Published in the January 16, 2020 edition.

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD — When the Wakefield Warrior varsity softball team opens its 2020 season, it will not only have a new field, but also a brand-new digital scoreboard, thanks to the Meghan Burnett Foundation.

After a presentation by Bob Burnett, Meghan’s father, the Town Council voted to accept with gratitude the donation of a new scoreboard and a new flagpole for Blatz Field at Wakefield Memorial High School.

The flagpole will stand just outside the centerfield fence and the scoreboard will be just to the right of the flagpole, Burnett told the Town Council.

He displayed images of the scoreboard, which will have a Warrior-red background. The 8-foot wide by 4-foot high scoreboard will be mounted on two posts. The bottom of the scoreboard will be 10 feet off the ground.

The inning, score, balls, strikes and outs will be displayed as 15-inch high LED characters. The scoreboard will be purchased from a company called Varsity Scoreboards.

Burnett suggested that the flagpole and scoreboard uprights should be placed about 6 feet behind the outfield fence in order to leave room around the permanently set columns to allow for maintenance of the scoreboard and the grounds around it.

Burnett said that the new scoreboard will be facing generally north, almost exactly the same angle as the scoreboard at the Shawn F. Beasley Track and Field. The north-facing direction will help avoid glare and visual interference from the sun, Burnett said.

Along the bottom of the scoreboard, the words “Gift of the Meghan Burnett Foundation” will be displayed.

He said that the plan is to have a full-sized (removable) sign made up for the back side of the scoreboard with the Warrior Logo and “Home of the Warriors” that would be seen by players as they enter the field from the locker room and Field House parking lot.

The Meghan Burnett Foundation was established in 2018 to honor all that Meghan loved. The Foundation has the goal of enriching the high school experience through sports, music and travel while helping local students discover their own personal potential.

Meghan Burnett graduated from Wakefield Memorial High School in the spring of 2018 and tragically passed away shortly after. She was a trumpet Section Leader in the marching band, she played the viola and was a member of the wind ensemble, she was a diversity leader, a figure skater, a member of the National Honor Society and the Tri-M Honor Society for Music, part of the foreign exchange program, and, of course, an avid fast-pitch softball star.

She was a multi-year captain of the WHS softball team, Middlesex All Star, trained year-round at Planet Fastpitch and competed all over the Northeast for Junior Olympic ASA programs such as Northeast Hurricanes and the EMASS Panthers.

​The Meghan Burnett Foundation has been created to raise awareness of the importance of living a life as full and special as Meghan did. Through donations and fundraising events, the Foundation is able to award scholarships to those who lived like Meghan, as well as support programs she loved.

The following are some of the efforts supported by the Meghan Burnett Foundation:

A scholarship fund in Meghan’s name as well as two others administered by The Scholarship Foundation.Another Scholarship to a player in the Annual Softball Tournament.An Annual Instrument Fellowship that will enable two selected music student(s) to upgrade their instrument to something they otherwise would not have been able to afford.The Foreign Exchange program at WMHS to help increase affordability for participants.Little League Softball.The Annual Memorial Softball Tournament.Clinics for both the High School and youth softball programs.Sending WMHS Varsity Softball Team Coaches and Captains to the World Softball Coaches Convention in January.Supporting the Softball Team at St Michaels College (where Meghan would have played).The establishment of a regulation Fast Pitch Softball field at Wakefield Memorial High School.Donations to the Meghan​ Burnett Foundation can be made online at meghanburnettfoundation.org/ or mailed to: Meghan Burnett Foundation, c/o The Savings Bank, 357 Main Street, Wakefield, MA 01880.