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Jason Churchill Named VP of Future Stars Series Digital Content Among Announcement of New Future Stars Series Organization Staff Additions

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Jason Churchill Named VP of Future Stars Series Digital Content Among Announcement of New Future Stars Series Organization Staff Additions

Published on February 27, 2023

Launched in the fall of 2016 as a grassroots initiative between New Balance Baseball and PROGRAM 15, the Future Stars Series has emerged as the gold standard for player identification and development events in the amateur baseball world.

Led by President and CEO Jeremy Booth and backed by a staff of former MLB players, scouts, and coaches with decades of Pro Baseball scouting experience, Future Stars Series has earned a reputation as the most comprehensive amateur baseball player identification and development experience available.

While Booth’s passion and dedication to the development and discovery of elite amateur players may fuel his vision for the next chapter of the Future Stars Series, he has no hesitation in crediting his highly skilled staff for bringing that vision to life. Continuing his unwavering commitment to changing the game of baseball, Booth announced the following Future Stars Series Staff additions.

Jason A. Churchill – VP of Future Stars Series Digital Content
Churchill will be leading Future Stars Series Digital, working closely with the content and media staff to enhance player exposure and accelerate the organization’s reach in markets around the globe through its digital media channels.

Churchill’s broad experience in all content generation and optimization levels includes Founder of ProspectInsider.com, ESPN analyst, Drive-Time host at CBS Radio, Stats & Insights for FOX Sports, Narrative Engineer & QA at Data Skrive, current host of Baseball Things and publisher of Mariners After Midnight on Substack.

On the addition of Churchill, Booth says, “Jason is a consummate professional with a unique blend of vision and operations understanding. He’s the right and only choice for me to lead the digital model and enhance player and fan experience across all levels of baseball, from the Future Stars Series to the Major Leagues.”

Brady Rodgers – New Balance Future Stars Series Partner Relations
Rodgers is focused on growing and enhancing FSS Partner Organizations from event service to player/organization growth. He will handle team sales, marketing, player development assistance, and player event coordination, ensuring all Partner Organization players can get the most out of the Future Stars Series.

Rodgers is a former MLB player with the Houston Astros. He was drafted twice, once out of Lamar Consolidated HS by Jeremy Booth for the Milwaukee Brewers and once out of Arizona State by the Houston Astros. He is an original Pro Member of PROGRAM 15 player growth and development in 2015 and 2016.

Jeremy Hamilton – Future Stars Series Foundation Director
Hamilton will lead fundraising initiatives, ensure player engagement and entrance, and assist on-site with player development and event operations.

Hamilton was drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Phillies out of Wright State, where he earned a degree in Organizational Leadership and was also a member of the USA Baseball National Team. As the Assistant Director at Cincinnati Reds Urban Youth Academy, he worked extensively in their baseball and softball programs.

David Sheaffer – Future Stars Series Digital Social Media Manager
Sheaffer will manage all FSS social media and grow the digital platform across all channels into fully interactive mediums leading to more player exposure and higher engagement and value.

Sheaffer is a former Triple A catcher in the Seattle Mariners Organization. He was drafted out of North Surry HS by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013 and signed with the Mariners in 2018 out of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  Sheaffer holds a BA in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and an MBA in International Finance.  He is the son of Future Stars Series field coordinator Danny Sheaffer.

Max Mize – New Balance Future Stars Series Baseball Operations Assistant
Mize works directly with Booth on the role prediction model and data analysis that ties together scouting and player development to ensure that nothing is missed collectively in departmental operations for maximum player growth and pathway enhancement. Mize is a 2016-2017 PROGRAM 15 player alumni and worked as an intern for P15/FSS while playing his entire college career. Mize joins the organization full-time after graduating with an MBA from Lamar University.

Booth said about the new additions, “We’re excited to formalize these positions with the people who have such a passion and drive to impact players and the game as a whole. I’ve known some of these guys for years and have been involved in their own professional growth as players and now scouting and development professionals. I know their work ethic and dedication, so I’m confident in their ability to deliver in all aspects of our core values and, most importantly, to pass those on to the players who participate here.”

ABOUT FUTURE STARS SERIES:
FUTURE STARS SERIES boasts a faculty and staff that includes multiple Major League All-Stars and World Series veterans responsible for executing the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series, an initiative between the two organizations to elevate the game of baseball by providing amateur players across all economic levels an opportunity to reach their full potential through the training, development, and guidance of former MLB players, scouts, and coaches.
For more information on the Future Stars Series, visit FutureStarsSeries.com.
Follow @ftrstarsseries on Twitter.

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New “Storybooks Club” is Bringing the Magic of Books to All Children with Special Needs in the U.S.

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New “Storybooks Club” is Bringing the Magic of Books to All Children with Special Needs in the U.S.

Published on March 28, 2023

Imagination Storybooks (ISB) creates children’s books that enable all children to have a sensory experience, engaging all their senses, and increasing learning and development. ISB ensures their education is limitless by making books accessible, giving them the gift of communication in accessible language, and exploring what is possible.

