Summer 2004

      Spring has turned into summer and it is getting warmer. Many of you will go on vacation. Some will go camping, travel to different places, or just stay home and enjoy the warm weather.

      As for LACD board members and softball players, they will be fairly busy during the month of July. LACD will host the 2004 FAAD Softball Tournament, sponsored by Sprint, MCI and GLAD, at Glendale Sports Complex in Glendale on July 9th and 10th.

      Not only we will watch the games, but we will also have John "Leno" Maucere perform a wide range of stings with Joe McRoberts as our deejay at GLAD on Saturday evening, July 10th. At only ten bucks, you can watch the entertainment and awards. Be sure to buy your ticket today!

      We will have our fireworks stand from July 1st through 4th at 12541 Rosecran in Norwalk as planned. It will be our second year doing this; however, we will work with SCAD (Southern California Association of the Deaf) members to harvest more people and we will split the profit.

      For many years it always had been our women's softball team that represents LACD in the sports world, but now we have two new additions: women's basketball team coached by Carlos Valencia and men's softball team with Mike Feigenbaum as their coach. Our women's basketball team still enjoyed themselves even though they lost to the Arizona team at the 2004 FAAD Basketball Tournament.

      As for the softball teams, they will play at the 2004 FAAD Softball Tournament in July then go to Reno, Nevada for the nationals (NSAD) if they win 1st place. Good luck!

      Traci Price bought a new house in Moreno Valley and will move in at the end of July. She, who works as a dormitory counselor and an assistant softball coach at California School for the Deaf, Riverside, went to Washington, D.C. with her softball team last May with many other schools across the nation. CSDR won first place and Melissa Kinney, an eighteen-year-old LACD softball player, was chosen as the Most Valuable Player. she has just graduated from CSDR and may go to either Gallaudet or NTID in the fall. Congratulations, Melissa!

      It is indeed great to see David Perlovsky, recovered from a broken leg, and Bob Vincent, after a heart attack, back with us again at the LACD Bank Night. Jackie Brown had a knee replacement surgery on her left knee last March then had infections which caused her to proceed with another surgery. She is now back home trying to recuperate. Get well, Jackie!

      Unfortunately, we have lost two longtime LACD members, Hyman Aheroni and Elliot Fromberg, who passed away only within two days from each other. Hyman died peacefully in his sleep on March 29th and he was 91 years old. As for Elliott, he was sick for a while before passing away on March 31st at the age of 71. Our sympathies go to their wives, Esther Aheroni and Judy Fromberg, and their loved ones.

      Sixty Deaf people went on a Mexican cruise last April with Perren Castaline, son of Bernard and Marilyn Castaline, as their travel agent. Twenty four of them are LACD members. They had a blast time! The next cruise for some of them will be a trip to Alaska starting on July 31st.

      Bob Bergan, a motorcycle lover, rode his bike to Utah for the USA Deaf Basketball (USADB) Tournament last April and worked there as one of the scorekeepers. He will ride his bike again, but it will be to Vancouver,

      B.C. in July before going on an Alaskan cruise. Bergan plans to fly back to B.C. to pick his bike up upon his return from Alaska then travel on it again down to Reno, Nevada for the National Softball Association of the Deaf (NSAD) Tournament. He even rides his bike to every LACD Bank Night!

      Speaking of traveling, Joe Slotnick and his wife spent three weeks of vacation in Bangkok, Thailand with a stopover in Seoul, Korea last May. They went on a cruise via Yangzte River then visited several fascinating places, including Hong Kong, China. They had a nice time, but they were also glad to come back to the States.

      Marlene Riley is beaming with joy as she just became a grandmother again last February for the 9th time! Marleen Dubin returned home from Florida and happily announced that her 11th grandchild was born. Not to mention, she will have two more grandchildren coming up soon!

      Boy, the storks must be working hard lately. Two former softball ladies received their first babies this year! Jessica Courtright of Las Vegas gave birth to a baby girl on June 2nd and Teresa Ybarra had hers in Riverside a couple of months ago. Congratulations!

      Debby Sampson, our NSAD Golden Glove recipient, contributed her time to Deaf Way Illinois II as the entertainment chair in Chicago last April. She invited several well-known performers such as John Maucere imitating Jay Leno and actress Deanne Bray of Sue Thomas: FBEye as a guest. They had a good crowd.

      Our very own Mexican-Themed Card Tournament on May 1st turned out to be a smashing hit! With approximately 75 participants, there were two tables for Bridge, two tables for 500, one table for Hearts, and a long table of card game called “Crown.” Not only we had Dingo and Freeze King, but we also had three tables set specifically for Mexican Train.Special thanks to all of you who donated food and time with the tournament and helped us with the fundraising. All proceeds go to the 2004 FAAD Softball Tournament.

      Two of our members struck gold on the Bank Night two months in a row: Mark Nathanson with $120 from last May and Marilyn Castaline for June. Let’s see who will win for the month of July. Come to our social gathering on July 17th and see if your name will be drawn!

      Most importantly, be sure to mark your calendar for these dates: Friday, July 9th and Saturday, July 10th. This is when the 2004 FAAD Softball Tournament takes place. Buy your ticket today and watch all of the exciting softball games then enjoy John Maucere’s performance on Saturday evening!

Have a wonderful summer!!!

Etta