My name is John Kannengeiser and I am a former NHL employee currently working as a Nassau County Police Officer.
I am an avid hockey fan/player as well as follower of your New York Islanders hockey coverage. The reason I am writing to you is a rather important one. On Saturday, October 29th, 2011 (prior to the NYI vs. SJ game) the New York Islanders are hosting a charity hockey game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum which features the Nassau County PBA vs. Suffolk County PBA at 1:00 pm. The proceeds will be donated to the families of Nassau County Police Officers Michael Califano and Geoffrey Breitkopf and Suffolk County Police Officer Glen Ciano, who were all tragically killed in the line of duty over the course of the past two years.
We, as fellow Police Officers and hockey players have the unique opportunity to combine our love of the game with an inherent need to help the families of our fallen brothers. I’m not sure if you are familiar with these stories, but here are a few links that will outline the details surrounding these tragic events:
http://www.odmp.org/officer/
http://www.odmp.org/officer/
http://www.odmp.org/officer/
As you can see, these three exemplary officers left behind wives and a combined seven children, many of whom are very young. It goes without saying, the difficulties these families are experiencing each and every day as they try and move forward with their lives.
The New York Islanders have been kind enough to help out by hosting this event, but in order to show the true support necessary to assist these families, we need to sell as many tickets as possible to increase the revenue and thus, the overall contributions to the families. Being that your media coverage has a significant reach amongst the New York Islanders fan community, I would like to respectfully ask if it would be possible for you to mention our event on your website/daily coverage in an effort to spread the word to the fans and help fill the seats.
The New York Islanders have secured sections in the Coliseum for which tickets will be sold at a discounted rate. Certain $84 tickets will be reduced to $40 and certain $40 tickets will be reduced to $30 for this event.
Each paid ticket entitles the ticketholder to the following:
1:00 PM – “Battle of the Border” Charity Hockey Game (NCPBA vs. SCPBA)
4:00 PM – Family Skate (Open to all fans in attendance, must bring own skates)
7:00 PM – New York Islanders vs. San Jose Sharks
***Please note that the discounted tickets for this event WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE ON A WALK-UP BASIS and CAN ONLY BE PURCHASED through the following outlets:
1. New York Islanders – Call Cliff Gault at (516) 501-6763
2. Print, fill out and mail in this flyer –
http://www.nassaupba.org/
3. Call or visit the Nassau County PBA Office located at: 89 East Jericho Turnpike, Mineola, NY 11501, Phone: 516-294-6230
4. Call or visit the Suffolk County PBA Office located at: 868 Church Street, Bohemia, NY 11716, Phone: 631-563-4200
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in helping us show some much needed support to these families in need. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, etc.
Sincerely,
P.O. John Kannengeiser
Nassau County PBA Hockey Team
jkannengeiser AT gmail DOT com