Jenny Dempster Honored As “Mary Frances Veeck Woman of the Year Award” by Pitch & Hit Club

CHICAGO (For release January 30, 2012) – Jenny Dempster was honored as the “Mary Frances Veeck Woman of the Year” awarded by the Pitch and Hit Club of Chicago at Sunday night’s Pitch & Hit Club Awards Dinner at the Carlisle Banquet Hall in Lombard, Ill. Jenny, a devoted mother of three to Brady, Riley and Finley, a wife, a philanthropist and activist is very committed to make a difference in the community.

Alongside her husband, Chicago Cubs Pitcher, Ryan Dempster, Jenny works hard to further the mission of her family foundation, which supports families of children with 22q (or DiGeorge Syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by a microdeletion of the 22nd chromosome), works with military families, reaches out to families with children with chronic diseases, and supports animal shelters.

Ryan and close friends were on hand Sunday night as Jenny received the award. An announcement was made last evening, that a portion of the proceeds from the dinner will benefit The Ryan and Jenny Dempster Family Foundation in Jenny’s honor.

Hall of Fame Great Andre Dawson was the Guest of Honor and Dave Dombrowski was honored with the Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame Award at Sunday night’s Awards Dinner.

Other Award winners included:

• Guest of Honor – Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson
• Lou Boudreau Hall of Fame Inductee -David Dombrowski, President and General Manager, Detroit Tigers
• Chicago Area Major League Player of the Year – Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
• Jerome Holtzman Award presented by The Chicago Baseball Museum – Minnie Minoso, Chicago White Sox
• Dizzy Trout Baseball Ambassador Award – Roland Hemond, Arizona Diamondbacks
• Mary Frances Veeck Woman of the Year – Mrs. Jenny Dempster, Chicago Cubs and Dempster Family Foundation
• Harry Caray Sportscaster of the Year – Dan Roan, WGN Television
• Nick Kamzic Scout of the Year – Kris Gross, St. Louis Cardinals
• Bill Gleason Sportswriter of the Year – Scott Merkin, MLB.com
• Major League Executive of the Year – Doug Melvin, Milwaukee Brewers
• Minor League Executive of the Year – Bill Waliewski, Joliet Slammers
• Chicago Area Minor League Player of the Year – Casey Crosby, Detroit Tigers
• Chicago Area College Player of the Year – Jeff Holm, Michigan State University
• Chicago Area Amateur Coach of the Year – Justin Fleener, Teutopolis Wooden Shoes
• Bo Jackson Courage Award – Jack Deheer, Roy Hobbs Baseball
• Len DiForte Amateur Baseball Service Award – Al Budding
• Charlie Hum Club Service Award – Jim Hall
• Pitch & Hit Club President’s Award – Old Timers Baseball Association of Joliet

In its 66th year, the Pitch and Hit banquet is the longest running and only industry-wide winter baseball banquet in the Chicago area. Proceeds from the dinner benefit other worthy baseball-related organizations, including Cubs Care, White Sox Charities and the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation. For more information, please contact the Pitch and Hit Club at http://www.pitchandhitclub.org/.

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