Softball tourney to honor man who died in crash

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

For Mike Gardner, it doesn’t matter what was responsible for the car crash that took the life of his only son in December of last year.

It’s been seven months for Mike, and now the focus, he said, should be on what comes next.

“We’re healing, and that’s what this whole thing is about,” Gardner said. “The community has been so strong.

“It’s just been phenomenal the support we’ve received.”

Matt Gardner, 26, was killed in a single-car crash in the early morning hours of Dec. 14, 2013, his car crashing into a telephone pole on a curve by Browns Lake Golf Course on Highway W. He was a 2005 graduate of Burlington High School.

Since then, his father – and the rest of the Gardner family – have battled the emotions of losing a young man whose nickname was “Goof.”

“God. It’s a struggle. It’s been a struggle every day for my entire family and his friends,” the father said. “It’s all part of it.”

It’s why Mike Gardner didn’t want to talk about the cause of the crash, and why instead he is looking at the Fourth of July weekend as a chance to do something positive, through the “Goof Ball Tournament.”

Matt played softball “almost every night of the week,” said his father, and the planned tournament will be a way to honor his memory. The event will take place July 4-6 at Congress Field in Burlington. All proceeds will go to the Burlington Area Rescue Squad.

The family is aiming for a maximum of 16 teams for the tournament, and already have 12 signed up.

“We’ve been planning this for four months,” “You have to wait until the end until you get people to formally commit.

“In the last three weeks, it’s filled.”

There will be a team coming in from Madison, and one from Illinois as well. Gardner said that’s an indication of the reach of his son’s softball career.

“Probably at least six,” Gardner said of his son’s involvement in softball leagues. “He played on a lot of teams.”

The focus of the event will be on the softball. Gardner said there will be a handful of raffles, as well as a beanbag tournament on July 5. There will also be a DJ at the field.

Mike said the family knows the tournament will be competing with the annual City of Burlington Firemen’s Dance, but hopes the two will be feeding off of each other.

“We’ll going be going back and forth,” said Mike. “And they’ll get free fireworks.”

But more than anything else, the tournament is about finding some peace after an accident cost the family a great deal.

“It’s just a gathering of all his friends, our entire family – and the community,” said Gardner, who added that fire, rescue and even the local police may have teams entered.

The reason the funds go to the rescue squad is simple. Gardner’s niece, Jessie Gardner, came through the Burlington High School EMT program, and Mike wants to see money go back

“Whatever their needs are,” said Mike. “We’re not in it for the money. We’re there for the gathering, and whatever we make is going to the rescue squad.”

For more information, contact Ann Marie Gardner at (262) 581-5918.