A big shout out to Sue and Tony Valenti for organizing the hospitality room at the District tournament at Hilliard Darby High School! For the coaches, referees, volunteers and others who have had the fortune of feasting on the smorgasbord over the past years, you can attest that they do a first class job and you look forward to coming back year after year.

My wife and I have had the pleasure of getting to know the Valenti family over the past two years; and this year we got to experience how much effort they put into making this tournament the talk of the town. Their volunteering extends beyond just this tournament as they contribute throughout the year by organizing hospitality room for JV tournament, selling raffle tickets at wrestling events, selling 50/50 tickets at Varsity football games, parking at Varsity football games, organizing wrestling senior night, organizing spirit nights with local businesses, and so on. I’m sure there are many more that I missed and will get to know over the next few years. We are very fortunate to have Sue and Tony part of the Hilliard Darby family as they are role models to the community by giving and doing it the right way!

So when you attend the District tournament this year and walk down to get a bite to eat at the hospitality room, make sure to say thank you to Sue and Tony!

I agree, I have been to many tournaments around the state for many years and the Darby Hospitality Room is second to none. Thank you Tony And Sue for getting it organized! And thanks to the Darby staff for running a top notch tournament year after year!

100% agree, one of the things I miss the most about coaching DI! Congrats Sue and Tony for all that u do, u r truly "the best"!

I hear - I say, I hear! - there's wrestling at Darby too. I wouldn't know because, as mentioned above, I am too busy stuffing my face in the hospitality room. I gained six pounds last year. If someone could puts some updates here on the Chatter, if love it. I can eat with my left hand and scroll the results with my right. Pwetty pweeeeze!?!?!?!?!

cruiser_96;1575029 wrote:I hear - I say, I hear! - there's wrestling at Darby too. I wouldn't know because, as mentioned above, I am too busy stuffing my face in the hospitality room. I gained six pounds last year. If someone could puts some updates here on the Chatter, if love it. I can eat with my left hand and scroll the results with my right. Pwetty pweeeeze!?!?!?!?!

If you like, cruiser, I can give you hospitality room updates... What time certain food arrives, what coaches are eating what, which desserts are going the fastest....

Ha!!!! Two thumbs up!!!!!!!

I remember it fondly when I coached.....it was a plethora of everything you could ever want......I often dream of it when IM hungry!

Though honestly, the Westerville North Warriors big JV Tournament! They would put out a nice spread too, nothing close to the Hillaird Districts....but....back in my day, it was WELL WORTH visiting!

It amazes me as a Darby parent the amount of time, organization and commitment it takes to pull off the District tournament.
weve been blessed to have the Valentis running the halls of Darby for quite some time now!
they are also highly involved in the football and baseball team organizations too.
all of their boys are classy kids and very respectful which is a reflection of them.
a quick story that just happened.
my Aunt had just passed this week and we were heading out of town for the funeral yesterday.
my wife mentioned to Sue that she would have loved to have ordered some cookies and sweets from Sue(she also runs a home made dessert company on top of her teaching preschool).
Darby was hosting the OCC Cardinal JV tourney yesterday so they were busy with the coordination with that so my wife didn't even ask her to do this.
well we had taken her son down to the OSU michigan dual and when my son dropped him off, he returned home with a plate of home made cookies and biscotti to bring to the funeral.
way over the top. Just a miniscual thing in the endless list that she does!
If you ever need anything sweet catered definitely reach out to Sue Valenti!
id also be remiss if I didn't mention the hard work of Skip and Mary Zawodny.
they have also dedicated their time to make Darby a special place to compete athletically.
and also thanks to all the scores of people who do such a great job putting on such a wonderful district tourney whom are too many to list! Coach Moody knows this and is the first to thank them and all the parents and volunteers who help pull off this endeavor.

This thread is very much overdue. Sue and Tony Valenti are the most genuine people that I have ever met. I am not sure how they find the time to do half of the things that they do, but they amaze me every year. In fact many Hilliard families amaze me for their commitment toward making the kids and community enjoy their experience when associated with Darby Wrestling; or even Central Ohio wrestling for that matter.

