The City of Las Cruces Parks and Recreation Department Athletic Fields Crew has won a regional award for its maintenance and care of the Maag, Paz, and Harty ballfield complexes within the Hadley Complex.
The Midwest Division Complex of the Year Award was recently given to the City’s Athletic Fields Crew. The award was presented at the 2022 Superdivisional Summit conducted by the North Texas United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA).
The 10-member crew also was recognized for its hard work and excellence by Mayor Ken Miyagishima at the Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, Las Cruces City Council meeting.
Members of the City’s Athletic Fields Team are:
- Rudy Trevino. Parks Operations District Manager.
- Johnny Valenzuela, Parks Crew Leader.
- Augustine Paz, Parks Crew Leader.
- Kaitlin Gray, Parks Irrigation Worker.
- Steve Arellin, Parks Irrigation Worker.
- Orlando Orona, Parks Equipment Operator.
- Jose Alfredo Paz (Fred), Temporary Parks Warehouse.
- Miguel Rodriquez, Parks Maintenance Worker,
- Jose Avila, Parks Maintenance Worker.
- Benjamin Banderas, Parks Maintenance Worker.
The award recognizes what the USSA believes are the best-kept softball complexes. The award is for a 13-state region that includes New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.
The USSSA is a volunteer sports governing body and a nonprofit organization. Formerly known as the United States Slowpitch Softball Association, the USSSA rebranded in 1998 because it expanded into other sports, including youth girls fastpitch, boy’s baseball, youth basketball, martial arts, and more.
The USSSA governs 13 sports in the U.S., Puerto Rico, at various U.S. military bases, and in Canada. The organization has a membership of more than 3.7 million athletes.
