25
2012
Prayers, Thoughts, Support and Love For Shannon Forde
An article by 
Hi everyone…
I wanted to update you on some of the details regarding the Mets benefit dinner and the Mets Meet and Greet to raise funds for longtime Mets staffer and current Media Relations Director, Shannon Forde.
Pitcher Matt Harvey, former Mets manager Willie Randolph and Joe McEwing, a member of New York’s 2000 National League championship team, are the latest additions to the Nov. 1 dinner honoring Shannon Forde. Forde, who has been with the Mets for 18 years in the media relations department, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
“When I read about Shannon I just knew I had to be there for her,” said Randolph. “She just made things so much easier for me when I was with the Mets.”
The fundraiser will be held at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, NJ. Admission to the dinner is $100, while there is a meet and greet with Daniel Murphy, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, John Franco, Bob Ojeda, Al Leiter, Edgardo Alfonzo, Ed Kranepool, Ed Charles and New York Giants Super Bowl punter Sean Landeta for an additional $250.
Guests at the dinner, which runs from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., will be able to bid on such unique items as:
- Dinner with Darryl Strawberry at his restaurant.
- A 30 minute pitching lesson with Dwight Gooden.
- A visit to the SNY booth to meet announcers Keith Hernandez, Gary Cohen and Ron Darling.
- A private meeting with Mets manager Terry Collins, plus the chance to sit in on is pre and post game press conferences at Citi Field.
To purchase tickets to this event please visit the website at www.hopeshinesforshannon.com or contact Debbie Durante at durantedebbie@hotmail.com or Cindy Santos at tripletmomof3@hotmail.com.
To make a monetary donation, checks should be made payable to “Hope Shines for Shannon” and can be mailed to P.O. Box 3145, Point Pleasant, NJ 08742.
Hope Shines for Shannon, the organization raising funds to assist longtime Mets staffer Shannon Forde’s medical expenses in her fight against Stage IV breast cancer, has opened an online auction featuring some pretty cool items and experiences.
You can access the auction page here:http://www.charitybuzz.com/auctions/Shannon.
Auction items include:
- Meet Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan at a Taping of Live! With Kelly & Michael in New York
- Learn from the Best with a Pitching Lesson from Mets Star R.A. Dickey at Citi Field and Watch Batting Practice From The Field
- Enjoy 2 Tickets to Saturday Night Live Including a Backstage Tour of the Set
- Mets Star David Wright Will Give You a Hitting Lesson at Citi Field!
- Meet Jon Stewart & Get 2 Tickets to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in NYC
And many, many more. Please consider supporting this cause, and remember that tickets for Shannon’s Nov. 1 fundraising dinner/auction are available athttp://www.hopeshinesforshannon.com.
The dinner is two weeks away and we would love if you could give your readers a reminder of what a great and fun event it will be.
Matt Harvey, Daniel Murphy, Willie Randolph, and Super Joe McEwing have been added to the special meet and greet lineup that also includes Gooden, Strawberry, Franco, Ojeda, Alfonzo, Leiter, Ed Charles and Ed Kranepool.
Tickets to the Meet and Greet cost $250.
The dinner will be emceed by Ron Darling and will feature more than 50 amazing sports related silent and live auction items. We have signed merchandise and/or experiences from the Mets, Yankees and many more MLB teams, the Jets, Giants, Knicks, Nets, Rangers and more. Plus, there’s an open bar and premium food, dancing and plenty of laughs. Tickets to the dinner cost $100. http://www.hopeshinesforshannon.com/Dinner.html
Lastly, there’s an online auction going on for some unique experiences ranging from a hitting lesson with David Wright to meeting Jon Stewart and watching a taping of The Daily Show. Here’s the full listing: http://www.charitybuzz.com/auctions/shannon
A special person in our Mets family needs our help…
The Mets will host a fundraiser on Nov. 1 to benefit Shannon Forde, their senior director of media relations who was diagnosed earlier this month with Stage IV breast cancer.
The $100 fundraiser includes a dinner, open bar, cocktail hour and dancing at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, N.J., emceed by broadcaster Ron Darling.
The Mets will also host a $250 meet-and-greet and autograph session with former Mets Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, John Franco, Bobby Ojeda, Edgardo Alfonso, Al Leiter, Ed Charles and Ed Kranepool, as well as New York Giants two-time Super Bowl winner Sean Landeta.
