When batters stride to the plate to take their swings in late July at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships, fans who pack the Spruce City Stadium bleachers will know who is holding the bat.
And those fans will have Gerry Lundquist to thank.
The 62-year-old musician learned a few weeks ago the sound system/public address equipment stored in the announcer's booth at the stadium had been stolen in late March or early April when Spruce City Men's Fastball Association president Peter Ghostkeeper spoke to the media about the theft.
So he decided to do something about it.
Lundquist donated the speakers and amplifier his band used to crank up when they performed gigs around Vancouver with his band, Stages.
"I've been carrying this stuff around for years, packing it from house to house and basement to basement and I was thinking of getting rid of it," said Lundquist.
"Then I saw Peter doing the interview on TV and it was the perfect situation."
The speakers will be mounted high in the announcer's booth above the concession stand and will soon be available for league games. Lundquist, who plays guitar, sings and writes songs, said the equipment needed a permanent home and he was glad to donate it to the fastball league.
"It's good, but it's heavy, and in today's market it doesn't have a lot of value because you can buy a newer speaker that weighs 50 per cent less than this and has an amp built into it," said Lundquist. "A rock 'n' roll band doesn't want to buy this, they want something that's lighter. But for a permanent installation, this works well, and it works well for the stadium. It's like a good friend, and if I can find it a good home, I'm happy. It just wasn't being used."
Originally from McLennan, Alta., Lundquist graduated from Prince George secondary school in 1972 and moved to Vancouver shortly after, when he got transferred while working for B.C. Rail. He returned to Prince George in 2010 to be closer to his son and daughter, both graduates of UNBC, while they were in school.
Ghostkeeper says Lundquist's donation comes at a perfect time. The league was recently forced to come up with thousands of dollars to replace a pitching machine and two natural gas commercial deep fryers for the concession, which had exceeded their 25-year lifespans.
"Gerry gets free bannock for the rest of his life," quipped Ghostkeeper. "We'll make sure him and his wife get free passes for the tournament.
"It's a big deal that he came along and donated all that stuff to us. The people of Prince George are very generous and thank God that Gerry came along. All that stuff is a godsend. This will rock. They'll be able to hear this at Citizen Field."
Spruce City will host the national tournament, July 29 to Aug. 1.
