Zander Memorial Tournament And Silent Auction

As I know many of you are already aware, on April 15th earlier this year we lost a member of the Butler Hoops community. Matt Alexander, my roommate at Butler and literally the very first non administrative member on this forum, was killed in the mass shooting at Fed Ex in Indianapolis. He was the quiet type and not usually one to actively participate in the discussions, but he followed this board closer than anyone, including myself, and played a huge role in helping me launch and moderate Butler Hoops.

In memory of Matt, all money received from VIP memberships for this season are going to the Matt Alexander Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The Zander Memorial youth baseball/softball tournament is being held October 22-24th in Avon to raise money for the scholarship fund. They are holding a silent auction as well, with bidding taking place online. If anyone would like to donate any items for the silent auction please reach out me. You have until the end of the month to submit items.

https://www.ajaaonline.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2740118

I'm late posting this, because I feel like it should come with some grand post from me honoring Matt and reminiscing on our time together, especially the 3 great years we spent together at Butler. I've had this tab open for weeks now hoping the right thing to say would come to me. But I'm just not capable of putting my thoughts and feelings into words. So I'll shamefully take the easy route out and copy this from the tournament website above about Matt:

"In Loving Memory of Matt:

Matt Alexander, age 32, of Avon, was a victim of the Indianapolis FedEx mass shooting on April 15, 2021. Matt graduated from Avon High School in 2007 and attended Butler University. In 2011, he began working at FedEx SmartPost, where he was a Line Haul Coordinator. As a dedicated, hard-working employee, Matt was very well respected by his colleagues and anyone who had the pleasure of working with him.

Matt was an avid sports enthusiast - a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan. His favorite all-time player was Ozzie Smith. Matt enjoyed following the St. Louis Blues, Indiana Pacers, Buffalo Bills and Butler Bulldog basketball. He and his friends attended the Indy 500 month of May activities, which became an annual tradition that Matt looked forward to.

Matt was blessed with the ability to play just about any sport. At the age of 5, he began playing baseball at AJAA and continued playing through high school where he was a short stop and pitcher. Matt’s friends affectionately refer to him as Mr. Automatic and Zander. Matt enjoyed playing softball, pick-up basketball, and serious backyard baseball with his closest friends. He could often be found at a nearby golf course playing a round with his friends and family.

Matt was a beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend. Matt led by example, rather than words. He was known for his laid back nature, sense of humor and heart of gold. Matt made an impact on everyone he met and is missed by all."