In baseball, a relief pitcher is the person brought in toward to save or rescue the game at the end.
UUFE has its own star “relief pitche”‘: Ken Clayborn.
Currently, he is continuing the effort to restore and improve the parking lot west of Garden Street. Dissatisfied with the bids that had come in from other paving contractors, Ken asked our UUFE friend Ray Enfield for advice, and in turn was glad to learn that Ray himself could handle both designs and contracting. The board agreed with having Ray prepare designs, and Ken with the rest of the Parking Lot Committee — Chuck Bower, Mike Darnel, Dwight Fish, and Ron Gill — went over two proposals this past Tuesday. Ken has also met with the Finance and Endowment Committees to discuss paying for the project, and how to bring the proposal to the congregation for a vote. After four years of effort, we are finally nearer to having a safe, dry, and attractive parking lot!
One doesn’t get to be a `star’ relief pitcher by one win, though. In the recent past, Ken has `saved the game’ many times for
- our “UU the Vote” effort in 2020 by organizing the voter registration booth on Sunday afternoons on the Elkhart plaza,
- our Food Pantry effort by purchasing and donating the Food Pantry Box now on Garden Street, and being a consistent supplier of food items for the Pantry,
- our north basement repairs by finding a contractor willing to do the drywall installation and priming, and
- maintaining the church office by buying a new printer, office laptop, and new phones connected to an answering machine
In baseball, it is the club manager that decides when a relief pitcher is needed. At UUFE, there is no club manager to order things done, and it is the choice of each member whether or not to be a `relief pitcher’. Seeing the need and answering the call are the signs of being a true UUFE leader, and this is what we have in Ken Clayborn.At some later day, we will talk about his being a great utiility player!