- November 16, 2024
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The Palm Coast Little League has selected Patrick Johnan as its new president, replacing Michael Ledrich, who stepped down due to an increased work schedule. Johnan and his wife, Dee Dee, made their way to Palm Coast from Northern Kentucky over two years, ago, and he got involved with PCLL as a coach a year-and-a-half back. Johnan has been coaching for over 30 years and has never had the opportunity to serve on a little league board because of his work schedule. Now, medically retired, he couldn’t turn the opportunity down.
“I didn’t even have to think about it,” Johnan said. “I got on the board, and, right away they wanted to make me president. I didn’t imagine that.”
“With my work schedule increasing and still coaching and doing other things, it got to be too much,” Ledrich said. “Patrick’s a retired aircraft mechanic, so he has a little more time on his hands, and he’s been around little league probably before I was born, so he’s definitely got the experience and knowledge to keep our current goals and everything going along.”
Ledrich, who served as president for two years, still plans to coach, umpire and help with concession stands.
Palm Coast Santa
Johnan, who has been playing Santa Claus for over 20 years, will also take part in the city’s Christmas activities this year.
“I’ve never been a skinny gentleman, so back then I was asked to play Santa at Walmart, and I enjoyed it so much that I started doing it in hospitals, children’s charities and everything since,” he said. “When we moved here to help take care of her, she asked that I grow a real beard to do it instead of using an artificial one. And when your mom asks you to do something like that, you do it.”
Johnan the mentor
When he is not volunteering on the field or dressing as every kid’s favorite giver, Johnan tries to spend a few days every week at Bunnell Elementary as a kindergarten reading mentor. While there, he takes a few of the students who need help reading and offers them separate time, where he can help them read better, saying, “A lot of them don’t have fathers in their life.”
“Patrick’s a retired aircraft mechanic, so he has a little more time on his hands, and he’s been around little league probably before I was born, so he’s definitely got the experience and knowledge to keep our current goals and everything going along.”
Mike Ledrich, former PCLL president
