Hundreds gathered for the balloon release at the 22nd Annual Lori Craven Memorial Ball Tournament on Sunday, Aug. 20. This year the balloons were made of a biodegradable material. Jeannette Benoit-Leipert Meridian Source
What began as an act of generosity has caused a ripple effect of kindness that spans over two decades, and has touched hundreds, if not thousands.
The 22nd Lori Craven Memorial Ball Tournament, held last weekend at the Driven Energy Ball Park, has an amazing story behind it.
“I approached Lori when she was sick. I asked her if we could do this (tournament) and she agreed to it and then we were going to send her to Seattle (for cancer treatment), and Lori never made it to Seattle,” said event organizer Gerry Maier.
“She forwarded the money onto, I think, one or two sick friends–$5,100, but you know that was a lot of money at that time. So, we thought let’s keep this thing going, and that’s exactly what we did.”
This year’s tournament brought in $125,000 to help those struggling with health-related issues in and around the Border City.
A perfect example of how the tournament has helped, and why it continues to grow, is the story of the Hann family.
“Sophia was a recipient in 2017. She was born critically ill, with a primary immunodeficiency disorder,” said Jessie Hann, Sophia’s mom.
Brittni Jezowski reached out to see if they could use some help through the Lori Craven memorial fund.
“It was incredibly helpful at that point because I had to be off work to take care of Sophia and all of her extra needs and it helped with trips to the city, and extra expenses for medication … everything that comes with having a critically ill baby,” said Hann.
Sophia is now seven years old and Hann said their entire family couldn’t be more thankful.
“We’ve been involved with the Lori Craven Memorial Tournament ever since (2017). Every year our family does a family fundraiser … to give back.”
This year they sold frozen homemade pizzas with proceeds going back to the charity.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only time the family needed a helping hand.
“This past year I was diagnosed with cancer, and so I was a recipient for the 2022 Lori Craven Memorial Tournament. And we’re both here,” Hann exclaimed, referring to herself and her daughter.
“We’re both very fortunate to have an entire community support us through our wild journey that we’ve had to endure.”
Lori’s mother, Donna Weston was at the diamonds for the balloon release and said she’s happy with the turnout.
“I am so thrilled about the young people that are coming forth … and they’re not just interested in the games. They’re saying, ‘I want to help somebody’,” said Weston.
Maier said the volunteers are ‘just amazing.’
“They don’t know how busy they’re going to be. We had some new bartenders this year. They said it’s ok, we’ve worked bars before … they just offered to work both days, all day,” said Maier.
Afterwards Maier said they came up to her and admitted they never imagined it would be quite as busy as it was, but that there were always people there to support them.
“We’d love to say thank you to the community and to all of our volunteers, all of our ball players, everybody that donated,” said Maier.
“People that came to watch or buy a burger—that’s what makes our tournament, and it continues on because they are supporters year after year.”
