Softball tournament, dinner raise funds for injured officer

The crack of baseball bats and sizzle of hot dogs on a grill sounded near ballfields at Barnett Park in Orange County on Saturday, where dozens gathered for a softball tournament to benefit an Orlando police officer critically wounded last year while on duty.

The Wounded Hero CoEd softball tournament drew 10 teams, whose registration fees will be gifted to the family of Kevin Valencia, an officer who remains in a coma nearly nine months after being shot in the head during a domestic violence call in June.

As the tournament was taking place, the Winter Garden Elks Club was putting on a separate fundraiser for the family at their hub on Ninth Street in Winter Garden. An event consisting of a pulled pork meal and raffles drew roughly 400 people and accumulated more than $20,000 for the Valencias, according to organizers.

Kevin’s wife, Meghan Valencia, said the steady support from law enforcement and community members during her husband’s treatment keeps her going.

“A lot of people have told me ‘you’re so strong,’ ” she said on the bleachers at Barnett Park. “No, I’m not really ... The support that I’ve gotten from so many people is what’s kept me standing.”

The softball tournament was organized by Rebekah Cohen and Meghan Valencia’s uncle, John Hinz, who both work with USA Softball of Florida, and Plantation Fire Department EMT Mark Dewalt. Hinz is an umpire with the organization, and he and others officiated the games for free.

The goal was to help the Valencias reach the $200,000 target on their GoFundMe page, said Cohen, a state tournament director. Organizers counted about $2,100 raised by the Valencia end of the tournament, but are expecting more from additional merchandise sales, Cohen said.

Kevin Valencia’s recent transfer to a Central Florida hospital is a move his wife believes will spark a “big turning point for him,” after his condition at a hospital in Atlanta had stagnated in recent months, she said. Tiny movements Kevin was capable of shortly into his treatment eventually ceased, she said.

But since arriving in Florida, Kevin has begun showing signs of responsiveness again, like moving his thumbs, Meghan Valencia said.

She hopes visits from friends and family, especially the couple’s two children, will give her husband a “boost” to realize “I’m not forgotten. Everybody’s still supporting me, everybody still loves me, everybody’s still here for me. I’ve got to get back to them,” she said.

Larry Bacon, an OPD officer and friend of Kevin Valencia, played in the tournament on a team named Badge Buddies. The fundraiser was an “uplifting” event, he said, in the face of unfortunate circumstances surrounding Kevin Valencia’s injuries.

“This is an awesome kind of way to ... keep the spirits high,” Bacon said. “It’s positive. Anything positive can go a long way.”

Bacon was among a group of officers who helped Meghan Valencia hang her Christmas lights in December. Simple tasks like hanging lights or fetching groceries, he and others at the Police Department jump to lend a hand with, he said.

“I don’t matter right now. It’s all about the Valencia family,” Bacon said. “... We sign up for this type of work, we understand that ... it’s a big family.”