President Matt Farrago
Ring 8 Minutes
Executive Board Meeting

The monthly executive board meeting of the Veteran Boxers Association of NY, Ring 8, Inc. was held on Tuesday, Sept 22nd, 2009 at O’Neill’s Restaurant, Maspeth, New York .

Pictured are Vinny Maddalone, Emile Griffith and Ring 8 President, Matt Farrago

Board members in attendance: President Matt Farrago, V.P. Henny Wallitsch, Bobby Bartel, Lenny Mangiapane, Bob Duffy, Henry Hascup, Johnny Breitenbruck, Paulette Balog, Tommy Gallagher, Frank Pena, Jack Hirsch, Richie O’Neill, Tony Di Pippo.

Our next meeting will be at the Waterfront Crabhouse, Tuesday, October 20th, 2009, at 7:00pm. Board of Directors will meet at 6:00pm.

The following items were discussed:

1. R.I.P. boxers were acknowledged:

A. Tony Thornton: the ‘Punching Postman’ Tony Thornton not only could deliver a punch, he delivered the mail. But Thursday night, the local boxing pro known as the “Punching Postman” died at Cooper University Hospital in Camden of injuries suffered in an Aug. 30th motorcycle accident. He was 49

B. Olympic boxer Darren Sutherland found dead at home. Sutherland was unbeaten in his first four pro fights and was to appear with Maloney at a news conference Tuesday to talk about his next bout on Oct. 16th.

2. Top priority was placed on our 2009 “ Holiday and Awards Ceremony.

On Sunday, December 20, 2009, Ring 8 is celebrating its Annual Holiday Event and Awards Ceremony at Russo’s on the Bay, 162-45 Crossbay Blvd, Howard Beach, NY 11414, 718-843-5055, 12:30pm – 5:30pm. Tickets are $125.00 per person and VIP tickets at $175.00. VIP tickets can spend an hour with some of the greatest fighters the sport has known. Photographs are permitted, and one item is allowed to be signed by an honoree.

Make checks payable to: Ring 8, Inc.

Mail checks and journal ads to: Matt Farrago, 30 Bowdon Rd, Greenlawn , NY 11740

* This event is expected to sell out quickly so please send in your reservation checks as soon as possible.

3. Ring 8 agreed to help sell the Metro Finals – Bob Duffy will be promoting the event on November 20th at the Plattdeutsch Park Restaurant,1132 Hempstead Tpke., Franklin Square, NY 11010-1535. Ring 8 has agreed to take a minimum of 100 tickets at $20 per ticket. Members will be asked to help sell the show so that the club receives $5 per ticket sold by us. We are hoping to bring at least $500 or more to the club, and to help sell out the NY Metro Finals.

4. The Board has decided to put the Sunnyside Garden Arena Memorial stone at the old sight at 45th and Queens Blvd. on hold until January. Our focus will be on the NY Metro’s in November and the 2009 Holiday Ceremony in December, but we are looking forward to being involved in this event. We are very interested in seeing this memorial stone come to fruition.

5. Member Scoop Malinowski talked about his new book “Lewis vs. Tyson: Heavyweight Armageddon,” which was given a thumbs up by Oksana Baiul, John McEnroe and Emanuel Steward and Lou DiBella. Many members have read the book, and they all also gave it a thumbs up.

6. Member John Oden “The Pecos Kid” spoke about his new book “Life in the Ring.” Life in the Ring, an inspirational book on life, using boxing as a backdrop. The book is organized into 12 rounds (chapters), and in each round I use the example of a great boxer to illustrate a point about life. For example, George Foreman is “Reinventing Oneself and Making a Comeback,” Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney are “Great Opponents Make Great Champions,” Oscar De La Hoya is “Challenging Yourself,” Floyd Patterson is “Making Fear Your Friend,” etc.

A Foreword was written by Bert Sugar, who is very excited about the book, because it puts such a positive spin on the sport (which it deserves). Additionally, the book was endorsed by Donald Trump and John McCain (both on the front cover) and Emanuel Steward (back cover).

7. Ring 8 recently made a significant donation to the “Patti Fund” which is dedicated to the improving the quality of life and provision of care for children and adolescents with cancer. Checks made out to Patti Fund, Inc. can given to the Ring 8 board to be forwarded to the handlers of the fund.

8. Attached is the Invite to the 2009 Holiday and Awards Ceremony and information on advertising in the journal. Please help Ring 8 sell out the journal.

9.Our next meeting will be at the Waterfront Crabhouse on Tuesday, October 20th 2009, at 7:00pm. Board of Directors will meet at 6:00pm.

Posted under Meeting Notes