Tickets for either portion of the fundraiser can be purchased separately or together as a package for $300. They are available at hopeshinesforshannon.com, or by contactingDebbie Durante at durantdebbie@hotmail.com or Cindy Santos at tripletmomof3@hotmail.com.
Fans unable to attend can also make monetary donations by mailing checks payable to “Hope Shines for Shannon” to PO Box 3145, Point Pleasant, N.J. 08742.
I first got to know Shannon via a phonecall in 2009. After years of trying to get a press credential for our site the Mets finally got the okay from MLB to make a one-time exception to their No Credentials for Bloggers policy. I was given her name and number, and when I called I was greeted by the sweetest and most courteous person I could have ever imagined.
We sent one of our original MMO writers at the time, David Ponte to represent the site. Shannon was there to greet him, show him the ropes and make him feel at home. “She was absolutely wonderful”, David told me.
He went on to the filed to interview a very young Angel Pagan, Nick Evans, Daniel Murphy and John Maine. Then he met and spoke to then manager, Jerry Manuel. After fielding drills and batting practice it was up to the press box for our very first time and Dave quickly made himself known by sitting in Jay Horwitz’s chair. All the other beat writers knew that, but hey let’s mess around with this greenhorn from Mets Merized Online. 
Jay soon entered and looked down at Dave and with a crooked smile said, “I believe that’s my seat”. Everyone shared a laugh. It was breakthrough for us. We were the first independent Mets site to be treated like we were beat writers. Two years would pass until things loosened up and more independent bloggers received that kind of access, but we were once told that it was our professionalism and the way we conducted ourselves that blazed the trail for everyone else.
In all that time, every single game we may have covered, every single interview we brought to you, every single event that we have covered, were all because of Shannon. When I was diagnosed with cancer and some other medical issues, Shannon always asked me how I was in all our correspondence. She’d ask which hospital I was at and what date my surgeries were. She always cared and made me feel special. Everyone at Mets Media Relations have always made me and all our writers and contributers feel special.
When I saw this news posted on Anthony DiComo’s blog, it made me cry. I’m really not a wuss, but it reminded me of the day when I found out I had cancer, and all I could think of was “God, please give Shannon the strength and courage to get through this the way I did.”
I know that someone as special and caring as Shannon, is surrounded by a lot of love from all her family and friends. We have a lot of love for her here too.
I’m going to make a monetary donation to “Hope Shines for Shannon” and send it to PO Box 3145, Point Pleasant, N.J. 08742.
If you love this site and especially all the interviews from myself, Pete, Mike, Clayton, Jim, Joe, and everyone else over the years, please consider a donation. Getting sick is expensive, so please send Shannon your prayers, your support, your love, and a small donation if you can. If you can attend the event, it would be awesome. You’ll have a great time, meet some Mets, and be doing something wonderful for a great person who can use our help. Thank you.
Shannon, God Bless you. We are all pulling for you at Metsmerized. We send you our love and prayers. You are a beautiful soul and a wonderful person and you’re going to fight this and beat it!
Please visit www.hope
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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Best wishes and prayers to Shannon and her family. News like this makes the game of baseball trivial and unimportant, something we all need to be reminded of from time to time. Stage IV, if I’m correct, is late stage and the most serious case. Again, my thoughts and prayers to this lady and her family. Kudos to the Mets for arranging the fundraiser for one of their own. Hope they raise enough to cover all the medical expenses as well as all the families other needs 10 fold as this can drain a family not just physically but mentally and financially as well. Best of luck with the fundraiser.
Such a beautiful family in that picture that this just tugged at my heart. Best wishes to Shannon and her family. Picture yourself well again every morning and it will happen. You gotta believe.
I’m sending my prayers and thoughts to Shannon and her family. In a similar story to David getting credentialed by the Mets, Shannon was the person at the club who helped me get credentialed while I was a blogger before I started working for MLB. She showed kindness and patience with me throughout the whole process, and I will always thank her for giving me her time.
Very sad to hear this news. Shannon is one of the nicest people you’ll meet.
September 1st, 2011 was the first time I got to go to Citi Field with a press credential. It was shortly after Hurricane Irene and I spent three hours on the computer in my local library (my laptop had since long run out of battery and my power had been out for a week) the night before going over stats and articles to gather some questions for something I’d been dreaming about doing.
