Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA)

ETOBICOKE—Toronto Baseball President Dave Lauzon was on hand for this year’s Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) annual general meeting to present that organization’s Volunteer of the Year Award to former tba Vice President, Mark Chiasson.

With their common roots in Etobicoke Baseball, Lauzon recounted Chiasson’s role as ‘the convener of conveners’, a chief architect in the restructuring of Etobicoke and Toronto’s baseball framework (2002 – 2004) and ‘one of the few true baseball guys around’.

Mark began playing as a Little Leaguer in his native Nova Scotia as a twelve-year-old. ‘Since coming to Toronto in 1970, I’ve always had a soft spot for southern Etobicoke’, says Chiasson, who founded and pitched for the Sunday and Monday night ‘industrial calibre’ Queensway Senior League out of Ourland Park (1987 – 1995).

Another jewel of the south for Mark was the Queensway diamond: ‘I saw it first in 1983, and I’ll always remember when the midgets played on Sunday nights. Neighbourhood families would sit out on their lawns and watch. It was a nice time for baseball.’

That year, 1983, Mark began coaching house league at Queensway where he served as President from 1992 to 1996. His 1997 move to Martingrove precipitated roles as the General Manager of Rep. at both the local and eba level. From 2002 to 2004, Mark was, in his words, ‘the extension of Dave [Lauzon’s] right arm’ as he convened, cajoled, wrangled and facilitated various forward-thinking initiatives at the tba level, becoming Vice President in 2004.

‘For his continued efforts throughout this season, we’re proud to honour Mark with this first award of its kind in Etobicoke, and hope it will be the beginning of a long-standing tradition’, said eba President Richard Pantalone at the Etobicoke Civic Centre.

21 Nov 05 — TBA President Dave Lauzon (left), and EBA Chief Richard Pantalone (right) presenting Mark Chiasson with Etobicoke Baseball’s first annual Volunteer of the Year Award.