Special to Tampa Tarpons
During the annual Cancer Survivors Event at George M. Steinbrenner Field, The New York Yankees "A" Advanced Tampa Tarpons welcomed BayCare and the Tampa Bay community Cancer Survivor families. Recognized by BayCare as "HomeRun Heroes" the Survivors were provided free game tickets, to include food and an exclusive gift.Under the
During the annual Cancer Survivors Event at George M. Steinbrenner Field, The New York Yankees "A" Advanced Tampa Tarpons welcomed BayCare and the Tampa Bay community Cancer Survivor families. Recognized by BayCare as "HomeRun Heroes" the Survivors were provided free game tickets, to include food and an exclusive gift.
Under the direction of Tampa Tarpons General Manager, Matt Gess and coordinated by Jessica Lack and the Partnership & Community Activation team, the cancer survivors and fans were first welcomed to the Concourse Level of the stadium. Booths and exhibits were set-up to entertain the children and provide information of BayCare health programs and the many cancer support groups in the Tampa Bay area.
A favorite activity was a silent auction where all were invited to bid for the custom jerseys worn by the players during the game. The proceeds of the auction benefiting BayCare programs. It is always fun for the winners to gather on the field with the Tarpon players to be presented the autographed jerseys.
The children were entertained by the BayCare "Unmonsters"; Purple "Jitters", Green "Oooz", Red "Tizzy" and Blue "Fretta", who I was informed is the friendliest of the Unmonsters. Ms. Toi Walker, Marketing Manager provided a brief of the Unmonsters. "We accept hospitals are scary enough for the children. The Unmonsters were created for comforting, we didn't want them to be scary too". We agreed that Jitters - Oooz - Tizzy and Fretta were frightfully friendly and proved awfully popular. As an added, Tampa Tarpons "Blue" and the mascot "Chick-fil-A" received friendly hugs from the children too.
The fans lined up for autograph signing by Yankees Tampa Tarpons prospects RHP
George M. Steinbrenner III held a sincere concern for the health of children. The Steinbrenner legacy continues, in part, at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital a member of BayCare which provides comprehensive cancer services for babies and children of all ages.
At the Concourse fanfare we met a young mother with her four children beside her. She stood out in the crowd and so I approached her and asked if she too was a cancer survivor. She was not, but she shared conversation of her children being members of the Tampa Tarpons Kids Club www.tarponsbaseball.com. She brought her children to Cancer Survivors Event as she thought it a learning event for her children. She went on to say she appreciates the community programs which are often offered at George M. Steinbrenner Field, considers them educational and as often as she can brings her children to games. At this time, her oldest boy was completely focused as he watched and listened to the nearby TV screen on a Robot.
With an almost Star Wars excitement, the favorite on the Concourse was the BayCare Robot "BOT". Craig Anderson, Director of Innovation and his team were surrounded and followed by children and adults once they became aware of the magic of BOT.
BOT - a childlike size robot outfitted with a Tampa Tarpons shirt was maneuvered by remote control. Amazing, on the face of the robot was placed a small TV screen displaying the face of a child. The children were in their BayCare hospital beds. Through the use of technology two children "Yanis" and "Leia" were able to attend the game by remote control. As Craig Anderson explained, "including children and bringing giggles to children during events like this fosters their belief in recovery, even if through remote control." Kudos to BayCare on innovation.
The BOT with 5 and 8 year old Yanis & Leia on the screen was eventually moved to the playing field. BOT was met by Tampa Tarpons Manager Patrick "Ozzie" Osborn and his team who greeted the children during a child friendly question and answer session. There was a lot of picture taking. At scheduled game time BOT was wheeled to the pitchers mound and the children in the hospital watched as a player threw out the first pitch in their honor. Ozzie and his young Tampa Tarpon players stood at the top of the dugout and watched in awe.
Our National Anthem, conducted under the direction of Lieutenant Lusiaida Barbosa, was performed by Navy Band Southeast, stationed at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. The United States Navy Drill Team exhibited their challenging, intensive drill routine and our military members were saluted by the USS Constitution 1813 Color Guard from the Warship USS Constitution Museum. www.navy.mil/ah-online/constitution/
Following the Tampa Tarpons game vs. the Florida Fire Frogs, Advanced "A" Affiliate of Atlanta Braves, the fans watched fireworks from their stadium seats. They then exited the stadium to be entertained with a concert by country music artists Smithfield, on a stage set-up at the George M. Steinbrenner outdoor monument promenade.
During the conclusion of the Cancer Survivors Event, the George M. Steinbrenner III statue was visible in the moonlight evening. We imagine the Yankees, BayCare Cancer Survivors Event would have been appreciated, as the "Boss" always had a vision for his Legends Field to evolve as a leader in community involvement. His vision continues through his family.
The Yankees family of employees welcomes and appreciates fan attendance from the Tampa Bay community to Tampa Tarpons Florida State League games at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
BayCare www.BayCare.com is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of service at 13 hospitals. They have over 1,200 primary care doctors and more than 20 imaging centers located throughout Tampa Bay area to help meet the needs. "Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care."