Swing, a hit and a success!

Awesome!

I can't begin to say how pleased I was with the turn-out for CAID's first annual softball tourney that was held on Saturday at Sunshine Park in West Seneca.

To call it a success just seems like such a cliche. Not only did the weather cooperate for a terrific day, but everyone had a terrific time at the event.

It was a "one-pitch" tourney, and for many people that was a new thing. How it works is that the batter gets one pitch to swing at, and if he misses he's out. The "one pitch" really moved things along, and kept the games exciting too. It prevented teams from playing until 7, 8, or even 9 at night....and because of the timing of the rain on Saturday...it kept everyone dry too.

The Junkyard Dawgs beat the Best Buy team by a score of 7-2. We also had teams from The Buffalo News, Buffalo.com, a couple teams that were put together by Karen's friends, and a team of teens that was organized by my brother-in-law. A special thank you to all the teams for coming out and entertaining us all with great games of softball.

Our silent auction was also a success. One of the most popular prizes...a large stuffed dog was won by a very ecstatic young girl, and her twin sister won a sports prize with just one ticket!

Support from the volunteers, community, teams, and sponsors all contributed to make it a very successful event.

We raised over $3,000 to fight drunk driving on our roads, and that's not the final tally. Crusade Against Impaired Driving, Inc. is a young organization, and to have everyone rally behind our cause in the memory of my sister Karen really brought tears to my eyes.

I did a lot of the pre-planning for the tournament, but I couldn't have done it without the support of all the sponsors, teams, and a volunteers who helped in the days leading up to and on the day of the event. THANK YOU to everyone for all their help.

If you have suggestions, comments, or would like to play in next year's tournament, email me.

I look forward to a bigger and better tournament next year!


Until next time...

Deanna