Our web designer Joe Pizzurro has passed away. Although I only met Joe in person a couple of times at Citi Field we spent countless hours going back and forth on the phone and through e-mails getting this website in order. 309 different e-mail threads to be exact. Crazy how you can somewhat get to know someone even if it's just through e-mails.
When the brand was picking up steam (and crashed for the first time) I received an e-mail from Joe. The date was 6/9/11 and he was offering up his services. At the time all that was set up for The 7 Line was a simple blogger site and he was interested in building a brand new one. His charge?
"I'll do this work for pennies, or Mets tickets." He was a huge Mets fan, believed in the brand and genuinely wanted to help.
Joe had previously worked with Matt Cerrone on
MetsBlog.com and Kerel Cooper on
OnTheBlack.com so I trusted his work and welcomed his offer with open arms. When we would talk I could tell that he was a sincere guy and passed his info over to anyone else looking for a new website. He also built
StrawberrysGrill.com and was so excited to be doing work for a guy most of us looked up to in Darryl Strawberry. I don't remember the exact text but he was so thankful to have gotten that gig.
Joe and his wife Kelly just 6 weeks ago welcomed in a beautiful baby girl named Kady Shea and there is a donation
website set up in his name.
"To contrast this tragic event, Joe became a father just 6 weeks prior with many of the same family and friends celebrating with him by his wife, Kelly's, bedside. With Joe's passing, we are uniting to help raise money to ensure that his beautiful baby girl, Kady Shea, will still have the life that Joe and Kelly were working so hard to provide. Thanks in advance for your kind contribution!"
If you can find a way to spare even a dollar please make a donation.
CLICK HERE.
Thank you for everything Joe. All you wanted was Mets tickets and that says a lot about the man you were. Willing to do a massive amount of work, while helping someone you never met and only asking for Mets tickets in exchange. It won't be forgotten.
Saying a prayer for his family and friends.
RIP JOE!
