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Mostly Cloudy Record turnout, record money for scholarships
The Johnny LaBarbera Golf Outing has gotten so big, that it can no long be contained to just one facility.
This year, 172 golfers were split up among the Douglaston and Kissena golf courses in Queens for the eighth annual event. The golf outing raises money for scholarships for graduating Valley Stream Central High School seniors. In eight years, it has brought in more than $235,000, including a record $45,000 this year. John LaBarbera, who organizes the event in honor of his late son, said the goal is to raise enough money to give out scholarships in perpetuity.
At Douglaston, where the event has been held since the beginning, 36 foursomes hit the links, while the other seven groups teed off in Kissena. The guest list for the lunch that followed at the American Legion hall in Valley Stream topped 200.
The event pays homage to Johnny LaBarbera, who died on Oct. 17, 2005, from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia while on the basketball court at Central. The 16-year-old was participating in an after-school clinic and had previously underwent two open-heart surgeries. The golf outing is held yearly on Columbus Day, which typically falls near the anniversary of his death.
Johnny LaBarbera’s spirit has lived on through his younger siblings, Cassie, 22, Heather, 19, and Michael, 16. Johnny’s No. 31 basketball jersey still hangs in Central’s gym and Michael, a junior, wears that number for the Eagles football team.
Cassie, a graduate student at Hofstra University, says she looks after her younger siblings just as Johnny looked after the three of them. “I try to be as much like him as I can,” she said.
Heather, a sophomore at SUNY New Paltz, said it was important for her to come home for the event in her brother’s honor. She said she has a lot of Johnny in herself, including an outgoing personality and the desire to comfort others who are upset.
The three siblings say they are overwhelmed at the outpouring of support for their late brother. “It just shows that he’ll never be forgotten,” said Michael, who did not golf, but helped out at the course.
Cassie and Heather did a lot of the behind-the-scenes work for the golf outing, such as wrapping and organizing the raffle baskets. Heather pointed out that many of the same people come out to the outing on an annual basis, but there are also new faces every year.
Every year, one senior from Central High School is awarded a scholarship in Johnny LaBarbera’s honor. Last year’s recipient received $4,500, and it is one of the largest scholarships awarded at the school. It is given to a student who demonstrates integrity, character, altruism and nobility, character traits that are synonymous with Johnny’s name.
Heather and Cassie both have friends who have received the scholarship, and said they were all well deserving and very appreciative. One of those winners was on hand on Monday, 22-year-old Luke Gagstetter.
Gagstetter graduated Central in 2009 with Cassie and received his degree from SUNY Brockport in May. He said he was grateful for the scholarship because it helped pay college costs, but also takes to heart its significance.
“To receive an honor in someone’s name that you’re close with, it just carries some extra meaning,” he said. “Johnny was a great person. He always put his best foot forward. I try to put my best foot forward with everybody I meet or every situation I’m in.”
Gagstetter also always wears his blue “Johnny, Always in our Hearts” bracelet. This was Gagstetter’s first time taking part in the event as a golfer and said the magnitude of it is “breathtaking.”
“It’s definitely cool to be a part of it,” he said. “This is one of the best events that I know in terms of charity, definitely well worth all the effort that’s put in.”
Central Principal Dr. Joseph Pompilio, who attended the lunch, said the golf outing is an important every year because it pays tribute to someone who was well-loved and it does good for others. “I think after eight years of this event, it comes down to a very simple word and that’s goodness,” he said. “That’s what John was all about. The goodness is contagious.”
Pompilio noted that the event touches the lives of all Central students as they learn about Johnny’s positive character traits. One person who can attest to the goodness of the event is Gagstetter, who went to college to become a phys. ed. teacher and now is living out that dream in his first year at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Malverne.
John LaBarbera and his wife, Susan, say they are touched by the outpouring of support every year. John noted that for eight years running, there has been good weather for the event and believes it is the work of his son.
Susan LaBarbera said that every year people look forward to the golf outing, and book their slots months in advance. “This is a real Valley Stream community event,” she said. “The support system we have found in Valley Stream is incomparable. It makes a heart-breaking situation bearable.”