The beginning of this large support system and amazing hospitality room started with organization efforts of Ken and Mary Lou Ash, Kevin and Lisa Moody, and John and Caryn Riggs (along with many more gracious parents) at Hilliard High School (now Davidson High School). The tradition of hosting first class events and hospitality was then passed down through many families in Hilliard. And if there is one thing that I know about the town of Hilliard is that parents in this town love the heck out of their kids; and rightfully so.

A few families that have volunteered countless hours are The Clingman family, Poehlor family, Cameron family, Cline family, Ciardelli family, Hammonds family, Newbury family, Port family, Maniaci family, Boyd family, Gourash family, Burgei family, Griffiths family, Dudzik family, Longwell family, Donatelli family, Arpin family, Conkey family, Zawodny family, Valenti family, and many many more.

Trust me when I say that the Darby administration and coaches know exactly how lucky we are for people like Sue and Tony Valenti. Great thread!

:thumbs up:

Nice work Sue and Tony Valenti !!!!!

If you want to help Sue, the next time you're in the Hilliard area, please support those that support wrestling in Central Ohio. Make sure they know your with the Central District Wrestling. It makes getting donations a heck of a lot easier.

PantherDad: where's that list??? Or should we go door-to-door to the businesses!? In fact, that's what we SHOULD do!!! Walk in, ask if the business supports Hilliard Wrestling - if no, walk out. If yes, dine in!!!!! (Remember to tip if applicable.)

As soon as I can get a copy of the list, I'll post it. Sue is working with the last few to confirm their commitment. The list is posted in several spots at the meet as well. Several of the restaurants drop off coupons as well.

Thanks for all you do for wrestling in central Ohio

cruiser_96;1576499 wrote:PantherDad: where's that list??? Or should we go door-to-door to the businesses!? In fact, that's what we SHOULD do!!! Walk in, ask if the business supports Hilliard Wrestling - if no, walk out. If yes, dine in!!!!! (Remember to tip if applicable.)

The complete list is in the program. You are buying a program, right?

Ummmmm, yeah!!! Duh!!!!!! Who doesn't!?!?!?!?!?!?! Pfft... As if!

I don't coach anymore, but can you sneak me in cruiser_96? I mean, ill slip you a 20.....

Small List: (Updated 2/9/14)
Average Joes
Abner's
Beef O' Brady's
BW's (Hilliard Rome)
Chipotle
Old Bag Of Nails
Oties
Panera
Romeo's Pizza
Roosters
Sam's Club (Both Sawmill and Hilliard-Rome Locations)
SkyLine Chili (Fishinger Rd)
Tim Hortons
Wing Stop

Yes, entire list will be in the program

very small list... the actual list is huge.... IIRC from last year....

Go4alOngbOmB;1577469 wrote:I don't coach anymore, but can you sneak me in cruiser_96? I mean, ill slip you a 20.....

Mill see what I can do!

did the food start rolling in yet? Nothing better then this food court! (o:

