The Bobbys wins national award for community success

The Bobbys, an annual ESPYs-style high school sports award program created by The Sumter Item honoring Sumter and New York Yankees legend Bobby Richardson, has been named "Best Niche Ballot" in the 15th-Annual Second Street Awards.

Second Street is the nation's leading promotions platform, working with more than 4,000 newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations across the country. The awards celebrated the "best and brightest success stories" of 2023.

The Bobbys 2023 was hosted by Item Publisher Vince Johnson and Sports Editor Tim Leible at the Sumter Opera House in June and featured 16 awards, including the Thompson Award for Courage, Best Male and Female Athlete and Best Team. Richardson, 1960 World Series MVP, also spoke to the hundreds of attendees and took pictures with nominees and winners.

A unique aspect of The Bobbys was its connection to the community. Individual businesses sponsored categories and scholarships for local students, and representatives from those businesses presented awards in individual categories.

The 2024 event date of The Bobbys will be announced soon.