Portsmouth is known for its floodwall murals, the largest outdoor collection of art by any one artist in the world. The endeavor, managed by Portsmouth Murals, Inc. is a laborious and expensive one, with not only expansion cost, but, also, maintenance, which comes in around $20,000 a year. The group, in effort to raise funding for the massive, public art collection, holds its Annual Portsmouth Murals Baseball Banquet, which planning is currently underway for.
“After being shut down by Covid for the past couple of years, I think it is very important for us to reestablish our dinner and I think we’re off to a good start and the future of the banquet looks bright,” PMI’s Bill Warnock said. “We were uncertain on how easy it would be to get started again, but ticket sales are good and it looks like it is going to be a pretty good banquet.”
The repair costs are an important part of PMI’s operation, and this dinner is instrumental in those expenses.
“The cleaning and repair of the murals, all of them, comes from this dinner,” Warnock said. “It is a very important source of revenue. All of this work will range somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000.”
PMI is pleased to announce that Darrel Chaney, former Cincinnati Reds infielder, will be the keynote speaker at the 17th annual banquet.
Darrel Chaney spent sixteen years in professional baseball. He played in the major leagues for the Reds and Atlanta Braves. Chaney played in three World Series while with the Reds and was a member of the 1975 “Big Red Machine” World Champions. After his big league career, Darrel was a radio and television broadcaster with the Atlanta Braves. He enjoyed success as a commercial spokesman for numerous businesses. Chaney also serves as a consultant to the retail store construction industry. He has been married to his wife Cindy for 54 years and they reside in Hoschton. Georgia.
In 2012, Darrel retired from the business world to focus on a public speaking career. In addition, Chaney wrote a book about his life titled “Welcome to the Big Leagues…Everyman’s Journey to Significance, The Darrel Chaney Story.”
Portsmouth Murals, Inc. is also planning to recognize MLB umpire Greg Gibson, Baseball Wall Honoree, honoring him for his twenty five years of service and the recent announcement of his retirement. Gibson began his MLB career in 1997, having worked in two Wild Card Games, ten Division Series, five National League Championship Series, the 2011 World Series and the 2008 All Star Game.
“I think people have received our banquet well,” Warnock said. “I think that is why we are a sell out or near sell out every banquet we have. I always watch the room as the evening goes on, to see if we have many people leave early. Over the years, we’ve had very few people leave early, and, to me, that is a very good sign.”
The event is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25. 2023 at the Morris University Center at Shawnee State University. Social hour will begin at 6:00 p.m. and dinner at 7:00 p.m.
A limited number of tickets are now available at the Portsmouth Area Chamber of Commerce 342 Second Street, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662. Tickets may also be ordered by calling 740-353-7647. Mail orders may be sent to Portsmouth Murals, Inc., P.O. Box 509, Portsmouth Ohio 45662. Preferred sponsorship table seating packages are available as well.
Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved
