The 10th and final Hitting for Hometown Heros softball tournament was held last month, ending with a big milestone.

Over the past decade, the annual co-ed event raised a total of more than $100,000 for the designated MVPs — people and families in need of financial assistance due to some kind of unforeseen event. MVPs ranged from local residents who were injured in car crashes to people suffering from serious medical ailments.

This year’s MVP was longtime Powell firefighter, businessman and Little League umpire Calvin Sanders, who lost a battle with pancreatic cancer.

All told, the tournament helped raise roughly $78,000 that went directly to the designated MVPs and a few other local families, said fundraiser coordinator Kelly Laughlin.

Laughlin and her family members ran the tournament each year, which, beyond the games, included a benefit dinner and home run derby.

“There have been quite a few moving pieces to the Laughlin family in the past two years, and we decided that we wouldn’t be able to continue to give our all to this tournament or to the members of the community who have been so gracious in giving each year,” Laughlin said.

She expressed thanks to all those who helped make the event possible.

“We could not have been as successful if it were not for this amazing community and the people that live here,” Laughlin said. “Many of our sponsors were there from the beginning, all 10 years.”

She also gave “a big shout out” to the City of Powell, Powell Rec District and of course Park County Parks and Recreation “for always taking good care of us.”

(Tribune staffers Rachel Kuntz and CJ Baker contributed reporting.)