April 27, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Seven teams from at least four counties competed today (Saturday) in the second annual Officer Joe Bowen Memorial Men’s Softball Tournament at the Alexandria ball field.
This double elimination tournament featured teams from DeKalb, Putnam, Warren, and Wilson Counties and all of the proceeds will support a scholarship for a 2019 DeKalb County High School student athlete in honor of Joe.
Officer Bowen lost his life in a traffic accident at Dowelltown in March 2018 while on his way home from work. A resident of Smithville, Officer Bowen worked for the Lebanon Police Department.
“We did this last year and all proceeds went to the Bowen family. We plan to do this every year but starting this year and going forward the proceeds will go to the scholarship fund. We appreciate everybody who has come out for the tournament and those who have donated,” said tournament spokesman Chris McMillen.
“This means a lot to our family. We appreciate everybody coming out in honor of Joe,” said Officer Bowen’s father Dwayne Bowen.
“He loved ball and this is a good way to honor him. Some of his teammates are playing today in honor of him,” added Lisa Bowen, Joe’s mother.
“You’ll notice the man (softball player) shown on our jerseys. That is actually an image of Joe Bowen himself and we named our team today “Badge 16” in his honor,” said McMillen.