Shorewood family giving away 2,000 tickets to Military Appreciation Night at Joliet field

Frank Pastorello of Shorewood said he’s finally fulfilling one of his father’s last wishes.

Before Joseph Pastorello died in July 2019, he asked his son to “take care of my Army buddies,” Frank said.

Joseph was a Korean War veteran.

So that’s why the Pastorello family is giving away 2,000 tickets to the Joliet Slammers’ Military Appreciation Night on Sept. 3 at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.

Frank said he was unable to do anything major for veterans during the early days of the pandemic and because of his own health issues.

“This is the first year I’ve been able to honor my father’s wishes in full,” Frank said.

According to the Joliet Slammers website, Duly Health and Care is sponsoring the Military Appreciation Night, which will feature the Joliet Battle Buddies, sponsored by the Pastorello family of Shorewood.

Frank said the family also gave away 1,000 Joliet Slammers tickets for Princess Night on July 29 and arranged for the appearances of three special princesses: Elsa, Ana and Moana.

He had hoped to donate them to pediatric cancer patients until his own doctor told him that might not be possible due to those children being immunocompromised and more susceptible to COVID-19, Frank said.

“So I just opened it up to the whole community,” Frank said.

Frank said he’s donated tickets for other events, too. But he made it clear he’s not seeking attention.

In this case, Frank just wants to ensure veterans and military members, along with their immediate family members, attend an event that’s designated for them. In all cases, he just “wants to make a difference,” he said.

“I see some of the stuff going on and I just want to help make it better, to let people know the world is not bad and that there are good people out there,” Frank said.

With Princess Night, Frank said he sent emails to churches and organizations and distributed promotional posters. “Word of mouth” helped, too, he said

“We donated all 1,000 tickets a week before the event,” Frank said.

Frank said he’s experienced more challenges donating tickets for Military Appreciation Night than he did for Princess Night. He said some businesses won’t even hang a poster once they find out the event is for veterans, Frank said.

It bothers Frank when people forget what veterans did for them, he said.

“Let’s honor those who have served and remember those we have lost,” Frank said. “And come out and have a good time. The tickets are free.”

To request tickets, email Frank Pastorello at frankp.nids2013@gmail.com or call 815-791-9511 or 815-575-5011. When requesting tickets, provide first and last name, complete address (city, state, zip code - no P.O. boxes), phone number and number of tickets requested.

According to the Joliet Slammers website, active and veteran military members can also show their ID at the box office for a free ticket to the game.

For information, visit jolietslammers.com.