Press Release
Manassas Park-Based SSI Sponsors Baseball Team in Macedonia
Manassas Park - August 19, 2019
Manassas Park based-SSI is sponsoring the first baseball team in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The Skopje Sluggers is a youth baseball team based in Skopje, the capital of the newly-named Republic of North Macedonia. Macedonia is a small country of just over two million citizens north of Greece, over 4,600 miles from the home of baseball.
The Sluggers was founded by several American dads living and working in Macedonia. They wanted to introduce American culture to Macedonia and provide a fun way for youth character-building. The co-ed team is comprised of players between 8 and 16 years of age. They practice on a soccer pitch, which they convert into a baseball diamond with a portable pitcher’s mound and bases.
SSI’s sponsorship helped provide the team with uniforms and funding to travel to nearby Sisak, Croatia to play in an international competition. The team is comprised of children of American families living in Macedonia and several Macedonian youth. Steve Mackie, President of SSI said, “It’s a real pleasure to be able to contribute to international goodwill through sportsmanship and baseball. I grew up in Cooperstown, where baseball was born, which has made this sponsorship really special.” Mackie serves on the Board of Directors for LinkAcross, a U.S. based Non-Governmental Organization operating in the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania. He travels to Macedonia regularly to assist training and coaching budding entrepreneurs on business start-up planning.
The Sluggers hope other corporate sponsors will step up to help them promote international goodwill and youth character through baseball. The team’s dream would be to acquire a dedicated field with a proper pitcher’s mound and in-field.
SSI is a service-disabled veteran owned small business and Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business that provides professional information technology services to the U.S. Federal agency customers. More information about SSI is available here: www.ssihq.net.
