The AuWARDS
Gold Glove Charities held its 1st ever GGC Awards Night on February 15, 2020 to recognize those individuals and businesses that support GGC’s mission of “providing custom-designed, once-in-a-lifetime experiences to children who are battling cancer!”
The categories recognized for the 2019 season were:
HONOREE IMPACT AuWARD - Given to an honoree from one of the 10 GGC Nights at MiLB and Professional Independent Baseball leagues.
PHOTO OF THE YEAR AuWARD- Given to the baseball organization where the selected Photo of the Year winner was taken.
ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR AuWARD - Given to the organization that excels at celebrating and recognizing the many GGC Night honorees.
CORPORATE PARTNER OF THE YEAR AuWARD - Given to the business/corporation that best supports GGC’s efforts.
COMMUNITY PARTNER OF THE YEAR AuWARD- Given to the individual that best supports GGC’s efforts.
THE “LIVE LIKE LANDON LIVED” AuWARD - Given to the individual that best exemplifies Love, Compassion and Selflessness.
The HONOREE IMPACT AuWARD
- BENNY MARTINEZ, Chicago Dogs Night, Rosemont, IL
Bennie Martinez has had a MAJOR impact on the pediatric cancer research world. Benny’s foundation, The Benicio Martinez Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research donated $100,000 to help build the Simpson Querrey Research Center that is dedicated to researching new medicines and procedures to help fight pediatric brain cancer! And, Benny is just a teenager!
2019 PHOTO of the YEAR
-JAKE CRAIG w/GREYSON JENISTA, OF, MISSISSIPPI BRAVES
Jake Craig with Greyson Jenista at our Mississippi Braves Night last August. This photo embodies what our GGC Night represents - Impact/connection, both directions, from the player upon the honoree and the honoree upon the player. We never knew when we first started these nights 4 years ago, that the impact on these professional players, managers, etc. would also be so meaningful. There is an unspoken admiration between Jake and Greyson in this photo that make it our 2019 Photo of the Year.
ORGANIZATION of the YEAR AuWARD
- CHICAGO DOGS, Rosemont, IL, American Association
The first recipient of the Organization of the Year AuWard was a very easy choice. NOBODY does it like the Chicago Dogs! That is no slight on GGC’s other partner organizations, but the Chicago Dogs make the entire day about the honorees. The Dogs’ manager and former Major League Baseball manager Butch Hobson canceled all pregame team activities so that the team could join the honorees and their families in the suite for the tailgate picnic and concert by Jamie Floyd. After 90 minutes, the meet-n-greet spilled down to Impact Field, as well as the locker room, hitting tunnels, bullpens and dugouts. The Dogs’ players spent another hour with their paired honorees playing catch, running races, and more. Over 3 hours dedicated to make this an amazing experience for over 25 honorees!
2019 CORPORATE PARTNER of the YEAR
-MIKE HOLLOWAY AGENCY, American Family Insurance
A long time supporter of Gold Glove Charities, Mike Holloway is always willing to support GGC’s mission. Through corporate donations and a matching program, Mike is able to help fund some of GGC’s local initiatives. Not only does Mike provide direct support to GGC, he also supports the various local HS seniors whose Senior Projects are designed to assist GGC through fundraising, volunteer work and awareness.
COMMUNITY PARTNER of the YEAR AuWARD
- KEN STACY, Tonganoxie, KS
Ken Stacy’s ties to Gold Glove Charities founder Mike Martin go back quite awhile. A few years prior to founding GGC, Mike coached Ken’s son, Nathan Stacy, for 3 AAU seasons. When Ken found out that Mike formed GGC, Ken was immediately invested in the mission. From financial backing, to product sourcing, to resource development, Ken has paved the way for GGC to be successful. His contributions are both far reaching and impactful. Ken’s presence, when even absent, is felt across every event hosted by GGC. Ken will be permanently embedded in the mission to “provide custom-designed, once-in-a-lifetime experiences to kids who are battling cancer!”
2019 LIVE LIKE LANDON LIVED AuWARD
-SAM PROVENZANO, Chicagold Dogs, Rosemont, IL
Selfless. бескорыстный. nòb. desinteresada. From the 4 corners of the world (flattened map - Alaska, Russia, Australia & Chile), look up the word selfless and there is a common synonym - SAM PROVENZANO! Sam is literally a “one-of-a-kind” person.
When tragedy strikes, Sam’s first reaction is “how can I help those impacted"?
When success is achieved, Sam’s first reaction is “how can I express how proud I am of their accomplishment”?
Because of her amazing character and compassion for others, Sam earned GGC’s 1st ever “Live Like Landon Lived” AuWARD. To understand the honor of receiving this AuWARD is imperative to then understanding why Sam was the ONLY choice.
The “Live Like Landon Lived” AuWARD is named after, and in honor of Landon Solberg from West Fargo, ND. Landon, who passed away when he was 12 years old, was simply - INDESCRIBABLE. There was not a word or a series of words that could accurately characterize Landon.
Built upon this idea, the AuWARD recipient must be Unique. Irreplaceable. Uncommon. Priceless. Sam.
GGC is honored to know and work with Sam on our Chicagoland events, and equally honored to name Sam Provenzano with the “Live Like Landon Lived” AuWARD!