WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Winston-Salem Sports Foundation will hold its virtual "Hot Stove Banquet" February 17, with proceeds benefiting the foundation. Chicago White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti will serve as the host in the virtual setting.

Benetti earned his broadcaster stripes in the Triad, serving as a play-by-play voice for the High Point Panthers, as well as working with Time Warner Cable Sports.

The Chicago native was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a toddler, but that hasn't stopped him from rising in his profession all the way to the booth in Major League Baseball.

Humbly, he accepts the notion that he can be viewed as an inspiration.

"If I am that to people, I'm grateful to be able to be," Benetti says. "I think, sometimes hope is lacking in a lot of people's circumstances. I hate seeing people who have a short supply of hope, so if I can be that, I absolutely want to be."