Above: Larry and Linda Weiss with MLB Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera.
On June 26th CJ and I attended the annual Mariano Rivera Golf Outing in New Rochelle, New York. The drivers and motivators of this event are Larry Weiss president and Luis Villa, vice president of industrial and production print for Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office. This is what Larry had to say about this event.
“The Mariano Rivera Foundation provides access to educational programs and vocational training for underserved children. For many reasons, these students would not have access to college or higher educational opportunities. Konica Minolta, Ricoh, EFI, and Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office provide curriculum and training for these kids to become copier technicians, support technicians in the print production industry, and earn color management certifications.”
During the outing, Larry gave us another reason for wanting to support the Mariano Rivera Foundation. “We are helping to create additional labor pools which the copier/print industry will be able to hire skilled print production operators,” he said. “Together we are helping create job paths and brighter futures for so many young people in need.”
CJ and I joined the golfers at the cocktail hour. Like last year you would think it was a copier event with the New York Yankees as the featured celebrities. Mariano Rivera was the main attraction as he always is at every event he attends.
The reason we stated that it seemed to have a distinct copier focus is because sponsors include Konica Minolta, Ricoh, and Sharp. In addition, Jim Morrisey, president of UBEO, and Brian Frank, COO of Visual Edge, were also in attendance.
Larry Weiss and the Mariano Rivera Foundation
How did Larry come to take such a significant role in helping the Mariano Rivera Foundation is typical of what he does best, to help others in need.
The story goes that Larry as a long-time Yankee fan learned that Mariano was looking for help to build a training facility in the New York metro area for young people who come from backgrounds with truly little in the way of family support. He reached out to Mariano and said he would like to help him give these young people an opportunity to succeed.
The problem was that the trade schools Mariano was sending these young people were unable to provide them with jobs after they completed their training. On the plus side, the Mariano Rivera Foundation was able to provide some of these young people with scholarships to various local schools.
The initial school was in Florida, and there is a classroom in New Jersey. The first graduates to get certified were five young men at the EFI Connect Conference in January 2022. One of them is working for Atlantic as part of Lou’s very experienced crew. We have met the young man, and he is truly an outstanding representative of what this Foundation is all about.
The Man Behind the Mariano Rivera Foundation
Mariano himself is not just a retired baseball pitcher. He is one of the greatest players ever to wear a professional uniform. The fact that he did it for the Yankees for 19 years has ensured that there are very few people that are not aware that he holds the record for pitching saves at 652. In his drive to help young people in need, he refers to the effort as his 653rd save.
38th Annual Awards & Charities Gala
We want to thank Larry Weiss and Lou Villa for introducing us to Mariano and giving us an opportunity to get to know him. He truly is special. CJ and I have promised him that we will do whatever we can to help him raise the money so these young men will have an opportunity to fill the desperate shortage of qualified production print technicians.
To that end, we are proud to say the charity for our 38th Annual Awards & Charities Gala is the Mariano Rivera Foundation. He and his lovely wife Clara, along with a few members of his foundation will be attending the Gala.
We will be offering some special promotions for the charity, including signed baseballs and autographed and framed number 42 jerseys. That is the number he wore, his entire career. It will be a night to remember.
For those who have not already indicated a desire to attend and would like to join us please reach out to me on a special phone to manage any inquiries about attending this event. The number is (973) 879-7459. We will do our best to accommodate you. However, we will have only limited seating available.
Our clients and partners have already indicated how many will be attending, and we are close to capacity. However, there are seats still open. If you are interested, we can also send you a list of the memorable Rivera baseball items and souvenirs we have available.
One hundred percent of the money we raise will go directly to the Mariano Rivera Foundation, a 501c3 organization. That means it is fully tax deductible.
Mariano Rivera Foundation Sponsor Comments
We asked the three of the major sponsors if they would be so kind as to provide us with quotes that express their opinions about the Mariano Rivera Foundation. Mike Marusic, president & CEO of Sharp Electronics Corporation was the first to provide us with his thoughts on this charity.
“We were honored to be a sponsor of the Mariano Rivera Foundation golf outing in support of their efforts to help kids from underserved communities. I mentioned to Larry Wiess that we would be interested in supporting the foundation if the opportunity arose. Larry was very gracious in reaching out to make it all happen. I especially appreciated the logo of 653rd save.”
We also heard from Jim Coriddi, vice president dealer sales, Ricoh USA.
“Ricoh is honored to support the Mariano Riviera Foundation. Thanks to Mariano, and the tremendous support from Larry Weiss and the team at Atlantic Tomorrows Office, this has become a powerful force in helping young people find their way to a worthwhile career.”
We close out with a quote from Dino Pagliarello, SVP, product management and planning, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.
“As a long-time supporter of the Mariano Rivera Foundation and its work to provide children from impoverished families with mentoring, vocational training, college scholarships, and life skill programs, Konica Minolta was honored to sponsor its Celebrity Golf Outing. It was a wonderful time playing a beautiful golf course with great company, meeting the only unanimous baseball Hall of Famer, and even having some time to talk a little business.”
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