Letter: Battle of Badges Raises $7K for Wounded Warrior Project

On behalf of the members of the Verona Police P.B.A. Local 72 and the members from the Cedar Grove Police Department, I would like to thank everyone who participated in our 2nd Annual “Battle of the Badges” Charity Softball Tournament. The games were exciting to watch and very competitive. The Verona Fire Department and the North Caldwell Police Department played the championship game. The North Caldwell Police Department prevailed with a 22 to 16 victory over the Verona FD.

All the teams played very well and you should all be very proud to be part of such an important charity. I would like to thank everyone who attended the event and everyone who made a donation. The event was a great way to bring our community together for a great cause.

I would like to take this time to especially thank a few people…

The Verona Police Department, the Verona Fire Department, the Cedar Grove Police Department, the Cedar Grove Fire Department, the North Caldwell Police Department, and the North Caldwell Fire Department, DJ Chris Segarra from “Legendery Entertainment”, Fr. Mike Hanly from Our Lady of the Lake Church, Staff Sergeant Justin Nielsen and members from the US Military Honor Guard …2-113th Infantry, 50th Brigade Combat Team- New Jersey Army National Guard, Elyse Fearon for singing the National Anthem, Essex County Emerald Society Police and Fire / Pipes & Drums, Robin Brzezinska and Davin Lehman from Wounded Warriors, Chuck Molinaro, George Zhender, Chuck Molinaro Jr., Lenny Waterman, and Garry Grasso, Retired Captain Fred Di Stefano, Retired Verona Police Captain Tommy O’Connor, Retired Verona Police Sgt. Davy Hill, Nicole & Gabby, Lt. Mike Ruglio “Ruglio’s Italian Kitchen,”, Lt. Joe Cirasa “Cirasa’s Southern Style BBQ”, Mike “Chich’s Creations” Traettino, Bob Shafer and Tim Banta from Two-Guys Tees for their outstanding donation of $1,600.00, Carmen Cerreto from TD bank of West Caldwell, Martin Contracting, Gifford’s Landscaping,

C & J Trophies & Promotions of Verona, Corner Butcher Block of Caldwell, Hillcrest Farms of Verona, Eight Hills Caterers of Verona, the Verona Rescue Squad, the Cedar Grove Rescue Squad, the West Essex Rescue Squad, the West Caldwell Police Department, and especially our silent donators JS and MG, and anyone else that I forgot to mention…

This years tournament brought in a total of $6,905.00 in donations that will be directly sent to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).

Thank you all for making this year’s event a great success…See you all next year.

P/O Ed Carattini Jr., State Delegate
Verona Police P.B.A. Local 72