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Celebrity News, March 2013

Kerry Wood Visits Naperville

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Posted March 1, 2013 by Glancer Magazine

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE AS A RETIRED CUBBIE

A few months ago, Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville and Downers Grove brought the community and their love of reading together with a book signing by retired Chicago Cubs’ pitcher and Chicago resident, Kerry Wood.  The baseball-player-turned-author cowrote a children’s book with Carrie Muskat, entitled All You Can Be: Learning & Growing Through Sports. The colorful book was illustrated by elementary students from the Chicagoland area, and it shares the valuable principles Wood has learned throughout the highs and lows of his life, both on and off the baseball field.

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His favorite lesson of the book: “Never quit on yourself, even if everyone else does.” Wood says,  “Surround yourself with people that believe in you. That was always something I felt growing up.”  With three young children and his oldest already playing baseball, Wood wants them to be able to be themselves and not be judged for being the children of a major league ball player.  Wood also stresses the importance of family and friends, the positive power of laughter, and doing the right thing.

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The book, which has already sold over 1,100 copies, has brought financial support to the Wood Family Foundation (WFF), a nonprofit organization Kerry and his wife, Sarah, founded in 2011. The foundation works to improve the lives of children in and around Chicago through its children’s programs and by raising funds for other children’s charities they support.  “The foundation means a lot to us. We aren't leaving a family business to our children. This will be our family's legacy,” Kerry says.  “We see the impact that we are making and why this is so worth it.”

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The Wood family hosts a variety of fundraisers throughout the year to support the foundation, including Woody’s Winter Warm-Up Celebrity Mixer, held at Navy Pier in January.  Radio personality Pete McMurray and TV/radio show host Jane Monzures emceed the event, which included “meet and greet” opportunities with Cubs players Matt Garza, Darwin Barney, Starlin Castro, David DeJesus, Alfonso Soriano, Tony Campana, Anthony Rizzo, Ian Stewart, Josh Vitters, Jeff Samardzija, Travis Wood, Carlos Marmol, James Russell, and Wellington Castillo, as well as Cubs owner Tom Ricketts and President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein.  The celebrity guest bartenders that showed off their skills throughout the evening included NBC’s Cheryl Scott, Peggy Kusinski and Stefan Holt; WTMX’s Kathy Hart; ABC’s Rafer Weigel; B96’s ‘Showbiz Shelley;’ radio shock jock Mancow; CBS’s Megan Glaros, and AJ Johnson from Style Network’s Chicagoliscious.  Also in attendance were Chicago Bears players Israel Idonije, Nick Roach, Roberto Garza, and Keith VanHorne.  Red carpet hosts were Windy City LIVE’s Ryan Chiaverini and WTTW’s new talk show host, Whitney Reynolds.  A night of fun and fundraising was had by all, including Glancer Magazine’s founding publisher, Lindy Kleivo.
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-Interviewed by Kristen Kucharski
Pictured Above at His Anderson's Book Shop Book Signing

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 DCOOKING FAVORITE DISHES UP ON

 

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