By Marilyn Miller

When you’ve got 60 ball teams coming to town for a tournament, how do you handle the manpower?

“I’ve got a big family,” said Jeff Haynes, director of the Minden St. Jude Dixie Open, which will take place at the Minden Recreation Complex this weekend, June 15-16, 2024. His family and all volunteers give their time “from daylight until dark,” he added.

The first Dixie Open took place in “2015 or 16,” according to Haynes. “The St. Jude Minden Auction was growing bigger, and someone suggested that a tournament would help bring in even more money. It’s grown bigger ever since.” That first year, the 40-team tournament made $25,000 for St. Jude’s. Last year, even though it rained, and the tourney was played in one day, the take was $42,000.

The 59 teams that are signed up to play this weekend will compete in (boys) TBall, 7-8 Coach Pitch, 9-10, 11-12 Ozone, and 13-14 Dixie. According to Haynes, most of the teams are from the All-Stars, which will begin playing soon. “That’s how we get the teams, because we host the tournament right before All-Star play and it’s on Father’s Day weekend, also.”

All games are played at the Recreation Center. Concessions are handled by the City of Minden, which gives the tournament a percentage of the take.

“The City of Minden really helps me out,” Haynes said. “They are unbelievable.” Someone who also helps out? The umpires. “I pay them, and they turn around and make donations to the tournament,” Haynes commented. “We get a lot of donations.”

The Dixie Open has been played in memory of Stanton Haynes since the beginning. Jeff and Tina’s son, Stanton, who “played a little TBall” was a patient at St. Jude’s. He passed away in 2005. “That first year, some of the teams had Stanton’s name on their jerseys. They presented jerseys to Tina and me,” Jeff recalled.

Jeff puts his heart and soul into the Dixie Open.

“I love kids, and I don’t want anybody to go through what we went through for our child. That’s why I do it.”