Mother Nature threw the Braves 400 Fan Club a curve ball by dumping several inches of snow on the Atlanta area just hours before the event of the year, but that didn't interfere with another successful winter banquet.   While some guests had to cancel at the last minute due to flight cancellations, attendance at the 44th Annual Gameboree wasn't impacted as much as one might have thought.

This year's Gameboree was held at the Marriott Perimeter Center Hotel.   Fortunately the hotel did a great job of clearing the property after the storm so there were no problems parking cars or walking to the entrance of the hotel.

The silent auction held prior to dinner drew many interested bidders, raised a substantial amount of money for the Phil Niekro Scholarship Fund and rewarded those submitting the winning bids with prized memorabilia.   The dinner was delicious and it was followed by a great program.

Braves announcer Jim Powell emceed the evening's post dinner program.   The theme, “Honoring Great Atlanta Braves Pitching Rotations”, was enhanced by a video of some of the pitchers that made up those rotations.   It was unfortunate that scheduling conflicts prevented some of them from attending.   Those that were at the Gameboree shared their stories with us.   This year’s recipients of the Phil Niekro Scholarships were the baseball programs of Morehouse College and Georgia State University.   Each school received a check in the amount of $1500.

Wayne Coleman presents the Braves 400 Fan Club "Red Wooten" 2009 High School Player of the Year Award to Zack Wheeler - East Paulding High School

Frank Pickens, a Braves 400 Fan Club Director, accepts the Jason Varitek Award on behalf of Luke Murton who was unable to attend the Gameboree.

Kurt Kemp, Director of Braves Player Development, presents the Braves Manager of the Year Award to Paul Runge. Runge led his Danville Braves to the Appalachian League Championsip in 2009.

 

Accepting the Bill Lucas Award from Kemp is Greg Creek.

 

Jason Heyward received the Hank Aaron Award from Kurt Kemp

 

Pictured with Craig Kimbrel, winner of the Phil Niekro Award, are Kurt Kemp amd Phil Niekro

 

The Luke Appling Nostalgia Award winner, Bobby Richardson, entertained the audience with many tales of his teammates and their antics both on and off the field. He's pictured here receiving the award from Wayne Coleman.

 

Receiving a $1500 Phil Niekro Scholarship Award is Robert Mitchell, Head Baseball Coach of the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers. He's pictured with Wayne Coleman and the namesake of the scholarship, Phil Niekro.

Greg Frady, Head Baseball Coach of the Georgia State University Panthers accepts the check awarded to his school from Wayne Coleman and Phil Niekro.

 

Charlie Leibrandt spoke about his years with the Atlanta Braves, from the 1990 worst to the 1991 first to the 1992 back-to-back seasons.

 

Johnny Tallant, a past-president of the Braves 400 Fan Club, a long time coach and mentor of area youth was presented the Braves 400 Fan Club Ivan Allen, Jr. "Mr. Baseball" Award. He's seen here flanked by Phil Niekro and Bobby Richardson.

2010 Gameboree photos courtesy of Linda Lovejoy