LaBarbera scholarship golf outing is biggest yet

Nine years after John LaBarbera started an annual golf outing fundraiser in his son’s memory, the event has grown larger than LaBarbera ever expected, hosting 192 golfers at Douglaston Golf Course on Oct. 13 and more than 200 people at a post-tournament luncheon at the Valley Stream American Legion hall.

“In nine years, it’s never rained,” LaBarbera said. “I like to say that’s Johnny looking down on us.”

Johnny was 16 and a junior at Central High School when he died suddenly on Oct. 17, 2005. He was at an after-school basketball clinic when he collapsed. He had had two open-heart surgeries but was given a clean bill of health just a month earlier.

“He was a role model, even to adults,” said Hayward Alfred, a social studies teacher and basketball coach who was there when Johnny collapsed. “He always saw the best in people. He saw with his heart.”

This year’s event raised $45,000, according to LaBarbera, most of which will go to a scholarship fund in his son’s name. The award’s acronym is ICAN, which stands for integrity, character, altruist and noble. It is presented at the end of the school year to a student chosen for his or her integrity and moral character, said John’s wife, Susan, to honor the traits their son was known for.

Central High Principal Joseph Pompilio remembered the envelope with $90 inside that Johnny once found and brought to his office. After it went unclaimed, Pompilio told Johnny he could keep the money, but the teen preferred that it stay in the principal’s office and be used to buy lunch or other things for students in need. That gesture was the genesis of a fund that has provided significant help in the years since.

“It’s one of the largest scholarships we give,” Pompilio said. “We have a lot of students with financial needs, and they’re often amazed at and grateful for the amount.”

Money that is not allocated to the scholarship is distributed among several school organizations.

The outing is held on Columbus Day each year, so faculty members can take part. It’s also a date that is near the anniversary of the LaBarberas’ loss.

“It gets tough for me,” John said. “It’s very emotional.”