The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields at Hatton Park in Fairfield, OH allows adults and children experiencing physical, emotional, or mental disability to enjoy unrestricted play. Envisioned by Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame pitcher and announcer Joe Nuxhall and brought to reality by The Nuxhall Foundation in 2012, the site includes two baseball diamonds, a miniature golf course, concession stand, and covered picnic area – all adapted for people experiencing disability to use and enjoy.
The facility bustles with activity from spring to fall, hosting league play, special events, and school trips. Most games take place on the weekends. Participants and supporters come from all over the Butler County, Ohio area.
Many local companies and community groups contributed money, time, and services to build and operate The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields. At the grand opening event, special education aide Janet Bown struck up a conversation with Kaivac founder Bob Robinson. “He offered to donate a Kaivac No-Touch Cleaning® machine if I promised to come use it,” she recalls.
Bown and her friend Jill Statzer agreed. Dubbed “The Queens of Clean,” the pair volunteer time every week to clean and sanitize the facility’s three restrooms with the Kaivac machine. This act of service is important to Bown for many reasons.
“People in the special needs community are often immunocompromised so it’s vital to deep clean those restrooms,” she says. “You can’t see germs. But I know after we’re done that those restrooms are CLEAN!”
Bown and Statzer use the No-Touch Cleaning System to remove dirt and germs from every restroom surface. Walls, partitions, doors, door handles, that always-wet spot under the hand dryers, urinals, sinks, and every inch of the toilets are clean and sanitized. Even the open shower and adult-sized diaper changing station in the family restroom are clean and safe.
“We get everywhere,” insists Bown. “It would be impossible be this thorough with just rags.”
It takes the pair about an hour to deep clean all three restrooms with the No-Touch Cleaning System. They have also found other uses for the machine like quickly removing accidental messes from the rubberized playing field or sucking up water from a broken pipe. “It’s really amazing how fast it works,” says Bown.
Kim Nuxhall, President and Board Chairman of the Nuxhall Foundation, along with his wife Bonnie, appreciate how the No-Touch Cleaning system makes an unpleasant job easier for the volunteers. “Not many people raise their hands when it comes to cleaning restrooms, much less every week for the last 10 years,” says Kim Nuxhall. “We are so grateful to Janet and Jill and, of course, Bob and Carlene Robinson for the awesome Kaivac machine. It allows us to have sparkling clean restrooms each and every week for our All Stars, their families, and our visitors.”
Everyone is so enamored with the No-Touch Cleaning system that this year Bown and Statzer showed it off during the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League opening day parade. Bedecked in sashes and tiaras, the women waved to the crowd from their Queens of Clean float with their bright yellow Kaivac machine right behind them. The experience was fun for Bown, but what she really enjoys is serving her community.
“I have a place in my heart for the special needs community and this is just a beautiful facility,” she says. “It feels so good to help out.”
