Students honor longtime employee while raising money for prostate cancer research
It was hot and sunny and school was no longer in session, but that didn’t stop Devon Prep students, alumni, parents and friends from participating in the third annual “Batting for Pat” Wiffle Ball Tournament, named for longtime Devon employee Pat Nattle of Mont Clare. The tournament, which took place on Devon Prep’s soccer fields on a recent Saturday morning, raised nearly $5,000 for ZERO – The End of Prostate Cancer (https://zerocancer. org/), a national nonprofit organization that supports research and provides education and support to men and their families.
Nearly 75 participants played in the tournament, which took about three hours to complete. After several heated games of wiffle ball among the teams, “McNick’s Warning Track Power” emerged thewinner. They included four Devon Prep Class of 2009 Alumni, James Gamrat ofWest Chester, Christian Staub of Pottstown, EdMcNichol ofWest Chester and Neil Moerman of Malvern.
Nattle was diagnosed three years ago, at the age of 51, with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. He has undergone treatments off and on since then. He is a favorite among Devon Prep students, always encouraging and helpful to them. After hearingaboutNattle’s diagnosis the Student Council decided to show their appreciation and support for him by sponsoring “Batting for Pat.” Since its inception, “Batting for Pat” has raised nearly $20,000 for the ZERO organization.
“Pat is special to us,” said Patrick Rohr of Audubon, Class of 2015 alumnus and one of the first organizers of the event. “He’s a special part of Devon. He helped us a lot so we want to give something back to him.”
“Whatever money is raised may help someone else not have to go through this,” said Nattle, who spent the day helping outwhere he could, and thanking everyone for coming. “I just hope there will be a cure some day.”
Prostate cancer is the mostcommon canceramong men and the second leading cause of cancer deathamong American men. More than 240,000 men each year are affected by the disease.
Devon Prep is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for youngmen in grades six to 12, conducted by the Piarist Fathers. Devon Prep students hail from Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks counties as well as parts of Philadelphia. The school’s Main Line campus sits on 20 acres on North Valley Forge Road in Devon. For more information contact Devon Prep at 610-688-7337 or visit www. devonprep.comorwww.facebook.com/devonprep.