Wareham General Manager Thomas P. Gay Named
Winner of Bar Association’s Community Service Award

WAREHAM, Mass. -- The Massachusetts Bar Association has named Wareham Gatemen General Manager Thomas P. Gay as recipient of the 2008 MBA Community Service Award for Bristol County.

    The award is given annually to an attorney who has performed an act or acts of outstanding public service within the community, is a member in good standing of the nominating bar association and the MBA, and is in good legal standing as an attorney within Massachusetts.

    Gay was nominated by the Bristol County Bar Association for his years of service to young people in the Wareham/Marion area and his continued efforts as GM of the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Gay had served as player agent and assistant general manager of the Gatemen for two seasons before being elevated to the GM post by team President John Wylde.

    In 1998, he was asked to coordinate the formation of the South Coast Baseball Alliance for the towns of Marion and Mattapoisett. Bringing these two small communities together into one organization fostered additional competition and permitted a number of young people to participate in baseball and softball programs which were not previously available. He remained commissioner of the alliance through 2006.

    Reflecting on the bar association honor, Gay said, “While I am completely humbled by the presentation of this award, I greatly appreciate the fact that the MBA has acknowledged the dedication and tremendous effort it takes by a large number of individuals to provide the supervision, instruction and financial support to run youth sport programs in our communities. I accept this award on behalf of all those who made it possible to provide a meaningful, enjoyable and character-building experience for the young men and women who participated in our baseball programs,” he added. 

    “I think the most striking thing which comes to mind is receiving an award for doing something you love to do,” said Gay. “I certainly have enjoyed many memorable events in my professional career as an attorney, but none can top the joy of seeing a young player succeed on the diamond, whether it be hitting a walk-off home run or just getting on base for the first time as a 9-year-old in Little League.” 

    In 2000, Gay was elected president of the Gateway Babe Ruth Baseball League, which at the time provided baseball activities for young players in Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Wareham. Under his direction, the league expanded to include Carver and Plympton and added inter-league play with Freetown and Bourne, thus providing a meaningful and challenging baseball experience for many young men. 

    Tom and his wife Sheri live in Marion with their two children, Lindsey and Tommy. He is a partner in the law firm of Gay, Gay & Field, PC, of Taunton. “Sheri loves baseball and every year she became more and more involved with the Gatemen organization,” Gay said. She presently is the team’s director of housing and serves as clerk/secretary of the Gatemen.

    The Gays have been housing Gatemen players in their home for 10 years. “The players become an extension of your family,” Gay said. “We have been lucky enough to have two players who lived with us actually make it to the Major Leagues – Brandon Buckley, who played for us in 1997, and Jeremy Sowers, in 2002 and 2003.”

    Buckley, the first player to have stayed with the Gays, will be returning to Wareham this summer as a member of the Gatemen’s coaching staff after serving as the Oakland A’s bullpen catcher the last six years. He was drafted by Houston in 1998 and remained in the Astros’ organization until 2002, progressing as far as Double-A ball before joining the A’s.

    Sowers, a left-handed pitcher from Vanderbilt, was Cleveland’s first-round draft pick in 2004. He compiled a 7-4 big league record with the Indians in 2006 and was with Cleveland during last year’s American League Championship Series with the Red Sox, but did not play due to an injury. Gay said he attended Sowers’ wedding in November and had dinner with him during a recent trip to Florida.

    Attorney Gay will receive his award from MBA President David W. White Jr. on April 18 at the Bristol County Bar Association’s annual dinner at the Hawthorne Country Club in Dartmouth. Tickets may be reserved by calling Gerlinde Lowe at the Bristol County Bar Association’s office, 508-990-1303.