    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [June 27, 2007]
    [Pages 812-814]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Opening Day of 2007 White House Tee-Ball
    June 27, 2007

        Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to opening day right here on the South
    Lawn of the White House. Jonas Brothers, thank you guys. It's good
    to see you. Proud you're here. As usual, you did a fantastic job with
    the national anthem. Just give them a hand.
        I'm proud to be here with the commissioner of tee-ball today, two-time Olympic gold medalist, Michele
    Smith. Thanks for coming, Michele. Proud to be with you.
        First, we want to welcome to tee-ball here on the South Lawn the
    Bobcats from

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    Allegany County Little League, Cumberland, Maryland. And we want to
    welcome their mighty opponent from Luray, Virginia, the Red Wings. The
    commissioner and I wish the girls all the
    very best. We want to thank the coaches, and, of course, we want to
    thank the parents for coming. We welcome you here--opening day of tee-
    ball on the South Lawn.
        I do want to thank the Arizona Wildcat national champs for joining
    us today. Taryne Mowatt, the coach at first
    base; Taryne, thanks for coming. Congratulations, Caitlin Lowe, the third base coach. We've got bench coaches;
    we've got the team. We want to wish you all the very best next year. For
    this would be a three-peat, right? Good luck to you all. Thanks for
    setting such a fine example.
        One reason that we invited the Wildcats to come today to honor these
    girls softball teams is because it's in the Nation's interest to promote
    women athletics. We're a big believer in Title IX programs. We think
    it's good for America that our women are playing sports. And the best
    way to convince women to play sports is to start early. So these champs
    are here to encourage these young girls to play hard, play often, and
    play good. And one day you may be national champs as well. So thanks for
    coming. We're glad you're here.
        I do want to thank Mayor Ralph Dean of
    Luray. I forgot to welcome you, Mr. Mayor. We're proud you're here.
    Thanks for coming. We want to thank Girl Scouts of USA for joining us
    today. Girls, thanks for bearing the colors. We thank you for coming.
    We're proud you're here. Thanks for being Scouts.
        And by the way, we're about to get the first pitch in. And Meredith
    Cripe is going to give me the ball in a
    minute. Meredith, we're really glad you're here. Thanks for coming. It's
    a big day to be here to put out the first pitch on opening day, and
    we're glad we selected you.
        I do want to thank Hannah Storm, the
    announcer today. Hannah, thanks for lending your talent, mother of three
    soon-to-be all-star softball players. We're glad you're here. We want to
    thank the Little League International staff. Thanks for putting on this
    event. Thanks for supporting Little League baseball. Thanks for helping
    our kids understand the blessings of exercise and team sports.
        I do want to thank representatives from the YWCA, the Boys and Girls
    Club of America, and Girls on the Run.
        And finally, after this event, the commissioner and I are going to present each of you all a token of our
    appreciation for you coming, and we're also going to say thanks to Erica
    Minor, who is the youth volunteer. We like to
    honor people who serve their neighbors; love a neighbor like they'd like
    to be loved themselves. And Erica is such a person.
        And now, before we begin the game and before you give me the ball,
    Meredith, we're going to have the Little
    League Pledge. Are you ready? Ready to go? Here we go.

    [At this point, the pledge was recited.]

        Play ball.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:16 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to entertainers, the Jonas Brothers;
    Meredith Cripe, member, Chantilly, Virginia, Little League Challenger
    League; and Hannah Storm, anchor, CBS News ``The Early Show.''

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