldest, her son Brett played four years for the Rebels from 1997
through 2000. Her youngest son, Derek, is now in his seventh and
final year as a Rebel.
Over the years,
Leslie has performed many and varied tasks for the Rebels, but her
greatest contribution has been her work as Uniform Committee Chair.
From 1996 to 2005, Leslie outfitted as many as 80 Rebels players per
season, and was responsible for uniform design, fitting, purchasing,
repair and replacement.
Dave Bingham, a
co-founder of the Rebels program, commented on Leslie’s important role:
“In the early years, I was frantically trying to run the organization,”
said Dave, “and Leslie was one of those people who stepped up and did a
phenomenal job at a very critical time. I loved having her
involved with the uniforms because it was a big deal. When she
took over the job, everybody had a different idea about the uniforms.
She was able to gather input, build consensus, and everything just fell
into place. She always had a good committee, she structured and
managed the process extremely well, she knew how to negotiate the best
deals for us, and she did it for many years. She has always gone
about her business with a smile on her face and has been a tremendous
asset.”
At ballparks around
the state, Leslie is one of the most recognizable faces. Her three
oldest sons played baseball for Southeast High School and its summer
Legion teams, and each has gone on to play in college: Eric at the
University of Nebraska-Omaha, Alex at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, and Brett at Independence Community College in
Independence, Kansas. Derek plans to attend Lincoln Southeast High
School as a freshman this coming year. In 2005, Alex was the 2nd
overall pick in the Major League draft and signed with the Kansas City
Royals organization. He now plays for Kansas City’s Wichita
Wranglers AA affiliate.
When asked about her
contribution to the Rebels over the past fourteen years, Leslie reflects
on her devotion to her four sons, and on the close friendships she has
developed with many Rebels parents with whom she feels a unique kinship.
“Baseball people spend a lot of time together, and they work hard
together,” she says. “I’ve developed many lifelong friends through my
involvement with the Rebels. My boys have all done well in the
program and I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly. We’ve all learned a lot of
life lessons in baseball.”
We are very proud to
call Leslie a Rebel because she has been a great ambassador for the
Rebels program. We are grateful for her dedication and commitment,
and we are happy to honor her for her many contributions.
