Patriot Award presented to Legion World Series advocate
The American Legion presented its Patriot Award at the 104th National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Aug. 29, to the Honorable Timothy K. Moore, North Carolina Speaker of the House of Representatives. The award, presented to outstanding citizens who perform great deeds and acts of exemplary service, was presented to Moore for his dedication in promoting the values of The American Legion, and his support of the American Legion World Series (ALWS) in Shelby, N.C.
In part, his Patriot Award reads, “Your support for the youth of America and the nation’s largest veterans organization epitomizes The American Legion’s ideals of public service.”
“Thank you for this incredible award. It means a great deal,” Moore said to convention attendees. “On behalf of the people of North Carolina I want to, of course, thank you for the award but more importantly thank you for your service, thank you for your confidence and trust in our state, and thanks for what you’re doing around the country to help veterans and to help youth.”
From 2018 to 2022, Moore obtained and delivered $3.2 million in funding to make significant updates to Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium where the ALWS is held. This included upgrading safety netting, installing a state-of-the-art scoreboard, adding lights, hosting welcome events for the players and much more. The improvements ensured “that the American Legion World Series continues to be a resounding success year-after-year,” the award stated.
“Shelby is proud to be the home of (the American Legion World Series),” Moore said. It has been an “opportunity to not only promote youth, to not only promote baseball, to not only promote sportsmanship but to promote what it means to have those American values. I think that’s what makes the American Legion World Series so unique. The love of country. The spirit of service. Patriotism. All those things coming together where we at the same time enjoy America’s pastime.”
Moore’s son attended American Legion Boys State in North Carolina, saying it meant a lot to him and that he’s now in law school. “It’s something the work that you do, the efforts that you put in, there are young people today, there are children around this nation who are learning from that, who are seeing that example and who will go on to be the leaders of tomorrow because of efforts and things that you guys are doing right now. So on behalf of everyone, thank you for that.”