Marauders Making Manatee County Cleaner With Recent Sweep

The Bradenton Marauders are all in with keeping Manatee County clean.

Just because the Florida State League schedule concluded back in September doesn’t mean the Marauders closed shop for the winter. The team, directed by general manager/director, sales and marketing Craig Warzecha, and members of the front office staff, hit the streets earlier this week to make a difference. In a phone conversation with The Bradenton Times on Tuesday, Warzecha detailed where the Marauders’ staff concentrated their efforts.

“We (Marauders) adopted 27th Street, where Pirate City is, and 17th Avenue by the ballpark (LECOM Park). At least once a year, we’re out cleaning them. (Marauders) are part of the partnership to Keep Manatee County Beautiful.”

On Monday, Warzecha led an eight-member crew consisting of front office staffers on their clean-up mission. Both sides of the adopted city streets by the Single-A team were manicured of litter. With no set time to complete their mission, in the end, “a lot of bags” of trash were filled.

In total, Marauders’ staffers put in nearly 90 minutes to clean their zones to their satisfaction.

The Marauders' efforts in making Manatee County a cleaner place to live have not gone unnoticed. Warzecha tells of the organization having a great relationship with the City of Bradenton, as well as with the county.

“We (Marauders) are definitely appreciated outside of the ballpark, too.”

Soliciting volunteers from the Marauders’ front office for the cleanup efforts proved to be a popular request. Warzecha describes his staff as being “pretty robust” when it comes to community engagement. Karena Ballard, coordinator of fan and community engagement for the Marauders, synchronized the clean sweep of the adopted streets.

“Karena took the lead and did a great job. She is engrained in what we do to serve our community,” Warzecha explained.

Next up for the Marauders is a toy drive just in time for Christmas. During the Christmas in July promotion this past season, the team collected toys from fans attending the Marauders – Dunedin Blue Jays game. On Saturday, December 13, the toys collected in July will be brought to the Bradenton Police Department headquarters. Donations can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the headquarters. Marty the Marauder, the team’s mascot, is scheduled to attend the toy collection drop-off on December 13, tentatively scheduled for late morning.

Beginning December 1, the Marauders will begin an internal, staff-oriented toy drive. This collection will accompany toys collected in July. Drop-off for toys on December 13 is at 100 10th Street.

The Marauders' regular season begins on April 2 with a three-game trip to Dunedin. The team’s first homestand begins on April 7 with the Palm Beach Cardinals in Bradenton for a six-game visit.