06-23-2024 Carroll Living - Flipbook - Page 8
Field of Dreams
Allen Brougham’s Home Run Retirement at Fairhaven
O
n a Wednesday afternoon in late spring, the
young players of the
Sykesville Baseball team arrive
at the dugout on the side of
Fairhaven Fields with a lot of enthusiasm. The kids warm up in
their uniforms in the afternoon
light, overseen by their friends,
family, and the encouragement
of their coaches, and their excited, lovable umpire, Allen
Brougham.
Allen is more than seven
decades older than the eleven
and twelve-year-old players he
mentors. Though an umpire in
his own youth, Allen came back
to the field in his retirement,
when he moved to Fairhaven,
a premier Acts RetirementLife Community abutting the
baseball fields when he was
sixty-five.
“When I first looked into it,
I had not umped in about 45
years,” says Allen. “I’d missed
the first season. But ended up
working with the twelve-yearolds the next season. And it was
so much fun with those kids.
I was the oldest umpire they
ever had, and each season was
just more rewarding. So, I kept
coming back.”
Eighteen seasons later, Allen
is still standing behind home
plate, helping mentor a whole
new generation of umpires with
his wealth of experience, advice,
and generosity of spirit. Allen’s
enthusiasm is born out of this
intergenerational camaraderie
and real affection for the sport.
“These kids are great,” says
Allen. “They like what they’re
doing because they want to
learn. They might mess up in
the beginning, learn from their
mistakes, and see if there’s a
better way of doing it. Umpires
of any age always want to learn,
because they want to be fair,
and they want to do something
well.”
Calling the game from
behind home plate with
youthful ferocity, Allen takes
active retirement to a whole
other level. At Fairhaven, Allen
enjoys gracious, worry-free
living, with excellent on-campus
amenities and the peace of
mind knowing he is surrounded
by warm and welcoming friends
and neighbors. This means he
can choose to spend his days
sketching out plans for next
week’s game and tutoring his
future hall-of-famers instead
of worrying over household
maintenance.
And with Acts Life Care®,
Allen knows he’ll have access
to graduated levels of quality,
on-campus care, should he ever
need it, in today’s dollars which
gives him the peace of mind
and the time to enjoy the things
he loves most.
When not suiting up for a
game, Allen may also enjoy
a variety of activities on the
newly renovated campus,
including extensive hiking
trails, a three-hole golf course,
expansive community garden,
and ample opportunities to
make every day something
special. Fairhaven Fields, where
Allen’s baseball teams practice
and play, are themselves part
of the rolling green 300-acre
community; they offer locals a
beautiful location to play, enjoy,
and cheer on the teams.
Allen’s dedication to the
game and its young players is
real. He appreciates the local
league is one in which all the
kids get to play if they want to
participate. “Winning is not the
first priority when it comes to
making the most of this sport,”
he says. “Safety is first. Then
sportsmanship. Then having fun
and having the chance to grow
and get better. “
As for himself, Allen is already
looking forward to next season,
a new crop of players, and an
opportunity to pass on his love
of the game.
To find out how you can
celebrate the good life and
make this next inning
one to remember,
call 844-483-8855 or visit
AboutActs.com/CarrollLiving.
