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 [email protected] or Cindy Santos at [email protected].
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:https://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 athttps://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. https://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: https://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 [email protected] or Cindy Santos at [email protected].
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.hopeshinesforshannon.com to find out how you can help Shannon!
