34 The Queens Courier • FEBRUARY 26, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com We have unlimited seating and plenty of room for large parties Come have breakfast on our beautiful outdoor patio. NBA All-Star Game Festivities in Full Swing Last Weekend by Anthony Giudice With the NBA All-Star Game festivities in full swing last weekend, the Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, Inc. (MPBP) held a meet and greet event in the Ziegfeld Room of the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square last Saturday, Feb. 14. The room was decorated with red and white balloons to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and love filled the air as mothers of profession basketball players came together for this event. MPBP is a charitable non-profit organization that brings together the mothers of players in the NBA, D-League, WNBA and leagues from overseas. Vice President of MPBP Camillia Ratliff-Eatman said, “this is a great organization, they do great work and they have a great collaboration with the NBA.” Ratliff-Eatman explained that mothers of professional basketball players may face situations and problems that other people may not understand, so having a group of women in the same situation will be a great resource to have for mothers. “This is an organization that brings mothers together for a support group. That’s how we bond,” Ratliff-Eatman said. During the NBA All-Star weekend each year, the organization holds the meet and greet event to help grow their membership numbers. “We continue to recruit new mothers all the time from all walks of life,” Ratliff-Eatman said. “One of our goals is to continue to make it a point to involve ourselves in the recruiting process so that membership increases each year,” president of MPBP, Lucille O’Neal (Shaquille O’Neal’s mother) said in a statement. Besides being a place for player’s mothers to meet and bond, MPBP does many charitable works within the communities their children work and live. That is precisely the mission of MPBP, “to support the various communities where our sons and daughters live, work and play,” Ratliff- Eatman said, quoting the organization’s mission statement. Since MPBP was founded in 1996, the players’ mothers have worked with charitable organizations such as the United Negro College Fund and most recently St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital. “Over the course of our lives we’ve learned that it is important for us to give back to our local communities and make an investment into the lives of others through our resources and charitable works,” O’Neal said in a statement. Being a non-profit organization, MPBP looks for sponsors to help fund their events like their meet and greet. One member of the Queens community reaches out and supports their cause. Scott Baron, Esq. of the law firm Scott Baron & Associates, P.C., which has an office on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach, is one of their sponsors and has been for years. “I have been involved with NBA Cares for many years and often times what gets overlooked is the praise of the foundation of a lot of these NBA players, their moms,” Baron said. “This organization honors the very foundation of the players’ success, their mothers and/or parents,” he added. Photo caption: Vice President of Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, Inc., Camillia Ratliff-Eatman and sponsor Scott Baron, Esq. outside of the Ziegfeld Room during the MPBP meet and greet event last Saturday, Feb. 14. ADVERTORIAL FREE Potato Skins With purchase of Entrée One Coupon Per Table or Group (not valid on split checks). Not to be Combined With Other Offers. Must present this Queens Courier Coupon. Expires 3/18/15 FREE Spinach Dip With purchase of Entrée One Coupon Per Table or Group (not valid on split checks). Not to be Combined With Other Offers. Must present this Queens Courier Coupon. Expires 3/18/15 FREE Half Onion Loaf With purchase of Entrée One Coupon Per Table or Group (not valid on split checks). Not to be Combined With Other Offers. Must present this Queens Courier Coupon. Expires 3/18/15 $5 off any 2 breakfast entrees Only Valid on Saturday and Sundays from 9:00am to 1:00 pm. One Coupon Per Table or Group (not valid on split checks). Not to be Combined With Other Offers. Must present this Queens Courier Coupon. Expires 3/18/15 $5 off any 2 breakfast entrees Only Valid on Saturday and Sundays from 9:00am to 1:00 pm. One Coupon Per Table or Group (not valid on split checks). Not to be Combined With Other Offers. Must present this Queens Courier Coupon. Expires 3/18/15 $5 off any 2 breakfast entrees Only Valid on Saturday and Sundays from 9:00am to 1:00 pm. One Coupon Per Table or Group (not valid on split checks). Not to be Combined With Other Offers. Must present this Queens Courier Coupon. Expires 3/18/15 FREE DELIVERY
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