Here's the list of those supporting the Central District wrestling this weekend with food:
7 Up Of Columbus (Sports Drinks)
7 Up Of Columbus (Soda Pop)
A Matter Of Steak (Ham Sandwiches)
A Matter of Steak (Steak Sandwiches)
A Matter of Steak (Chicken Sandwiches)
Abner’s Casual Dining (Pancakes)
Abner’s Casual Dining (Sausage)
Auddino’s Bakery & Café (Donuts)
Average Joe’s Pub & Grill (Pizza)
Beef O’ Brady’s (Cuban Wrap)
Beef O’ Brady’s (Club Wrap)
Bob Evan’s Restaurant (Biscuits & Gravy)
Buffalo Wild Wings (Boneless Wings)
Buffalo Wild Wings (Traditional Wings)
Chipotle (Chicken Burritos)
Chipotle (Steak Burritos)
Chipotle (Barbacoa Burritos)
CiCi’s Pizza (Macaroni & Cheese)
Cici’s Pizza (Pasta and Sauce)
Cottage Inn Pizza (Pizza)
Crumbz Cakery (Mini Cupcakes)
Culver’s Restaurant (Chicken Fingers)
DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines (Subs)
Domino’s Pizza (Pizza)
Firehouse Subs (Subs)
First Watch (Mini muffins)
First Watch (Fruit)
Flyers Pizza (Pizza)
Frisch’s Big Boy (Pie)
Frisch’s Big Boy (Rolls)
Golden China Express (Egg Rolls)
Golden China Express (Chicken Fried Rice)
Golden China Express (General Tso’s Chicken)
Golden China Express (Chicken Fried Rice)
Haruki East (Fried Rice)
Haruki East (Sesame Chicken)
Heidelberg Distributing (Water)
Iacono’s Pizza & Restaurant (Pizza)
IHOP (Pancakes)
IHOP (Sausage)
Jerry’s Galaxy Café (Creole Macaroni)
Jerry’s Galaxy Café (BBQ Burger Tortilla)
Jersey Mike’s Subs (Subs)
Jet’s Pizza (Pizza)
Kroger Bakery (Baked Goods)
Lil Donut Factory (Donuts)
Little Caesars Pizza (Cheese Pizza)
Little Caesars Pizza (Pepperoni Pizza)
Luigi’s Pizza (Pizza)
Max & Erma’s (Fried Chicken Salad)
Max & Erma’s (Garlic Bread)
McDonalds (Chicken Nuggets)
Mosley’s Meat Market (Sandwiches)
Nasty’s Sports Bar (Wings)
Old Bag of Nails Pub (Tuna Salad)
Old Bag of Nails Pub (Chicken Salad)
Otie’s Restaurant & Pub (Bologna Sandwiches)
Otie’s Restaurant & Pub (Hummus/ Pita)
Otie’s Restaurant & Pub (Chicken)
Outback Steakhouse (Baked Potatoes)
Outback Steakhouse (Rolls)
Panera Breads (Bagels)
Penn Station (Subs)
Perkins (Mini-Muffins)
Perkins (Cookies)
Piada (Piada Sticks)
Pizza Hut (Cheese Pizza)
Pizza Hut (Pepperoni Pizza)
Raising Cane’s (Chicken Fingers)
Roadhouse Wings &Grill (Wings)
Redhook Grill (Humus and Chips)
Romeo’s Pizza (Pizza)
Roosters (Boneless Wings)
Salsa Rica (Chip and Guasacaca Sauce)
Scrambler Marie’s (Muffins)
Skyline Chili (Hot Dogs/Coneys)
Skyline Chili (3,4 or 5 Way)
Starliner Diner (Pasta)
Starliner Diner (Vera Cruz Salad)
Subway (Subs)
Taco Bell (Tacos)
Taco Bell (Burritos)
Texas Roadhouse (Pulled Pork Sandwiches)
The Meat & Potatoes Guy (Deli Tray)
The Olive Tree (Humus and Pita)
Tim Horton’s (Timbits)
Valenti’s Specialty Desserts (Cake Pops)
Gary Lindinger (Eggs)
Walgreens (Water)
Which Wich (Sandwiches)
White Castle (Cheese Sliders)
White Castle (Regular Sliders)
Wild Ginger (Fried Rice)
Wild Ginger (Sesame Chicken)
Wing Stop (Boneless Wings)
Yutzy’s Farm Market (Deli Tray and Bread)

Please help support those that support you.

I'm scheduled to start picking it up friday, and from the looks of PantherDad's list, I'm going to be busy!!!

I think all coaches need to weigh in on Friday pm, and then weigh out on Sat night.....who gains the most weight?

What an incredible list of sponsors....I know first-hand how must time/effort that must have taken to coordinate...Kudos!

Don't forget, a lot of parents bring homemade food as well.

Mac and Cheese, Sloppy joes, Meatballs, Salad, Cheesy potatoes, Breakfast Casseroles, Juice, Pop, Water, Fruit, Desserts