The 12th Annual Spring Training Bash hosted by STL Sports Page and the Homewood Suites took place in the Homewood Suites lobby on Wednesday, March 11 and featured special guests Pedro Pages one of this year’s Cardinals catcher and Cardinals prospect Thomas Saggese.
This year as a new part to the event was the filming of the “Rains on the Cardinals” Podcast –and Mike Rains (shown in photo, right, with the players) served as emcee. Rob Rains handled the interviews with the players. Fans had a great time asking questions to the players as Mike took the microphone out to them.
Along with the Cardinals talk there was a silent auction to raise money for Rainbows for Kids in St. Louis, the official charity of STL Sports Page as well as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Palm Beach. Many fans had donated items for the event.
After the question and answer time with the players, fans were treated to hot dogs and hamburgers and got the chance to stand in line and meet them, get their autographs and get a picture taken with them.
The dinner with drinks include was sponsored by STL Sports Page with cooking being led by Markus Urban of the Homewood Suites staff. Sales Director Anna Hodges helped with the planning of the party and G.M. Troy Morzelewski oversaw the event and offered a two-night free stay as a raffle prize to help raise more money for the charities.
Pages and Saggese took their time with each fan and talked to them, making for a very fun afternoon for all who came.
To find out about events like the Spring Training Bash, look on STL Sports Page to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It is a free newsletter with fun, interesting tidbits about the Cardinals and other things of interest to Cardinals fans. To sign up: CLICK HERE.
We appreciate the Homewood Suites, Palm Beach Gardens for all their help with this party. If you are new to STL Sports Page or have not stayed at this property, we have a special rate each spring, so next year be sure to check STLSportsPage.com or look in the newsletters to find the information on the discount.
One unexpected outcome of our annual Spring Training Bash is that many of the fans wait to hear when it will be before making their spring training plans so many of the same people keep coming back at the same time. This has promoted friendships that are re-newed each spring or are continued throughout the year with everyone looking forward to spring training, in part, to see the many new friends they have made.
One such family is the Comensky family who come for several weeks at a time. Susie and Jerry bring their grown son Howard, who has special needs and he has become a beloved person among the fans. Howard is one of the most popular people each year at the Homewood Suites, because he is always so friendly, as are Jerry and Susie. Whenever they are in the dining room they always have friends stopping by their table to say “hi.”
It was Howard’s birthday and he got to come up to front to meet the players and get his photo taken and the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to him. The players said they were happy to meet him, and the fans were happy to wish Howard a Happy Birthday and share some birthday cookies and cupcakes as part of the dinner.
As it turned out there were at least two other fans in attendance who had birthdays: Paula Blood and Toby Toberman, so it was one big party.
Thanks to the staff of Homewood Suites, Palm Beach Gardens:
As mentioned earlier, we recorded the event as a “Rains on the Cardinals” Podcast and to watch that, click the audio player below. Our new three-camera set up is still a learning process and when we used the “remove background noise” feature we didn’t realize it would remove all the clapping and provide a little distortion, but you can still hear it and the audio gets better as the video goes along.
Our next event will be a Selection Sunday Happy Hour with Pizza, for those at Spring Training. For information or to RSVP email: Rains@STLSportsPage.com.
