GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Voyagers are looking for families who would be willing to host their players for the upcoming summer season.
“It's a great opportunity, you get to house a potential MLB player,” said John Burks, General Manager for the Great Falls Voyagers. “It's just a great opportunity to meet players, kind of interact with them.”
The main responsibility of a host family is to have a bed for the player to sleep, but many hosts find that the relationship becomes so much more.
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“It became an awesome experience with the players where they became like family to us," said Hillary Becker, who will be hosting for her second season.
Hillary and her son Drake love having the players around and find the connections they make incredibly strong.
“I had one player named Dylan who we would have almost cooking wars,” said Hillary, “and he would show me how the best way to make ribs were, I would show him the best way. And it was just a fun family competition every Monday that we had.”
A host family receives two season passes to games and $600 per player. The hosting program allows the players to focus more on their game while also getting involved with the community. Families find that the players often appreciate having a home away from home, a family to come home to at the end of the day.
“We kind of make it a every Sunday is family day,” said Lori Badgley, who will be hosting for her fourth year this summer, “And so, you know, the early games, we're able to come home and barbecue and we make it game night. So that's kind of the one night that we know we're able to spend with the boys.”
Badgley’s daughters Madyson and Sophia also love having the players around, saying they some of their best memories are after games playing with the players in the dark, watching movies with them, or even facing off against them in a Wii game.
Both the Becker and Badgley family are excited to meet the players for the 2024 season, and cannot wait to grow their family for the coming summer months.
”I'd say try it. You know, reach out if you have questions, reach out to another host family, reach out to the organization, give it a chance,” Badgley said. “I think you'd be pleasantly surprised.”
For more information about hosting, contact John Burks at john@gfvoyagers.com or click here.
