$10,000 Raised in Honor of Late Hinsdale Deputy Fire Chief

The following is a release from the Hinsdale Fire Department:

The second annual Big’s Bare Knuckle Softball Tournament, hosted over the weekend by the Hinsdale Fire Department to honor late Deputy Chief Mark Johnson, helped raise $10,000 for Hinsdale’s Safety Village. The money will also be used to send at least one child to Camp I Am Me, a two-week summer camp for child burn victims.

The one-day tournament took place Sunday at Veeck Park in Hinsdale. Several local fire departments participated, including Western Springs, Westmont, Oak Brook, Clarendon Hills, LaGrange Park and the Pleasantview Fire Protection District. The Hinsdale public works department also participated, winning the championship for the second straight year after a tough title game against the Hinsdale Fire Department.

Most of the money was collected from raffle prizes, which were given away at the conclusion of the championship game. Matt Johnson, Marc Johnson’s son, took a day off from his duties as the assistant athletic trainer for the Chicago Cubs, to play with the Hinsdale Fire Department. When he returned to work the next day, the Chicago Cubs players took up a collection in the locker room and presented Johnson with $1,800 towards the event.

The Hinsdale Fire Department would like to thank all the teams who participated in the tournament, the community residents who came out to cheer us on, and everyone involved in planning, organizing and running this event—especially Matt and Cheryl Johnson.

We will never forget.