The opening-day ceremony for the Port Townsend Little League season coincides with its jamboree, taking place at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 31 at the Little League fields. Former coach Richard “Dick” Stickney, who died in 2017, is to be honored during the ceremony.

Camron Jevne, current president of the Port Townsend Little League, was helping to coach his nephew for Port Townsend Braves football, in the summer of 2014, when he first saw Stickney helping get the kids signed up and suited up.

While the program failed to recruit enough players to field the expected teams, Jevne and Stickney crossed paths again, in the spring of 2015, when Jevne joined the board of Port Townsend Little League. He began to learn how much Stickney had done for local youth sports over the years.

“He did everything from coach, serve on boards and sponsor kids,” Jevne said. “He wanted to make sure every kid who wanted the opportunity to play sports got the chance.”

Jevne got the opportunity to work side by side with Stickney in the summer of 2015, as they worked to rebuild the PT Braves football program.

“Whether it was unloading the gear from the post office, inventorying it, or purchasing new gear, I could not believe how much work this man still did at his age,” Jevne said. “At 30 years old, I had a hard time keeping up.”

Ultimately, though, Stickney told Jevne that he was physically unable to continue in his more than 20-year role with the Braves, and asked the younger man to step in.

“Over the next few months, I picked Dick’s brain apart for knowledge, knowing that I’d tackled a huge task and had no idea what I was doing.”

Jevne sought to adopt Stickney’s philosophy of mentorship for young athletes, which he boiled down to the phrase, “Whatever it takes.”

“He would tell me, ‘Whatever it takes, that’s what you need to do,’” Jevne said. “If the program needs money, or gear, find a way to get it. If the program needs volunteers, either find them or do the job yourself. Whatever it takes, no kid should be left behind, so it’s up to us to find a way.”

Although Jevne only knew Stickney for a few years, he noted that every time he’s mentioned to folks that he’s the president of the Port Townsend Little League and commissioner of the Port Townsend Braves, “They always ask if I know Dick.”

To this day, Jevne continues to devote his time to youth sports, because “I know it would crush Dick if the sports programs that he spent so much time and money on were broken.”

The nonprofit Port Townsend Little League is open to boys and girls ages 4-14 who either reside in Port Townsend or attend Port Townsend schools.

The PTLL, chartered by Little League International, is a member of Washington District 2 Little League Baseball, and operates in accordance with the rules, regulations and policies of Little League International.

Visit ptll.org or email

board@ptll.org if you have questions.