The event was for Tuesday’s Children, allowing 9/11 families to meet Mets players. Obviously I was very nervous to speak with players, but after talking to Nick Evans, Mike Nickeas, Chris Capuano, Dillon Gee and Bobby Parnell, I started to get a little comfortable. After the event, Shannon came in with a smile from ear to ear happy to see the Mets bloggers who had been there in the past. She didn’t know me from a hole in the wall, but happily introduced herself and couldn’t be friendlier.
She then asked all of us if there were any of the Mets players that we needed to speak to. I asked if I could speak to Willie Harris, once a September callup with the Baltimore Orioles when 9/11 occurred. She immediately went on her walkie-talkie and left the press conference room. After not even two minutes she came back and said “come with me”.
Shannon walked me down to the locker room, peaked her head in and called Harris over. I conducted the interview with him and when I finished, I turned around to find Jay Horowitz and Shannon standing behind me, listening to my interview the entire time.
Shannon is one of the kindest people I’ve come across, and I wish her the absolute best in her treatment. I saw her just last week and you wouldn’t have known that this was going on by looking at her, she still had that same smile on.
We’re all pulling for you Shannon.
Where is the Met hosted fundraiser?
The $100 fundraiser includes a dinner, open bar, cocktail hour and dancing at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, N.J., emceed by broadcaster Ron Darling.
This is so very sad to hear. My family and I got to know Shannon back in 2009 during one of the most memorable times of my life. I was in Afghanistan that year and I came home in July for mid-tour leave. Unbeknownst to me my wife had been communicating with people from the Mets organization trying to hook up a meet and greet at the game we were planning on going to in Atlanta. She was put in touch with Shannon. Shannon met us at the ballpark and got us into the gate prior to opening. She then took us down to the field where we got to stand during BP. As I sat there in complete shock up comes David Wright who signed a ball for us and posed for a picture with my son and I. We also met Alex Cora and Jerry M! Due to the fact that it was like 150 degrees Shannon took us down in the Mets dugout and we got to sit (in the shade) for the rest of BP. As BP came to an end, she reached out to Pelfrey who came over and chatted with us, signed some autographs, and posed for pictures! Another funny story ends with me sitting on Pelf’s lap for a picture, that’s a story for another day…hahaha! Shannon went above and beyond to make sure our experience was memorable. She told us we have to get to Citi because she was limited to the things she could do for us at Turner Field. Unfortunately we haven’t had the opportunity in our busy military life. Later on we got to meet her family too. Shannon is such a sweet woman! She created one of the most memorable times in my life! My family and I will be sending our prayers her way. God bless you Shannon!
That’s a wonderful story for you to share. Shannon sounds like someone very special. I also want to offer her my thoughts and best wishes for her recovery.
Thank you Lisa!
I don’t know Shannon at all but I can attest to cancer has probably touched everyone of us in some fashion or another.
Prayers and best wishes for a remission, cure and speedy recovery.
Didn’t expect to read this here. Sad situation but certainly not hopeless. Best wishes to Shannon and her family. I couldn’t even imagine something like that happening in my own family. It makes you realize how your happy life can turn on a dime.
Shannon,
We know what you are going through now, the doubt, the fear the terrible uncertainty that comes with it. My wife is a breast cancer survivor going on sixteen years next month so don’t let this terrible ordeal make you lose sight that you are going to be beat it just like she has!
My prayers for Shannon………………I can’t believe that this horrible disease still hits so many homes…………..God Bless………….
Hi Everyone,
Shannon just dropped me an email a minute ago and I thought I would post it here:
Thank you so much Joe.
Don’t shed any more tears. I have a very good feeling that I will be 100% at the end of this (very long) journey – I have to be. My kids are way too young
I’m so glad to hear you won your battle – that gives me even more hope.
I really appreciate the support. Thank you just doesn’t seem to be enough, but THANK YOU!!
I’ll let you know about the books (I’m not a big reader)
Shannon
Hi Joe,
Thanks for sharing Shannon’s email with us.
So glad to know that is not letting this get her down and after having to take care of it she will then be able to get back and carry on with her own life – which is exactly what my wife was told when her tumor was first discovered at Sloane Kettering as well.
Let Shannon know she is in our prayers and that indeed, we know there is not a need to shed tears for her other than for what she has to go through at the moment.