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The following was submitted by the Office of Rep. Michael Day:
Rep. Michael Day recently joined with Winchester Police Chief Daniel O’Connell and Winchester Fire Chief Steven Osbourne to commemorate the Winchester Sports Foundation’s “Veterans Day Fight Night Salute to Our Heroes” amateur boxing event, held in Winchester Town Hall last Veterans Day weekend.
During their meeting, Day presented the chiefs with a boxing glove that he purchased at the fundraising event and was signed by boxing legends “Irish” Mickey Ward, Dana Rosenblatt and Ray Mercer.
The glove will be displayed in the lobby of the Public Safety Building that houses both Winchester Police and Fire.
“A big thank you to Mike Day for attending, sponsoring and having the winning bid on the signed boxing glove at the Veterans Day Fight Night which benefited several charities, including the Winchester First Responders Foundation,” said O’Connell.
The Winchester Sports Foundation event featured amateur boxers from West Point, the Coast Guard Academy and other local universities, and raised more than $50,000 for the Winchester Sports Foundation, the Winchester First Responders Fund, A Better Chance (“ABC”) Winchester and other local and military charities.
“The Winchester Sports Foundation does phenomenal work supporting our students and our broader community, as evidenced by the great boxing event it sponsored,” said Day. “I was proud to support this event that highlighted the unique ability of sports to bring us together and helped raise money for such great causes. I hope the boxing glove on display will remind visitors to the Public Safety Building how important it is to support our first responders, and I thank them for all they do for us.”
The Winchester Sports Foundation began in 1989 when Winchester High School was facing severe cuts to its athletic department. A group of Winchester parents and sports enthusiasts who recognized the importance of school athletic programs to student development and health worked together to raise funds to support high school athletics.
Today, the Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports projects that may fall outside of the school budget, particularly focusing on enhancing student-athlete programs and safety initiatives. The Foundation expanded its recipients of the first-ever “Salute to Our Heroes” fundraiser to honor first responders, the ABC and military and veterans causes.
“The Winchester Sports Foundation was honored to host several U.S. military academies to Winchester Town auditorium on Veterans Day weekend,” said Chris Centurelli, president of Winchester Sports Foundation. “It was an amazing night where we honored our military, watched top amateur boxers and raised tens of thousands for local charities. Thank you to Representative Day for sponsoring the event and generously donating the signed boxing glove back to our first responders.”
“It was an honor to have Representative Day attend our “Salute to our Heroes” military boxing matches on Veterans Day,” said Paul Goodrich, Winchester First Responder’s Fund. “He stands with our men and women in uniform and we were thrilled he could attend.”
