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Varitek Putt-Putt Tournament A Resounding Success
By Administrator | September 15, 2009
Jason Varitek and two dozen of his friends turned out for the catcher’s annual miniature golf tourney last night at Ferncroft Country Club in Middleton, MA. Among the celebrities who attended the charity fundraiser were teammates Jason Bay, Michael Bowden, Jacoby Ellsbury, Casey Kotchman, Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, Tim Wakefield and Kevin Youkilis… former Bruins greats Ray Bourque and Rejean “Reggie” Lemelin… and current Bruin Milan Lucic.
They were joined by more than a thousand fans and one hundred fellow golfers who paid a premium to join the players on the course… in return for their donations, these fans got to chat with the players, take pictures with them, and obtain countless autographs. Jason, alone, must have signed a thousand autographs.
Celebrity Marketing Inc., of Andover, works with Jason to host this annual event… and, truth be told, few companies (if any) can do an event like Cleon Daskalakis and his folks at CMI. It was truly a first-class event. Cleon has promised me some stats about attendance / money raised later in the week, and I’ll augment this article with more information when it is received.
Suffice it to say the tournament was a resounding success.
A couple of passing observations / thoughts:
1) A tip of the cap to all of the Red Sox players who turned out for the event — they gave up an off day to support their team captain and his charity. With no disrespect meant to any of them, I’m not sure I have EVER seen a player who enjoys these events more than Mike Lowell — he truly seems to relish the opportunity to press the flesh with the fans.
2) Also, an extra-special tip of the cap to Josh Beckett. He spent a significant portion of his last off day, last Thursday, prepping for and hosting The Beckett Bowl. And there he was again last night at Tek’s event — pressing the flesh and signing several hundred autographs.
(NOTE: he even signed an autograph for yours truly, for a post-season auction I’ll be conducting to benefit ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Also, thanks to Clay Buchholz, Curt Schilling, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield for signing items for the auction. I hope to hook up with Dan Bard, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, David Ortiz and Jonathan Papelbon to sign additional items in the next couple of weeks. More on my post-season charity auction, to be conducted on e-Bay, sometime in the next couple of weeks)
3) Bruin Milan Lucic was there for the entire evening in spite of the fact that his team is playing on the road in NYC tonight. Although he didn’t tell me this, I have no doubt that he was there due to his relationship with Cleon… that shows you how much respect these guys have for Cleon, CMI and the Celebrities For Charity endeavor.
Jason Varitek chats with (from l to r) sisters Brianna R and Katie R (of Lowell, MA) and Corrine H (of Wayland, MA) while signing autographs prior to the start of the tournament… SOX1FAN photo
Jacoby Ellsbury posed for so many pictures during the event that I’m afraid he’ll be seing flash bulbs while he’s in the batter’s box tonight… SOX1FAN photo
Ummm… which state does Beckett call home? Anyone? SOX1FAN photo
Mike Lowell thrilled countless fans throughout the evening… here he poses for a picture with Louis L (of Lynn, MA). SOX1FAN photo
Tim Wakefield continues to show signs of a stiff back and sore leg. Regardless, he played mini golf well into the evening — nearly sinking a hole in one on this putt. SOX1FAN photo
I played poker with Kevin Youkilis a couple of years ago at teammate Gabe Kapler’s charity poker tournament. I wanted to grab a club and hit a couple of putts with him last night. He’s easily one of my favorite ballplayers! SOX1FAN photo
Former Bruins goaltender Cleon Daskalakis (right) has put together a heck of an organization at CMI. I met him several years ago playing in charity softball tourneys (against the Bruins alumni). He now dedicates his time to supporting charities — including Jason’s tourney. SOX1FAN photo
Topics: Miscellaneous |
