Madison City Coin presented to MBA board president Chris McFarland

MADISON – Since November 2018, Madison City Council members have been awarding a city coin each month to honor citizens who have made outstanding contributions to the city.

“A lot of these folks go unnoticed,” Madison City Council President Steve Smith said in explaining the purpose behind the coin. “They don’t do what they do for recognition. They do it for the love of family and for the love of community. This is our way of saying thank you.”

On Monday night, Smith recognized the next recipient, Chris McFarland, in recognition of his hard work and dedication to Madison.

McFarland has served on the board for the Madison Baseball Association for several years, currently as its president. The association serves nearly 1,000 kids on an annual basis, from ages 5 to 18, through Dizzy Dean Youth Baseball.

“I just want to thank Chris with the city coin, not only because he is impacting the lives of thousands of kids each year through the baseball association, but also because of the person that he is, the father that he is to his family, the way he has served his country and how he puts everyone else above himself,” Smith said before handing McFarland the coin.

Before coming to Madison, Smith said Chris spent several years in military, spending a year in Korea and one in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“He has served our nation for a long time,” said Smith. “On Sept. 11 he was in the Pentagon when it was attacked. At that time he lost his finance, but thankfully we serve a gracious God and through that incident he met his wife Shannon.

Chris and Shannon have four kids. “One is a high school student at James Clemens, another is at Liberty Middle School. They also have a child at Heritage Elementary School and one starting kindergarten this year,” Smith said. “That makes me happy because I know he is not going to go anywhere any time soon.”

“I am overwhelmed, very grateful and humbled,” McFarland said in response.

Madison Baseball Association Board members Erica Hoskins, Jim Graves and Ed Bryan were also recognized for their contributions.

Chris at the rest of the Madison Baseball Association has their hands busy right now. They are gearing up to host the 2019 Dizzy Dean Alabama State Tournaments at Palmer Park June 21-25 and June 28-July 2. Over 140 teams are expected to participate, bringing thousands of people to Madison.