Andy Lamas
Andy Lamas contributes both to
aesthetics and athletics in Mt. Airy. He was on the Executive Committee of the
Allens Lane Art Center from 1
988 to 1999 serving for much of that time as
treasurer and, for shorter periods, as President and Executive Director. Andy
recruited others to the board, raised
funds, and provided a great deal of leadership. As one of his colleagues put it:
“Andy is devoted to the Center’s founding purpose, to ‘Bring people
together through the arts.’” Andy says that “Allens Lane, in cooperation
with other organizations, was committed to building a space that was safe for
people of different religions, different races, and different generations.”
Andy, together with his wife, Ginnie Vanderslice and Nancy
Elfant, founded the Wild Things girls softball league, which finished its
eleventh season last spring. Andy enthusiastically describes the Wild Things:
“It emphasizes skill development and having fun in a cooperative setting. We
all wear the same uniforms, we practice together, and then we split up into
teams much like in sandlot games. We switch positions in every inning. We have
lots of fun but we also talk about what we are doing and use it to help reflect
on their lives as well. It has become a wonderful experience. We have girls who
stayed with us a long time and also girls who moved onto other sports or more
competitive play. We are not training people as if they will be in the major
leagues or the Olympics, although I am sure some will be. Our model is softball
for life. It is a model appropriate for some kids but not for everybody. What I
love about this community is that there are many, many options, not only with
respect to softball but all kinds of things. I think it is the diversity, and
the richness of those choices that make us a very special community.”
For Andy, Wild Things is “pure fun.” “Other than being
a father and a teacher, it is the most fun for me. I can’t walk down
Germantown Avenue without seeing some of my Wild Things and I just love it. I
hope to keep doing it until my knees give out.”