Musco Lighting - Musco Knight lights honor A.J.

Musco Knight lights honor A.J.

The new Musco lighting system at the baseball/softball field in the Mason City Newman ball complex was a true community effort completed as a memorial to A.J., the team’s batboy who died of cancer in 1998.

Linda Messmore, A.J.’s mother, with A.J.’s father and sister Haley, flips a ceremonial switch at the lighting dedication ceremony.

A young boy’s love of baseball and his visionary parents made a small Iowa high school’s dream of playing baseball under the lights a reality.

When 10-year old A.J. Messmore, Little Leaguer and bat boy for the Mason City Newman Knights, died from a rare bone cancer, his parents knew they wanted to establish a memorial that would have lasting effects.

As long-time supporters of the small private school, the Messmores considered several options as an appropriate memorial. Since A.J. loved baseball, they decided that lighting the baseball-softball fields would benefit a lot of kids for many years.

The Newman Booster Club spearheaded the “Keeping the Light of A.J. Alive” project. Beside memorial money, community fundraisers and private donations helped fund the project.

Musco lighting systems, with their easy assembly process, made volunteer installation doable, keeping project costs down. Booster club volunteers and members of the baseball team assembled the system in an afternoon.

The booster club also made sure the memorial addressed future operating cost and maintenance issues.

By including Musco’s 10 Club Service® — a 10-year warranty and maintenance program — in the initial purchase, school officials won’t have to budget for or worry about annual maintenance issues for 10 years.

The Newman Knights baseball team is thrilled with the new lights. “When the lights were tested after installation, the teams were returning from away games and spotted the lights as they approached the school. The kids were so excited they ran onto the field, playing tag and catch and running all around. It was an amazing thing to see,” said A.J.’s mother, Linda Messmore.

Besides being an appropriate memorial to A.J., the lighting systems now enable the school to host district tournaments — an exciting prospect both for community spirit and additional revenue opportunities. The school hopes to light its adjacent football field soon.

“It’s an awesome feeling to have it done and see what it’s accomplished,” added Messmore. •