Plans Finalized for 'Rally for Ralph' on June 3

Friends of Ralph Dantino of Geneva will hold a “Rally for Ralph” from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 3, at Riverview Banquets, 1117 N. Washington Ave., Batavia. The afternoon of family fun will include games, music, a raffle, plus food for purchase and a cash bar.

Proceeds will benefit the Dantino family, to help defray medical expenses associated with Ralph’s three-plus-year battle against appendiceal cancer, a rare form of the disease. His fight included a several-week stay at a Baltimore hospital in late 2011.

Dantino and his wife, Nancy, have a long history of involvement in the Geneva community. Ralph is a former member of the Geneva Park District Foundation, Geneva School Board and Geneva Plan Commission, and currently represents the city’s Fifth Ward as analderman to the Geneva City Council. He and Nancy are past co-chairs of the St. Peter Barn Sale for St. Peter Catholic Church, and Nancy has been a PTO president of Harrison Street Elementary School and Geneva High School, and is a past member of the Geneva Academic Foundation.

They have five children and three grandchildren

“We have been overwhelmed at the positive response to this effort,” said Connie Wagner, one of the organizers of the Rally for Ralph. “To me, this is Geneva at its best, as we rally around to help a friend. It’s why we live here and why we love it here.

"Over the years, Ralph and Nancy have helped so many people in so many ways. Now we can help them.

"”The Rally will have a casual, picnic atmosphere, with fun for the whole family, she said. “We’ll have games, music, picnic fare, raffle prizes, even a cake walk.”

People need not be present to win the raffle items.

Riverview Banquets is just south of the intersection of Route 25 and Fabyan Parkway, along the Fox River. For more information on Rally for Ralph, contact Connie Wagner at 630-208-1324 or Dean or Linda Kilburg at 630-208-1682.