7/7/05 – Turks Tidbits

The Harrisonburg TURKS organization wants to extend a sincere apology to Mr. Bob Beers and his staff at Golden Corral Restaurant. On Tuesday, July 5th there was an article in the Daily News Record, "Turks Life Line", written by Aaron Gray. It began as a very positive and informative article regarding the amount of time and effort that goes into finding and providing the Turk baseball players with part time jobs and apartments and the extra bonus of a daily meal ticket to Golden Corral Restaurant during their summer stay in Harrisonburg. Mr. Gray, however, included an interview with RHP Chris Fessler from Yavapai Junior College in Arizona. Unfortunately, being a young athlete that is inexperienced in dealing with the media, Chris didn’t choose his words wisely during this interview. He made an unfortunate comment about how he didn’t care for the restaurant and that eating there every day gets a bit tiresome. Chris greatly regrets his statement and when given the opportunity to explain he clarifies that he does enjoy the variety and quality of foods available at the Golden Corral buffet, but eating one meal a day at any restaurant for an entire summer is a tough thing to do. We only wish he could have said that a bit more eloquently when speaking to Mr. Gray. Bob Beers, the manager of Golden Corral, has been one of the most generous and loyal supporters of Turks baseball for many years. He gives the Turks a 30% discount but each meal ticket still costs the Turks organization $7.00 per ticket. Golden Corral not only gives the Turks a discount on their meal tickets, they advertise with the Turks in numerous ways; a fence banner, a full page program advertisement, radio advertisements, and Booster Night game sponsorships with many giveaways. And unfortunately, the waitress staff doesn’t always receive the financial gratuity that they deserve from the Turk players, yet they continue to provide great service with big smiles and encouragement to the team. We sincerely regret any damage that the DNR article and this thoughtless comment have caused to such a fine eatery. On behalf of the Harrisonburg Turks organization, Teresa and I, and the entire Turks baseball team, we hope that Mr. Beers and all of his staff accept our apology for this unfortunate incident and the hurtful words spoken about the Golden Corral Restaurant. We truly do appreciate all of their support over the years! On Sunday, July 10th the Turks will show their appreciation to Golden Corral and their loyal customers. The Turks will be providing the staff some assistance by greeting customers, and busing tables. The players will also be passing out free passes to a Turks home game. We hope everyone will come out and enjoy a delicious lunch at Golden Corral on Sunday. Sincerely, Bob Wease Owner and General Manager