New York, N.Y. — The John Jay College of Criminal Justice baseball program is set to host its ninth annual Lou DeMartino Memorial Dinner on Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the Main Gym of the Haaren Hall located at 899 Tenth Avenue.

This year the baseball team will honor two individuals for its awards which include the Lou DeMartino Lifetime Achievement Award and The Distinguished Baseball Alumni Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded to a person in the baseball community who has dedicated years of his life to baseball, while the Distinguished Baseball Alumni Award is awarded to a John Jay alumnus who played under DeMartino during his tenure.

This year's Lou DeMartino Lifetime Achievement Award is being awarded to Gary Perone, while the Distinguished Baseball Alumni Award is being awarded to Ronald Genovese ('78).

The Lifetime Achievement Award has been a long time coming for Perone whose name has been synonymous with baseball in New York.

A local product, Perone graduated from Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn where he was a member of the school's baseball team. He attended College at Division I St. Francis University, and after college created the first New York City off-season baseball program for kids called the Long Ball Club.

He later returned to his Alma Mater where he served as head coach of the Bishop Ford baseball team from 1998-2000.

Since 2000, Perone has been affiliated with minor league baseball, playing a major role in its prominence since returning to the five boroughs. He was named Community Relations Manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2000. In 2003 he received the Brooklyn Sports Leader Award for work in the community and baseball in Brooklyn. And in 2004 was chosen by the New York Mets to attend a Major League Baseball scout school in Arizona.

In 2005, Perone was named Assistant General Manager of the Staten Island Yankees. While with the Baby Bombers he founded the first ever Professional Baseball Hall of Fame which is currently located within the Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

Perone served in Staten Island for two years before returning to Brooklyn in 2007as the Director of New Business and Development with the Cyclones.

In 2009 he was the recipient of the Raymond Church Outstanding Lifetime Achievement award given by the Greater New York Sandlot Athletic Alliance for his dedication and service to New York City Baseball.

He is an Associate Scout for the New York Mets and is a member of The New York Pro Scouts Association (New York Hot Stove League), is a board member of the Greater New York Athletic Alliance and was appointed in the spring of 2010 by the President of Minor League Baseball to serve on Minor League Baseball's Diversity Committee.


Genovese was a member of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice baseball team from 1977-78, where he played a critical role in the Bloodhounds first City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) championship in 1978. He graduated from John Jay in 1978 with a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice.

Upon graduation, Genovese became involved with a family owned retail food store for five years. Then in 1982 he purchased a Kohler Deli meat route and operated the business for twenty-eight years before selling the route in May of this past year.

Currently he serves as a sales representative Crescent Packing Food Corporation located in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Born in Brooklyn, Genovese has been married the past thirty-one years to his wife Lorraine and they have three children.

"This year's Lou DeMartino Dinner is going to be great as always," said John Jay head baseball coach and Director of Athletics, Dan Palumbo. "We are honoring two very special people who are very close to baseball and Lou, who committed his life to the game."

Tickets for the dinner at $85.00 per person and all RSVPs are due by Jan. 11, 2010. Please click here to download a copy of the RSVP and invitation.

The Lou DeMartino Dinner is an annual fund raising affair for the John Jay baseball team. The dinner was named in honor of the former coach who served as the Bloodhound skipper from 1974-99 and posted 424 career wins. He coached John Jay to nine City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) championships and nine Knickerbocker championships, plus one Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship.