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July 2, 2010
Handyman to represent Yankees as All-Star volunteer
Handyman to represent Yankees as All-Star volunteer
Vinti Singh, Staff Writer
Published: 10:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 30, 2010
BROOKFIELD -- The Handy Dandy Handyman and his ministry are well known in Brookfield. Peter Brady organizes the annual Rake n' Bake and oversees 1,000 volunteers who do everything from odd jobs to major home renovations for the community's less fortunate.
The local hero was recently recognized as an "All-Star" in the "All-Stars Among Us Campaign," a contest sponsored by Major League Baseball and People magazine.
More than 1.7 million fans voted for a volunteer to represent each of the 30 major league baseball teams, and Brady won the vote to represent the New York Yankees.
Brady was invited to attend a Yankees game along with the other two finalists. They watched the game from a luxury suite and got to go down to the dugout to meet the players and get their autographs. Before the game started, they went out onto the field and were introduced to the crowd.
Brady and his family will travel to Anaheim, Cali., to attend the All-Star game on July 13.
"We're going to see what goes on and meet a few of the players," Brady said. "They told us they have a few surprises for us as well."
One of Brady's latest projects was helping a Shop Rite cart collector who was in danger of getting evicted. Joe Casolone has worked at Shop Rite for 18 years and has lived in his Bethel home for 60 years. He was in danger of getting evicted because his home violated health codes. Brady amassed contractors and volunteers to renovate the home in April. The project took about one month, and cost about $52,000 in labor and supplies.
This is not the first time Brady has been nationally recognized. In 2009, he was a finalist in ABC's "The View" Ultimate Volunteer Contest. He finished in second place.
Contact Vinti Singh
at vsingh@newstimes.com
Posted by hdhm at July 2, 2010 9:43 AM