Children ages 3-8 who are vision or hearing challenged or have a learning disability are limited by books not made for them. Children’s illustrated books like Winnie the Pooh have not been fully accessible to over 5 million children with special needs in the U.S., until now.

Richard Rieman founded the nonprofit, Imagination Storybooks, to bridge these gaps and support blind and deaf children. ISB ensures their education is limitless by making books accessible, giving them the gift of communication in accessible language, and exploring what is possible.

His team of narrators and interpreters—over a dozen of whom are visually or hearing-impaired themselves—combine digital picture books with audio descriptions of the illustrations and a digital braille file, as well as captions and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation.

“Today, everything can be read in a robotic voice on a device, but we are trying to give children a performance, and teach them to love books even at three, four, and five years old,” Richard explains.

Imagination Storybooks partners with the nationally recognized Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP.org), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, so tens of thousands of blind children, their parents, and their teachers have free access.

“We created a portal into the magical world of children’s books for children who are blind, deaf, or neurodiverse with learning challenges such as autism or dyslexia,” says Richard Rieman, “The Storybook Wizard,” Founder and CEO of the award-winning Colorado Nonprofit Imagination Storybooks.

The new “Storybooks Club” is bringing the magic of books to all children in three different ways:

  • Videos include sign language and captions that include the picture descriptions for deaf children.
  • Both video and audiobooks have pictures being richly described, so children who are dyslexic, autistic, or have other learning challenges can understand the story.

Imagination Storybooks Club members receive access to a library of children’s illustrated books in three formats: videos with ASL (American Sign Language) and captions; videos with AD (Audio Description); and audio files with AD, as well as bonus content for parents and teachers.

Now that the 1926 edition of Winnie-the-Pooh by AA Milne is in the public domain, Imagination Storybooks is producing accessible video and audiobook adaptations of the classic to everyone. The finished project will be over two hours in length.

“Our accessible audiobook version of Winnie the Pooh debuted at #1 in Children’s Anthology books on Audible,” says Richard.

Richard adds, “we want all children to fall in love with Winnie-the-Pooh and the beloved characters of Hundred Acre Wood including children who are blind, deaf, and learning challenged.”

The American Council of the Blind awarded ISB its Special Recognition Award in 2021 for dedicating its mission to fostering early literacy for children who are blind or have low vision.

Imagination Storybooks also produces the weekly Illustrated Audiobooks podcast, winner of the 2022 Communicator Award for Excellence as “Best Storytelling Podcast.”

About Richard Rieman, “The Storybook Wizard.”

Richard is the Founder and CEO of “Imagination Storybooks” at ImaginationStorybooks.org. He has narrated and produced hundreds of Indie-published audiobooks and is the author of the award-winning book, “The Author’s Guide to Audiobook Creation.” Richard Rieman is gradually losing his own eyesight due to glaucoma, but not his vision to make illustrated books accessible to ALL children. Audio and Video clips of Winnie the Pooh and other accessible books are available for all media.

Contact Richard Rieman at Wizard@ImaginationStorybooks.org | 720-507-5970

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Ignite Publishing Company Honors Fallen Employee Dania Zafar With A School Of Hope In Pakistan To Keep Her Legacy Alive

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Ignite Publishing Company Honors Fallen Employee Dania Zafar With A School Of Hope In Pakistan To Keep Her Legacy Alive

Published on March 27, 2023

The entire Ignite family has Dania in their hearts, and it is a profound honor to build something that allows the beauty Dania brought to the world to live on.

It is with heavy hearts that the team at Ignite Publishing, a Canadian-based publishing house, shares that their team member and friend, Dania Zafar, passed away in a tragic fire this past week in Montreal. “Dania was truly family to us, and her passion, ingenuity, compassion, and friendship will be truly missed,” shared Ignite founder JB Owen in a heartfelt statement to their community. “We are proud that Dania has been part of our team for 4 years since Ignite began. Her art and design gifts were instrumental in dozens of our books and magazines. Many of our beautiful creations are because of her artistic vision. Her smiles, soothing presence, and light will always be remembered, and her amazing talent and creativity as a designer will live on through the wonderful projects she created that have impacted many around the globe.”

Dania’s touch was seen in everything Ignite built as a company. She was fundamental in bringing their Ignite Humanity mission to life and intuitive to Ignite literacy and connections worldwide. She spearheaded Ignite Possibilities, a charity initiative to raise funds for schools in Indonesia and Cambodia. She worked hand-in-hand with many of our authors on their journey to bestseller publications. She was an integral part of all that Ignite is, and her impact on countless people cannot truly be measured. We also know that she worked with other amazing initiatives, including working with Discovery Education—which provides curriculum resources for elementary classrooms across the globe. Her impact will forever continue through these amazing projects in which she strove to immerse herself.

