The final game of the Ladies Division 1&2 combined softball season was delayed Friday morning, but for a good reason — one involving cupcakes.

The members of Ladies Division 2 softball gathered between Fields 2 and 3 at Buffalo Glen to celebrate the tenure of Donna Levery as chair of the board. Levery, who served in the role from September 2017 to the end of July, will be moving up to Ladies Division 1 next season, leaving the position she held for three years.

“We wanted to recognize her for all of the stuff she’s done,” said interim chair Sis Dueholm.

“People don’t know what has to be done behind the scenes. Sometimes, people think the board is just a figurehead, not doing anything, but we’re really working hard all the time for the players.”

Levery, who has played in Division 2 for seven years, was moved by the ceremony.

“I love them all as sisters and we really do consider ourselves sisters in softball,” she said. “It’s a family and we’ve always worked together as a family and we participated as a family so it meant everything to me, it really did.”

As part of the ceremony, players listed off some of Levery’s accomplishments during her tenure, including overseeing two season-long division mergers — between Divisions 2 and 3 last summer and Divisions 1 and 2 this summer. The list also included what Levery considers her greatest accomplishment as chair — last year’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of women’s softball in The Villages.

“That was one thing I wanted to make sure was recognized by The Villages, how important it is for women’s sports here and how long we’ve been at it and how long it took us to get to where we are,” Levery said.

Dueholm, whose interim term will carry into next year, up until the next election, said Levery always worked in the best interests of the players and made the work of being on the board enjoyable.

“She was always looking out for everybody, she really was,” Dueholm said.

“She made it fun and fair to be on that board and served the players.”

For Levery’s part, she believes the board made much of what she accomplished as chair possible.

“I think the board, the ladies that I worked with on the board, we were a wonderful, cohesive team and having their support and all of us working together. I can’t think of a single thing we did that we didn’t all totally agree on,” she said. “You can’t ask for a better team than that.”

The other half of Levery’s responsibility as chair was coordinating with The Villages Recreation and Parks Department.

“Donna was excellent to work with. She’s passionate, she’s organized, she’s really a players’ representative,” said Sports Coordinator Danny Jacobs. “And she’s also an advocate for the rec department, which is the perfect mix to be in that position, to be the go-between for the rec department and the ladies softball program.”

“The support we received from the rec department couldn’t be better,” Levery said. “Danny and Andrew (Esposito) were always there for us and supported us through everything.”

As Levery transitions from a prominent leadership role in ladies softball to becoming just a player again — at least for now — she hopes that her service will inspire others to volunteer their time.

“I hope more and more people will look at volunteering and being a part, not just of the board, but just a volunteer in general for anything,” she said. “It’s just so important that we all get involved.”

Staff writer Drew Chaltry can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5233, or drew.chaltry@thevillagesmedia.com.