Softball Tournament Raises Funds for Cancer Group, Honors Dawn Re

Members of the Re family have a long history of supporting cancer charities and playing baseball and softball. On Saturday night, they put to two together to remember wife and mother Dawn, who passed away from cancer .

The tournament held in Chappaqua, called “Dusk to Dawn,” was both a play on words for the family matriarch and to highlight the all-night nature of the event, which began on Saturday evening, ended Sunday morning and featured several games. It was held by a new charity that the Re family started called Dawn’s Ray of Hope, which both honors Dawn’s name, and is a play on words for the surname Re, which is pronounced as “ray.” According to Dawn’s husband, John Re, goal of the new group is to raise money for multiple cancer awareness groups, including the American Cancer Society, Locks of Love and Gilda’s Club.

“It’s more a marathon than a tournament,” said John Re, a Chappaqua resident who was joined by his three kids, Samantha, Matthew and Jason.

“I think it’s great,” said Jason Re, the youngest of the three. He is entering his freshman year at Horace Greeley High School.

We got people playing all night, which is way more than I expected, and everyone seems to be having a great time,” said Samantha Re. “So I’m really excited we’re raising a lot of money and having a lot of fun.”

Samantha Re, who is entering her sophomore year at Middlebury College, helped bring the Relay for Life cancer awareness event to Greeley when she was a student. Matthew Re, heading into his senior year at Greeley, served as event chair for the 2010 and 2011 Relay events at the high school.

Matthew Re, describing the tournament personally, said, “it’s really just an extension for Relay to me.” He noted that anything he can do to raise money, especially playing softball with friends, is something he wanted to be a part of.

The family’s history of playing includes Dawn having played in the Snowball Softball Tournament every February in Harrison, which is held by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. John Re has played town league softball, while Matthew Re has played on the Greeley baseball team.

Several friends of the Re family came to play, both on “Dawn’s Team,” which included they and friends, plus visiting teams who played one game each. Participating team paid registration fees, which helped for fundraising.

“I think it’s great,” said New Castle Councilman Michael Wolfensohn, whose family is good friends with the Re family. Wolfensohn, who plays town league softball in his spare time, played on Dawn’s team along his sons, Leo, a student at Greeley and baseball team member, and Ben, a student at Seven Bridges Middle School who has played on the town's little league travel team. Wolfensohn is also helping with Dawn’s Ray of Hope, serving on its board.

“It’s been amazing,” said Josh Lurie, a Chappaqua resident who played on the visiting Team Potpourri.

“I think it’s a great idea and it’s a good event, and hopefully we’ll do it next year,” said Barry Kretz, a Briarcliff Manor resident who played on Potpourri. His brother, Eric, is friends with John Re and asked him to join.

“I think it’s a really cool idea,” said Jessica Williams, a White Plains resident who played on the Tarrytown team, named for the village in which they practice.

Michael Norelli, a Chappaqua resident who served as umpire for the tournament, goes back a long way with the Re family. He has umpired games that John Re played in, while he was involved in New Castle town recreation programs that Samantha, Matthew and Jason played in. He recalled how Dawn was there to attend each of their games.

Norelli noted the community friendship role of playing on the town softball teams.

“When you play in the game, you get to meet a lot of people, and you get that support, and John is really a special guy, he said.

The scores (courtesy of folks participating) for all four games played were:

Dawn’s Team 6, Potpourri 1

Dawn’s Team 11, Tarrytown 4

Dawn’s Team 4, Greeley Soccer Team 3

Dawn's Team 4, Fire Deptartment/Chili's 3

Dawn's Team 7, Flying Awesome Saucers 5

Dawn’s Team 2, Football Guys 3