Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2009

'I lost my voice I was so excited': FanFest winner will share All-Star tickets with family

The other tickets she won were up for grabs, but Ashley Stewart knew she would take her 8-year-old son to both the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game when she became the 2 millionth person to visit an All-Star FanFest over the weekend.

"I called everybody and screamed on the phone with them; I lost my voice I was so excited," said Stewart, 26, of 922 Cool Valley Drive in Belleville. "It's a once in a lifetime thing. It's actually history in the making."

Stewart's voice is hoarse and barely audible after a full day of retelling the story of her lucky draw. She said she planned to have her son, Dante Daniels Jr., with her at both events.

The tickets are a special treat to kick off the first summer that Dante could truly enjoy.

Dante underwent a tracheostomy in June 2008 and spent last summer recovering before the school year. Before the surgery to clear his windpipe of scar tissue, Dante could hardly leave the house, be around other children or partake in activities like swimming because he was susceptible to infections.

"When I found out, I said, 'I'm gonna be on my best behavior,'" Dante said. "But my mom has to take me -- I'm a real Cardinals fan."

"We're a sports family," said Stewart, who currently works for the Creative Learning Program at Shiloh Elementary School and is a McKendree University student studying to be a physical education teacher.

Stewart took Dante, her brother and three of her nephews to Sunday's FanFest.

"I wanted to bring them to at least a little bit of something I can afford," Stewart said. "At some point yesterday, I thought to myself, 'It would be amazing if I could win them.'"

When she walked through the doors, a woman asked her if she wanted to take a photo. The woman then proceeded to place All-Star pins on Stewart and her family. Stewart said she and her nephews didn't realize what had happened until the press photographers stopped taking pictures.

Stewart received four tickets for Section 268 to the Home Run Derby on Monday night and four tickets for Section 369 to the All-Star Game tonight as well as a $200 Master Card gift card to be used in the FanFest souvenir store, and a few other assorted prizes.

After Stewart called her mom, who did not answer the phone, Stewart called the woman who loves baseball more than anyone she knows: her Aunt Betty Stewart, 61, of East St. Louis.

Before Betty Stewart retired, she would go to all the Cardinal games. Though Betty Stewart now watches the games from her living room, she tells others that she's always with her favorite team.

"I'll call her and she'll say she can't talk because a game's on," Ashley Stewart said. "She'll say, 'I'm about to go to San Diego today.'"

Today, Betty Stewart will be going to the All-Star Game. Ashley Stewart said the fourth ticket will either go to her mom or her brother.

"We were so happy to see her win because she seemed so genuinely happy about it," said Major League Baseball director of special events Jackie Secaira-Cotto. "She had the biggest smile on her face and the kids were so happy, too."

The FanFest is in its 19th year. Secaira-Cotto said the St. Louis edition had the highest pre-sale in the history of the event -- with 85,000 tickets sold -- and it appears this year's FanFest will eclipse the record attendance of 130,000 people set last year in New York.

"We're really excited to see we reached the two million fans mark here in St. Louis," Secaira-Cotto said. "It has such a rich history and passion for the sport. I'm so happy for Ashley and her family."

FanFest concludes at 6 p.m. today. In addition to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and Negro Leagues exhibits, the games and shopping opportunities, an auction of baseball collectibles will headline the last day festivities.