Legendary “Skipper” is honored

LEGENDARY ‘SKIPPER’ HONORED
By JERRY SCOTT/Staff

Several years of the love and dedication that one special person gave to the youth of Bland County was paid a fitting tribute on April 29 as the Bland County Bears officially dedicated the Skip Dillow Memorial Baseball Field to his family and all of Bland County.
On a cold and blustery day, the weather was an afterthought as the folks that attended the Bears versus Galax high school baseball game was treated to special ceremony that honored Edgar Eugene Dillow, ‘Skip’ as he was known throughout the county for all of his years of playing and teaching the game that needed only a bat, a ball, and four bases to play.
Skip Dillow’s reputation as a tenacious competitor was only overshadowed on the field by his love of the game and his desire to teach the right way to play. Every time he stepped on the field he gave 100 percent and looked for ways to get better. He expected no less than that from his teammates and/or competitors. His presence alone on the field made everyone else a better player.
The remodeling of the baseball field located behind the office of the Bland County School Board was a project of many phases. In a span of some four years, the field went from being ‘just a baseball field’ to one of the finest that most high school programs fail to offer.
A true community effort, the renovation began with a new field house and the field was adorned with lighting and field surface improvements. Then came the new electronic scoreboard which was followed by new dugouts, a press box, new grandstands, and further field improvements.
“Monetary and material donations were provided by local businesses and the labor came from the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Bland County Sheriff’s Department, and private citizens to create this facility for about 25 percent of its actual value,” stated Norman Dillow, the project’s coordinator and a Bears’ coach stated. “Not only is it amazing that this combination of local government, state agencies, businesses, and citizens could come together to create the facility but the final renovation stage was completed in a short period of only five months.”
In addition to the Bland County and Galax teams, many were present for the official field dedication. Included was the Dillow family, which included Skip’s wife, Norma Jean. Also on hand were his daughter, Brenda, and his son, Eddie, and his wife, Linda. They were touched at the community’s involvement to such as tremendous facility.
In addition to honoring those that contributed so much to the project, Bland County Superintendent of Schools Don Hodock and Delegate Anne B. Crockett-Stark were featured speakers. Hodock focused his thoughts on those within the school system and especially the team’s coaches for their visions and determinations in carrying out those visions.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what Norman Dillow has meant to this project,” Hodock said. “He didn’t even want his name mentioned here today but I’ll say this. There’s been a lot of talk about school consolidation and if Norman Dillow as heading the project, we’d already have a new school built. That’s how dedicated he was to the project.”
Crockett-Stark compared Skip Dillow to Walt Disney. They both lived in a fantasy world whose goal was to produce realizations for youth.
“Walt Disney was a dreamer,” Crockett-Stark said. “You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful idea in the world but it requires people to make that dream a reality. We stand here today seeing a dream that has become a reality. And it is the people being recognized here today that helped make that dream become a reality.”
Just like the people who helped to build Skip Dillow Memorial Field, Skip Dillow made a difference in Bland County. He affected the lives of many generations past and obviously those of many to come.
“Today he is being remembered in hearts of those attending,” Crockett-Stark stated. “Through this fine ball field, he will be remembered and honored for years to come.”
Even in death, Skip Dillow has made sure that the youth of Bland County have a safe baseball field to play on that the community can also be proud of.
“We sincerely hope we have honored him by building a facility we think he would have wanted for Bland County,” Norman Dillow said. “We thank his family for permitting us the honor of naming this field for him.”