[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13962]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING LaCASSE BAT COMPANY

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, as you are aware, baseball is 
considered our national pastime. Every spring millions of Americans 
eagerly await the crack of a wooden bat as baseball and softball season 
begin. With this in mind, today I rise to recognize and commend the 
success of LaCasse Bat Company, located in Skowhegan, ME and its owner, 
Jesse LaCasse.
  Mr. LaCasse is a former local baseball standout, playing at Saint 
Joseph's College of Maine, where he earned a degree in Sports 
Management. While in college, he was inducted into the Saint Joseph's 
Athletic Hall of Fame. As a hitting fanatic who was driven by his love 
of the game, he began manufacturing wooden bats for his personal use in 
2006. The custom bats caught on with his summer league teammates, and 
soon he was making bats for individual players, adding a logo and the 
player's name to the design.
  LaCasse Bat Company, a one-person operation, was founded in 2008 
using local Maine materials in production. From cutting the trees to 
the final product, each step of the development of these bats is 
meticulously crafted. LaCasse Bat Company uses premium quality wood and 
makes bats from solid ash, birch, beech, and maple. Mr. LaCasse turns 
each bat by hand on a wood lathe, a process which takes roughly 15 to 
20 minutes, and brands it with his logo. Through this careful method, 
Mr. LaCasse is able to fine-tune the balance of the bat and make each 
bat distinctive to the individual player. This personal touch and 
dedication to craftsmanship contributes to the truly unique nature of 
each handmade bat.
  In 2010, LaCasse Bat Company teamed with Subway Restaurants to 
handcraft four custom-colored bats to be donated at the 2010 Senior 
League World Series held in Bangor, ME. These were the first colored 
bats made by LaCasse Bats and each features the green, yellow, and 
white colors of the Subway franchises.
  Since the exposure of the 2010 Senior World Series, LaCasse has seen 
a high demand for tailor-made and colored bats. LaCasse Bats takes 
every aspect of personalization into account, offering customization of 
handle, barrel, and logo colors and sizes, as well as the specific bat 
weight and type of wood. LaCasse Bats currently supplies teams from 
Little League through college in the United States and Europe, with 
most of its sales coming from Maine. As sales continue to grow, Mr. 
LaCasse hopes someday one of his bats will make it to the plate in 
Major League Baseball.
  As a small business, LaCasse Bat Company's success in just a few 
short years has been exceptional. It is inspiring to know that 
entrepreneurs such as Mr. LaCasse continue to draw upon their passion, 
ingenuity, and energy to develop new businesses. I extend my 
congratulations to Jesse LaCasse for his tremendous effort and offer my 
best wishes for the continued growth and success for LaCasse Bat 
Company.

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