Local Boy Scout Builds Field of Dreams

Brant Taylor came up with the idea to renovate the Ponoma Baseball Field so that young athletes with disabilities could play ball on a safe turf.

Taylor, a 17-year-old student at Grimsley High School, says his older brother, Austin inspired him renovate the field. Taylor used to run the bases with his disabled brother and attended his brother's ARC Challenger games.

Taylor decided for his Eagle Scout Leadership Project to turn his vision into a reality.

"I said I want to do something, let's do something to help the disabled community, let's do something to help the Challenger League since we're so involved," said Taylor. "I sat down with my parents and said what can we do. We did some research online, found some fields that are similar and said okay, let's try to make it happen."

After more than two years of planning and fundraising, Taylor opened the field to a group of overjoyed baseball players. The 17-year-old raised $200,000 to renovate the ball park.

He received plenty of help from the Greensboro Grasshopper's General Manager Donald Moore, the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation and Greensboro city administrators among countless others.

Ponoma Field now has a paved infield covered with a rubber track surface, new wheelchair-accessible dugouts, and a new backstop.