Photo: Cade Saurage, Director of Utilization Review and Strategic Partnerships, with Tzvi Heber, CEO of Ascendant New York, at Globe Life Park in 2018.
When the Texas Rangers played their final game in Globe Life Park on Sunday, Sept. 29, it held a special meaning for addiction treatment professionals around the region.
For three years, 2016 to 2018, the Rangers organization and the facility hosted an Invitational Recovery Softball Tournament for treatment center employees.
The tournament grew out of a partnership between La Hacienda and the Texas Rangers, and turned into an exclusive annual networking event for the treatment center industry, said Cade, La Hacienda’s Director of Utilization Review and Strategic Partnerships.
“It started in a conference room at the park, just above the center field wall,” recalls Cade Saurage, Director of Utilization Review & Strategic Partnerships. “We met with Chad Wynn who manages partnerships for the Texas Rangers, and we started brainstorming about how we could do something fun to honor people in recovery and the programs that helped them achieve it.”
The first year 10 centers participated. That number doubled by the third tournament.
Tzvi Heber, CEO of Ascendant New York, described the tournament as “one of those events that define recovery. You can have fun while doing good for others.”
Discussions Underway for Tournament’s Return
Now, with the Texas Rangers moving to new Globe Life Field next season, there is talk of renewing the Recovery tournament in the facility which will be climate-controlled when necessary.
“Partnering up with our friends in Arlington to celebrate recovery has always been one of my favorite experiences,” says Cade. “It has been the one of the most fun things I have ever been a part of.
I’ve heard the same sentiment from people nationally. Past players each year ask when we are bringing it back.”
“We are hoping to bring it back when the new stadium is built. Discussions are underway!”