To honor the genuine and kind soul Dania was and to ensure her legacy of creativity and kindness is remembered forever, Ignite will be building a school in Pakistan, her home country, in her name. The Dania Zafar School of Hope will be a haven for children who dream big and love the arts. They hope this school will provide comfort to Dania’s family and create a place for them to honor and celebrate her life.

“This school is our way of showing the world just how valued and loved Dania was and always will be.” Owen shared. “She was a truly gifted individual whose calm, joyful, and giving nature will live on through all who cared for her and the countless children who will walk through the halls of her school.”

Many of the team, authors, and friends of Dania still cannot comprehend how such a gift to the world is gone, but they vow to carry Dania’s light with them in creating a place for Dania to be remembered. They send their love, prayers, and compassion to all who knew her. Her friends at Ignite have shared how loved she was by everyone whose life she touched:

“She brought goodwill into all she did, making sure everyone felt cared for and important around her. It is hard to imagine she is gone and not here to share her joyful spirit and peaceful glow. If ever there was a person who cared more than most, it was Dania.” -JB Owen

“Your light and your smile will forever be remembered. I have always admired you and your capacity to see the good in everything, always looking for the positive side, always looking for the best in everything you did. It has been a true honor and a privilege to see your creativity at work, your grace, and your calmness when accepting challenges. I pray for you and your family to find comfort and solace in knowing that your legacy will always stay with us, just like your beautiful smile.” -Carolina Gold.

“Dania’s creativity was outstanding. She was truly talented and a dream to work with. I will forever remember her laughter, humor, and caring. My love and prayers are with her and her family.” -Mimi Safiyah.

“Dania is an incredibly talented soul, and I saw her gifts in every project she touched. I will forever remember how blessed I was to work with Dania and feel comfort when I hold the books she created the covers on.” -Steph Elliot.

“It saddens me that the world has lost such a talented and wonderful person. Her brilliance was so apparent in everything she did, and her serenity and creativity were a blessing to be around. It is not often you get to meet someone so gifted and kind.” – Grace Regan.

To learn more about The Dania Zafar School of Hope, visit https://fundraise.classroomofhope.org/t/daniazafarschoolofhope, and read more about the impact Dania has made on people.

Please reach out to JB Owen, CEO & Founder of Ignite Publishing, for more information and comments.
Phone number: 250-864-3740 – WhatsApp +001-250-864-3740
Email address: jb@iginteyou.life
Exc. Coord of JB Owen: – Carolina@igniteyou.life

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Moerlein Lager House Is Hosting the Arlinghaus Opening Day Home Run Hang Out

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Moerlein Lager House Is Hosting the Arlinghaus Opening Day Home Run Hang Out

Published on March 26, 2023

Sports Fans, The Moerlein Lager House Is Hosting the Arlinghaus Opening Day Home Run Hang Out On The Schmidlapp Event Lawn & Stage Adjacent To The Banks. Featuring: Chatterbox Jumbo Screen, Awesome DJ Lineup and Mixologist Molly Wellmann Curating Opening Day Cocktails .

Moerlein Lager House, located adjacent to The Banks, is hosting a special event to kick off baseball’s Opening Day celebrations in Cincinnati. “The Arlinghaus Home Run Opening Day Hang Out” will take place on Thursday, March 30th, from noon to 4pm on the Schmidlapp Event Lawn & Stage at Moerlein Lager House, followed by a Reds Opening Day Game Watch Party on a 17′ Jumbo Screen. The event is free and open to the public, so baseball fans and party-goers alike are invited to come out and enjoy the festivities.

The party promises to be an exciting one, with a full lineup of DJs, including DJ Prymtime, DJ Bandcamp, DJ D-Low & Friends, and special guest bartender Molly Wellmann. Pop-up bars throughout the event lawn & stage will be featuring special cocktails from Cincinnati’s greatest mixologist, Molly Wellmann. There will also be special trivia for prizes from Chatterbox Sports, and celebrity appearances throughout the day. Kiss 107.1 JonJon will be broadcasting live for the event, adding to the already high-energy atmosphere.

Moerlein Lager House will be offering food and beverages throughout the event site, including a new Taco and Tequila stand, so guests can enjoy a variety of tasty treats while they take in the festivities.

“The Arlinghaus Home Run Opening Day Hang Out” is brought to you by Arlinghaus Plumbing Heating Air Conditioning, and is also presented by Peoples Mortgage and Metro. The event is supported by Everything Cincy, Moerlein Lager House, C.E.G., Average Joes, and Chatterbox Sports, all of whom have come together to make this celebration possible.

So whether you’re a die-hard Reds fan or just looking for a fun way to kick off the baseball season, come out and join us for “The Arlinghaus Home Run Opening Day Hang Out” at Moerlein Lager House. With great music, delicious food and drinks, and plenty of excitement, it’s sure to be a day to remember.

Location Info:
Moerlein Lager House
115 Joe Nuxhall Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202
+1-513-421-2337

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