The Villages Red Sox Nation club honored its founder with a bespoke Red Sox Nation ring.
When club president Dave Bedard called founder Art Plant onto the stage at the SeaBreeze Leisure Center on Thursday night, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
After expressing the club’s gratitude for everything Plant has done for the members, Bédard presented Plant with the personalized ring. The ring was made by the same company that manufactures the World Series championship rings and is inscribed with Plant’s name and title as the founder of the club.
Plant founded The Villages Red Sox Nation over 10 years ago and has seen the club reach over 1,100 members. Club Villages is today the largest Red Sox Nation club in the world. A lifelong Red Sox fan, Plant followed the growth of the Red Sox Nation clubs as they developed in New England.
The term Red Sox Nation was coined by Boston Globe feature film writer Nathan Cobb in 1986. In 2004, the Boston Red Sox began offering official citizenship in the Red Sox Nation. For a small fee, fans received a membership card with the words “Official Citizen of the Red Sox Nation” and access to other Red Sox merchandise and newsletters.
The club also announced the first recipients of the Art Plant Founders Scholarship, which has been awarded to three grandchildren of club members. Each recipient received a scholarship of $ 1,000.
